Unconditional Love

Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law but under God’s grace. 

Romans 6:14

You aren't bound to sin if you're a follower of Jesus. You are free to live out what He has called you to. But that doesn't make you perfect. Even as you have been set free, you struggle and battle your old nature and the enemy. But His grace is sufficient for the journey.

Our development, as believers, takes a lifetime. We constantly face our own human nature and somehow seemed shocked at the sight of it. I have many moments of seeing myself and all my flaws, leading me to whisper, "Lord, you see me better than I do. How can you love me like you do?" 

But those moments aren't wasted. They are precious gifts in that they reveal my need for God and His mercy towards me. In more than one of those conversations, He has taken me back to the flaws of the prophets and the kings, reminding me of their flaws. He said, "I love these men, despite their flaws. And I love you, despite yours." Elijah sounded like a prideful, crazy old man at times. Moses admitted to being slow and a poor speaker. David committed murder and adultery. But God loved and gifted them. Does that mean He approved of everything they did? No. It means they welcomed Him into their hearts and lives as King and He embraced that invitation.

God knows our limitations. Nothing we struggle with or do surprises Him. He doesn't expect perfection, just our hearts. Our performance is nothing in comparison to letting Him be Lord over our hearts, where He can ensure we live out our purposes with His help and guidance. Even our messiness isn't wasted when we let God reveal himself through it.

How to Communicate Like God

Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another... 

Colossians 3:13-13

Child of God, notice how Paul reminds you who you are, first and foremost. Then he proceeds to instruct you on how to show others who you are. Paul, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is demonstrating for us God's communication style by speaking into the aspect of who we are that he wants to shine. He calls the good in us forward and then tells tells us how use it.

We humans tend to rise or fall to whatever is spoken to us. When we're insulted or criticized, we are often negatively impacted as those things rise up in us even if they weren't there before. When we are encouraged with genuine and kind words, those good traits rise to the surface. We find empowerment or destruction in words. Words have power and power isn't neutral. Everything we say affects someone somehow. 

I'm not saying that we shouldn't address problems and destructive tendencies. It's scriptural to address sin and pain, but the same scriptures tell us to do so with wisdom and caution. Blurting out what's on the tip of our tongue is dangerous. Relationships and hearts are at stake. On the other hand, saying the right things the right way is very hard. It takes courage and wisdom-- and I will venture to say that it can only be done under the influence of the Holy Spirit. 

We need to follow God's lead. We need to adopt His communication style in our everyday language if we're going to be effective for the kingdom or even in our relationships. But in order to do so, we've got to keep the ears of our heart open.

Leading in Life

We, as believers, are all born to lead…someone, somewhere as we influence everyone we come in contact with. We may not all be meant to pastor or manage people, but we all have some sort of ministry burning within us for Jesus’. And with that ministry comes God’s divine involvement to make leaders out of His followers. We lead by the way we live our lives, handle our relationships and use our gifts. We lead by the way we walk and talk because we are ultimately modeling for others who Jesus is. It is through us that many will meet Him, and this is not something to take lightly. 

 

Jesus modeled leadership, and from His story, we can learn what it takes to lead by God’s standard because His standard is contradictory to the one we’re taught in our society. His way is to lead by serving, with humility and gentleness and love for those who follow. Jesus teaches that one must love others to be fit to lead. As I think about what Jesus did and how He did it, I learn several markers of a godly leader. They are as follows:

1. A caring leader leads with his/her head AND his/her heart. Lack of emotional connection only hinders his/her influence. Lack of thinking hinders credibility.

2. A godly leader is generous and gracious – not self serving. He or she intentionally looks out for others as themselves.

3. A loving leader doesn't seek to control others by tactics like shame or manipulation. He/she models love, and love always offers a choice.

4. A humble leader doesn’t expect to be served. He or she intentionally looks for ways to love and meet the needs of others.

5. A strong leader builds others up consistently. He/she know that words and attitude have a huge impact and strives to impact others positively.

6. An honest leader is transparent about who he/she is, flaws and all. He/she knows that God loves him/her and because of that, has the courage to be realistic about what’s inside.

7. An involved leader pays close attention to the gifts of others and seeks ways to help them use them. He/she doesn’t seek to be in the spotlight, but seeks to see others grow.

8. A faithful leader doesn’t let fears rule him or her. He/she moves forward with his/her convictions with courage.

9. A teachable leader considers the opinions and concerns of others. He/she doesn’t dismiss the ideas and perspectives of others and welcomes feedback. However, he/she seeks the final answer or next steps from God alone.

10. A prepared leader isn’t easily discouraged. Notice that I said "easily". He/she is encouraged in the Lord, through scripture, prayer and praise time and is equipped with the truth.

11. A wise leader doesn't shirk blame. He/she knows that their actions are no one else’s to correct but their own.

12. A courageous leader doesn't stand by quietly and enable those they love to do things that hurt themselves or others. He/she boldly addresses issues with love.

13. An gracious leader knows that life isn't about rules, but experiencing God's gracious mercies personally and extending those to everyone else. God's love and grace is what changes us and helps us to be what we're intended to be. And when we show grace to others, we give them a glimpse of who He is and how much He loves them.

We have to determine which standard will become our own – the world’s or Gods. How will we influence and how will we lead? Whatever one we chose is telling of who we really serve because, with God, nothing is wasted. Everything we do matters for the kingdom of God.

An Eager Heart & Faithful Mind

The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 

Acts 17:11

I'm convinced that one of the biggest hindrances to the growth of the church is the lack of teachability and humility, stemming from the assumption that we have it all figured out already. The idea behind it is a false confidence- one that resembles arrogance more than faith, and a need to impress people. This fear is often that we will appear unstable and our faith will be stolen if we admit that we can't wrap our minds around every single aspect of God. But here's the truth: our faith can only be stolen when we personally hand it over. And our stability has nothing to do with the opinions of other humans.

Brothers and sisters, we don't have to understand it all or have all the answers. We don't have to respond to pretend to know everything and it's totally appropriate to say, "I don't know" or "I don't understand." Faith has less to do with knowledge than it does believing The God we don't see and that His way is better than ours. We were created to think, obviously,  but sometimes our feelings and brains won't coincide with the faith we're called to have. Sometimes God wants to change our minds on a topic but we refuse to believe that what we have believed for so long could be flawed. Faith has to be an intentional belief that God is who He says He is, He is limitless and He is trustworthy. And in order for these things to happen, we've got to be willing to move and change when called He hands us an invitation.

In my experience, faith is limited when we let our need to know it all rise above our vulnerable trust in God. Often, it's just that we're believing what we've been taught and have never questioned it. Maybe we have this idea that questioning what we're taught is somehow blasphemy. But it's not. The Spirit welcomes questions and a desire to learn and grow at every age. The Spirit fills us with this eagerness to learn and the ability to change when we seek the truth with open hearts. Growth is a journey, not a destination and when we start believing we have nothing else to learn on any topic, we stunt our own growth. 

The Blessing in Troubles

After they had evangelized that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, strengthening the hearts of the disciples by encouraging them to continue in faith, and by telling them, "It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God." Acts 14:21-22

 

Paul had just been stoned and left for dead. He survived, yes. He and the apostles had been through a lot for their obedience to God. I imagine that, without faith in God and trust in His sovereign ways, their response would have been, "Lord, what did we do so wrong and that you are you putting us through this?" Unless they believed Jesus, not just  in Him, they could very well have become whiney, self-entitled Christians. And they would have settled for miserable or mediocre lives had that been the case. 

 

The wise words in Acts 14, spoken by Paul and Barnabas to the disciples, are not among the most popular scriptures verses in today's American Christian culture. In fact, it's quite the opposite – “God loves us, He will make us rich and heal all of our problems." And then there is another extreme- "This is your punishment from God. When you learn to be good and follow all the rules, God will love you and bless you." 

God does love us and sometimes it is His will to heal all our ailments or give us Earthly riches. His generous heart loves to bless us, but blessings are more than meets the human eye. And not every bad thing is a punishment for something someone has done, much less is the world's mess His fault. Yes, scripture mentions God's wrath; it is real - but don't underestimate His patient and enduring love either. 

Sometimes His plan is for something far greater than any fleshly idea of "good." Sometimes that “something” has nothing to do with what we want, but what we need. More often than not, His plans have more to do with teaching us to trust Him than making us happy every living, breathing moment. Trust is a hard thing to learn among human relationships. Perhaps it is the very difference between us and God that make trusting Him a lifelong process. 

That process is hard for us because we think we know what we need better than He does. It's hard because we crave independence even though we were never created to be independent from our Creator. The selfish desires of the human heart have to die so that we have a servant's heart. Why? Because our King was and is still a humble servant. Our King suffered so that the veil could be torn and we could know the Father like He does. 

 

What is Truly Good

There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way to death. 

Proverbs 14:12

There's an old saying that goes, "The road to destruction is paved with good intentions." And it reminds me of this verse. The "good" in us can come no where near the holiness of God, although it's quite easy to settle. And the things we want for others and ourselves is mere pennies in comparison to what God wants for us. But we have no problem using ourselves as the barometer of good and evil. 

I have seen this in my own personal life. My tendency is to settle for my idea of "good". I can't wrap my mind around anything better, and so, I ask for the very best I can think of. But He gives more. I also tend to judge things against what's in my heart, somehow thinking my heart can be the gauge of good and evil. How arrogant, right? But then God opens my heart and I can see things His way. I find that His ways are nothing like mine- He is kinder, and far more understanding. His ways challenge my idea of what is good and, as they do, freedom is produced in my heart.  

There is more to life than what is in our hearts and minds. But too often we're prepared to settle. We need God to show us bigger things and provide understanding beyond our own thick skulls. And we need to remain open to them as we travel this journey. He isn't going to force us to follow; He wants all of each of us-  not just our intentions. In order to give Him all, we've got to be willing to see ourselves as we really are. It is then that we seek His way to the fullest.

The Gift Of Repentance

Therefore repent and turn back, that your sins may be wiped out so that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and He may send Jesus, who has been appointed  Messiah for you. Acts 3:19

What an encouraging verse! The offer of repentance is the offer of a fresh start, conviction instead of condemnation. Peter gave this invitation to the Jews, whom he also charged with crucifying Jesus. And if this offer of a lifetime could be extended to those who faced such sin, why wouldn't God invite you to the same...over and over, as long as you have air in your lungs?

Repentance is not only a call for the unsaved, but also the saved.  It's an invitation to keep coming back to the Lord no matter how much we're veered off path or how many messes we've made. It's the opportunity for a do- over, a second chance. In reality, that second chance may be a third or a one-millionth but the mere in invitation of such says a lot about the heart of God.

His heart is kind, so kind that He would rather see us try and fail than not try at all. He isn't surprised when we mess up. He stands patient with a soft smile on His face saying, "Come on child, get back up and try again. This time let me help you more. " He loves us too much to let our human tendencies keep us apart. He wars for our freedom, and second chances are just one of the ways He does it. He also gave His son to atone for us and to teach us. He sent His Holy Spirit out to guide us and fill us with the ability to do what He calls us to do. 

Friend, do you beat yourself up over every little mistake you make? Do you find yourself glued to the times you didn't get it right? Shake off the condemnation and know that Satan is behind it. Jesus didn't come to condemn you or send you off on your own to "get it right". He came to offer you hope, redemption and the chance for change as you walk this journey. And in the process, He will use your determination and perseverance to inspire others. You are already making a difference.