Are You Attacking in Condemnation or Informing in Love?

It truly saddens me when Christians attack non-Christians for their beliefs.  We are supposed be a witness and an example of Christ's love.  We can't very well do that when we harass someone for having different moral standards than we do.  Well, OF COURSE they believe differently!!  We base our beliefs (or are supposed to be, anyway) on biblical principles.  What are they basing their beliefs on?  Emotions.  World views.  Current events.  Personal experience.  Whatever it is, it's going to be a different basis than the Bible!!

Why is it that Christians think it's fine for them to jump down someone's throat because that person supports (for example) same sex marriage or abortion?  I do not believe that either of those things are Biblical, and I do not support them.  But it certainly is not my place or my duty to berate someone for thinking those things are OK.  It is not my place to attack, judge, and condemn a person that I am trying to witness to for Christ.  It is God's place to convict their hearts and make them see the truth, and it is my job to tell them what I believe--what the Bible says about various subjects--in a gently and loving manner.  I cannot and will not convince someone that they are wrong in their belief by attacking and condemning them--the only thing they will walk away convinced of is that I am a crazy, right-wing, religious nut who has no room for understanding and love in my heart.

Let's look at Christ as an example of how we are to treat others (both non-believers and fellow Christians).  When He walked the earth, He preached and taught to crowds of people.  He had one-on-one conversations with both believers and non-believers.  He healed the sick spiritually as well as physically, always correcting in love.  The Samarian woman at the well--did He condemn her for having been married multiple times and then moving in with a man?  Nope.  The woman caught in adultery--did He cast stones at her like the crowd was urging Him to.  No.  He forgave her and sent her on her way.  He gently convicted her accusers by telling them that if there were any there without sin, they should cast the first stone.

And then I hear people throw around Matthew 21:12-13: "[12] And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, [13] And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."

OK, so 1)  These people were defiling the house of God.  Jesus is God.  Ergo, He had the right to use a little force to clean up His house.  If I had property that I was renting out, and I found out the my renters were using my house for drugs or anything like that, you'd better believe I'd be doing whatever I needed to clean my property up!!  We, as Christians, have a covenant (a contract, if you will) to do right morally, spiritually, etc.  I'm pretty sure that part of that "doing right" is to keep His house clean and holy!

2) At this moment in time, Jesus was not trying to bring these people to Him.  He was not trying to convert them.  He was not trying to preach/teach them.  He was taking out the trash, so to speak.  When I clean the toilets or take out the trash, it's not something I do with gentle love for the dirt and grime garbage.  I do it because it needs to be done.  Every time Jesus was trying to convert a non-believer, he did it in loving manner.  Not force.  Not anger.  Calm, gentle love.  THAT is how we should be a witness.

It's OK to voice your belief!  As long is you are doing it in love and with compassion toward those that do not have understanding of the Bible.  It's also completely understandable when someone who is a non-believer says something unkind and it hurts your feelings and/or makes you angry.  However, it's not OK to bite back.  Even if someone else "started it" (to bring the juvenile excuse forward, as we so often tend to do), be the better person!  Do as Christ commands and turn the other cheek!  That is part of being a Christian!

It's this kind of attitude that some Christians have (that it's OK to blast away at someone for believing in something that is morally and spiritually depraved) that make the rest of us look bad.  And, OOOOHH, it irks me!!

And just in case you think I'm just ranting and raving, try reading Matthew 5.  Let me share a few of the verses with you that are the reasons for me feeling this way:
Matthew 5 (KJV)
[5] Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (As my dad says, meekness is not weakness.  It is strength under control.  When you say a horse is "meek," you are not saying he cannot carry his master on his back.  You are saying that he is submissive to and gentle with his master.  We are to be submissive to our Master God and His commandments.)
...
[7] Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
...
[9] Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
[10] Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[11] Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you , and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
[12] Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
[13] Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
[14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
[15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
...
[21] Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
[22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca {means empty, i.e. a senseless, empty headed man--a term of reproach used among the Jews in the time of Christ}, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
...
[38] Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
[39] But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
[40] And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
[41] And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
[42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
[43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
[44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
[45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
[46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
[47] And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
[48] Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

It's so easy to get offended by people who believe differently, but as Christians, we should be more careful about what we say and the manner in which we say it.  Proverbs 25:11 says "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."  A "word fitly spoken" is the right word, at the right time, and in the right manner, with the right attitude.

I wish more people would be more careful about their testimony for Christ.

God's Perfect Timing

As I sit here in my chair thinking of all the wonderful things God has done for me lately, I am struck by His awesome power and His amazing love and His faithful provision.  I have been overwhelmed by the goodness of God in the last few months.  There are so many things He has done for me--both little and BIG.  I would love to share a few examples. . .

Here's a little example. . .

I bought a car a couple of years ago, and it had been a rental before I purchased it.  The dealership only had one key for it, and ever since I bought the car, I was a little nervous that I would lose my keys or lock my keys in the car.  My car is a Chrysler, and they have those weird keys that are attached to the unlock remote thingies (usually a little pricey to get a copy made).  It hasn't really been an option yet (financially) to order a second key, so I've just been very careful to pay attention to where my keys are at all times!  

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I decided that it really was time to bite the bullet and find a place that can make a second key for me.  I didn't really want to spend the money, but I figured it would be better than calling road side assistance to get me into my car if I locked my keys in.  And if I lost my keys, I'd just have to get another one made anyway, plus deal with the extra hassle.  My dad told me about a place that makes remote lock keys a little cheaper than other places, so I decided I would check it out.  Literally, the very next day my friend had a flat tire (not so fun for her, but she had a warranty on the tires so she didn't have to pay anything to get it fixed), and she was unable to find her jack.  So I went to meet her so she could use mine (she finally located hers under her driver's seat--driver's seat???), and as I was pulling my jack out of it's little compartment, I saw a little ziplock baggie with a spare key in it.  God's perfect timing!  I know it's not a serious expense, but it's still money I don't have to spend on an extra key!  God is good!

Here are two BIG examples of God's perfect timing. . .

I won't go into detail, but I've been trying to refinance my house for a few months.  We hit a few speed bumps with the appraisal coming in low, and it caused a few hitches in the flow of traffic, so to speak.  The bank and I were able to work together to work out all the wrinkles, but it was absolutely God's timing and provision that ultimately allowed it to work out.  God put a little bug in my mom's ear, and she put a little bug in my dad's ear who then went to talk to a banking acquaintance of his who then gave me some helpful advice on what questions to ask and what info to give to get my loan officer and the loan processor to reopen the file and work out the details.  Once they reopened the file and started looking at all the fees I should/should not be paying vs. the credits I should be getting, they were able to work it out, and the new loan amount was reduced by enough to allow the loan to go through.  One of the credits they were able to work in was from a government program that I qualified for b/c of the area I live in.  According to the bank, they only JUST started this program in my area, and my bank is one of the few providers for it.  I closed on the refinance yesterday.  God is so good!

Back in December of last year I received an unexpected bonus check from my employer.  I was so excited!  I decided that I was going to use that money to install new flooring in parts of my house!  I started looking at different options, and found a flooring that I thought would match my planned decor perfectly.  Unfortunately it was a little higher than I wanted to pay, and I would only be able to do the living room and hall.  No problem, I can do something else in the rest of the house, I decided.  However, a few unexpected expenses came up and I was unable to do it at the time.  I was very disappointed--the carpet in my house severely needs to be removed!  However, I figured that God knew I would need that money to pay for some things.

Then my tax return came.  Great!  NOW I can get my new floors!  Nope, it just didn't work out.  What I had set aside for new flooring ended up being used for the loan application on the refinance.  No matter, I can use the money I'll be getting back from escrow on the old loan or the money I'll be saving from the month I won't have to make a mortgage payment!  When I found out the bank denied my loan, I was, again, sorely disappointed.  But, as I said, God is good, and He worked out the loan!  Viola, I have the option to redo some of my flooring again!

Here's where God's perfect timing comes in!  I went to the store that carries the flooring I had picked out, and I found out that it has been discontinued.  The store I went to has no more of it, but another store a few miles further does still have 700 square feet of it.  He said he would give me a "good deal" on it if I would by the whole amount.  Well, I only need about 400 square feet to do the main floors (the bedrooms could wait), and the price discount wasn't enough to make it worth it to me to buy the whole 700sf.  I had a budget I did not want to exceed, and the deal wasn't quite good enough.  So, I went home to think about it and consider which rooms I really wanted to do.  The next day, I called the other store location to see if they really had the flooring in stock, and the gentleman confirmed that, yes, they did have it in stock, and since this particular flooring has been discontinued, they were selling it at half the original price!  A-MEN!!!  Now THAT was a deal!  I swooped that one up!  That discount lowered the price to less than it would have cost me to do the 400 sf at the price the other location quoted me.  In fact, when I went to pick up the flooring, the final price was $120 less than my budgeted amount, and I am able to replace ALL of the carpet in my house.  God is good!

If I had bought the flooring back in December or January, there's no way I would have gotten that kind of discount.  Now, b/c of God's perfect timing, I will be able remove all of the carpet in my house, and replace it with the flooring I chose along with some very beautiful porcelain tile that my parents are giving me left over from a job they had.  They have just enough tile to do one of the bedrooms and, possibly, both bathrooms (eventually).

Amazing.

You have given life to me. . .

I will serve thee
Because I love thee
You have given life to me
I was nothing
Until you found me
You have given life to me

Heartaches, broken pieces
Ruined lives are why you died on Calvary
Your touch, was what I longed for
You have given life to me

I will serve thee
Because I love thee
You have given life to me
I was nothing
Until you found me
You have given life to me

Give Thanks unto the Lord

While we should be thankful every day of our lives, Thanksgiving Day is a special time set aside to remind us to be thankful for our many blessings.  For the last several weeks our church has been splitting up the men and women in our Wednesday night service for the Bible study time.  The ladies spent a few weeks on Love, so this particular topic has been on my mind for a while now.

As I sit here contemplating what I'm thankful for, I keep thinking about our Bible studies.  I am so thankful for all the love in my life.  Not just that which is directed at me, but for all the examples of love that God has allowed me to witness.  There are so many people in the world today that feel blessed to have just one person that shows them love, and I have an abundance of examples.

I have two wonderful parents that have been married for over 30 years that love each other immensely.  Those in my church family love each other.  Now I consider that amazing--you get any number of random people together in a room, and eventually they will begin to clash.  Our church is diverse, and even though we are each different, we still love each other, and we love to fellowship.  My boss has been married to his wife for over 60 years, and every time he mentions his wife to me, he just absolutely gushes with pride and love.  

My whole family loves to be around each other, we love to laugh, and we love each other.  I have some amazing friends that love me, and some that I haven't spoken to nearly often enough over the years that I know would be there for me in an emergency.  My church family loves me.  My animals love me (and nothing you can say will convince me that animals don't love)!!

I really could go on and on about all the examples of love in my life, but I will leave you with this:

Colossians 1:3-4  We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the LOVE which ye have to all the saints.

Thank You, Lord, for showing me LOVE!  You were the ultimate example of love when You died on the cross to pay the price for my sin and offer me the opportunity of redemption.  Thank You for every iota of love You have put in my life.  You truly are an amazing and wonderful God!