Monday, October 14, 2013

Real Love.... I'm searching for a Real Love

I was just up on Facebook and I came across an argument between a believer and an unbeliever over the topic of homosexuality.

The argument broke my heart for many reasons.

  1. Throughout the argument it was apparent that the "believer" that was "witnessing" to the unbeliever had completely missed the heart of God, love of Christ, and manifestation of Grace and Mercy freely given to us. 
  2. As a result the unbeliever who was considering Christianity was turned away. 
  3. Other "Christians" agreed with the person who was condemning the unbeliever. 
When I first got serious about my relationship with God I started condemning everyone around me who wasn't perfect to hell. They still went to parties they were going to hell. They had sex, they were going to hell. They cussed, they were going to hell. As crazy as that sounds, I THOUGHT that I was simply helping people come to Christ by scaring them out of hell and into salvation. However, that is NOT what Christ is about AT ALL. He doesn't want you to want him just because he is more appealing than hell. He wants you to love Him because of who He is as a person, and what He has already done for you out of His love.

Not only is using fear as a means of fulfilling the Great Commission unbiblical, but it is also ineffective. Why? Eventually the fear will die down and people will go back to living reckless. Or, people will realize that no matter how hard they try they will NEVER be 100% sinless. We are human which means we are going to mess up. Which is why we have grace and mercy. No, grace IS NOT an excuse to keep sinning but rather another assurance of Christ love for the believer. Grace is the access code to repentance. Believe it or not, Repentance IS NOT ABOUT SIN. Repentance is about a change of heart. Actions are just actions but we serve a God who judges the heart. So if your actions change out of fear but your heart is still lustful, deceitful, and wicked there is still an issue.

Jesus isn't waiting for us to be perfect He's waiting for us to fall so in love with him that we have a change of heart and start to hate the things he hates not to escape hell but because HE hates them.
When Jesus called the twelve disciples. He did not go to them and point out all that they were doing wrong. He simply told them to follow Him. As they followed Him a relationship was formed where they became dependent on Him and realized that life was better with him than without him. Did they still mess up sometimes? Of course. But they had a relationship with Jesus they broke their heart when they broke Gods causing them to try hard not to mess up again.

The longer they walked with Christ the better they became. That's the same thing with unbelievers today. Introduce them to Jesus as a friend and a brother not an evil, heartless judge. Encourage them to spend time with Him. The more time they spend with Him the more their heart will change. Jesus' entire ministry and purpose of coming was about love. That should be ours as well regardless of the sin.  Focus on the heart and you will be much more effective. Condemning people to hell does way more harm than good. Love the hell out of people don't scare them into hiding it.

Love you with the Love of Christ

-DeeDee

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

4th Quarter: Almost there

I played basketball when I was younger. I hated losing. So much so that at any point during the game if my team was down, I got angry and had an attitude. I became extremely upset if my team was down by more than 6 at the start of the 4th quarter. In my mind, we had already lost the game. Instead of channeling the annoyance of being down by 7+ into motivation to play harder, I just allowed it to mess up my game. I started throwing lob passes, fowling, missing free throws, etc during the 4th quarter when I allowed my anger over things that happened earlier in the game to get the best of me. 

This infuriated my coach. Being that I played point guard, it was my job to somewhat coach the team from the court. Coming down the court on offense, I essentially controlled the tempo of the game; I called the plays, and got the ball to the teammate in the best position to score. If my head was not in the game, it was difficult for the team to stay focused and to do what they needed so that we could win the game. My coach often had to remind me at the beginning of the 4th quarter to let the past go and focus on the quarter that I was in making whatever improvements I needed to play my best. "Dee, stop allowing things that happened 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarter distract you from what you need to do this quarter. I know you are tired. I know we are down but the game is not over. If you aren't willing to suck it up and let that go you don't DESERVE to win. Get your head in the game and don't let your opponents know you're tired." 

Today, I woke up a little out of it. I was tired, and complaining, about everything lol. Then I started to think about all of the things I need to work on. I started thinking about the areas of my life where I messed up this year, I started thinking about the multiple inconsistent moments in my walk with God, I started thinking about the money I should've saved during the year, the accidents that could've been prevented, the hospital visits that I brought on myself by not paying attention, etc. Just as I was beginning to journal about all I hadn't done, I read on someone's instagram that we are in the 4th quarter of the year. Today is October 1st. We have made it 3/4 of the way.

The realization of being in the 4th Quarter brought me to the bench talk during time out at the start of the 4th Quarter in basketball. Only difference is God was pushing me this time and not my coach. God wants for us to let go of the mistakes we made January-September. We can't focus on the missed rebounds, the turnovers, the fouls, the missed free throws, etc. That will only keep us from faithfully giving our all on the court and doing what it takes to win the game. No matter what position we played on a sports team, we are all point guards to the game of life. The coach, God, teaches the plays during practices (bible studies), Corrects and encourages us during half-time and time outs (Church services, bible studies, fellowship w/ believers, Pinky Promise, etc). However, ultimately while on the field, we call the plays and throw the ball to the person on the court most likely to score a basket (faith, prayer, devotion, praise&worship, etc they are all teammates placed on the court to help us win). The trick however is that we don't know what the other team (life, test, trials, the enemy, etc) will throw at us. Really none of that matters though. All we can do is give our all, forget the mistakes of the past and play hard to win. It's October, all we have left is November and December. We have to make this last Quarter count.

Who cares that you didn't pray and fast like you were suppose to January-September, study your word like you should have, etc. You can't change that now. You can't change the fact that you lost your job, that you got sick, etc. As harsh as it sounds, its time to suck it up and play hard. In the words of my coach, "If you can't suck it up, you don't DESERVE to win." God knows we are tired, but He wouldn't have put us in the game if He didn't believe we could make it to the end.

The opponent/trial/tribulation may appear stronger than you but "The race (game) is not given to the swift nor the battle to the strong"- Ecc. 9:11

Also know that you are not in this alone. There are people on the sideline cheering you on. There are also people on the side that don't believe you can make it to the end and you have to prove them wrong. Show them that God is bigger than any opponent and prepared you to win. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a could of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."-Heb. 12:1


GOD BLESS


** Extra Encouragement 
He, who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it even unto the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain”. I Cor. 15:58