Sometimes people are hard to love.  We all want to think of ourselves as loving people but love is defined by God and proven by action.  Often we fail to love by failing to act.

1 John 3:16-18 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. [17] But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? [18] Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

Sometimes we are also actively unloving in what we say and do.  If we will be witnesses for Christ we must reflect Him by believably loving like Jesus.  There is a suffering that comes with loving people.  There is a greater suffering when we try to love people like Christ and to Christ. Because such love is hard, it’s easy to avoid it.  To fail to love well is to fail as a follower of Jesus.  To fail to love well is to fail as a witness.  To fail to love well will often be the reason why you do not see anyone coming faith.  So how can we approach loving as a witness?  Do you love people enough to share your faith with them?

This Sunday I will continue on how to be a stable believable witness. Please come and please pray and then invite at least one person to come with you.  Let’s overcome fear with love and at least try to tell them about Jesus.

John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. [19] We love, because He first loved us.

Blessings,
Joe

Prayerfully read the following scriptures.

1 Co 13:1-13 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. [3] And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. [4] Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, [5] does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, [6] does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; [7] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [8] Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part; [10] but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. [11] When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. [13] But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1. DESCRIBE HOW SOME ONES LOVE FOR YOU WAS A WITNESS TO YOU?
2. WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOVING WELL AND WITNESSING EFFECTIVELY?
   

   John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. [35] “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

3. How is the bibles definition of love different from our ideas?
   

   1 Co 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, [5] does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, [6]  does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; [7]  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. [8] Love never fails.

4. WHICH OF THESE QUALITIES OF LOVE IS MOST DIFFICULT?
5. Why is a humble and complete repentance essential to your witness to others?
   

   Luke 22:54-62 Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. [55] After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. [56] And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” [57] But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” [58] A little later, another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!” [59] After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.” [60] But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. [61] The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” [62] And he went out and wept bitterly.

6. WHAT IS GODS REMEDY TO ANXIOUS UNLOVING REACTIONS?
   

   1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.

7. WHY IS KEEPING A FERVENTLY LOVING FORGIVING HEART SO HARD?
   

   1 Peter 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

8. WHAT IS HOSPITALITY AND HOW CAN YOU START PRACTICING NOW?
   

   1 Peter 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint