• Jesus gave us clear instruction of how to find an abundant life, by prioritizing relationships and helping others.
• Love God.

-Matthew 25:40 The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

• Love everyone (even those you do not like).

-John 13:34-35 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. 

-“What is god’s strategy for letting the suffering people in this world know that He is good?  The answer is astounding.  The answer is us.  And equally astounding is the fact that He doesn’t have a plan B.”  (Ward Brehm, National Prayer Breakfast)

• When Jesus instructs us to love, he is referring to Agape love, which refers to the action of love, not the feeling of love.

-1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not boastful or arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

-“God proved his love on the cross.  When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’”  (Billy Graham)

• To love well we need to become more like Jesus, which requires transformation in us.

-Romans 12:2a Don’t copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way that you think.

• The world is telling you that life is best when we pursue pleasure, possessions, pay, promotions and power. The truth is that the things of this world will not satisfy the deepest longings of our soul.

-1 John 2:16-17a For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions.  These are not from the Father but are from this world.  And this world is fading away, along with everything people crave.

-“Ultimately, nothing in this life, apart from God, can satisfy your desires.  Tragically, we continue to chase after out desires ad infinitum.  The result?  A chronic state of restlessness, or worse, angst, anger, anxiety, disillusionment, depression—all which lead to a life of hurry, a life of busyness, overload, shopping, materialism, careerism, a life of more…which in turn makes us even more restless.  And the cycle spirals out of control.  To make a bad problem worse, this is exacerbated by our cultural moment of digital marketing from a society built around the twin gods of accumulation and achievement.”  (John Mark Comer)

• There is a battle of good and evil that rages inside of everyone.

-Romans 7:21-23 NL(NLT) I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart.  But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind.  This power makes me a slave to sin that is within me. 

Galatians 5:13-14 (NLT) For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.  But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

-“The battleline between good and evil runs through the heart of every man.”  (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)

B1.  You have been made in the image of God, and He adores you and delights in you.  His love is constant, not dependent on your performance or beliefs–it is received, not achieved.  The attributes of His love reside in your soul.  You have the capacity to love people well.

-Galatians 5:22-23a But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

B2.  We live in a broken world, and because of the fall of mankind, we all have a self-centered, sinful nature.  We are all capable of making big mistakes and treating people badly.

-Galatians 5:19-21a When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear:  sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties and other sins like these.

-“Beware of no man more than yourself; we carry our worst enemies within ourselves.”  (GK Chesterton)

B3.  The Gospel message reconciles this conflict.

-“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me.  This leads to humility and deep confidence at the same time.  It undermines both swaggering and sniveling.  I cannot feel superior to anyone, yet I have nothing to prove to anyone.”  (Tim Keller)

• Changed behavior begins with changed thinking. Everything we do begins with a decision.

C1.  Be intentional about what you feed your mind.  Feed your mind good food.

-Philippians 4:8 (MSG) Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious–the best not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

-“God’s solution for genuine transformation is not rules.  It’s not simply an emphasis on what we are not to do.  No, supernatural transformation is rooted in your spiritual diet…The gate to your heart is your mind.  The most important decision you make every day is what you allow to go into your mind.”  (Chip Ingram)

C2.  Expand your perspective by getting to know people who are not like you.  Have the courage to share your story.  Story is powerful and must be paired with a culture of grace and acceptance.

-“It’s interesting to compare a legalistic church with a good AA group.  In the church, it is culturally unacceptable to have problems; that is called being sinful.  In the AA group, it is culturally unacceptable to be perfect; that is called denial.  In one setting people look better but get worse, in the other they look worse and get better.”  (Henry Cloud)

Five Questions to ponder

• What kind of future do you want? What are the obstacles holding you back from the life you desire?
• Who are the most important relationships in your life? Identify one thing you can do for each of the most important people in your life to love them better.  This week let each person know why you appreciate and admire them.
• What worldly things are you most attracted to? Has there been a time in your life when you wanted something badly and you got it (material possession, achievement, relationship) and it did not live up to your expectations?
• Most people either think too high of themselves (pride) or too low of themselves (shame). Where do you fall on the spectrum?  How has God uniquely gifted you (what are your strengths?) to show His love to a hurting world?
• What do you need to feed your mind more of and less of? How would you describe your spiritual diet?  Give a few examples of how your perspective has changed about life (or a specific topic).