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The heart of mankind is a fickle thing. Jeremiah calls it deceitful and wicked. Some of the biggest lies it tells are lies about ourselves and our relationship with God.
“It’s okay. Everyone does it God will understand and forgive.”
“Will God really deliver you? Remember what happened to uncle Billy”
“You don’t really think God can use you now, do you? You’re nothing but a failure. Always have been. Always will be.”
These are just a few of the lies. Which ones do you believe?
David knew failure. I doubt David trusted himself anymore than God did later in life. “Search my heart God. I don’t trust my own view of myself. I don’t trust how I feel. I certainly don’t trust my actions.
His prayer ends with the confident realization that once the examination was done, once the pain of revelation is past, then show me the next steps. Show me the path I need to become the person you can empower me to be.
Be brave enough to open yourself to a God whose only desire is to make you better; to show you the path to everlasting life.
One of the greatest dichotomies of the Christian Life is the treatment of our enemies. To give without expectation of return? Ludicrous! If people were truly honest, even those who donate to charities of various kinds want something in return. That something may be the gift of self-satisfaction, “look what I did!”
To go further, the church has often been guilty of lashing out at those who are ‘wicked’ in the Lord’s sight. To be sure, Godly standards must be taught and held to by his followers, but Jesus was a friend to many we would shy away from.
Take a stand for what is right. Stay true to your calling. But never forget that we are called to love those who contradict the very standards we hold to. People will know us by our fruit. The fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness.
Live the life the Spirit empowers you to live.
Back in the 1990’s there was a clever marketing campaign which, I believe, was a true attempt to remind people of our original calling: To live by example the good news of the Gospel as personified in the life of Jesus Christ.
Many a T-shirt, can cooler, visor, and bracelet were sold with the initials, WWJD. Today, the question is as valid as it was then. What would Jesus do? I doubt he would lash out at Caesar for his handling of the Roman Empire. Judging from his treatment of the woman guilty of adultery, I”m guessing he would not condemn those who live a life contrary to God’s original plan for family.
Jesus Christ found the perfect balance between reaching out to the ‘deplorables’ while at the same time standing for the standards of his Heavenly Father. How unfortunate that 2000 years ago people of ill repute sought Jesus out and today they tend to scoff, run or hide from the mere mention of his name.
Now more than ever, we who are ‘little Christs’ (the original implication of the title ‘Christian’) ought to strive with every word, with every action, with every attitude, to exemplify the life of the one who called us from darkness.
Be a light. Shine like Jesus did.
In nearly every sermon or article on giving and/or money i’ve heard, this verse or it’s OT counterpart has been mentioned. Maybe it’s time we broaden our giving horizons! We live in a society in which negativity, lack of hope and loneliness are rampant. The principle of this verse goes far beyond the almighty dollar! To have a friend, be a friend; to be heard, listen to others; to be accepted when your beliefs may be different than others, accept others right to be ‘wrong’; to be loved unconditionally, love unconditionally; to receive patience, be patient. Don’t wait for others. Be the start of something great in your life! Receiving starts with giving.
It’s interesting that when Jesus offered up his last prayer before his death he prayed for unity among believers. Unity is impossible when hatred is present. Love of the brethren is, in some ways more important than loving the ‘pagan’ because we are being watched. When I ask people who don’t attend church why they don’t, most of the answers center around church politics and hypocrisy. We say love the sinner and hate the sin but that starts in the church, in the body of Christ, the Family of Believers. It was the love/unity of the body that attracted people to the early church and people haven’t changed that much! All of us have people that annoy us for a variety of reasons — things they have done; personality conflicts; actions they have taken. Yet first and foremost we need to see others as God’s creation, not define them by their actions. We don’t love them because of who they are, we love them because of who Gd is. Jesus died for us when we were at our worst, the least we can do is to love others when they are at their worst through the power of the Holy Spirit working within us.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 