Love God, love neighbor, make disciples. doug@pastordougolson.com
“We shall see Jesus, just as He is.” To those who followed Him, Jesus was teacher and friend. Yes, they’d seen Him walk on water, heal the sick, raise the dead and feed the multitudes, but He was still the carpenter from Nazareth who had called them to follow Him. Even so, they believed in …
“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” (Luke 6:35) Jesus gives us a hard instruction – expect nothing in return. He teaches that because we have …
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:36) Jesus tells us that we should forgive and love as God does, a tough thing for humans to do. We expect apologies, hold grudges and try to “get back” at those we feel have wronged us. God doesn’t work like that – thankfully! Without God’s …
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them”. Luke 6:32 We are quite good at loving those with whom we agree for the most part. It’s fairly easy to get along with them. But Jesus tells us even sinners do that! We …
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Luke 6:31) The Golden Rule Jesus taught us was to treat people the way we want to be treated. It means acting in ways that show our love for Christ in our daily interactions with others, giving what we’d like to receive. What if …
“Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7 Our doubts and fears shouldn’t be the focus of our lives. God is more than capable of handling anything we come up against. We are so desperate to be in control of our lives and situations, we fail to see how …
God shared the very breath of life with us, and we owe Him everything. He calls us to see in each other that divine spark that makes us all His children. When we are cruel or unjust to others, we deny the divinity that lives in all of us. Gracious God, help us to see …
“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27) Jesus taught us to love everyone, even those who might not love us. If we are honest, we often barely listen to those we disagree with, much less love our enemies. Jesus must be sad at …
The blessings we have been promised are often not what we expect. Jesus came to be our Savior and show us the way to salvation, but no one expected the humble teacher who would call us to share His work. Our blessings are sure and certain, but they come in God’s time, according to His …
“Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.” (Luke 6:22) It doesn’t sound like a blessing, does it? Hated, excluded, insulted…why would anyone want to be “blessed” like that? The Master tells it like it is – …