Check out all the previous Pray for ONE Readings here.
Pray for ONE Reading Plan | Week 3 | Day 3
Prayer
Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Thank God for His provision in your life and ask for Him to provide you with encouragement and strength for today.
Bible Reading: John 13:34-35
Read these verses three times slowly.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Reflection & Questions
By Pastor Dan Chapin.
Sometimes, we really like to be identified with certain groups of people. We like to be identified with our sports teams so we wear our jerseys on game days and make fun of people we see who wear the rival’s jerseys. We maybe are really excited about a political candidate so we slap a bumper sticker on the back of our cars. Maybe you wear a certain type of brand because you like the style. When people are around us they know we are THAT type of person.
When you think of Christian, what comes to mind? Better yet, when the person at work who you know does not like Christians, what do they think of Christians? When we put ourselves in the shoes of others who don’t know Jesus, what do they think of the people that identify as Christians? Is it positive because you have been a good example of Christ? Is it negative because, well they are your neighbor after all? If people only knew about Jesus based on how you acted, would anyone know anything about Jesus? If you told someone you knew that you were a Christian, would they say, “WOW really? I had no idea?”
Jesus in this passage outlines a brilliant way for people to know who Jesus is. Love. That’s it. Simply put, the way in which we love each other, displays Christ, or scares people away from Christ. We live in a world more polarized than ever. We live in a world that wants to divide people that think differently. What if instead of embracing that polarizing mentality we were brought to greater levels of unity because of who Jesus is and how He taught us to love each other? What difference would that make in our world? What difference would that make in your life? What difference might something as simple and power as love towards another change the course of someone’s eternal destiny?
- Where have you failed to show love toward someone, Christian or not? Ask God for forgiveness.
- How can you plan to show Christ-like love toward someone today?
Prayer
God give me a heart to love people like you would want me to.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
