Right

Is there anything harder in this Christian Life than giving up your right to want to hurt someone who has hurt you especially when they did it knowing it was hurting you but did it anyway?

I am in the process and it is wildly hard.

The mind plays and plays the evil they did; moreover, you told them to stop, even explained the pain and they kept on and finally, you are stuck paying the consequences for their sins.

As I said is there anything harder?

And so you pray and you work remembering Scripture and you pray more and at some point, you surrender your right to want to hurt them because you know that is what is best for you and that is what JESUS desires for you.

Does it make what they did right? Does it cancel their sin? Absolutely not!

Does it make what they did any less malicious? Absolutely not!

Does it mean they will not reap what they have sown? Absolutely not!

Does it mean I will not rejoice when what goes around comes around? Actually yes it does! That is how I know forgiveness has come.

Does it mean when I think of what they have done to me, I will hurt less? Yeah, actually it does.  ONLY JESUS can work a miracle like this!  And I’m looking for a miracle. James 5:16 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

16 Therefore, openly acknowledge your sins to one another, and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

via James 5:16 KJV;CJB – Confess your faults one to another, and – Bible Gateway.

Ephesians 4:32 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted; and forgive each other, just as in the Messiah God has also forgiven you.

via Eph 4:32 KJV;CJB – And be ye kind one to another, – Bible Gateway.


Kathie

Let and Let Not

I picked up John 14 to read this morning, preliminary preparation for Sunday, and I am stopped at the first five words.

“Don’t let yourselves be disturbed.

via John 14 KJV;CJB – Let not your heart be troubled: ye – Bible Gateway.

As you may know this is Yeshua speaking to His Disciples and obviously He is speaking to me and I hope to you this morning. I suppose I could see this as a choice; I can choose to let not that or this disturb me and I am certain that is true. There must be a choice because I have done both – Let and Let Not. And having a choice theology feels good; we like that free will thing. Free to Choose.

But for the Disciples and for me this morning I am sensing more. I think I hear a Loving Command here. As in you are My Disciple so don’t let yourself be disturbed by this and that because I AM here with you.

I like choice. But I think I like this command more. It’s personal. It’s the Voice of the Savior speaking to one of His Own.

Perhaps you’d like to listen and see if you hear a loving command beyond a choice.

Joyous Celebrating of the Savior’s Birth!
Kathie

Do the Math

36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

via Mark 8:35-37 KJV;CJB – For whosoever will save his life shall – Bible Gateway.

What shall it profit a man, a woman, a family if they gain everything they desire in this life and lose their eternal souls to hell?

What shall it profit a man, a woman, a family if they get every material thing they desire in this present life and yet they have no peace, no joy, nor wholeness of being?

What shall it profit a man, a woman, a family if they have all the trinkets the media flashes before them but they forget, reject, turn away from the GIFT of Eternity – JESUS, the CHRIST?

And what is profit anyway?  This was interesting:

Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market via Profit – Ask.com Encyclopedia.

And this one:

d. The amount received for a commodity or service in excess of the original cost. via profit – definition of profit by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia..

Perhaps we are asked to ‘do the math’. Perhaps ABBA is asking me to do the math today; not so much for myself in regards to my eternal destination – that has been settled – but for others? How much are they worth to me? How much are they worth to you? And who is they? Any soul the HOLY SPIRIT brings into our sphere of influence today? Any soul HE opens a door of utterance to whom we can speak a word of encouragement, a word of warning, a word of hope.

I’m glad I woke up this morning with ‘what shall it profit’ calling to me.

Thank You, ABBA, I need this. I pray HOLY SPIRIT that I do not allow this message to be unprofitable to Your Kingdom work today or my own soul.

Joyous Celebrating of the Savior’s Birth!

Kathie

For Thought

Good Monday Morning!

JT and I hope you have had a remarkable Thanksgiving and are ready now to move into a Christ honoring celebrating His Birth Season. I saw something on Facebook moments ago that I liked.

Jesus cameNo other child coming from a womb was/is like JESUS but let us remember they all are precious.

What does it mean to you that JESUS, fully GOD, fully human, arrived here as a baby; don’t mean to offend but truth is He came through a birth canal as did you and I? What’s that tell you?

Kathie

14 The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh’khinah, the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.

via John 1 KJV;CJB – In the beginning was the Word, and the – Bible Gateway

Cease Entertaining

May I quickly share a few verses of Scripture? I picked up my Bible and it fell to Romans 12 and my eyes met with verse 20 and I backed up to 19 for context. Please read with me.

19 Never seek revenge, my friends; instead, leave that to God’s anger; for in the Tanakh it is written,

Adonai says, ‘Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay.’”

20 On the contrary,

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For by doing this, you will heap
fiery coals [of shame] on his head.”

21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.  [source]

Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay, He said. And we know our GOD cannot lie; not will not but CANNOT. He would cease to be GOD if He ever lied and, Friends, that ain’t 🙂 gonna happen. Aren’t you glad? So let us leave vengeance and pay back to Him; but as we leave it to Him let us NOT sit and wait for pay back to come so we can rejoice.  No. No. No. That is not His command to us.  Rather, let us move forward as He has commanded and do good to those who do evil to us. And if today all the good you can do is pray for them and not do the evil to them that you would like, by all means do that. Pray for them and cease entertaining that payback. 

This is not an easy passage, ABBA, but I am grateful to read it; grateful for Your promise and grateful for Your instructions as to what You expect my conduct to be. Thank You. And thank You for the grace and strength to obey, all that is left to add is my willingness and I pray even for help to be willing. Thank You, ADONAI.  And, ABBA, it is rare that JT would be sick but he is today and I am asking You to heal him today.  And there are others that are always on my mind; Jamie for one. Thank You that You are fully worthy of our trust and You are able and You do all things well; so we trust You. And thank You for reminders. So I pray for Israel. Thank You for that blessed Nation and I ask for their protection and the subduing of all their enemies; all praise and petitions here offered in the Name of YESHUA, JESUS the CHRIST.

Kathie