When Love Broke Through

It's June 1st and I had an upbeat blog ready to go for this day, but after watching way more video clips than I should have watched of unbelievable riots, theft, damages to property and civil unrest, I sensed God nudging me to "speak His mind" on His behalf today. So -- I yield to His voice.

The predominant character trait of God is LOVE, so, of course, that would be what I should blog about today. It's the oldest of old stories "For God so LOVED the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, would not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). Love broke through! And, as despicable was his death, I choose to believe that verse holds true for George Floyd. That he is with Jesus in Paradise. And, I choose to believe that verse holds true for his killers. That Jesus died even for them, and, hopefully, they, too, will join George in heaven one day.

Sounds pretty irrational, doesn't it? Oh, but the power of the greatest LOVER of all. Jesus broke through all the hate, anger, malice, rejection and even His own death. It's upside down thinking for sure, but look at how He told us to love in Matthew 5:44: “Love your enemies! Bless them that curse you! Do good to them that hate you! PRAY for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you!” Doesn’t that sound preposterous? How could we possibly love someone that rejects, curses, hurts or even kills us or a family member or friend? How is it possible to love our enemies? And, even a step further, to “bless them and pray for them”? Can those words be possible?

Martin Luther King said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." Jesus set the example for us. He had enemies – plenty of them. They lied about Him. They beat Him. They mocked Him. They killed Him. He loved them anyway. And if we believe in Him, it’s time to turn things “upside down” and “inside out”, and say to our enemies, “I love you. I would rather die than hate you.” May we put away our swords of embittered words and actions. May we take up our crosses of love and follow Jesus Who showed us how to live and love, and as He told us to pray for them, we pray this prayer for them now:

"Lord of love, we pray for You to bless our enemies. Open their ears to the Truth. Open their minds to understand the Gospel. Open their hearts to long for Your love. Draw them to Yourself Your Light is stronger than their darkness Bring them into the Light. Save them for all eternity. May Your love break through to them. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus."

Toby Mac sings it like this: "When love broke thru / You found me in the darkness / Wanderin' thru the desert / I was a hopeless fool / Now I'm hopelessly devoted / My chains are broken / And it all began with You / When love broke thru / And it all began with You / When love broke thru".

We can sing "What the world needs now is love sweet love" until we're blue in the face, but until we possess God's love in our hearts -- we will never measure up to what's needed for change in our world today. I'm praying for love to break through in our world. Will you join me in that prayer?

Love's Power to Change Everything and Everyone

I’m carrying on one more day of recognizing the power of love. The power to overpower hate with love. Martin Luther King Jr. did that and he gave his life for it. I started thinking about how illogical Jesus’ words seem to be in Matthew 5:44. “Love your enemies! Bless them that curse you! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you!" Does that make any sense at all – love our enemies? It does -- in the light of the ONE Who said those words and gave HIS life to prove they make a profound difference in this world.

How is it possible to love our enemies? How can we do good to those who hate us, curse us, use us and persecute us? And, even a step further, “bless them and pray for them”? It seems impossible, but Dr. King explained it well in this quote: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” There is another reason Jesus says, 'Love your enemies'. It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. That power eventually transforms the lives of people. We just keep loving them, and they won't be able to stand it. The power of our love will break down under the load. Love is redemptive, and that's why Jesus said, "Love." Love builds up and creates. Hate tears down and destroys. So build up. Create. LOVE!

I try to live by the words, What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD), in determining what action to take in situations. He set the example for us in every area of our lives. He had enemies – plenty of them. They rejected Him, tortured Him and even killed Him. He loved them anyway. And if we believe in Him, it’s time to be that kind of lover, too, and say to our enemies, “I love you. I would rather die than hate you.” When we live that way, we’ll find the strength to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who spitefully use us. Getting even with our enemies isn't even in the equation. Blessing them is.

We are living in a time where there is so much need for love, more so than ever. It starts with each of us reaching deep inside and connecting to THE ONE Who lives big within us and with His love, we can offer our loving selves to others, not because we seek anything, but because our cup is full of love and we have nothing more to do than simply share it with others.

I invite you today to be the change you want to see in the world, to be love and loving towards others. If we can let go of our anger long enough to pray like this, we’ll discover an amazing benefit – we’ll be putting ourselves in a position TO BE blessed and loved!

Judge Them Oh Lord!

As my readers know, I am a sunny sky, rainbows-after-rain, kind-of-writer, but it seems irreverent to not acknowledge the dark clouds that blew in when New York lawmakers legalized abortion until birth. My heart ached when I saw the “celebration” and the gleeful faces of those lawmakers in my newsfeed.

My heart cries out “Judge them, oh Lord!” What was Jesus thinking when He said, in Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies! Bless them that curse you! Do good to them that hate you! Pray for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you!” Quite frankly, I’d like to request that hail, fire, and brimstone be unleashed on those cray crays. Lord, have mercy!

Now that I’ve had my venting moment, I must repent and remember Christ’s teachings to love in spite of the evil in our world, but we shouldn’t ignore what we can do besides praying and raise our voices in proclaiming “LIFE MATTERS!”

In Psalm 69 David cries out to God about his enemies, “Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them." Whew! Don’t those words make us want to team up with David and say “Hit ‘em with your best shot, Lord?”

Can't we pray the way David did? Can't we ask for God to pour out his wrath upon evildoers? Jesus showed up and flipped all that on its heels when He said: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." That whole “loving our enemies” doesn’t make sense in this world, but, oh, lest I forget, it’s a command from another world – an entirely different kingdom than this one. It’s the “Kingdom of Heaven” world which is rooted in God’s own love for HIS enemies.

Here’s what that world looks like: Christ loved His enemies by feeding them, teaching them, and having compassion on them even when He knew they would later kill Him. The world – this world -- which is full of corrupt, evil people who continually refuse to follow Him is the very same world Christ was sent to reconcile and redeem. Christ came to earth to be a servant for the sake of His enemies so that they might know Him and come to love Him.

With his dying breath, Jesus prayed for those who put Him to death. “And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34. He showed His great compassion and love for the world even while they hated Him. God’s eyes are not closed to the evil of this world. He will judge all one day. Father, for those whose hearts are cold, may You open their eyes and plant in their hearts a love for the treasure of life and the strength to protect it. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Lord, have mercy on us all.