First giving all Honor and Praise to the Lord above for all his Wonderful Blessing. Oh What a mighty God we serve!
Recently I was with some friends discussing a powerful sermon we heard at Night of Worship at LifePoint Church in Fredericksburg Virginia. Pastor Carl Lentz, the Lead Pastor of Hillsong NYC, spoke on Loving the way Jesus loves, everyone I spoke with that heard that messages gave nothing but Praise for Pastor Lentz message. Yet after a week, I wonder how many of us really truly received the message, I say this because even I have not truly Loved other as Jesus Love me. How can I help my Niece understand what God Love truly looks like when we as Christain can be our own worst enemy. We love on Sunday after hearing the word / message of God given by our Pastor; we hug each other, we smile in the face of others, and before we drive off the parking lot we forget the message of Love given earlier.
Love Like Jesus
In these days and time when the WORLD is in such a desperate need of God truly Love we as Christians should be should stepping up to the plate. Instead, we as Christain are more divided than ever; I dare say we are actually our own worst nightmare, We have Church Leader today that only want Christian that will conform to their ideas, or tell you how you as a church follower should act. They will use terms like “we as Christians should do this, we as Christian should not worship with those who don’t share our belief.” Where in the Bible does it say Jesus said to hate your enemies or those with different views than yours, maybe they need to reread Luke 6:27-36 again
Luke 6:27-36 27“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32″If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Let’s take a moment and break down this passage, but before we do what does Christian mean?
Wikipedia said that “ A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. “Christian” derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term Mashiach.”
WOW THAT WAS A MOUTH FULL TO READ, NOW TRY SAYING IT OUT LOUD
A key statement in the above text is “ Monotheistic “the doctrine or belief that there is but one God “ Religion based on the Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ. “ We will need to remember that as we go further into the discussion.
In Acts 11:26 “the first disciple in Antioch were called Christian because they believed in Christ and followed His example.”
Now in Luke 6:27 -36 Jesus is teaching to a crowd of people on how WE should act towards one another, and when I first read this passage I realized how far I am from being Christ-like, Isn’t that what we should ALL strive to be.
Let’s Continue!
Have you ever heard of The Passion Translation it’s a new, heart-level translation that expresses God’s fiery heart of love to this generation using Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic manuscripts, merging the emotion and life-changing truth of God’s Word! Sometimes said to Encounter the Heart of God. Written by Dr. Brian Simmons
In the TPT “The Passion Translation” of Luke 6:27-31 it reads: “But if you will listen, I say to you, love your enemies and do something wonderful[m] for them in return for their hatred. 28 When someone curses you, bless that person in return. When you are mistreated and harassed by others, accept it as your mission to pray for them. 29 To those who despise you, continue to serve them and minister to them. If someone takes away your coat, give him as a gift your shirt as well. 30 When someone comes to beg from you, give to that person what you have. When things are wrongly taken from you, do not demand they be given back. 31 However, you wish to be treated by others is how you should treat everyone else.
Now, can you count, on the one hand, how many people have driven you crazy last week did you turn around to do something nice for them or even pray for them? I DIDN’T, Shouldn’t that be something that comes naturally as a follower of Christ? Imagine the example you would set for others to see? Of course, there would be those who think you are crazy; I’m actually ok with people seeing me acting like Jesus would have.
Ask yourself; Are we as Christain supposed to be Christ Followers or just a body of church-going folk who say we Love the Lord but don’t Love the way the Lord loves us. You wonder why a lot of nonbelievers and even other believer call us Christian hypocrite because we fail to act the way our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ showed us. If we truly Loved others the way Jesus loves us, we would be looking for ways to bring everyone closer together, not use our religion to draw us further apart. We know Jesus was seeking to save all our lost Souls shouldn’t we as Christain be doing the same thing.
Here is the Question to ask yourself? Do I want to Love Like Jesus or do I Just want to be a Christian? FYI it’s a trick question! If you recall the meaning of a Christain from above. ““ A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.” Then you realize that to be a TRUE CHRISTAIN; YOU HAVE TO LOVE LIKE JESUS.
I know that’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s what we should all strive for. Just Maybe if we took the time just to think WHAT WOULD JESUS DO! More often, what a BETTER WORLD THIS PLACE WOULD BE!
Next Week We Will address Part 2 of Luke 32-34 TPT. Walking The Talk
In the TPT “The Passion Translation” of Luke 6:32-36 it reads; “Are you really showing true love by only loving those who love you back? Even those who don’t know God will do that. 33 Are you really showing compassion when you do good deeds only to those who do good deeds to you? Even those who don’t know God will do that. “If you lend money only to those you know will repay you, what credit is that to your character? Even those who don’t know God do that. 35 But love your enemies and continue to treat them well. When you lend money, don’t despair[o] if you are never paid back, for it is not lost. You will receive a rich reward, and you will be known as true children of the Highest God, having his same nature. For your Father is famous for his kindness to heal[p] even the thankless and cruel. 36 Show mercy and compassion for others, just as your heavenly Father overflows with mercy and compassion for all.”
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Jesus said in John 14:2 NIV “My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you.
Jesus has a place prepared for us in Heaven all we have to do is accept him as our Lord and Savior.
I have heard it said that you can never live up to God Love, But the Truth is God Love you so much that he is seeking a relationship with you so that you will be with him one day in Heaven.
OUR GOD demonstrated that love when he let his only Son Jesus Christ died on the Cross while we were still sinners so that we could all be saved.
Romans 5:8 NIV
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If you haven’t accepted The Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savoir, But want to learn more about Our God and his plans for you. I strongly recommend you find a Good Bible Base Church, speak with the Pastor about what God is saying to you, read your Bible daily and keep God First in your life. He will make a difference in you.
Amen
Where two or three are gathered together in my Name 