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Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10
It’s the difference between religion and relationship. It’s the difference between peaceful living and stress. It’s the difference between holiness and sinfulness. It’s the difference between abuse and encouragement. It’s the difference between prison and freedom. It’s the difference between fear and courage. It’s the difference between defeat and confidence. It’s love.
Love excites us, brings peace into our lives, cures us of the addiction to sin, encourages us, frees us to be ourselves, gives us courage to survive attack and confidence to use the gifts we have to better the world around us.
In the Old Testament God gave his people all sorts of rules and regulations to show them how to live lives free of all the bad stuff life throws our way. Never forget, when He created Adam and Eve in the garden, He never intended that they be separated from Him. Their sin in the garden destroyed everything. God created us in His image to enjoy life, to enjoy love, to enjoy each other.
The Bible says Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed. That wasn’t just physical nakedness; it was emotional and spiritual nakedness as well. The underlying power of their lives was love, the love of the creator-God to them and their love for Him in return.
Then ‘sin’ got in the way. Sin is really just another way of saying ‘getting what I want in my way’. When sin entered, our relationship with God, ourselves and others was forever changed. There was only one thing that could rescue us from the emptiness and pain of life: LOVE.
True love, Godly love never ever hurts. Period. There are so many things that get in our way, that keep love from showing itself. People get in the way by abusing us for their own selfish purposes. Our past keeps us from enjoying the forgiveness that only Jesus offers. Religion keeps us from enjoying the freedom of enjoying all that God has given us. None of these things are powered by love.
Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn us or to accuse us or to remind us of all our faults. That job is reserved for religion. Jesus came to love us, just as we are, where we are, regardless of our propensity to rebel against Him.
Don’t try to truly love your neighbor or your enemy until you have learned how to love God and yourself. It won’t happen. Only when we are completely enveloped by a love for God and ourselves will love flow to those around us. When that happens, when we learn to love God and ourselves, love for the other people in our lives, even those who hate us and hurt us, will be a natural result, not a forced action.
PRAYER: Father. I thank you today for your unconditional, unending and undeserved love. I confess to you that the love I’ve learned in life hasn’t been all that great. It’s brought pain, shame, guilt and remorse. I need to learn to love you and myself so I can be free to love others. I’ve hurt so many people in my life and now I resolve to love them your way through the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen.
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” Genesis 12:2
Imagine what it must have been like for Abram to receive a message from Jehovah God that he was going to be leaving his homeland. This wasn’t going to be a temporary trip. He wasn’t able to just go down to the corner rental spot and get a truck. He wouldn’t be coming back. Ever. He was leaving his home, his extended family, friends and life as he’d known it since he was born.
We are never told why God chose Abraham. Elsewhere God tells the Israelites that He didn’t choose them for any of the reasons we might choose to make someone great. They weren’t the strongest people. They weren’t the most numerous people. God seldom has reasons for doing what He does. He’s God, He knows best, and even when we don’t like it, His way usually works out best.
At any rate, there was something that God saw in Abraham that moved him to call Abraham away from everything that was familiar to him, his family, his home and his country in order to make him great.
God had fantastic plans for Abraham, but He couldn’t do His work in Abraham’s life with Abraham where he was. God had to take Abraham out of his comfort zone and place him in a place which forced Abraham to rely completely on God. Abraham had to be willing to give up all of his dreams to attain the dreams God had for him.
Not only would Abraham be blessed by giving up everything to follow God, his life would also be a blessing to others. Our Heavenly Father brings things into our lives to prepare us for greater things and in order to show others His great love and compassion.
Too often we ask God to bless us but expect Him to do so in our time frame and within our comfort zone. But that’s not the way it works. He needs to take us where we are, prepare us and then place us where we will be the most effective workers for Him.
As we progress through this journey we call life, remember that your Heavenly Father, the God of the Universe has your destination already picked out. There may be times when the choices you make cause you to waiver from the path. You may have made decisions that have consequences that follow you daily. Through Jesus Christ He can forgive you of the choices and use you for His glory and to bless others.
Abraham, David, Samuel and many other Bible characters made mistakes in their lives. God was able to bless them and use their life experiences to bless others. If you want to be blessed by God and be a blessing to others expect to have to leave your comfort zone so you can rely on Him completely and be a blessing to those around you.
PRAYER: Father, even though I want to be used by You in mighty ways, I have to admit I’m nervous about leaving the comfort of my current life. Empower me by your Spirit to be willing to step away from what is comfortable so I can experience your power and blessing. Help me use what you’ve taught me to bless those around me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12
If you are a gardener of any sort you know the difference between unplowed and plowed ground. Try planting a tree in ground that hasn’t been broken up for years and you know how hard it is to penetrate the grass and roots and break up the soil that lay beneath them.
On the other hand, when you try to dig into soil that has been broken up with the plow or tiller you know how easy it is to plant. Plowed soil is easier to work, holds moisture better from the rain and is more able to take in nutrients. It’s no wonder that in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, Jesus says the richest soil, the soil that produces the most fruit, is the soil that is worked up, plowed, broken apart by the farmer. Soil that is broken up is prepared to bear fruit.
The Bible often compares our relationship with God to soil. Lives that are full of ‘emotional and spiritual’ baggage are unable to completely receive all that God has to offer us. It’s much like how hard rain on dry ground tends to run off and not penetrate the soil even though it is needed in order for the soil to produce fruit.
So, how can we make the ‘soil’ of our lives more productive for Jesus? When King David was ‘caught’ in his sin with Bathsheba he wrote about his journey back to God. In Psalm 51 he says, “Search me and know me…” Often we think of this as a prayer to make when we are on the ropes spiritually, but in reality it’s a prayer that each of should make every day.
It shouldn’t be a fearful or threatening thing to approach the Father and ask Him to reveal the ‘weeds and dead roots’ that keep us from taking in the spiritual nourishment He provides in our lives. It could be painful to some degree. Sometimes the things that keep us from experiencing all that God has for us are ‘good things’. We can fill our lives with family time, church activities, social action activities and godly friends. But if these things keep us from relationship building with Jesus, they can hinder our personal spiritual growth.
Sometimes sin, poor choices, doubt and worry can choke the redeeming forgiveness of God’s love and keep you from the peace He earnestly wants to give you. Forgiveness God’s way is complete, full and final. Don’t let the enemy drag you down by reminding you of past sins that have already been forgiven through the blood of Jesus!
On a daily basis ask God to evaluate the three major areas of your life, Love of God, Love of yourself and Love of others. These three areas must be in agreement with what your Father says about you in order for you to experience God’s blessing. Remember, while we think in the realm of the physical, God thinks in the eternal. What we think of blessing here on earth may not be what he is thinking.
PRAYER: Father God, I ask that you would give me the courage to allow you to take the plow to my life. Empower me with the wisdom and strength of your Spirit to look at my love for you, my love of myself and my love of others. If there are ‘weeds’ in my life that need pulling help me to let go easily so that You can fill me with the spiritual nourishment I need to bear fruit for you. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:39-40
I have a confession to make. I have a problem with ‘Christians’. I think it’s safe to say that because I’m honored to have been chosen by Christ. I’m so thankful that He willingly and lovingly forgave a weak-willed sinner like me, and continues to do so. So I’m well aware that when I point fingers I have four more pointing back at me and perhaps that’s good since I’m probably more guilty than most.
One of the most frequent accusations I hear about ‘us’ is that we are all just a bunch of hypocrites. When we hear that we’re tempted to use a quick comeback like: “Then join us, you’ll fit right in!”, or “Well, we aren’t perfect, we’re just forgiven”. But the reality is, it stings for any of us when our weaknesses and failures are flaunted to those outside the ‘circle’.
Maybe one of the reasons it’s so hard to hear the accusations is because there are so many times when I’ve seen people who claim to be Christians doing things that Jesus would never do. When I see people verbally (and sometimes physically) assault ‘corrupt and evil sinners’ in the name of Jesus I want to…..slap them! (or worse but then I’d be like them).
Don’t get me wrong. I have several close friends I truly admire for the way they reach out to those in need. There are many openly Christian organizations that do a tremendous work to show Christ’s love in times of disaster, and tragedy. God Bless You if you are in one of those groups!
But there are so many times when I hear people say things about how they’d never go back to church after they were treated badly, or hear horror stories of people in agony who have been stomped on in ‘the name of Jesus.’
It’s relatively easy to be ‘Christ-like’ in a situation where there is tragedy and disaster and it’s noble as well. The question is, how many people are silently struggling around us? How many are enduring the pain of divorce, addictions, abuse, anger and chemical dependency with no comfort from someone who is ‘Jesus in skin’?
We need to recognize that God did not put those who are down and out on earth for me to change, convict or save. He put them here for me to learn from, listen to, to challenge and be challenged by, and to enjoy together and if possible and to comfort along this journey we call life.
Here are some ideas that may help each of us (and I emphasize EACH of us) in making a difference among the silently struggling in our own little corner of the world. Each should be bathed in prayer and practiced until perfection.
First, keep your eyes and ears open to the feelings (not just the words) of those who you come in contact with. Many times people hide their pain in sarcasm, and other ways. The trained ear knows how to look past the shell of protection to see the real need.
Secondly, make time to be available. Look for service projects that need to be done. Volunteer at a school, a shelter, in your church, at a local ministry. Ministry doesn’t come to you. Search for it and you may be surprised that even though things in your life are not going well, being a servant not only elevates those who are suffering, it elevates you as well. Don’t let your own trouble keep you from being someone else’s comfort.
Thirdly, be available inspire of your own busy schedules. Service isn’t always convenient. There were many times in Jesus’ life when he took side trips because of need. Let the grass grow a little longer, the clothes pile up in the laundry and use that time to be a servant to someone in need.
Finally realize that being a servant to someone may require a personal price. You may have to sacrifice your reputation. People may question your motives. You may be taken advantage of. You may be accused wrongfully. That’s all part of being a servant. It happened to Jesus and will happen to you as well.
Big ‘C’ or little ‘c’? Which will it be in your life? Is your Christian faith a religion to practice or a relationship to enjoy and grow in?
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. When I think of your ministry on earth I’m in awe of your patient, giving and loving attitude. While I try to live my life so others will see You in me, I confess that I fall woefully short. Empower me with your Spirit to be a servant to those who may be silently suffering. Help me use my pain to comfort others. In your name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 