Week 47
Daily Dose of Love
#323 (11/19)
Do Not Stumble
John 16:1-4a
“I
have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed,
an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And
they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so
that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.”
Jesus warns us that it is easy to stumble. Religion can be easily seen as a means for self-promotion.
When religious righteousness and ambition crowd out love, one’s perspective can become so twisted and distorted
that action can be taken against God, in the name of God. Jesus warns us that those who practice religion without love will likely be threatened
when we commit to a life that is based on God’s love. When they act on that perceived threat, we
suffer the consequences. Reflection/Discussion:
What might cause us to stumble when we are faced with rejection or harm?
Principles of Love:
Suffering; Acceptance
Pray Through the Day:
Use our pain
To deepen our love
#324
(11/20)
Work of the Holy Spirit
John 16:4b-15
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I
am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I
have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is
to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him
to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about
sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;
about judgment, because the
ruler
of this world has been condemned.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you
cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will
not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father
has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus’ love that resides in the heart of every human being.In human form, Jesus could not personally express his love to every person on earth,
so he promised to send his spirit so that his love could be shared with everyone. The world views
sin as failure to follow the rules and commandments of the church. It views righteousness as personal accomplishment
and judgment as opportunity for power and authority. The Holy Spirit guides us in the truth
of God’s love: Sin is turning away from love. True righteousness transcends self-centered
desire while opening our hearts to God and each other. True judgment simply asks how well we love. The Holy Spirit
takes the love of our heavenly father that was proclaimed and lived by Jesus and declares it to us by showing us how to open
our hearts. It then gently guides us to touch the hearts of others, so that we may all share in the eternal
reality of God’s love. Reflection/Discussion:
How can we understand the true meaning of sin, righteousness, and judgment in our daily lives?
Principles of Love:
Opening
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
#325
(11/21)
Sorrow Turned to Joy
John 16:16-22
“A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.”
Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and
you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant
when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’?
Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will
turn into joy. When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is
born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So
you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
No one today can see Jesus physically, but we can experience the depth and power of
his love through the work of the Holy Spirit. We cannot see Jesus with our eyes but we can join him in
our hearts. Jesus makes it clear that opening our hearts to him
often results in pain and sorrow. He reminds us that this discomfort is temporary. During
times of overwhelming grief and anguish, it is important to remember that there are labor pains for those who strive to bring
God’s love to our world. Eternal joy awaits all who persevere.
Reflection/Discussion:
How do we make it through labor pains?
Principles of Love:
Vision; Suffering
Pray Through the Day:
Open our eyes
To deepen our love
#326
(11/22)
Prayer in Jesus’ Name
John 16:23-28
On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father
in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will
receive, so that your joy may be complete. I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour
is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures, but will tell you plainly of the Father. On that
day you will ask in my name. I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you,
because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come
into the world; again, I am leaving the world and am going to the Father.”
“We ask in Jesus’ name” is a common ending to many Christian prayers. These
are not magic words or incantations that automatically fulfill our wishes. They are a statement of intent
and purpose. To ask to win the lotto “in Jesus name”
is a contradiction because it focuses on our own interests. Jesus never emphasized his own interests.
He lived a life of love and service. To ask for something in Jesus’ name is an expression
of our desire to emulate his example of loving service. To ask in Jesus’ name is to ask that he open
our hearts to make more room for his loving presence so it can flow through us to the rest of creation.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we remember what we really ask
for “in Jesus’ name?
Principles of Love:
Decision; Opening
Pray Through the Day:
Help us always
To choose love
#327 (11/23)
Disciples will Scatter
John 16:29-33
His disciples said, “Yes, now you are speaking
plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone
question you; by this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now
believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and
you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so
that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”
We will never achieve perfect love in our lifetime. Just as the disciples
scattered at the time of Jesus’ death, we will, at some time in our lives, turn away from God when circumstances threaten
our safety, security, or pleasure.
The world draws us toward selfishness.
Our worldly self disappears when we die. Jesus conquered death through his resurrection.
We can find peace in the realization that we have come from the source of love and will return to it -
as long as we turn back each time we turn away.
Reflection/Discussion:
How can we tell when we have begun to scatter, each to our own (worldly) home?
Principles of Love:
Commitment
Pray Through the Day:
Help us to love
When our will is weak
#328 (11/24)
Glorify God
John 17:1-8
After
Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that
the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given
him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have
sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So
now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.
“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to
me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the
words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they
have believed that you sent me.”
The only way to glorify God is
to love. Jesus brought the love of our creator to earth so that it could be experienced first-hand, person-to-person.
He sent the Holy Spirit to plant his love deep into the heart of every human being so that we may be drawn together
in the unity of God’s love.
We know God by experiencing his
love. The only way to truly believe in God is to love him and we cannot love him without loving each other.
Reflection/Discussion:
How do we really get to “know ...
the only true God?”
Principles of Love:
Opening
Pray Through the Day:
Open our hearts
To your love
#329
(11/25)
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
John 17:9-19
I
am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are
yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And
now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name
that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them
in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that
the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so
that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated
them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you
to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the
world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify
myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
Jesus asks God to
protect us from our worldly selves. A self-centered attitude is the opposite of love, an obstacle to true
joy, and a component in all evil. Selfishness is the vehicle for all temptation and the easiest way to
get lost. We transcend the self as we learn to love.
The only way to make room for the complete and total joy of Jesus in our hearts is to look past our self-centered needs
and desires and see the truth of our oneness in God’s love.
Reflection/Discussion:
How do we keep from belonging to the world?
Principles
of Love:
Unity;
Humility
Pray Through the Day:
Bring us together
In your love
