Frenemies: What to Do with Them

 

 

 

Luke 23:34

 

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

 

This passage almost perfectly sums up Who Jesus is.  He is the Savior, dying for the sins of the people who torment Him.  He is the Lover of our souls, loving them enough to pray for them even as they heaped pain and suffering upon him.  He is the loving Son, honoring his Father and standing as a go-between between for God and man.  He is a man stripped of worldly treasures and honor.

Jesus went through all of that for you.  And for me.  He loves us so much! He is such a great example to us of how to pray for our enemies, and how to intercede for those who are deceived by the devil.

Much of our world is lost and undone without Jesus.  It is easy to look at them and become angry.  It is easy to judge and blame them, but not so easy to love and pray for them.  Especially when they are mistreating us.  But that is our mandate.  Loving the unlovely.

 

Dear Lord, thank you for the example that You are.  Help me to show your love to others.  Inspire me to pray for others and stand in the gap.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

.

 

Spoiled Child

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." I John 3:1

 

Who is your worst enemy?  Someone who has said bad things about you, hurt you, mistreated your kids, stabbed you in your back, spit in your face...  Now that we have stirred up all the bad feelings you may still have, imagine adopting that person as your child.  Taking them in, feeding and clothing them, giving them medical care, taking them shopping for catcher's gear and prom dresses. Does this sound ludicrous to you?

That is basically what God did for us.  We lived as sinners, enemies of the cross, despising his sacrifice, blaspheming his holy name. And then one day, we acknowledged that we were sinners, accepted Jesus' sacrifice and we went from enemy status to full-fledged children of God.  It would be lavish love if he just canceled the stuff that makes us his enemy.  But he did so much more!  He made us his sons and daughters.  He gave us the right to use His name, his resources, his Word.  What a Father!  What a Savior!

Because we are affiliated with Almighty God, there will be people who will not like us.  Why?  Because they do not like him.  There will be people who will reject us, ridicule us and persecute us.  But this is a small price to pay given the sacrifice he made for me.

When we behave like the Lord, sinners will be baffled and possibly mock us.  It makes no sense to keep the peace when revenge is called for.  No one understands us taking annual leave to take a missions' trip or to work youth camp.  Giving more than 10% of our income to the church is insanity to the world.  So  much of the Bible is a counter culture to the world.  Because of that, we can expect to face our fair share of being misunderstood.  But never lose sight of the benefits of being associated with the Lord- salvation, peace, joy, and eternity in heaven with him.  When you weigh it all out, serving the Lord is the best deal you will ever make in this life!

Dear Lord, thank you for adopting me as your daughter.  Thank you for canceling my sin and giving me rights that I will never deserve.  Help others to see the image of the Father in me.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri  

Facing Your Enemy

“Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.”  Psalm 27:3

 

What powerful imagery! It is easy to be confident when we are up against one foe, which is smaller and weaker than us.  But in this passage, David is saying even if an entire army comes against him, he will not fear.  Even if a full-scale war breaks out against him personally, he would be confident.

How could he possibly say such audacious things?  He said them because he knew Whose he was.  He understood that he belonged to God and that no matter how many come to attack him; no matter how big they were, how well armed they were; no matter how powerful they were; they were no match for his God.  Our God is just that big, powerful and sufficient.  That is why we can rest in him even when life kicks up some major storms.

Like you, I currently have a few enemies I am facing- discouragement; delayed answers to prayer and even a little despair.  But passages like this cause my spirit to rise up within me and say:  “Yes, He can handle this!  It is going to work out.”  Usually when our problems loom too large, it is because we have shrunk God down to our size. 

We can choose to be fearless.  We cannot help the emotion of fear that comes our way, but we can do as Joyce Meyer recommends and “Do it afraid.”  No matter how our emotions tremble and quake, we can choose to not allow fear to limit what we do for God or what we allow him to do through us.

Lord, I am struggling today. Please help me to stand firm as David did.  Help me to remember your goodness and the times you have come through for me.  Increase my confidence, in Jesus Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

Who Did That?

 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12

Your moody mate is not your problem.  Your unrealistic boss is not your enemy.  The rude cashier at the grocery store is not the reason for the irritation you are feeling.  They are all imposters- the real problem is the enemy of your soul and his hierarchy of unholy angels.

Satan knows that he is defeated by Jesus’ finished work on the cross.  Any time the devil sees a child of God, he is reminded that his judgment is sure.  He knows he will not win, but he desires to wreak havoc while he still has time.  He works in many ways to oppose us, confuse us, disappoint us and frustrate us.  But as we learned yesterday, we are not without protection; the whole armor of God is available to help us withstand all that he throws our way.

Life is full of difficult circumstances- and let’s be honest, difficult people.  But if we can keep our perspective and realize that although the enemy likes to work through people to thwart us, they are not ultimately our enemy.  When we realize that the struggles we are facing are more supernatural than natural, it helps put life in proper perspective.  We must look at life through the divine perspective.  We know that the enemy is at work, but Jesus has already defeated his every scheme and is now at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us!

Lord, help me to know who my enemy is, and to look at life from the perspective of Your Word.  Forgive me for the feelings I have toward those that appear to oppose me. Help me to remember that it is the working of my enemy, but that he will not prevail.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

This Isn’t Your Fight

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  Exodus 14:14

 

This is a very familiar passage of Scripture occurring right before the dramatic miracle of the parting of the Red Sea.  We all love this passage because we know what’s coming!  This account is one of the most exciting of our Sunday School lessons.  But for just a moment imagine you are living in the moment and have never read the happy ending.  You have been in captivity.  Your captors are using you mercilessly for slave labor.  God sends a man to rescue you but all that happens after that is that you get more work to do with even less resources.  Finally, you are allowed to leave.  You and your entire nation are walking out en masse.  Imagine the thrill of deliverance, the excitement, the rejoicing in the Lord…

Now look up from your celebration and behold- your enemy is coming after you with an army. The very ones who oppressed you, taunted you, possibly beat you, are now advancing with horses and chariots. You know what awaits you if they overtake you.  And now what is your recourse?  You have a known murderer telling you: “Don’t worry about it. God will fight for you.  Just be still.” (My paraphrase.)  Does the prospect of standing still, while an angry mob pursues you, sound like a good idea on any level?

Now fast forward to 2012.  What enemies are advancing on you?  A need to pay the house payment?  The restoration of a relationship?  A need for healing?  There is so much we can learn from the Scripture today.  First of all, realize that the Egyptian’s enemy was just as real as the things you face today.  Secondly, they too had a history of being overtaken by their enemy.  Thirdly, it took the heat of the battle for God to release His miracle into their lives.  No matter what you are facing, God is just as big, just as powerful, just as mindful, and just as ready to defend you.

There are times God tells us to do things to help ourselves.  But there are also the times of the miraculous when God asks us to simply stand by and see what He will do on our behalf.  Sometimes being still and trusting is even harder than grabbing a sword and fighting.  But God will not share His glory with anyone.  So do not be a hero when God wants you to just be a believer

Dear Lord, show me when to fight and when to stand.  Increase my faith to believe you will do all that you promise.  Thank you for fighting for me.  What lavish love you give me!  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri