Your Enemies

Finally, from Matthew 5:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

This is how our world lives. If people are nice to us, we’re nice back to them.  That’s so easy.  But if people are nasty to us, we are nasty right back and feel justified in our hatred toward them.  In fact, our society teaches and encourages us to hate those who are against what we believe, how we live, or the way we look.  Hatred is talked about, written about in graffiti, and sung about in lyrics by our teens.

Jesus says here to love our enemies, in fact; pray for them.

If we are going to call ourselves children of God, then we have to act like God’s children.  God loves us in our darkest moments, he forgives us, he receives us over and over again when we’ve wronged him a thousand times, and he never ever hates us.  In fact, he loves us with a love that endures forever.

We can’t do this alone.  But we must do it with him.  Prayer releases what we bottle up inside, and opens the door for love to overflow.

Loving an enemy never means we are saying it’s okay to be abused.

Loving an enemy does mean we are saying that he/she needs Christ, just like we do, and that only love will conquer hate.  And prayer moves mountains.

Do you only love those who are kind and generous to you?  Try loving your enemies, those you can’t stand to be around. And pray for them.

And ask your Father if he has room for that person to be your brother/sister in his family, just like he made room for you.

Chicken and Slaw Wrap

It's going to be picnic weather this weekend where I live, where we bounce back and forth from winter to spring in a matter of hours. So since this weekend is more spring-like, we're heading out on a road trip with food to eat!

This chicken wrap is super easy to make, takes very little time, and packs up nicely in a cooler!

You'll need:
4 large tortillas (spinach or sun-dried tomato)
2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
1 1/2 cups coleslaw mix (with carrots)
1/3 cup Ranch dressing
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
8 slices cheddar cheese

In a large bowl, mix the chicken, coleslaw mix, Ranch dressing, and relish.

On each tortilla place 2 slices of cheese, about 1 1/2 cups of the chicken mixture, and roll up tightly.

Chill for up to 8 hours, slice in half, and enjoy!

Turn to Them

More from Matthew 5:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

Back under the law, if someone took yours – you took theirs.  This type of behavior is born into us from birth.  Toddlers grab and pull to get back a toy, if another child is playing with “their” car or doll.  It’s native instinct to take back anything that is taken from us.  If we’re slapped, we want to slap back.  If we are wronged, we want to do wrong.  If we are taken from, we want to take and even destroy that person who took from us.

However, under the blood of Jesus and the forgiveness through the cross, we are now told if we are slapped to turn the cheek and take a slap there, as well.

This is not referring to becoming a doormat for people.

If you read on, this is referring to those in need taking from us what belongs to us, and us rising up against them in anger to win the battle that has been started.

We are going to be slapped, wronged, accused, taken from, and borrowed from and never be paid back.  Jesus isn’t saying here to condone that sort of behavior or to excuse it, or gladly receive it.

The message here is to stand still, give more, and walk further.

When we stand still and allow God to work in our hearts, when we give even when it seems we have nothing left to give, and we walk further than that which is required of us, we are walking humbly with our God, allowing him to fight our battles for us, and allowing him to mold our hearts, as well as the hearts of those attacking us.

Our reaction to the acts of others speaks volumes that they will hear, much more than a slap back on their cheek, as they run away in pain or fight back to the death.

We don’t have to worry about being run over.  God is our fortress and strength, WHEN we yield to him and his ways, because of the work of the cross – where we too are forgiven for all that we have done.

I Tell You...

Another “you have heard” statement…

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The law of sin and death said don’t commit adultery.  In fact, there were stiff penalties for those who did.  In today’s society, our culture actually encourages adultery by placing on the big screen as something enticing and tasty.  Having an affair is the norm, it’s expected for marriages to end after a season, and sleeping around is what everyone does…

Adultery is sin.  But Jesus goes further here to say that even just thinking about adultery in the mind, before ever acting upon in in the flesh, is the same as doing it!

The next couple of verses say if a part of our body causes us to stumble, it’s better to be rid of that part than to lose our entire body.

It takes making good choices to keep away from this sneaky sin of lust and sexuality.  It takes turning the channel, walking away from being alone with a person, capturing our thoughts through meditating on the Word, and repenting of wandering hearts, in order to stay away from this destructive sin, one that destroys families.

Some people don’t like rules or commitments, and they don’t want to vow to love someone forever.  That’s just too much work, and they want a way out.

God created marriage as something sacred and honorable, and we MUST leave lust and run after loving HIM so that we can freely love, and honor, the one we're with.

But I Tell You...

Matthew 5 lists a few things “you have heard” before, under the law of sin and death.  But because of Jesus, he invites us to hear the new message:

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.

Under the law, if someone killed another, the murderer suffered judgment. 

Under the blood of Jesus, we are called to stay away from getting so angry that murder is even a thought!

In other words, murder is the result of ill will towards someone else.  And if we murder, we will be punished.

But Jesus says the ill will itself, the anger, and the attitude has got to go.

Yes, we are not supposed to murder anyone, by action, or even by our words or hatred in our hearts.  But before we get that far, Jesus requires that we come to him and let our anger go, to release our “brother” or our “sister” from our wrath.

Are you angry with someone?  Do you wish you could destroy them?  These feelings arise when we’ve been wronged, abused, abandoned, or hurt.  And in our own strength, we cannot forgive them, and so the anger stews, and stews, until…we act out and destroy that person.

Jesus shows us a better way – to release that anger onto his shoulders – and let him deal with the person who wronged us. 

We can tell God that we’re angry, lay the hateful thoughts and feelings at his feet, then get up and walk away from carrying that grudge that leads to murder.

That’s the way of the cross.

Just Ask Him

Isaiah 60: No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.

Imagine living in a walled city, fortified on all sides, with iron gates that are locked tight. And inside is a great spread of land from edge to edge, full of violent people who act in unspeakable, hateful ways.

What a terrible place, a horrific dwelling!  In fact, you are known all around for your fortress in which you live, and people pity you and fear you, so they stay away from the pitiful place where you call home.

That’s the way we all exist, apart from Christ.

We put up walls to keep out intruders of pain and suffering, we hang gates of iron to only allow in those who bring us treats, and we hoard all of that which we own inside our borders, until all of that self-protection and self-protection begins to stink and rot, and volcanic hot destruction begins to bubble up from the ground on which we stand.

It’s THEN that we need a change in venue, a new place to live, one where freedom reigns and good things thrive.

The walls of self-preservation come down, and the iron gates disintegrate into dust.  And instead, we are known by new walls and gates called salvation and praise.  And this new wall, not built by our own hands, but by the love of our God, still protects and fortifies, but inside along our borders, new life begins, trees grow, flowers bloom, and all who see and hear want to come be where we are.

What a lovely transformation that is ours for the asking...

Surely...

Isaiah 59: Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

    nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated

    you from your God;

Yesterday’s devo reminded us that God’s ears are open and he hears us.  Today’s verse declares that God’s arms are not too short to reach down and save us, and once again…his ears are not too dull to hear.

The issue is never that God isn’t hearing or that his arms are folded instead of reaching.  The issue is our own sin that causes us to believe such things about the One who loves us, sent his Son to die for us, and the Savior who lives forever in us.

The issue is never with God’s ears or his extremities.  It’s our ears that become dull through disappointment, unbelief, or just plain apathy.  And it’s our arms that fall beside us instead of staying lifted in praise.

Can you imagine going to a King to ask him a favor and visually observing him with earplugs stuck in his ears, his arms folded, and his head turned away from us?  But we can easily imagine ourselves in that picture when He comes to us and we’ve got no time for him, as we are too busy listening to other things, our arms are folded into a “me” position, and our heads are turned away following other things.

We cannot place our own personification upon God.  He’s not like us.  We get weary of others, grow tired of being pestered, and we dismiss anyone who tries to awaken us from our rest.

So let’s say this:

God’s arms are so long that they can reach us wherever we find ourselves and hold us tight, his ears are keen and sharp to every little word of praise that comes out of our mouths, and he runs to inhabit the place where we stand, and…our iniquities(sins) are completely covered by the blood of his Son, Jesus so that there is no longer a separation between us and our God.

Awesome!