Welcome to The Turnaround!

Introduction

You may or may not know this, but these verses are found in both Matthew and Mark
They refer to Matthew, a disciple of Jesus, where he asks Jesus, “which is the great commandment of the Law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. AND He immediately follows up with, And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Mark 12:31 would further emphasis “There is no other commandment greater than these” Let that sink in! Out of and estimated 613 commandments given in the Bible,

The number one greatest commandment is to Love your GOD!

The number two greatest commandment is to Love your Neighbor!

Insight

The first one is easy, or at least it should be. It starts by getting to know Him. If you know Him, loving Him is easy.

But what does it mean to love your neighbor? When I think of loving your neighbor I think of the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Treat people the way you would want to be treated. We are to be the example of Jesus. How does Jesus love? He loves Unconditionally. When we experience God’s love for us, we love ourselves. When we love ourselves, His love pours out of us to others. God’s love is perfect, unconditional, and never does harm.

Now, you may have been taught to fear God. You may have been taught about God’s wrath and that He is a God of fire and brimstone, judgement and conviction. And while we do need a healthy respect and fear for God, His laws, and His judgement, we cannot ignore why Jesus came. He came out of love. He came to save us from the Law. With God, it’s shame off not shame on! He brought grace and freedom that we could never obtain on our own. We serve a God who loves us so much that He sacrificed His son for us. Agape love, a love that is given with unselfishness, sacrifice, and prioritizing us over Himself. How can we not pour out our love to others?

Today we are focused on examining our hearts for our neighbors, and for the sake of his prayer campaign, the children in our sphere. Who are these children? The easy answer is our children or grandchildren, but we are called to love more than our household. We are called to love our neighbors. That can literally BE  your neighbors. It also can be your people down the street or random people you meet at the grocery store. How can you get involved? It can be as simple as literally inviting your neighbors over for dinner-Form relationships, share the love of Jesus. You can volunteer at your church in the children’s area. You can serve at a shelter. You can support at-risk children in the foster system. You can become a school chaplain. You have unlimited options!

Turnaround Questions

God commands us to love others, Do you love people well?

What are ways you can get involved loving others well, especially the younger generation?

Prayer

Heavenly Father thank you for the blood you shed on the cross giving us eternal life. I pray that your blood will cover our schools,students and teachers. I pray no weapon formed against them shall prosper and your shalom peace blankets them. May every student and teacher experience your unconditional love for them in Jesus name! Amen