LIVING ON THE EDGE

Over the past five weeks I have been unpacking what the bible has to say about LOVE and how it is LIFES GREATEST AIM. This has been one of those series of talks that God has used in my life to cause some huge changes. The study has helped me realize that I have loved but only to certain level and have not always loved the unlovely.

We all have VDP’s in our lives, Very draining people. They suck the very life out of you and when the day is over, we are drained completely. We all have them but the question is how do we show love to those VDP?

1 Cor. 13:5 gives us some help here. It says, “Love is not rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and love keeps no record of when it has been wronged.” Dang. I hate that verse. This verse along, with a few selected passages God led me to, have been kicking my butt.

God has spoken to me this week about some past relationships that I needed to make right and this has not been easy for me to do (I’m a little prideful in case you haven’t figured that out) but it has been very liberating. When I seek forgiveness it sets me free. Free from bitterness. Free from resentment and hurt. This week has been that for me, a week of being set free and growing and maturing in Christ. I LOVE IT!!!!

Let me encourage you, if you are holding a grudge and you are full of bitterness you are only hurting yourself. That person you are bitter against most likely has no idea and they are living life. And when you see them happy it makes you mad. You are miserable and making others around you miserable.
Here’s what Jesus has to say about that and I pray you will be set free this week like I have been.

Mark 11:25 (Amp) “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop, leave it, and let it go, in order that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive you your own failings and shortcomings and let them drop.”

LET IT GO.

All around us are people with low self-esteem and insecurities. Fact is, we all have some sort of insecurity and if we say other wise we are living in the river of denial. Matter of fact the more successful we become in life we tend to become more insecure. This fact is fleshed out everyday in HOLLYWOOD. Studies have shown the younger we were when we first experienced rejection the more serious our insecurities are now. It’s like a curse was cast when someone in our early years told us we were not going to amount to anything. That statement just sucked the life out of us and to some degree still haunts us and we are not able to become everything God intended for us to be because we believe in a lie.

The Apostle Paul was giving some people some straightforward instructions on how to really love people with more than just rhetoric and shallow words. He was telling them “if you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.” 1Cor. 13 (LB)

For LOVE to be life’s greatest aim we need to love with more than just words. We need to back it up with our life.

That’s what Jesus did. He affirmed people. He looked at people not for what they were but for what they could become. He saw their potential. Jesus is a “You can do it! I believe in you. Nothing is impossible for you if you put your faith and trust in me” kind of guy.

Jesus believed in people so much he entrusted the future of HIS church and the world to eleven fishermen. (One burned out) They were normal guys. No HS education. No college degree. They didn’t have Brad Pitt looks. Just plain ordinary guys like us. Jesus said, “I believe in you. You can do this.”

And Jesus is saying that about you today. YOU CAN DO IT. Jesus believes in you when no one else does. He sees and knows what you can become when you put your faith in trust in HIM.

I know we’ve all been hurt and been rejected by peers or parents. But God cares. Just look at the cross. He loves us so much it hurt.

So today make Jesus the most important person in your life and start filling your mind with what he says about you. YOU CAN DO IT.

We can’t really love until we fully understand how much God loves us.

My prayer for you is “May you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep God’s love really is.” Eph 5:18

We can learn a lot from the shortest man in the bible. NE-HI-MIAH was a great man and a great leader. I was just kidding about being the shortest man but when it comes to leading, he was a leader of leaders.

As leaders, whether a pastor, dad, husband or boss we have the opp to influence a lot of people and how we lead and the qualities we posses will, I believe dictate our effectiveness with those we are trying to lead.

Over the years I have tried and most often failed at these qualities but never the less they are still leadership qualities that are found in our man Nehemiah that we as leaders should and can perfect to be better influencers.

1.  Compassion.  Nehemiah was a compassionate man.  He cared about people.  Everything he did was motivated by love for God and people.

2.  Contemplation.  Nehemiah was a man who thought deeply. He prayed deeply.  He spent much time alone with God.

3. Cheerfullness.  He maintained a positive attitude in spite of the fact that he was constantly under criticism, constantly being attacked, constantly being opposed on everything he did while he was rebuilding the wall.

4.  Concentration.  Nehemiah knew how to concentrate.  He knew how to set a goal and focus and say this is what we’re going to get done whether anything else gets done or not.

5.  Creativity.  Nehemiah was a very creative person.  He knew how to solve problems with creative things because he obviously didn’t have all the resources at his disposal.

6.  Courage. Nehemiah demonstrated this quality from the beginning when he approached the King with his passion and vision to rebuild the wall.

7.  Clear conscious.  Nehemiah was a man of integrity.  He walked blamelessly before people and before the Lord.

8.  Conviction. Nehemiah believed very strongly that God had called him to this job and nothing could stop him.

If you and I want to be a better leader, pastor, dad, husband then these are qualities we need to build into our lives in order to be more effective.