Watch this segment of Steve Harvey's interview on TBN with Donnie McClurkin. It serves as a powerful reminder that as Christians God has called us to show his love to others. The foundation of Christianity is God's love displayed through grace. God sent his Son, Jesus to pay a price that mankind could not pay so that each of us might have the opportunity to be reconciled to God through Christ.
There are so many people that we can reach or help grow when we don't sit in judgement. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't tell people the truth, but the bible says to speak the truth in love. What does it mean to speak the truth in love? It means that I tell you what the Word says because I love you and I truly want to see you be all the you were created to be. It's not my time to make myself feel better because I don't do what you do...It's not a license to attack and judge in the name of truth.
Here's the reality...prayerfully we are better than we use to be, but none of us have arrived. We are all a work in progress continually being transformed into the image of Christ. There are things that I have overcome that you still struggle with, but there are things you have overcome that are a struggle for me. So instead of us criticizing each other, we should help each other to grow in Christ.
Standing out in front of an abortion clinic with signs condemning the mother and physcians to hell, will never touch their hearts and allow them to see that God has another way. In fact, it just causes them to dig their heels in and hold on to their position. Telling people who are homosexual that God hates them will certainly never draw them to God or even allow them to hear our position on God's will for men and women. Spewing hatred in the name of God is just not God. God is LOVE! He hates sin, but not sinners. In fact, Psalm 103 tells us that He has not dealt with after our sins or rewarded us according to inquities. That is the message of grace...we don't get what we deserve. Hallelujah!
There is a parable in the bible where a man (let's call him John) owes a great debt to the king and he has no ability to pay. John throws himself on the mercy of the court and the king has compassion and forgives his debt. The man is free! He leaves the king's presence and runs into a man (we'll call him Dave) who owed him a much smaller about. John badgers Dave about paying. The Message translation says that, John grabs him by the collar. Daves begs for mercy, but John turns a deaf ear and has him thrown in jail. When the king finds out, he is enraged and throws John in jail until he can pay every dime. (See Matthew 18)
I know that most of the time, this scripture is used to talk about the importance of forgiving and having this compassion towards those who have injured us, but if we are required to show mercy towards people who have hurt us, shouldn't we also show mercey toward the person who is struggling with sin? How can we not remember the great mercy God shows towards us even when we aren't getting everything right? I believe that it grieves the heart of God to see us be critical and hateful towards other believers. It seems to be so easy to judge whether someone "really" loves God, when we should remember that this is spiritual warfare and even when people want to change, the enemies fights them hard to stop them. Maybe they haven't been taught; maybe they don't know how to change; maybe they don't want to change. The reality is....we don't know why people struggle with certain sins.
We do know that prayer changes things! We do know that in the times when we have struggled with sin, we didn't need to be kicked and torn down about it, we needed someone who was willing to help us walk through the process until we were free. We also know that Jesus has never torn us down because we didn't change fast enough...He keeps on loving, instructing and leading us into a life of total freedom.
Challenge: If there is anyone in your life that you are judging....put them first on your prayer list. Pray for them before you pray for anyone, including yourself. Ask God to help you see them the way He does. Ask for wisdom to minister to them. It's hard to judge someone when you're seeing them from the eyes of love....
Don't forget to watch the link!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkybh5XwUQk
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Think Like God Thinks!
One of my favorite scriptures is "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what is the good, perfect and acceptable will of God." (Romans 12:2) I believe that the true reality of how God created mankind to live can only be revealed in our lives when we think like God thinks. Part of thinking like God does involves what not to do, for example, no lying, stealing, cheating, fornication, jealousy, etc. However our lives as Christians never reach the fullness of abundant life when our only focus is what we can't do. Remember we were called out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Therefore a crucial piece to our new life is how to live in the kingdom.
The kingdom contains many components, but if we had to sum the kingdom up in one word, that word is LOVE. How can I be sure? Because God is love (1 John 4:6). God doesn't have love...He is love. This means that every Word that God has every spoken to you or about you is rooted in his great love for you. Unfortunately most of us have heard far too much about the wrath of God. I'm not saying that God doesn't have wrath, I'm saying that his wrath is against sin....not sinners. I'm saying that His wrath was satisfied through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross for the sins of the world. In other words...God Ain't Mad No More!
I've spent the majority of the year reading the gospels and I've noticed that Jesus never tells anyone to come to God or risk hell. He always responds in compassion even to people who the religious elite (Pharisees and Sadduccees) consider undeserving of compassion. Why? Because Jesus was the expression of God in the earth. He was and continues to be LOVE! Jesus showed so much love by healing, restoring and feeding people that they were drawn into a love relationship with God. The crowds didn't follow Jesus because he threatened punishment, judgment or damnation. They followed because He expressed so much care and concern for each of them that they couldn't stay away! They became curious about a God that didn't respond with wrath, pain and affliction.
When Jesus told the disciples to preach the kingdom...He wasn't telling them to preach hell. He was telling to tell everyone that the breach sin had created had been restored through the Cross. He was saying that every man, woman, boy and girl had a right to have a relationship with God the Creator without fear. After all, how else can you come boldly to the throne to obtain grace unless you know you will encounter God's love and mercy?
Love is the most powerful force ever. It raised Jesus from the dead. The revelation of God's great love for you in spite of your mistakes/sins/transgressions has the power to set you free from every mistake/sin/transgression. You can't live right because you are afraid God will get you. You can't get others to live right because they are afraid of hell. Right living comes from right thinking. Right thinking is knowing that God loves you unconditionally. The more you realize his love, the less desire you have to do anything that's not pleasing to him. Not because you fear hell, but because you never want to be separated from Him.
How do I know this is true? Look at any natural relationship and if there is fear, there will never be transparency. If you were afraid of your parents, you didn't run to them when you were in trouble, you hid it! You tried to find your own way out (which usually didn't work). On the other hand if your parents had created an atmopshere free from fear, you told them every thing and probably avoided a lot of additional trouble.
A religion based on fear forces people to hid their issues and pretend to be something they aren't because they are afraid of God's rejection or punishment. A relationship based on unconditional love allows people to run to God with their issues because they know they will never be rejected and that it's his love that can set them free.
Psalm 103 tells us that God has not dealt with us according to our sin or rewarding us according our inquity. In other words, He's not holding sin against you. He wants you to know his love because it's his love that sets you free from the bondage of sin and allows you to live abundantly.
I encourage you to leave behind the fear of God's rejection and wrath and embark on the freeing journey of knowing His love for you. It will affect every area of your life. It will change how you view Him, yourself and others! As it changes you...it will change the world. Aren't you called to be a world changer? Spread the Love!
The kingdom contains many components, but if we had to sum the kingdom up in one word, that word is LOVE. How can I be sure? Because God is love (1 John 4:6). God doesn't have love...He is love. This means that every Word that God has every spoken to you or about you is rooted in his great love for you. Unfortunately most of us have heard far too much about the wrath of God. I'm not saying that God doesn't have wrath, I'm saying that his wrath is against sin....not sinners. I'm saying that His wrath was satisfied through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross for the sins of the world. In other words...God Ain't Mad No More!
I've spent the majority of the year reading the gospels and I've noticed that Jesus never tells anyone to come to God or risk hell. He always responds in compassion even to people who the religious elite (Pharisees and Sadduccees) consider undeserving of compassion. Why? Because Jesus was the expression of God in the earth. He was and continues to be LOVE! Jesus showed so much love by healing, restoring and feeding people that they were drawn into a love relationship with God. The crowds didn't follow Jesus because he threatened punishment, judgment or damnation. They followed because He expressed so much care and concern for each of them that they couldn't stay away! They became curious about a God that didn't respond with wrath, pain and affliction.
When Jesus told the disciples to preach the kingdom...He wasn't telling them to preach hell. He was telling to tell everyone that the breach sin had created had been restored through the Cross. He was saying that every man, woman, boy and girl had a right to have a relationship with God the Creator without fear. After all, how else can you come boldly to the throne to obtain grace unless you know you will encounter God's love and mercy?
Love is the most powerful force ever. It raised Jesus from the dead. The revelation of God's great love for you in spite of your mistakes/sins/transgressions has the power to set you free from every mistake/sin/transgression. You can't live right because you are afraid God will get you. You can't get others to live right because they are afraid of hell. Right living comes from right thinking. Right thinking is knowing that God loves you unconditionally. The more you realize his love, the less desire you have to do anything that's not pleasing to him. Not because you fear hell, but because you never want to be separated from Him.
How do I know this is true? Look at any natural relationship and if there is fear, there will never be transparency. If you were afraid of your parents, you didn't run to them when you were in trouble, you hid it! You tried to find your own way out (which usually didn't work). On the other hand if your parents had created an atmopshere free from fear, you told them every thing and probably avoided a lot of additional trouble.
A religion based on fear forces people to hid their issues and pretend to be something they aren't because they are afraid of God's rejection or punishment. A relationship based on unconditional love allows people to run to God with their issues because they know they will never be rejected and that it's his love that can set them free.
Psalm 103 tells us that God has not dealt with us according to our sin or rewarding us according our inquity. In other words, He's not holding sin against you. He wants you to know his love because it's his love that sets you free from the bondage of sin and allows you to live abundantly.
I encourage you to leave behind the fear of God's rejection and wrath and embark on the freeing journey of knowing His love for you. It will affect every area of your life. It will change how you view Him, yourself and others! As it changes you...it will change the world. Aren't you called to be a world changer? Spread the Love!
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