The Relationship Principles of Jesus by Tom Holladay Day 1 to 7

By : Tom Holladay

Let love be your highest goal- 1 Cor. 14:1

Anyone

who does

not love

remains in

death

1 John 3:14

Most important of all, continue to show deep love

for each other, for love covers a multitude of

sins”

Selfishness must be

replaced by

UNSELFISHNESS.

Conceit must be replaced

by COMPASSION.

Ego must be replaced

by altruism. The focus

on “me” must give way

to “WE”

We need Personal Renewal &

Relational Renewal.

Jesus was Great at Relationships

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‗Here is a glutton

and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.‘ But wisdom is

proved right by her deeds.‖ Matt 11:19

The evidence that we are Christ’s followers is not religiosity, nor how

many Bible verses we have memorized, nor the charity work we have

done, but rather it is LOVE – loving God and one another.

Let‘s be Christ‐like

Even some relationships

are painful

Relationships are

wonderful

NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT

THAN RELATIONSHIPSDAY 1

Point to ponder: Place the Highest Value on Relationships

Verse to Remember: The most important commandment -30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all

your soul and with all your mind and with all your

strength.‘ 31 The second is this: ‗Love your neighbour as

yourself.‘ There is no commandment greater than these.‖

Question to Consider: Have I asked Jesus if what I‘m doing

is what‘s most important?

DAY 2ATTRACTION OF LESSER THINGS

Place the Highest Value on

Relationships!

but on relationships, first with God

and then with others.

Not on ....

MONEY TIME THINGS WORK

Relationships are more Important

than Time

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love

other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot

serve both God and Money.

Relationships are more Important

than TasksJesus chose

meeting a person‘s

need above

following his

schedule of tasks

for that day.

References: Mark 5:21-43, Mark 10:14, Mark 6:37, John 4

Relationships are Important

God does not

demand of us that

we accomplish

great things.

He does demand of

us that we strive

for excellence in

our relationships.

Point to Ponder: God does not demand of me that I

accomplish great things. He does demand of me that I

strive for excellence in my relationships.

Verse to Remember: 25 ―Therefore I tell you, do not worry

about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your

body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and

the body more than clothes? Matt. 6:25

Questions to consider: What do the ways in which I spend

my time and money say about the top priorities in my life?

DAY 3LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

The power to change starts with faith

– with trusting God and then acting on that faith.

Start of Loving God with all your Heart by

Praying Emotionally

God called David, the writer of many of the

Psalms, ―a man after his own Heart‖

David‘s prayer contain a gold of mine wisdom

about loving God with all your heart.

Talk to God

About your feelings

Psalm 6:66 I am worn out from

my groaning. All

night long I flood my

bed with weeping

and drench my couch

with tears.

Talk to God

About your weaknesses

Psalm 25:1616 Turn to me

and be gracious

to me, for I am

lonely and

afflicted.

Talk to God

About His strengths

Psalm 24:8

Who is this King

of glory? The

LORD strong and

mighty, the LORD

mighty in battle.

Talk to God

About your fears

Psalm 55:55 Fear and

trembling have

beset me; horror

has overwhelmed

me.

Talk to God

Pour out the desires of your heart

Psalm 38:99 All my longings

lie open before

you, Lord; my

sighing is not

hidden from you.

Talk to God

Openly and Emotionally admit your sins to Him.

Psalm 38:17-1817 For I am about

to fall, and my

pain is ever with

me. 18 I confess my

iniquity; I am

troubled by my

sin.

Talk to God

Say out Loud what you know to be true

Psalm 18:1-2

For the director of music. Of

David the servant of the LORD. He

sang to the LORD the words of this

song when the LORD delivered him

from the hand of all his enemies and

from the hand of Saul. He said: 1 I

love you, LORD, my strength. 2 The

LORD is my rock, my fortress and my

deliverer; my God is my rock, in

whom I take refuge, my shield and

the horn of my salvation, my

stronghold.

Our goal is Relationships that are

Transformed by the Example and Power of

Jesus Christ.

Point to Ponder: The path to putting God first starts with the

word all.

Verse to Remember: But seek first his kingdom and his

righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as

well. Matt. 6:33

Questions to ponder: Do I tell God what I feel, or do I tell

him what I think he wants to hear?

DAY 4LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR SOUL

The old Testament uses Hebrew word nephesh, which means

“to breathe.” Behind this word is the idea that God breathes

life into us. You’re a living soul.

The Soul is your Life

Your soul is the passion with which you’re living, the

personality you’ve been given, the path your life is taking,

the power in your being.

Your Soul is where You Decide

You have a will to decide or not to decide – to allow your

emotions to have free reign; but even doing that is a

decision of your soul.

Seek Him Passionately

A relationally healthy soul will passionately seek to

express love for God.

A shepherd who had lost

one sheep and left his

ninety-nine other sheep to

go after that one sheep

with all his energy and

passion.

That‘s the way to seek God.

Seek Him passionately –

with all your soul.

Love Him Personally

When you love the Lord, you love him with a unique voice –a voice

different in tone , different in soul, from any other voice God hears

in all of creation.

Love God uniquely with the Personality

He’s Fashioned into Your Life.

Jesus’ example is found in being able to pray the prayer that

He prayed: “Not my will Lord, but yours be done.”

Decide to Do What He Wants You to Do

The night before Jesus died, as

He talked to his Father in the

Garden of Gethsemane.

Knowing that the next day he

would face the physical,

emotional and Spiritual torture

of the cross, Jesus prayed,

―Not my will, but yours be

done‖ Luke 22:42

Point to Ponder: When you love the Lord, you love him

with a unique voice – a voice that is different in soul from

any other voice God hears in all of creation.

Verse to Remember: Blessed are those who hunger and

thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled – Matt. 5:6

Question to Consider: Where do I need to pray, ―Lord your

will be done,‖ in order to love God with all my soul?

DAY 5

LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR MIND

& STRENGTH

Whatever is True: Meditate on God‘s Word

Whatever is Noble: Appreciate God‘s Worth

Awareness that God is at work all around you and what God is doing in

the world, and so your eyes are lifted to the common things around you

to focus on the godly.

Whatever is Right: Cooperate with God‘s Plan

Before you can do

the right thing, you

have to THINK the

right thing.

Right Things have to do with God‘s direction,

God‘s will.

Whatever is Pure: Appropriate God‘s Cleansing

Refocus your thoughts by thinking about the sacrifice Jesus

made at the Cross for you & the gift of forgiveness.

Whatever is Lovely: Anticipate God’s abundance

Whatever you are doing – enjoy the abundance

and goodness of God

As simple as a

looking at the sky,

take a moment to

be entertained by

creativity of God.

Whatever is Admirable: Communicate God‘s

Encouragement

Loving God with all your mind involves looking for what‘s best in

others and telling them, ―I see something of God‘s character in

you.‖

If Anything is excellence: Be motivate by God’s greatness

Find motivation for your life in God‘s greatness – the

motivation that will last forever.

If Anything is Praiseworthy:

Celebrate God’s Goodness

Trust in Him that He can give you Strength

Confidence that God can do

absolutely anything.

John 14:12 - Very truly I tell you,

whoever believes in me will do the

works I have been doing, and they

will do even greater things than

these, because I am going to the

Father.

Convince that you can do

absolutely nothing of ultimate

and eternal significance without

the power of Jesus Christ. ―Apart

from me you can do nothing‖ John

15:5

Turning your Weaknesses into Strengths

2 Cor 12:9 -10, But he said to me, ―My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is

made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my

weaknesses, so that Christ‘s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ‘s sake, I

delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For

when I am weak, then I am strong.‖

Point to Ponder: To love God with your mind, you must

God‘s words into your mind.

Verse to Remember: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever

is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is

pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if

anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such

things. Phil 4:8

Questions to Consider: Where have my thoughts been

focused lately? When was the last time I asked God to give

e strength to move forward in his power, even though I was

feeling weak?

DAY 6

Love Everyone as Your Neighbour

We limit our love because of our differences

God wants us to depend on him for the

power to love.

LOVE

We limit our love because of our fears

Take the risk, and begin to set aside a prejudice

that has kept an entire group or nationality of

people the bounds of your love.

Point to Ponder: No one is outside the bounds

of my love.

Verse to Remember: Love your neighbor as

you love yourself. (Luke 10:27)

Question to Consider: Who is the person in

my life I need to take risk to love?

DAY 7

Love Someone as Your Neighbour

I cannot limit the extent of my love

I must limit the expression of my love.

Jesus Simply Loved People as the

Opportunity Arose

during the normal traffic patterns of his life.

Consistent Love can only be Expressed

one Opportunity at a Time.

Make the Choice to Love the

Few You can Love Today

trusting in the greatness of God that he will

put the right people in your path on the

journey of life.

Jesus took so much

time to be alone with

the Father.

He spent 33 yrs on

earth and only 3 years

in public ministry.

Did you know?

Why wouldn‘t He have spent every waking

moment of his ministry with people?

Because he knew it was

important to his

relationship with his Father

and to others to make

space to be alone. What

you gain from time alone

with God will strengthen

every relationship in your

life.

He died on the

cross to make a

relationship with

him possible John

15:13 He wants us

to be with him

where he is for all

eternity John 17:24

Jesus Values Relationships

―Dear friends, since God loved us that much,

we surely ought to love each other.‖ 1 John 4:11

Point to Ponder: Consistent love can only be

expressed one opportunity at a time

Verse to Remember: Dear friends, since God so

loved us, we also ought to love one another.

– 1 john 4:11

Question to Consider: How can I show love to

person right in front of me-today?

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor. 13:13