What do you do with "hurts"?

Tuesday May 29 2012:

Matthew 5:46: If you love only those who love you, what good is that?  Even corrupt tax collectors do that much.”

When we walk with the Lord, we are often excluded to hurts by others.  Some people may call me naive but  through my desire to be closer to God by practicing to give my burdens, concerns and anxiety to Him, I seldom find myself being hurt by another. 

I know I’m not such a “wonderful” person that everyone who knows me, loves me and so I realize there are those who say negative things about me or to me but, because I know God’s love surrounds me at all times, I seem to be unaffected by the derogatory hurts meant for me. 

I have learned, the moment I feel a negative vibration from another person, I lift them up to Jesus and repent of my selfish feelings, Jesus always works a miracle and heals the emotions.  He creates a clean heart in me. With Jesus comes the ability to love, even your enemies and those who persecute you.

Feeling hurt is a selfish emotion.  It is self-centered!  Instead, we should project our thoughts outward,  do good to others, help someone in need, take your focus off yourself and you’ll find there are less and less hurts to deal with.

Prayer for today:  Heavenly Father, Thank you for allowing me to be forgiving to those that might hurt my feelings. Help me to love those that may not love me. Give me a heart that’s filled with love for all whom you have created.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Enemies?? What to do?

Monday May 28 2012:

Matthew 5:44 “But I say, ‘love your enemies, Pray for those who persecute you.”

Most times, it is very difficult to  love our enemies.

 In my life, I’m not sure I have ever had any enemies that I was aware of.  I know people, some of whom I considered friends, who hurt me emotionally and several times, the hurts were so deep that I considered that person an enemy.

 I realized if I spent time speaking against that person, the ‘hurt’ festered and increased.  The more I talked about the incident, the ‘hotter; the issue became.  Every time I talked about it, fuel was added to the embers and the intensity increased until the heat became so intense, the embers ignited and became destructive flames. 

I’m sure many a reputation has been destroyed by damaging gossip because one person was  hurt by another. When I became mature in years and spirituality, the lord showed me how much more effective I could be by exerting my energies to pray for that person who hurt me. 

When we start praying for someone, it becomes impossible to hate them.  Prayer is the healing balm that soothes the hurt and makes it disappear.  Jesus says “pray for those who persecute you.”   I learned this really works.

Prayer for today:  Father, I thank you for being a forgiving God who knows and understands my shortcomings.  I ask you today to forgive me for gossiping about others.  Forgive my selfish attitude and self-absorption when I think someone has hurt me. Help me to love those who have caused me hurt and enable me to forgive them. Help me to keep my eyes on you and my thoughts pure and loving.  In Jesus name, Amen.

A recipe for a Christ centered life!

Weekend Read:

The Four Mitts

The recipe for a Christ centered life in four stages:

1.  ADMIT:  Admit that you are a sinner. 

            Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned: all fall short of God’s glorious   

            standard.”

There is not one person born sinless.  We are all sinners and we all need forgiveness before we can stand in the presence of God as redeemed and perfect.  When we admit we are a sinner and ask forgiveness and desire a relationship with Jesus Christ, he comes in and cleanses us.  Jesus is the mediator between God and us so that when God sees us, he sees us as perfect.  It is only through the shed blood of Jesus that we can be cleansed and forgiven. To begin the transformation,  we have to admit we are a sinner.

2. SUBMIT:  Submit our will to God.

            Matthew 26:39-42:” My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will, not mine.”

 When we have admitted, we are sinners and asked to be forgiven, we need to consciously submit our will to God.  Even Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, asked to be relieved from the suffering, which lay ahead of him.  In Mark 14:36, He asked his Father to take the task ahead away but again, he submitted to the Father’s will.   In Hebrew’s 5:8, The writer tells us that even though Jesus was God’s son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.  If Jesus yielded in  total submission to his Father and became the High Priest who is the source of eternal salvation for us, how much more do we need to be willing to submit our will to Him who loves us more than we can comprehend? 

3. COMMIT: Commit your life to Christ.  Pledge your entire life to Him!

            Psalm 37:5  “Commit everything to the Lord.  Trust him, and he will help     you.”

If you desire to have a life filled with all the blessings that God wants to bestow on you, it is important to commit every part of your life to Him.  Let Him guide and direct your every move.  That is not to say that we should forget about using the brainpower God gave us or common sense.  Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived and evidence of him using common sense and wisdom in his decisions is significant. He spent time in prayer asking for wisdom and God granted him his request.  Living a life of prayer and Bible study, results in gaining the ability to ask for wisdom to make decisions that are in line with God’s plan for our lives. If we commit our entire being to God, he will be able to use us for His glory and honour.

4. TRANSMIT:  Transmit the love of God and the free gift of salvation to others.

Matthew 28:19.”

Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations..........................”

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is more than just being a convert.  Many are converted to Christ and while that is a necessary and important step, it is just the beginning.  In order to fully transmit God’s love to the fullest, we need to be a disciple and learn how to nurture others to be disciples as well.  Being a disciple of Christ is similar to being an apprentice, practicing while learning and reaping the benefits.

 v.20: “Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” 

The best way to teach is by modeling the desired behavior, and  so it is with Christianity; we must live the Christian life to it’s fullest, always demonstrating the love of God, in order to attract others to this life of assurance and peace.   

The Corner Stone!

Friday May  25 2012:

1 Peter 2:4. “Come to Christ, who is the cornerstone of God’s Temple. ...............”

In order for a structure to withstand calamity, like storms, weaponry, erosion, or other attacks, it must have a solid and invincible corner stone. Even if the walls and roof are solidly constructed, a building is only as good as it’s corner stone or foundation.

With Christ as our cornerstone, if our physical, emotional or  spiritual structure, as individuals or a group is threatened,  we will be able to withstand any storms or weapons or anything else that may try to hinder our Christian testimony and our walk with the Lord.  If we truly learn to rely on Christ, the Solid Rock, our convictions for truth will not be compromised by lies or deceit.  In order to grow closer to the Lord we need to admit that we are sinners, commit our lives to Him and then learn to rely on Him to lead us and guide us in His ways.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, I am so glad that you are the cornerstone on which I can plant my feet and my life.  I never need to worry that you will change for you are an unchanging God and I never have to worry that you will abandon me for your Word tells me, “I will never leave you or forsake you” I love you Lord and ask you to help my unbelief and increase my faith.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Are we doing our part?

Thursday May 24 2012:

1 Corinthians 3:16. “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you.”

Ephesians 2:21. “We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.”

Here the “temple” is used symbolically as a group of Christians coming together. We are still given the same responsibility of realizing the awesome holiness of this gathering.  Paul says that we all need to do our part as being one of the group of Christians and we are all given individual gifts that together can be used for God’s glory.

Whether we are called a holy temple as an individual or as part of a group, we still have the awesome privilege of carrying out the responsibility of being a part of God’s plan of creation

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Many times in churches, we see only a handful of people doing all the work. This is not the way God planned it.  Are we, as part of the family of God, taking our responsibility seriously enough for God to use us in our fullest potential? Are we living as though we are, Fully Alive, for our Creator?

Prayer for today: Heavenly Father, I am so thankful that you care about your Church. As part of your plan, help me to be available and willing to be used by you.  Help me not to shirk my duty to you or cower in the corner when I am asked to do something. As part of your family, let me be all that I can be and willing to do whatever you have for me.  Help me not to overdo things as well but to know exactly what your will for my life is. I want to give you the honour and the glory for everything and not be puffed up or egotistical about the gifts you have given me.  In Jesus name, Amen.

We are tri-dimensional creations, all 3 need nurturing!

Wednesday May 23 2012:

1 Corinthians 6:19. “Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God.  You do not belong to yourself. 20) for God bought you with a high price.  So you must honour God with your body.”

As a Christian, we see that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, given to us by God. Even though, salvation is free to us, it was bought and paid for with the highest price imaginable, a perfect sacrifice of God’s only son, Jesus Christ, who was given (not taken) for our sins so that we might have the benefit of his precious gift. Having been bought with the highest price, we belong to God.

I remember buying a beautiful S.U.V. vehicle that was loaded with all the “bells and whistles” you could possibly imagine. At that time we needed it to make frequent trips across winter mountainous roads and it was advertised to fill our expectations. We were very satisfied with the performance it offered and we did not object to the high price tag because of its performance. We appreciated and liked this vehicle a lot.  We kept it clean and polished it diligently. The leather upholstery received the best and most expensive leather treatments.  We owned it for three years and when we sold it, the newness had been maintained and we were able to sell it for a good price. It was always a pleasure to drive and everyone who rode in it commented on the beauty of it.

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I think this illustrates how important our bodies should be as vessels of God. 

We are tri-dimensional, consisting of physical, spiritual and intellectual beings.  As such, we need to make sure we minister to all three dimensions.  I find myself being more diligent in two out of three of these parts and seeming to neglect one more than the other two.  It’s usually a different dimension from time to time, which is a good thing, I think.  As bodies that belong to God, we need an awareness of all three parts and strive to nurture and minister to our whole body.

Prayer for today: Oh Heavenly Father, Creator of all things, I am so thankful that you created me and as your creation, I want to be all that I can be, fully alive.  Help me to fulfill my duty as your child and creation by taking responsibility for my whole self.  I need to care for my whole body, physically, spiritually and intellectually.  Help me to fill this responsibility .  In Jesus name, Amen.

You are God's temple!

Tuesday May 22 2012:

1 Corinthians 3:17. “God will bring ruin upon anyone who ruins this temple.  For God’s temple is holy and you Christians are that temple.”

Here we see that we, as Christians, are indeed looked upon as a holy temple, to be used by God. 

As we accept Christ into our lives and allow the presence of the Holy Spirit to fill us, we become a Holy Temple.

If we choose to let sin into our lives and continue to do this, we will bring ruin into this holy temple. 

We have a responsibility to keep our temple holy and acceptable to God. Also, if anyone else contaminates the holy temple that person is responsible for their actions.

We need to realize we are not to be a stumbling stone to anyone else, it would be like bringing ruin to God’s temple.

Prayer for today: Oh, Lord, today I praise you and thank you for allowing me to be considered as your Holy Temple. Help me not to neglect my Christian duty as a chosen person in you courts. I am so thankful that you considered me to be a vessel for you to show your love and compassion and hope to those who have lost hope. Help me to be an encourager to those you put in my path.  In Jesus name, Amen.