Embrace the Within no. 151

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it.”

Matthew 7:13-14 AMP

There is a Way and there is our way. Our way looks good to us as it says in Proverbs, “There is a way that seems upright to a man, but its end is the way of death” (14:12). The Bible starts off with humans choosing a way that looks right and good and being totally wrong, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise, then she took from its fruit and she ate. And she gave it also to her husband with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).

I have a problem with seeing what is right and good when I make judgments based on my own limited experience and knowledge. I can look at examples from my own life and from those around me to readily show that our judgment, my judgment, is not in my best interest. My judgment and discernment leads me out of alignment with the Lord and into alignment with what I want for my life. And that path has a lot of room to move. That path has a lot of places for me to make choices out of my broken heart to try and fix my situation to make my life better. And hundreds, thousands, millions, billions, and trillions or more of those choices have led us to the wide road of today. A world full of folks making choices with their own definitions of right and just without the aid of the Lord.

And that is where you and I go astray. Without the Spirit to guide me in making decisions, I will often choose, if not always, make the wrong choices out of selfishness. BUT the Spirit is there to guide me. Prayer is there to guide me. The Word is there to guide me. Not my knowledge BUT His knowledge. Not my way BUT His Way.

So, I can keep making my choices based on what I think is right and just and keep getting more of the same I see around in this broken world. I can keep trying to carve out a human utopia that is based on more law and more cages and more violence. I can keep thinking that one more law is going to fix the problems around my community. I can keep thinking that everything is a rules-based issue.

Or I can see that everything is a sin-based problem. I don’t have a problem with following the rules. I have a problem with my heart. And that heart problem is nothing new. It is a problem that runs the course from Genesis through the Apocalypse. Reading The Bible leaves me little other option to see. Knowing the Law did not change the hearts of the Pharisees anymore than knowing the current law prevents anyone else from committing a crime. What we have is a heart problem, what we have is a sin problem, and the only thing that can fix that is Christ.

And the place that needs to change first is with me. My heart needs to change before anything else can change. My path needs to change before anything else can change. It makes no difference what law I follow if my heart is untouched by the love of and for God.

I pray today that my heart be changed. I pray that I find the heart of Christ through following His command and His example. I pray that my walk embodies His words and actions. I pray that my love for Him and through Him will show to those around me. I pray that His example through me is a light for the path to the Way of the Lord.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 150

“So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.

Matthew 7:12 AMP

The Golden Rule is what we teach to children very often even if we are not Christian folks. I always tell my students that we don’t hurt others and we don’t take their things because the Golden Rule is a little less concrete and requires a lot more empathy for those around us if we don’t have the heart of Christ. And I can’t assume that those around me are trained in loving God and their neighbor. So, I give some concrete applications to what the Golden Rule entails. We don’t hurt people or take their things. And it always sounds so simple, so basic, so easy that I constantly get reminded how difficult these simple rules Christ has given us are to implement at all times.

And a lot of the problems with treating others with love is that there are many folks out there that do not love themselves. Some folks want to be treated poorly to justify their choices in life. It’s the self-fulfilling prophecy idea of having a life where folks don’t love you because you treat others poorly. So, sometimes, folks make it extremely difficult to love them. BUT I love them anyway.

I can be threatened. I can be verbally abused. I can be ridiculed. I can be treated all sorts of horrible ways by heathens. BUT I still need to obey the Lord and still treat them with love. If I let my self get in the way, if I let my self feel hurt by their words and actions, then I am letting my self worth trump my worth of God. I don’t matter. I have to get out of my own way and just love in spite and despite how I get treated by others. I can only control my choices in these situations. And I need to only look to the Lord when these situations get too big and too difficult. I need the Spirit within me to take control.

Why don’t I treat others with love? What is it I don’t like about people? Why do I want to avoid people? Why do I find loving my neighbor so difficult? Why do I allow other people to control my decisions? Why do I get in the way of following the Way of the Lord? Why do I constantly fail to live up to His simple rules for me to follow in obedience? Why am I having such a difficult time?

I pray that my heart be the heart of Christ. I pray that my heart is no longer hardened BUT circumcised to show the love of Christ to all. I pray that I live selflessly when giving love to my neighbor. I pray that I let the Spirit take control when I get tempted to get in the way of loving like Christ. I pray that He shines through me as a light into the world with my words and actions today.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH