He Hate Me

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." John 15:18-19

Do you remember the XFL? If you have no idea what I'm talking about then God spared you the truly awful experience of watching indoor football meets the World Wrestling Federation. It was a concept to have a league that played during the NFL's off-season. It was truly awful, and thankfully only lasted one season. Players could have just about anything put on their jerseys for their name, therefor one man chose "He Hate Me" as his name. He explained that he choose the name because when he would win the other team would hate him. He also stated that if the coach put someone in to play besides him it was because "he hate me". Um, or maybe he was just giving the other guy playing time? Part of him wanted to people to hate him, i.e. the other team after he beat them, and part of him believed people hated him because they didn't chose him.

If the world hates you there is no doubt as to why. It hates you because you reflect Him who lives in you. Jesus is telling His disciples that the world will hate them, and that it's okay because they hate Him too. Earlier in this chapter He tells them that He chose them. In this verse He goes further and explains that they were chose to be out of the world. We aren't hated by the world because we beat them at a game, or because they didn't pick us. Rather we are hated because God picked us.

I hesitate writing this next part, but here it goes anyway. Too many Christians in today's culture want to be loved more than they want to love. They want to be relevant. Isn't there even a Christian magazine called that? They want to be accepted, so they accept everything. They are tolerant. They don't wear the jersey "He Hate Me" but rather the one that states "I'll Accept Everything So The World Will Love Me". And do you know who rejoices as Christians find themselves loved more by the world? Satan. He doesn't want to see Christians as not being of this world, but rather as embracers of everything in this world, no matter how unholy it may be.

God called us to be in the world, but not of it. (John 17:16) We have been told to embrace what is holy, and yes to love others. Not accept sin. Jesus told the woman thrown at His feet to go and sin no ore after He showed her the love of forgiveness. By the Law, she should have been stoned to death, but He showed love to her and spared her, but He also told her to go and sin no more. Somehow I doubt she was ever in another man's bed again. She experienced His love and, hopefully, listened to His words and stop her sinful way.

When God speaks into my life to reveal sin, it hurts. Not because He is being mean, but because I feel awful. I see the sin and how unholy it is and know He could choose to cast me away. But His love is two-fold in that it exposed the sin to me and it forgave me. I can't just get up out of the dirt at His feet and go and continue that sin. I experienced His forgiveness, His love, so how could I possibly.

No I am not God, and I can't offer forgiveness of sin. But I can speak Truth into the lives of those around me who are acting of the world. They may hate me, the verse above tells me that. But they may also hear the Truth and be set free. They may feel the love and forgiveness of God and go and sin no more. We Christians, need to stop trying to live in this world by being of it, but rather live in this world by being of His Kingdom. We will be hated by those who hate Him. But I would rather be hated by them than not belong separated from the world and with Him.

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Legalism or Love? Thankfully the Word Knows All!

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another." Galatians 5:13-15

"For the word of God is living and active, sharpener than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

I chose the two verses above after I did a search on verses that spoke to the idea of legalism. There are quite a few, even though the word doesn't actually appear in Scripture. This morning I jumped on Facebook and sometimes I click on the those boxes along the right side. You know the ones that tell me what my friends comment on or like. Some times it is pretty interesting and other times disturbing. This morning one was upsetting. I read something that was dripping with legalism. The sad thing, to me, is that a person took a gift of the Spirit and used it to say what people must do and that if they didn't then they didn't even have the Spirit of God in them.

I tend to be a black or white person. Something is either right or wrong, good, or evil. Sometimes that is a very good thing, but there are times when it is not. I have to make sure what I think or believe matches up with the Word. If it doesn't then it doesn't matter what I think. And even if it does match up with the Word, if I am not careful it becomes judgemental. If it becomes judgemental then it is like the verse above. It might become an issue of biting at someone and taking the risk of being consumed by them.

One way I can make sure that doesn't happen is to not become judgemental. The second verse mentioned says the Word will tell the difference. It knows the intention of the heart. It knows if my intention is to share the Truth in love or if it is to be right and rub someone else's nose in it. I struggle with this. I never want to come across as a know-it-all or as judgemental. I never want anyone to feel Bible thumped by me. You know the type, the ones who use the Word to brow beat people. I don't think that lines up with the command "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself".

So what is the point of this devotion? Well, I wanted to be judgemental of the person who was taking on the role of God Himself on Facebook. Instead I have to rely on the One who knows all and knows the intentions of that man's heart. I have to make sure I stay in a place of love rather than judgement. I need to rely on the Word to teach me and help me show love when I want to show judgement. So the point? Well, for me it was to take a step back and look to the written Word. That tempered any anger I felt and any judgement I wanted to pass. The point is no matter what I need to look to Him.

The Sin of Others

(Ezra) "saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today." Ezra 9:6-7

Ezra has just been informed that the people have allowed their daughters and sons to intermarry with the people of the land. This was forbidden and he is upset about it. He rips his clothes and pulls out his hair and beard. Then he prays the prayer above. The prayer goes beyond these verses, but I thought these two were enough.

Ezra, takes on the sin of others. He heaps himself in with the people who actually sinned, but he didn't do this. He never married someone outside of his people. His sons and daughters didn't intermarry with them. Yet he takes on the sin. Read through the Old Testament and you'll see that one man's sin affects the whole, so Ezra's response is not unusual.

In our day in age it is. Why? Well we don't have to take on the sin of anyone else because Jesus did that for us. So we do not need to rip our clothes and pull out our hair when someone else sins. What I did think while I read this passage was that his response of their-sin-is-mine-sin meant he understood the idea that His people are connected.

Once again, we do not need to take on anyone else's sin, but we tend to respond to the sin of our brothers and sisters with reproach, haughtiness, and condescending. We feel it is our place to condemn, punish, shun. The Scripture clearly tells us how to deal with sin in others and it is done in love. So what if instead we actually did responded with love. Not acceptance of the sin, but love on the person with understanding that we all sin. Love on the person with help, what ever kind God directs us to give them. Love on the person with uplifting in prayer that God will gently convict and correct them. Love on them with help as they go through repentance. Love on them with understanding that there are consequences and they may be hard, but necessary. Just love on them.

I wonder what the Church would be like if we did that.