Week 35 Being Love in Darkness 

In Matthew 25:31-45, Jesus speaks of goats and sheep, those who meet the needs of the ‘least’ and those who walk around them, and how those groups treat Him.
First let me point out that man decides who is least, even though God created everyone. Some people may not be reconciled to him yet, but they were ALL created in His image. WE put people on the most-to-least scale. 
Our job is to lift EVERYONE up and reconcile them to the Father who restores them into His image. Arguing will not lift anyone up, turning a blind eye will not, defending ourselves and our stuff surely will not. Only Love, His Love in us, will be able to break the chains of bondage. 
In the current climate, the greatest miracle in the whole world may not be physically raising someone from the dead; it may be walking out the sacrificial Love of Jesus in our own bodies. 
Love listens, love covers, love responds with compassion and chain-breaking power.
If the we, the Church, can’t do this, we leave Jesus in the grave.

                                                         Love IS a sign and wonder.

Matthew 25:31-45

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; TAKE YOUR INHERITANCE, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 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, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, WHATEVER YOU DID FOR ONE of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, YOU DID FOR ME.’ 

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 

He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Week 34 Being Love in Darkness

So I have had these scriptures rolling around in my heart a long time. The title for these next two weeks was planned in January, yet, in light of Charlottesville etc., how much more timely can it be? 

God has been preparing us for such a time as this by revealing the Truth of His love for us. And we have been preparing for this moment by accepting and internalizing His Love. NOW it is time to to take action.

The following scriptures are self-explanatory examples for putting Love in action.

Luke 10:25-37
One time an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
 “What is written in the Law?” He replied. “How do you read it?” 
 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” 
 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 
 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?” 
 In reply Jesus said:  “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” 
Jesus told him, “GO AND DO LIKEWISE.”

James 3:8-10
No human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are created in the likeness of God…
Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

Genesis 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Matthew 5:44-45
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 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.

Romans 13:10 
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Week 33 The Way of Love

Can we agree that God IS love? Do you remember when Jesus told His people to Love each other as He has Loved us? When He commanded you to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, AND to love your neighbor AS yourself? He said THAT was more important than ALL the burnt offerings and sacrifices. 

                                                   That makes me think of 1 Corinthians 13.

But first, Psalm 103:8-12 explains how God expresses Love:
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

That’s how God loves you. In Truth, you can only love others to the same degree you love yourself.  Understanding the depth and breadth of your Father’s love for you allows you to freely love yourself. Then you are able to manifest the Love He has shown you to others.

                            Our Heavenly Father does not ask us to love in a way He does not Himself love.

1 Corinthians 13 shows us how to love, yes, but also details how God loves us. So often we put pressure on ourselves to love others like this without understanding that God himself loves us this way first. 

For instance, I have struggled with the fact that God truly keeps no record of my wrongs, which made it hard to let go of others wrongs. But when I understood and internalized that God doesn’t accuse, throwing my transgressions away as far as the east is from the west, I could let go of others faults more easily.

If He asks you to turn the other cheek, do you think He does not? If He asks you not to be offended by insults, do you think He can be offended? If He asks you not to be provoked to anger, do you think He is easily provoked?
                                                                                    God is 1 Corinthians 13.

1 Co 13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 
But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Week 32 THE LIFE and The Way of Love

What I have learned this year:

The Truth about myself and God

• God is infinitely good and complete.
• God is my Father, I am his daughter.
• I am remade in the likeness and glory of my Father.
• Nothing can separate me from His Love.

The Way I choose to walk

• I align myself with the Truth of who I am and who He is.
• I see with spiritual eyes before the physical.
• I surrender my attachment to all other identities.
• I remain in His Love.

Now I must learn to live this LIFE in this world out of what I believe. To live my life in Jesus. This is the manifestation of the Father and myself on earth as I am in heaven, evidenced by love, joy, peace, and power. 

As I realize my true identity I begin to walk in love, joy, and peace on earth as it is in heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Spirit, help me remain in His Love so the world will see and know Him.

Jn 17:23
I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, SO that the world may know that you sent me AND love them even as you loved Me.

Jn 14:16-20
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the SPIRIT of TRUTH, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees HIM nor knows HIM. You know HIM, for HE dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

** I gessoed a napkin to the page and wrote the words with microns

Week 31 Step Out of Prison
GE 12:1-4; 15; 17:1-8

   Abram was stuck in Haran (named after his dead brother.) But the Lord came to him and spoke, “Move on. Leave your father’s house and name and follow the Way I present before you.” 
   There were promises made and movement happened. But he didn’t exactly leave his father’s house behind… He was still connected to his old name by his nephew, Lot.
   Movement towards Bethel where Abram called on the Lord to receive more direction and promises before he took a turn from the appointed path. He forgot the promise of protection. So, in order to save himself, he headed towards Egypt where a series of bad decisions (with a side of the Lord’s mercy) brought them back again to Bethel. And here Abram let go of his old identity in releasing Lot and accepting a life free from the past family prisons. And soon he would accept his new name. The Lord of Heaven and Earth, Abram’s Creator and original Father, revealed Abram’s true identity as Abraham, Father of Many. (My version of Genesis 12-17)

Lord, help me walk in my new name. Amen.

The lyrics below are from the song ‘ABRAHAM’ by Josh Baldwin. Find it…it’s worth a listen.   (https://youtu.be/zRZ2zleNiC4)

There is a mountain in between
What you have said
And what I see
Standing before this offering
My failing heart
Will fight to believe

*Chorus*
On this altar
On this road
You have called me from my home
The weight I carry is not my own
Spirit move this heart of stone
How can I walk in my New Name,
‘Father of Many,’
A promise you gave
And on this altar
And on this road
I lay down my flesh and bones

Here on this mountain
I have climbed
Wrestling doubts that flood my mind
When ashes and dust are all that remain
Will hope for the world still comes from my veins

(Chorus)

And I will sing out
Until I believe now
Your faithful to carry me
Oh I will sing out
Until I believe now
You’re faithful to carry me

(Chorus)

Genesis 12:1-4a 
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him…
Genesis 13:14-18 
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Genesis 17:1-5 
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Rename yourself and follow the leader

Week 30 Step Out of Prison
MK 8:34-36

I think I am stuck. I need to move forward. But I am ..stuck.. fast at this spot in the road, a road I had once successfully been traveling. Why?

Once, Jesus called the crowd over to Him and said, “Whoever desires to follow after me on My road must CONTINUALLY be forgetting his connection to himself: his old broken identity and life. Instead, continually take up your Cross and join Me on the Way as My sibling under the banner of My Name. You see whoever desires to save and protect his own identity will end up destroying it anyway, but whoever gives up his identity for Mine and My good message shall actually heal and restore his original identity also. After all, what advantage is there for a person to acquire every earthly desire but damage your spirit. (My paraphrase of Mark 8:34-36)

Things I forgot while traveling this road:

I need only LISTEN to the Lord’s voice.
I am now in God’s family, my old family name and prisons are NOT my identifers. 
I am a new creature in Christ, I DENY the old and take on the new. 
I follow the Way that has been blazed before me FORGETTING old paths that lie behind. 
No looking back; see ONLY the author and finisher of my faith.
Forget my old identity… press towards His Identity 

Mark 8:34-36 
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”