To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: emaildevotionals-leave@... 04.14.2008 New Testament To read the Bible in a year, read Luke 14.25-35 on April 14, AD 2008 Hate By Don Ruhl Jesus saw great multitudes following Him, and they probably had no idea of the commitment needed to be one of His disciples (Luke 15.25). Therefore, He began to say to them, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (v. 26). Generally, our first response to that is, "Jesus did not mean hate, He meant love less." Oh really, then why did He say, "Hate"? He said what He meant and meant what He said. If He had meant something else, He would have said it. If we are going to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, we have to be willing to lose everything, including our families and perhaps our own lives. You can hate someone with maliciousness or you can be willing to be separated from someone as though you hated him. We do not hate our families with malice, but when you hate something, you avoid it. When we follow Jesus, something might happen that we are separated from our families. Some families might demand that you not become a Christian, and in those cases, a disciples has to make the choice to follow Jesus and not one's family. That will look like you hate your family. Jesus comes first. Family comes second. www.GrantsPassChurchofChrist.com www.TheBibleMeditator.com http://associate.com/groups/emaildevotionals/ For your friends to subscribe have them send a message to: emaildevotionals-join@...