Love thy… stranger?

I have one of those jobs where I deal with people all day, every day. My job is to help people that need help. I knew that was the job when I applied, interviewed and accepted it. Often times I find myself judging these people that trust me to help them and solve their "problem". I don't not help them or lie to them or do anything that would harm them in anyway. But in my mind… whew, they are getting a verbal beat-down. I think I've always been this way as long as I can remember and it's a really hard habit (is this a habit?) to break.

In the book of Luke (Chapter 6, verse 37) Jesus tells us what we should do:

³⁷ "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

And to take it even a step further, just before this, in verse 27, Jesus tells us to actually LOVE our enemies and do good to those that hate us! So not only aren't I supposed to judge other people, but, even if they hate me (who knows, maybe I cut them off in traffic) I am supposed to love them and do good to them.

²⁷ "But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you"…

But I don't love them. Do I? Loving someone means being nice and going out of your way to help them and doing everything they ask you to do. Right? Let's see.

LOVE: [luhv] noun,verb, loved, lov-ing:
    1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

OK, so it's open to interpretation, but I certainly can't have "profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person" whom is a stranger! Or can I? Jesus did. He carried His cross for me. He died for me, so that I may know eternal life in Heaven. I don't know about you, but that certainly sounds like "love" to me.

I have to strive to love my neighbor and not judge. It's not easy, but it is the only way to live my life the best way I can to follow in His footsteps. I have a long way to go and it's not like turning on or off a switch, old habits die hard. But I can do it, and so can you.

Final words for tonight:

¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ If we say we love God yet hate a brother or sister, we are liars. For if we do not love a fellow believer, whom we have seen, we cannot love God, whom we have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love one another. – 1 John 4:19 – 21

Amen.
Shawn

Hearts and Mouths?

The Lord says:
       "These people come near to me with their mouth
       and honor me with their lips,
       but their hearts are far from me.
       Their worship of me
       is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
                     - Isaiah 29:13

Are you guilty of going to Christ with your mouth, but knowing in your heart that you don't mean it? I am. Several times I've just tried to fit in or don't want to stand out. So I bow my head, close my eyes and go through the motions. Often times the thoughts are racing though my head so fast I can't tell what's going on and then lose my train of thought, wondering what the heck is going on and what I was doing before I realized I didn't know what I was doing. It's a vicious circle and doesn't seem to make much sense once written down. Oh well.

The point I am getting to is that, you're not alone in just "going through the motions". I think we all do it, especially in the beginning of our spiritual lives. Admit it or not, He knows what's in your heart. It's not like you can hide it. Admitting your my faults makes you me feel embarrassed. I don't like it. It scares the crud out of me. "What if I'm found out?" I already have been, by the One who matters. It still feels weird being in large crowds who all know I love Jesus though. Men aren't supposed to show emotion, at least that's what I was taught. Well you know what? Real men love Jesus.

Final words this evening:

Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth."
             - Hosea 6:3

Amen.
Shawn

He lives for you.

Isn't it wonderful?!

John 3:16, one of the, if not THE, most memorable verse in the bible tells us:
"For God so loved the world the he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Even though we aren't worthy of His forgiveness, God had his plan in place and forgave us with the blood of His Son.

In Acts 4:1-12 (TNIV), we find out Jesus is "the cornerstone" of salvation! Read on:

 ¹ The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. ² They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. ³ They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

    ⁵ The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest's family. ⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this?"

    ⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ Jesus is
       "'the stone you builders rejected,
       which has become the cornerstone.'

¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved."

AMEN! What an image! Jesus has risen and is the cornerstone of my salvation and yours. Isn't it exciting to know that He loves you that much? Isn't it exciting to know that you're not alone? For a long time, and still to this day, I often feel alone. I have a wonderfully supportive wife. Without her in my life today, I would not be here.

This blog is my journal, my spiritual journal. It is here to help me and if it helps some of you, even one of you, then I will consider myself blessed. How does it help me? I don't know yet. I felt compelled to do it and here it is. I hope this will show me that I need to make more time to read the Word and study and absorb everything I can and to trust in Him. Thank-you for showing my wife the way and giving her the strength to drag me with, kicking and screaming, like it or not.

 

Final word for tonight:

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. –Psalm 119:105

 

Amen.
Shawn