Transcript of a published teaching by Regina Sloane, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
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Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
The opening scripture: love your enemies
- Day six's devotion, 'It Is Never Wrong to Love,' opens with the scripture in Luke chapter 6, verses 32 through 36, which she reads together with the hearers.
- The reading asks: if you love those who love you, what thanks have you? For sinners also love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks have you? Sinners do even the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks have you? Sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
- The command instead: love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again — and your reward shall be great, and you shall be the children of the Highest, for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.
- The reading closes: be therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Scriptures: Luke 6:32-36
The Savior's boundary-less love
- Unconditional love can be very easy to give to some people, and not quite so easy to give to others.
- When she thinks about unconditional love, she thinks of the ultimate love of a Savior on a cross: a love that reached out to a common thief that day and welcomed him into eternity with open arms.
- It is a love that looked down through centuries of time to all the unlovable humans he created — a love that looked past the sin committed, past the choices made, past the lifestyles lived.
- We are his children, and his love for us knows no boundaries; unconditionally, he was and is the perfect example of how to love.
Love people without condoning their choices
- When we love unconditionally we must do it without lowering our beliefs: you don't have to condone someone's behavior in order to love them. People make bad choices all the time, but people need love all the time.
- You will never know what your love — and what your example of unconditional love — will do for a person.
- In her job she is in daily contact with children who do not experience unconditional love in their homes once they leave the halls of Northfield; she makes it a point to love each of those children unconditionally, because they don't get it anywhere else — she calls their names, hugs them, compliments them, and tells them she loves them.
- People thrive on love; people need love. It must have been hard for the Creator to watch his creation turn their backs on him, and yet he still loves us — so don't be surprised if the people you love turn their backs on you; just keep on loving them.
- We must respond to addictions and failures with grace and love, just like Jesus — not judgmentally. That is not our job; we are not the judge. We are those who love, those who wrap arms around people who come in.
- Loving others even when it hurts is a decision we have to make, and it is always the right decision. When hurt comes in the form of someone close choosing the path of sin, it can be incredibly painful — but leave that pain, leave that judging, to God, and continue to love unconditionally.
Be the love in somebody's life
- She recalls the lyrics of the old song 'Love Lifted Me': when nothing else could help, love lifted me.
- She encourages hearers to be the love in somebody's life — to love somebody unconditionally today, this week: look past their choices, look past their decisions, look past their lifestyle, and see what Jesus sees — someone who can benefit from love, someone who can experience true love through Jesus Christ if we will open our arms and love them.
- In the closing prayer she thanks God for the day, for his blessings, for the opportunity to study his word — and above all to learn from him, the perfect example of unconditional love — and asks him to help us, today and in the days and weeks ahead, to find that person in our lives and love them unconditionally no matter what choices have been made.
Scripture index: Luke 6:32-36.
Transcript
Good morning and happy Saturday. My name is Regina Sloane, and welcome to day 6 of this 21 day devotional, Restart Your Heart, with the Pentecostals of Murfreesboro. I'm so glad that you could join us as we go through this devotional. Each day someone new will walk through one day of the devotional. I encourage you, if you haven't already, to go back and catch up on the previous day's.
Today our devotion is entitled "It Is Never Wrong to Love," and it opens with the scripture in Luke chapter 6, verses 32 through 36. And I hope you've had a chance to read it, but if not, we're gonna read it together real quick: "For if you love them which love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them. And if you do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? For sinners also do even the same. And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thank have ye? For sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be he therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful."
Unconditional love can be very easy to give to some, and not quite so easy to give to others. I think about the ultimate love of a Savior on a cross when I think about unconditional love. It's a love that reached out to a common thief that day and welcome him into eternity with open arms. A love that looked down through centuries of time to all the unlovable humans that he created. A love that looked past that — the sin committed, past choices made, past lifestyles lived. We are his children, and his love for us knows no boundaries. Unconditionally, he was and is the perfect example of how to love.
When we love unconditionally, we must do it without lowering our beliefs. You don't have to condone someone's behavior in order to love them. People make bad choices all the time, but people need love all the time. You will never know what your love and what your example of unconditional love will do to a person.
In my job, on a daily basis, I am in contact with children who do not experience unconditional love in their homes once they leave the halls of Northfield. And I make it a point to love unconditionally each one of those children, because they don't get it anywhere else. And I call their name and I hug them and I compliment them and — and I tell them that I love them. They need that. Everybody needs love. And no, I don't condone some of the things that go on in their homes maybe, but I love them. I love those kiddos.
People thrive on love. People need love. It must have been hard for the Creator to watch his creation turn their backs on him, but yet he still loves us. So don't be surprised if the people that you love turn their backs on you. Just keep on loving them.
We must respond to addictions and failures with grace and love, just like Jesus — not judgmental. That's not our job. We're not the judge. We are those that love, those that wrap arms around people that come in. Loving others even when it hurts is a decision that we have to make, and it's always the right decision.
When hurt comes in the form of someone close to you choosing the path of sin, it can be incredibly painful. But remember: leave that pain, leave that judging to God, and continue to love unconditionally. It's never wrong to love.
The lyrics to the old song "Love Lifted Me" says, "When nothing else could help, love lifted me." I encourage you today to be the love in somebody's life. Love somebody unconditionally today, this week. Look past their choices. Look past their decisions. Look past their lifestyle, and see what Jesus sees: someone that can benefit from love, someone that can experience true love through Jesus Christ, if we will open our arms and love them.
Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I thank you for this day. I thank you for your blessings. I thank you for an opportunity to study your word, but I thank you for an opportunity to learn from you. You are the perfect example of unconditional love. Lord, I pray that you would help us today and tomorrow and the weeks and days ahead, Lord, to find that person in our lives, to love them unconditionally, no matter what the choices that have been made. God, I pray that you would help us to open our arms and open our hearts, and love — love like you love. God, I pray that you would just watch over us today. I pray that you would give us a good day. And Lord, I pray that you would just continue to help this devotional, Lord, to — to help us grow. In Jesus' name, well, we love you and we thank you. Amen.
Thank you for joining me for day six of "It Is Never Wrong to Love." Take some time today to read the devotional for yourself if you haven't already, and join us again tomorrow in the morning, 7:00 a.m. live, as we discuss "Don't Settle, Keep Climbing." God bless you.
Scripture references as spoken: Luke 6:32-36.