OUR DAILY BREAD : LINKED HEARTS

[cimi]

June 6
Friday


LINKED HEARTS

READ:
1 John 4:7-14
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Beloved, if God so
loved us, we also ought
to love one anther.
__1 John 4:11
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Each new day, it seems, brings new ways our family sees the body of Christ at work. One demonstration of the fellowship of Christians sits on my desk as I write.

It's a basket overflowing with letters from people I have never met. Since the time Our Daily Bread readers first learned of the car accident that ushered our daughter Melissa into heaven 6 years ago, we've received hundreds of messages from our brothers and sisters in the faith.

They've said things such as: "I grieve with you, my brother, and I will keep you and your family in my prayers." "I weep at your loss." "I hurt with you." Many recommended books to read. Others sent poems or articles of comfort and hope. some shared their own stories of bereavement as we discovered new partners on the path of pain. They demonstrate the principle of love among the family of God that's commanded in 1 John 4:11.

Each of those gracious notes is different from the others, but they contain a common thread: Because of our shared faith in Christ, I find my heart joined to the hearts of the writers of these messages.

Hearts linked by Jesus create a chain of love that can encourage even the most grieving heart. __Dave Branon
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`````````````````Bearing people's heavy burdens,`````````````````
`````````````````Shouldering their pain and grief,`````````````````
````````````````Shows the love of Christ to others,````````````````
````````````````Bringing them His sure relief. __Sper``````````````
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Our hearts are linked through the love of Christ.

*************Today's Bible reading __ 1 John 4:7-14****************

7 Beloved, let us love one
another, for love is of God;
and everyone who loves is
born of god and knows
God. 8 He who does not
love does not know God,
for God is love. 9 In this the
love of God was manifested
toward us, that God has
sent His only begotten Son
into the world, that we
might live through Him.

10 In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He
loved us and sent His son
to be the propitiation for
our sins. 11 Beloved, if God
so loved us, we also ought
to love one another.

12 No one has seen God at
any time. If we love one
another, God abides in us,
and His love has been
perfected in us. 13 By this
we know that we abide in
Him, and He in us, because
He has given us of His
Spirit. 14 and we have seen
and testify that the Father
has sent the son as Savior
of the world.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Today's Bible reading is all about how love demonstrates itself.
Notice that the evidence of God's love for us is that He "sent His
Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (v.10). The word propitiation
means "satisfaction." Christ's sacrifice satisfied the debt we owed.
The evidence that we are recipients of that love, however, is in
verse 11--that we love each other. This statement reflects the great
command, that "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your
mind', and 'your neighbor as yourself'" (Luke 10:27).
__Bill Crowder