Taste And See

“You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.” Leviticus 18:3

God was specifically calling the Israelites out of and away from Egypt. They were not to take “Egypt” with them. For the Israelites, Egypt was both a land of physical bondage as well as spiritual bondage. God was calling them not only out of their physical captivity, but He deeply desired for them to have freedom spiritually. It was His desire to have a relationship with His children. He was calling them into a land of spiritual liberty, a land far from the clutches of Egypt. Or was He? Let’s take a look at the second part of Leviticus 18:3 again. “You must not do as they do in the land of Canaan.” The reality that the Israelites faced in Canaan was no different than Egypt. The level of evil was just as twisted and perverted. If you need proof of this, feel free to continue to read on in chapter 18 of Leviticus or head over to chapter 20. God lays out a very clear list of “don’ts”. Why would God give them such an exhaustive list before they ever set eyes on Canaan? These very things listed happened to be the exact behaviors that were taking place in their beloved promise land and it was God’s desire to forewarn them of these harsh realities so they knew exactly what to do when faced with them. Have you ever found yourself in a situation that you only wish someone had given you a heads up so that you could plan better, but instead found yourself completely blindsided with no idea how to handle it? The Lord wanted His people to be prepared to fight the spiritual battle that lay ahead of them. He didn’t want them to be caught off guard. 

While God gave the Israelites plenty of warning about what lay ahead of them they still managed to adopt many of the detestable practices of both Egypt and Canaan. There were times when the Israelites had assimilated so much that they were virtually unrecognizable as God’s chosen people. The Israelites broke God’s heart time and time again. The Lord would plainly lay out His expectations only to find His people worshiping other gods (2 Kings 17:7), rejecting His law (2 Kings 17:15), and imitating the nations around them (2 Kings 17:15). For a more detailed list of the ways the Israelites evoked God to anger read 2 Kings 17:1-17.

Like the Israelites, we too are called to “come out from among them.” (Isaiah 52:11, 2 Corinthians 6:17). We are aliens and strangers in this world (1 Peter 2:11). We are called to be in this world and not of it (John 15:19). We are to be the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). So, here is the question...do we have enough “God” in us that people around us can actually taste and see that the Lord is good? (Psalm 34:8) If the people around us can not taste the goodness of God, or see the light pouring out of us, then something is amiss. The Israelites had looked so much like the nations around them that when those nations looked at God’s chosen, they saw nothing different. They could not taste the salt in their lives. Salt has the ability to make a normal run of the mill fruit or vegetable become savory, making it more desirable. It creates a craving in people to want more. Can people taste the savory flavor of Christ, or are we leaving them tasting nothing different then the rest of the world has offered?

Just as we are called to be the salt, we are also called to be the light (Matthew 5:14). We are not to be hidden (Matthew 5:14). We are to let our light shine before others, that they may see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:15). Can people actually look at our lives and physically see that we are one of God’s chosen, or do we blend in with everyone else? There is a Newsboys song entitled “Guilty” and every time I hear that song I find myself asking the question… “Is there enough evidence to convict me of serving God?” Is there enough visible, tangible, hold up in the court of law evidence to convict me beyond a shadow of a doubt that I serve the Lord? Can people physically taste the salt and physically see the light to the point that it could put me in prison? These are tough questions. How about you? Can people physically taste the salt and see the light in your life? Would there be enough evidence to convict you of serving God? 

Call to action
I leave us with this today, let’s spend some time praying that the Lord puts His finger on the very things that are dimming our light from people seeing God’s goodness and stealing our salt from people tasting that the Lord is good. What a rejoicing there will be in heaven when those around us come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Luke 15:10) all because we made a stand to come out from among them (2 Corinthians 6:17) and be the physical, tangible palatable salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14).

For similar posts visit: Being Ready and Where is Your Heart?

Father, I thank you that you ordained us to be on this earth for such a time as this, to be the salt and light, for others to see our good deeds so they can glorify you. We pray that you begin to place your finger on the very things that are hindering others from tasting and seeing that you are good. We lay our lives at your feet, to be teachable and pliable so that our loved ones who do not know you will come to the saving knowledge of your son. We pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Being Ready

There are two main passages of scripture I would like for us to take a look at today, but because of their length, I will not be inserting them directly into this post. Please click on the links and you will be redirected to Biblia.com where you will be able to read each section of scripture pertaining to today’s post.

Matthew 25:1-13
The 10 virgins - 5 were prepared and ready, with extra oil, 5 were not. Those who were not ready missed the bridegroom entirely. 

Matthew 26:36-45
Jesus asked His disciples to keep watch and pray. However, they could not keep their eyes open and kept falling asleep.

We are much like the disciples who grew tired and the 5 virgins who grew lackadaisical in their desire to see Christ, in turn, causing them to be unprepared for Christ’s return. We need to recognize that God is not calling us to a spiritual sprint, but rather to a spiritual marathon battle. 

Several months ago, attended an intercessory prayer meeting. The entire goal of the meeting was to seek the face of God for revival, unity, and healing for this divided and broken nation. The portion of the meeting I was able to attend lasted just over six hours. I found it truly interesting just how many times I had to continually refocus my attention back on Christ. I found myself drifting away into thoughts of how tired I was. In those moments of my non-engagement, I realized I was nothing more than an unprepared virgin and a sleepy disciple. It’s hard work to keep our attention on the face of Christ. This is the very reason why He calls us to these types of intense times of intercession. Jesus knows that it is a true sacrifice of our flesh. Our flesh can always come up with a million other things that it could be doing that seems to be more fun than interceding for a lost and dying nation, but the fact of the matter is this, if we don’t, who will?

The burning of my heart has always been for the lost, but lately, it seems more urgent and more desperate. I am not one who has studied out the “end times,” but all I know is that there is a groaning in the spirit realm. The heavens are roaring for God’s people to rise up and take hold of the altar, to storm the gates of hell for the unsaved! The breaking of God’s heart can be heard in the spirit realm. It’s like a woman in labor screaming in pain, desiring so desperately to see her baby in her arms. God desires so deeply to see a generation who will rise up and stand for righteousness, not grow weary in well doing, but to reap a harvest. We will never reap a harvest by warming a pew! What are we doing about it? Are we shaking heaven, or are we being shaken up by the storms we see raging around us? We need to grab hold of Christ, keep our eyes focused on His face and He will never let us down! The heavens are calling us to wage war like no other time before! As we look around us we see our culture making a drastic shift towards unrighteousness. Why does it seem like we are seeing people frantically sprinting toward hell convinced that they are racing towards heaven? I’m not sure I have the answer to this question, but I know that we, as born-again Christians, have an immense responsibility toward these people. We have sat back and watched too many people go to the grave only to spend eternity separated from their maker with little to no regard for them. When are we going to learn that sitting back was never meant to be something we are to be lukewarm about? The condition of people’s souls is something that will affect them for eternity. 

It is a scary thought to think that we are all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) and give an account for the life that we have lived here on earth. Are we going to hear, well done good and faithful servant, or will the Father ask us about each and every person He placed in our path that we just let walk away without uttering a word, with no regard to the eternal implications? We don’t make the decision of who goes to heaven and who doesn’t, but we can make the decision whether or not those around us will hear about heaven from us. Silence is the gravest of sins in these final days. As Christians, we hold the words of life and death on the tips of our tongues. For some people in our paths, our silence is like us sentencing them to death. For some, we may very well have been their chance at heaven. Eternity is too big a thing to risk staying silent about. 

Prepare your oil, be ready to stay awake in the dead of night when Christ calls you to the prayer room. We do not know whose lives we will be able to save all because we were ready.

Heavenly Father, we know that your heart breaks for the most vilest of sinners! Give us the desire to get ourselves into a position of readiness. Help us to speak life to those around us. We know there is a sense of urgency in the spirit realm. Let us not grow weary or lukewarm, but rather to be steadfast and blazing hot for the things of your kingdom. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Missionaries

We find ourselves on the road yet again for the second round of fundraising. So, please forgive me once again for my posts being a little scattered. Living on the road does not give as much time for writing as I would like. Upon the completion of round two of fundraising, are hoping to have enough funds to get to Liberia come August or September of this year. We have had some precious opportunities to spend with family, friends and even fellow missionaries on the field. Our most recent adventure was to Tijuana, Mexico. We spent about 5 days with two beautiful missionary families. We rejoiced with them as they shared their many God directed moments and connected with them as they openly shared their struggles and challenges of being on the mission field. Missionary life is not easy no matter what part of the world you are in. 

Missionary calling
Did you know that we are each called to a life of missions? Scripture tells us to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). It never tells us where, it just says go. That “going” could mean the grocery store, our workplace, our neighborhood, and even our closest friends and family. There are no clear boundaries given to that word “go.” You don’t even need to find yourself on foreign soil in order to fulfill this word, but you do need to “go.” But because the word “go” is an action word, we must physically be doing something in order to fulfill the scripture. We must take some kind of action to see disciples coming into the kingdom. They will not just magically appear because we want them to. We are required to put in some blood, sweat, and often times many many tears rooted in prayer in order for that scripture to come to fruition. When we do our part, the Lord will always make good on His word. So, no matter where you are at, you are called to be a missionary for Christ!

I wanted to share with you some of our experiences on the mission field of Tijuana, Mexico in hopes that you may be encouraged to reach out to those in your own community who are in need of the love of Jesus Christ.  I realize that some of these experiences may be extreme cases but look around you. There are hurting people everywhere. They don’t all look the same from the outside, but their hearts still need Jesus just the same. 

A local orphanage

What a tremendous heart-tugging experience it was to visit an orphanage in Tijuana. This particular orphanage is currently housing 64 children. They provide housing, meals, schooling, clothing much-needed love and support to all of these precious children. You could not help but want to take these kids home with you. Are there any orphaned individuals in your community? People who have been written off as unwanted, unneeded or unloved? What are some things you can do to show them the love of Christ?

The city dump
This was by far the most gut-wrenching thing to see during our stay in Tijuana. These people had literally built shelters in at the city dump. They spent their days picking through dump truck loads of trash that were disposed of on a daily basis. We passed out more than 100 sandwiches and snacks to individuals and even had the opportunity to pray for several of them. It truly breaks your heart to see people with so little when we are blessed with so much. We were told by one of the native people that these individuals flee to the dump often times to escape the police. They know that the police will leave them alone if they are there. There is a lot of drug abuse and a dump is a place that the police do not want to go. Who are the people around you who find themselves in a hopeless situation, a situation they don’t know how to get themselves out of? How can you show Jesus to those who are down and out, heavy-hearted, or just simply running away from their past? 

There are people who find themselves in these types of situations in every walk of life. The situations may disguise themselves in different masks, but as I said earlier, they still all need Jesus.

Father, open our eyes that we may see those around us in need of you. Help us to seek out the broken hearted so we can bring them to your feet so you can bind up their wounds. We know that there are broken people everywhere. We do not have to go to the orphanage or the city dump to find them, they are in our workplaces, our neighborhoods, and sometimes even in our own homes. Help us to see people through your eyes. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Where Is Your Heart?

I was reading a portion of scripture this morning and something seemed to jump off the page. What’s funny is that this was not some kind of new understanding or realization. It just got me thinking about this question… Where is your heart?

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,” Luke 4:18 (Emphasis mine)

After reading this I realized Christ came for the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed so they can be set free. I was once all of those things, but have been set free. Not that I don't’ need Christ on a daily basis, because I do, but it got me wondering where my heart is. If Christ’s heart longs for the poor, prisoners, blind and oppressed, then who am I longing for? Who am I proclaiming the good news to? It convicted my heart to realize that the majority of the time I am talking about Christ it is with other believers rather than with the lost. I began to look up other verses about whom Christ came for and why he came and believe it or not the pattern is very similar to the verse we just went over. Let’s take a look at some of these verses, shall we?  

“On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17 (Emphasis mine)

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 (Emphasis mine)

“The one who does what is sinful is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” 1 John 3:8 (Emphasis mine)

Christ’s main goal is to destroy the devil’s work. Now, I realize at times it may seem like the devil is winning the battle, but the beauty of this whole thing is that he never wins the war.  If you look at the back of the book Christ wins! That is exciting news! The way He wins this war is one soul at a time, one person who is poor in spirit at a time, one prisoner at a time, one blind eye opened at a time, one oppressed spirit at a time, one lost heart at a time, and one sinner at a time. Where is my heart in all of this? Am I willing to fight the good fight of faith and go after these precious souls, or will I just be comfortable in the fact that I am “safe” in the knowledge of Jesus Christ? Am I willing to seek out the lost and hurting or do I want to stay in my comfort zone and pretend like everything is going to be fine with my neighbor, the clerk at the grocery store, my co-worker or the librarian at the public library? Where is my heart?

How about you? Where is your heart? Do you feel drawn to the lost and hurting or do they scare you and freak you out? Are you like me and would feel way more comfortable saying nothing at all because we don’t want to offend anyone. I believe we are in a day where if we don’t speak out the name of Jesus to this lost and dying world, then the rocks and trees will do it for us. And if that actually transpires, then standing before the judgment seat of Christ is going to be a miserable experience for us. Instead of “well done good and faithful servant,” we are going to hear “why didn’t you say something to the clerk in the grocery store when you could clearly recognize her hurting heart? Why didn’t you say something to your co-worker when you recognized they were having a bad day?”  

I don’t mean to scare us here, but scripture clearly states we are all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for what we did when we walked this earth. I would much rather find myself in a position that God is pleased with instead of the other end of the spectrum.

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10

Heavenly Father, we plead at your feet for forgiveness for being complacent about the lost. Please place within us a burning inside our bones for the lost. Break our hearts for what breaks yours. Guard our hearts against the many excuses we come up with on a minute by minute bases for why we can’t share your love with those around us. We know that they are nothing more then lies from the enemy in the attempt to stop your kingdom from coming as it is in heaven. Jesus, birth a passion in our souls for the lost that literally consumes us if we are not seeking out the lost. Give us backbones of steel, that we will not back down in the moments of testing. We know that fear is not from you. It is just a weapon that satan uses to keep your people silent. Fill us with your loving boldness. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Dodging Bullets

I had shared in previous posts about our trip to Liberia, Africa. This trip has hurled us into a much larger plan that God has faithfully been revealing to us little bits and pieces at a time. We recently  found ourselves packing our bags for a whirlwind trip to Florida for an interview that would directly affect our ability to raise funds more on a full time bases for Liberia. I can only figure that satan felt directly threatened by this because he desperately tried all he could to distract us from the greater picture. He was shooting bullets at us left and right and all we could do was dodge them as they came and try to keep a good attitude while it was all happening. I wanted to share with you the events that took place surrounding trip so that you could see just how hard satan will work in our lives in hopes that things will go his way, as well as share with you a heart lesson that was learned in the process of being shot at.

The attack begins

Two days before our flight my husband was in a car accident. Praise God it was nothing too serious, but enough that caused us to recognize the attacks of the enemy when we saw them. That same night someone smashed our mailbox with a baseball bat, while this may seem unimportant and unrelated, we recognized that satan was kicking into high gear in hopes to distract us from the plans and purposes of the Lord. Unfortunately for him, we had already made up our minds, so we towed the car to our mechanic and straightened up the mailbox and headed for Florida. Once we got there, the attacks did not stop. I ended up leaving my purse on a chair in the airport, of which we quickly had to run back and snatch up before someone else did. By this point I was starting to get weary in the attempts to derail what God has already orchestrated. Once we landed in Florida we got a taxi from the airport to our hotel. While in the taxi, my purse fell off the seat onto the floor and I did not realize until several hours later that my phone had fallen out and was riding around in the taxi for the remainder of the afternoon. Upon discovery, we called my mother in law who was able to locate my phone using a simple app. We were even able to set an alarm off on my phone which then alerted the driver to call my husband's cell phone. We were able to reconnect with the driver and my phone was back in my hands by the next morning.

Round two

The interview came and went and you would think that by now satan would have given up. Nope, he was stubborn enough to keep shooting the bullets right at us. Our return flight was canceled due of a major snowstorm on the east coast. This forced us to reschedule our return flight and stay another night in Florida. But instead of being able to stay in the hotel that we were currently staying in, we were forced to find other accommodations because along with our flight, over 1,000 other flights were also grounded, so needless to say we were in a race with many other passengers to find a place to stay. We decided to book a room closer to the airport. Now, we just so happened to be in Florida over spring break, and the closer we got to the airport, the closer we got to the beach. And the closer we got to the beach the closer we were to unsupervised college students who were foot loose and fancy free to say it kindly. Now, I was a college student at one time. I did not enjoy the party scene then, and I have found that I enjoy it a whole lot less now that I am older. However, our new accommodations found us smack dab in the middle of a party we did not want to be in. I guess satan figured that by now, the interview was over and decisions had been made so now he was just going to torture us. We lay in bed listening to screaming and yelling college kids until about 3:00 a.m. At 1:30 a.m. one guy actually tried quite vigorously to get in our room, by pounding on the door and yanking on the door handle. I guess he thought it was his room. My husband forcibly reminded him without opening the door that he had the wrong room. (My hero).

The REAL Battle

As I laid in bed that night, all I could do was think about all of the emptiness that these young people were more than likely experiencing. They probably would not be able to remember what they had done that night or whom they had done it with. One guy walked past our room yelling “I don’t know where in the world I’m at. I don’t know how I got here.” That young man had drank himself right out of his cognizant mind and was left wondering around unable to navigate life in the slightest. My heart hurt for these young people who will more than likely spend eternity separated from the saving grace of our loving heavenly father. I prayed earnestly for their eyes to be open, for their hearts to be broken and for their lives to be transformed in the name of Jesus. As I lay there, I knew there was nothing I could do to save them from the choices they were making. My heart ached for them. I wondered if this is how our heavenly father must feel as He looks upon us when we make the conscious choice to choose sin over Him. Oh, how his heart must break as He watches his creation choosing the worldly idols to worship over their own loving creator. Yet, despite the scorn, rejection, and scrutiny the Lord still loves and desires that one day each one will look at Him with adoring eyes rather than eyes of disdain. I can’t even begin to imagine how bad that must hurt Him.

Our battles truly are not against flesh and blood, but the battles we face are in the spirit realm. We are called to battle for the hearts and souls of this generation, for a lost and dying world, a world that does not even realize they are lost and ding.  Our Lord does not want any to perish, but all to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). We are to stand in the gap in prayer for these people!

While this trip started out causing me to dodge one bullet after another, it ended up with me learning so much more about the heart of my Heavenly Father. This trip allowed me to see a world full of brokenness, hurt, and emptiness, a world desperate for the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart will forever be impacted by the faces that I saw bowing the knee to their own selfish ambitions. My heart was broken as I realized that the path these young people were on will never satisfy them, in fact it will do just the opposite. It will leave them more tormented than ever before.

Father God, I am so thankful that you allow us to have trials and hurdles come into our lives so  we can see the things of your heart. Thank you for showing me just how much this world needs you. Please continue to deepen my heart of compassion for those who do not know you.  I pray that each of us learns what it means to have your heart of compassion. Fill us with your love for the lost because we know it is not our desire that anyone should perish. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray.

God Looks At The Heart

“...The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 b

The old saying that states “never judge a book by its cover” holds some weight in the body of Christ as well. As human beings, we have a tendency to look at the outward appearance of a person and can miss the beauty of the human heart entirely. I for one am guilty of judging a person by their “cover.” If we take a look at scripture we see that I am not the only one who has stepped into the area of miss judging based upon what my eyes have perceived.

The poor widow’s offering

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

In the natural, It is easy to think that giving more monetarily is always better, but this is not necessarily the case. The rich individuals in this passage would have been better off keeping their wads of cash instead of displaying their “generosity” for others to whisper about. These rich individuals were more concerned with the way they appeared to others then they were concerned with the attitude of their own hearts. Jesus saw right through their “appearance of holiness” only to notice that they came up quite short in the humility department. The point of this section of scripture was not bigger is better, but rather a soft and tender heart will always get the attention of Christ, and honestly, that is worth more to Christ than 100 wads of cash any day of the week!

Jesus anointed by a sinful woman

“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:36-50

While the Pharisees were known for being a group of overly judgmental people in their day. I’m not so sure too many of us would have reacted much differently to this woman. This woman is referred to as a “sinner” in scripture, in other words, she was a prostitute, and a social outcast. So, imagine the look on Simon’s face when Jesus rebukes him for pointing the finger directly at her sin. Simon is no different than many of us, we look at the sin rather than the human heart that is desperately trying to do the right thing in the presence of Christ. Jesus recognized what Simon did not. He recognized the sweet and soft attitude of her heart. All Simon could see was her sin. May we be reminded of this story when we want to quickly point the finger at the sin rather than be willing to humble ourselves and look at the broken heart longing to be healed.

The underneath
It is so easy to point out the sin in the lives of others. It is often much easier to see the sin then it is to see the heart that desperately needs Christ underneath the seemly thick layers and layers of sin. I guarantee that underneath it all is a human heart that is longing for answers, and longing for connection. That heart may not even realize that it is longing for those things, but God has wired every human heart to long for answers and too long for connection. People will often hide their questioning and lonely heart behind a facade of pride and ego, a facade riddled with an independent spirit that gives the appearance of having it all together and needs no help from anyone, a facade that in the eyes of everyone else seems under control. But inwardly the heart is longing for something with purpose, something that is not so empty and meaningless. This is often where we as humans miss it. We are so quick to look that the facade and not at the heart that is crying out for freedom from this vicious cycle. Pointing the finger at the sin is not going to make that person want to give up sinning. All it will do is drive them further away from the God that we proclaim to be loving. Our witness will be ruined when we point at their sin rather than point at the loving God who created them. When we point out the sin we show our lack of love and are seen us as a hypocritical Christian. When we point towards our savior people see the love of Christ rather than us.

It is always better to leave people better off after meeting us then they were before they met us. If they walk away from their experience with us feeling as if they have just been put through an interrogation session, then we can forget about ever being able to introduce them to the true face of Christ. Christ is not an interrogator. Will the holy spirit convict the heart of sin? Absolutely! But we must always remember conviction is not our responsibility. That responsibility belongs in the hands of Christ.

Now, I realize that some of you are probably asking about Galatians 6:1?

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” Galatians 6:1

What do we do with someone caught in sin? There are several things we need to understand about this verse. First, Paul was writing to the church in Galatia. He was addressing Christians, those inside the church, not to those outside the body of believers. He said “those who live by the Spirit” not those who live by the world. Second, he very clearly stated to “restore that person gently.” We are not to put them through an interrogation process and make them feel as if they were the scum of the earth. Lastly, we are to “watch yourselves, or you may be tempted.” Now, this is not necessarily stating that we will be tempted by the exact same sin that we are “restoring” the other person from. This could be any sin. We should watch that we are not tempted into a place of pride, such as thinking “how could they do such a thing? I would never do that.” Sin has no levels of severity in the eyes of Christ. The very definition of sin is anything that separates us from Christ.  It doesn’t matter how big or how small we think a sin is or isn’t. Sin is sin. It is not big or small in the eyes of Christ. It is simply separating, period.

Call to action

My encouragement to you today would be to try very hard to look past the sin that is glaring you in the face when you look at the lives of others and pray that the Lord gives you the ability to look at the hurting heart that is underneath it all. Behind every sinner is a human heart that needs Christ. When you are having a hard time looking past the facade, the Lord is more than willing to change your heart and mind about the entire situation, but you must ask Him to do so.  Too often we do not receive a change of heart towards people simply because we do not ask God for one.

Lord, thank you for looking past our outer facade and into our hearts. As humans, we so often put on masks and hide behind them in hopes that people will not recognize our true hearts underneath. Give us your eyes so we can see past the sins and mistakes of others and see the precious heart that you have placed within them, the hearts that desire to have answers for the unknown questions, and the hearts that need connection. Lord, give us wisdom when we should restore others and when we should simply place them in your hands for your holy spirit to take control of the situation. We do not have the capacity to change a human heart. So, help us to place others at your feet and leave the changing up to you. Help us to show your love and not point the finger at the sin in their lives.

5 Areas of Hospitality

Before reading this post be sure to read “Hospitality” for more in depth background on this subject matter.

Christ  came as the ultimate example of hospitality. He came in the form of a servant. Scripture tells us to imitate this spirit of servanthood, and to walk in love. So, the example of hospitality that Christ has set is the one we are to follow. But what exactly did Christ do to be a hospitable servant?

Foot washer - In John 13:1-17 Christ washes His disciple’s feet. In Biblical times the lowest of jobs in the house was to wash the feet of those who entered the house. By Jesus taking on the responsibility of washing the disciple’s feet, His hospitality was telling His disciples I love you so much I am willing to serve you in the most intimate of ways. Now I realize that this is not a practice that we do culturally anymore, but there are other ways that we can be a servant to those around us. Maybe it’s mowing your neighbor’s grass, raking their leaves, cooking them a meal, or cleaning their house. There are so many ways we can be a servant. What creative ways can you come up with to serve others?

Breaking Bread - How often do we see in scripture where Jesus was found breaking bread and sharing a meal with others. Whether it was the feeding of the 5.000, visiting with the tax collector, Zacchaeus, or having the last supper with His 12 disciples, food seemed to be a big part of hospitality. I’m not saying that it always has to be involved, but food does seem to bring about  a common denominator for all people across the boards. Every person has a need to eat and when we involve food in our act of hospitality it not only meets a physical need, but it brings a commonality to people who could be complete strangers. Sharing a meal with someone is culturally very relevant in our society today. This part of culture has not changed. Who can you break bread with in the coming weeks?

Miracle Worker - Jesus performed tremendous miracles in the hearts and lives of so many people.This was a way Christ was showing God’s love to others around Him. Now, I realize we do not have the capability of performing miracles, but Christ is not dead. He is just as capable of performing the supernatural today as He was when He was walking on earth. However, we must be willing to pray for those who are in need, lay them at His feet and have the faith to believe that He is capable of performing a miracle in their lives.   

So what does hospitality look like for us in today’s culture and in a practical sense?

5 Areas of Hospitality

1. Our doors must be open.

As Christians the doors to our homes, our churches, our Bible studies, and any other event we hold should wide open! I’m not talking about cracked opened, here I’m talking about blow the doors off the hinges open. We must be welcoming to those around us, to approach them with open arms. They should not feel like they are an obligation, chore or an inconvenience. They should feel genuinely and completely welcomed in whatever event they are taking part.

2. LOVE, LOVE, and more LOVE.

The best gift we can give in our moments of hospitality is to be an overflow of the love of Christ. When we show others what Christ’s love looks like in a practical sense we are ultimately pointing them to the highest expression of love, Christ’s death on the cross. Our hospitality should be Christ’s love put into tangible form for others to see. When hey look at us, they should see Christ.

I heard a testimony one time of a man to walked into a church for the first time in his life and sat down. This man was covered from head to toe in tattoos, his hair was in dreadlocks, he was wearing black eye makeup, and he smelled like he had just been kicked out of the local bar. Now, some of us would have gotten up and moved to the other side of the sanctuary, but the people in this congregation welcomed him in, and literally ushered him into the kingdom with the love of Christ! This man is serving the Lord with all his being today. Part of his coming to the Lord could be credited to that congregation who showered him with the love of Christ. He saw was Christ in a real and tangible way.

3. Connect with people.

Make a conscience effort to have heart to heart connections with those around you. As Romans 15:12 tells us, don’t be afraid to...“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”  Our hearts should connect with others on a spiritual level this will not only help those around us to grow spiritually, but God will also use those opportunities for our own hearts to grow spiritually as well.

4. Be patient with people.

Not everyone is going to recognize the love of Christ that we are showing them right off the bat. For some people, it will take time before their hearts begin to question what makes us different. For others, it will happen within the first five minutes of welcoming them in the front door. We all recognize the love of Christ in our own time and in our own way, so be patient with those who are taking a bit longer to understand that unconditional love.

5. Actively look for ways to be a help and support.

Romans 12:13 tells us to... “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” We can not expect to know the needs of others if we are not first actively looking for those needs. Once we have discovered the need it is then our responsibility to share with them so that need can be met. I realize we are not God and can not meet every need that a person can have. For example, when we discover that someone feels neglected and lonely. We can be there to comfort, but we must also remember to always point them to the ultimate source of comfort, their Heavenly Father! We can not possibly fill that void. That is a void only God Himself can fill.

Call to action

My challenge to you is to open your doors, show love, connect with people, be patient, and actively look for ways to help and support others. If this list feels a bit overwhelming, work on one or two of them at a time. Hospitality is a lifelong venture that we can all refine our skills in.

Lord, help us to work on each of these five areas of hospitality. Help us to truly put others ahead of ourselves and to become the servant that you have called us to be. Give us the courage to open our doors wide open to those who need you most, not to shrink back from those who walk through them. Fill us full and overflowing with your love so that we have nothing but your unadulterated love flowing out of us for others to see. Give us a supernatural dose of your patience Lord for those who are having a hard time trying to wrap their minds around this unconditional love that you so freely give. Open our eyes to see the needs of those around us. When you allow us to see the needs of others use us as your instruments to meet those needs, and the ones we can’t, come in and take over so they will know you beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Thank you Lord for showing us what hospitality looks like. We pray that we can be used by you to show others your love.

Hospitality

The original Greek word for hospitality is the word “philoxenia” which translates “love of strangers.” The prefix philos translates “beloved, dear, friendly” So, I think it’s safe to say that we should be willing to treat strangers as if they were our beloved friends, to welcome them with arms wide open. Now, I’m not just saying to go out into the street and bring people into your home (although if the Lord has directed you to do this, then that is an entirely different matter altogether), but bear with me in my explanation to get a clear understanding of what hospitality should look like. In New Testament times, Christians had no formal church buildings like we do today. They were subject to gather in one another’s homes and for many of them this meant meeting in the homes of complete strangers and possibly traveling quite a distance to accomplish this. So, hospitality at it’s core is welcoming the weary traveler in with arms opened in love. Hebrews tells us one reason why we should be hospitable.

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:2

I want us to think about times that we host. Are we pointing our guests towards the character of Christ? As our guests look around in those moments that they are spending time with us, are they seeing our earthly possessions and talents on display, or are they seeing and feeling the love of Jesus Christ in a very real and tangible way? Our moments of hospitality should never be used to showcase what we have acquired on this earth in terms of possessions or our talents in the kitchen or the art of homemaking. Hospitality was never meant to be about us. The practice of hospitality is more about being a servant then it is about being a host. Hospitality is nothing more than our hearts focused on the Lord, sharing His love with others around us. Hospitality is servanthood at it’s finest, pulling out all the stops in order to make someone know that they are love not just by us, but more importantly by their heavenly Father! Hospitality is ALWAYS about bringing glory to our Heavenly Father.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Philippians 2:3 - 4

Value Others
How many of us really value others better than ourselves, I mean truly believe that others should be placed in a greater position of honor then we should? What about a complete stranger? Would we still feel that they should be given the seat of honor? I don’t know about you, but I know that I still have quite a ways to go before I will master the art of putting others in a place of honor, especially when my flesh is secretly wishing someone would do that for me. Yes, I did just admit that my old nature wishes that someone would come along and make me feel special. Here is the kicker, Christ wants us to set aside the desires of our flesh and make others feel loved and special in the eyes of Christ. He wants us to showcase the immense love that He has for them, not our selfish ambitions and vain conceits. There is no room for our flesh in this area of hospitality. The goal of Christ was and still is to serve others and this should be our goal in hospitality.

“just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV)

Call to action

Has today’s post challenged your thoughts on hospitality? This area of hospitality has been truly eye opening, especially when it is put in the context of this “love of strangers” that we are to have. Let’s work hard at making our next times of hosting flow from a place of wanting to showcase the tangible love of Christ to others. Let’s allow the love of Christ to flow out of us so that others will see Christ and not us.  

Lord, thank you for this lesson on hospitality. Help us to remember that when we are practicing hospitality that it’s not about us and our talents. Help us to remember it’s not about our material possessions, but that it is about you. Help us to bring glory to your name in the times when we are practicing hospitality. Help us to be the tangible evidence to others of what your love looks like, feels like, sounds like and acts like. Work in our hearts and lives in such a way that when others look at us, all they see is you. We ask all this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.


Do you have an encouraging story to share? We would love to hear about it. You may share your stories in the comments section below or on the learningirl4life Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you!

A Clean Cup

“When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.” Luke 11:37-41

Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for their religious looking “clean” cup. Yes, from the outside all looks pristine and lovely but all the while the inside their hearts were full of filth. The Pharisees were known for having the appearance of perfection in the religious world. They looked like they were doing everything right from the outside, but inwardly they were in complete opposition to the word of God. I think it’s safe to say that in one-way shape or form, we have all walked down this road before. We have all made ourselves appear to others as if everything is peaches and cream, but inside our hearts are not right with the Lord. As far as everyone else knows our world is perfectly fine, but we know that our hearts are not in tune with our Heavenly Father’s. We may even have a feeling of distance between us and the Lord. We continue to go to church week after week, put a smile on our face and wear that “everything is fine” mask. All the while, no one knows that our walk with the Lord is on shaky ground. Please tell me I’m not the only one who is guilty of cleaning up the outside of my cup only to neglect the inside. Yes, I have walked down that road in my past and believe me, if you are not there now, and you never have been there, please do all you can to keep your heart right before the Lord because living like all is well when your walk with the Lord is dying is a horrible place to be. God would rather our hearts be clean, pure and right before Him with our outward appearance looking like it’s in shambles then the other way around. 

“...The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Another side of the “Clean Cup” Mentality
The other aspect of this clean cup mentality that I have been thinking heavily about is this whole disillusioned notion that we have to clean ourselves up before we come to the Lord. Some people will even go the extreme of thinking that before they can ever set foot inside the doors of a church building they need to be perfect. I can not recall one time in scripture where it says to get all your ducks in a row first before Jesus will have anything to do with you. In fact, scripture tells us just the opposite. Christ came to seek out and to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). Christ loves us so much that while we were still in the midst of our wrongs, in the depths of our addictions, and in bondage to our sin, in that very moment is when He willingly laid down His life for us (Romans 5:8)! This is the beauty of our Heavenly Father. He loves us right where we are at. Now, please note here that while He laid down His life for us while we were yet in our sin, it is not His desire that we remain there. Christ did not lay down His life to set us free just so we can feel better for a short time only for us to return to the bondages of sin once again. No! Christ came while we were in the depths of our sin to set us free so we can stay free. So we can live a life that is full of love, joy, and peace. He called us to live a life that beckons others to come to the feet of Jesus and find freedom as well.  

Clean Enough
Have you ever gone to the Lord thinking that you have “cleaned yourself up enough” only to have the Lord convict your heart? I have to say, I must raise my hand on this one. I am so guilty of trying to clean up myself and then trying to approach the Lord only to realize that when I put my cleanest, whitest clothing on and then stand beside the King of Kings, I look quite dingy and stain ridden next to the creator of all perfection. It is in these moments that I all I can do is say, “Here I am Lord, dirty, spotted, stained, tattered and torn. And despite my best efforts, this is the best I can do. I place the rest in your hands.” Jesus, with all compassion in his heart, looks back at me and says, “My daughter, I never wanted you to try to clean yourself up. I just wanted you to come as you are. For it is an impossible thing for you to do. This is why I have poured out my blood on the cross for you. It is only by my blood that you can be made clean, unspotted, unstained, whole, complete, and as white as snow. I love you as you are. Let me do the heavy cleaning from now on.” It puts tears in my eyes just thinking about how much the Lord loves us, that He wants us to come as we are so He can do the dirty work of cleaning the sinful mess that we have made of our hearts. He doesn’t want us to try and do His job. Besides even when we try, we will always fall short. We are not capable of cleaning up sin. When we try to clean up the sin in our lives all we end up doing is making a bigger mess by smearing, smudging and possibly even adding to it. I sometimes wonder why we as Christians feel the need to do God’s job. Is it that we don’t trust Him with our heart or is it that we are too ashamed of what we have done and wished it wasn’t so bad? I’m guessing it’s a little of both at times. 

How to keep a clean heart
God is looking at our hearts and not just the outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). He is looking at our secret place. He is looking at everything that everyone else cannot see. There is nothing hidden from the Lord (Hebrews 4:13). He desires for our hearts to be a place of righteousness, honor, and truth. He wants our hearts to be pure and upright. But what must we do in order to keep a clean heart?

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

Our clean heart starts with walking in forgiveness. We must seek forgiveness from Jesus Christ in order for us to be purified and cleansed from our unrighteousness. Christ cannot and will not cleanse sin from our hearts if we are not willing to seek forgiveness first! A clean heart begins with forgiveness from our Savior! 

2. Walk in Humility
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10

This was one of the problems that the Pharisees had. They refused to humble themselves. They wanted to be lifted up without walking in a place of humility. Walking in pride got them nothing but one big chastisement after another from Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I have found myself tripping over my pride more times then I care to admit. I thank God for his grace because without it I would find myself so deep in trouble that Solomon in all his wisdom might just be stumped in getting me out of my pit.

3. Walk in Love for the Lord
“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.” Luke 10:27

 Forgiveness washes us clean but love can keep us from going from wanting to go back and be repeat offenders of those same sins. Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Love can keep us walking in freedom from our past sins. It can keep us from wanting to run back to the bondages that we once found ourselves so easily entangled in. I can think of a time or two when the love of others has kept me on the straight and narrow. How about you? Can you think of times in your life when the love flowing from someone for you has kept you from sin and danger? This is just how our Heavenly Father works. He loves us so much that His love is capable of keeping our faces turned toward righteousness and away from sin in so many instances.

The same thing goes for when we love the Lord with a fervent type of love. It will keep us from the desire of sin in our lives. Now, does this mean that if we keep our love for Christ in a passionate state that we will never sin? No, because we are human. We are bound to miss the mark even when we are not trying to do so on purpose.  But loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength can sure keep us out of a lot of unrighteous situations.

4. Walk in Obedience
“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11:28

When we hear God’s word and obey what it says this is yet another way of keeping our hearts clean before the Lord. At the very core, this is what our Lord requires of us, to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). We can not walk with God if we are too busy disobeying His word. I would like to point out that this verse does not say blessed are those who hear the word only. The blessing does not come unless we hear and obey. Blessing comes with obedience. One of the blessings we get from obedience is having a clean heart before the Lord.

Lord, Help us to not just look at the outward appearance and pretend that everything is okay while completely ignoring the inner workings of our hearts. Help us to remember that we must walk in forgiveness, walk in humility, walk in love for you and walk in obedience in order for our hearts to be kept pure. You desire for our hearts to be righteousness. Help us not to just clean up the outside, but to clean up the inside as well. Thank you, Lord, for the direction of your word and we desire to walk in obedience to it. In Jesus mighty name, Amen.