Tag Archives: Jesus

G*d’s Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, Messiah, Savior

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 11:16 am on January 9, 2025
Tags: christianity, , , habits, Jesus   

January 9, 2025 – January is….Defeating Old Habits

January 9, 2025 – January is….Defeating Old Habits

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering … Fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it … God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12:1-2 says, The Message, a paraphrase by Eugene Peterson)

Remember I wrote about translations of the bible, and in that devotion I mentioned “The Message” as one of the paraphrase renditions of the Bible that I like. The above reading is a good example, because it puts into understandable words, what Paul was trying to get across to us: take what is most comfortable, most ordinary, all of your habits, new and old, and place them before G-d – and then be ready for some change.

Why do we abandon new habits so quickly? Because our old habits are so comfortable. Old habits feel as good to you as your favorite chair. We are so easily drawn to that which is most comfortable. Did you get socks for Christmas this year? New socks are nice, but there is something that is so comforting about the old pairs. They fit “just right”. And that gives some sense of comfort. The old is comfortable. But the old can also get smelly and full of holes. You have to want something better — something new – if you are to follow a new path or try something new.

Don’t be afraid of the new this year – think of “new ways” as opportunities to defeat the “old habits”. Yes, the new is usually not as comfortable as the old. But when you find that the new makes you uncomfortable, take it and place it before G-d, who will take it and bring the best out of you.

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on January 19, 2016
Tags: Jesus, ,   

A New Command — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

January 19, 2016

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.” John 13:34

When Jesus said that he was giving us a New Commandment, he was not really talking about something “new”. Love had always been around. Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, for he loved her very much. (Genesis 29:20) And of course, there is the love verses from 1 Corinthians 13. Love is mentioned approximately 130 times in the Old Testament and approximately 180 times in the New Testament. And love is not just a part of Christianity, but love is a part of many religions of the world. As you read the bible, notice how often love is mentioned.

The new commandment that Jesus gives to the disciples is a “new” kind of love. It is not a vague and general love that many people feel for each other. It is a deep, selfless, sacrificial love that few are capable of showing all of the time.
Of course Jesus is trying to show his disciples how this kind of love can be lived out in their lives. He especially demonstrates it in the Upper Room where he stoops to wash the feet of his disciples. So, the love that Jesus is talking about, selfless love, putting others first, not parsing out love based on class or gender, is a love that the world, that hadn’t been seen before. This is why Jesus is able to call it a “new” command. And people who follow Jesus should be identified for their love because it will be seen as a different kind of love – one the world just does not understand. This new, self-sacrificing love will set the disciples and us apart from everyone else. They will know that we are Christians by our love.

This New Year, can you recognize the need for a love that is commanded by Jesus? Keep an eye out for love in the bible, and especially keep an eye out for ways that you can express that kind of love in your family, community, and the world.

Pastor Dave