Love without edges

““The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭40‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our God is a God of records. He records all our deads. When we are overcome with guilt for the past He sees us through Christ, not only that He has a record of all the little things that matter to Him. The forgiveness for sin that He gave us is full of love. We cannot comprehend His love in all at once but He pours it out again and again. It is for us to give to others.

I have a Danish friend, when she hugs me I am smothered in a soft pillow of love. I do not want to leave. Awake in the night I prayed to be just like that. There is no hard edges in my beautiful friend. The love of Jesus fills her so full, it is wonderful to behold.

That people would experience the love of Jesus in me without edges, no judgement! My friend knows how to love the least. She gives and gives and gives like there is no tomorrow, yet somehow maintains right boundaries. This country of Nepal needs to know the love of Jesus, without judgement. Amen!

The stranger

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’”Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭35‬-‭36‬ ‭NIV‬‬

These are things we missionaries have opportunity to do. If we have eyes to see we see the ones who God is wanting to minister to. I live with two Nepali women who I gave a home to, however, I am not the hero, they are. I taught them to use their faith to be able to pay more than 5,000R (a little over $50Au) a month for a home. At first they were fearful but now they are fine. They have showed me what it is like to minister in Nepal. They reach out, go out and give out continually. They love on me and care for me like a mother.

Recently their desire for a bicycle caught my attention. I shared their desire with a friend and she happened to have an old bike for them to try. I organised a helmet and security chain and the smiles, the giggles and joy is enormous. These women are in their 30’s but are loving a bike they never had with such exhuberance. I offered to buy a bike but was told, “wait we might get one for free, some missionaries are going home and have one they don’t need”.

Upstairs are two little boys and downstairs a girl who love to come and play games with us. Fortunately I have a friend who brought many card games from Australia and left them with me. The boys also play in the street with an old soccer ball that is torn and useless. Today I plan to buy them a new one. The little girl has a difficult home life and my heart goes out to her. Our door is open to these little ones.

I have not found the ones in prison yet but I’m sure God knows where they are and He will arrange it all for us. At my Interdenomentarional church we minister to refugees. I have thee I care for. We knock on doors, provide schooling assistance, medical assistance, I’ve help start a business for a tailor and his wife, a job for another and looking to help a third. Refugees face the harshest treatment here in Nepal. They cannot legally work, and if they overstay their visas, which they all do, they accrue a debt to the Nepali government which they can never repay.

Having the Lord’s heart of compassion is where you start. Praying and obeying keeps you in the flow of what He wants you to do with that love. Not loving your life or the things of this world is a must!

May I honour my gracious God wi Th the life He has given me! Amen!

Eternal eyes

“Then the King will turn to those on his right and say, ‘You have a special place in my Father’s heart. Come and experience the full inheritance of the kingdom realm that has been destined for you from before the foundation of the world!”Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭34‬ ‭TPT‬‬

We admire those who finish well. The Lord has a special place for those who finish the race well, a full inheritance of the kingdom. What does that look like? He said, “I must go away and prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:3). Revelation tells us what that place is like. 

“It was infused with the glory of God, and its radiance was like that of a very rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. The city was pure gold, clear as crystal, and its wall was made of jasper. The twelve foundations of the wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone—the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh turquoise, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates are twelve pearls—each gate made of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, clear as crystal.”Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭11‬, ‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭TPT‬‬

At this present time my home country is being smashed with some of the worst weather many have known. People are losing houses, businesses and farms. The damage to motor vehicles is enormous, but how does that compare with what awaits us. 

Jesus said: ““How could you worship two gods at the same time? You will have to hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t worship the true God while enslaved to the god of money!”Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭TPT‬‬

When we are attached to earthly pleasures we place our delight there. Our God is a jealous God, He wants first place and for those who give Him first place the reward is great. Jesus talked about two builders. One built on rock and the other on sand. He is the rock the world is the sand. We must choose wisely as one gets washed away.

Have eternal eyes! Amen!

The return

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The whole chapter 25 is filled with Jesus’ teaching about His return and what to expect. In chapter 24 He began by prophesying about the destruction of the temple. In chapter 25 He starts with the parable about the wise and foolish virgins and ends with the parable about the landowner who called three servants, and before going away on a long journey gave each an amount of money to invest. Two were wise and one buried what he had claiming his master to be a difficult man. He judges his master and chooses to disobey.

The last section deals with Jesus separating His people into sheep and goats. He arrives with all His angels and in resplendent glory. I think of other times we see a host of angels: the first is when Elisha and his servant are surrounded by the king of Aram and his soldiers. Elisha asks God to open the eye of his servant to see the host of heaven surrounding him in chariots of fire; the next was in the gospel of Luke when the angels came to announce the birth of a Jesus to the shepherds.

This description of the heavens being filled with Jesus’ angels reminds me more of Elisha’s experience. Jesus will return to separate the true followers from the false. This is a scene of authority and judgement.

May I be found with the sheep! Amen!

Nothing can separate us

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We live in a world where deep and lasting love is rare, and is see by the special few. However, my Bible tells me that God’s love is not fickle, but enduring.

When we think on the above verses there are some powerful things mentioned. Yet, this scripture tells me God’s love is for real and greater than all powers fighting against me.

People may reject me and walk away, but He is faithful. As someone who has accepted Jesus as Lord, I am confident that the sacrifice Jesus made is enough to cover all my sins and keep me in His love.

While we were steeped in sin He died for us so that we could be united with Him in eternity. Nothing I have done separates me from His love. What a crazy God we have! His forgiveness never ends. He wants my love in return. He has it! Amen!

Rejection

“Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;”Mark‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Whilst ever Jesus was silent and did not walk in His destiny He was accepted, yet, the moment He stepped up to walk in His calling He was rejected by those with the power to kill the body. These same people had been given authority to rule over the biblical truth, however, they failed in recognising God’s gift to them for they did not understand Isaiah 53. The religious leaders were expecting Jesus to be a conquering king not a humble preacher who healed the sick. This misunderstanding caused them to crucify Him.

Those of us who face rejection face the same tribunal of people who think they have the angle on truth but do not. The truth they claim comes from their own flesh and the world in which they live. As someone who was a Catholic for 19 years and then left to become born again, all my relatives think I am an apostate. For those who function in worldly wisdom, these people think I am a fool for walking away from the cash cow. Because their mindset is worldly they will not understand until they themselves become a servant of lord and are willing to seeve him only and not cash.

Rejection is inevitable when we are judged by those of a different mindset and priority. We must align ourselves with the One who was Himself rejected but who sacrificed Himself for our salvation. My priority must be Jesus! Amen!

Enter

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭100‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

While this psalm is not the shortest psalm, it comes close. Psalm 117 wins that prize coming in a two verses. Psalm 100 has five verses. However, it has a similar style, both are exhorting us to praise the Lord.

Hopefully this psalm causes us to think. It begins with ‘shout’ triumphantly, moves on to ‘serve’ gladly, ‘come’ with joy, ‘acknowledge’ God as God, then ‘enter’ His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. It ends with a why do all this: for God is good, and His love is eternal, His faithfulness endures to all generations.

When Jesus was asked to teach the disciples to pray He said: ‘Our Father who are in in heaven, holy be Your name, may Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth’. He started with praise and honour, long before we get to us: ‘give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive the sins of others, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil’.

We may be consumed with ‘us’ but He comes first. We are not God! Entering His courts and gates is an honour and we need to show that respect no matter what is going on in our hearts. We will get to us just as the Lord’s Prayer does, but first He needs to be praised. Amen!