God's love

The love that God has for me, a dirty sinner, makes me love Him and others so much more. Knowing that my heavenly Daddy created me and cares so much for me, how could I not love Him back? I love others because God does, and He calls us to do so. Of course because I am human sometimes I become very selfish… actually a lot of the time. In these times I put myself above the love I have for my Father and for others, but I still love them. I have to constantly remind myself throughout the day of what God has, and is, doing in my life. When I renew my mindset and focus back on God I start living for Him again and loving Him and others.

Matthew 5 (2 commands)

One of the commands that Jesus gives in Matthew 5 that is very important to me is to rejoice and be glad when persecuted. First off, if I truly believe that God is more than enough for me then I wouldn’t really care if I had the approval of men. Second, Jesus says in this same passage how blessed I am to be persecuted. Third, Jesus Himself and all kinds of His disciples we persecuted in the Bible for speaking truth, stepping on toes, and trusting in the Lord. If I am to be persecuted then apparently I am doing something like what they did, which is a great honor to even be remotely compared to them.

Another command that is important to me is that we are told to love our enemies. Matthew 5 talks about how everyone loves those who love them, but it would really say something about the God we say we follow if we loved everyone, especially our enemies. There is plenty more scripture that tells how important love is.  One of the many examples is 1 John 4:8, “Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love.” This is something I feel like the Lord has definitely been teaching me the past year, and He has definitely allowed me to teach many others what I’ve learned about this.

For both of these commands, if I were not to follow them, what would I be showing to others about the God I say I serve? Not doing these would make my amazing God look bad. People that don’t personally know the Lord do not know anything about Him and how great He is. If I come in contact with them and say I serve the Lord and I live for Him then how I act and the words I speak have a huge effect on their opinion of God. This can be a wonderful thing, or a very deadly thing depending on what I display. Therefore both of these commands, and all the others, are very important to live out.

Matthew 5

Matthew 5 has many commands that Jesus has given us. A few are:

1.       Rejoice and be glad when persecuted. (vs. 12)

2.       Be salt to the world. Just as seasoning makes the best flavors stand out in food, we should stand out from the world by living differently. (vs. 13)

3.       Shine our light to the world. (vs. 16)

4.       Don’t murder. (vs. 21)

5.       Don’t be angry with a brother. (vs. 22)

6.       Don’t commit adultery. (vs. 27)

7.       Don’t even lust at all. (vs. 28)

8.       Don’t casually make vows or take oaths when you know you won’t keep them. (vs. 33-37)

9.       Do good to those who wrong us. (vs. 38-42)

10.   Love your enemies. (vs. 44)

'Little Christs'

Macedonia Baptist Church is my home church. With the new school year coming around the corner us youth leaders have been very persistent in reminding the students to be a light. My youth minister has hit a lot on the subject of being that Christ-like model throughout their different schools. They have been learning how they may run into kids that don’t know much about Christ so they have to be a great example of Him. The students are learning and preparing to be ‘little Christs,’ as C.S. Lewis puts it. Learning how to do this will help them more than just in school. It’s a lesson needed to be learned and used for their entire lives. Whether in school, at home, at work, or hanging out with friends they need to be ‘little Christs’.

Giving ALL

The most difficult thing about giving all to God, in my life, is the fact that I am selfish. I want to do what I want to do, and when I want to do it. I don’t want someone else to lead me, and I sure don’t want someone to try and pull me out of my comfort zone. If I have my mind focused on something I don’t want to get side tracked by doing something else along the way either. If I give my time to God, then it isn’t my time anymore and it isn’t up to me how I spend it. If I give my love to God and choose to love how He loves, then I don’t get to pick who I want to love– He does. If I give my days to God then I don’t get to plan them the way I want to and I don’t get to do what I want to; I do what He tells, or has told, me to do. If I give my interests to God, if they aren’t pleasing to Him, He is going to change them. Therefore, if I like to tell perverse jokes or long after guys He will definitely put that to an end.

This is the reason we are called to die to ourselves daily. This is the reason I have to give ALL to God. This is the reason I have to constantly repent and renew my mind. What I want is not at all what God wants. I alone am a very selfish person. My sinful nature brings up desires in me that ONLY God can help me overcome.