Tuesday, March 28, 2023

 THE "AND THEN" CONFLICT

We find scriptures where God said, "Do"; but we realize we don't.
AND THEN
Other scriptures say, "Don't"; but we find that we do.
Each of us should find that we often fit into the above conflict. By "often", I mean day by day...by day. A key element which will help us make spiritual-life progress is to realize (and then do what we can to remember) that each of us wages deep war in this zone of
CONFLICTIONISM.
This post is not a call to deny sin nor to deny the need to confess it. Rather, it is a call for us to awaken to our own failures in order to be a legitimate and effective help to our colleagues who, likewise, severely struggle. It is the very essence of the work which Jesus displayed.
Conflictionism is a call to realize our own sinfulness (and the heaviness of it) so that we can better understand those who live within these identical borders. Jesus was and is impactive because he experienced us firsthand...before we ever got here!
As we each make strides of grasping our own lack, we then become better equipped to identify with the role that Father hands us. He first experienced this in His human Son in order to pave the way for each of us to be of authentic help to our neighbors. Until we do, we will forever be condemning others with our judgmental chatter.
The very beginning of our personal journey is to be handed a Cross to carry from which we are to live. When living upon that Cross, our attitudes and our chatter shifts....enormously so. We learn to die for opponents rather than speak from the pulpit of criticism. Such is a daily walk of an incredibly rigorous and challenging responsibility.
May we increase in the ability to condemn the sin while accepting the sinner....for such is the call Jesus makes from his Cross.

Monday, March 13, 2023

 THE OPPOSITES RESIDING IN JESUS

Learning to walk the trek of Jesus is not a Sunday morning handyism. Rather, it is likely one of the most challenging assignments coming from Father above. We are to....
We are to hate the sin and love the sinner. This is a most fundamental call of Father to any who determine to follow Him. Hate another's sin; but love them dearly. Only Jesus could demonstrate such a wild call.
It is upon this biblical calling that we will often find to be so challenging. If not very careful, we will dismiss it completely. And why? It's easy to love any sinner whom we really love. But it's just as easy to fail to offer the same flow of the Spirit toward the one(s) that we, frankly, just don't like.
To overcome this selective favoritism is to make a major breakthrough for the Kingdom of God purposes as one walks the daily road. Our likes and dislikes must not be moody. We are to always dislike the sin...and to always love the sinner.
Clearly we are able to practice this...but often it's only with those whom we love. And such an inconsistent "practice" is telling. It is telling us that we have much work to do; faith work to believe in one another especially when the "another" is off the spiritual course.
We all find ourselves strolling in both lanes....one and then the other and back again. May we develop a living faith that truly detests the sin while, simultaneously loves the sinner. This is the calling, the very challenging calling, of Jesus the Lamb who died upon the Cross to demonstrate just how extreme faith is to look.
May. We. Carry. Our. Crosses. Daily.

Sunday, March 05, 2023

 Jeremiah 9:23-24

23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.