It’s a divided world we live in. It seems arguments are more prevalent than regular conversations in many cases. Hostility is the tone of a generation and I believe that this grieves the heart of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Matthew 5:38-40 says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.” Judges in this time and culture did indeed use the code of “An eye for eye and tooth for tooth” for serious crimes that made it to trial, but the Jews at this time brought this ideology into their more trivial personal matters. It sounds familiar right? Our flesh cannot stand not having the last word, not fighting back, not getting revenge. We do these things in the name of justice, but may I remind you, dear friend, of Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Just a few verses later in Matthew 5:44-45 Jesus says, “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Jesus preached a truly unconditional love. It’s so easy to say we love someone unconditionally, but that isn’t always entirely true, is it? The minute we have a falling out or a fight with a friend, the minute we enter into an argument, we don’t show love, we show hate. We show hostility and the desire for revenge. Jesus challenges us to love even when it hurts, even when it doesn’t make sense, even when it disagrees with our flesh, even when we are not loved in return. If the kind of love we are showing others stops the minute they sin or commit an offense against us, we aren’t loving with the love of God. We are loving with a cheap, earthly version of love. If God loved us with the kind of love we often give from our flesh, we would be lost. Jesus modeled this love for us on the cross. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” A direct correlation to what Jesus says about love in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” We cannot evangelize with our lives, we cannot show people the love of Christ, if we are only outwardly practicing the desires of our flesh. I encourage you this week to think of these verses when you’re presented with challenges. When you’re presented with the temptation to have the last word, to trade an eye for an eye, to “get even” or get revenge, choose unconditional love. Everyone you encounter is someone that is fearfully and wonderfully made, loved unconditionally, and paid for by the blood of Jesus just like you are. We are charged by Jesus to love them, to turn the other cheek, to practice 70x7 forgiveness.
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Isaiah 26:3-4: You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” (ESV).
There are going to be times in life where the road ahead is a dark one. There will be times in life where it’s time to accept the challenges and the trials. There will be times where we have to go through the fire. Maybe your fire looks like struggling family members, maybe it looks like financial stress, the death of a loved one, chronic illness, etc. Our first instinct in many of these seasons, I being the most guilty of all, will immediately be, “Why, Oh God, are You allowing this to happen?” or, “What did I do to deserve this?” For the latter, the same question can be applied to the Lord’s blessings. What did we do to deserve those? The answer to that is - absolutely nothing. The answer to the same question when it comes to our trials and valleys? We truly deserved much worse. Romans 4:25 says, “He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.” Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (NLT). Jesus Christ bore all that we truly deserved, and although His death on the cross did not free us from the troubles of this world, it did secure our victory over them. John 16:33 says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV). The first question: “Why, Oh God, are you allowing this to happen?” is perhaps more commonly asked, and more painfully asked by us when our spirits are weary and broken, when God seems silent and life is spinning far outside of any illusion we ever had of control. Charles F Stanley said in his book “Every Day in His Presence”: “When God calls you to a task or allows a trial, He assumes full responsibility for removing the hindrances that would keep you from succeeding. Therefore, you must respond in faith.” God does not author the trouble in our lives, but when it happens, He is there for us. He hurts with us, and He works all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). The next time you find yourself accepting a new challenge, the next time you find yourself in serious hardship, I encourage you to have faith all the more. It might not agree with what the world says, what logic says, what fear says, and those voices all seem so much louder than a still, small voice, but it will agree with what the Bible says. We can have faith in a God who has won the victory, who has overcome all the trouble we will ever experience in this world. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV).
I’ve been going through some really painful things in my personal life lately. The pain can get unbearable and I’ve asked God how will I ever be a proper evangelist if my spirit is broken and not even close to the type of joy and hope that I’m describing. How can a person believe in “Good News” when my face is so grim and my heart is so heavy? Then I looked a lot closer, and I realized that Jesus openly wept when Lazarus died. He didn’t hide his pain, He didn’t fake it. He felt so nervous the night in His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane and He begged His disciples to stay awake and pray with Him. Jesus was vulnerable with His followers, He was vulnerable with us. He said “in this world you WILL have trouble.” (John 16:33). He didn’t sugar coat a single thing. He didn’t tell us we wouldn’t ever have pain, or that we would have to always outwardly express the joy found in Him, He simply offered us hope. If Jesus was vulnerable, then we can be vulnerable. Sometimes I wonder if we make Christianity feel unattainable to the non-believer because of our habit of saving face, of putting on our church mask, of pretending things are going great. Vulnerability never made Jesus less powerful, influential, or wise to His disciples. It never made them doubt Him. It made Him authentic. He wept. He was tempted. He needed time away sometimes after preaching to large crowds. He felt pain, sadness, anger. And He showed it all, and in those times you always see Him finding time to slip away to pray. Take your burdens to the Lord in prayer, let Him comfort you and remind you that you don’t have to ever lose hope, but don’t hide them from your family, your friends, your congregation. It’s the best evangelism when others can see how God is with us in both the hills and valleys. Your authenticity and vulnerability will show others not a religion or an unattainable version of you that’s always happy. It will show them a relationship with the Living God, who felt all we will ever feel and has overcome it all and is here to assist us and intercede for us and loves us through every season, every day. One of my biggest flaws is how selfish I can be if I am not consistently checking my heart. To be selfish is human nature but it’s also now encouraged by our society. There are so many little sayings I have noticed becoming the norm and being celebrated that the Bible directly contradicts. Most of them have to do with putting yourself first.
Jesus spoke on this in Mark by saying, “ And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) The apostles in the New Testament further communicated this with the early Christians. James writes, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” (James 3:14-16). Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” The Kingdom of God is not an “every man for himself” kind of kingdom. It’s not dog-eat-dog, it’s not “if I don’t do this myself it’ll never get done.” The Kingdom of God is very clearly set up as a place where we all take care of each other with the fruits of the Spirit rich in our hearts because we put God and others first. I serve others and become last, and others will serve me. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” Paul’s instructions for the church on this seem lost in such a self-serving and self-focused culture we live in. Dear friends, don’t let this instruction be lost. The world will paint a very convincing picture of the importance of prioritizing yourself, but the Bible paints an entirely different picture. Ask the Lord today what areas of your heart are self-serving or self-focused. Ask the Lord how you can better serve your family, your community, your church family, and anyone else you encounter. When you do this, and others do this, the church will thrive. Ask yourself today, do I have a selfish heart? Or a servant’s heart? There are not many things that hurt our pride and flesh more than forgiveness – true forgiveness. The kind of forgiveness the Bible teaches us is not a simple, “it’s okay” after someone apologizes. It’s a deep matter of our hearts.
When my husband and I were taking our premarital counseling courses (which I highly recommend for every couple intending on marrying!) the pastor let us in on a rule that he and his wife had that had at that point translated down through their children as well. Whenever someone wronged a person and apologized, they would not say, “it’s okay”, they would make sure to say, “I forgive you.” The difference there is crucial. Saying “it’s okay” can imply that the wrong they caused you is no longer an issue. It can imply indifference. It can be said but not meant sincerely. I forgive you is a response of the heart. It is inherently Christ-like to forgive. We are created in the image of a forgiving God. Psalm 103:12 says, “as far as the easy is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (NIV). Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Micah 7:18-19 says, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Jeremiah 31:34 says, “I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.” CS Lewis once said, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” Forgiveness is a matter of our hearts more than it is even absolution for the recipient. There is no room in our hearts for both Christ and His love and for harbored anger, resentment, and spite. When we forgive, we are in agreeance with Jesus’ heart for us, with what He already accomplished on the cross, and with his unconditional and lasting love. Jesus spoke about forgiveness in Matthew chapter 18. “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Rabbi Jason Strobel wrote on this passage, “Peter thought he was being very spiritual by being willing to forgive someone up to seven times. So Jesus’ response – commanding him to forgive someone up to 490 times – must have been quite a shock! Everything Jesus did and said was very purposeful. He never wasted a word. So the number of times He instructs us to forgive must have some deeper significance. But what is it? As we have already discussed, every word in Hebrew has a numerical value, and these values frequently communicate deeper spiritual insights. That is certainly the case here. The number 490 is the numerical value of the biblical Hebrew word tamim, which means, “complete”, “perfect”, or “finished”. A person who can’tforgive will always live an imperfect and incomplete life that lacks a true understanding of the “finished” gracious work of the cross. The number 490 is also the value of the Hebrew phrase “Let your heart be perfect” (1 Kings 8:61). Forgiving helps make us complete, and it is key to perfecting our hearts before the Lord. But there are some even deeper connections. In Hebrew the word for “my nativity” (moladati) and Bethlehem (Beit Lechem) – the city where Messiah was born, which means “House of Bread” – each individually adds up to 490. This makes perfect sense, since Jesus was born so that we might be forgiven. And forgiveness is associated with bread in the Lord’s Prayer, which says: “Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:11-12 TLV). Just like a person can’t live without their daily bread, an individual can’t survive without forgiveness. The psalmist wrote, “If You, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). We need to learn to forgive and to be forgiven. How do we celebrate the forgiveness Messiah has brought us? By partaking of the broken bread of the Lord’s Supper, concerning which Jesus said, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). Jesus, who is the Bread of Life, was born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread, so that we might both experience forgiveness and extend the bread of forgiveness to others. When we fail to forgive, its like we are spiritually withholding food from a starving person! Forgiveness is not an elective; it is a requirement for followers of Jesus. We must forgive because we have been forgiven by the Lord. Extending forgiveness should not even be dependent on receiving an apology, as Paul wrote: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13). For this reason, forgiveness is one of the greatest acts of faith and a true sign of faithfulness to the Lord. We must forgive because we have been forgiven. The practical benefit of forgiveness is that it frees us as well as the other person. Unforgiveness keeps you imprisoned and chained to your past, but forgiving is a key that sets you free. Don’t delay! Ask yourself as well as the Lord, “Whom do I need to forgive today?” Do you need to forgive yourself, a friend, or a family member? May the Lord give you the faith and grace right now to forgive in Jesus name.” (Excerpt from The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi by Kathie Lee Gifford with Rabbi Jason Strobel). I have never been comfortable with change. I’m not very adaptable. Just when I get situated, just when I feel the ever-desired illusion of permanence, life has a funny way of pulling the rug out from under me. But the only way to the fold of a steadfast and unchanging God is to change everything, to drop everything to follow Him, to step out of our comfort zone to enter into the only real comfort - The Great Comforter.
The world is a completely different place than it was a year ago. Drastic changes have a way of making our hearts troubled. When this happens, it’s a good reminder to step back and ask myself who or what my source of peace is. Am I feeling worried, anxious, unsettled, afraid? Generally that means I’m placing my faith in myself, in things here on earth, in other people. While I'm not immune to these feelings, if my source of peace is the Lord, I'm able to deny their hold on my heart. I am able to have true hope regardless of the prognosis of my circumstances. I’m able to remind myself that God has a plan and all things are possible. I’m able to cast my cares on Him and take up His yoke and burden because when mine are so heavy with the weights of this world, His are easy and light. If you’re needing that reminder today, if you’re needing to make Him the source of your peace once again, here are some passages that I pray will bring comfort to you. The Bible is full of details and beautiful characteristics about the Lord our God, and one of the main characteristics both the Old and New Testaments focus on is his steadfastness and faithfulness. So many people in the Bible needed this constant reminder when life seemed uncertain, and we do too. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. -Hebrews 13:8 So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. -Hebrews 6:18 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. -James 1:17 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? -Numbers 23:19 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. -Isaiah 40:8 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. -Psalm 102:25-27 If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. -2 Timothy 2:13 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. -Isaiah 40:28 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, -Deuteronomy 7:9 There was a time I prayed for four years for something. Life got even harder as I prayed. The odds stacked up against me and I never thought that what I prayed for would ever come to fruition. I went through periods of intrepid hope, deep despair, and overwhelming desperation. I would cry so hard I’d silently scream. I asked God why. I was angry. I was hurt. But it hurts to be shaped, molded. It hurts to shed the skin of your former self and become who you were destined to be. It hurts to die to self. It hurts to give up control. It hurts our flesh, and it should and it needs to. God taught me more about prayer and a relationship with Him through this season and I’m so grateful. I am just as grateful for the shaping and the waiting period as I am for the answer that did eventually come.
I learned to pray. I studied the Lord’s Prayer hard, and although it hurt my flesh, I prayed every day that God’s will be done, and not my own. I learned to be in constant conversation with the Lord. Every year on my birthday I make a list of lessons I learned and goals I’ve set for the next year. I do this to make sure I’m stewarding this wonderful gift of life well and to check my heart because although I’ve grown in age and wisdom, I still have much to learn and far to go on my journey. I remember one of the things on my list being: “learn to be in constant conversation with the Lord.” I wanted to be aware of His constant nearness, I wanted to be in tune with His heart, and I wanted to learn to listen. I wanted my prayers and my relationship with Him to stop being a monologue and start being a dialogue. In the waiting He was doing something even more valuable and precious than I thought the thing I was praying for was - a strengthened relationship with Him. A crucial way to strengthening your relationship with and faith in the Lord is to listen. You can’t know someone truly until you listen to them. We can’t know the Lord’s heart fully unless we listen to Him through His word. Sometimes we can fall into a dangerous habit of treating God like a genie - we make our requests known, but we don’t seek His heart to find His plan for us. We don’t listen. If my walk with the Lord doesn’t feel like it’s satisfying my soul, I have to step back and ask myself if I’ve allowed it to become a monologue. Am I spending time in His presence? Am I making reading His word a priority? Am I seeking out His will over my wants? Psalm 27:4 says, “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.” Other versions interpret the last line as, “to meditate in His temple” or “to study at His feet”. I cannot stress enough the importance of studying the word of God. I cannot stress enough how much learning His heart and His character and “gazing on the beauty of the Lord” is not just a joy to discover, but also shows us how deeply we are loved and we have no other choice but to fall more deeply in love with Him. When I seek Him first, the desperation for things in this life is replaced with peace and trust in His wisdom and provision and plan for my life. The desires of our hearts are so important to the heart of the Father. Jesus says in Matthew: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11 NIV). But please don’t seek your desires harder and more passionately than you seek Him yourself. David puts it perfectly in Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:7-11 NIV).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary regarding 1 Peter 4:7-11 says, “The destruction of the Jewish church and nation, foretold by our Savior, was very near. And the speedy approach of death and judgment concerns all, to which these words naturally lead our minds. Our approaching end, is a powerful argument to make us sober in all worldly matters, and earnest in religion. There are so many things amiss in all, that unless love covers, excuses, and forgives in others, the mistakes and faults for which every one needs the forbearance of others, Satan will prevail to stir up divisions and discords. But we are not to suppose that charity will cover or make amends for the sins of those who exercise it, so as to induce God to forgive them. The nature of a Christian's work, which is high work and hard work, the goodness of the Master, and the excellence of the reward, all require that our endeavors should be serious and earnest. And in all the duties and services of life, we should aim at the glory of God as our chief end. He is a miserable, unsettled wretch, who cleaves to himself, and forgets God; is only perplexed about his credit, and gain, and base ends, which are often broken, and which, when he attains, both he and they must shortly perish together. But he who has given up himself and his all to God, may say confidently that the Lord is his portion; and nothing but glory through Christ Jesus, is solid and lasting; that abideth forever.” In a very broken and divided world, we have no choice but to accept solemnly the charge Peter gives us in the Scripture above.First and foremost, we are to pray. There is unimaginable power in prayer. Please don’t ever underestimate it. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to, “pray without ceasing.” Jesus prioritized prayer throughout His ministry and the Bible frequently mentions Him getting away by Himself to pray. The instruction that follows in 1 Peter 4 is not even possible without having a healthy and strong daily prayer life. In order to love like He loves, give like He gives, speak like He speaks and serve like He serves, we must be in tune with Him. Once we are in tune with the Lord, we can live out the life we were called to live. One that yields the fruits of the Spirit. One that brings glory to God. Our lives are our mission field. We are called to love deeply, be generous, serve others, and even when we so much as speak, we should be radiating Christ within us. This verse always convicts me. How many times have I complained about doing a service for others? How many times have I chosen arguments and hostility and anger over God’s powerful and amazing love that covers a multitude of sin? How many times have I spoken out in anger and not waited for the Holy Spirit to guide my words? Self-control is a crucial fruit of the Spirit and in our earnest attempt at carrying out instructions such as these, He must increase and I must decrease. I encourage you today to pray especially with this verse in mind. What are ways you can serve others today? What are ways you can love deeply today? What are ways you can steward your spiritual gifts well? Prayer: Father God, please help me to radiate Your Son within me to everyone I encounter. Guide my steps. Please use me today in any way You require and give me strength to serve you better and more completely so that You will be seen and glorified in all that I do. I surrender my life to You, Lord. Amen. Mark 10:13-16 says, “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.”
I had often questioned what it meant to be childlike until one afternoon a few years ago that I had an extremely rough day. I remember crying and praying, “God, I know You can do anything, why is my fear so much louder than my faith?” And then I remembered that I had forgotten again. The God who has delivered me from so, so much will surely do it again. His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). His love does not run out. (Romans 8:37-39 and Psalm 136). Believe me, dear friends, when I tell you that you are not taking a risk by trusting Him. You are taking a risk by not trusting Him. How many times have I chosen fear over faith? What would my life look like if I just trusted? I think it would look more like my children’s. They don’t question whether I’ll have food on the table for them. They don’t ask me whether or not I love them. They don’t question whether or not they have clothes fortunately. They know on a fundamental level, without even thinking about it, that my provision and love is constant as the sun setting in the west. Without fail I will provide for them, take care of them, give them shelter, calm their fears, and love them no matter what. Faith. Our relationship with the Father is just like that, regardless of how we feel, or how much fear we hold onto. He never changes. If you feel like God is far away, or if you feel that your problem is just insurmountable, that is how you feel. Human beings are fickle creatures. We have mood swings and we get scared. God is steadfast. Some days we will be sad, anxious, or upset, and our faith may indeed become small. If that happens, it’s so important to will our souls to remember everything He has done for us, and rest in the fact that if he can do it once he can do it again. How can you have a childlike faith? Is there something in the way of you trusting God totally with your whole heart? If so, make that a focal point of your personal prayer time with the Lord and ask Him to remove all distractions and hindrances keeping you from the freedom that trusting in Him brings. Something I’ve struggled with time and again in life is being bold. Have you? It’s an easy struggle to encounter, especially in a world where lately it seems Christians are viewed in such a poor light by so many. I didn’t realize this was an issue until middle school, because being a pastor’s kid, it seemed like nearly everyone we knew was a Christian. Once I approached my teenage years and had my own group of friends, it seemed I was part of a very small number of people who believed in God and attended church. I remember wanting so badly to make friends and hiding my zeal and love for the Lord a little bit more and a little bit more. I remember vividly when they would find out my father was a pastor they would act differently around me. They tried not to swear, they watched what they said. I should have been encouraging them gently and in love that we should not do those things anyway, but instead I felt embarrassed. I was worried they wouldn’t like me. We sang in children’s church, “This little Light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine...” and I remember that song coming to mind and convicting me so often. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” You know who suffered the most for my choice of an ashamed heart, for my desire for the praise of men? It wasn’t me, although the Holy Spirit did convict me and correct me on this matter. No, it was my friends. I held within my heart the power of salvation. I had the Good News. And I didn’t love them enough to share it with them.
Now, in the age of social media, we are thrust into a world where people prioritize the number of followers we have. Everything we say and show has to be filtered to gain the likes. It is so easy to forget that WE don’t need followers, we are called to be followers of Christ. “Follow me” was what He said to the disciples and I believe that word choice had a generational significance to an all-knowing God. John 12 illustrates for us a group of people who had similar issues, “Yet at the same time, many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.” (John 12:42-43) Jesus spoke on this multiple times as well. John 12:25 says, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Matthew 6:19-21 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Dear friends, let your Light shine! Love your friends and family enough to tell them the Good News. Don’t get discouraged when you are rejected, disagreed with, shut down, or ignored. We always need to be planting seeds. Always. Only occasionally will we also have the privilege of watching them grow. A seed is never planted in vain. In Jesus’ comparison of the vineyard, we were never the vinedresser, it was God the Father. We can produce fruit (which has seeds inside) but we do not make it grow. (John 15:1-27). My favorite verse, one that my daughter has memorized and we talk about it at bedtime/Bible time each night is 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Don’t let the fear of rejection keep you from evangelizing. Don’t let the desire for the praise of men keep you from working toward the praise of God. You can only have one. I challenge you to ask yourself today ways that you can be bold in your faith! Ask yourself ways you can plant seeds this week, and spread the gospel. Ask yourself not how many followers you can get, but how you can better be a follower of Christ. Prayer: Father, we thank You today for the Good News! We thank You for Your great sacrifice. We thank You for your love. Help us be bold. Help us to seek out Your heart and Your will for every situation and help us to never shy away from speaking life into those situations. Guide us as we minister to all those we encounter this week. Help us to be better followers of You, we ask you to lead us in all we do, to guide our steps. In Jesus Holy Name, Amen. |
AuthorKatie Rusch. Archives
January 2021
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