Thursday, August 14, 2008

WELCOMING PEOPLE

This blog entry may hurt some feelings, but hear me out or close the blog and never come back to it again. That's the power of choice. Everyday there are needs that parade in front of us. Some we see while others we are aware of . Hebrews 13:2 Remember to welcome people, you may never know how many angels you welcome .Jesus says if we love one another the right way, which is by his example, well loving others will be natural. True compassion is a direct reflection of our relationship with Jesus Christ. It's not about religion, it's about relationship.A healthy relationship with Jesus Christ is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 1 John 4:20 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Hey that's Gods word , not mine. I know I am guilty just like you . 1 John 4:20 If you don't love the very ones you know, how can you love those that you don't?
When the Jewish lawyer asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life Jesus told him 2 things...1-Love God completely. Well me being the "chief of sinners", I was thrown back a few feet. There are people in my very family that I wouldn't give the time of day. You have people like that in your families, your work place, your church,your neighborhood too , just like me . You know who they are. 2-Love your neighbor as yourself. WHAT!!!!!.Jesus come on, you know how she/he treats her husband/wife, you know how she/he treats the kids, come on love them as I would myself. He says, "YES, LOVE HER/HIM AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF, DON'T BE THE LEVITE". Well I must say, I am not the most inconsiderate , non compassionate person I know but I have walked by someone in need. Yes I have. I didn't know how to help, didn't know what to say.Sometimes I just wanted to say to someone ,well you brought it on yourself. Where's the love of Jesus Christ in that nasty attitude? O r here's a good one, well I remember when I was in need and where was she/he?. WHEW, I need to calm down. How can I even think about having true worship with the one I trust with my salvation ....BREAK- PAUSE Oh wait, yes I remember, I am of sinful nature and a I serve a forgiving God--- that's how.How many people have you seen just lying there, beat up and down, knowing the bandits of life have attacked them with no warning and really no apparent reason? Of all people, the Levite and the priest (THE CHURCHED!!!!)were returning from their temple duties, their worship time , their time of praise when they saw the beat down man. What's the point of this parable? The point- Don't pass someone in need. Whether emotional need,physical need,financial need. Yes use discernment, by all means do that, otherwise your efforts are just your efforts. Seek out how to help people.Get with someone and ask them if you are not sure on how to fill a need. We all have choices to make. We have been granted choices. We have a choice to make every time we are confronted with a need , every time we know of a need. We all know at least one person who is in need somehow. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ..The way we love one another should be a living illustration of God's Love. Helping others out does take our energy and time of which we are given by God. Gods power will bring the energy you need .Gods power will give you the time you think you don't have. Listening to someone can be exhausting, I know this first hand, I have been on both ends of the spectrum . I have been told to my face that I drained someone of their spirit. This lady actually had a nap after talking to me. My question here is , Why did you call me?.There is a huge difference between probing and praying.Anyway no hard feelings, I know that some try to help out the best way they know how. My family was in despair not too long ago. I stood firm in my faith , I cried, I got mad, I was hurt by others, but you know what- I was so blessed by a few and that was the love of Christ that my kids saw,that I saw, that my husband saw. Those few were our angels . God knew we needed comforting, so HE comforted us. Many knew our pain, our need ,but like the Levite and the priest, they bolted, they made a choice to pass us by. No I didn't know their circumstance they had but don't try to pick apart what the point is here . Very simply-IF you can help others, DO IT.My family often remember those who God sent our way to show us His love and mercy and grace and boy the timing was dead on. God has delivered my family from a difficult circumstance . Praise Jesus. God held us close in our time of chaos. What gentleness and peace we remember God showed us thru our storm. He still remains the same.
As always with any blog entry I share ,I feel that many just need to read from a real life person. Some of you know me personally and some only have seen me and some may never meet me , but I do hope what I write will be a blessing to many. May God bless you today.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

love people where they are

wow..i was stumped for words today in a situation i wasn't ready for ..the moment of truth was to be practiced and displayed.what do i do?how do i behave?everything i have been studying in gods word seemed to go thru my thought process like a locomotive. the discipline i needed to keep quiet.oh so hard the first couple of minutes.my heart was racing.all of a sudden i heard the thunder outside and i was reminded of how Jesus washed Judas' feet.you know he did that even knowing Judas' heart.so why can't i love someone that has everything figured out,someone that is so determined to "have it her way",someone selfish and picking apart the lives of her children?..but wait , hear me out , she is also someone confused about gods word,someone hurting ,someone who needs to know the love of Jesus.ever watched someone headed for disaster, that just came out of a disaster ? you just wanted to shake them?.what in the world could they possibly be thinking?what a slap on the face when i remembered how Jesus washed the feet of Judas.Judas ,full of deceit and Jesus -all knowing ..who am i that i can't love someone who is hard to love ?who am i that can't get this thing together to fulfill his purpose he has created me for?i am to be an example of his servant hood.i must love like Jesus did.as Jesus hung on that cross looking like a raw piece of meet, his word says,before his dissension to heaven he said to forgive them ,they know not what they do,love one another.. ever been in a situation like this.. with everything in me i would have loved to just deliver a quick drop kick and then finish it off with a blow to the jaw, but talk about hypocrisy..so instead of doing what i wanted to do so bad i chose to do what i have been commanded to do .yes, the holy spirit took over today.praise Jesus for the holy spirit that lives in me.you all know someone who -IF YOU COULD , YOU WOULD...as i read my scripture daily and feed off of his word i am becoming more free to do his will and let others see and feel my lord Jesus thru my words and actions. now don't misunderstand the point here , don't think of me as a ticking time bomb.well you could if you wanted to but that would be a lie.instead get the point of what I'm trying to say here, my love for my lord is so precious to me and as the struggles come and go, i pray that he will equip me with the strength needed to love the unlovable.
my desire is be an encouragement for readers.love people where they are..