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

Embrace the Within no. 149

“Ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will [instead] give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will [instead] give him a snake? If you then, evil (sinful by nature) as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give what is good and advantageous to those who keep on asking Him. [Here the use of Greek present imperatives (asking, seeking, knocking; vv 7, 8) emphasizes persistent, constant prayer.]

Matthew 7:7-11 AMP

Persistence is the key to getting what we need. I need to be committed to asking, committed to getting doors opened, and committed to seeking what I need. And that persistence is being in constant communication with the Father. Persistent, constant prayer is the foundation of my Walk with the Lord.

Three years ago I started asking, seeking, and knocking to find a better way that was not filled with fear. I had spent years thinking everything was going to be okay with faith in the world’s systems. If I just made enough money, then I was going to be safe. If I just followed the rules, then I was going to be safe. BUT there is no safety from fear in the world. When the plague hit and things were closed and supply chains dissolved and fear began to grow, no amount of money, no amount of rules, no amount of faith in worldly systems was going to protect me. Only the Way of the Lord was there to provide the Way through those times.

So I started looking to Him for answers and they continued slowly. He helped me build not only faith in Him BUT also faith in myself to follow Him persistently. And I think that was what I was lacking even more than faith in Him. I wasn’t trying to get myself right until then. I was trying to make everything else right, everyone else right . . . I was trying to remake the world in my image when I should have been remaking myself into a better image of Him. And that is what I have dedicated the work of these past three years to doing.

Am I doing that He wants? Am I asking Him what He wants? Am I persistently seeking what He has for me to accomplish? Am I working on my relationship with Him? Am I working on my relationship with others? Am I looking to be a better Ambassador of His Kingdom daily?

I pray that every day I walk with persistence. I pray that through my persistence He will open the doors and He will speak through me. I pray that my actions and my thoughts are always working to better align with the Way He wants. I pray that every day I am keeping that persistence in moving toward being a better image of Christ on this side of eternity.

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH