People are Not Easy to Love no. 36

“For if we were reconciled with God through his Son’s death when we were enemies, how much more will we be delivered by his life, now that we are reconciled” (Romans (Rom) 5:10)! God loved us even when we did not love Him. He loves us when we are at odds with Him. He loves us when we are fighting against Him. And we are to love each other in the same manner. I am to love those that do not love me. I am to love the folks who have problems with me. I am to love the folks that are fighting against me. Some folks are not easy to love because they cannot love their enemies.

It’s a lot easier to love Jesus than Judas. BUT being a follower of Jesus means loving Judas. It means loving the folks with whom we do not agree. And loving them in a radically different way than folks are used to loving. I always go back to the Sermon on the Mount and the explanation of ‘Thou shall not kill’ as, “But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing!’ will be brought before the Sanhedrin ; that whoever says, ‘Fool!’ incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:22)! And that love should be shown through service to our enemies, “But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you wrong. On the contrary, if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left cheek too! If someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well! And if a soldier forces you to carry his pack for one mile, carry it for two! When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something from you, lend it to him” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:39-42). And Jesus continues with the idea of loving our enemies just like He loved and loves us, “But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Mattityahu (Mat) 5:44-48).

So, stop with the hate, the pride, the anger, the enmity, the bickering, the fighting, and get into His love. There is nothing radical about being like the Goyim. The Goyim are angry and divisive and rude and arrogant and selfish . . . We are to be as Him, “'But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things” (Galatians (Gal) 5:22-23).

Am I showing His Kingdom or being a Goyim?

Grace and Shalom to your home.

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

People are Not Easy to Love no. 35

“If we claim not to have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing” (1 Yochanan (1 Jo) 1:8-9). We all stumble in our walk BUT we always get to choose whether to remain fallen or to get back up. Getting back up is a matter of repenting and moving forward with Him. Getting up is choosing to deny self, take up His cross, and follow obediently. Some people are not easy to love because they fool themselves and others into believing that they don’t fall.

I used to like to think that I had it all figured out. That was probably yesterday or earlier today. I had read the stories of Eve and Peter and Daniel and the like and there was no way I was going to be that foolish. I was never going to make those mistakes. I had this idea that somehow I was going to be above fooling. BUT I’m not. You’re not. We’re not.

There is a pride that lives in most Christians that we are not going to be fooled like those we have read about in scripture. We are not going to be fooled like other folks we know. BUT we are going to be fooled, “ . . . I fear that somehow your minds may be seduced away from simple and pure devotion to the Messiah, just as Havah was deceived by the serpent and his craftiness” (2 Corinthians (2 Co) 11:3). We are going to be deceived.

We are going to fall. And we are going to find ourselves with a choice. We can either admit that we sinned and repent and move forward. Or we can lay in our sin with our shackles. And that is a choice I get to make every day. And I get to make that choice multiple times each day. And it gets burdensome. It wears you down. It beats you down. And it is not something we can handle on our own. And that is why we need God in our walk. And sometimes we forget Him.

Without His strength and grace and mercy and love, I am not going to make it. If this journey was up to my strength alone I could live a life that was filled with struggles I could not overcome. I know because I have lived that life in vain. I lived a rather decent life without Him. BUT I live a meaningful and purposeful life now with Him.

Now, I have someone that can give me all the tools I need to be victorious. I can go to Him in prayer for the strength, the love, the grace, and the mercy I need to make it through the minute, the hour, the day, the week, and the life devoted to Him. I just need to trust Him enough to ask. I may be better at being deceived than some folks BUT I am not above being deceived. Years of studying influence are looking for the traps and snares are helpful BUT they are not immunity. I need Him to rescue me when I do stumble into the foolishness that I so often find. “Therefore, openly acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (Ya'akov (Jas) 5:16).

Grace and Shalom to your home.

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH