What does God look like through you?

"If you don't know God He will probably look like you."

How true could this be?  What does God look like to the world in the Western World?  I suppose it depends on who you are looking at?  Main stream picks up on a harsh, judgmental and mean God who is cruel and unforgiving.  I believe this because I see the hatred towards believers - or those who believe they are Christians  of good intent.  Reading comments on news articles online are a great place to view the hostility.  Can we fault the world for seeing the "Church" through angry eyes and tainted glasses?  Who made them that way?

What have we done as a people who are called by His name?  We have been adopted into a family that was not our own and not received our birth right through our adoption.  We received the new name but not the inheritance.  We have moved into our new Home but have not taken time to get to truly know our new Father. We are distrusting and distant;  selfish and not wanting to really change.  We read His words and miss the intent of His heart because we listen not to His Spirit.

What is God telling us in His word?  He's telling us that He loves us.  That He does not want to condemn us, but that He desires to save us and unite us in Heaven with and through His son!  BUT...we're NOT listening as a whole!  Brothers and sisters of the Kingdom, I appeal to you to look at Jesus again and again and again until you see He is LOVE personified.  He is our example.  He wants to instill His heart into ours.  WHERE did He condemn anyone when He walked the earth?  When did He throw the sins of the people in their faces and shame them?  No, no, no!  He was received by those around Him because of His Love and Compassion.

When we leave our homes each day people should see God as He is when watching us.  We should be different in our behaviors than everyone else.  When we look at others we should look through God's eyes of compassion and Love and not our own.  His eyes will always see differently than ours.  But how we do this is by having that personal and intimate relationship with Him.  We CAN come boldly to the throne of the Creator of all things through His Son.  We can be ourselves and allow Him to work Himself into our lives.  We NEED to for the sake of millions of souls missing out on the greatest gift given to mankind from God Himself....salvation...eternal life and freedom.

It is not right for one to hoard for themselves what God intended to be distributed throughout the world.  When we fail to love as He loves us we are not the light in the world, but rather are static causing shorts all around us.

Lord, please help us to draw nearer to You.  Give us courage to step away from the gates of Your Kingdom and to boldly come into Your presence to receive Your great love so that we may go out into all the world and share it to others.  Let us be the reflection of Your Son and a true bright light drawing others into Your Family!

Judging is not loving

There is a division among mankind.  We are divided by a line of judgment.  What is it we judge?  Better yet would be to ask what is it we don’t judge?  Ethnicity, color, size, shape, ability, political affiliation, familial status, religion, beliefs, etc., etc., etc.  And the list extends too far for eye to see.  Generations of children are trained to continue the traditions of isolation and contentment, adding greater layers of brick to a dividing wall of great magnitude. 

Throughout history many have come along and lead a parade of followers who attempted to tear down those walls and yet they were destroyed by those clothed in masks of judgment.  One greatest among them all was Jesus….Son of Man, Son of God…God made mere man to show us how to live to our fullest potential.  What was His message?  Love! 

What type of love did this infamous Man-God teach us?  What example did He set before us through His own life?  Have His followers destroyed any walls with the mighty hammer of Love He passed on to us? 

Jesus taught us to Love our God and to Love our neighbor as ourselves.  Yet we say we Love God but then curse those made in His image.  We love those who make us feel good or meet our approval.  We are creatures of conditional love and magnificent individual judge and juries.  We condemn without forethought and critique what we do not understand and fear.  This is just “our way”.  “Our sins are not as bad as their sins!”  Yet, where is Jesus in all of this?  In Christianity we use God’s Word like a hammer to crush “sin” out of people, yet in reality we are crushing them with blows of judgment and condemnation.  Isn’t there “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus?” Aren’t we only to judge in the same manner we ourselves wish to be judged?  Let’s rephrase this:  Aren’t we to love in the same manner we ourselves wish to be loved and HAVE been loved?   

Sadly we as followers of “The Way” have lost our way.  We have segregated ourselves in walled towers all the while peering out of little windows and throwing rocks at all who pass by.  If Jesus were to return today would He find us about our Father’s business, or look at our thick walled towers and wonder who lives within such prison walls? 

What is our Father’s business we are to be about?  Well, if we look closely at Jesus’ life we can see it right in front of us.  We’re to be about loving others.  He did not discriminate whom He loved.  He loved the whole world – even those who persecuted Him and killed Him.  He told us to do the same…to love our enemies…to do good to those who persecute us….to show compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, meekness, grace and mercy towards all.  Aren’t all men made in God’s image?  If we are to love God then aren’t we to love men as well?  Not just those who are kind to us, but even those who aren’t so kind?  Then we can transform the world as Jesus intended us to do.  If the world is to hate us for being like Jesus then that’s on them.  But, if they hate us for being hypocrites than that’s on us. 

Lord, please open our eyes to see our hearts and our behaviors.  Forgive us for being so blind to our judgmental attitudes towards those You have fashioned in Your image.  Soften our hearts with Your love so that we can share that love with others, especially those who are not so easy to love.  Let us remember that we were once just as unlovely and yet You shared Your love with us.  Help us to remember our mission and to step out of our comfort zones…stepping out of those towers of isolation and into the fields of humanity.  May we be a people about our Father’s business…a people of Light, Love and Truth towards all we come in contact with on a daily basis.  Make us courageous lovers just as You were courageous to love us when we were not willing to love You in return.  

We've lost our way...

Jesus, forgive Your church.  My heart grieves over how lost we've become.  There are those who rejoice that the world hates us, yet it isn't because we are without fault like You were Lord.  It's because we are at fault.  The world hates us because we have been without love towards them or even worse towards one another.  In Your Word you said "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. ..."  But You did good while you were in the world.  I know there are members of the Church that indeed ARE doing many good things.  But the part of the Body in the Western world is lukewarm, self involved, compromising, legalistic, self-righteous, critical, judgmental and without love.  They don't love themselves with the Love You've given us Lord!  We need You!!!  Forgive us Lord, we don't mean to be so ignorant in our ways.  We think we're doing right, but without understanding our worth to You we have gotten it all mixed up.  

We are a confused Body Lord.  Please enlighten us with Your heart towards us that we may reflect Your Love towards others.  Jesus, you never badgered, condemned, criticised or belittled the lost.  You loved them into Your Kingdom.  We need to be like You.  Give our hearts compassion again Lord.  Help us to forgive ourselves even so that we can extend that forgiveness outwards towards others.  Help us to cover over offenses rather than to take them on.  Humble our hearts towards Your heart Lord and give us eyes to see others as You see them.  You love those who hate you Lord and we too must love those same people.  

Forgive us Lord for our division.  The world sees we are divided and how can they possibly believe we have any answers at all when we build our earthly sanctuaries right next door to eachother and are without fellowship?!  God we have lost our way and taken a degree off course some time ago and now we are so far away from our original destination.  Lead us back on course that we may be partakers and distributors of Your glory here on earth and advance Your Kingdom.  Raise up Your people Lord to be a light in the world as You said we were to be!  Draw us together and may the world see this unity growing.  

If they are to hate us, let it be because we are a light that exposes the darkness, not because we offer them no hope.  We need to point to You in love, unity, with moral excellence and integrity Lord.  Help us to live lives of such love and goodness that You smile upon Your people and the world is affected by Your glory!

You have given us the Keys to Your Kingdom Lord, let us remember how to use them!