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So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. Acts 24:16
Being misunderstood and wrongfully accused is never easy. It’s even harder when those closest to you lie in order to try to make you look bad in front of others. That was the case when Paul was drug into court for being a troublemaker.
Before his conversion, Paul was considered an expert in Jewish law and one of the up-and-coming religious leaders. He was the poster child for ‘Jews against Jesus’ and was responsible for many people being stoned, sent to prison and even arrested for following Jesus of Nazareth.
Then, miraculously, Paul found Jesus, or should I say, Jesus found Paul and from that moment on his life was changed forever.
The problem is, people don’t like change. Even though Paul was right about his message, it was different that the status-quo religious system of his day. Paul was a rebel and even though his faith in God was deeper than it had ever been, people around him saw him as a rebel and a heretic. Paul’s enemies for the most part were the same people he worshipped with in the temple. They were his closest friends. They were his spiritual as well as physical family.
God’s character never changes. He is always love. He is always a God of mercy and grace. He is always willing to forgive us when we stumble and fall. But He doesn’t always work through the same methods. God changes His methods as society changes in order to bring as many into His Kingdom as possible.
Sometimes we may be misunderstood by those closest to us. Sometimes we may even be called a heretic. Some may even question our salvation. When others question your motives or methods it’s always important to measure what they say by what God is telling you. He may be asking you to open a whole new avenue of ministry to reach out to people who need to hear about Jesus.
I knew a pastor in a small town who was burdened for the people in the bar just down the street from his church. On St. Patrick’s Day one year, he went down to the bar. He didn’t drink a drop. He simply visited with patrons of the bar. As ‘luck’ would have it, his picture showed up in the local paper as part of a story about St. Patrick’s Day revelers. As a result, the church he pastured for several years fired him! Sometimes God may ask you to take a risk for Him even though the ‘religious community’ will look down on you. If that happens, make sure your conscience is clear and your motives Christ-like. Then, REJOICE! You are now part of an elite club made up of Paul, most of the disciples, many spiritual leaders throughout history, and most of all, the club president—Jesus Christ!
PRAYER: Father God. I thank you for people like Paul and others who have been willing to break ranks with the ‘religious status-quo’ in order to do new and exciting things to bring others into your Kingdom. I ask that you would give me the courage to be willing to step out risk my reputation if need be in order to reach people for you who may never enter a church door. In Jesus name, Amen.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18
When we fall in love with someone there is a tendency to try to be everything that the person we love wants us to be. We may change the way we dress, the foods we eat, the music we listen to or anything else to try to win the ‘undying favor’ of the one loved.
If we are honest with ourselves and think about it, we make all these changes because we may feel afraid that if we don’t change we won’t be loved. While it’s never a bad thing to take a look at ourselves and consider making positive changes in our appearance or actions, they should never be at the expense of losing who we really are.
True love accepts you just the way you are. When God looks at you He is completely satisfied with everything you are. He may see things that He wants to work on with you to make you a better person, but He loves who you are completely. You need never fear losing that love.
Don’t allow the negative thoughts, words and actions of others to change how you feel about yourself. That’s not love. That’s mind manipulation and can lead to abuse either emotionally or even physically. Love should never have to hurt; should never be based on fear; should never require that you change who you are. Love accepts.
The only way to true love is through the one who is love. The Bible says that God is love. It doesn’t say that God has love in His heart or that God can love you if you change. When it says ‘God is love’ it means that love is in His very essence, His very soul. Everything about Him is love.
Because His love is perfect there is no fear with God. He doesn’t get mad at you when you fail. He won’t threaten you when you mess up for the third time in one day. He won’t give you the quiet treatment or throw things at you or remind you constantly that you failed Him last week. He won’t rely on put-downs and sarcasm to win an argument. That’s not love.
Be a believer in who you are because of Christ Jesus. When God looks at you in love He does so because you are His most valuable creation. Don’t allow the words of others and the threats of others change what you know. God loves you and He will never leave you. That’s what true love is about. If someone threatens you or makes you afraid in any way THAT is not love.
PRAYER: Father I thank you today that you are a God of love. I thank you that in my weakest moments, when I rebel selfishly, demand my own way or think evil of others, You still love me. You don’t require me to change to earn your love because there is nothing I can do to earn your perfect love. Please help me to live a life of love without fear. Empower me to break loose from any bondage, any person that includes fear or pain as a part of their love. I want to be free to love without fear from this point forward. Amen.
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Lamentations 3:21-22 (NLT)
Jeremiah walked the streets of Jerusalem in agony. He saw homeless children who had become orphans due to war, now dying in the streets of starvation. He saw the elderly looking lost, confused and yearning for the days when they lived in prosperity, but now lived in hopelessness.
In the midst of the national horror, he’d experienced huge personal loss as well. He was verbally and physically abused by those he tried to help. He was all alone and in despair he cried out to God, but it seemed that even God Himself had turned a deaf ear to his pleas. Everything that he considered sacred and secure had either been destroyed or taken from him. He was alone, brokenhearted and saw no hope.
As Jeremiah looked around and took stock of what he was seeing, he was reminded of one thing that had remained constant throughout his ordeal; his faith in a God that loved him and had shown himself faithful in years past. It was the hope that he had in God that helped Jeremiah see that even in the direst of situations God still was in control.
Later, in chapter three he writes: “For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.” (Vss. 31-33)
Hundreds of years later Jesus would teach us the same truth in the story of the Prodigal Son. As the young man sat hopelessly in a pile of pig slop with no money, no hope and no friends, he remembered his father. He remembered home. Pulling himself out of the slop he returned to the one place he knew there would be acceptance, love and compassion. The arms of his father.
So it is with us today.
No matter what you have done in your past to separate you from God, you can always come home.
No matter how much debt you have and how hopeless your financial state, you can always come home.
No matter what consequences of poor choices you carry with you, you can always come home.
No matter what relational turmoil you are in, even if it is a result of your actions, you can always come home.
No matter what abuse you have suffered emotionally, physically or spiritually, you can always come home.
No matter how long you have rejected His call in the past, you can always come home.
Your Heavenly Father longs to have a passionate love relationship with you. He is not concerned about your past. He is not worried about your future. He can help you with present struggles. When you see no light in the darkness; no hope in the midst of despair; no comfort in the midst of your pain. Jesus urges you to come home and rest in His loving arms.
PRAYER: Father God. I look at myself and the mess I’ve made of things and am embarrassed to have to come to you time and again for forgiveness. I am under attack by those who constantly attack me verbally, emotionally and physically and struggle to find ways to carry on. I contemplate the future and fear for myself, my children and my grandchildren. I ask today that you would empower me to rest in your arms of everlasting arms. I can’t do this without you. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 