The older I get, the more I realize how dependent upon the Lord I am. I have found myself wondering, “How did Jesus do it?” I think about the Scriptures and I wonder how Jesus kept focused, during the darkest time in His life. Betrayal from within His inner-circle… Betrayal from someone who was one of His twelve… Have you ever been betrayed from someone within your own inner-circle like Jesus was? Are you part of someone’s problem instead of Jesus’ solution? Are you walking in the flesh instead of in the spirit? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:15-17:
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
I suppose you can say that because Jesus is God manifested in flesh, you would think: “Well, Jesus knew what was going to happen.” Okay, but even so – betrayal is betrayal and nothing hurts more than it being someone in your inner circle, someone you deeply love – yet still Jesus continued on. And He was betrayed by a kiss… A KISS!
This is where as God’s Called Remnant, described in my home page (click on “Home” below to see a description of what I mean when I say being part of God’s “Called Remnant”):
1 John 1:5-7 says:
“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in the darkness, we lie and do not have the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we fellowship with one another; and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.”
We are called to daily check ourselves, make sure that how we treat others and how we live and act are in line with how Jesus indicated (as His followers) we should live. Are you following the example of Jesus or are you following the example of someone else??? We are called to follow Jesus’ example. The Bible tells us in Matthew 7:15-20:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad 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 fruits you will know them.”
Who are YOU listening to? Are YOU praying for God to give YOU discernment? Are YOU looking to please man or God? If God’s Word is hidden in your heart, if you have made Jesus Lord over your life, your personal Savior, than Holy Spirit has been given to reside within you. Is what you are hearing from those around you lining up with the word of God? Are YOU being very careful of how YOU treat others? What YOU believe? How YOU react? What is more important to you, the approval of man or the approval of God??? This is where we constantly need to examine our own hearts and our own lives. We live in a world that grows darker by the minute but in living in it we need to realize how much brighter light is in darkness. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said in John 8:12:
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Are YOU walking in the light? Or are you walking in pitch black darkness? God wants you to know that He has experienced your pain. The Word of God IS the living Word. We have it for a reason. It is a guide to guide us through this life. There is nothing that Jesus has not experienced that He cannot relate to you about – Walk towards the Light. See 1 John 2:8:
“The darkness has passed away, and the true light of Christ is shining in my life.”
When someone betrays you, or lies to you or hurts you more often than not you cannot see past the pain. There are so many songs that talk about “you always hurt the ones you love” but God didn’t mean life to be that way. We live in a fallen world that grows darker and darker by the moment. We cannot give people our faith but we can look to Jesus as our example and we can do what is the total opposite of what we feel like doing… LOVE THEM. Everything inside of you wants revenge or to hurt them just as deeply as they have hurt you back so they can feel the pain you feel, in fact that is the way of this world. Evening news is filled with violence, filled with “people hurting people” but that is not what God commands us to do. He commands us to LOVE THEM.
LOVE THEM
Go against the grain. Go against the tide of your feelings. Go against the crowd. DO the OPPOSITE of what your feelings are telling you to do – LOVE THEM. Are you feeling annoyed when you read that? It’s okay if you are. Keep praying that God will change your heart. Think about Jesus. Think about how He felt as He was spat upon and ridiculed and jeered at by those He came to save. Yet still He continued…
When you can’t love them – PRAY.
“Lord – I don’t have it in me, so I need YOU to put it in me. Help me Father. Help ME to love them as YOU love me.”
Because when you think about it – if you are to be honest and look at yourself you can see that there are times when you sinned. You did the opposite of what God wanted you to do. You went your own way. You broke God’s heart and still He loves you. There are times when YOU may be the person who hurt someone else (either knowingly or unknowingly) and you may not even know how many people are having to do the same thing for YOU. God wants us to love, and if you ask Him – He will put His love in your heart and show you how to see the person(s) that have betrayed you through His eyes. That changes everything… Luke 6:27-36 says:
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them….
and Matthew 5:46 says:
“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
and John 15:12 says:
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
and Luke 6:32 indicates:
“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.”
and then goes on to say in Luke 6:35:
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
I’m not saying that type of love is “fake it until you make it” kind of love, I’m talking about asking God to open your heart and fill it with a genuine love for the person(s) who have betrayed you. When the Holy Spirit has that love come flooding in it will take you by surprise. It will flood you and in your mind you will be thinking, “How can I possibly be feeling this?” But it is an over pouring of the Holy Spirit filling you with a love that comes ONLY from God. It may be that all you can do is pray for that person(s), but you will be doing it from a place of love. And if you have tried to do that, and you have walked in love only to find that it has not been received or rejected than wisdom dictates that you do as Jesus indicated in Matthew 10:14:
“If any household or town refuses to welcome you or listen to your message, shake its dust from your feet as you leave.”
But you have to know the difference… What it is that Holy Spirit is dictating you should do. We are also told in Matthew 7:6:
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
It is important to have a discerning spirit and to walk in love AND in wisdom. Viciousness is NOT one of the fruits of the spirit, and if you find yourself in a situation where you see people viciously tearing each other a part, if you are not careful – you can place yourself in a situation where you will be next to be torn to pieces. Sometimes, no matter what you do it is not “good enough” and that’s were “being wise as serpents and gentle as doves” comes in. Jesus gave people a choice, to follow Him or not follow Him. It gave Him great pain to see those who did not want to walk according to His purpose to walk away, but the truth of the matter is that people have a choice. They can either live for Jesus and be blessed and walk in the purpose that God had originally created them to walk, or they can walk away choosing to live according to their own flesh. This goes for believers as well as those that reject God’s salvation. The Bible is full of instruction, even when we come to Christ we can choose to obey it or disobey it. We can choose blessings or curses. WE CHOOSE. Part of TRULY being part of God’s Remnant is humbly knowing that this walk is ALL about Jesus and NOT about “self.” Holy Spirit convicts us who are willing to examine our own hearts and daily ask the Lord, “If there be any evil within me, please change it!” We are not to judge others – that is not our place, but when you are part of those God is calling, the fruit of the spirit shows. You definitely know who you are surrounded by. For those that would betray you – even if God calls you to “shake the dust off your feet” we should still pray diligently for them. It is nothing but the blood of Jesus and the willingness to change whatever it is that God shows us needs changing that is the difference between us and someone who is walking in the flesh, instead of in the spirit. PRAY for them and while you are praying for them, make SURE you are praying for a rightful heart for yourself. It is very easy to let seeds of bitterness, hurt and anger take root and those are NOT fruits of the spirit. Pray that as you pray for someone else who has hurt or betrayed you that God will heal your heart and direct your steps in the way YOU should go. Even if it means “shaking the dust off your feet.” Make sure whatever it is Holy Spirit is speaking to you, you listen to and obey so that God can continue to shine the light of Christ in and through the situation and because of that, get the glory. That is the example that Jesus has set for us. He is the One who we are to look to. What would Jesus do? What DID Jesus do? And most importantly, what IS Jesus asking YOU to do? Whatever it is must line up with His Word. John 13:34-35 says:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
and Galatians 2:20 says:
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Maybe Holy Spirit is asking you to pray this prayer, or something like this:
“Father God, there is nothing in this life that You have not experienced, that You do not know about. I hurt Father. I was betrayed! I have been “spat” upon by the people in my life that matter most. Help me to love them. Help me to live a life worthy of the love YOU have for me. Help me to turn to You in my raw pain and ask You to help me to love and to forgive.”
And He WILL…
Remember, John 13:35 says:
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
And you know what? THEY WILL…
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