Pictures like this grieve my heart.

What did Jesus tell His disciples?

 John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

I know someone who uses signs like this and may have even been at this event.  I believe 100% that this person is doing what he/she thinks is right.  He/she is dedicated and tries to reach those who are lost.  Even though I care about this person, I have never agreed with these “turn or burn” signs — or hateful words aimed at people.   I know what God calls a sin, but I also know that ONLY LOVE will change a heart.   If people knew — truly knew — that the God of all creation LOVED them, they would open their hearts to The Savior of the World.

I really don’t think anyone who carries a sign stating that GOD HATES has a clue about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  God is love.

LOVE

NOT ONE PERSON is good enough to earn salvation.   NOT ONE OF US are worthy.   Our righteous acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  The only reason we can call ourselves RIGHTEOUS is because of Jesus and only because of Jesus.   His blood covers our sins and He forgives us.

A person I’m associated with on another social media platform was just verbally attacked by a woman with a sign (prompting this blog post).  He has a lot of tattoos, so she judged and assumed he wasn’t a Christian.   This guys lives his life for Jesus and is in full-time ministry!  He tried to talk to her, but she HISSED at him and screamed some Hebrew words at him.   (Can we agree that this lady needed a demon or two cast out of her?)   This fella began to share his testimony to the others who were appalled at this woman.   The devil was loving this woman’s “show” in the name of Christianity.   She did NOT represent Jesus — not the Jesus I know.

I’m not sure if I have ever shared this before on my blog, but for all of those who say GOD HATES people who are bound in a particular sin — this may rock your boat a little … hang on.

A few years ago, I was in a local clothing store and I saw this young man who was more feminine than me (I’m not exaggerating).  I kept crossing paths with him throughout the store so I had a feeling God was up to something.   I told the Lord that IF He gave me something to share with this young man I would.   It just so happened that I ended up in a very long line behind him.   As I stood behind him, he seemed very uncomfortable and would not look me in the eye.   I didn’t know how I would get his attention, but God gave me something for him.   He was in line ahead of me, but his cash register must have run out of tape and I was able to leave the store ahead of him.   God worked it all out!   As he exited, I said, “I don’t usually do this, but may I speak to you for a second?”  He came over and listened.   I told him that God gave me a vision of him and I asked if I could share.   He wanted to hear, so I told him what I was shown:   I saw him as a young toddler, wearing a diaper and sitting in the middle of a floor.  The sunlight shone through the window over him with dust particles floating in the air.  I saw the game of “jacks” sitting all around him.   The jacks represented broken pieces in his life.  The Lord said, “I want to bring all of the broken pieces in his life back together.   I love him.”   God knows why we believe what we believe and why we believe the lies of the enemy.  He is merciful and loving.   This young guy got tears in his eyes and said I had made his day.   He left knowing that God loved him so much that he sent a stranger to tell him.   God didn’t tell me to scold him or correct him with scripture.   I asked if I could hug him and we embraced before he drove away.

Hatred never represents our Lord.

I have no doubt that some people who use those street signs really think they will somehow shock people or scare them into heaven, but that is not the example Jesus gave us.

Our pastor has been sharing wisdom about reaching people the past couple of weeks.  What did Jesus tell His disciples to do?

Luke 10:5-9
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’  If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you.  Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

From Luke 10, Jesus told His disciples to:

  1.  BLESS:   Pray God’s blessing of peace …  Shalom (Wholeness, peace, prosperity, favor, goodness and blessing.)  BLESS — NOT CURSE.
  2.  Fellowship:  Eat/drink whatever is served.  Be gracious.
  3.  Minister:  Heal the sick!   They had all seen Jesus do this many times and knew how to heal.
  4.  Proclaim:  THEN proclaim the Kingdom of God.

Even these few words in this post will have more weight with those who know me and know how I live my life versus those of you who only stumbled upon this blog.   How much more would you be willing to receive from someone who has blessed you and healed you?

I don’t know how to wrap this up.   I just wanted to share my thoughts on this type of “ministry” to reach the people that Jesus died to save.  God loves each one.

Thankfully this acquaintance on social media that I mentioned earlier knew how to handle the woman.   But how many people did she push away from the Lord?   How much damage did she do?   So sad …

Sigh …

God bless you all.   Thanks for reading and visiting me.

Beth

 

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