Friends

For many years I was taught to witness to people that did not have the same Biblical beliefs as we did. I was further taught that the only reason you would have contact (in a friendly manner) with these people was to win them to the Lord. You would “befriend” them to win them. In the process you would minister to them but with the ultimate goal of winning them to the Lord.

What was winning them to the Lord? It meant to win them over to the particular Biblical belief of Christianity. Anyone who did not believe like we did NEEDED salvation, whether they were Christian believers or not.

Does this sound familiar? If so then we can relate.

This belief sets up a superior/inferior relationship with people. Why? Because I have the truth and you need it. It does not matter whether the person needs it or not, that is not the point. The point is the attitude of superiority: the holier-than-thou attitude.

It is this negative attitude that has alienated many people. In our sincere, heartfelt desire to see people have a better life we set ourselves up as judges. We are in a world that judges us at every turn. I, like you just want to be accepted the way I/we are without qualification.

Personally I just want to enjoy you for who you are, in so doing I will fulfill Math 5:14-16.

Math 5:

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Strong’s Concordance says this about “light”. This is only an excerpt of the whole explanation, however it does highlight what I am talking about

5457 2a) God is light because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, brilliant quality 2b) of truth and its knowledge, together with the spiritual purity associated with it 2c) that which is exposed to the view of all, openly, publicly 2d) reason, mind 2d1) the power of understanding esp. moral and spiritual truth

Just being a friend to someone is a precious thing in this rapidly changing, unstable world. Allowing our light to shine will affect more people than we ever know of. It is the gentle touch of love on a person’s soul that draws people to Jesus

It is so good to remember that it is God that gives the increase. This relieves us of the burden of doing the work, so to speak. All we have to do is let our light so shine. Some are gifted with the ability to persuade people and others are not so, yet we all can let our light so shine.

KJV 1 Corinthians 3:

7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

What is the most desired thing in this world? What do people desire about ALL else. What are people willing to die for? LOVE.

1Corinthians chapter 13 gives us an overview of how love is expressed. If we can do this then we are going a long way to letting our light so shine.

KJV 1Co 13:

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8 Charity never faileth:

The desire to be loved by another human is like an unquenchable thirst within the soul. That is why Jesus gave us, His disciples a new commandment.

Joh 13:

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Does this mean that we become apathetic in our desire to spread the gospel? No, it is only in the method that Jesus has endowed us with that we are to spread the gospel. Everyone can strive towards loving others.

We are certainly admonished to:

KJV Mark 16:

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

KJV LUK 24:

47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

However Jesus points out in the book of Revelation that coming to Him is a personal choice.

KJV Revelation 22:

17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Strong’s: 1) to will, have in mind, intend 1a) to be resolved or determined, to purpose 1b) to desire, to wish 1c) to love 1c1) to like to do a thing, be fond of doing 1d) to take delight in, have pleasure

Coming to Him is a freewill thing. If a person rejects the gospel then they are rejecting Jesus not us.

If a person does not come to Jesus, does this mean that we are to reject them? Not at all, we all need friends. Who knows, our loving witness might just draw them into a relationship with Jesus. If not then we must respect their decision. Freedom is the ability to choose and be respected for that choice.

Since I have started to believe this way I have become more at peace with my relationship with Jesus. I still care about the other person’s soul yet I respect their decisions.

May the blessing of Jesus follow you. May His love envelope you. May you love yourself and others like Jesus loves you.
Please think of 1Co 13 when you listen to this song.

Forever Young

A friend of mine sent me this today and I thought It would be wonderful to include in this blog
Now Joan Baez became well known back in the 70's (or so) and that is my era of music.
My teenage years were spent in the 60's; I was not a Christian at the time. A decade of mass change in values and morals. Those of us who went through that time were not left unscathed. I call us the "lost generation" because we lost our footing on the past, a past that helped provide us with stability and a lifestyle. That all changed. In fact the very fabric of our society was was rent.
Nevertheless I do not want this to be a downer.
Jesus wants us to be forever young. No matter our physical age we are able to be young where it counts, in our spirits and souls.
These two verses were brought to my mind. In them you will find great hope and strength.

KJV Philippians 4:
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

KJV Colossians 3:
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Even though our bodies are not responding as we would like Jesus will strengthen us if we turn our minds towards Him.
Just because or bodies are weak does not mean that we are unable to project the wisdom and strength of Jesus. We are strong through Him no matter how weak we feel. Strength is of spirit not of the body.
Take hope. Be encouraged in the Lord.
May the love and strength of Jesus come upon you today and every day.

No Other You

For some reason I am unable to get away from being an individual in Jesus; a square peg in it's own unique square hole. Maybe it is my own search for self that prompts this desire to explore further our unique nature. However I have found that when I am unable to let go of something, it is Jesus urging me to investigate the idea further and to share it with others.

We are born into a world of uncertainty unable to cope or live without the help of our parents. As we grow we wish to please these parents by doing specific actions to do so. We even take on their thought patterns so we can fit in and be taken care of. As we grow we become increasingly self sufficient, yet incredibly dependent upon approval from those we look up to.

Now please do not get me wrong, I am not laying the blame on parents or other authority figures, just trying to explain where some of our thoughts originate. No blame, just recognition. Once we know where we have come from then we are able to set or reset our future course. There are so many sources of influence in our early lives it would be very hard to list them all. Suffice it to say, that as we grow up, others that we are dependent upon and look up to imprint us, so to speak.

Uniqueness begins in creation. Jesus created us in His own image, likeness, copy or reflection.

KJV Genesis 1:
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

It was into this image that He breathed the breath of life. If you will notice that man “became” a living soul. It was only after creation that man “became” a living soul, not upon creation. It was a distinct act of God, a deliberate conscious effort upon His part. Therefore every “living soul” is a conscious effort upon the part of God. He controls it all, why not the unique impartation of “soul” unto the human being?

KJV Genesis 2:
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Just a small aside here: It is in the womb that life is created and in the same womb that a person becomes a “living soul”. It was in the womb that David acknowledged (in later years) that Jesus was his God. Therefore, I believe that creation of a human begins at conception and shortly thereafter life is breathed into the person and they become a living soul.

KJV Psalm 22:
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

Let us consider the following scriptures, especially Ecclesiastes 12:7.

KJV Ecclesiastes 12:
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:

3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,

4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Here is what Strong’s says about the word translated “spirit”.

7307 ; {roo'-akh}
• from 07306; TWOT - 2131a; n f
• AV - Spirit or spirit 232, wind 92, breath 27, side 6, mind 5, blast 4, vain 2, air 1, anger 1, cool 1, courage 1, misc 6; 378
• 1) wind, breath, mind, spirit 1a) breath 1b) wind 1b1) of heaven 1b2) quarter (of wind), side 1b3) breath of air 1b4) air, gas 1b5) vain, empty thing 1c) spirit (as that which breathes quickly in animation or agitation) 1c1) spirit, animation, vivacity, vigour 1c2) courage 1c3) temper, anger 1c4) impatience, patience 1c5) spirit, disposition (as troubled, bitter, discontented) 1c6) disposition (of various kinds), unaccountable or uncontrollable impulse 1c7) prophetic spirit 1d) spirit (of the living, breathing being in man and animals) 1d1) as gift, preserved by God, God's spirit, departing at death, disembodied being 1e) spirit (as seat of emotion) 1e1) desire 1e2) sorrow, trouble 1f) spirit 1f1) as seat or organ of mental acts 1f2) rarely of the will 1f3) as seat especially of moral character 1g) spirit of God 1g1) as inspiring ecstatic state of prophecy 1g2) as impelling prophet to utter instruction or warning 1g3) imparting warlike energy and executive and administrative power 1g4) as endowing men with various gifts 1g5) as energy of life 1g6) ancient angel and later Shekinah

This would indicate that ALL human spirit it given by God, not just passed down from generation to generation. Jesus being infinite in intelligence, ability etc. would give each person a unique personality and aptitudes. Because He is able to and wants to.

It would also follow that Jesus has given each of us a unique set of life’s instructions and mission. The trick here is to allow ourselves to step into these abilities and ultimately our mission in life.

KJV 1 Corinthians 2:

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

It is the Spirit of God that reveals everything unto us. Have you ever had the feeling that Jesus has prepared you for a great mission and you have allowed others to dissuade you? Have you more times than you can remember said, “That cannot be God, it has to be me.” And because you think it is you, you walk away from what Jesus wants you to do.

We are all unique. God has created us that way. Therefore we all have a unique mission in life that no one else can do.

For me that is the hardest thing to accept; that I am unique, loved of God just the way He created me and He has a great mission for me to accomplish. I do not have to know how to accomplish this mission. All I have to do is accept His mission for me.

May the love of Jesus take you into His embrace comfort and strengthen you.