FEBRUARY 8, 2026
“The one who loves me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” John 14:21
In his book, Echoes From Eden, on pages 12 and 13, A. W. Tozer wrote about the nature of God’s love. The following was read by many of us last Monday in our daily devotional reading.
“God, being Himself God, an uncreated being, deriving from no one, owing nothing to anybody, must necessarily be the fountain of all the love there is! That is why I say that as our God, He must love Himself forever with pure and perfect love.
“This kind of love, God’s love, holy and blameless – this is the love with which the three persons of the Godhead feel and hold for one another. The Father to the Son; the Son to the Father; the Father and Son to the Spirit; the Spirit to the Father and Son – the divine Trinity in perfect and blameless and proper love; loving one another with a holy, poured-out devotion! The Trinity’s three fountains, eternal, infinite, pouring without measure into each other from the bottomless, boundless, shoreless sea of perfect love and bliss…
“God being who and what He is, is Himself the only being that He can love directly. Everything else and everyone else that God loves, He loves for His own sake.”
This week’s hymn is a beautiful description of The Love of God.
The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell; It goes beyond
the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell; The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win; His erring child He reconciled, And pardoned from his sin.
When years of time shall pass away And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall, When men who
here refuse to pray, On rocks and hills and mountains call, God’s love so sure shall still endure,
All measureless and strong; Redeeming grace to Adam’s race – The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill And were the skies of parchment made, Were every stalk
on earth a quill And every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above Would drain
the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Tho’ stretched from sky to sky.
REFRAIN
O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure – The saints’ and angels’ song!
FEBRUARY 1, 2026
“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,
to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:14-15
The church is the most unique group of people in the world. Although men “organize” churches, they are not strictly organizations. They are in essence living “organisms” since they are “birthed” and kept “alive” by God’s Spirit. The church is the Lord’s doing as He declared in Matthew 16:18, “I will build My church.” In Acts 20:28 it is recorded that in addition to “building” the church, it was also “purchased with His (the Lord Jesus) own blood.” Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:25-27, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” There is no other “group” or “club” or organization” in the world that has God’s interest and involvement like the church! He loves the church, and I do too! This week I have chosen two choruses as the Hymn/song of the week. They should be self-explanatory!
Bind Us Together
Bind us together, Lord; Bind us together with cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord; Bind us together, Lord; Bind us together with love.
There is only one God; There is only one King; There is only one body;
That is why we can sing:
People of God
With our lips let us sing one confession, With our hearts hold to one truth alone;
For He has erased our transgressions, Claimed us and called us His own, His very own.
We’re the people of God, called by His name, Called from the dark and delivered from shame;
One holy race – saints every one, Because of the blood of Christ Jesus, the Son.
JANUARY 18, 2026
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
The final messages spoken in life by a person are often the ones most remembered. In fact, some of them become an expression of that individual’s life-theme, his or her purpose in life. It should be no exception in the life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Although it could be argued that all of the words spoken by Jesus are important, we should ask what were the final messages that He spoke directly to His disciples? For any serious Bible reader, it would become clear that the Great Commission, His instruction to evangelize the world, was the heart of His “last words” to us. That Great Commission is recorded in at least five different accounts in the New Testament. Those final words are very, very important! But we must also note that the most intimate “final words” Jesus spoke were in the Upper Room as He shared the Passover meal with The Disciples. The “heart” of those final words was all about loving one another. He first demonstrated loving one another by washing The Disciples’ feet, then He told all His followers to do the same!
Again, this week I have chosen a relatively “new” hymn/song that is totally based on John 13:35. We must learn to celebrate and practice our Lord’s critical, important and final words so that… They’ll Know We Are Christians by the love we have for one another.
We are one in the Spirit; we are one in the Lord. We are one in the Spirit;
We are one in the Lord. And we pray that all unity may one day be restored.
We will walk with each other; we will walk hand in hand. We will walk with each other;
We will walk hand in hand. And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land.
We will work with each other; we will work side by side. We will work with each other;
We will work side by side. And we’ll guard each one’s dignity and save each one’s pride.
All praise to the Father, from whom all things come. And all praise to Christ Jesus,
His only Son. And all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one.
(Refrain)
And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
JANUARY 11, 2026
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” Ephesians 2:19
There is within the nature of every human being a desire to belong. There are people who attempt to prove that they “don’t need anybody” to live in this world, but that attempt is always contrary to the real longing that has been put into the inner most being of every person. All of us are created in the image of God, and that means we all reflect in that most transparent place of our hearts the need to love and be loved. God is like that! He loves because of who He is and wants all of us to love Him. We are built for a relationship with Someone other than ourselves. Because God made us this way, He also provides for the possibility that every single one of us can belong! Jesus Christ came into the world “to seek and save that which is lost!” When we discover ourselves as being lost and alone, Jesus comes to find us and “take us home” where we belong. God wants you to be a part of His family!
The hymn/song that I have chosen for this week is certainly not very old. It was written by Bill and Gloria Gaither in 1970. The song is not even as old as many of the folks who come here to church. Some of us have been singing this song for as long as it has been written and hope that it will be sung until Jesus returns to take His Church home to heaven. Because we know what it means to belong to God’s family, it is a joy to sing The Family of God.
You will notice we say brother and sister ‘round here. It’s because we’re a fam’ly, And these folks are so near.
When one has a heart-ache we all share the tears, And rejoice in each vic-t’ry in this family so dear.
From the door of an orph-‘nage to the house of the King, No longer an out-cast, A new song I sing;
From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong, I’m not worthy to be here, but praise God I belong!
(Refrain)
I’m so glad I’m a part of the fam-‘ly of God;
I’ve been washed in the fountain, Cleansed by His blood! Joint heirs with Je-sus as we travel this sod,
For I’m part of the fam-‘ly, the fam-‘ly of God.
1st Sunday in the New Year
JANUARY 4, 2026
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.’ The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I hope in Him!’” Lamentations 3:22-24
It seems as if everything in this world keeps changing! For many of us, those changes are NOT for the better, they seem only to complicate things. This might reflect the old adage “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!” I really don’t know if that is true, but it does appear to me that as a person becomes “older,” sudden deliberate changes are often difficult to adjust to. In two discussions during the holidays, others expressed this idea to me. My oldest brother said as we reminisced about our home when we were young children, “Life was much simpler then. Because we just had an old wood/coal furnace, we could lose electrical power, and the house was still warm.” Another businessman said to me, “So many people in our culture keep identifying ‘right and wrong’ according to what they want. Nothing stays the same. I couldn’t live without a fixed foundation of what is ‘right and wrong!’” It seems that the majority of us really do want stability!
Part of the best news I have ever heard is that God never changes! He is the same all the time! We can count on His character and trustworthiness! He is good, loving, and kind! Praise Him! All of this is declared in the wonderful hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not; Thy compassions, they fail not. As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above…
Join with all nature in manifest witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide.
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow – Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside!
(Refrain)
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!