How do I know that Messiah Yeshua loved? He sat down for dinner, and people who did not agree with him doctrinally, publicans and sinners, came to be where he was. He made them feel important, and because he made them feel important, their hearts were opened to him when he taught them the truth. [b]Colossians 3:12 - "Therefore, as G-d's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."[/b] Remember, In the book “In Search for Excellence” the company has to make the employee feel good. G-d tells what we are. If you are of Messiah, you are Holy. Holiness is not something you do, it is what you are. Now, let us live like it. Well, I do not feel very holy today. Well, management is saying that you are holy, and furthermore, management is saying you are dearly loved. You are cared for. G-d says that you are so valuable to me. You are my holy beloved children. G-d is pouring out his love to us all. If we are saying: “Well, maybe I am wrong on a few points.” Do you think G-d is saying, “Oh well, in that case, I cannot love you”? No, He was pouring out His love to me when I was an enemy. G-d loves us. He is telling me how holy I am. What should be our response to that? [b]Colossians 3:12-16 - "Therefore, as G-d's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the L-rd has forgiven you, so you must forgive. Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart's decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body. And be thankful - let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to G-d in your hearts."[/b] You see, G-d loves you to the point that you should feel really loved and accepted and blessed before Him. He is not holding anything back. What happens then is we feel loved up, and if we feel loved up properly, then you realize that G-d loves every single one of His children the exact same way. At that point, doctrine does not play a part in it. Messiah did not die for me because my doctrine was right. Messiah did not love me because my doctrine was right. Why then am I taking to someone whose doctrine may not be right and holding him at arms length? Why am I not acting like G-d does and pouring out every blessing I have to this person and thinking about them and how valuable they are? What is it about me that I have so elevated my doctrine and my being right that it has put me at arms length from people to which I aught to be loving? Why has my doctrine become my enemy? We have to change the posture of our heart. It is something we have to do. [b]Colossians 3:12 - “Clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion”[/b] It does not say sit around and pray until G-d makes you humble. Prayer is important, but we have to work on ourselves to change the posture of our heart. It is like Sellon and Smith say: “There is self-awareness and self-management. We have got to become self-aware, and we have to self-manage.” [b]Romans 12:2 says: "In other words, do not let yourselves be conformed to the standards of the 'olam hazeh. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what G-d wants and will agree that what he wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed."[/b] This word of hope is if you have been like me, one of these people that your difference in doctrine from somebody else has set you apart from him or her, then you can be transformed. That does not mean to merely make small talk on the outside and be friendly but to be transformed. Every believer can become a genuine lover of people, and every one can realize that if G-d loves them and me and our doctrines are different, then I can be like G-d and love people whose doctrine is different, truly loving them from my heart. [b]Matthew 5:43 and 44 - "You have heard that our fathers were told, Love your neighbors -- and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!"[/b] By the way, who was teaching that? Not the Torah. The Torah (the mechanism of transformation) did not say to love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but that was the way that it had been interpreted in the religious teaching of Messiah’s day, so where they would hear “love your neighbor and hate your enemy” was not the Torah but in the local synagogue. [b]Matthew 5:44-48 - "But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. What reward do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."[/b] The word “perfect” is the Greek word “teleios.” It is to be mature. I like to read different translations. In “The Message” (which is not a literal translation) by Eugene Peterson. He takes great liberty with the text, but sometimes he does a good job of getting the sense of the text. [b]“You are familiar with the written law, love your friend and its unwritten companion, hate your enemy. I am challenging that. I am telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.”[/b] I love that. It is people that we differ with that most challenge us to be like Messiah. When I am with people like me that believe like I do and think like I do, I do not have to do a whole lot to be like Messiah. When I am with somebody who is truly different, that is when I am really challenged to be like Messiah. Peterson continues: [b]“When someone gives you a hard time respond with the energies of prayer for then you are working out your true self, your G-d created self. This is what G-d does, gives His best, the sun to warm and the rain to nourish everyone, regardless of the good and the bad, the nice and the nasty. If all that you do is love the loveable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run of the mill sinner does that. In a word, what I am saying is “grow-up.” Your kingdom subjects, now live like it.”[/b] The reason this caught my attention was because of the phrase “grow-up.” That is exactly what the Greek word “teleios” means when he says “be perfect.” It is “grow to the end,” and Peterson phrased that as “grow-up.” Do you see here what Messiah is saying? That G-d gives His best. He makes the sun to rise and sends rain on the evil and the good. What good does it do to send it on the evil? Well, it has a chance of opening their heart and touching their life. Remember that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. If we are going to be effective, and I would assert even further, if we are going to truly be like Messiah, instead of just being right, we have to make a decision. Are we going to be right or are we going to be like Messiah? If we are going to truly be like Messiah, then we have to change our heart. We have to be transformed by the love of G-d that G-d gets us to where we are true lovers of people. We realize that doctrine is important, and that doctrine sets people free, but it is not important if people will not hear it. It is not important if it makes us a critic. Remember, the Word of G-d says, “It’s the only critic, and I am supposed to be a lover.” A beautiful poem was written by Edger A. Guest, called Sermons We See. It goes like this: [i]“I would rather see a sermon then hear one any day. I would rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way. The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear. Fine counsel is confusing but examples are always clear. The best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds. For to see good out in action, is what everybody needs. I soon could learn how to do it if you’ll let me see it done. I can watch your hands in action but your tongue too fast may run, And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true, But I’d rather get my lessons by observing what you do. For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give, But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.”[/i] I can talk about right doctrine, and I can talk about being like Messiah, but if I am keeping people at arms length then there is no misunderstanding inhow I act and how I live. I would like to assert that G-d has given His best to people and truly opened His heart to people no matter where they stood doctrinally. I would like to plead and implore for all of us to take a look at how we self-talk about other people. What do we truly think about other people? Have we gotten to the point where we are truly like Messiah and people are more important than what we believe? We can love people and care for them and show compassion to them and think good thoughts about them in our heart (even when they do not believe like we do), and do it while maintaining that what we believe is important, and be confident in it. We can serve G-d and worship G-d the way we know to while loving, blessing, and touching others because that is the best that they know.... .....and after all maybe we are wrong—I don’t think so.....lol, but maybe we are on something’s. Post edited by: barry, at: 2007/12/03 17:19

Post edited by: barry, at: 2007/12/03 17:23