No King BUT Christ no. 20

“I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels; but if I lack love, I have become merely blaring brass or a cymbal clanging. I may have the gift of prophecy, I may fathom all mysteries, know all things, have all faith — enough to move mountains; but if I lack love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians (1 Co) 13:1-2). Yesterday I ran into a situation where I tried to act in love BUT I was still blaring brass and a clanging cymbal. I was being misrepresented in what I wrote. And I tried to first stop him from moving forward with his accusations and allegations. I failed. I then tried to explain what he was doing and then I was the problem. It ended with him being the victim and me feeling stupid. I say all that not to spurn him or call him out but to prove how difficult relationships are even among Christians. He thought he was acting in love and so did I BUT we still ended up as blaring brass and clanging cymbals. We still ended up not talking. Dude even blocked me. And that is an embarrassing situation for any Christian. It makes me feel like I failed to show God’s love.

“'Love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not gloat over other people’s sins but takes its delight in the truth. Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures. Love never ends; but prophecies will pass, tongues will cease, knowledge will pass. For our knowledge is partial, and our prophecy partial; but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass” (1 Corinthians (1 Co) 13:4-10). I don’t know if I failed God or not in that moment BUT I do know that working on His two commandments is a lifelong process because of people. I am a people having relationships with people. And underneath all that peopleness is brokenness. I am broken and you are broken. BUT we all need to learn to love like Jesus. And let me tell you, Jesus wasn’t out to do anything BUT love the hell out of everyone. So, maybe I failed to do that yesterday because I didn’t love the hell out of that dude even though I tried. Folks can be frustrating. Folks can be mean. Folks can be stubborn. Folks can be rude. Folks can be anything they want. BUT I am still to be loving. And that is something I always need help in doing. And thankfully God is there to help.

BUT I didn’t fail God yesterday. “'But for now, three things last — trust, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians (1 Co) 13:13). I still have trust in Him and hope for my brothers and sisters and me. I may still need to work on how I show love. I may still be a broken person among other broken people. BUT as long as He is enthroned, I can’t fail. He has already won. He has already planned it all. And He will always be King. You and I can beat ourselves up over failing Him or we can forgive and move forward. And forgiving ourselves for failing is often most important. God didn’t call me to be perfect. He has the perfect part covered. God called me to be a flawed person working for His Kingdom. And every day that is enough.

Grace and Shalom to your home. The Kingdom of God is now!

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

No King BUT Christ no. 19

“When a human act does not conform to the standard of love, then it is not right, nor good, nor perfect.”

Thomas Aquinas

“‘Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won’t carry sin because of him. Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai” (Vayikra (Lev) 19:17-18).

Contemporary Christians like to act like they are the first to be persecuted for their faith. Paul wrote many of his letters in jail awaiting his death for his beliefs. We live in Babylon or Rome or whatever word you want to use for human government. And despite that we are to follow their rules as long as they do not contradict His commandments. So, love your enemy even if it is the government that is your enemy . . . .

Before I renewed my commitment as a Christian a few years ago, I was extremely anti-government. I was involved in libertarian philosophy and put that wisdom on a throne. Today, I don't use any of those worldly political adjectives to describe my beliefs because ultimately I am a Christian. That means I pledge allegiance to King Jesus and that also means I do as He commands . . .

So, either I am faithful to that allegiance or not. We all get a choice. And Romans 13 lines up with loving God and loving neighbor even when I don't like the politics and society and government and laws . . . . I still have to be faithful to The Christ.

“I may speak in the tongues of men, even angels; but if I lack love, I have become merely blaring brass or a cymbal clanging. I may have the gift of prophecy, I may fathom all mysteries, know all things, have all faith — enough to move mountains; but if I lack love, I am nothing. I may give away everything that I own, I may even hand over my body to be burned; but if I lack love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind, not jealous, not boastful, not proud, rude or selfish, not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not gloat over other people’s sins but takes its delight in the truth. Love always bears up, always trusts, always hopes, always endures. Love never ends; but prophecies will pass, tongues will cease, knowledge will pass. For our knowledge is partial, and our prophecy partial; but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, argued like a child; now that I have become a man, I have finished with childish ways. For now we see obscurely in a mirror, but then it will be face to face. Now I know partly; then I will know fully, just as God has fully known me. But for now, three things last — trust, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love”(1 Corinthians (1 Co) 13:1-13).

Grace and Shalom to your home. The Kingdom of God is now!

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH