Moved by Love - A Prayer for Nations

Not sure why, but after watching this movie,

The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)

, and bawling like a baby,

I couldn't even stop myself from praying incessantly

for all the hearts wrestling with similar decisions. I repented for allowing the enemy to distract me, with my own problems, from

praying for nations

that have to struggle with these kinds of decisions.

I am grateful to God for His awesomeness in using this movie to shed new light on the meaning of

the Great Commission (

Matthew 28:16-20 ESV

).

 Sharing the love of God, honoring free will, I pray for wisdom.

Young people, men and women,

American, Pakistani, Iraqi, Afghani, Israeli, Chinese, North Koreans, Palestinian - countries torn by war,

by the politics and ambitions of a select few who use their power to manipulate the masses - and

even for these men who lead so many sheep astray,

I pray.

I ask that you join me in prayer:

Image Source: 

www.imdb.com/title/tt2032557

I pray that in Christ Jesus, through the intercession of the Holy Spirit, people stuck in these difficult situations, faced with difficult decisions and conflicting loyalties, are moved not by man, but by the divine power of God to think, say and do God's will - knowingly and unknowingly, in all that they do. Just as in Joshua 1:1-9 (ESV) God told Joshua that wherever his feet tread He would give to Him, I pray now that as my heart has gotten wind of their hurt and pain, that "I receive" those hearts to give to God. I thank You, LORD, for Your unending, unconditional Love, and ask that You move mightily, even now, through those nations to restore their hearts to You - Only by YOUR Love, not through fear or manipulation, as has happened in the past. Thank You, God. Amen.

I posted this on my

Facebook page (

Love Covers All - God Is Love

),

before I posted it here, but

I had to make it more permanent

than simply Facebook.

Love You, LORD.

Bless you, All,

and may you never be faced with decisions such as those. If you are,

may you conquer evil thoughts with victory and Love,

always,

in Christ Jesus, Amen.

The Sin of Enabling Wickedness

The Sin of Enabling

Being honest is something we regard as righteous, in Christ, but somewhere along the way, we got lost.

For some reason, we're

afraid to be honest with ourselves

about ourselves, and so this is a realm in which our enemy gets to frolic... a lot.

The

"sin of enabling bad behaviour (

BE, not AE

) in the simple act of not being true to ourselves"

refers to

sin that abounds because we are not being ourselves,

acting as we naturally would when someone acts/treats us in a particular way, positive or negative.

Look at babies - there's a reason Christ said be like them.

Boundaries, setting and upholding them, are a feature of wisdom that comes from right relationship with God.

The Genuine Compliment

• Natural response: Smile, feel uplifted and say thank you, even notice a positive in the messenger.

• Faux-Godly response: refuse the compliment, highlight a million items of evidence proving it's not true.

Why? We misunderstand the true nature of modesty, humility.

We now believe confidence is arrogance. In doing so, we've created a society of confused people who never know when/how/if to pay compliments and honoring each other has become... "Awkward". We're deceived! We played right into the enemy's hands.

The Hard Slap

• Natural response: Flee, slap them back or speech them off, noticing weaknesses to pounce on.

• Faux-Godly response: "Please, don't slap me. I realize you (excuses, rationalizing bad behaviour), but...".

Why? We misuse the verse "turn the other cheek",

we've distorted our response. In doing so, we've taught that person that it's okay. Again, look at children. the first time they realize biting hurts, they stop... mostly.

Source:

lovecoversall-godislove.blogspot.ca

In God's Image

I'm not sure why so many in the Church have decided that nature is evil - the Word says "the power of death and life lie in the tongue"

Proverbs 18:21

. We only see, "out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, ..."

Mark 7:21

, but

miss that it is our very hearts that God wants (

Psalm 37:4

, ). Not to destroy it! To heal it!

Because everything stems from your heart. Where we got lost, however, is in trying to do it ourselves.

By design, the natural responses we have, are their for a reason,

given by our Creator, God, in Christ. We help each other to grow by

being exactly who we are. No, not by making them be who we are.

 God in His Holy Spirit, or through these types of experiences with others, refine us into His image - it is not us, trying in our own strength to be that. So please be true to you, and take the displeasing parts to God, so He can change them. Amen.

Honoring Others

It is then, overflowing with God's love, through our intimate experience of His Love,

grace, mercy - His joy and hope, His honor - that we can truly love and honor our neighbours, and our enemies, and not help them along a path of eventual self-destruction by misleading them to believe it's okay to hurt us.

P.S.

For those of us who have decided that

all environmentalists are pagan,

think again.

You might want to re-read

Romans 8

and even

Genesis

. God didn't make the earth and say abuse it - what in God's character is like that? No.

We are to be good stewards i.e. take care of it.

Letting Go - Serving God Not Mankind

What have you been struggling with,

undecided about, in terms of

the relationships in your life?

I'm wondering if I'm the only one with

biblical verses

swirling around in my head along with a series of

injustices, unresolved misunderstandings

and

compromises

that I'm not sure I've identified correctly.

Recently, God has illuminated the reality that

I only answer to Him,

that in Christ, God is the only one I'm accountable to. He has made me see clearly that

serving two (2) masters

(

Matthew 6:24 ESV

)

- let alone 50,

if I count the emotions and needs of the people I love - will inevitably drive me... and you... crazy. Serving God in Christ alone, at the center of everything, gives us rest. (

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

).

Who Do You Serve?

STOP! Stop trying

to be good, to do the right thing, to "represent God to the world", to hold on to all the relationships in your life (particularly those that only you are working on). Let it all go.

NOW, breathe.

Tell me what that feels like. How light are you, now? Do you know why?

That burden is not yours to carry! It's GOD's!

"Pick up your cross" means come to Christ. That's it!

 Your cross is to put God, in Christ through the Holy Spirit, first.

Make no mistake, that is a cross,

because you're wired by society to

do everything else first and "pray when all else fails". (Wrong)

It is the hardest thing to do, but truly, the most rewarding thing, to

put God front, and center.

 You see, it is not in being and doing good that we draw nearer to God.

It is in being true, honest,

about what is

both good and bad

about you - spirit, soul (mind and emotions) and body; thought, word and deed (action) - and bringing

that

to God.

Source of "God First" image: http://bit.ly/1gx5Ajb

For the past year, I've been struggling with right and wrong, and have realized that I've fallen into a trap that, from the age of 12, I've taken care to avoid -

I've been living and assessing myself on the basis of other people's limited perspectives. (I've failed!)

While I haven't resolved the issue in question yet, I am clear that it had better be my decision, as

I am to answer to My Beloved, God

in Christ through the Holy Spirit, for it.

Godly Boundaries in Relationship?

As I sat at my Church this Sunday, I took a long look at the people around me, and my brain wandered further to incorporate the people I've surrounded myself with in Life. And "what the...?" was my response. It's like I opened my eyes for the first time in years - not months.

Who are these people? Why have I given them permission to speak into my life? Why am I surrounded by people who think they have a right to manipulate; who don't honor Free Will?

They don't know me and haven't taken the time to go deeper with me. They do, however, have the time to impose their will and views on me... because I let them.

For a long time I'd thought it was because I didn't try in relationships. On Sunday,

I realized that I more than tried - I'd poured my heart out, only to get shutdown...several times

...with the excuse of "relationships are messy". I totally fell for it, until I realized that wasn't applicable to them - just to me. My Pastor said, "what's inside oozes out", so that's what you see on this page... but that's what I wasn't paying attention to in all of these people I've been making excuses for.

Where do you draw the line - compassion and 

agape (2) love

 versus genuine relationship? WWJD? Jesus ran to the Father - all the time!

He was always running to God. He answered to no one, but God in Christ. He had relationships, yes, but pay attention to the nature of those relationships.

No more "

suffering just because...

"

and calling it Love.

Now, hear me - relationships

are

messy:

God put your mother, father, brother/sister, difficult cousin(s) in your life so that you would realize that

only after you've taken your good, bad and ugly to Him,

after He's filled you to overflow with Love, can you

love them endlessly and fully,

albeit with wise boundaries.

Until you truly empty the bag in your heart (not your head, or your stomach) before God, and let Him heal you,

you will keep meeting those relatives in various people throughout life.

However, I place emphasis on the "

albeit with wise boundaries

". You have to be true to yourself,

to where you are in your development right now, to what hurts you and what safety means, and you have to act on that.

Loving someone does not mean "no holds barred" in what they can do to you.

Forgiveness is a one-way street

- you can forgive someone and never speak to them again.

Reconciliation is a two way street

- it can't happen just on your side. Serving God only, means you're free from the burden of carrying all of those relationships. You can, then, see clearly how to move forward with them.

[More on Forgiveness/Reconciliation, Mark Driscoll's piece, 

10 Things That Forgiveness Is Not

. Really process that in light of your unique case.]

Free Will & Responsibility

My mother has been trying to explain to me (thanks, Mom) for years,

"you do not have to get everyone to understand everything before you act";

that I am no less loving toward them in Christ if they don't get it. I finally get it, in my head, but my heart has not caught up.

"If I explain things in a way that helps them understand the truth in love. Even if they don't agree, I have done my part to ensure that they understand the situation, and the devil doesn't get to keep us in the dark."

Right? Wrong. Each of us, individuals, is responsible for what the devil gets to do in our own lives.

We can pray for each other, but unless the person you're praying for agrees, since they're the one with the authority over their own lives in Christ, there's nothing you can do.

Free will in Christ. This is a boundary issue.

In my head, I had it upside-down and back-to-front,

because it is supposed to be that 1. God loves us, 2. that teaches us to truly love ourselves, and 3. from that flows a healthy love for others, within the right boundaries; 4. honoring their right to choose.

We are not responsible for anything beyond our own being and actions.

Remember that, the next time you pray

"LORD, make XOX do..." instead of "LORD, please let XOX grow in relationship with You."

It is no small feat to undo those soul ties, but acknowledging them is the first step.

For me, going back to basics,

God first, God only, is the second step.

Only then can I make clear decisions about

setting right boundaries and building right community.

Only then can I carry out

the great commission (

Matthew 28:16-20 ESV

), truly.

Forgiveness & Wisdom

How could you do that again?!

My friend asked this question this morning and, I have to say I, myself, have asked variations of this very question so many times:

"What do you do when time and time again you plan to do something to help someone and every single time it comes out that they are stabbing you behind you back??"

We get more annoyed because we think that Christ said "turn the other cheek" and "forgive them 70 times seven times", but do we remember context? What did Jesus do?

Forgiveness

and

Wisdom,

not

'Forgiveness

or

Wisdom'

(1) Reconciliation only after Repentance

Full reconciliation before our attackers realize their wrong actions, and

repent

(decide to change as a result of being sorry), is

quite dangerous.

Matthew 7:6, ESV

, tells us:

"Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you"

Jesus died that we might be forgiven and reconciled to God,

but if you don't know you need forgiveness, you do not repent and, therefore, cannot receive reconcilation. Repentance makes room for reconciliation (

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ESV

).

(2) Suffer only as you're called to: Don't enable sin

When we reconcile before their repentance,

we make our attackers stumble,

because we

enable

their sin. We are not acting in love.

Jesus didn't suffer and die "just because". NO! He suffered

as He was called to

by God,

His and our Father. (See 1 Peter 2:18,19,23; 1 Peter 3:17, in

this earlier post

.)

(3) Perspective: You don't know what you don't know

If you're still hurting from a recent attack, this is irritating, but: No matter how close you are to someone, or how obvious the wrong action should be, there's always some perspective you can't possibly see, simply because

you're not that person.

We saw Matthew 7:6 above, but the first part,

Matthew 7:1-5, ESV

, cannot be ignored:

We don't know enough to judge.

That plank in each of our eyes refers to our limited human insights. Even conjoined twin don't know enough to judge accurately.

theresnotimeforpants.blogspot.ca

|

Image Link

You are only called to forgive and pray

Like Jesus Christ, you're called to forgive them. 

We are not called to:

1. force repentance: "You have to admit you're wrong!", nor to

2. force reconciliation and put yourself in danger.

You're just called to forgive.  Forgiveness restore God's Shalom peace in you as you step back and let Him in.

Forgiveness releases you:

1. from the anger and hurt, as we realize we all sin and fall short of righteousness;

2. from sin of unforgiveness to prevents your own reconciliation with God in that area; and

3. to love that person as they are, being able to pray genuinely (not vengefully) for them.

Forgiveness is not...

People give Mark Driscoll a hard time, and I don't always think he delivers his message in the spirit of God's Love, but when he's right, he's very right. Here's the blog and his video message on "

10 Things Forgivness Is Not

".

[

Remember:

As with

Matthew 7

above, whether reading this or listening to a favourite preacher, try to

always

read the Word in context (the entire chapter) and

always

check the Word

yourself.

]