Posted on

Watch out for the pricklies

Mattew 7:12 (MEV) Therefore, everything you would like men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

While in prayer yesterday, I was praying for our church to seek God first. The word ‘seek’ kept going over and over in my mind and I turned to Isaiah 55:6 (MEV), “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call you upon Him while He is near” and Matthew 7:7 (MEV), “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.” Then I kept reading in Matthew, “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a snake? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!“

I have learned with a “Therefore” that I better pay attention to what is going on before and after. We love the verses about when we ask it will be given to us but check out what He tells us to do. Do you know that the way you view people is important? How many of us are disappointed at people, but most of it is our own doing. Matthew 7:12 in the Amplified says this, “So then, in everything treat others the same way you want them to treat you, for this is [the essence of] the Law and the [writings of the] Prophets.” What did Jesus say were the greatest two commandments? To put it simply, to love God and to love people. It is a self-centered mindset for wanting people to do for you but for you not to seek out opportunities to do for others.

Matthew 7:13-14 (AMP) Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad and easy to travel is the path that leads the way to destruction and eternal loss, and there are many who enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow and difficult to travel is the path that leads the way to [everlasting] life, and there are few who find it.

Be mindful of the temptation to seek the best for yourself only. Seeking God takes a surrender of self. When we are positioned to love God, we should have the fruit of loving people. Jesus tells us that anything we would like for people to do for us, we should do for them. It is not when people do for you, you do the same in return. You start the process, even if they never do in return. When we lose peace and start keeping score is when we have done things without love. Love does not keep a record and does not keep score.

Matthew 7:15-20 (AMP) Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets].

Eating from a tree that is dripping with bitterness can turn you sour. It can make you distrust God and the body of Christ. Watch out that you do not become prickly yourself. This is not to do good to the prickly people, but do not become one yourself. Set boundaries but always do good.

So, who does the initiation in seeking, asking and knocking? We do. Who does the start of the good works? We do. Can we expect others to do for us, and we are not willing to do for them? Absolutely not. Check our motives and keep our hearts pure, because self-focus and self-centeredness may seem like a path to take but it does not lead to growth in Christ. It may just lead to a life of prickly. So next time you are in your feelings about people not doing for you, get out of yourself and into the love of Christ. Seek out an opportunity to do for others, like you would want done for you.

Abba, Father, our Creator, You are worthy of our Praise and Honor. You are Marvelous and full of Majesty. You are Holy. Thank You for Your Son, our Prince of Peace. Thank You for the Holy Spirit, our Teacher and Comforter. Thank You for the revelation of Your Word to bring us to know You more. We want to know Your heart as we seek Your face. We repent for taking score and keeping records of when we feel like we have been disappointed by people. People are not our problem. Sometimes we have created our own problems, and we are sorry for that. Give us a heart that sees, hands eager to help, and the courage to move forward without pause. May our actions mirror Your compassion, bringing light to dark places, hope to the weary, and love to the lonely. Seach our hearts Lord, let us surrender our will and our ways to Yours. We choose forgiveness today. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

Thorns bring us out of comfort

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (AMP) Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

The true function of comfort is to propel us to go on. You will not find permission to comfort yourself. The devil wants us to run for comfort and cover to places outside of our calling. To keep us comfortable (in dysfunction, in busyness, in hiding, etc.) so you will never see our destinies come to pass.

Comfort can be dysfunctional when it comes from the wrong places. He is the God of my comfort. When we think of comfort we want to be taken out of suffering, but He comes along side of us to comfort us during the trial. Not after! Could it be our search for comfort be keeping us from our calling? God I want you, but I don’t want to be uncomfortable.

When I told God that I had a desire for more, I invited Him to take me out of the dysfunction of seeking comfort. I invited Him to make me uncomfortable. Reading this entire letter, in 2 Corinthians, you can tell Paul was uncomfortable. How?

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (AMP)  Because of the surpassing greatness and extraordinary nature of the revelations [which I received from God], for this reason, to keep me from thinking of myself as important, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan, to torment and harass me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me; but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough—always available—regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.  So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].

I don’t know about you, but a thorn is painful. A thorn is small. A thorn can be a minor irritation or a big one depending on if you focus on it. Since walking into my calling, I have discovered a thorn. It did not show up right away. Everything was going great and then the thorn was revealed. I have prayed at different times for God to remove it, but instead He removed what I loved. He is telling me my grace is sufficient. He is telling me that I need to grow in grace where my thorn is concerned. His power is perfected when I am uncomfortable, because it is Him doing the change and not me.

I have changed my prayer. I am praising God for that thorn. That thorn is helping me grow in grace and mercy. That thorn is helping me seek His perspective above mine. That thorn is helping me focus on Jesus. That thorn reminds me to think on whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute (Philippians 4:8). That thorn makes me look to Him for my comfort. When that thorn starts to torment me, seek Him more. That thorn helps in desiring for more of Him!

Remember Jesus wore a crown of thorns…we may have just one! Kind of puts a different perspective on “Jesus had you on His mind while He was on the cross.”