Who is Your Enemy?

Matthew 5: 43 – 48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[a] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205:43%20-%2048&version=NIV)

I wore a shirt one day that said, I love . . . and it was a country that some people have no regard for.  I was criticized for wearing the shirt as if it were a political statement and told that I should not wear it again.  But the thing is, it was not a political statement, it was a sincere statement that I do love that country not for who they are or what they stand for but for whose they are.  Even though they may not do things the way I believe they should, even though there are ungodly things that go on in that country (like nothing ungodly goes on in America), I know that God loves them just as much as He loves me.  I know that He sent His Son to this earth to save them just as much as He sent Him to save me.  I know that the “church” is growing more rapidly in that country than it is in the United States, why should I not love them?  Jesus is very clear in this passage that we should not just love our brothers and our friends but that we should love our enemies.

In most cases it is easy for a person to love someone who loves you.  If someone throws themselves in front of the bus for you, you will most likely cherish them.  If someone gives you everything you ever desire, you will most likely love them.  But what about those that annoy us?  What about those that are always asking for something and never giving in return?  What about the one that just never agrees with anything you say?  Are those people easy to love?  Those are the people that Jesus says that we should love and that we should pray for.

Maybe your worst enemy is yourself.  If that is the case pray for yourself, that you can love yourself in order to love others.  Remember God loved you first, He made you, and you are worth more than gold to Him.  If you love God, then love yourself.

Maybe your worst enemy is someone who ridicules you and puts you down, persecutes you, pray for them.

Maybe your worst enemy is another country.  Pray for them, that God’s glory will be made known to them.

Today, as you seek Him remember the words found in Hebrews 12:14 ¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012:14&version=NIV)  May God bless you as you follow His commands and work towards the perfection of Christ.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Testing Our Actions

Yesterday we looked at the rich ruler who could not enter Heaven because he could not give up the things of this world and love the Lord his God with all his heart, soul, and mind.  He had loving his neighbor down pat, probably because he wasn’t envious or jealous because he had everything he needed.  But when Jesus asked him to give it all up and follow Him, he was saddened and couldn’t do it because he had so much.

Let’s look at what Jesus said was the second of the greatest commandment.  Matthew 22:39 “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

I have known people in my life time who say they love God but would not speak to someone because they offended them.  Come to think of it, there have been times in my life that I have been the same way!  We can all fall into the trap of not walking in the Spirit and we need to be careful when we find ourselves in that trap because it leads only to destruction, pain, agony, etc.  I have seen, through television ministries and personally how ministries have fallen away because someone did not show this type of love.  Let’s look in Galatians and see what the Word says regarding this subject.  First, let’s look at what a sinful nature is like,

Galatians 5:19-21 “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious:  sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; (20) idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, fractions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

We can all say that we have fallen into one of those categories before.  If not the first part or the last part, I am sure we have all, at sometime in our lives been a little jealous, thrown a temper tantrum, had our own selfish ambition first and foremost in our mind, had disagreements with others and were probably even a little envious at times.  But do you notice, they are mixed in with a lot of other things that I would steer far away from.  I believe that is there to show us that we are all alike in the sight of God.  We have fallen short of the glory of God. 

How do we know when something is of the Spirit or is our own fleshy desire?  We can measure it by one fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. 

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”  

I have been in situations where I had full intention to go into it with the fruit of the Spirit but instead my spirit was attacked and discord resulted.  That is not part of the fruit of the Spirit and I was wrong when I brought “me” into the picture. 

Galatians 6:1 “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.  But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.” 

Notice, if someone is caught in a sin, we need to help them, not shun them.  When the adulterous woman was caught in her sin the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, judged her and sentenced her to death by stoning.  But what did Jesus say about that? 

John 8:6b-7 “But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  

Jesus was the only one there that could have thrown the stone but He chose to do something else instead. 

John 8:10  “Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman where are they?  Has no one condemned you?’  No one, sir, she said, ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus said, ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” 

Jesus recognized that she had sinned but He was gentle, kind, and patient.  He showed love to this woman and gave her joy.  He demonstrated self-control towards the Pharisees because He knew they were testing Him, wanting to accuse Him of something.  Jesus demonstrated how we should act and react to situations in which we find ourselves wanting to love but not knowing how we can do it in our own strength.

Next time you believe you are in the right, be sure to go to Galatians and test your actions against the fruit of the Spirit.  Remember the first part of the fruit that is mentioned is love, the core of the fruit. 

In closing let’s all etch these verses in our hearts, that we may remember why we are called to love and the result of not loving.

I John 4:19-21  “We love because He first loved us.  (20) If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  (21) And He has given us this command:  Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

As you seek Him and find Him today, search your own heart and see if there is any part of it that does not have love for your brothers and sisters in Christ.  How about your enemies?   How are you treating them?  Test the fruit of the spirit, begin with the core, love and work outwardly to see if you are walking in the fruit of the spirit or are being influenced by the things of this world.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Do We Love?

We often talk about God’s love for us but sometimes I wonder just how much we love God.  Are we telling Him daily how much we love Him?  Before I get off the phone with my husband or my children I always say, “I love you”.  Even if we are frustrated with each other, we say, “I love you”.  Daily the Lord displays His love for us but often times we don’t recognize it and we don’t return the comment with an “I love you too”.  The very first commandments speak of how we need to conduct ourselves before our Maker, Deuteronomy 5 and in Deuteronomy 6:5 we are told, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  In today’s society I hear more of how God’s love for us is so important.  Some think that if there is a loving God why is there calamity.  I say, if we love God, why do we question His actions?  God is good all the time and all the time God is Good.  He loves us, yes, He demonstrated that on the cross but how do we demonstrate our love towards Him, that is the questions for today.

We can show our love for Him in many ways.

1)      We can tell Him daily in prayer.  When we pray we can let Him know how much we love Him and we will understand more clearly how much He loves us.

a.       Ephesians 3:16-19  “”I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, (17) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, (18) may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

2)      We can keep His commandments.

a.      Matthew 5:19 “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

b.      Deuteronomy 6: 6 “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  (7) Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  (8) Time them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  (9) Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

3)      We need to welcome and invite those labeled as the “least” in our society to sit with us and learn about our Awesome God.

a.      Luke 6:48 “Then He said, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.  For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.’” 

b.      Matthew 12: 34-40 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blesses by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. (35) For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, (36) I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. (37) Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? (38) When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? (39) When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ (40) “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’”

4)      We can show our love to Him by sincerely loving others.

a.       John 13:34-35  “A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (35) By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

b.      Romans 12:9-10 “Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (10)Be devoted to one another in love.  Honor one another above yourselves.”

5)      We can show our love for Him by obeying His teachings.

a.      John 14:23  Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.  My Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them.

As we seek Him and find Him, may we be careful to tell Him and show Him by our actions just how much we love Him.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Children

My passion for many years has been children.   As a high school student I didn’t really like to attend Sunday school with the teens but I loved helping a teacher who taught the little ones.  It was a joy for me to go and help teach Sunday school and I learned so much in that process.  When my husband and I were first married we were recruited to teach the two and three year olds in Sunday school; hat was an experience and about caused me to never want to have children.  They were a lot of fun so long as one of them didn’t start to cry.  If one started to cry the others thought that was their cue to start crying and we would have a mess on our hands.  I remember one day a little girl came in dressed really funny and her mother told us that she had decided to dress herself that morning and it was easier to let her do it than to fight it.  Hey, at least she made it to Sunday school.  I don’t know where a lot of those children are today but I do know of one who is grown and has a small child of her own.  She has gone through a lot in her life but because she had faithful parents who taught her at home and brought her to Sunday school every Sunday, she developed a foundation in Christ which she built upon in later years.  Without Christ, her life would have turned out very differently. 

I taught Sunday school and mid-week classes for years and then became a part of the Christian Education board as the mid-week director.  Later on I was promoted to the Christian Education Director and later became a member of the church conference Christian Education commission.  I became the Director of that commission as well.  The sad thing is that in those positions I fought as hard as I could to maintain a strong board and commission in order to promote the education of our children in the area of Christian growth.  Over the years I have sensed an apathy regarding the children in some churches.  I fought hard against that apathy because  of verses found in Mark 9 and 10.  I would like to look at those verses today.  Mark 9:36 – 37 “He took a little child and had him stand among them.  Taking him in His arms, He said, to them, (37)Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”   In verse 42 He goes on to say, And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better fro him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 

Mark 10:13-16  “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.  (14) When Jesus saw this, He was indignant.  He said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  (15) I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” (16) And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them.”

I have also been involved in the secular education system and have heard all the excuses for why our children do not learn.  One that comes up a lot is the one about their parents.  The parents don’t, won’t, or can’t . . . are very common in that setting.  The same is true for the church, parents are the ones that get all the blame.  Yes, parents should but when they don’t what is our response.  We can’t change a parent so what can we do?  The parents in the scripture brought their children to Jesus and the disciples tried to send them away but what do we do we when the parents don’t bring their children?  Do we shrug our shoulders and say that it is their choice?  Do we reach out to the parents?  Do we reach out to the children? 

Children, they are a precious gift from God and we need to welcome them into our Sunday school rooms, our church settings, into our homes, and into our lives.  Children display a faith that goes beyond that of an adult.  They believe in what we tell them.  They believe in the seen and the unseen.   What are we telling them today?  Is our life demonstrating the faith of a little child?  Are we worrying about the things of this life rather than trusting on God to carry us through?  Do we doubt?  All of these things our children are watching.  They keep watch at how we handle conflict, pain, and suffering. 

If we do not teach our children and value their presence, they will become the children of the end times who are left to go through the pain that we just looked at in Revelation.  We need to remember our children both little ones and big ones, those who have come to the faith in Jesus Christ.  We need to grow them up in the Lord so that they may feast on solid food and have a firm foundation in Jesus Christ our Lord.

This reminds me of a song:

“Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.  Red, brown, yellow, black, and white they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

May you find ways to teach the children to seek Him with all their hearts as you seek Him today.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

God is At Work

Yesterday we looked at the results of God’s anger on the Israelites because they did not trust Him and we examined ourselves and where our trust level is with Him. Sometimes I believe we talk so much about God’s love that we think that He could never become angry with us because He loves us so much. That may have been how the Israelites felt too but He did become angry and they suffered the consequences but He still fulfilled His promise. Today I am finally going to start the story of Joseph but we have to first look back at where he came from.

Our story begins in Genesis with Jacob, Joseph’s father, another fascinating story. To make a long story short, Jacob was a twin, his brother Esau was born first and when his father, Isaac was about to give him the blessing of the firstborn, Jacob, with his mother’s help, deceived his father and received the blessing rather than his brother. Jacob had to flee because his brother was so angry with him. Then Jacob was deceived when he married a sister to the one he loved and had to work longer to get his true love Rachel. All of this can be found in Genesis beginning with chapter 25 verse 19. I would urge you to take some time and begin reading the story. When you get to chapter 35 verse 3 you find that Jacob, after all his trials, returns to Bethel and builds an altar, “Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.”
Jacob had been on a journey and God had not left him the entire way. At this point Jacobs name changes. Have you ever noticed that when a name changes in the Bible it is for a significant reason. This time it is recorded that God blessed him and said, verse 10, “Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. So He named him Israel.” Do you know who Jacob’s father was? Isaac. And who was Isaac’s father? Abraham. And what did God promise Abraham? Genesis 15:5, “He took him outside and said, ’Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘so shall your offspring be.’ He also said to him, ’I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.’

Years after the days of that promise, a descendant, Jacob, is given the name of Israel by God Himself. So many times I ask God to reveal to me my future. I like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob need to depend on God and know, whether I see it in my life time or not, that He is doing a work in my life and I must trust, obey, and believe that His will is being worked out in my life. Are you trusting today? Has He fully revealed to you what you are doing here on this earth? Just as in the times of old, our God is there, He never changes, His love never fails. As you seek Him, may you know and trust Him, when you seek Him with all your hearts.


Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila

God's Abounding Love

I am a little perplexed today as I begin to write. I am writing on God’s amazing love but as I read I find it interesting to see the faith that others displayed in the Old Testament, especially Joseph. Maybe I will write about him some other day.
God, abounding in love, yes, we can see that throughout scripture. Take for example the very thought of creation. Why do you think He created this world and all that is in it, including you? I believe He wanted a relationship with someone other than Himself. He wanted to share with others, which is a result of love. There are times in the Bible that He doubted that He had done the right thing by creating this world. He was so angry that He wanted to wipe it off the face of this earth but He has always found someone who was faithful and wanted that relationship with Him as much as He did. People who have prayed and ask Him to spare the people.

One example of this can be found in Genesis 19 where Abraham pleads with the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. This is another story where I see God’s patience with Abraham as he questions God. Another vision of a 2 year old talking! I have to think of myself talking to God, What if?, What if?. What if? . . . . The point being that God was patient and He responded to Abraham in a remarkable way, He answered his questions! Abraham wanted to know if there were only 10 righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah would God save the cities. What was God’s answer? It was yes. If only 10 righteous would be found, God would save it. Why do you think that is so? My thoughts are, if there were 10 righteous in the city there were 10 who could witness and possibly bring others to the Lord but they did not find 10, they found Lot, his wife, and two daughters. As they fled, Lot’s wife turned back and became a pillar of salt. As Abraham looked over the land the next day, “he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace” (Genesis 19:28b).

You ask what that has to do with God’s abounding love? Look at Genesis 18:20 “Then the Lord said, ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me.” God loved and cared so much about the outcry that He heard and investigated it. The outcry was so great that He had to destroy the disease that infected the cities, the disease of evil men. Look further in Genesis 19:29 “So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.”

First of all, God heard the outcry. He heard the cries of those whose lives were being destroyed, secondly He responded. He is not a God that is going to love us just because we are His creation. Have you ever been around children who have not been disciplined by their parents? It is not fun, the children run like wild animals and their actions towards others is horrible! Some parents think they can love their children into obedience but that only works with grandparents. Oh, no, I believe that really doesn’t work at all. You see there needs to be a love in return and in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah there was not a love in return so God was forced to destroy it. We see the same thing in a larger scale in Genesis 6 where God destroyed all the land after He saw the evilness of man. God did not create us to become evil but to have a relationship with Him. When He hears our outcry and He sees the destruction that man has caused He has to react in a way that will get rid of the infection much like a doctor will do when he cares for you. You can’t fight infection by ignoring it, you have to get to the source and take care of it and that is what God did with Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities that were evil. That is how much He loves you.

I have to think back to the time that I had to take by beautiful babies to the health department to get vaccinations. I hated holding them down for those shots. There was no way that I could explain to them why it had to take place but they had to trust me that it was for their own good. ‘Do you think that is how God feels sometimes when He hears our cries? Do things happen in this life that we don’t understand? Yes, but we can be assured that God hears the cries, that He is in control, and that He loves us. He doesn’t love the evilness of this world and rest assured He sees it.

Life check:
Are you loving God in the manner that you should? John 14:15, 21, 23-24
Do you trust Him for who He is, not for what He can do? John 14:6
Do you love others? John 15:17
Have you forgiven others? Matthew 6:14-15

As you seek Him and find Him may your hearts be filled with the love that comes from our Father in Heaven, may you in return have peace, joy, and happiness.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila