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Remember To Love-To Live As Christ

Remember to love

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In a world where the voice of the accuser increases daily, I’m urged to remember to love.

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain. And most fools do. Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People

It takes a small man to find a flaw, but a great man to overlook it.

Criticism is an easy accomplice, but brings with him disunity. In a day where Twitter wars flare and incite thousands to join in, I can’t help be hear the call of wisdom to return our swords to their sheaths and humbly offer forgiveness — perhaps as we’ve been forgiven.

I’m not saying to turn off your brain — there is still such a thing as right and wrong, though many would have us forget this. And I’m not saying that blind acceptance is the answer; disobedience of God’s law still leads to death. But, especially as believers, we must move towards love as our first response.

Today, offer benevolent grace to someone. Extend understanding to someone who doesn’t deserve it. And lest I sound like I’m beating the drum of hippie lovers of the 60’s, consider that it was Christ who first knelt, drawing unknown marks in the sand, and replied, “Let the one who has no sin throw the first stone.” [John 8:7]

When It's Better To Receive Than To Give

When it’s better to receive than to give

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I believe that there is a time and position of the soul when it’s better to receive than to give.

Sincere pursuit of selflessness can turn into a kind altruism that is detrimental to our identity. In the effort of serving, loving and giving of ourselves, it’s so easy to get attached to the insatiable desire to please everyone and every thing. Our good intentions move us down a dangerous path of earning and striving, which is ultimately rooted in fear and not love.

Each time we bless others out of this good but tainted source, we deposit a little bit more of our worth and value in our actions.

What I’ve found to be true is that God’s love was never prompted from our actions. Instead, it is our very identity as His sons and daughters that induces this great love. It is relationship, not effort. And ultimately, it is identity — God’s identity, as the eternal source of love, reflected in us.

When Humility Is Really Pride

Ever been complimented and immediately denied the encouragement by listing a barrage of reasons why that could not possibly be true?

Ever give a compliment and get rejected like I would if I tried to dunk against an NBA player? Yeah. No fun. What’s up with that?

It’s false humility. And it can fool the best of us. Usually it’s because we don’t actually believe the compliment; either because of low self-esteem or being conditioned to reject compliments out of fear of being thought arrogant and thus unloveable.

This was me too. But I learned that the very response I thought was humility was actually pride. Giving off the aura of humility, my dejection of truth was actually a method of drawing more attention to myself. Don’t we all love it when, after rejecting encouragement, they come back with an extra heaping of it to help convince us?

I’ve found that true humility is grounded in God-centered identity and it allows us to accept compliments with a simple, “Thank you!”

Try it sometime. You’ll be amazed and what kinds of emotions and thoughts bubble up to the surface of your mind when you do; and once you get over the awkwardness of simply accepting encouragement, you can bring it before the Lord and let God heal you of the lies you believe about yourself.

Learning To Receive

I believe that the reason we’ve developed this “compliment-shield” is that, at our core, we don’t believe we are lovable. We believe we must earn love and that we couldn’t possibly be worthy of love simply because of who we are.

But this is what Jesus came to earth to prove to us:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

God’s desire has always been for unity with His people. You were worthy of His love and sacrifice, even before you breathed your first breath.

Just try to say that: “I am worthy of love. God made me worthy of love.”

It’s not sin. It’s not arrogance. It’s not pride. It’s truth. And it brings God glory.

Let God love you.

When we acknowledge God’s love for us and our worthiness of God’s love, simply on the basis of being His, He is glorified. So stop fearing love. Step into it. When you do, you will experience the completeness that He intended for His children and you will understand that there is a time when it is better to receive than to give.

Think. Pray. Love.

Think. Pray. Love.

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In the current debate over same-sex marriage, legalization of marijuana, immigration reform, SOPA/PIPA, and the list goes on… my advocation to Christians is to think and pray.

You can count on being regarded as a bigot, egocentric, unaccepting, prude and old-fashioned. The same group that casts these labels has demonstrated little interest in becoming acquainted with your thoughts and beliefs, so you will be misunderstood.

But don’t stop thinking deeply, praying fervently and loving wildly.

You will be asked to be quiet, but as of now, free-speech is still a part of our constitution, and I would urge you to exercise that ability.

Yet, while you do, think:

  • About the people involved on the other side of the debate
  • About your body, soul and mind becoming more in line with the heart of the Father
  • Critically; seek truth, not what appeases man
  • Long and hard before speaking; seek first to understand before being understood

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3

All is not lost. We have been here before. Court rulings will be decided, and later overturned. Our responsibility is to think, pray and love.

Pray for wisdom in the decisions that are made; that our government would see past the immediate, to understand the long-term effects of their decisions.

Pray for men and women of faith to step into office, that they might reflect the rule of God in the United States as it is in the heaven.

Pray for hope and peace for young Christian fathers and mothers who are eagerly seeking to raise God-fearing children in an increasingly humanistic society.

Pray for your “enemies”. Pray for those on the other side of the debate. Pray for those who are different than you.

My mom always prayed over us boys: “Bless them as they obey you God, and curse them in their disobedience.” A mother’s loving response desires that our road is difficult if we choose to reject God’s ways; that the difficult road might turn us back to Him.

Don’t lose hope.

Think Deeply. Pray Fervently. Love Fiercely.

Being right doesn’t preclude you from showing love. Landing on the losing side of a vote doesn’t exclude you from showing kindness or giving generously. And though your heart may burn within you to see God’s children run from Him, His desire to ravish them with loving kindness is greater than the fear or angst that you may feel. So love fiercely.

Jesus’ time with the prostitute at the well ended with truth: “go and sin no more.” But it was his love which saw beyond her past that caused her to hurry into the city proclaiming she had found the Messiah.

The people didn’t kill Jesus for his evasive argumentative skills. They killed him because, in a world of darkness, there is no place for the type of radical love that He espoused. Oh that we would love like Jesus!

For you to think, pray and love, you may be stoned or crucified. Yet consider this: our King was. And death did not keep Him down, nor will it have the final word with you. #JesusWins