Do Our Lives of Christ Live a Life of Love?

A few days ago while out running  errands, a young mother hurried past me, she had two little ones , one in her arms the other trailing behind her a bit. My heart went out to her as I wondered to myself does she know the Lord. Has someone shared with her the Loving Grace and life changing, life giving words to give her a hope and a future. Not knowing her background, my heart still broke for her, I felt Gods love fill me for this woman!

  What would this world look like, if we as Christ followers truly lived out the words of Jesus daily? Yesterday while writing up this, the lyrics to an old hymn came to me and I kept singing them repeatedly over in my head. The song is by Peter Scholtes:” They Will Know We Are Christians by Our love”

The lyrics go like this: We are one on the spirit; we are one in the Lord. We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord and we pray one day our unity will one day be restored and they will know e are Christians by our love  by our love yes they will know we are Christians by our love.

  Though a old hymn, the words still ring true and speak, so many divisions among Christians fighting over the littlest things, divisions among our Christian brothers and sisters who are suppose to be our family in Christ. If we can’t get along with one another, how are we going to show Christ love to the none believer? What message are we sending? If one who is searching looks at us, sees the discord and lack of unity, and thinks, there is no real difference there with these people vs the ones I interact with daily in my own life, which is what the one searching is thinking!

   If we are living in this world, but not of this world, but to be set apart like the city on the hill, be the light that shines in the darkest of nights! We are commanded to in the scriptures Matthew 28;16-20  tells us to go out to all the world, and make disciples. Nevertheless, to do that with a Christlike   way about us means to first go out and show love to the we see as difficult to get along with, love them anyway, go out of our way to see the hurting, the needs of others, be willing to listen to their story and sit down and give them your time.

 We want our family and loved ones to see the light, to experience all the Great things God has in store for them, and have them experience it for themselves. We want them to have the same hope we have.  Why  so many turned off to the love of God? Why do so many turn their backs to us when we share the gospel? Could it be the ways were going about what god commands of us? We are on a mission, but its so much more than that, it is not for our gain, our pat on the back! Life is difficult there is no denying that, but having Jesus to hold us together gives us the strength to face our trails with the joy of the Lord. It’s so much harder without Christ!

 I know for myself, though I have been a Christian since a very young age, if it had not been for Jesus and his power in my life, I might be dead, He gave me that hope! He gave me a purpose, first to love and serve Him. However, use my past hurts for my way to minister to the lost, hurting people God brings across my paths!

  Think of love in action and these different situations. How many times have you been at church and seen, someone who has visited a couple of times, but because  its not their first time  and your busy doing responsibilities, you don’t get a chance to even say hello, or your wrapped up in a conversation with a close friend. you just don’t take a moment to say hello, you think someone else will do it what message are we sending  them? We pray that we all have the attitude of Christ, that all who walk through the doors will experience his love through the kindness we show.  We do not carry through, for whatever reason. What if that same person is a non-believer, searching and comes through the door the very first time, and we do not make that effort to seek them out and introduce ourselves, what if we were that persons only glimpse of Jesus until that moment, and then they walk out and they die tomorrow. God knows their heart.

   WE failed as Christians because we need to seize every opportunity that God places in front of us! We all fall short,  I have many times and I’m a work in progress like you all! What if that person turns away from God because the hurt they experienced, what then..Well we will answer to Jesus on Judgment day when we stand before His throne! What about the person at work, who you have become friends with in work, they know you are a Christian, you do not agree with their lifestyle, whatever it may be, but instead of loving them as Christ loves them. You  put on your holier than though attitude and climb up into the judgment seat, who are you to judge?  What Love will they know, by harsh words and throwing scriptures at them? They will not! No sin is greater than another is!

   That reminds me  of a quote by: Mother Teresa  and it says”  words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness” wow that’s so true, if those we are trying to reach are already in darkness and we try to approach them with a attitude of hate   because the way they live or because we feel were better than them, then  we need to sit back and examine our hearts.  Think about the 1 Corinthians 13 and what Love is which is the sacrifice of self?

  When we come in contact with others and trying to reach them, share your story, its away they can relate and when you listen, they will see you care enough to share in their life and their struggles! We need to step down and let Christ speak through us and for us! Be transparent! Knowing the scriptures and knowledge of them is important, but its not THE MOST important, the most important is loving God and loving others! So we don’t need to shove knowledge to people when we’re witnessing to them, as the relationship grows and they start asking questions, that’s when we start lovingly sharing a few scriptures with them. To love like Christ looks a lot different from what a lot of times we portray! Jesus sat with the prostitute and the tax collectors. I will close with this quote~”To love someone means to see him as God intended him!” by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Gods Deep Love for His Children~

    We love serving God!We love worshiping him, and expressing our love and gratitude to Him!But so many times, we find ourselves forgetting how loved WE  are by our Heavenly Father and creator!Sometimes its hard to see His love pour out on us, because were so afraid that He cant see beyond our mistakes.Beyond our imperfections!No one on this Earth loves you the way Jesus does!
    No one wants the very best for us as much as He does, as much as our parents love us and our spouses love us, it doesn't even come close to the profound deep love He has for his children!Its hard to even fathom at times, that we never deserved his forgiveness, his sacrifice, his mercy, but He gave it all for us so willingly!He knows the very number of hairs on our heads!He knows each tear we cry, when no one is around to hear us!He knows every prayer that goes up!No one cares more about your dreams and your hopes than He does!noone fights your battles like he does for us!He sees the stains on our hearts, he sees our past and he wipes the slate clean, so in HIS eyes we are blameless   and white as snow.
     His love for his children is as deep as the oceans, as high as the universe expands and  as deep as the valleys!HE is the one who holds us together, calms our spirits when we feel like our world is shaking.He equips us for every good work!He wants to do a mighty work in and through each of us, if we are willing to head the call and surrender to his voice!He wants to serve us, He wants to teach us, and help us grow into the men and woman He knows we are capable of being!
     Its so easy to let what man thinks of us overshadow what God thinks of us and what God thinks is how we should see ourselves!God sees his masterpiece, created in His image.So  he says "Child my precious Child my love does not change with the wind, it does not get drowned out by the rains that fall in our lives!He sis the same yesterday, today and forever! and his Profound love for his children does not waver with time!When  the devil tries to feed you lies, remember that, you are chosen, you are bought with a price and nothing, and none can rip you from the firm grasp of your Father and Lord!

Trusting God, When the Path is Unclear to Our Earthly Eyes!

   I love walking, and yes i even like to hike occasionally though i dont  hike a lot. i still recall doing it with my dad while growing up.  Don and i have gone on a few  small hikes over the years.Usually  when you go on a walk or a hike, you plan ahead where your going to hike, how long the hike will be and you know where you will end up.Its called being prepared!It wouldn't be wise to go on a long hike  on a mountain trial or through a unknown area that you had never been at to before or at least know what your doing and have done some research on the area.Im sure i speak for most of you that you want to  be prepared.
  In the same way God wants us to prepare for the plans He has for our lives, were not puppets on a string. its important to seek  direction from Gods word the holy scriptures as the compass for our lives. There are times in our journey where God doesn't lay out your path or He may lay out more than one path and both may be in His will.Then you find yourself asking what now Lord, where do i go from here?
 We see  through earthly eyes a distorted perspective of a much bigger picture that only  He can see.sometimes the path is not laid out, all we hear God say is "GO" and i will get you there. that can be scary to us, but why are we afraid  when we know WHO holds our future in His hands! We have to step out in faith at times, sometimes BIG faith and really  just lay it out, down at his feet and say ok, im ready and willing to go, though i cant see where ill end up, or how this will come together.
   WE have to surrender our dreams, our plans into the hands of the all knowing God!When were in His will, then his plans and ours line up with another. and God cares about our dreams and our hearts desires, if what we want is whats best, then He will make it come to pass, but when  we push him aside thinking, we know better than  his Perfect plan, thats when our lives crumble beneath our feet.
   Here is a quote i found and i love..." God has perfect timing, never early, never late it takes a little patience and a lot of faith, but its worth the wait!"- Unknown   Psalm 126;2 Man says show me and ill trust you,God says trust me and ill show you! Faith is putting our trust in God, even before he moves in our lives, its not believing he will, its knowing He will! it takes alot of faith to go out  on a limb, whenGod has plans for our lives and he reveals them to us and they are uncomfortable to us unfamilier, thats  when we trust God when the road is clear and we see what the plan is, but know that its going to change us in big ways thats when we trust!
  Then there are time when the road is not clear and the path is not known, we feel the spirit pull at our heart, but don't fully know where its going to lead, and all we hear is still small voice say "GO" and i will get you there, that's when  we  have to fully trust a ALL knowing ALL powerful,God who knows  and has something more beautiful than we can even imagine for our lives!So don't let your fears hold you back from God accomplishing what he wants to do in and through your life, open your eyes to his perceptive and let him lead you  beside the still waters , to where your meant to be!