Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding the third.



Understanding replaces Forgiveness in the mind                               of the master.
                                                    -Neale Donald Walsch-

Read that again. Now read it once more. Read it over and over until it settles deep inside your very soul,  until you totally grasp the awesome message these words contain.  

'Why' you ask? Because the majority of humanity does not think it is really so. We've been led to believe in a God who holds grudges and needs revenge to make you pay for what you've done wrong. He is easily offended and temperamental. He requires penance (an  outward expression of repentance for having done wrong-'works').

 The church of Rome, where the concept of penance got its start, slowly yet surely bled through the ages into most all religious ranks! It is still believed to be necessary in order to obtain God's acquittal.  Most churches still follow the Church of Rome's example, though it may not look exactly the same. There must be an outward show of works to get God's attention to portray just how sorry you are. Then and only then might He decide if you are truly 'sorry' or worthy enough to grant you that request.

Heb 4 :15-16 (paraphrased)

(15)We don't have a God who is unable to sympathize (understand) our weaknesses,

 WHY?

Because  He has gone through 

EVERY 

             SINGLE 

                              THING  that we have gone through!!!!

'He has a personal understanding!'  and because of that understanding,
'He is sympathetic!' 
'He is compassionate!'

Since this is so, then we need to;
(16) Live in confidence, without fear or hesitation bringing our mistakes to Him so that we may receive 'understanding' (not condemnation) and find 'favor' (not judgement) for 'help'.…

*(The Greek translation for 'mercy' is compassion/understanding. 
Grace translates to divine favor)*
 If we could only begin to grasp the powerful implications of these two verses, it would turn our whole former misconceptions of God 'upside down' where they belong!

You see, we should already have it settled that we are 'forgiven'. There should be no question of that fact in our minds. It is not an issue with God, yet we are determined by our unbelief to make it so. Forgiveness is a given.....given once and for all long ago. The human psyche should not still be inwardly contending with this anymore......that is, unless you do not believe God at all. In reality, to keep bringing it up before Him has no new and improved benefits for your soul whatsoever.

The power of forgiveness has already been released on you!

Since there is no need for more forgiveness, it leaves only room for one thing; Understanding.
Instead of expecting condemnation and judgement;
 Expect Sympathy.
 Expect Help.
 Expect Compassion.
 Expect UNDERSTANDING!

Don't moan and cry and lift up your hands reaching for a 'sky' God to grant you mercy. NO! Reach inside you for a God who is traveling life's journey 'in' you, going through every single moment you go through. That's the God who understands and sympathizes with your mistakes. He's the one anxious to help. You don't have to twist His arm or make any unreal crazy promises to get His help either.  Get that faithless, tired old teaching out of your mind!

You see, God doesn't just stop at forgiveness, He takes it even one step further.....

He has a sympathetic understanding because He's been there too!

When you really get to know the mind and heart of the Master, you'll find that not only is forgiveness a thing of the past with Him, but that he still waits vigilant, ever ready to hear your faintest whisper;

' God, help me!'

He will never condemn or be impatient with you
He's been right where you are!
Instead, He won't just walk, He will run to your rescue!
He will be your ever ready 'Help.'
You see, absolutely no one understands like He does!

To read the rest of this article, click here: http://frankviola.net/pharisee/

I guess that in most part, this post is for those who are going through the devastation of being wounded or deceived by a brother. This was our situation 4x's over, involving men (pastor's) whom we had placed our trust and confidence in.  There have been many speculations, theories and erroneous tales whispered about our string of ordeals yet we have stayed silent so as not to bring on the offender what the offender laid on us without any shred of remorse. We did not stay quiet in consideration of him, but of the precious people he pastored. Sometimes that means sacrificing your own reputation in order to save his character in the eyes of the church he pastors.  Enough time has now passed and in hopes of helping others walking through this dark, depressing valley, I tell our experience. 


Nothing is so disappointing as being deceived by someone you once respected so highly. Yesterdays hero tumbles and shatters and you see the mere faulty clay it exposes inside. You are so let down. So overwhelmingly disillusioned. There is just no describing how utterly devastated he has left you.

 Believe it or not, You are not the only one who has experienced this. There are many like you out there.  We suffer in silence. We understand the excruciating pain that is endured. Nothing can describe the mental torture alone while you question yourself wondering how you could have so totally missed what you felt was God's will for you. You no longer sleep well at night. Every church service thereafter becomes a dread because of your heart rending pain whenever you look into the eyes of people you love.  You feel helpless and nobody understands what you are going through. The one you used to go to for counsel has now become the wounder, the cause of your pain.You are boxed in and can't say what you are really feeling for fear it will hurt God's precious sheep....sheep who you apparently care more for than their own shepherd. 

Many times we have had people ask us if we might ever tell what we went through during those years after we left our pastorate in Canada. We have hesitated simply because we did not want to be called 'bitter'. You get accused of that enough by those who don't understand...especially if you should ever leave their fellowship.  This was NOT why we left though we have heard that was the speculation by those who should have known better. 

Criticism.  I despise it. It is vile, evil to the core. It is birthed from a hidden  seed of self righteousness that intertwines itself deep inside the soul and is almost impossible to root out. Nothing can damage and tear at the heart like one who carries this seed within them. Our family understands well what it is like to be attacked by its untruthful viciousness. Yet even that despicable act could not knock us off our feet. No, that was mild in comparison to the other devilish tactic used without a flicker of shame against us called; DECEIT.

Deceit is something you learn to expect from the world. It is used in large part by those who want to 'claw' their way to the top in the business or political arena all at the expense of others. If they have to make promises that they have no intention of ever carrying out just to get their way, they have no hesitation at using verbal dishonest contracts in order to reach their goal.  They 'use' you up to get what 'they' want in order to make them 'look good'. That is just the 'world's way.

The big problem is, it is never God's way!

We can say without a doubt, deceit was one tactic we never expected from men we called our brother in fellowship and service. The very fact they were titled , 'Ministers', was the most unbelievable of all! Yes, we most definitely were in for the shock or 'shocks' of our lives...4 times over to be exact!! You would have thought we would have learned but we just kept hoping and trusting that no one else in our brotherhood would deal that untruthfully with us again!  Apparently we were wrong! If only we had known the dark pit we were getting ready to be cast into over and over again! We were carelessly flung aside for other 'newer' agendas.  Yes, that phrase, "Hindsight is more clear than foresight" is most definitely true.

Telling our story, although it opens up old wounds from memories we had long put behind, still has the power to bring the horrible ache back to our heart. That is just how it is when you truly love God's people and care more deeply for their well being than you do even your own. You'd be surprised how many pastors do not relate to this type of love at all.

It all started during the time we were evangelizing, something we said we would never do because we loved a sense of 'Home Base'. Suddenly 'home' grew wheels and was only 40 feet long. It housed 2 adults, two teenage daughters and 2 Schnauzers. It was an interesting time but not fulfilling. It lacked the deep need in this pastor's heart to love, care and nurture God's people. Needless to say, when the call came to come work with an elder pastor for a year at which time he planned to retire at years end and  leave the church to us. we accepted the offer and moved into a home on the church property. We had previously held a meeting at this church and had fallen in love with the people, so the decision was easy for us.

For a year we willingly and freely gave our heart and time to this church. We felt it an honor to just simply love the people of God like we have always have.

 This church had gone through a pastor change about a year before we came but then all of a sudden the elder pastor came back and  took the church back from him. Of course, this elder was quick to explain all the faults of the short-lived pastor and how he wasn't God's man for the church after all. We heard all about the shortcomings and failures of this man and even though some of these things may have been true, we always wondered why it was formerly stated by this elder that he had found God's will in choosing this man.  Did God suddenly change His mind or what?  Looking back, this should have been our clue at what was to come. Love for God's people though, makes you take chances you ordinarily would not have.  We did respect this elder and thought surely he was being truthful with us.

At first things seemed to go well but after about 7 months we began to notice a big change in the pastor attitude toward us.  He started to put us on the back burner, not allowing us to preach much anymore. He started having constant revivals, giving this as excuse. We then started hearing him make statements about things he wanted to do in the future with the church. More and more we were seeing that we were going to become another one of his casualties. He had changed his mind about retiring so we had to go. He had one problem though. Since he had already told the church that he felt like he had found God's will again in us becoming the next new pastor,  to save face he had to create a problem, hoping the problem would pressure us into wanting to leave. He chose a woman in the church known as 'the talker,' to be the source of the aggravation. You know the type. She began to find fault with us, tearing us apart piece by piece even spreading lies on our daughters.

 We kept our head high, kept going to church and kept focusing on and loving the people while we were literally dying inside.  We had many of the members come to us privately and tell us that they wanted us to be their pastor but were afraid to go up to the elder pastor and ask him to be honest and honor his agreement between them, him and us.  Most people in our churches are taught to be afraid of confronting the pastor, reminding him to stay true to his own words. They are taught that to do so would be non-submissive and wrong though scripture does not back up this teaching. There is no differing Christian values for God's people as opposed to the pastor. In God's eyes, we all must deal honestly and Christlike. If truth be known, the pastor should act as the servant, willing to demonstrate by example that he and his word can be trusted. Too many self made kings are residing in a mere servants body. Pastor's do not 'own' the church they pastor. It is not 'their' church, it is God's alone. Many have forgotten this simple fact.

When our year came to an end we were told that God had basically changed His mind..not in those words mind you, but you get the gist. The farewell service was so hard! People came crying telling us they felt so let down for the elder pastor had told them it was 'our' choice. He told them (untruthfully) that we were leaving because we felt like we wanted to go back evangelizing again! Nothing could have been further from the truth but then again, the truth did not seem to matter much. Just as long as the answer to them served his needs. This was so shocking to us.

One thing did happen in the midst of all this that really put us in a quandary. A wealthy individual within the church told us they would personally finance us a building if we wanted to go across to an adjoining town to start a new work.  We knew a great majority of the people would follow for they told us so and we have to admit it was so tempting! At the same time, we did not want to  be the source of trouble and turmoil so we politely declined the offer ...We will always wonder if we made the right choice. It is so hard to know! 

Three more instances like this were to come our way. Yes we are gullible when it comes to loving people and people sense that. They are pulled like a magnet toward a man who loves from the heart and not just in words only. At those points in our lives, love became our downfall...especially when we were loved back! Even so, to be loved back from each congregation was so worth it! Beware though! Being loved back is most assuredly the biggest threat of all to the powers that be! You would think that would thrill their heart IF they truly loved their people and were going to follow through with their promise to you about retiring. That would make the transition so smooth...at least that's what you'd hope! Right?

Four years ago we watched another man go through the heartless degrading actions of another elder who had made him the same promises we were once given. Things we thought we had buried forever rose to the surface again as we hurt with them trying our best to help them recover. The deeds of this elder and wife were ruthless to say the least.  Our shock run deep because we thought we knew these elders well. Apparently we didn't! I don't believe I have ever seen anyone treated so callous as this young couple who were to take their church, were treated! Even those who have no claim of knowing God seem to have better ethics and compassion than that pastor and wife had. There is no other word for it other that 'wicked'.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:
When the existing pastor changes his mind, it can mean one of two things. 
   1. He is either scared of not being in control anymore or
   2. He has changed his mind in who he wants to follow after him.   
       Most times, family have suddenly come into the equation and  
       he decides it is safer to turn things over to a son or son-in-law.     
       This usually means that it insures financial security for him, the  
       outgoing man.

Sound unbelievable? Yes, it does. But these are some of the very things we ourselves encountered.

What to do if you, the minister that is to follow, finds yourself in this position? My advice would be, don't put your family through anymore heartache. Remember your obligation is to them first of all. In creation, family came first in God's order. In fact there would be no church without the family. Too many ministers get this so backwards and pay dearly. As soon as you are told that plans have changed, do your family and you a service. LEAVE! Do it with a right spirit and a closed mouth, but leave! I know things are scary. You don't know how you will support your family because you have been carelessly left high and dry with no thought of what this does to your future.

It's hard. We know. If we could have saved all the tears we shed, I'm sure we could have filled buckets to their rim. You honestly get to the point where you don't care if you live or die..... we got there ourselves. We have walked that dirty, heart wrenching trail. 

People have asked us, what was the purpose for it all if there was one. I suppose if we could come up with what we learned through it all was that even through all the dishonesty, all the pain it caused, it was still worth loving and being loved by God's own. They will never forget you and the kindness you showed them. You will be their one bright memory in the days ahead, in the midst of their darkness to come...a sweet precious time of their life they will always cling to. I know that is not much consolation when your heart is torn into shreds especially as you acknowledge your time spent with them will soon be over. 

In a perfect world, all men would be Godly and honor their word, but sad to say, even the church is not a perfect entity. One reason for a church having a board is for them to hold a pastor to his word and contract, but if they are not motivated and too timid, don't put your trust in them. You can't really blame them when they have been taught it would be insubordination on their part to prompt their pastor to be a man of his word. They are caught between a rock and a hard place invented by the man they fear.....but again, search the bible. This is not a scriptural concept.

I wish we could be there for all who are hurting even now because of the disregard you have been shown. We have talked to and counseled others who are where you are and each time hearing and watching their pain, tears at our heart all over again.

Keep your spirit right as much as possible. Smile through your tears and keep your head high. God will provide and even though it looks like He has forgotten, He really hasn't. There will come a brighter day. He will reward you for your unselfish love for those He Himself loves also.

There are still good men in your fellowship circle....ones who would never dream of betraying you.  Find one and cling to their compassion and care for you as you heal inside.

Trust me, you will make it although right now you sincerely doubt it. Someday you will look back and only feel the positive.....I know that's hard to believe right now. The initial excruciating pain will be dulled as you recall sweet memories you made together with that church family. That has been true for us. 

There is absolutely zero bitterness on our part. We don't have time or energy for that anyway! It's just a waste of time and it doesn't affect the offender in the slightest anyway. It only steals away your own life.

 Just keep on loving! Someday you will be able to envision a mental picture of those who misused you and even be able say you  love them after all they did to you....I promise.

Allow this time to make you 'better' not 'bitter'.
We love you all and hold you close inside our heart! 
Now you know the story.

I could never count the many times I have heard God's judgement used in the most frighting, intimidating, and manipulating ways you could ever imagine. Nine times out of ten, it is projected and promoted in such a way that could rival the deeds of Satan himself. For instance;
 If any catastrophe happens, it's God's judgement. If death occurs, it's God's judgement. If the car or washer breaks down, you guessed it,...it's God's judgement.

First of all,  we forget that the duty of a judge in life situations, is not to condemn. That is the job of the jury...or in our case, 'Satan'. The judge does however, pass sentence or have choice of punishment and God, the judge, did in fact proclaim punishment. He said it would require death on a cross..... but guess what?  He Himself already took that punishment...He served our time for us after the jury found us guilty! You see, our judge already ruled on our case at Calvary long ago.
  HE RULED IN OUR FAVOR!
He took the blame Himself and gave us our life back!

What a Judge!

One thing has to be made clear.  God's judgement is and always has been meant to fall on the deed/sin itself. The deed that harms the spirit of His children and destroys the life He created.

God is a restorer, not a condemner.  He is a life healer, not a destroyer. He mends, not tears apart. He fixes, not breaks. The cross whole purpose was to correct the damage sin made. So many sitting on church pews, sit there condemned that they are not perfect, without fault. Many times they are more miserable than the one who doesn't profess God at all! If going to heaven requires pure no fault perfection, heaven will indeed be a very empty place, because there is none perfect but Him!

John 5:24 ESV 

Love. What makes so many in the religious environment  so suspicious of it when it relates to God? They tend to 'humanize' His emotions, imagining Him reacting and feeling as they would in any given situation. I have personally set and listened to Christians awkwardly try and define it, try to measure it out, limit it, or simply explain its incredible volume away. The very ones who should be the most familiar with it seem to be more uncertain about it. It is glaringly apparent that they are very uncomfortable with its depth and quantity and don't believe it is fully what it claims to be.

 I realize I have stated this before but the statement needs to be repeated again. 'The enemy does his most masterful work right inside the church walls.' He has done more to discredit God and damage God's reputation right where you would think it would be upheld, magnified and defended the most!

Why is that? Why is God presented more times than not, as an angry, impatient God to be feared, than a God who so desires to love and be loved by His creation? How many more messages have you heard on hell versus heaven? The wrath of God, instead of the grace of God?

                                                 Why?

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that question? Where did the Gospel (good news) go that we were instructed to spread far and wide....the message of God's love so great that He literally and openly exposed its awesome depth to the world at Calvary?.... yet in many religious systems you hear of this precious news maybe once a year. Again, I ask.......

                                                  Why?

My assumption?

 Number one; I truly believe the biggest reason is because many professing God as their Savior, saying they possess all truth, do not really understand the depth of His love yet.....even many who stand behind the pulpit every week proclaiming Him! They merely serve with their head and not their heart!

You see, it is much easier on the flesh to follow a list of self explanatory rules and rituals. Clean, clear cut sterile lists of doctrines will not entice any heart and take it captive with passion to please the one it professes to love. This is the weak and lazy shortcut....it requires absolutely no personal invested time of our own. It's false security. Just fulfill rule number one through ten (or fifty or a hundred, depending on how many each individual leader may have for you) and the conscience will be soothed for the day. But oh what you sacrifice!

Number two; A GOD OF LOVE CAN'T BE USED AS A MANIPULATION TOOL. His name can't be irreverently thrown around as an intimidation or threat to guilt people into line if we declare His love too much. This is the irresponsible and selfish ways of those who don't truly know Him. When people don't  know Him by heart, they use Him to get their own way. They want Him to agree with them and therefore  humanize Him by projecting  their own weak and fragile emotions of anger and frustration onto Him.....even going so far as erroneously declaring, 'thus saith the Lord' when 'the Lord' has not really said anything.

Number three: Probably the most common reason God's love is played down, is that many leaders feel that their people would take advantage of it and sin more easily. I suppose the motive may be good but they are playing a dangerous game with the soul's of God's own. This is what happens when leaders themselves do not understand the enormity of God's freely given love. When you do experience its unending quantity, your heart is so overwhelmed that betraying that love is the furthest from your desires. Too many never get to experience it in its magnitude simply because they are taught it is conditional and needs to be appeased before it is given. How this must break the heart of God!

God is not petty nor easily offended. He is never touchy nor does He ever hold grudges. He is not 25% anger, 25% impatience and 50% love..all depending on what side of the bed He got up on that morning! NO!!! Scripture is very definitive on the fact that GOD IS LOVE...100% of the time! It is His whole DNA! Everything He does and every action He takes is through love alone!

Love is never selfish and never seeks its own way. It never seeks to be served, but serves others instead. That is the heart of love. The heart of God. We are told that in order to please Him and be rewarded by Him, we must find a means of personal sacrifice and offer it to Him. We must fast and pray so many days and hours. Witness to a certain amount of people. Yet if Love (which is God) is what I Cor. 13:5 says it is, IT GIVES, NOT TAKES! Stop and think about that for a moment! There is absolutely nothing we can give God that He doesn't already have! When you start experiencing God by 'heart' alone, you react naturally in ways HE desires.

Acts 17:25...human hands can't serve His needs, for He has no needs. He Himself gives life and breath to everything and 'HE' (is the one who) satisfies every need!

Scripture says that 'He is a rewarder'. A rewarder of what? Not of sacrifice, works,  or any human contrived deed. but of those who diligently (earnestly and tenaciously) SEEK Him! (hunger to really know and keep on knowing Him). It is an insatiable hunger! One that gives purpose to your life and never ceases to excite! God is a wealth of unending knowing! What you may know of Him today, can be added to even more knowledge tomorrow. This journey with Him was never meant to grow dull with simple hum drum human made methods and ritual carried over from yesterday. His mercies are new every morning. His truth about Himself, comes with fresh revelations as the journey progresses day by day..and oh how exciting these revelations are! Husbands and wives know each other even better after 50 years than they did at the beginning of marriage and so it is with God. The more you know HIM, the more you know and understand His 100% pure Love! His love for you never runs out!

Darin Hufford said it so well in his book, 'The Misunderstood God';

'If God is love and love comes from God, believing we could ever run out of love is simply shallow thinking. We have to 'want' to possess love. Unfortunately, I've found that most Christians aren't moved with this truth. Most people just aren't interested in doing this. It's not appealing. Not only does it sound incredibly difficult, there doesn't seem to be any personal benefit.  Ironically this is why many people become saturated with the practices of religion. It becomes a way to bypass love and preoccupy ourselves with the pretty colored rules and regulations. We spend more time trying to perform the 'effects' of love than we do loving.'

GOD IS LOVE AND LOVE IS GOD!
They cannot be separated from each other!


How I wish we could all settle that deep within our souls without any shred of doubt!


He is not LOVE/ANGER.
He is not LOVE/IMPATIENCE.
He is not LOVE/CONDEMNATION.
He is 100% perfect Love through and through!

Those divided portions above could have never produced the love and grace that took Him to Calvary. There is only one kind of love that could have done that agonizing unselfish deed......
God's irregardless of how bad I fail, Love!

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM IT! (Rom. 8:39)

Jesus became our propitiation, meaning 'the gift that satisfies completely'. His one deed covered and removed all sin now and forever! They can never be used as a weapon against us or held over our head as a threat, ever! God is head over heels in love with us...ALL of the time! Even during the turmoil we caused by the worst failure of our life, He never ceases to love!  Don't let anyone convince you otherwise! 

Since God actually IS Love defined, read I Cor. 13: 4-7 and replace the word 'love' with God.


The Love Of God!
It shall forever more endure!

                                                             

Titus 2:11. The grace of God has appeared to all men teaching them to abstain from all ungodliness.

It gets wearisome listening to the false accusers of Grace...those who haven't the slightest clue of what it really is. They make fun of it by calling it derogatory  names such as, hyper-grace, sloppy agape etc. They imply that it is the instigator, the tempter to sin. Those who speak these dangerous words, expose their ignorance to such a precious gospel! The only gospel. 

Grace does not mean living for yourself and taking advantage of God's favor. Rather, 'it' is the tutor that enlightens you about what really pleases God and God alone. It has nothing to do with what pleases man and his preferences in how you should live your life. Jesus came to do away with that manner of living. He took His people out of the slave market to Himself. He became their own private tutor. That is why there is a loud uproar when grace is mentioned too much in circles where people allow themselves to be easily controlled. When you hear Grace accused as the 'tempter' to sin, beware! That is the sure signal that 'human' power is being majorly threatened.....just as it was to the Judaizers in Paul's day.

If you really understand God's favor and what it did for you, your heart is filled with such gratitude that you long to please Him! Sin and how to stay clear of it, is not your focus at all. He is!  It is not necessary to be told how, when or what to do to please Him. That is why the laws of Moses were later called The Ministry of Death. The constant reminders of sin kept the people focused on the wrong thing.  It made serving God a chore instead of a pleasure. Real love needs no prompting or reminding. It acts out of;

 Devotion, not demands.
 Gratitude, not force of will.
 Relationship, not laws.

No, Grace is not the tempter, but living for God by laws, is! Hang the reminders of sin in the face of humanity night and day and what will they think, eat and dream about? You are right. Sin! How did we get things so turned around? Every single thing that Grace has ever been accused of, actually lies right inside the door of legalistic religious practices and performance. It entices, tempts, and keeps your focus on 'it' the sin, instead of Him. It actually 'arouses' sinful passions! (Rom. 7:5) Ah the enemies strategy is so clearly exposed through legalism.

Read this scripture once again:
Titus 2:11. The grace of God has appeared to all men 'teaching them to abstain' from all ungodliness.

 What is the definition of 'abstain?' 
refrain from, desist from, hold back from, forbear; give up, renounce, avoid, shun, eschew, forgo, go without, do without, refuse, decline.

So then, what actually teaches you to do this? 
 Grace!!!!

Servitude to 'mans' lists of sins, giving them priority over  relationship, is like the carrot that forever dangles in front of the donkey. The struggle starts inside the heart to try and work hard to stay out of hell by satisfying and obeying their ruler, yet that carrot is so enticing! Soon, whatever it takes to save your hide, becomes the  main incentive to living right. Love and relationship eventually becomes a much 'lesser' motivator.  It's hard to keep your eyes on God when that crazy sinful carrot constantly obstructs your view of Him.

Grace limiters and name callers.... those that strive to rule by fear, intimidation and guilt, are uneasy of the freedom Grace brings. 

• Those who make 'sin' their main focus and motivation to serving God instead of His love and grace. 
• Those who seek to use 'hell' as the fear manipulator in forcing servitude to God and the church. 
• Those who keep people from understanding a God of such mercy by continually reinstating their condemning 'sin' list . 

To them I ask this question;

"Who is really holding the carrot of sin here? Who is actually the tempter? 

                                            John&Brenda Gregory

What is wrong with just loving people? I'm serious!  I am very curious about your answer! 

When you first read this question,what was your first reaction? Was it, ' Nothing is wrong with loving people, of course!' It's that quick, 'off the cuff' reply that's said without thinking. To rephrase it, it's the one given without a second thought.  Come to think of it, maybe that is the real issue here! Perhaps the real culprit, the big  troublemaker, is the 'Second Thought'.....you know, the one that tends to put the answer in reverse and place conditions on our 'too hasty' a reply. After all, we need to impress the hearers and make them view us as super 'spiritual!'

In order to be 'acceptable', we first must show how 'unaccepting' we are toward those who are not just like us....or not 'acceptable!' 

'I love everyone, BUT..........!'

• What about the addict you see with glazed eyes, filthy stringy hair and the smelly unbathed body? Can you love them?
• What about the unmotivated, seemingly lazy person standing on the corner holding a sign that may or may not be stating the real truth about declared needs? Can you love them?
• What about the alcoholic, the homeless who wander the streets and sleeps on the sidewalks? Can you love them? 
• What about the murderers? Is it possible to even love them?
• Here is one that I'm sure will cause you to immediately go to 'the second thought', first. What about the one who lives a type of life that repels you and goes strongly against your own nature? Yes! What about the homosexual? Can you love them?  Uh Oh! I can just hear all the sharply indrawn breath's from the super righteous corner!

 Let's just stop at murder...PLEASE!

Being raised in religion and surrounded by those of like mind, our lives are pretty protected and cushioned against what we classify as 'the worst of sinners'. We are programmed to make quick judgement calls about others, letting criticism flow like a  nasty muddy waterfall from our mouths. Disdain causes the upper lip to curl in self righteous condemnation. Disgust prompted by our 'sin-labels' and the weaknesses of others, tend to make us feel pretty good about our 'smaller' shortcomings. Self righteousness! This too, is a sin..... spewing out the mouth from our Second Thought. A sin that equally matches any and all sin in God's eyes. Yes, you  might as well go ahead and place it in the list above....right next to the last one!

HUMAN LOVE HAS LIMITS...BUT GODS NEVER HAS! 
God does not have a list of sins starting from the worst down to the least. They are 'all' even and equal..... written on the same line.

Whose love are you using? Is it His or is it yours? You know the conflict that goes on inside as human nature struggles with God's new nature inside you. When yours wins out, it is always 'on second thought', not His thought at all! You cannot deny that uncomfortable twinge you had because of your verbal judging condemnation, ..even though you try hard to justify your unkind actions and words afterward. 

 Remember that old song, ' It makes me love everybody?'...Well does it really? If you have to stop and consider if anyone is worth loving, then it's your own limited love at work which isn't love at all, and most definitely not God's.  'Everybody', includes the one living a life so opposite of yours. One that to us, may even be abhorrent. But 'everybody', means just that.... Everybody!  

What did Jesus say to do? Go out and spew hatred against their life choices, throwing condemnation on their already battered spirit??? Did he tell you to make sure everybody knows where you stand on certain issues to impress them with your super spiritual attitude? No! Jesus gave one simple instruction. He said,
                                         'Love them!' 
I know! I know! It might make our peers question our 'holiness'...but what are we truly most concerned about? Our reputation, or the needs of the hurting? We, as children of God, have lived in the 'self-serving', 'second thought' way, far too long.

God's kind of love costs us and goes against our own fragile egos.

It costs us 'our own' opinions and 'sin' classifications.
It takes away our right to bring down judgement on people by our words, and our self righteous nature hates that! We get a strong sense of satisfaction pointing out the weaknesses of others....and that itself, is evil! Somehow though, we feel it alleviates our 'lesser' shortcomings, making us feel  a little more superior. Is it any wonder why the outcasts and sinners were drawn to Jesus as He walked on earth yet they stayed away from the religious? He NEVER raised His voice to them in condemnation (like He did to the religious), rather, His love drew them like bees to the honeycomb! His Love offered them hope!

'BUT! you say, 'It is our duty to save people and point out their sin!'...NO! It is not! Believe it or not, people know their own weaknesses. They understand more than anyone what causes their pain without it ever being pointed out and made an example of. They aren't dumb. What they don't know much if anything about though, is a God who loves them irregardless...... about a God who died for them while they were YET living in their unrenewed state. Our only duty is to love them! Let them see the 'God' kind of love emanating from us! Only HE can save and heal their hurts! We cannot 'save' anybody but our love can lead them to a God who can!

*Train your heart to respond to the 'First thought'! 'IF' you truly have God's spirit inside, Love will be your spontaneous answer! That is God's thoughts!  That's His nature in you trying to express itself through you! When His love lives within you, it will automatically be your first response. In fact, it is the proof of your own salvation.* 

Observe the hurting, the lonely, the confused through the eyes of love...God's Love!  It's not difficult if He leads you, but it is, if you try to put yourself ahead of Him and take over His place. If you hesitate and put conditions on 'your' love before offering to others...then that's all it is, 'your' love, not God's. Remember, He IS Love. He embodies It! It's His whole DNA!

Let God be God! Allow compassion instead of criticism, to be the first thing out of your mouth. Criticism never draws people to you...it only pushes them away. It may make you 'look' holy and righteous in religions eyes, but it won't win you any favors with God..in fact, the immense wedge you just pounded in deep between the hurting and Him, only serves to hinder them from ever reaching what they so desperately need, a Healer.

When you are quick to condemn, you first condemn yourself by your own spirit. 
People see it for what it is and either pity the ignorance, being embarrassed for you, or get angry at you.
In either case, it just doesn't work! Get rid of this evil criticizing spirit. It only causes more harm and never ever any good! Replace it with demonstrations of God's kind of love instead.
Take the pressure off! 
Watch the difference! 
Observe the effects of Love in action! 
He really is a big God and knows how to care for that which He created. He just needs for you to act like you really 'do' belong to Him! That is all.

Listen to what Jesus said:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”(Jn 13:34)

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mk 12:30-31)

First Peter 4:8  “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since              

        love covers a 'multitude' of sins.”

Matthew 5:43-45 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies