People Are Not Easy to Love (no. 6)

“According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, [Or wise master builder] and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience [Or suffer] loss, but he himself will be saved  — but only as through fire.

Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are” (1 Corinthians 3:10-17 CSB).

God has built me from before I was born. He has created me in His image to be His temple. That temple is built on a foundation of His Son that came down to live a blameless life as an example. His Son laid down that life as a foundation for how I should live. Some people are not easy to love because their temple is lacking.

I have to start with the only solid foundation. There must be a foundation that is established in what Jesus has revealed about the Father. As He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7 CSB). I know Him from studying Him. And that takes time reading about Him, talking with Him, and being around His people. All of those things are important.

If I want a good foundation for His temple, then I need to build it upon understanding Him. There are a lot of temple projects I am going to encounter that are not my taste. Some might have design features that are not appealing to me and that is alright. God didn’t provide everyone with the same blueprints for the building of the temple, outside of the foundation. So a lot of temples are going to look different, strange, interesting, and peculiar while others look awesome, staggering, and inspirational. God doesn’t require every temple to look the same. He does require that it be built upon His foundation.

That is the beauty of the diversity of His people. And that is the beauty that sometimes hampers me in my walk with Him. I’m looking at the building when I should be concerned with the foundation. The building above is going to stand the test of time as long as it is built securely on His foundation. And surely time and situations will prove the foundation for us all. This reminds me, what doesn’t remind me of it, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus ends succinctly with a parable all about foundations.

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash” (Matthew 7:24-27 CSB).

When life hits me with all sorts of situations, can I weather the storms? Is my foundation built upon acting on His words? Is my foundation based on the wisdom of the Lord?

How is my foundation?

Grace and Shalom to your home.

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 204

“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins” (2 Peter 1:3-9 CSB).

I don’t know about you, brothers and sisters, BUT I am not going to be an angry, judgmental, condemning Christian. I just do not have a place for that within me and, most importantly, the Ruach HaKodesh does not have a place for that within me.

I didn’t look to become a Christian when I started this journey over three years ago. Honestly, I had given up on churches and church people because there were too many angry, judgmental, and condemning hypocrites within its walls and professing belief in Him. I was tired and annoyed of those people when I was going to church. I was tired and annoyed of those people when I was attending church and being an angry, judgmental, and condemning sinner. I was tired and annoyed with them when I wasn’t attending church and being an angry, judgmental, and condemning sinner. And now that I am back as part of His Church, I still have little patience for those that are angry, judgmental, and condemning. And maybe there is still some anger, judgment, and condemnation left inside of me. He is working on that.

God gives a “very great and precious” gift in His promise to us that, “. . . while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Romans 5:8-10 CSB). And because of that gifts, I get to experience all the, “ . . . goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” It so echoes of the gifts of the Spirit, “. . . is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things” (Galatians 5:22-23).

I need all those gifts to share Him with the world as an Ambassador of His Kingdom. “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I need those things to bear fruit. Just like Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount, “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit” (Matthew 7:15-20 CSB).

It’s amazing how I don’t start out in the Sermon on the Mount BUT I always seem to end right back there. I spend a lot of time circling right back there. “The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.” What fruit are you producing?

Grace and Shalom to your home.

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH