“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:43-48
God has really been teaching me to love those who are hard to love lately. Not necessarily enemies, just those individuals who have wronged me, hurt me, slandered me, etc. Our flesh often times wants us to respond in a tit-for-tat way, but God is really teaching me to just love and be kind regardless of how I've been treated. In situations where I really want to confront that person and ask them why they did __________ to me, God gently reminds me to just love them and be kind. If I love only those who love me in return, I'm just like the rest of the world. But to be a follower of Jesus means to love those who don't love me. While my heart often times isn't there yet, I am striving to obey and pray for God to change the temperature of my heart.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Do Not Give Up!
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
I am the mother of a very strong-willed three year old little boy. He is so full of energy, he is super smart, and very, very funny. At the same time, he is very stubborn and I find myself often discouraged in my parenting. My greatest desire is to train him up in the way he should go...but that is a lot easier said than done! During a particularly rough season God gave me the above verse to remind me that I am not to become weary. And He reminded me that there is a key part to that verse--do not give up! The hardest part of parenting is consistency. I am trying to remember daily not to give up because some day we will reap a harvest!
I am the mother of a very strong-willed three year old little boy. He is so full of energy, he is super smart, and very, very funny. At the same time, he is very stubborn and I find myself often discouraged in my parenting. My greatest desire is to train him up in the way he should go...but that is a lot easier said than done! During a particularly rough season God gave me the above verse to remind me that I am not to become weary. And He reminded me that there is a key part to that verse--do not give up! The hardest part of parenting is consistency. I am trying to remember daily not to give up because some day we will reap a harvest!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Aliens
"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." 2 Peter 2:11
I'm an alien. If you are a born again Christian, so are you in a sense. We are strangers to this world. Other translations call us pilgrims, foreigners, or exiles. The point is as a Christian living here on earth, we are living in our temporary home. Our permanent home in eternity will be heaven, praise God! The passage goes on to describe that those of us who are God's children should look different. We should look like aliens or foreigners compared to the world around us. Our lives should reflect Christ--which should obviously stand out amongst unbelievers.
For me, this is very convicting and very, very hard to balance. I think as Christians we tend to fall into one of three categories:
1. A Christian who is SO "foreign" that she isolates herself from everyone and everything, becoming legalistic, and so far removed from unbelievers she can't speak their language and reach them for Christ.
2. A Christian who is no longer learning the foreign language, but has compromised all the standards God has given her as a believer that when you look at her you can't tell the difference between her and an unbeliever. She walks, talks, thinks, and acts the same as one who has not met Jesus.
3. A Christian who has become bilingual. She maintains her foundation in God's word and truth, but through the Holy Spirit can obediently reach out to the world around her shining the light of Jesus on a dark world (Matthew 5:16).
My prayer is to be the last of these. I will admit this is a struggle. I have a long way to go.
However, I know I am not the same person I was before I met Jesus. As a result, some friends I love dearly have distanced themselves from me. Some even breaking my heart in certain ways. In short, because I'm now an alien some of my relationships have changed. While this saddens me greatly, I would exchange nothing for the gain I've found in the love of Christ. It is not easy being a weird alien from another planet, but I couldn't be more thankful for it.
I'm an alien. If you are a born again Christian, so are you in a sense. We are strangers to this world. Other translations call us pilgrims, foreigners, or exiles. The point is as a Christian living here on earth, we are living in our temporary home. Our permanent home in eternity will be heaven, praise God! The passage goes on to describe that those of us who are God's children should look different. We should look like aliens or foreigners compared to the world around us. Our lives should reflect Christ--which should obviously stand out amongst unbelievers.
For me, this is very convicting and very, very hard to balance. I think as Christians we tend to fall into one of three categories:
1. A Christian who is SO "foreign" that she isolates herself from everyone and everything, becoming legalistic, and so far removed from unbelievers she can't speak their language and reach them for Christ.
2. A Christian who is no longer learning the foreign language, but has compromised all the standards God has given her as a believer that when you look at her you can't tell the difference between her and an unbeliever. She walks, talks, thinks, and acts the same as one who has not met Jesus.
3. A Christian who has become bilingual. She maintains her foundation in God's word and truth, but through the Holy Spirit can obediently reach out to the world around her shining the light of Jesus on a dark world (Matthew 5:16).
My prayer is to be the last of these. I will admit this is a struggle. I have a long way to go.
However, I know I am not the same person I was before I met Jesus. As a result, some friends I love dearly have distanced themselves from me. Some even breaking my heart in certain ways. In short, because I'm now an alien some of my relationships have changed. While this saddens me greatly, I would exchange nothing for the gain I've found in the love of Christ. It is not easy being a weird alien from another planet, but I couldn't be more thankful for it.
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