LOVE: PRAYING AND BLESSING AN ENEMY

Matthew 5:43-48 >>

Teaching about Love for Enemies

43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

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1. Some tips Jesus gave us on how to treat our ‘enemy/enemies,’ which may be people who do not like us and/or people we do not like are

to love them, pray for them, and be kind to them. This, then, is imitating the character of our Father in Heaven, for He gives His “sunlight to both the (good) and the (evil)(v.45).”

2. Self reflection: There are people that I don’t like and/or people that don’t like me. The reason for that dislike is I believe a clash in personalities. When I meet this person or these people, I feel uncomfortable and like they are standoffish to me. And what I’m thinking about when I meet them is how unpleasant it is, lol. I know it’s terrible, and I want to act as God wants me to. I want to practice praying for them and sincerely being kind to them and doing good towards them, not just putting on a kindness mask when inside I don’t like them at all.

The Source of Doubt: Condemnation

1 John 1:9,
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 3:19-22,
19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

Proverbs 4:23
23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for it is the wellspring of life.

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1. What causes one to doubt God’s love for them or His ability in handling a situation is when we sin or just keep things in without confessing them to Him. Yes, I’ve had doubt before.

2. When I’ve felt condemned, unworthy or that God doesn’t love me, I usually talk to God through prayer or journaling, or I talk with a friend about it.

3. So I no longer feel condemned, I need to come to the throne of Christ and confess my sins. He is faithful and just to forgive me and He’ll restore me too!
3.

DO NOT LIVE IN SELF REGRET

Genesis 45:1-7 >>

1 Joseph could stand it no longer. There were many people in the room, and he said to his attendants, “Out, all of you!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. 2 Then he broke down and wept. He wept so loudly the Egyptians could hear him, and word of it quickly carried to Pharaoh’s palace. 3 “I am Joseph!” he said to his brothers. “Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless! They were stunned to realize that Joseph was standing there in front of them. 4 “Please, come closer,” he said to them. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. 5 But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. 6 This famine that has ravaged the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors.

[C] – CONTEMPLATE/MEDITATE ON: I will meditate the questions below and so self reflection.

1. What did Joseph’s brothers/siblings experience? Why they were afraid and trembled to face him? What did Joseph say to them? [verse 5] Joseph’s brothers experienced the famine in the land and went to get help in Egypt, only to find the brother they hated and scorned many years ago as this great leader. They were afraid because of how they treated him in the past and what he could do since he is not so powerful.
2. Self introspection: How is my response every time I make a mistake? Do I take it lightly/ignorant? Do I continuously regret it? Do I repent and make new commitment?
My response when I make a mistake is apologetic and sometimes afraid I guess, but more apologetic than anything else. I have continually regretted something but God has worked in me and is continually working in me so I can repent of past mistakes and commit to living a better life not repeating the same sins.
3. What are the consequences if I continually live in regret or feel guilty? Do I easily forgive others and myself? Do I have difficulties in believing that God has already forgiven me? Why?
The consequences if I continually live in regret is that I think it hurts your soul. You have a burden and the burden must be let go, given to God. I must learn to forgive myself, others and trust God has forgiven me too.

LESSON:

In the act of sin and hurting each other, we are putting ourselves in Joseph’s brothers’ shoes. At that time the Holy Spirit reminded us with the price that Jesus already paid in full on the cross to redeem all our infraction. He said, “Don’t be upset, and don’t be self-regrets.”

There are many people, who after confessing sins before God, remain to blame themselves and even continue to live in memory of sins that has made them angry toward themselves or others.

To overcome it, center/focus your attention to the Savior, not on the past sins. If we are trapped by the feeling of rejection, worry/unsafe, bitterness, disheartened, and guilt, then those things will continue to drag us to fall into sin and the inability to rise again. But, when someone turns back to God and receive God’s love and learn to believe in Him, then not only the life of that person will be restored and healed, but also they will experience changes.

Certainly, we are not able to erase our past, but we can learn from our past. The moment we bring all sins and guilt’s to God and seek His help; we can become a better person today and tomorrow – Herb Vander Lugt

FAILURE IS NOT THE END OF EVERYTHING IF YOU START AGAIN WITH GOD

We Need God’s Compassion (2)

Matthew 18:23-25,
23″Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents[a] was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

James 2:13
13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

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1. What caused the king to forgive his servant’s debts was that he had mercy on him. The king became angry toward the wicked servant later on, however, because the servant would not show mercy on a fellow servant, after he had been shown mercy himself (and greater mercy for that matter).
2. My attitude towards asking for forgiveness from God and other people is that I should be humble and ask for God’s mercy, and also show mercy towards others.
3. I strive to always forgive people who irritate me or do wrong. My attitude is to confront if I need to address the issue at hand to prevent future issues, or to brush if off if it is not a big deal. I try to guard my heart the best that I can.

We Need God’s Compassion

Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10″Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about[a] himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13″But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14″I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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1. The difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector, when they pray, is that the Pharisee feels that he is already justified by his own “goodness” as if he were worthy or able to gain righteousness and does not need a Savior. The tax collector, on the otherhand, was humble and confessed his sins and how he needed God. Even though we may feel like we don’t commit sin, perhaps there are some we are unaware of. In either case, we still need a Savior– Jesus. It doesn’t matter what we do because we cannot ever justify ourselves. Everyone needs a Savior and Redeemer; everyone needs Jesus.

2. “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (v.14).” God hates pride; it’s one of the worst sins of all, and without knowing it, that’s the sin the Pharisee was committing.

3. The kind of attitude I should have before God is that of humility and love and a desire to please His heart. Also one of repentance and a thirst to hear and listen to His voice. I need to remember that I am a sinner that needs God so that I won’t become arrogant. It’s only because of Him that I am saved. He has brought me out of darkness into His glorious light.