40. You Give Love a Bad Name

I read this two days in a row, yesterday in the NIV and today in the NIV and the Message. It's strong, so brace yourself for a challenge from Christ.

An Eye for an Eye / Love for Enemies (Matthew 5:38-48):

This is how the Message puts it:

Love Your Enemies

^38-42"Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

^43-47"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

⁴⁸"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."

Basically, Jesus is telling us to get with the program - it's time to act like we're in the Kingdom business. If God loves everybody, regardless of their sins, attitudes, and personalities (because He wants to, not because He has to), then Jesus says we should too. Christ commanded generosity, even to those that slam us, take advantage of us, and rip us off. Sounds a lot like what Jesus did that time when he died for all of our sins.

Today, I am challenged to get off of the stage I've built for myself in this world, making me better and more deserving of love than others, and get into the Kingdom mindset that God has set up of loving the unlovable and even blessing the undeserving. After all, I was the unlovable, undeserving person once, and because Jesus paid my fees and gifted me love, I choose not to take his command to follow up and dish out love lightly anymore.

Jesus, you get me every time....

39. Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

[Yes, 4 years ago on January 12, 2007, I began my blogging journey with a post titled "One." and as I committed, since then I have spelled out the numbers followed by a period in order for each post with the same consistent format thirty-eight posts in a row. Yes, I am aware that breaking this tradition may hurt all 2 of you readers' feelings, but in an effort to be a little more creative and sort of "spice up" my blogging, here's to a new titling format.] [The previous statement was extremely sarcastic; however, it has struck a very sentimental chord in the light of my blogging journey. Please do not go back and read my first blogs in an effort to join my reminiscing though - they're very corny. :)]

Oaths (Matthew 5:33-37):

How many times have we framed our unwillingness, laziness, or lack of interest with an excuse like "I forgot" or "Something came up" or "Oh, I just have gotten to it yet" or, more bluntly put, "I know I should've, but I just didn't - my bad."

Or how about when someone shares their totally legitimate, from-the-heart burden and we say, seemingly with compassion, "Oh, brother, I'll pray for you," or "Yes, I've been praying for you and your situation," only to have just prayed something once or twice as half-hearted as, "God, help So-and-So in their situation," or "Be with them, Lord. Show them comfort and peace. Amen." I'm not saying that those prayers aren't viable and heard/accepted by God, but I wonder if that's what intercession really is. I wonder if that's the committed prayer and burden-carrying So-and-So thinks he's getting.

Let's face it, if we don't get direct personal benefits, we're not really willing to go all out. But because we're good Christian people, we like to appear humble and holy and willing commit to a half a dozen things and causes we don't really care for as much as we say we do and know we should.

Why do we excuse this untruth? Why do we commit to things, sometimes, while in the same thought that declares the commitment, we accept that we won't fulfill the commitment or we place it on the bottom of our priority list?

Who said that excuses actually excuse us from keeping our word? Yeah, there's forgiveness for lying or being dishonest or not following up (however you choose to frame it), but it's so easy to accept the cycle of committing, not following through, making an excuse, saying sorry, and accepting the forgiveness...rinse, repeat.

What makes it worse is when we make promises to God or "in Jesus' name" and then we think those promises are just as easy to smear forgiveness over and move on.

Jesus had had enough with this. He said in Matthew 5: Stop swearing on God, quit swearing on the world, and start making your "yes" mean yes and your "no" mean no; don't be fake - when you say you'll do it, do it like it really matters, because it does really matter. If your "yes" isn't yes and your "no" isn't no, what you're doing is evil. [The latter a paraphrase, obviously.]

So I leave this to ponder: Am I fake in my commitments, trying to pull folks' legs to look holier-than-thou? Have I accepted the cycle? How much am I willing to change? Or am I even willing to up the ante at all?

Jesus is tough on his followers.... He's called us to more than we think! :)

Thirty-Eight.

I'm back-tracking to Tuesday's passage. It was so good that I wanted to blog my thoughts about it. That, and today's passage is gonna need a little more digesting....

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12):

Blessed are the humbled, the broken, the righteousness-seekers, the peacemakers....

However, blessed, more strongly-put by Jesus, are the persecuted.

Some questions I asked myself:

Why do our habits and patterns out-weigh our passion and willingness to be persecuted?

Why is comfort so convenient?

Why do we think normal followers of Christ get to have comfort and easy-going lives?

Why have we settled for less than God has called us to?

Why do we think being persecuted is being looked down on or being frowned upon?

Why do we think being persecuted is missing a party or a few fun times?

It's not that. It's more.

Persecution hurts.

Sadly, I can't say it hurts me to be a Christian right now. Not in America. Not with all the stuff and the support and the convenient circumstances. I don't hurt like Jesus called me to.

Jesus hurt. He knew how big the cause was and he knew the price.

I think we've gotten too afraid to even hear the cost, much less pay up.

What will it take for me to throw everything I have and want out of the window and truly surrender to the cause of Christ - whatever the cost, however severe the persecution?

After all, "blessed are those who are persecuted."

Thirty-Seven.

Here's to my reading in Matthew - specifically seeking to be more like Jesus by finding out who he was and what he did and who he is and what he wants to do in and through me:

Salt & Light (Matthew 5:13-16)

God has called us to do more than just sit here and do nothing.

Christ said we're a light.

-Light is important.

-We need light to see

-to see clearly.

He wants us to show people the way.

We can't show people the way if we don't know the way.

We can't be a light unless we have the light.

God, turn on the light.

I want the light.

I have...I am the light.

Thirty-Six.

These past few months, God has been doing something inside of me. Not sure how to explain it or capture into a few words, and I'm not sure even if I know what He's doing really.

Nonetheless, I've become extremely hungry for God. I crave holiness. I want to be so close and intimate with Jesus. I want to know Him inside and out, and as a result I want to be like Him, doing whatever he says to do - total surrender.

You might say I'm just going through a phase and that if I just worship a little more or read my Bible and pray, that soon enough I'll be content like every one else - that it's natural for Christians to become more hungry on occasion. I assure you, this isn't the case this time. I honestly believe that in a time of significant changes, pressures, and uncertainty, God is shifting a few gears in my heart and teaching me a few lessons about dependence upon Him.

With what I believe were some divine moments and conversations and a series of obvious changes in my life in transition to moving to Dallas, I feel like things in my heart are getting stirred up in the most thought-provoking, focus-shifting, and lifestyle-altering way. I think in a time of drastic change I've realized, more-so than ever, that I'm absolutely useless without God.

Without God, I have no direction.

Without God, I have no future.

Without God, I have no peace.

Without God, I have no rest.

Without God, I have nothing but myself. And that just won't cut it.

Talking with Pastor Steve at lunch a few weeks ago, realizing how incredible his devotion to following Christ and commitment to sharing His love is, and also sitting through some incredible discussions/teaching in the staff meetings at the church in the past month or so, I've began to realize how radical Jesus wants us to be and how far out on the limb he wants us to step - how tight He wants us to cling to Him for security and how close he wants us to stay by His side, following His direction.

As a result of some very cool encounters in God's presence and some challenging changes, this has been my prayer:

It doesn't matter what I want, where I want to go, what I want to do. It's what You want me to do. Let Your will be done in my life, God. You take the control seat; You tell me where we're going and I'll go with You. I don't want You to follow me in my hopeless sense of direction, but, instead, I want to follow You. You know the plans for my life. You have plans for me to prosper.

God, don't let my nature of seeking comfort and blessing be in the way of Your plans. I don't want to be whiny and so self-concerned in my prayer and attitude towards life, complaining that life is too hard and begging You to make it all easier for me. I know Your plan might lead me through a lot of pain, sacrifice, and confusion, but today I decide to trust You again. Your entire life on earth was based upon sacrifice and discomfort so that I could live to worship You eternally. I sacrifice my desires and my peace to a God who knows sacrifice like none other. You chose to give Your life to a completely unworthy people, and what have we done to pay You back. I owe You, God. I owe You my life.

Here I am, God. Do what you want with me. I'll go where you want me to. I'll do what You want me to do. I'll sacrifice my comfort for Your will. I'll surrender my heart so You can make it like Yours - clean, holy, compassionate. I lay my life at Your feet, pleading: God, though I'm not worth it, please use me. I'm Yours.