Hopefully the title of this post doesn't offend anyone, because if truth be told; and you are a believer, you are IN CHRIST and there's no where you go that He doesn't;) I had a shower epiphany this morning. Now, you guys can count yourself blessed I don't share all my shower 'epiphanies' in blog posts. The shower seems to be the place where He speaks to me the most often. Occasionally, He will awaken me from sleep during the night, but I don't always get up and listen. He knows me well; so, in the shower it is:)
This morning's insight was so seemingly random. I suppose the timing might become clearer to me in the days to come, but if it doesn't, I'll just count it as an insight He wanted to show me 'just because.' He can do that, ya know? Just because He loves talking to us!
He took me back to the junior high lunch table and some remarks a boy a year older than me said to me, more than once. The comments were rude, degrading, explicit, sexual and a direct assault on my physical body.
This wasn't a totally new memory for me to re-visit. When I went through inner healing this memory surfaced and I forgave the boy for his disparaging remarks. It's a healed memory; I can know this because the thought of it doesn't bring any pain. It remains part of my history, but it no longer defines who I am.
As I was picturing the setting in my imagination the question struck me, "why did I continue to sit at lunch with this group of people?" I honestly can't remember any of the other 'players,' just this one offensive (older) boy and his remarks to me. I can only assume we had mutual friends, which placed us at the same table, because I know for certain there were no assigned seats.
It was like Jesus was showing me this picture, but He wasn't really saying anything about it. This is when I realized I would not put myself in that situation currently. I wouldn't continue to expose myself to someone who didn't respect me. Would I be kind to them? Yes. Would I go out of my way to reach out to them? In the words of my 16 year old, 'probs not.' Would I sit at the lunch table with them? ABSOLUTELY NOT!
I think Jesus wanted me to see how far I've come, from self-hatred and no value or respect for myself, to healthy boundaries with those who don't see me for who I really am. From a victim mindset to one of an overcomer.
A victim doesn't see their worth. They don't expect to be respected by others; because, quite frankly, they don't respect themselves. I've said this many times, but it bears repeating...one sets the standard for which one can receive love/respect/honor. To the degree you love/respect/honor yourself is the degree others will love, respect and honor you.
In the case of this boy at the lunch table, for years his remarks rang through my head and I believed them to be true. In reality, they were quite false. From his remarks I formed the belief of many other lies, escalating in depth from the one he spoke over me. Do I blame him? Nope. You see, we choose what to believe. Sure, as a young teenage girl I was more vulnerable to deception than I am now, but still, it was my choice.
Not really sure why I'm sharing this with you today. It's always my prayer that what I share will bring hope to someone currently struggling with where I've been. It's just another way I relish in trampling on the work of the enemy:) What he (satan) meant for my harm and destruction, Papa God turned into a platform for me to share truth. Oh, the redemption and restoration of my Papa God makes MY SOUL SING!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Known for Love
I've been thinking about something. Uh-oh, there she goes thinking again:) As I realize God's perfect love more and more, I just can't get away from it's simplicity, yet complexity. Obviously, we've made it very complex, because if the body of Christ had an accurate and deep understanding of God's love I am convinced we would be living differently.
The Gospel of Christ is ridiculously good news! So good, I think we have a hard time embracing just how good it is. God's love comes with no strings or stipulations, why do we add them??? We go back to religious mindsets and mix old covenant law with new covenant reality. There is such a burning desire in my heart to teach and impart the good news of the new covenant to everyone I know.
As I've written previously, the body of Christ impaling the body of Christ grieves me...DEEPLY!!!! Honestly, there's not a day goes by I don't think of it and pray about it and look for ways to bring about reconciliation. There are times I have considered taking a sabbatical from Facebook, merely because of posts that I feel are grossly misrepresenting my Jesus to a broken world.
What if, just what if, your only job as a follower of Christ was to love people? I can hear the question now, what about the Truth? What about what we stand for on topics such as same sex marriage, abortion, etc? I get that, people. I really, really do! I believe marriage is one man and one woman. I believe that abortion is murder. But, seriously, it's not my place to impose my standards (which are derived from the Bible) on those who don't even believe in my God. To quote the Bible at a person who doesn't believe in Jesus is utterly silly.
I go back to Romans 2:4 that it is His kindness that leads to repentance. Repentance isn't wailing and crying for hours and hours proclaiming how sinful you are before the Lord, begging for His mercy. Repentance is changing the way you think. Turning from your worldly or sinful thought/belief in exchange for His. Something like, "Father, I have believed a lie and I have made bad choices based on this belief. I am truly sorry. I receive Your forgiveness. I choose to believe Your truth today."
Here lately, I can not get away from the Gandhi quote, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
You know what? The Ten Commandments are still valid. We are no longer under the law, but that doesn't make the law invalid. Instead of worrying about people keeping the laws, what if we focused on the one law Jesus said was most important? The law of love which is; love God, love others as you love yourself.
Henry Lewis Drummond wrote the following in 1890:
'If you love, you will unconsciously fulfill the whole law. You can readily see for yourselves how that must be so. Take any of the commandments. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." If a man loves God, you will not need to tell him to put away other gods. Love is the fulfilling of that law. "Take not the Lord's name in vain." Would a man ever dream of taking the Lord's name in vain if he loved Him? "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Wouldn't a man be glad to have one day in seven to dedicate more exclusively to the object of his affection? Love would fulfill all these laws regarding God.
In the same way, if a man loves others, you would never think of telling him to honor his father and mother. He could not do anything else. It would be preposterous to tell him not to kill. He could not do anything else. You could only insult him if you suggested that he should not steal-how could he steal from those he loved? It would be superfluous to beg him not to bear false witness against his neighbor. If he loved him it would be the last thing he would do. And you would never dream of urging him not to covet what his neighbor had. He would rather they processed it than himself. In this way "love is the fulfilling of the law." It is the rule for fulfilling all rules, the new commandment for keeping all the old commandments, Christ's one secret of the Christian life.'
Jonathan Welton says, "the difficultly of developing this type of lifestyle is that we must have our eyes focused not on a list of rules, but upon walking in love in our relationships."
The deeper I go in God's love the less I am tempted to break one of these laws. Does that mean I am sinless? NO! When I do sin it's because I have left the truth of God's love. Sin is a counterfeit way to get a need met. When sin is present it is just an indication of an area where God's love needs to be received. The grace of God empowers us to walk free from sin!
So, what's my point of this blog post? Simple. As believers I think we should take the words of Jesus to heart and start loving others. If we were truly and accurately representing our Savior our churches would be full to max capacity. The lost would be flocking to Jesus.
Body of Christ, it's time to stop hating and debating. It's time to start representing our Father with excellence. It's time to get over our divisions and disagreements and focus on the one thing that matters. Jesus, oh sweet Jesus, Your love is amazing!
So, the next time you are tempted at work, on social media or wherever else you find yourself 'taking a stand for Jesus' by proclaiming what you are against perhaps try developing a relationship with someone who needs Jesus. That girl who just had abortion, she doesn't need to hear how wrong it was. She needs to know the love and forgiveness of Jesus so she won't make the same choice again.
My Soul Sings because I live in the new covenant and the Gospel of grace is such good news!!!!! Help us, Jesus, become a people of relationship. I want to be known for love and representing You well!
The Gospel of Christ is ridiculously good news! So good, I think we have a hard time embracing just how good it is. God's love comes with no strings or stipulations, why do we add them??? We go back to religious mindsets and mix old covenant law with new covenant reality. There is such a burning desire in my heart to teach and impart the good news of the new covenant to everyone I know.
As I've written previously, the body of Christ impaling the body of Christ grieves me...DEEPLY!!!! Honestly, there's not a day goes by I don't think of it and pray about it and look for ways to bring about reconciliation. There are times I have considered taking a sabbatical from Facebook, merely because of posts that I feel are grossly misrepresenting my Jesus to a broken world.
What if, just what if, your only job as a follower of Christ was to love people? I can hear the question now, what about the Truth? What about what we stand for on topics such as same sex marriage, abortion, etc? I get that, people. I really, really do! I believe marriage is one man and one woman. I believe that abortion is murder. But, seriously, it's not my place to impose my standards (which are derived from the Bible) on those who don't even believe in my God. To quote the Bible at a person who doesn't believe in Jesus is utterly silly.
I go back to Romans 2:4 that it is His kindness that leads to repentance. Repentance isn't wailing and crying for hours and hours proclaiming how sinful you are before the Lord, begging for His mercy. Repentance is changing the way you think. Turning from your worldly or sinful thought/belief in exchange for His. Something like, "Father, I have believed a lie and I have made bad choices based on this belief. I am truly sorry. I receive Your forgiveness. I choose to believe Your truth today."
Here lately, I can not get away from the Gandhi quote, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
You know what? The Ten Commandments are still valid. We are no longer under the law, but that doesn't make the law invalid. Instead of worrying about people keeping the laws, what if we focused on the one law Jesus said was most important? The law of love which is; love God, love others as you love yourself.
Henry Lewis Drummond wrote the following in 1890:
'If you love, you will unconsciously fulfill the whole law. You can readily see for yourselves how that must be so. Take any of the commandments. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." If a man loves God, you will not need to tell him to put away other gods. Love is the fulfilling of that law. "Take not the Lord's name in vain." Would a man ever dream of taking the Lord's name in vain if he loved Him? "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Wouldn't a man be glad to have one day in seven to dedicate more exclusively to the object of his affection? Love would fulfill all these laws regarding God.
In the same way, if a man loves others, you would never think of telling him to honor his father and mother. He could not do anything else. It would be preposterous to tell him not to kill. He could not do anything else. You could only insult him if you suggested that he should not steal-how could he steal from those he loved? It would be superfluous to beg him not to bear false witness against his neighbor. If he loved him it would be the last thing he would do. And you would never dream of urging him not to covet what his neighbor had. He would rather they processed it than himself. In this way "love is the fulfilling of the law." It is the rule for fulfilling all rules, the new commandment for keeping all the old commandments, Christ's one secret of the Christian life.'
Jonathan Welton says, "the difficultly of developing this type of lifestyle is that we must have our eyes focused not on a list of rules, but upon walking in love in our relationships."
The deeper I go in God's love the less I am tempted to break one of these laws. Does that mean I am sinless? NO! When I do sin it's because I have left the truth of God's love. Sin is a counterfeit way to get a need met. When sin is present it is just an indication of an area where God's love needs to be received. The grace of God empowers us to walk free from sin!
So, what's my point of this blog post? Simple. As believers I think we should take the words of Jesus to heart and start loving others. If we were truly and accurately representing our Savior our churches would be full to max capacity. The lost would be flocking to Jesus.
Body of Christ, it's time to stop hating and debating. It's time to start representing our Father with excellence. It's time to get over our divisions and disagreements and focus on the one thing that matters. Jesus, oh sweet Jesus, Your love is amazing!
So, the next time you are tempted at work, on social media or wherever else you find yourself 'taking a stand for Jesus' by proclaiming what you are against perhaps try developing a relationship with someone who needs Jesus. That girl who just had abortion, she doesn't need to hear how wrong it was. She needs to know the love and forgiveness of Jesus so she won't make the same choice again.
My Soul Sings because I live in the new covenant and the Gospel of grace is such good news!!!!! Help us, Jesus, become a people of relationship. I want to be known for love and representing You well!
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