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Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
“Could you talk to Janey? Sarah beat her up again.” The voice on the other end of the line was a concerned mom from one of my kids in youth group. Her daughter, Janey was friends with one of the toughest kids in school. Usually the two got along fine. But Sarah’s family was abusive and full of anger, rage and violence. If Sarah were having a bad day, she was a time-bomb ready to go off on anyone who was near. Most kids in school just left her alone. In fact, she really only had one friend in the entire school-Janey.
Try as we might, we could never keep the two apart. Janey insisted that Sarah needed Jesus. “If I’m not her friend, who will be?” was her constant argument. That was over 30 years ago. Today Sarah is living out east. She’s a grandma and married to a wonderful Christian man!
I often wonder what would have happened if Janey had listened to us and abandoned her friend. Social wisdom says we leave people alone who may hurt us. ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’ is the rule to live by safely. If you know someone is going to fail you, avoid them. Protect yourself. Don’t trust them. Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of and made the fool.
The problem with social wisdom is that it runs contrary to what Jesus taught us while he was here on earth. One night, he knelt at the feet of each of his disciples to wash their feet. He did that knowing that in a few short hours, each of these men would abandon him. One would publicly deny him. Another would sell him to the enemy for a measly 30 pieces of silver. One would run away naked. All of them left him in his time of deepest need.
Even though he knew they would fail him, he forgave them and loved them. He’s doing the same thing today. Jesus knew you’d fail the day he went to the cross for you. He knows the things you struggle with. None of that surprises him. Your sin doesn’t surprise Jesus. Your rebellion doesn’t keep him from loving you and standing by you in your time of need.
In the same way, we are called to love those around us. Don’t be surprised when people fail you. Like you, they are human, and humans naturally sin. Sometimes we may need to be wise and protect ourselves from physical harm, but we should never stop forgiving, never stop loving, never stop lifting those who’ve hurt is in prayer.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why you are so forgiving when we are so rebellious and stubborn. Thank you that you haven’t given up on me. Thank you that even though I’m going to try to keep from sin, you know I’ll fail and you will forgive me when I repent and come to you for healing. Empower me with your Spirit to live for you. Empower me to forgive as you have forgiven. In your name I pray, Amen.
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30
Think for a moment of the person you love more than anyone else in this world. Get a good picture in your mind. Take a few minutes to gaze (in your minds eye) on every one of their features. Focus on the reasons you fell in love.
One suggestion as your doing this. It might be a good idea NOT to do this when you are in the presence of this person. You may find yourself staring at them and freaking them out!
Now, how many hairs are there on your loved ones head? What? You don’t know? Are you thinking I’m the one that’s crazy? Well then, you must not love that person.
Now your probably angry with me. Of course you love them, you are thinking. Your maybe tempted to shout “You have no right telling me that I do or don’t love _______! And you’d be right.
But here’s my point. When you love someone, really, really love them you know everything you can about them. You know their likes and dislikes. You know that makes them scared and what gives them comfort. You even sacrifice your own comfort to make them comfortable.
Jesus tells us that God loves us so much that he knows has the hairs on my head numbered! Imagine that for a moment. It doesn’t just say he knows how many there are. He can point at a hair on my head and say, “Hair number 2,368 is looking a bit frayed today!”.
Now, if God is that familiar with me; if he loves me that much. What do I have to worry about? I like the way Max Lucado says it in his book “A Gentle Thunder”.
“If God had a refrigerator, my picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, my photo would be in it. He sends me flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. When I want to talk, he’ll listen. He could have chosen any place in the universe, but he chose my heart.”
I know I make mistakes. Some days I make more than others. I know I’ll hurt people along the way unintentionally because I tend to be a social klutz at times. There are times when even my closest friends don’t understand my feelings, my fears and the things that make me happy. There are times I don’t even understand me! But my Father does. He even has the hairs on my head numbered.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for your love. There are things coming my way I don’t understand. Some of them scare me to no end. I thank you that in the turmoil that surrounds me you see me. I don’t get lost in the shuffle. You aren’t distracted from my problems because you are needed elsewhere. Thank you that I’m your number one priority today. Help me to be constantly aware of your presence, love and protection. In Jesus name, Amen.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10
When you are in a love relationship with someone you want more than anything else to do what they want you to do. You’ll go to any lengths to know their likes and dislikes. You want to know what they are passionate about and do you best to bring that to pass.
Your Father knows your heart. He knows your every passion, your every desire, your every concern. He knows what makes you happy and content. He knows the things that cause you to worry and fill you with anxiety. He knows your deepest, most intimate secrets and he wants to bring each of them into your life.
The problem is, sometimes the things we are passionate about and desire with all of our hearts are things he knows will harm us. No loving father will give his beloved child something that will harm him. That’s not love. That’s abuse.
Your Father in Heaven is a passionate father, a passionate lover if you will. And his passion is you! He earnestly desires you give you his very best. To comfort you in the hard times. To encourage you when you are discouraged. To bring peace in despair. To hold you in illness and when you are mourning.
When we pray the words “your will be done”, what we are really asking our Father is to do his will in us. It’s like we are saying, “I know you love me more than anything. I know you want your best to be done in my life for my sake and your glory. Now, bring it to pass in me. What can I do to bring your will into my life?”
The beauty is, much of that answer has already been done. Your Father in heaven provided his Son for us to show us the way to his heart. He’s given us his Holy Spirit to guide us and give us understanding and peace. He’s given us his word, the Holy Bible, so that we will know the promises he has for us.
You may have taken some wrong paths in life. Perhaps you are in a place you don’t want to be. A place you thought you’d never find yourself. You are wondering if he wants you back, if he can even use you after all the mistakes you’ve made and the people you’ve hurt. Face it, some of those things were just plain rebellion and wanting things your way! Can he still do his will in you?
The answer is yes! God’s forgiveness is based on His passion for us, not because we deserve it in any way. May his will be done in your life.
PRAYER: Father in heaven. I thank you that you are a passionate lover and that your passion for me far exceeds my ability to deserve it. Forgive me for the times I’ve failed you and others. Empower me with your Spirit to live in such a way that your good and perfect will would be done in my life. In Jesus name, Amen.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Romans 8:14 (NLT)
What does a person who is being led by the Spirit of God look like? To some he/she is a person who exhibits certain external gifts. To others a person led by God’s Spirit is someone who avoids certain places, words or activities. Some will try to put limitations on how the Spirit works in our day, thus limiting his power to express himself freely.
Spirit led people don’t worship in a particular way. They can worship quietly and solemnly or actively and loudly. Spirit led isn’t an action. Spirit led is an attitude of heart. When we decide how God’s Spirit leads us, it’s our spirit we are following not God’s. When that happens we limit God’s power to our own understanding and our own limitations.
Jesus says that the Spirit of God is one that will lead us to an understanding of what God is like. So to answer the question about what a Spirit-led person looks like we need to answer the question, “What does God look like?” The answer to that question, in my opinion is: “How do you describe God?” His word says that each of us is created in his image. Do we all look alike? NO! Do we all act alike? Definitely not! Do we all have the same likes & dislikes? Ridiculous. God didn’t create robots. We weren’t stamped from the same mold.
So then, Spirit-led people are people who exhibit best what God has made them to be. The Spirit of God empowers us to live to the fullest potential God intended for us. As Max Lucado says in his book “When God Whispers Your Name”, the Holy Spirit helps us in three directions-inwardly (by granting us the gifts of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24), upwardly by praying for us (Romans 8:26), and outwardly by pouring God’s love into us (Romans 5:5.
The Spirit-led person then, isn’t defined by a particular style of worship songs and actions. He’s not defined by a particular spiritual gift (or the lack thereof). He isn’t defined by the name of the church he attends. The spirit-led person exhibits the image of God in their lives through their thoughts, their words and their actions.
My God, Jehovah God is a God of passion. He’s a God of creativity and diversity. He shows himself in the power of the severe storm with thunder and lightning. He shows himself in the silence of falling snow.
He shows his creativity in the sunrise and sunset and in the birth of a new-born child. My God, Jehovah God isn’t bound by the limitations of time or human nature. Nor is he affected by the decisions of political regimes or religious dogmas.
Because I am human and Jehovah God has given me free will, I will, at times, fail to live by the power his Spirit has given me. But because of Jesus I can be forgiven if I repent of my sin. I can brush off the dirt from my falling, be healed by Jesus blood, and continue on because of His mercy and grace.
PRAYER: Father God. I praise you for your creativity and passion. I thank you that even though I stumble and fall, and sometimes I fail miserably, you are always there to forgive me, and help me back to my feet. I pray that you would empower me live according to your Spirit and not the interpretations of man. May others see you in my actions, words and attitude. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” Daniel 6:16
He’d only been doing what he always did. Every morning, noon and night it was the same. Daniel would kneel before an open window where he could spend a few moments talking with his God. Unlike you and me, he didn’t have the continual presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within him. The promise of a Messiah was years and years in the future. He was still subject to the rules of the Old Testament even though, as an exile in a foreign land he couldn’t sacrifice the way he’d like. But Daniel could pray.
Daniels firm faith in God was his trademark. Even in difficult times. The king knew it and even though he didn’t follow Daniel’s god, his tremendous respect for the way Daniel lived brought huge respect for both Daniel and his God.
Daniel’s enemies knew about his faith too. But they were more interested in personal gain than in religion. As a result of their hatred for Daniel and his people they tricked the King into throwing Daniel in the Lions Den where his death was certain.
The king spent a sleepless night worrying about Daniel. We aren’t told how Daniel slept that night. Surrounded by hungry lions. The remains of previous victims bone’s scattered around. The smell of the lions. For most of us that would have been the makings of a sleepless night too. But I have a feeling Daniel slept like a baby. Daniel knew his God would deliver him.
Did he still have to endure the lions den? Yep. Just like Jonah had to endure the whale, and Abraham had to endure the emotional trauma of nearly sacrificing his son, and the disciple’s had to endure the storm at sea.
But in each situation God came along just in time to provide what was needed. Each person had a different need to be met and only God knew how that need was going to be met best. That’s the way God does things. God knows what we need, when we need it, and he comes through for us every time. The danger comes when we try to take matters into our own hands or force others to do ‘what we think God wants them to do’.
Your heavenly Father knows your situation. Every intimate detail. Only he knows the best time and method for your deliverance. The beauty of following Christ is that we don’t have to worry about tomorrow (or for today for that matter). Our only concern is to draw close to him though prayer, Bible study and fellowship with believers. He’ll take care of the rest in the best way possible and at just the right time for you.
PRAYER: Father God, there are so many things going on in my life right now that scare me, frustrate me and cause me to worry and fear. Empower me by your spirit to learn from the life of Daniel. I feel like I’m surrounded by lions. Help me to see your hand in this. Empower me to trust you to deliver me in your way and your time. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
