God of all places, grant the safety and blessing of this dear reader wherever You lead them today. In Jesus' Name, amen.
Jesus had a way to turning life upside down. I also say that Jesus called us to do the unexpected. Society almost expects some reactions from us when someone does something to anger us, and for us to do the opposite makes society wonder what's going on. To know and love and follow Jesus means that life in the fullest is going on. In Matthew 5, in that awesome sermon called The Sermon on the Mount we find Jesus teaching these words:
44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Society would have us hate our enemies, though everybody that doesn't know Jesus does that. To curse our enemies is another "natural" response. But Jesus says for us to love our enemies! How is that possible. I remember my very first Bible class in college and the dumbstruck feeling I had when I heard The Rev. Virgil Matthews, Dean of the college and the man in charge of the preministerial program say that the opposite of love was not hate, but indifference. I think you could have heard a pin drop in that room of 18 and 19 year olds. We had learned to think that hating someone was the opposite of loving someone. But as Dean Matthews explained to hate someone still means we hold some sort of feeling for them; to be indifferent means you have no feeling; in fact to feel indifferent may even suggest that that person is dead to you. Yet, to hate is not the response, natural or otherwise, that is expected of us - we are called to love even those who hate us. (We're not called to be indifferent either, just in case you're wondering!) Jesus emphasizes we are to "be perfect, ...as (our) heavenly Father is perfect."
To live and do the unexpected is possible only if we allow Jesus to live in us. More of Jesus, less of me.
PRAYER: Come, Lord Jesus, and live in me. Drain me of what I have considered to be natural for all these years, and place in my heart and mind, that which truly astounds the world. Let me live as one who loves and one who cares for others. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
Prayer Updates: Marcus Phipps returned home yesterday afternoon and is recovering slowly. Isis Hernandez is also on her way to recovery as well. Thank you for your prayers.
