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.

Active Compassion

1 John 3:16-24 >>

16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 19 Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. 20 Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.

21 Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.

23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

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Thoughts: To love with actions means that we don’t consider our lives ahead others, but we give generously. People can feel love that we think about in our heads or feel in our hearts. They can feel it through something manifested – through an action.

Giving = Serving

Matthew 25:31-40 >>

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 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. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “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. 35 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, 36 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.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Proverbs 11:25 >> A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

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1. According to Jesus, “the least of these brothers of mine,” are people who people don’t care much for. They may be those who are marginalized for whatever reason or not as “priviledged” materially, or in outward appearance. I care about these people because they deserve just as much care and love as everyone else.
2. Right now, I’m most concerned about living in GOd’s will and hearing and obeying His voice (following Him).

I like this line from today’s lesson: “A PERSON WHO IS THEIR OWN SERVANT CANNOT POSSIBLY BE A SERVANT OF THE LORD.” I want to be a servant of the Lord.

Characteristic of Love: Generosity

Luke 19

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector 1Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner.’ ” 8But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

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1. The change in character most evident in Zaccheus’ life after he met with Christ and repented was generosity. Before he was disliked and known to be greedy, but now he wanted to give back 4x the amount of how much he cheated people out of.

2. Some characteristics/bad habits I can improve on are patience, organization, cleanliness and timeliness. But these characteristics have become better ever sinec I’ve started following Christ.

Loving God = Living in Love

John 15:9-17 >>

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
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1. To nurture the Father’s love in my life, I need to obey the Father’s commands, including to “Love eachother as (God) has loved (us) (v. 14).” It’s so important to live in the Father’s love so that our joy may be complete (v.11).We cannot love others first without receiving love from our Father in Heaven.
2. The impact made by people living in those who live in the Father’s love everyday is that we will go and bear LASTING fruit – good fruit that God can enjoy.
3. “…lay down his life for his friends (v.13)” is a powerful verse because that’s exactly what Jesus did. To be honest, I’m not sure if I understand the full extent of the meaning of that statement, but I think it means that we should consider others like how Jesus considered us. It means to love them and not consider yourself greater than them. It means willing to sacrifice your own self for the sake of others. Like if you get in a fight. No matter who is wrong, we should be first to ask for forgiveness.

WHAT STILL PREVENT ME FROM LOVING?

Matthew 19:16-22 >>
16 Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep* the commandments.” 18 “Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. 19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?” 21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

1. The problem that prevented the young man from following Jesus wholeheartedly in the verse is that he had many possessions, he may have thought he was doing a lot already (obeying God’s commandments), and didn’t want to forsake his possessions. It was easy for him to do, but perhaps not so easy to give it all.
2. What is currently preventing me from following Christ wholeheartedly is the need to focus more and just be more aware. Then I can better plan, prioritize and do things intentionally, while at the same time trusting in God.

False Love

False Love

2 Samuel 13:1-6, 10-16

Amnon and Tamar
1 In the course of time, Amnon son of David fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of Absalom son of David.

2 Amnon became frustrated to the point of illness on account of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible for him to do anything to her.

3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4 He asked Amnon, “Why do you, the king’s son, look so haggard morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?”
Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

5 “Go to bed and pretend to be ill,” Jonadab said. “When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘I would like my sister Tamar to come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I may watch her and then eat it from her hand.’ “

6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to him, “I would like my sister Tamar to come and make some special bread in my sight, so I may eat from her hand.”

10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom. 11 But when she took it to him to eat, he grabbed her and said, “Come to bed with me, my sister.”

12 “Don’t, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. 13 What about me? Where could I get rid of my disgrace? And what about you? You would be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. Please speak to the king; he will not keep me from being married to you.” 14 But he refused to listen to her, and since he was stronger than she, he raped her.

15 Then Amnon hated her with intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”

16 “No!” she said to him. “Sending me away would be a greater wrong than what you have already done to me.”
But he refused to listen to her.

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1. Amnon didn’t show Tamar true love. He didn’t care for her best interest. Instead, his attraction to her was based on lust, selfishness and evil intentions. To start, it was his sister, but also he was impatient and raped her. I think he objectified her, but once he was “satisfied,” he hated her.
2. Amnon hated Tamar afterwards, and I’m not sure why. Perhaps it was his conscience convicting him and making him feel guilt. But in either case, he hated her afterwards.
3. My motivation when expressing love towards others I hope is pure! I think it’s pure, but only God knows. I just pray that He work in me everyday to purify me more and more. Some weaknesses that has made me fall into fleshly desires is impatience, perhaps contempt also. I want to make a strategy with the Holy Spirit to resist all temptation by first consulting with Him and listening to Him and not being impatient. I also need to FORGIVE always!

In short, 1 Peter 1:16 says, “Be holy because I am holy.”

Love = Learn to Respect and Honor One Another

Ephesians 6:1-9, 1 Peter 3:7, Ephesians 5:22-23, 33

Ephesians 6:1-9,
Children and Parents
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2″Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3″that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”[a] 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Slaves and Masters
5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

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1. My position in the family is as a child and sister. To do according to what God wants, I must obey and honor my parents.
2. To improve the relationship in my family, I must perhaps be patient with my parents, but know that neither I nor they are perfect. Perhaps praying for one another will allow us to be better family members in Christ, and I believe that practicing this at home will also extend to practicing it out in the real world.

9And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

1 Peter 3:7,
7Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Ephesians 5:22-23, 33
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Climbing Out of the Pit, Part 3

By: Mary Southerland (my answers below -scroll down to very bottom)

Today’s Truth
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40:2-3 (NIV)

Friend To Friend
At some point in life, we all will find ourselves in some kind of pit, the darkness settling around us like a paralyzing blanket of hopelessness.  That deep, dark pit may have many names, but easily becomes a prison from which escape seems impossible.  The journey out is a process of steps uniquely planned by your Father.  He is the Guide for this step-by-step journey.

Step One:      Wait for God.
Step Two:      Cry out for help.
Step Three:   Count on God.

In this world, there are few certainties.  God is one.  His promises are true and we can wholly trust Him to keep His Word, to do exactly what He promises to do.  In the key passage today, we find an impressive set of promises.  God promises to free us — direct us — restore us — give us joy and invites us to join Him in Kingdom work.  Wow!  That is quite an impressive “to do list” when you are sitting at the bottom of an ugly pit, with the shattered pieces of your life scattered around you.  But God’s ways are not our ways.

In Romans 11:33, Paul writes “Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches, wisdom, and knowledge. How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods.” (NIV)

God is drawn to brokenness.  What an amazing truth, that He turns first to the broken.  Psalm 40:1 says “He turned to me.”  Notice it does not say that David, the author, turned to God.  I don’t think that David could turn to God!  Knowing the desire of David’s heart and understanding his weakness, God heard his cry and turned to David just like God will hear your cry and turn to you!

During the darkest hours, I questioned God continually.  I flung my anger at Him like a spear.  My heart and soul were filled with fear and confusion instead of faith and trust.  Yet, He never turned away from me.  He knew every tear that I cried.  Out of those tears and brokenness has come the most effective and powerful chapter of my life!  I am convinced that the more we are broken, the more we are used.  You can count on God.  You can credit His grace to your account!

Mercy is when we don’t get what we deserve.

Justice is when we get what we do deserve.

Grace is when we get what we do not deserve.

We are trophies of God’s grace and we can count on Him.

Step Four:  Be patient.

Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the Lord.”

In this verse, “patiently” literally means “without tiring” or “with perseverance”.  Be patient with yourself.  Don’t give up on you.  No one gets depressed overnight and no one conquers depression overnight.  It is a marathon, not a fifty yard dash!  On my journey, it took 45 years to hit rock bottom.  It has taken me four years to climb out … this far.  I am still climbing!  We must be patient.  We must be willing to persevere.  Don’t give up!  Just give in and allow God to take control.  He will turn that pit into an altar on which your broken spirit can be laid as a sweet sacrifice of praise.

Step Five:  Don’t give up.

Philippians 1:6  “And I am sure that God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.”

God is at work!  The very fact that you are reading this devotion is proof that the Father has ordered your steps so that you can hear my story.  That may be because you are in a pit and you need help or maybe because someone you love is in that pit and you need to help them.  God wants you to experience restoration and then to be a vessel of restoration for others.

Years ago, in a large southeastern city, the great pianist, Paderewski, was scheduled to perform.  The city was alive with excitement and the day finally came.  In the crowd at the concert was a young mother clutching the hand of her small son.  Hoping to inspire him to practice, she had brought him to hear the master perform.  As they sat and waited for the concert to begin, she turned her head to look at the people as they filled the auditorium. The little boy saw his chance to escape.  He quietly slipped from his seat, walking down the aisle toward the stage.  Just as he reached the orchestra pit, a spotlight hit the grand piano and he gasped at the beauty of the instrument.  No one noticed the little boy as he slipped up the side stairs to the stage and climbed up on the piano stool.  No one noticed him at all, until he began to play “Chopsticks”.  The concert hall fell silent.  Then people began to shout.  “Get him away from that piano!” Backstage, the Master heard the crowd and grabbing his coat, rushed to the little boy’s side.  Without a word, he bent down and, placing his hands on either side of the boy’s, began to compose a beautiful counter melody to “Chopsticks”.  As they played together, he whispered in the little boy’s ear, “Don’t stop! Keep on!  Don’t quit!”

Right now, right where you are, understand that your Father is standing beside you, with His arms wrapped around you.  Listen as He gently speaks, “Don’t stop!  Keep on!  Don’t quit!”

I know that the music of your darkened soul may be filled with chaos and dissonance, but even now, the Master is composing the “rest” of your song.  One day very soon, it will be a song of beauty and light! One day, you will come out of the dark!

Let’s Pray
Oh God, right now I choose to wait on You, crying out for Your hand of mercy and love to deliver me from this pit of darkness.  I abandon myself to You and am counting on You to be my Redeemer and Friend.  Give me the courage to share my pain with others and ask for help.  Now, in the presence of my enemies of darkness and depression, I celebrate the victory.  Thank you, Father!

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn
Memorize Psalm 40:1-3.  Accept these promises as a gift from God for every pit — past, present and future — in your life.  Ask yourself the following questions:

·         What is the first step you should take in order to climb out of this pit? Realize that I’m in a pit and it’s most likely my ego that put me there. Realize that I need help from God and to be honest with myself and with others, and actively seek reconciliation.

·         What do you need to leave behind or step over in order to take this first step?  I need to leave behind my ego and thinking I’m always right, in order to try to see things from someone else’s perspective.

*  What does it mean when it says that God is your lamp?  How does that change your perspective of life? In Proverbs it says His Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. This means He will show me the way, step by step, where I must go.

* Examine the deepest desires of your heart.  Do you really want to escape this pit of darkness?  Does the freedom frighten you?  Why?
Yes, I want to escape. The freedom in a way can be frightening because it’s a change. I’d have to get our of my comfort zone and learn not to hide things, but be open, honest and learn to truly love. If we hide things, I believe that’s not out of love, but out of fear. But I will overcome this and chase after God’s will and freedom He wants for me.

Compassion = Love + Deed

Luke 10:27-37 >> 27 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.’

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins 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.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

1. The Samaritan, after his heart was moved with compassion, went to the wounded man and bandaged his woulnds, pured oil and wine on it (both valuable, especially at that time). He then brought him to a nice place, an inn, and took care of him. He even followed up the next day and gave the innkeeper two silver coins to look after him and said he’ll reimburse the innkeeper for any additional expenses he may have. This man had compassion and took it upon himself to take care of a stranger because he could not take care of himself at that time. Amazing, inspiring and worth sharing. I am learning a lot from this Samaritan.
2. I think I am sometimes sensitive of other’s needs, but especially when it’s convenient for me. When I feel too much pressure, say, for example, from other people, then sometimes I feel limited to care too much about others, because first and foremost, I need to take care of my family and those close to me. But I just need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and really willing to obey and do His bidding so that I am a Spirit-led Christian.
3. I want to make a new commitment that for my decisions, I will try to remember to ask the Holy Spirit first and be sensitive to His guidance (and to do what He says).