God is Love. Jesus is Our Example.

This morning as I began my quiet time with the Lord, I had to do some warfare first thing. The enemy came and began reminding me of what someone called me while I was at an internship in California a few years ago.  You see, I didn’t “pray” the same way these folks did, and they didn’t like that very much.  Unless under extreme attack from the enemy, I usually sit quietly worshipping the Lord and I write in a notebook what I say to the Lord and what I believe He is saying to me.  I actually don’t think there’s anything wrong with this.  It’s who I am.   Also, a question that had been asked was; “Has anyone ever done something to you where you simply forgave them without confronting them?”  Immediately, a situation came into my mind and I spoke out loud saying, “Yes, I had a situation where I was led of the Holy Spirit to forgive without confronting.” Well, immediately the pastor in charge apparently didn’t agree and showed it by  her facial expression.  Another intern asked the pastor if she disagreed with what I had said.  The pastor then, in a very passive-passive-aggressive way, said that she didn’t agree and that we should not be “religious doormats.”  I explained myself further to explain that I had followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and then shared an example where I did confront when led to do so and when needed. At that time, this pastor verbally abused me more and then allowed the other ten interns to verbally abuse me while I sat there and took what they had to say. I remember just looking to the ceiling quietly, while praying in my head, “Forgive them, they know not what they’re doing.”

Sometimes when I sit down to worship and pray, the enemy will attack in this way.  I have to run him off.

The next thing that happened this morning was that I turned to Proverbs 31 for my daily Proverb.  Immediately, the enemy came attacking me about another time where this scripture was used to “beat me up” spiritually about 3 years ago.  You see, at the time, I had been married to a man who was abusive to me, not physically, but mentally, emotionally, verbally, and financially.  At the time we had been married for 26 years. (Shortly after this, he divorced me.) It was growing more and more difficult by the day to tolerate what he dished out without arguing.  Over the years, I had learned to choose my battles well.  In this particular situation, my then husband had caused a lot of trouble for me at the church we had only recently began attending during a conversation with the worship pastor.  Later, I had a chat with the worship pastor and another pastor at the church to let them know of my situation because I did not appreciate the way my then husband set me up for a troubled time there.  I mean, no one wants to get started off on the wrong foot in anything that they do … am I right?  So, I met with them and we chatted a while.  The head pastor suggested that I fast for my husband.  Early on in the conversation, I had agreed … wanting to be agreeable.  But, the longer we went on in the conversation, I knew that I could not and would not fast for him.  It just wasn’t in me to do that for him.  There was so much going on I just couldn’t do it. (I was hurting and needed support, not criticism!) As we were wrapping up the chat, he asked me again if I was going to fast for him.  I said, “I’m sorry, I just cannot do it. I’m just being honest with you.  I just cannot do it.”  Immediately, the expression on his face changed towards me as if I were the devil, himself and he reached for his Bible.  He then proceeded to read Proverbs 31, the portion about the virtuous woman, out loud to me.  Immediately, I knew exactly what he was doing. Previous to this situation, I had sat through a teaching on this same scripture and had felt very confident and encouraged by the Lord that I had been doing my best to be what the Bible describes as a virtuous woman.  As he read, I prayed for God to be with me.  The pastor finished the Proverb and proceeded to ask me; “Are you this woman?”  In confidence, I answered, “Yes.”  He looked and me and said, “I think you better go home and read this Proverb over and over for the next 21 days and insert your name in here.”  After that, I was cut out of the worship team and pretty much treated like a piece of trash at the church.  Needless to say, it didn’t take very long for me to leave.  I’m was not and still am not a worthless piece of trash for some pastor to verbally abuse and treat poorly.  I know my worth in Christ!

Now, I don’t share these things to make you feel sorry for me.  I say them because I want to share these terrible experiences so that we can learn from them.  None … none … of these situations are acceptable behavior at all!  I find them to be totally ridiculous!  God does not want us to treat fellow followers of Christ this way … no way!  The church exists so that we can help each other through difficult times.  The church should be a safe place … a “hospital for the hurting.”  Why these things happened, I have no idea.  I just know that God allowed them to happen to me.  And, I’m quite certain that I’m not the only person within the Body of Christ who has been treated in this way.  I actually have many other examples that I could share that fall within this category, but these are the ones that came into my mind today.

These behaviors that I have shared with you are simply religious attitudes.  Jesus would have called these people “white washed tombs.” These folks are clearly examples of the Pharisees of Jesus’ time.  This is unacceptable.  This is not an example of love at all.  These are examples of “religious people” pushing people around … namely me in these examples.  The only reasoning I have for why people do this is that they lack love and simple human kindness.  I don’t  believe for a minute that Jesus would have treated me this way had I been speaking to Him face to face in these situations.

I have to tell you that when these things happened I was somewhat hurt.  It was difficult for me to believe that there was a purpose to all of this.  But, I chose to overcome and believe that God had a purpose.  Of course, it’s much easier for me to talk about this now than it was then.  You see, God has been showing me what not to do when I’m in a position like these folks for more years than I’d like admit.  It’s been a long road.  Let me be very clear, God doesn’t like this behavior, but He will allow it when He knows that it can be used to build strength and bring wisdom to those involved.  I surely hope that I have learned all that He wanted me to learn through these situations.  Forgiving them is key … they, apparently, know not what they’re doing.  I was able to overcome and move on with the Lord.  But, I have been committed to be all that God wants me to be, even when the road becomes more than a bit challenging.  Yes, sometimes … many times … I have said that I’m “done.”  LOL … but, never really.  I think sometimes it just helps to get the bad thoughts and feelings out to enable me to move on to what God has next for me.

Now, what if this had happened to a young or baby Christian?  (Oh, I feel my blood pressure rising even as I type this.)  At the same time this happened, and at a nearby “safe” church here in Arkansas where this took place, I was walking with a baby Christian.  She, was treated very poorly by some of the people over the fact that the person in charge didn’t like that she had hot pink hair and a lot of tattoos.  When she shared with me that this had happened, I prayed for her and talked to her about what was said.  I explained to her that this was not God and it’s not how Jesus would treat her.  I explained to her that these were imperfect people like myself and her, and that we should forgive them and move on.  She was so damaged by the treatment of these people that she walked away from God and eventually walked away from our friendship.  This broke my heart.

You see, these acts that are not love, hurt people … some more deeply than others.  Young Christians, in particular, do not always understand that people, even though Christians, will sometimes hurt others.  Although God’s light shines through us, we are not God.  We are still fallible human beings.

Church … we need to get back to caring for people other than the ones we see at church every week.  If we’re not kind and loving to those in our world … whether they know Jesus as their Savior or not … we’re doing it wrong.  I’ll say it again!  If we’re not kind and loving to those in our world … whether they know Jesus as their Savior or not … we’re doing it wrong.

If you’re reading this and you’re someone who has been hurt by the church, whether leadership or a church member, I encourage you to talk to God about it.  Forgive the people and allow God to heal your heart.  Hindering your walk over people is not worth it.  Forgive them and find a good Bible believing church, get involved and remember what you have learned.

On the other hand, if you’re reading this and you feel some guilt because you could possibly be one of the people in this blog who did the hurting, I encourage you to repent and find your first love, Jesus, again.  “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.  1 John 4:16

God is love.  Jesus is our example.  Let’s arise to the occasion and love others better … like God loves us. 

How Would You React?

Yesterday, I pulled into my local grocery store to pick up a few items.  I drove to the general area where I almost always park, pulled up behind a truck and waited for it to move so I could pull into a parking space.  Suddenly, the truck quickly and loudly pulled away as if the driver was mad at the world … speeding through the parking lot. Instantly, I had a sick feeling … a feeling that I should not leave my car, but I didn’t know why.  I stayed in my car and only moments later, the man who had been in the truck was on foot headed for my car.  He saw that I was still in my car, began yelling something at me and then turned around and walked back to his truck. I realized that he was angry at me for some reason … for pulling up behind him in a parking lot??  This was all very strange.  I took out my phone, got the camera ready, snapped a few shots of him and his truck for my own records, and headed inside the store.  All the while he was yelling something at me.  I couldn’t understand what he was saying and didn’t stick around to find out. I said nothing and walked into the store. I don’t mind telling you that I was more than just a little bit fearful.  He was so loud, people in the parking lot stopped and looked at him to see what was happening.  There  was a woman there who was pleading with him saying, “No, don’t do this … don’t do this!”  I went into the store as quickly as I could and found the store manager.  I explained what happened, which was actually nothing, but me driving through the parking lot to find a parking space. No altercations, no frustration, no horn honking … nothing.  This is indeed one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen take place. The manager headed outside and I went with him.  About that time, the man pulled up in his truck yelling absurd accusations about me to the manager.  I just stood there and didn’t say a word.  When we walked away, I told the manager to watch the video. This was nothing but “much ado about nothing.”

Once inside, a lady approached me to make sure that I was ok.  Yes, I was ok. But, yes, this had really happened! It wasn’t a bad, weird dream! I told her that God takes care of me at that I’m ok.

As I was walking through the store contemplating what had just happened I thought to myself, “The war we fight is not with flesh and blood.” (Ephesians 6:12) This was nothing but an attack … a VERY public attack of the enemy. I began praying for the man, his children’s and his wife’s salvation. (His children were in the truck with him) Through my own experiences in life, I understand that his display is only a minute sampling of what takes place in the home. The woman pleading with him to behave himself is proof of that.

After church today, I went to pick up a friend of mine from her church because there were a group of us going out for lunch. She had told me where I could pick her up, but was unsure of the exact time. So, I drove there and pulled up behind an SUV to wait for her. While I waited, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that my pulling up here and waiting behind the vehicle in front of me was no different than what I had done yesterday.  I pulled up behind a vehicle and waited patiently … that’s all. The difference in the two was the hearts of the drivers.

I have no idea what is going on in the life of the driver of that truck yesterday, but there’s one thing I do know :: He needs Jesus!

Jesus tells us in Luke 6:27- 28 to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  Later in verses 32-36, Jesus says to us, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And, if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And, if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be repaid in full.  Jesus then said, “Love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”

You see it would have been easy to be kind to the man in the SUV in front of me at church. He didn’t speed off, acting crazy, and yelling at me … for no apparent reason. The real challenge was being kind to the man at the grocery store who did those things and began yelling at me and embarrassing me in the busy parking lot full of onlookers at a grocery store. I chose to speak no words to him. I chose to pray for him and his family. I don’t say these things to pat myself on the back, because I’ll assure you that I have not always chosen the proper way to respond to people like this. I used to respond the way I as taught to respond … and that wasn’t always good! (Trust me … just sayin’!) It takes time alone with God to understand how to be led by Holy Spirit, who teaches us as we allow Him to do so. And, I still don’t always get it right. I’m human, just like you. Maybe you’re someone who was taught a different way or the proper way to handle an issue like this from the time you were young and this isn’t a struggle for you. Hey, that’s great! But, I assure you, there is probably a different topic of struggle in your life. We all have struggles. We all have baggage … just like the man who sparked the idea for this blog. This side of Heaven, we, as followers of Christ, will always have something to work on about ourselves.

The point of my telling you this story is to urge you, as a follower of Christ, to love your enemies. It may mean to bite your tongue and simply pray for a person or persons. Let the love of God flow through your life to others. In order for us to do that, we, ourselves, need to be filled to overflowing with the Spirit of God. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13  May my lips overflow with praise, for you have taught me your decrees. Psalm 119:171  God’s ways are not like our ways. His ways are higher than our ways. Just as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are God’s thoughts and ways higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

I was about to cut this blog off here, but I feel the leading of the Spirit to add more onto it. It has been my experience that many within the Body of Christ believe that in a situation similar to this one, it would be their place to preach to the man, tell him “how it is” … or what some would even say, “beat the man over the head with the Bible.” NO … NO … just don’t do it!! Do you know that can do more harm than good? Ensure your servants wellbeing; do not let the arrogant oppress me. Psalm 119:122 I have to tell you that I believe that this scripture is a believer (there is no credit for an author of this Psalm) asking God to protect him from arrogant non-believers (Or maybe eve arrogant believers???). But, I also believe that I have seen arrogance within the body of Christ. And, many times, I have seen this arrogance hurt believers and non-believers, alike.  JUST DON’T DO IT! I cannot stress this enough. This is not love. This is not God. Arrogance is not of God! I have experienced this from believers and I can tell you, first hand, that it is not helpful.

Check your heart.

Think before you speak.

Are you speaking words because you truly want to help (love) or because you want to share your “expertise” or whatever?

Pray, church. Pray! God is the only One who is capable of getting ahold of a lost, hardened heart. Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

Church, let’s rise up by hitting our knees! It’s the way to win the lost to the Lord. Invite people to church. Be loving, be kind. Jesus went about doing good. (Acts 10:38) Follow in His footsteps, we can’t go wrong by doing this!

    

Listen Well

I sat in Starbucks today ... I thought I was going to do some writing. But, after a few minutes, a young woman sat down next to me. She was dressed in gym clothes so I asked her where she works out. She began talking and 90 or so minutes later, I felt like I now know most of her life's story.

I didn't do a lot of talking in this conversation ... and I'm ok with that.  Because of the outcome, which includes her making a note of where I go to church so that she and her family might visit, I'm reminded of the importance of simply listening.

For several years now, I've expressed, many times, about the importance of listening to others and not just slinging out our opinions. This isn't new thinking for me.  And, now that I'm in the midst of another challenging time in my life, I'm even more aware of how much listening and not speaking is needed.

Although I'm sure people don't intend to hurt with their words, I believe they're very much unaware of just how much they do just that by speaking when they really just need to listen.

It's important to remember that no matter how long we've been a Christian, we're no better than the person standing next to us. Maybe you've been a Christian for a long time and you have all the 'Christianese' down.  Maybe you think you have answers for everyone because of your vast number of years as a Christian. Well, I encourage us all to remember that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.  And, age doesn't always mean that wisdom is present in the words that we speak.  We need to think before we speak.

Being a good listener takes patience.  I'll also throw out this reminder that I've heard Joyce Meyer say many, many times: 'You're not Holy Ghost, Jr.'  Haha ... that still makes me laugh, even though there is an abundance of truth to that statement.

Look, we're all flawed people. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:23 Of course we’re here to help others.  But, I also believe that we need to be good listeners.  If we’re always concerned about what our response is going to be, we are not truly listening to what the other person is saying.

In this instance, I believe this young woman needed to tell her story to someone.  As I listened, I found out that she is a mother to six children in a blended family, the youngest being less than a year old.  Her husband is in Afghanistan and she is here handling this rather large family nearly on her own.  She needed to get a few things off of her chest.  And, towards the end of the nearly two hour chat we had, she actually asked me my opinion on a couple of things.  Now, had I injected my opinions on her while she was “venting”…telling her story, I’m not so sure that she would have even wanted my opinion, let alone asked for it.

A couple of days after this, I found myself at a church service on a Saturday night where I had attended several years ago.  I don’t attend church there now, but felt drawn there by the Holy Spirit.  As I walked in, I had decided to sit completely in the back simply because I truly wanted to be by myself in the Lord’s presence.  I said, “Lord, please don’t let me see anyone that I know…but, not my will, but, Yours.”  I sat down on the very last row of a section.  This sanctuary holds between 1800-2000 people and was filling up.  There had been a young couple with a baby sitting a few chairs down from me.  During the beginning of the worship, they left.  A few moments later a man walked in and sat down in their place.  I looked over and I knew exactly who this person was.  He is someone that I have met at the Starbucks where I go to write my book.  He and his wife have been praying for me since I left to go to California.  This was not a coincidence.  I got his attention and waved.  He smiled.

After the church service was over, he asked if I was back from California for good.  I explained my situation to him.  In this instance, he was the one doing the listening and I was the one doing most of the talking…even though it was only for a few minutes.  He said that he and his wife had been praying for me and that I had come across his thoughts many times over the past few months.  Now he understood why.

You see, I feel “safe” being transparent with this person.  And, that’s the type of person I want to be with others.  I believe this is the mark of a mature Christian.  It’s not our job to go around “fixing” others.  It’s our job to love others, which may include words of wisdom.  But, I believe that more often than not, we need to simply listen to others without an agenda of any type.

For myself, I process when I share situations with others.  And, through that processing, I usually find the answers that I need for myself without the unwanted or unneeded input and/or interruption from others.  Now, let me just say that I certainly am open to hear what others have to say.  I’m not closed off to healthy dialogue.  What I am saying is that many have an agenda to “fix” others and that’s what is a definite turnoff.

Learn to listen to what others are saying.  Like I said before, it takes patience.  But, I believe it will pay of for our relationships in the long run.

Think before you speak because it’s not all about you.  Being a good listener to someone who is speaking is serving them well.  We are all called to be servants to others.  Let’s serve well.

The Fields Are Ripe for Harvest!

I’m practically laughing at myself because I didn’t realize that it was Valentine’s Day today when I woke up.  My initial plans were to simply read my Bible, (get caught up on my daily reading, as I’m a few days behind!) head to the gym and begin the process of packing my things to return to Arkansas.  But then, the idea of going up to the Big Trees State Park here in California ran across my mind.  I looked at the clock and decided to make a go of it.

 

I enjoy the drive to Calaveras County as it is a beautiful drive in many ways.  Much of the drive is through farm land which consists mainly of orchards, quite unlike the farmland I’m used to in the Midwest.  And, it looks as if I’m just shy of missing the full on beautiful blooms on the thousands upon thousands of trees that I passed today.  Passing through the farmland then gives way to hills, big beautiful hills that then grow into mountains.  I just LOVE the mountains.  As the numbers for elevation grow larger, the numbers for the temperature drop.  This is one of my fave places as this is the third time I’ve visited there in the nearly 6 months I’ve been here. The air is crisp and has the wonderful aroma of cedar.  Trust me; my words don’t come close to describing the actual experience!

Anyway, I was able to trot through a small portion of the park.  Silly me, I forgot about just how much snow had been on the mountain and it IS still winter!  It was very muddy and there was a lot of running water due to the melting snow.  I didn’t stay long.  Just being there one last time before I head home was sufficient for me.  It’s not just about the destination, but the journey.  And, God’s beauty is amazing … that is all!!

 

As I passed through one of the small towns on the way to the park, it crossed my mind to stop and eat at one of the local pizza places that I’ve eaten at both times I’ve been there previously.  Then I remembered a man who worked there.  I remembered him because he was sincerely friendly and the presence of the Lord was very strong on me when I had spoken to him.  As I came back down the mountain, I tried to talk myself into just heading home to save both time and money.  But then I realized that it was the Lord who wanted me to stop.  In my head, asked the Lord what the man’s name was.  I heard “Pete.”

 

So, I stopped at the restaurant.  I looked around for the man as I ordered my pizza.  Sure enough, there he was.  He came right up and greeted me.  I told him I was glad that I saw him on my last trip to the Big Trees because I was headed back to Arkansas next week.  And, guess what his name is?  That’s right, it’s Pete!!  Thank You, Holy Spirit!!

 

You see, the stop at the pizza place really wasn’t about me at all.  It was the Holy Spirit planting yet another seed to a lost soul.  In the flesh, I didn’t want to take the time, and, although I love pizza, I’m watching my girlish figure and thought that perhaps I should skip it.  This wasn’t about such superficial things and yet, even though the five minute chat with this man may have seemed superficial, the Lord was at work.  You see, I have prayed for Pete every time I’ve been to eat there.  They are very simple, but effective prayers.  And, I believe that one day I will see Pete in Heaven.  Today was Valentine’s Day and God wanted Pete to know that He is loved.  Now, I didn’t have to say those words.  That’s not how the Lord led.  I only had to be the vessel and allow Holy Spirit to work through me.  It really is just that simple.  1 Corinthians 3:6-7  He does the work.  We just need to be willing to follow Him, and His ways are not always like ours.  Isaiah 55:8

 

I just love when this happens.  Holy Spirit is amazing!  You see some people may never have darkened the door of a church and the only Jesus they ever see is through us, the followers of Christ that make up The Church.  That’s why it’s so very important that we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in spite of what we think in the “natural.” I almost chose to miss it today.

 

It’s God’s will that none should perish.  2 Peter 3:9   And, do you remember that the Good Shepherd will leave the 99 to look for the 1 lost sheep? Matthew 18:12 , Luke 15:4  We need to remember that we are not our own; we were bought at a price.  1 Corinthians 6:19-20 You see, it would have been easy for me to simply hit the road for home in the name of saving time and money.  But I knew that this was more than a stop for food.

 

If you’re a follower of Christ, I urge you to stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit for these opportunities.  I have to tell you, nothing else will make your day quite like being in the will of God like this.  And, if you’ve never experienced a moment like this, ask God to lead you in this way … because He will.  Trust Him.  He’ll give you the words you need to say.  Luke 12:12  Trust me, I pray Luke 12:12 over situations all the time!!

 

Remember that the fields are ripe for harvest.  John 4:35, Luke 10:2  Something else I’d like to throw out here is that we have to look at others through the eyes of God.  Yes, the fields are ripe for harvest, but remember, we don’t get to choose what the “harvest” looks or acts like.  We’re sent to do the work!  The “harvest” may be pierced, tattooed and with colored hair … or perhaps Muslim, or Buddhist, etc.  They are no less loved by God than you and I are.  He loves us all.  We all have the invitation to be in relationship with Him.

 

We, as followers of Christ, need to love more … and not just use the word love.  Love isn’t just a word.  Love is a Person.  That Person is Jesus.  Jesus is God.  He who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  1 John 4:8   If you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior, you have Love living inside of you.  Don’t block Love from flowing through you.  All too often I’ve experienced people using the word love when in reality the presence of love in their actions was no where to be found.  I get it.  We’re all human and we all have those moments.  But, let’s not make it a lifestyle.  Where does love begin and end in your world?  We need to make the conscience choice to let Love, God, flow through us.  We need to stretch ourselves to love more on a continual basis.  Don’t just reach a certain point and stop.

 

As followers of Christ, let’s purposefully be known for our love of others.  I challenge you to do that!  I believe it will make a difference in our world.

 

The fields are ripe for harvest... 

Choose Love!!

As many of you know, one of my mission fields is at Starbucks coffee shop.  Over the past few years, I have become friends with a number of people of many different races, socio-economic statuses, etc.  There is a gentleman who has consistently been joining our group for the past two and a half years.  He traveled the world in his younger days, is quite a character and, for the most part, has been pleasant, until recently.  You see, the way I see this gentleman is where he is or isn’t in the Kingdom of God.  I know that God has brought him here because He has his mark on him…a mark for salvation.  According to the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit, this person, we’ll call him “Merle”, is either a back-slidden Christian or he has never known Christ as his Savior.

 

As the group of women, with the exception of Merle, has progressed to hearing, understanding and accepting the gospel, Merle has become increasingly diligent in opposing me, personally…and he’s extremely verbal about it.  This is very much a spiritual battle.  Now, I choose love, as challenging as it may be in the real time of the situation.  I’m not going to allow myself to push him away because I know what, or rather who, is behind these attacks.

 

You see, it’s not flesh and blood that we contend with.  It’s the enemy.  Ephesians 6:12

 

I have set my mind to not allow myself to be offended by him because it’s more important to me that “Merle” find eternity in Heaven, rather than in eternal damnation.  I have to take this all the way back to the cross.  How long did Jesus wait for me?  Was I arrogant and rude to Christians as they were planting seed for the Kingdom of God?  Honestly, I don’t remember the answers to those questions, but I probably was rude and arrogant, and I’m sure Jesus was very patient the entire time He waited for me to answer “yes” to His call.  Therefore, I choose to be the same to Merle.  We cannot expect non believers to totally be accepting to the call of salvation in Christ Jesus.

 

This point of this blog is not to pat myself on the back.  The point is to point us all to Jesus.  It’s the will of our Heavenly Father, our Daddy, that all should be saved.  2 Peter 3:9  In cases like this, we must turn the other cheek.

 

This gentleman has risen to another level of attack.  It’s quite turned into verbal abuse, of which I am well associated.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I stood my ground with him along with silent prayer in the moment.  This did not dissuade him in the least.  I have been in prayer about how to handle this situation.  And, although I don’t know what the course of action is, I know the One who does.  I am at rest with this.  And, whether or not Merle comes to know Christ as his Lord and Savior, I am choosing love for this elderly gentleman. My heart cries out for his salvation.  In the time that I have come to know and love Merle, his health has declined quickly.  He reminds me of my own earthly dad, especially in that he has chosen to disassociate himself with his daughter, which I know from experience is heart breaking.

 

I’m sure that in one way or another, we all may have someone in our life that comes to mind as we read this.

 

Choose love.

 

Choose to turn the other cheek.

 

However, you’re not a doormat either.  Know when to keep on keepin’ on and when to walk away.  Like I said earlier, I’m not sure of the course of action as far as what to say and when to say it. But I have set my mind that I will allow the Holy Spirit to show me what the course of action is.  Luke 12:11-12  

 

Know that if and when you find yourself in a situation like this, it is the enemy who is attacking you through the person, not the man / woman, themselves.  Set your mind to keep that perspective.  When the enemy sees that the person they’re controlling is taking steps towards the Kingdom of God, they kick up the attack through that person.  In fact, often, the attack will get much worse before it gets better simply because the enemy doesn’t want to lose…and, in this case, I DO believe that the enemy will lose.  It’s just a matter of time.

 

Count it all joy!!  James 1:2-8  God is not surprised by this situation, nor does He not have a plan for it.  I don’t look down on this man.  I look forward to what God’s plan is for him.  I also look for the ways that God is growing me through this situation.  I’ve heard it said that God is the ultimate recycler.  I just love this statement because it’s so true!!  God doesn’t waste a single thing.  If we allow Him, He will work all things for our good.  Romans 8:28    Hallelujah!!

 

Choose Love!!     

Prayer changes things!!

A few days before all the ruckus hit about the Starbucks coffee cups, a friend informed me of it and asked me what I thought.  I told her that it didn’t matter to me.  This is a coffee shop that by no means has ever professed to be a Christian company.  I said what would bother me more is if a Christian company deliberately took Christmas out of advertisement, etc to appease the masses.

 

We’re not dealing with the flesh, we’re dealing with spirits.  There are good spirits, angels… and bad spirits, demons and power and principalities.  When we deal with people, this is what we’re dealing with.  Ephesians 6:12   I wasn’t trying to demonize anyone, but rather trying to make a point.

 

Why should we expect a “non-believing company” to follow Christian teaching?  We shouldn’t.  To expect companies to be “Christian” when they’re not Christian is sort of like legalism.  When Christians…NO… “Christians” attack others for not upholding our traditions of celebrating the birth of our Savior, aren’t they being legalistic?  It’s like telling someone that they need to clean up their life before they approach God.  NONE of us can clean ourselves up.  Isaiah 64:6  Only God can clean us and make us white as snow.  Isaiah 1:18  A non Christian company trying to appeal to the Christian community is no more a Christian company than a person sitting in a garage is a car.  It doesn’t work that way.  And, for the life of me, I wonder just how long it’s going to take the church to understand this?

 

If we want to win the lost to the Lord, we have to make ourselves available for the Lord to work through us.  That…is a sacrifice.  We have to walk along side people, loving them, maybe even while they’re still in sin.  We need to be Jesus to them with the hope of winning them to the Kingdom of God.  Love never fails.  Have we forgotten where we’ve come from?  Have we forgotten that Jesus walked along side us, loving us even while we were sinners?  Aren’t we supposed to be Jesus to others?

 

This supposed lashing out of Christians against Starbucks is ridiculous.  And, I’ve heard a lot of people running their mouths about this.  Some are against the “plain red cup.” And, some are so “spiritually superior” that they say they don’t even know a Christian who is so selfish to speak that way.

 

Prayer!!

 

Prayer changes things!!

 

When are we, as the Church, going to understand that prayer is the answer?

 

I have to tell you that it doesn’t bother me to drink my coffee out of a plain red cup.  I visit Starbucks nearly every day.  I do enjoy the coffee, but anyone who knows me, knows that this is where my ministry is.  I will continue to have my coffee here until the Lord leads me elsewhere.  God sends us to the lost and the broken because it’s His will that all would be saved.  2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:3-4  Are we too good to reach out to the lost and broken?  If we are, I wonder if we’ve truly had a Christian conversion…or perhaps one is just “playing church?”

 

Think about it folks.  Pray about it.  Ask God how He would react to this “red cup,” and then ask yourself how you should really respond.

 

If we want to change the world for the Kingdom of God, it’s not by legalistic ruling.  It will happen by being the hands and feet of Jesus…loving our neighbor as ourselves.   

The Age Of Much Knowledge...

Our society has been indoctrinated to believe that once you have attained a certain age/education/financial status/place in society, etc., you have all that you need in life. (Many times, people believe that they are wise rather than knowledgeable because of attaining one or more of these things!)  So often, people judge others by those worldly standards.  Jesus said to remove the plank from your eye before helping your brother/sister remove the splinter from theirs. Matthew 7:3-5 This is such a true and helpful statement.  Many times I’ve witnessed someone “advising” others when I could clearly see that that person was way off base about what they were saying. (Been there, done that, myself!!)  If we take a look at ourselves and “remove that plank” from our own eye, we would surely be surprised to see that what we thought was the case with someone may not be the case at all simply because our outlook through that plank was distorted.

 

The Bible says that a fool speaks much. Proverbs 29:11 A wise person listens and then speaks. Proverbs 1:5, Proverbs 12:15  Keep your tongue under control. Proverbs 21:23, James 1:26  Your words can hurt deeply, even if you never intended for them to do so.

 

I’ve recently had some folks make assumptions about me that were way off base simply because they were looking through the plank in their own eye.  Unfortunately, in many of these situations, it wasn’t my job to do the correcting(even though I wanted to!!). The Lord will fight for us, we need only be still. Exodus 14:14 However, there has been a time or two where I have felt it necessary to defend myself, so to speak.  I am called to be many things in God, but a door mat is not one of those things.  We are, however, called to love our neighbor as love ourselves. Matthew 22:39 Finding a healthy balance, as in all things, is the key.

 

In this journey of life, we rarely find someone who is at the same place in life that we are.  Be patient, be kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4-13  Don’t be a doormat, either.  Being a Christian isn’t an exercise in passivity, but rather a transformation in becoming more like Jesus.  Philippians 3:21, Romans 12:2 Jesus did not go around acting like a know it all, but he also was not passive.  He addressed things when and where they needed to be addressed.  He used wisdom. Age and knowledge, etc. will only produce wisdom when allowing ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, which involves repenting quickly when we sin and dying to self, among many other things.

 

Don’t allow yourself to fall prey to the “way” of our culture...in this "time of much knowledge".  And, be cautious, because much of the culture of this world has crept into the church, as well.  Read the Word; follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Don’t just take my word for it. Seek God in these things for yourself.) You will find that when you follow the Spirit of the living God, the worldly way of doing things is not the only way of doing things.  God’s ways are mysterious; they are not like the ways of man. Isaiah 55:8-9  Seek him for who he is.  Matthew 6:33  Ask him for wisdom.  He will not deny you. James 1:5  Look in the mirror of the gospel to find the plank(s) in your own eyes before you begin to help your neighbor with the much smaller splinter in theirs. James 1:23-24