Simplifying The Complicated, part three - Love Your Neighbour

We live in the age of misinformation. That has become clearer for us since the pandemic hit, as half-truths and lies have muddied the waters to the point that people are just shutting down and shutting off. This is the same tactic the enemy uses in trying to get us to shut off the voice of our Father.

It is an old tactic that we first see with Eve as the enemy tried to muddy the waters around Father's instructions. Today he does the same thing to provoke division and distrust. And he doesn't have to do much. He simply whispers an half-truth about someone (half-truths are so much more effective than full lies when people don't check it out) then walks away and watches us create an eco-system from it. One lie will perpetuate more likes until we have this wonderful system feeding on itself.

Father made it simple but we have complicated it. This is the third installment on this subject of simplicity with God and in this I want us to consider the simplicity of our purpose.

A lot of us complicate what Father made to be very simple. We take lots of classes, courses, write assignments, listen to sermons, read books but it comes down to this. I will let James explain it:

"Your calling is to fulfill the royal law of love as given to us in this Scripture: 'You must love and value your neighbour as you love and value yourself!' For keeping this law is the noble way to live." 2:8 TPT

This is exactly what Jesus said is the most important thing in life after loving God. When questioned about what he meant by 'neighbour' Jesus gave the example of the good Samaritan. He purposefully chose a Samaritan sacrificially helping a Jew because these two groups considered themselves theological enemies.

Jesus made love a simple thing in every example he gave us and we complicate it. We muddy the waters.  James said that there is no way that anyone filled with love could praise God and then curse a brother, but guess what we do all the time when we are attacking ministries we do not agree with. We do opposite to what Jesus said and then we cover this by saying we were "called" to the task of tearing down people we measure as wrong. Self-appointed hate-mongers. We love complicating things.

It is simple : We are to love. We build up. We encourage. We support. We give generously. We forgive. We live by grace. We are positive. We are hopeful. We believe God will do it where we can't. We remember our testimony and believe Dad will do the same for everyone. We allow the Spirit to do his thing. We do this by getting our minds out of the sins of others. Scripture tells us:

"So keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always." Philippians 4:8 TPT

Paul wrote this in a portion where he was telling two sisters to work out their differences. Where we focus matters. If we focus on the faults and failings we will struggle to see value and be able to love. When we focus on the Kingdom then we will see everyone as the King values them and we will concentrate on the person not their actions. This is not a "nice if you can manage it" but the core of our being as the Child of God.

Part of our problem is not understanding our purpose as James has described it. We see ourselves as Old Testament prophets bent on calling out sin and pronouncing judgement. This muddies the waters, cuts off Father's voice, causes the enemy to dance in delight. Instead we are suppose to proclaim the good news, that the Kingdom of God is at hand and that there is an invitation to enter the King's rest. We are in an age where grace enables us in all things and where the Spirit of God is responsible for conviction.

Our assignment is to carry the Kingdom of God into every situation we encounter and to demonstrate the love of Father for every single person regardless of their actions. It is in relationship with people that we get to demonstrate the value Father has placed on them. It's as simple as that: to love.

Of course it goes a lot deeper than that but this is where we start. In fact, if we do not start at sacrificial love we can't go any deeper. Doors into the hearts of people will not open. We will spend all of our days trying to conform the behaviour of people without ever touching their heart. There is no exception to this purpose. There is no exception in love. We do not get to exclude any person, even our enemies. All of our days are spent learning how to love God, ourselves and others better, higher, deeper, wider. 

The enemy has been muddying the waters, getting us to do opposite to what Father has designed. Muddied waters allow us to believe that attacking differences is a holy action. Muddied waters allow us to take part in the enemies goal to steal, kill and destroy and we do it all in the name of Jesus. Muddied waters got us kicked out of the garden and it prevents us from unifying and growing up into the fullness of Christ.

Perhaps the real problem with loving people is that we have failed to understand the importance of learning to love ourselves. "Love and value your neighbour as you love and value yourself." How can we love others as we love ourselves if we do not know how to love ourselves? That will be our next entry.

Simplifying The Complicated, part one - The Context

The world is a pretty messed up place right now with growing divisions and hatred. Unfortunately it has been my experience that what is happening in society will soon be reflected in the Church. It is suppose to be the opposite with the Church influencing society but in my twenty-eight years in ministry as a pastor I have watched the Church change to reflect our society. So sure enough, we are seeing growing division and even hatred increasing in the Body.

We are complicating what our Father designed to be simple. Sure, we can allow the deep study of theology turn a simple thing into layers of complication but when we get down to what is really important we discover how simple it is. I don't usually find a lot of helpful things in Solomon's Ecclesiastes but there is one phrase he wrote that I try to keep close to me:

God made human beings straightforward, but they search for many complications. (7:29)

Yes sir, I find that sums us up quite well. So I want to uncomplicate things by taking a few days to consider what is simple and important according to Fathers design. We are going to look at : 1. loving God, 2. loving and valuing ourselves, 3. loving and valuing our neighbour, 3. honouring everyone, 4. loving each other in the same manner Jesus loved his disciples. Along the way we will also touch on considering others more important than ourselves, considering the interests of others along with our own, and loving our enemies.

Before we get into these sub topics we need to consider the context which is really the main topic. We have been called into the ministry of Jesus Christ, our King. His ministry is not one of judgement and condemnation but of reconciliation. Ours is a ministry of reconciliation as Father invites all of humanity (ALL), to leave the path of rebellion and return to a full and healthy relationship with him.

This is where we tend to take something that is so simple and complicate it with a terrible perspective and wrong theology. Our Father has no desire to destroy anyone but we do get to chose our own path. He has paid the price to cover our rebellion, making it possible for us to return to him. The cross should be all the evidence we need that Dad is for us not against us. And the fact is, if he is for us who could be against us because there is no one like him.

We need to examine all of our thinking and attitude in this ministry because we need to assume that we are complicating it. We need to measure the motivation of our words and actions against the fact that while we were the enemy of God Jesus died for us. He did not require us to change before we came to him. If we could have changed we would not have needed him. But we were desperate for him because we could not help ourselves.

Yet too often we require people to clean up their act before we will hang out with them. We require them to change before we will call them friend. We want them to conform to us before they are transformed by the Spirit and this is terrible and dangerous. Too many of us think our job is done when people conform to the church we belong to and so they miss out on the One who transforms. Because they are satisfied with "fitting in" they think they have found Jesus and so stop looking. We have complicated Father's simple design.

Our responsibility is simple, to be witnesses of Jesus. We are to teach everything that Jesus taught but this is done with actions and attitudes that match Jesus' words. It is with power. It is flavoured with hope. It reeks of peace. It overflows with joy. It looks past situations, conditions and circumstances and focuses on people. It recognizes that each person, regardless of status, position or rebellion, is the object of Father's love. He is chasing after them and he has placed us in their lives so that he can. All that matters to him and to us are people.

So over the next few blogs I want to unpack the simplicity of our life in Christ and in this world. I want us to recognize :

"Everything we could ever need for life and complete devotion to God has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness." (2 Peter 1:3)  

You've got it. Everything you need for simple living has already been deposited in you. We let go of systems, methods, false expectations, arm length evangelism and we go after those Father loves by entering their lives as friends, in purity of relationship and desire. Let's do this!

The Truth Must Be Told

It is getting really confusing out there. It seems every day what we knew to be true is being challenged in one way or another. Some people isolate themselves from such going ons in the world but then don't know what to do when they are cornered by it. Others of us who have to wade through this sewage every day often have to take deep showers in the Spirit to keep our equilibrium. In all of this mess one thing is evident, people no longer believe in an absolute truth.

It is even hard to hold a discussion with people any more because they are arguing from their own abstract idea of truth, which seems to be constantly evolving. What is amazing is that we can pretty well convince ourselves that anything is true if we decide that is what we want to believe. This being the case, no one is interested in anything that would challenge their version of reality. Things haven't changed all that much over the millenniums.

Apostle Paul and his team had a great ministry in Asia Minor, headquartered in Ephesus. Then one day, just before he was planning to move on, there was a riot. The cause of the riot was the fact that the truth had been revealed to the people. Here is the accusation against the Christians, specifically Paul:

And you can see and hear that this Paul has convinced and misled a lot of people, not only in Ephesus but also throughout most of the province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands aren’t really gods. (Acts 19:26)

There are many similar things in our age that could be considered like these idols. It is obvious to us that anything that we can make with our hands cannot be all that mighty and powerful, yet we continue to fashion gods after ourselves. The danger comes when we hold up the truth against these false idols in our lives.

No one is interested in the truth because truth accepted changes things, makes us uncomfortable, forces us into a reality we don't want. We would rather live lies that leave us comfortable and unchallenged. This is why the prophets of old were often killed, because people did not want to accept a truth that forced change. That is why the prophets of today are attacked and "killed" in the forum of public opinion. Their message is examined against the perception of the day, cutting out the elements that make it the truth based on a reality beyond the sight of this world. But that does not give us an excuse to remain silent.

Although we have a greater message than the prophets of old, we must develop the same fortitude in presenting the truth. To Ezekiel the Lord said:

Whether they listen or whether they refuse, since they are a household of rebels, they will know that a prophet has been among them. (Ezekiel 2:5)

It is not up to us to make them respond, we are only messengers and must be faithful in sharing the message. People hate the truth and will hate us for telling the truth but the truth must be told.

Closed To The Good News

You can choose not to believe. That is the interesting thing about the human mind, we can convince ourselves of our own reality and no one can convince us otherwise. We believe to be truth what we choose to believe. We can also limit the truth by choosing not to believe. So, many people choose to limit themselves to what they see. What a dull existence if all that exists is what we perceive with our sight.

It is possible to limit Jesus by either choosing not to believe everything the Word tells us or not to believe anything at all. If you choose not to believe in God he will leave you in that non-belief. He has called many of us to fight for you, to pray and to be instruments of his glory and grace so that you can see if you choose to see but if you harden your heart toward him, he will leave you there.

We see this demonstrated in many places in the Word but the one that stands out for me is found in the history of the beginning of the Church:

Some people had closed their minds, though. They refused to believe and publicly slandered the Way. As a result, Paul left them, took the disciples with him, and continued his daily interactions in Tyrannus’ lecture hall. (Acts 19:9)

Yes, that tends to be the results of people closing their minds to Jesus; they don't just walk away, they attack. Often it is not enough not to believe, people also attack what they choose not to believe to justify their non-belief. Strange how that works. As we see more of society being taken in by the lies of the enemy, choosing not to believe the acts of our loving God, they are becoming hostile toward those who do believe. From their position of imperfection they demand perfection from a people saved, not by their righteousness but, by the grace of Yahweh.

By closing their minds many people are unable to understand the message of Jesus, his actions, the Word or the purpose of the Church. We must not be surprised by their actions toward us because they have closed their mind to understanding. However, that does not excuse us from our responsibility to share the good news of Jesus Christ to anyone who is willing to listen. Like Paul, we must move from the hard soil to the fertile soil leaving the others to the mercy of Yahweh. We need to pray that more minds would be open to receiving the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Remember, we are not in the fight of our lives but of those who have not received Jesus. We are well saved and have received all that we need, but now we are involved in a battle that must put others ahead of ourselves, as inconvenient as that may seem. Apostle Paul encouraged us to work hard for the benefit of others so let's get to it and may those closed minds be opened.

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter.

I have been reflecting on this statement a lot because it is daily presented to me and I hope continues to be presented to me.

I live in Canada where we like to think prejudice doesn't exist. It may not be as visible or dramatic as what we see in the States but it exists. I know because I grew up beside it in Nova Scotia. I grew up with friends who were black but it doesn't mean I understand what they went through. I saw it, felt it, but I did not experience it. I was never suspected of anything when I walked in a store or down the street. I may not have been rich but compared to my friends I live a privileged life because I wasn't black. It is exactly what they are trying to tell people today.

I also saw it in Europe when I lived there. My best friend was black. I could cross between countries there without even a glance but when we traveled together we were stopped every time. Prejudice and judgement are not unique to the US, although for the moment it is grabbing our attention.

This speaks to the horrible nature that is at the core of being human. We are filled with fear, hate, and prejudice. We are only lying to ourselves if we truly believe that we are free of these things. Just look at the response people have to the statement "Black Lives Matter". To say that "All Lives Matter" is ignoring the fact that our societies believe that some lives have greater value than others, and what is considered valuable depends on the country in which you live. Prejudice exists in every country even if it is a different group of people because of colour, race or religion. But this must not be true of the Church.

Although no follower of Jesus is perfect we must be aware of our sins to give them over to Jesus. To admit our prejudices and hatreds is the first step to have them healed and changed. Just because that is what we grew up with and what we were before Jesus does not mean that is who we are after our re-birth in Jesus. We are a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come. The Word is filled with what we are suppose to be growing into but there is one truth that should describe the atmosphere of the family of Yahweh:

There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

This is our family, under the head of Jesus, united by the Spirit, considering each other more important than ourself:

Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

There is no skin colour attached to this because the Kingdom of God is about the heart and our relationship with Jesus. We don't judge by sight but by the Spirit of God. If we are still judging people by skin colour then there is something wrong with us. Either we don't have a relationship with Jesus or we are failing to grow into maturity.

We can understand what is taking place in the world because of the sin nature of humanity, but if it exists within the Church it is an illness that must be dealt with by love, teaching and prayer. We tell the world the answer to all these things is Jesus but they aren't going to believe us unless we are willing to allow our hatred and prejudices to be corrected and healed.

Remember:

Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. (1 John 3:15)

A Seed Of Doubt

How do you feel when you know you can do something but someone doubts your ability? It's pretty devastating isn't it? You've got yourself all psyched up to do this great thing and someone comes along who pops your bubble with "Are you crazy? You can't do that". Suddenly you feel like you can't. You have to have a lot of confidence and determination to do great things in the face of doubters.

Doubt is a destructive thing no matter what we are talking about but especially when it comes to your relationship with God. Here we have been promised all these things by Jesus and we should be able to act upon them, but many of us don't because of that nagging voice of doubt. "What if ..." is what we hear over and over again. What if that promise isn't for you? What if he is holding something against you? What if you've got it all wrong? What if he doesn't really love you? Maybe this is the reason apostle Paul prayed this for the Ephesians:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  (Ephesians 3:16-17)

Yes, we need to be strengthen in our inner being so that we have the faith to permit Jesus to live in us. There are plenty of voices on the outside and inside yelling at us that we are stupid to believe. It is only going to get worse. As the world looks for justification to hate the Church it will attack the truth with lies and will try to paint a picture of you to make you feel stupid for believing.

The pressure will only get worse as we have prominent celebrities telling parents to believe what they want but not to pass their superstition on to their children. I know parents don't want to hear it but there is a concerted effort in the school system to separate children from faith in Jesus. It comes as no surprise as the Bible tells us over and over again what the last days look like:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—  having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

You think it is bad now? Watch what is already here and growing. There will be hatred in the world against the Church and even within the Church there will be destructive forces trying to destroy you, the Bride of Christ:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (2 Timothy 4:1)

We need to check ourselves and encourage others to check themselves. We need to take inventory and see where we stand in faith with Jesus. We need to shore things up now because the days are growing short and the great tide of opposition is beginning to hit us. It will not get better and is promised to only get worse. If you don't have faith to stand up under the little bit you have been facing now because of the name of Jesus, how do you hope  to stand against the great storm that is approaching?

I'll tell you how: you will stand in the power that is strengthening you in your inner being. That power is given by the Father to insure that you will stand because in faith Jesus lives in you. You are far more powerful, strong, determined, and persevering than you can possibly imagine because of Jesus in you. Block out those voices, get your eyes fixed on the goal, don't stop praising Jesus and, no matter what it costs. never give up on the hope that is ours. Our Father will see us through the days that lay before us and we will meet together in the home he has prepared. Until the that day comes, stay strong in the Lord and stand your ground.