February 10, 2011

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited."  Romans 12:14-16

Giving grace and getting rid of grudges is a big first step to finding peace. You cannot have spiritual peace while you are holding onto resentment or hostility. The two are incompatible.

Only if you are living as a holy sacrifice surrendered to God and filled with His Spirit will you be able to be a grace giver. Only those who have been transformed by grace are able to grace others.

The second step to finding peace is the ability to empathize with the emotions of others.

What does this have to do with peace?

Empathy is the ability to enter into the feelings of others. It cares how others feel and desires to celebrate the positive emotions while consoling the painful ones.

Again, it is a test of love. It shows that you love another person well enough to set aside your own emotional needs to respond to the emotional needs of others. Such an unselfish love is not natural, it is supernatural. It is the love Jesus demonstrates for you and me!

Such love shows that you are at ease with your own emotional state - at peace with yourself. That allows you to enter into the joys and sufferings of others.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin." Hebrews 4:15

Jesus is able to know how hard life is and how much it can hurt because He lived life and faced the temptations of life - EVERY ONE - so that He can identify exactly with what you are feeling in any difficulty trial of life.

Why would He love like that? Why would He willing suffer as He did? Why would he relive that pain by identifying with others' pain?

It is because God loves like that! And because He loved God and God's love was perfected in Him, Jesus loves like that.

So, if God's love is active in your life you will love in the same way He loves. You will genuinely rejoice in their joys and sincerely share their sorrows.

Extending grace to others. Empathizing with others. Those are two big steps to inner peace and to developing peace in a fellowship.

Are you a peacemaker? Are you able to give to others the very emotional support you desire for yourself?

February 9, 2011

I’m convinced that one of the most difficult things that the Scripture asks us to do is found in Romans 12:15. That verse says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

Now the mourning part is not so hard. If there are those who are having a difficult time in life, going through trials and tribulations, we can usually muster up enough sympathy and empathy to hold their hand and provide a shoulder for them to cry on, maybe even to cry with them,and to pray for them during their difficulties.

But to “rejoice with those who rejoice” may be harder.

"It is, indeed, more difficult to congratulate another on his success, especially if his success involves disappointment to us, than it is to sympathize with his sorrow and his loss. It is only when self is dead that we can take as much joy in the success of others as in our own" (Barclay, p. 182). "

Now, it is pretty easy to rejoice at the wedding of a friend if you’re happily married. But if you’re single, and you’d like to be married; if you’re lonely and feel rejected, then an invitation to someone else’s wedding may be a pretty difficult thing to handle.

You drive an old car that’s showing its age, and then your neighbor buys a brand new SUV.

Your sister’s kids are all star athletes and honor students and yours act like juvenile delinquents.

Someone else at the office gets a promotion and a raise, and you don’t, even though you have seniority. It is kind of hard sometimes, isn’t it, to “rejoice with those who rejoice” ?

You see, one of the difficulties is that when something good happens to others, we often compare ourselves to them. “Well, I’m smarter than they are.” Or, “I work harder than they do.” Or, “They’re just lucky. They get all the breaks, and I don’t.”

Imagine that you are at an NFL game with a friend. You were given two free tickets to the Redskins game and so you invited him to go with you. These are the best seats you have ever had! You can’t believe your good fortune. It turns out to be a great game and they are winning big against the Cowboys and you have a great view of it all. With every big play , you and your friend jump up and rejoice together, high-fiving and cheering for the home team. You rejoice with those who rejoice. But then, between the third and fourth, a voice comes over the P.A. and announces that someone in the stadium is going to win a new house, a new car, a dream vacation. He announces the level, the section, the row. It is someone in your row! But when he reads the seat number you see that your friend is sitting in that seat. He has won. You have not. They were your tickets. You invited him. You just happened to sit the wrong seat. Technically, both are your seats. But he got the big prize package – you didn’t! Now how easy is it to rejoice with those who rejoice? Suddenly you are overwhelmed with feelings of anger, envy, discontentment. You pretend to be happy, but inside you mutter and complain. You hate your friend and want what he has been given.

To rejoice with others when they are rejoicing is a hard thing to ask. Especially when things aren't going as well with you. God is asking you to be as happy for others as you would be if the good thing was happening to you.

Are you able to do that?

If you can, it is an indication that God's sincere love is at work in you. If not, there is some work to be done.

February 8, 2011

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."  Romans 12:15

The fact that the Great Apostle includes this admonition with this portion of Scripture is telling.

For one thing I think it recognizes that empathy does not come naturally for us. We have an inherent self-interest and we care about those who care about us. But to reach out to those with whom we have no vested interest is not something that happens on its own.

So, what must happen to make you care about others? What brings you to a place of sharing in sorrow and celebrating in joy?

At the risk of being redundant, the very things I have been showing you over the past few weeks:

Surrender

It seems to me the best way to care about others more is to surrender your heart and mind and will to the One Who loves them most. When you offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God, He changes how you think - about Him, about yourself, and about others!

Selfless love is born in surrender.

Serve

The test of love is service. When you love someone you serve them. When you are surrendered to God you serve Him by serving those He loves. And as you serve others, as you become more involved in their lives, and you get to know them better and begin to like them more.

Also, as you serve them they begin to feel more loved by your and by the Father.

Sincere Love

Sincere love is the result of being surrendered to God and being involved in serving others. Sincere love is evidence that God's love is being expressed in your heart. It is more than a feeling it is a commitment. It is a decision. God expects you to show sincere love to people you feel warm emotions for and those you don't.

 

Godly love empathizes with the pain and problems of others. It offers to help bear the pain. It brings a comforting presence. It joins in prayer. It offers friendship. It meets practical needs. It sheds tears with those who are sad. It celebrates with those who are enjoying life.

Empathy is a God-given gift through which heavy load are lightened and broken hearts get mended. It is evidence that God has done a transforming work in your heart.

When I care as deeply over the needs of others as I do over my own, then I know God has done a work in me and wants to do a strong work through me!

Are you surrendered to God? Completely?

Are you serving God by serving others?

Are you showing sincere love?

 

February 7, 2011

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."  Romans 12:15

What IS empathy? What does it mean? I like this definition: "Empathy your pain in my heart."

So, what does this have to do with peace?

Quite a bit, actually!

Here's how.

When I am as worried about how you are feeling as I am about how I feel, I am less likely to create trouble for you. I am less likely to hurt you or offend you.

When I try to put myself into your situation and try to imagine what you are feeling, I will be more careful in how I treat you and quicker to lend a hand.

God created us. He made us in His image. Seeing as He is all-knowing and all-wise and He created us with emotions, one would assume that He would be able to empathize with us when we are hurting or suffering. But, prior to sending His Son Jesus, He really could not fully understand the fears and frustrations human beings face on a daily basis.

But, after 33 years on planet earth as a humble carpenter turned evangelist, God not only could understand us better but He can also empathize with our pain and suffering. In His time on earth, Jesus was confronted with a myriad of emotions and feelings.

That is why Hebrews reminds us, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin."

Jesus brought us peace by subjecting himself to trouble and tribulations that eventually lead to His excruciating torturous death. In that time He felt the sting of criticism, the loneliness of rejection, the humiliation of being despised and the frustration of being misunderstood. And, He knows how to comfort us since He can empathize with our emotions. He also knows how to intercede for us before the Father because He has felt the full range of emotions.

When I become a grace-giver instead of a grudge-holder, I help bring peace.

And when I care as deeply about your emotions as I do my own, that helps create peace there.

Looking for peace? Discover grace and peace in Jesus, the empathetic Savior!

February 6, 2011

When Jesus wanted to illustrate what grace is like and how it operates He told this story:

"Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.' "So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any. "That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.' He got right up and went home to his father. "When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.' "But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time. "All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, 'Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.' "The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'"  Luke 15:11-32

You know this classic story as the "Prodigal Son". The word "prodigal" means "extravagant".

Who was the real prodigal in this story when it comes to grace?

Right! The father!

Both boys were extravagant in their foolish abuses of grace! They illustrate the two ways grace is most often rendered ineffective.

The younger son exploited it. He took selfish advantage of the father's love and kindness. He took the money and ran because he could.

The older brother expected it. All he had ever known was the goodness and generosity of the father, so it lost its impact upon him. Grace is primarily about relationship and the older son lost his appreciation for his father.

While the younger son abused grace the older son refused it.

In your experience, aren't those the two most common ways we abuse grace? Regardless of which way we damage our relationship with God it is equally foolish and disgraceful. Let's call it what it is - sinful!

Will you take some time and reread this story?

Will you meditate on the love and grace of the Father?

Will you allow the Spirit to search you to see if their is any disgrace in your heart or mind that keeps you from knowing the grace of God?

February 5, 2011

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." Romans 12:14

We sing about grace. We hear it preached. We like the sound of it. We love to receive it. We have a harder time extending it. But all the time we have difficulty wrapping our mind around it because it just doesn't come naturally to us.

I will leave it to men greater than me to communicate its significance to you.

Phillip Yancey describes grace in his book What’s So Amazing About Grace. He writes, “Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more—no amount of spiritual calisthenics and renunciations, no amount of knowledge gained from seminaries, no amount of crusading on behalf of righteous causes. And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less—no amount of racism or pride or pornography or adultery or even murder. Grace means that God already loves us as much an infinite God can possibly love.”

The attitude of grace is expressed this way by John Newton, the man who penned the lyrics to the timeless hymn "Amazing Grace".

"I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be. But still, I am not what I used to be. And by the grace of God, I am what I am."

Richard Wurmbrand, who spent fourteen years suffering in a Communist prison, reminds all believers with less than ideal circumstances that “if the heart is cleansed by the love of Jesus Christ, and if the heart loves Him, you can resist all tortures.” He says, “God will not judge us according to how much we endured, but how much we could love.” The love of God demonstrated in the lives of his people is potent. Wurmbrand gives an example:

“A Christian was sentenced to death. Before being executed, he was allowed to see his wife. His last words to his wife were, ‘You must know that I die loving those who kill me. They don’t know what they do and my last request of you is to love them, too. Don’t have bitterness in your heart because they kill your beloved one. We will meet in heaven.’ These words impressed the officer of the secret police who attended the discussion between the two. After he told me the story in prison, where he (the prison guard had been put for becoming a Christian).”

So, what can you do to get a grip on this grace that God purchased at such a tremendous price so that it might given freely to you?

How grace operates:


1) It decides not to hold a grudge – (It forgives)

2) It refuses to get even when given the chance.

3) It refuses gossip when given the chance.

4) It responds graciously when given the chance.

5) It extends forgiveness when confession and repentance happen.

It requires God's grace to understand that you need God's grace and by His grace He sends His Spirit to grace your life, cleansing your eternal soul and transforming how you think and what you desire.

Why would God do such an amzing thing as grace?

Because it is Who He is!

Because it is what we need!

Because it is what others need to receive through you and me!

As believers in Jesus Christ, God needs you and me to grace others.

Today you have opportunity to recieve His grace and you will doubtless have a chance to grace someone else. If you miss the opportunities to grace - you disgrace. You don't want to live in disgrace do you?

February 4, 2011

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."  Romans 12:14

Why would I bless one who persecutes me?

How would that keep them from persecuting me more?

If they keep persecuting me do I keep blessing them?

How does that help me? Am I to be a perpetual victim?

What does it mean to bless them?

Good questions!

What would Jesus do?

What DID He do for you?

He loved you, even though you were born a sinner and had no desire for Him.

You lived for yourself and satisfied all your selfish desires. He gave up all the privilege and pleasures of Heaven for you and came to be born as a baby in a manger.

He kept seeking you and reaching out to you as you ignored Him and chased pleasure.

As you cursed Him and took His Name in vain, He prayed for you and blessed you as much as He could.

Long before you had any desire to live for Him, He died for you.

Why would He do that?

That's grace!

What is grace?

God's Riches At Christ's Expense!

God blessed you and removed the curse of sin!

That is why He can call you to bless those who persecute you! Because He did! You can, too.

Who will you bless today? How will you grace others?