Counteracting the Attack

Hi everyone,
So the past week or so has caused me to think about human interaction and how we communicate with certain people. Think about all of our interactions with the people in our lives. Anywhere from family members and friends, to co-workers, fellow believers, acquaintances, and even absolute strangers. How would you describe those interactions? What are the hallmarks of  the way you communicate with those people? Would you describe your conversations with these people pleasant, enjoyable, comforting, rewarding, productive? Or would you describe them as unpleasant, disagreeable, upsetting, detrimental, and worthless? You see we all have those people in our lives, whether they are in direct relation to us or not, that we either view as positive or negative communication in our lives. As human beings we leave an impression on each other whenever we interact and those interactions can be graded on a scale of great to not-so-great. Specifically, I want to touch on the people in our lives that are not so easy to get along and communicate with. These are the people that no matter what they just seem to rub you the wrong way, get under your skin, and/or just seem to be out to get you. They seem as if they would rather do anything else but agree with you. They may take every opportunity to dig at you and  be the first to point out what you are doing wrong. And you may have good intentions but somehow this person just ruins or challenges that Christ-like attitude you are trying to embody. Maybe it is in the way they treat you, the way they speak to you, the way they talk about you to others. Or maybe you just get to the point where you don't care anymore. We all have those difficult people that we have either grown up with, deal with on a regular basis or come across in the course of our daily lives. What I have been thinking on lately is how we choose to respond to those people who sometimes seem so set out to stir up strife. How do we react? Do we fight back or do change course? Do we defend or do we evade? One of the words I think of is how to we counteract? Now after looking up this word I found some interesting synonyms for it that caught my attention: oppose, withstand, defeat. Now these words make it sound like you respond back with negative force right? But I have chosen to use this word as my keyword when I face people who aren't exactly pleasant to me. Let me tell you why. If someone receives a poison or an agent that is detrimental to their system, what is needed? A anti-venom or antidote that counteracts the negative force. It is a positive source overcoming the negative one.
This causes me to think about how we should use this theory in our own lives when we interact with those not so positive people in our lives. When they choose to spit poison at us, we have a choice. To either choke on it, let it consume us and return the favor, or stop it and overcome it with positive and opposite behavior.  ^"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21 (ESV)   Usually our first, fleshly human reaction when someone comes at us with unnecessary negative force, angry words, or a combative nature, we want to fight back and defend ourselves. Why? Because we want to preserve ourselves and we want to be in the right just as much as that person wants to be. Now maybe we are right and maybe we aren't, and that needs to be determined depending on the situation, but I am talking specifically about situations when someone clearly comes at us with intent of tearing us down without just cause. We will feel the need to naturally defend ourselves and we need to, to a certain extent, but I believe the most effective way to do that is not to fight fire with fire. But rather fire with an extinguisher. And even though it may go against every carnal, prideful fiber in your body, "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Prov. 15:1) Sometimes the goal is not to win the argument. Sometimes the goal is not to be right. Sometimes the goal is to show God's grace to someone who may not deserve it. At the same time asking ourselves are we any more deserving? Nothing shuts an argument down more quickly than when one person decides to counteract with kindness instead of anger. A one-sided argument cannot stand. We have to face a battle not expecting to win by force, but to win by showing people what they never expected: Kindness, patience, love, forgiveness and faith. Now how do we do this because it is not like it comes naturally? We must pray continually for it and seek after it. God never said it would be easy in this life. He never said that everyone in this world would get along or have each other's best interests at heart. But He did create a way for us to overcome the negativity. He gave us the ability to grow in Him and His Holy Spirit to give us the strength to counteract the attacks. Yes it will be unfair at times, yes, it will seem as if our angry is justified, but when we react with sinful actions and words, we lose the battle no matter what. Yes we must stand up for ourselves but if all we do is shove back aimlessly and with the same venom used to try and destroy us, we do not change anything for the better. We only push that person farther away from the truth. "Turn...the other cheek" (Matt. 5:39) Surprise that person, make them wonder why you are not returning fire with fire. I believe by returning with Christ-like "anti-venom" it will cause them to think and question more than any angry words spoken in response will. Make them wonder why you choose to respond in kind rather than hate. It says in Romans 12:18: "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all." This verse is in the section of Romans 12 that is often called the hallmarks of the Christian life. We should strive to be at peace with others in this world and show them the peace that God has given us through our salvation. I understand there are people in this world who may have hurt us physically, emotionally in the past and/or present and I do not make light of the deep scars we may receive...But I believe the consequences of letting the poison eat up our lives is far greater than the decision to take the antidote and learn to forgive those who have wronged us. No matter how evil the person intentions may seem there is still a God in heaven who loves them and wants a better life for them. We may be the only person in the world left who has the ability to show that person the light. And what does it say about us if we choose not to? Instead of just reacting, think of how to counteract the effects of the negative interactions in your day to day life. Be what somebody never expected and you just might come to an agreement you never expected. 

God's Workers

Hi everyone,
So I am back from a wonderful week of vacation in Oregon and California! God in many ways has refreshed me and caused me to think extra hard about different parts of my life like what are my goals and aspirations exactly? As those of you who follow my blog regularly know, I have made a couple known recently, but as I continue to ponder on these things He has revealed more things to me. And one of those things is the heart behind what we choose to do with our lives. Last night I watched for the second time the movie, The Same Kind of Different as Me. This movie has become one of my favorites and an encouragement in my life. It has caused me to really think in terms of how we show Christ in our lives and choose to live in service for Him. One of the main characters of movie is a woman named Debbie who has a special heart for those God's places in her life. She reaches out to the homeless in her community and through this touches many lives including that of her own husband. However, she faces hardships and battles along the way. I do not wish to give too much of the movie way as I greatly encourage everyone to watch it for themselves, but what amazes me is the unflappable strength, forgiveness, and patience this woman displays. The genuine compassion for others in her heart and the eyes to see past all the bad and love others despite who they may be. When met with rejection and angry she responds with grace and determination. She continually chooses to see the good in people instead of the less than desirable traits while encouraging them to make better choices. She doesn't treat others as if they are somehow lesser than her because of the hand they have been dealt in life or the wrong choices they have made. This is reminder of how I want to be in my own life in whatever God asks me to do. One of my favorite parts in the movie is when Debbie and her husband are having a discussion after she shows hospitality to a homeless man they have gotten to know through the shelter they volunteer at. Her husband says he doesn't know what the plan is and asks if she is going to try to "save them all". And her simple yet heartfelt response is: "I'll try". Those two words resonate with me. What if we as Christians walked through our lives with mindset of we are going to try to save everyone? We are going to try and show compassion to everyone? Instead of looking around at those who are different than us as "lepers" to avoid, what if we extended a hand instead? Obviously we have to be wise and we need to make sure our motives are rooted in Christ's love and not our own morality boost, but we as Christians need to take of the blinders and see people for who they are. Precious to God and desired by Him. We all need to be saved and once we personally have the truth, we need to do our very best to share that with everyone we come in contact with. Never underestimate the ability God has to use you for His work if you are willing to see souls, not just imperfect, messed-up people. Because let's face it, we all are a little messed-up and certainly not perfect!

Now just as our work for the Lord increases, so can we expect our struggles to increase. One of the other lines in the movie that really struck a cord with me is:"When you are as precious to God, you are as important to Satan." Debbie ends up facing some pretty hard things in her life and instead of choosing to be bitter and curse God, she chooses to keep fighting and doing His work to the best of her ability. When we are following God's plan for our lives and when we grow in our service for Him the devil views us as more and more of a threat. A threat that he wants to destroy. We must realize that things are not always going to be easy and that battles will come. But we need to take those battles and view them in the light of the fact that the devil is afraid of what we can accomplish with God and he wants to put us out of the fight. And we can't let him win. Expect storms but allow God to plant your roots deep so that you may withstand and continue to fight and continue to reach those around you.

I have felt many times things have gotten in the way of or hindered my plans. They have tried to prevent or discourage my plans to do God's will. My goals and aspirations have been put on hold. Now some of those instances have been God saying it isn't the right time yet or I have something better for you. But there are times when I believe it has been Satan taking advantage of my fearful or selfish human nature and making me doubt God. Satan doesn't want me to succeed. But when I choose to hear God's voice and choose His truth over the devil's lies I come out stronger on the other side. When I ask God to give me compassion for those that I don't know and even those who I may not exactly gravitate to, He never ceases to give me what I need to see people in a new light. When we surrender ourselves to Him, He never ceases to show up and He will never leave us. We can be as Debbie and choose to "try" and save them all. And not out of a self entitled pity for others, but our genuine love for our fellow human being created by God. You may ask how it is possible and I tell you read Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (ESV) And always remember "But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt. 19:26 

He gives us the strength to do whatever He is calling us to do, all we have to do is ask, be willing to put aside our sinful nature and let Him work and never give up. Remember He will never give up on us, so it is the least we can do for others. I encourage you to watch the movie and really ponder on it. May we all strive to be the best workers for God that we can be with the gifts, dreams, and aspirations He has given us. May we pray continually for His wisdom and for the salvation of those around us. May we be a warm, comforting light to even the coldest souls around us. May He shine in our lives for everyone to see.  

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)

Forgive Them

Hi everyone,

I come to you with this pre-Easter post with a conviction that hit me last night. I watched the Passion of the Christ at home for Good Friday. It has become a yearly ritual around Easter to watch it, as I can only handle it about once a year. If you have not seen it, I greatly encourage you to watch it. It will not be a movie that will make you comfortable as it is the most graphic depiction of Christ's suffering and death on the cross on film that I believe has ever been made, but it will give you clear perspective of what Christ went through. One of things that really stood out to me this time watching it was through all the unimaginable torture, mockery, humiliation and betrayal, Christ forgave. Even after being rejected by his own people, handed over like a criminal, scourged beyond what any ordinary man could survive, spit on, scorned, made to carry his own cross and nailed to it, He chose to plead on mankind's behalf: "And Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'" Luke 23:34 (ESV) He had every right to be angry, to curse mankind, to wipe them all out then and there, but yet He chose to stay hung on that cross until it was accomplished because He loved  them and us that much. I cannot fathom it. The worst part for me is when they place the nails in Jesus's hands and feet. Every pound of the hammer is like a knife to the heart and yet in that moment I realize why Christ did what He did. He did it for me and He did it for you and every single person in this universe. I personally would have been probably fighting the whole way, and forgiveness would have been the farthest thing from my mind. But yet He took it all and even when He had every right to condemn everyone to eternal damnation, He chose to sacrifice Himself and give grace. He forgave all. 

This hit me hard this time because in different circumstances recently I have seen anger, hatred and disgust in people's lives, I have seen the spitefulness in this country's people towards one another. I think of all the massacres, the evil people in this world...and I remember that Christ died for all. He offers forgiveness to all. Sin is sin to Him and we all have sinned. None of us are more deserving of His forgiveness than the other. And because He has offered grace to all, even to those who nailed Him to the cross how can it not be possible for me to forgive my own enemies? If He can forgive those who hated Him, and ask the Father to not hold their evil doings against them, then how much more should I be able to forgive those that persecute me? If Christ can forgive me of my wrongdoings, of my sins that nailed Him to that cross, how can I not forgive someone else of theirs? There are people out in this world that we would maybe call our enemies, or maybe a thorn in our side, or people we simply do not get along with. There may be people out there who have wronged us, spoken or written untrue things about us, who have hurt us or a family member, who have seeked to destroy us. But we have to remember that Christ died for them too. He loves them too. And instead of bringing out the sin in us it should bring us sorrow that these people are so blind to God's love. People will have to answer for what they have done, but instead of simply saying that and waiting for that day to come, we should strive to save those people from that fate. It is hard to love those that give you pain and hatred back but if we return it, we are not showing Christ in our hearts. I have spoken words against not so nice people and I now realize that those words were not words of life, but rather of condemnation. And in light of Jesus suffering, bleeding, and dying for me, that is not the way I want to live my life.  Yes we need to speak against evil people and expose their evil deeds but we need to do so not with the wish to see them burn, but compassion to see them saved. I want to have the ability to forgive all spite from others and give back love. I want to show them a God who loved them enough to forgive their every sin. And honestly that is the only way people will change. Hatred breeds more hatred. Crimes bring on more crimes. Spiteful words create more spiteful words. Only until you break the cycle can things be different. That doesn't always mean that people will stop persecuting you or apologize. Christ still died on that cross and we are fortunate He did. We may still suffer at the hand of certain people but we must realize that if Christ could offer that forgiveness then we have a duty to do the same. "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matt. 6:14-15 Not all will choose forgiveness but who are we to decide who deserves it or who we withhold grace from? What if Christ decided because of those that choose to reject Him, He is going to refuse to forgive anyone?  Grace can not be for the select few, it is for all because "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). We just have to simply decide to accept it. We simply have to choose to turn the other cheek. We simply have to choose to forgive. And when you look upon the cross don't just see yourself, see the person sitting beside you in church, the person in the checkout lane, the person on the street, the coworker, the criminal, the junkie, the drunk, the most evil person you can think of and remember that three nails held the Son of God who took it all upon Himself and loved despite it all. And it should break our hearts for all the people of this world that don't recognize it and be the driving point to which we show the grace that has been given to us. Don't let us live our lives thinking that because we have our salvation and that we can celebrate Easter that we are "good". We need to see our Savior on that cross and remember what grace is all about and that there is hope for everyone. We all can have a reason to rejoice and have our stains washed white as snow. For something this amazing why would we want to withhold it from anyone else if we had the possibility to help change their life around? 

Happy Easter!!

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19