Looked Over

 

Looked Over

Romans 13: ⁸ Be under obligation to no one—the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law. ⁹ The commandments, “Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not desire what belongs to someone else”—all these, and any others besides, are summed up in the one command, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ¹⁰ If you love others, you will never do them wrong; to love, then, is to obey the whole Law.

 

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Getting off the train for the first time on the new job, I ran into a homeless person. I had an extra dollar, so I gave it to him. As I rounded the corner, there was another and another. “I’m sorry, I don’t have anymore” was the lie I told as I had much more in my pocket. The next day it was the same. So the following day I decided to go a different route to avoid seeing the homeless.

 

• Many times I have overlooked the homeless.
• Many times I avoided giving to the homeless because the problem seemed too large for me.
• Many times I said to myself, “I barely have enough for me, let alone this person.”

 

Paul writes about the greatest commandment JESUS spoke about, namely Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Love is required to obey the Law. But “Who is my neighbor?”

 

• GOD wants me to love the people in my household and the houses surrounding me.
• GOD wants me to love the people who are not in my neighborhood, but are out on the street.
• GOD wants me to love the overlooked such as the poor, widowed and physically sick.

 

When GOD said “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few” HE knew many people would be so focused on their own struggles that we could not open our eyes to another person’s struggles. GOD wants me to take a moment to “see” others and be involved by loving them. Even if it is a cup of water given in love, I have obeyed GOD.

 

• What will you do to show your love to a stranger or a homeless person today?
• Will you go out and give to a person in need and do it in secret?
• Can you add love to your heart so you will see more people who GOD wants you to serve today?

Starving

Starving

John 6: 2 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”

53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.58 This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”

59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

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After the party I announced “the party is at my place!” Everyone had a task to bring booze, music and food. We were going to continue what we started and be as loud as we wanted to be. I mean it was Saturday. I had nothing to do on Sunday.

• There were times when I fed my desires.
• There were times when I fed my lusts.
• There were times when I felt I “deserved” a bit of ”fun”.

JESUS speaks in a manner only GOD could speak. HE talks about eating HIS flesh and drinking HIS blood. “How can this be?” questioned the Jews. JESUS wanted them to feed something else that required a certain food.

• GOD wants me to feed off of JESUS’s examples.
• GOD wants me to feed off of JESUS’s love for those who hated HIM.
• GOD wants me to feed off of JESUS’s faithfulness to continue HIS mission regardless of facing death.

Starving will happen whether it is my lustful desires or the HOLY SPIRIT. One will get fed over the other. GOD wants me to feed my SPIRIT by serving those HE sends to me or who I am sent to. HE feeds me with HIS broken body and cleanses me with HIS blood that dripped from the wounds of HIS murder.

JESUS is definitely food and GOD speaks in foody terms. HE says “Bear fruit” and “Have the fruit of the SPIRIT.” These tasty terms mean serve as many people as possible and listen to GOD so the HOLY SPIRIT inside me will not starve. I desire to feed what GOD has so generously given to me.

• What are you feeding?
• Do you complain, seek pleasure, hate others or feed off of a GOD-less crowd?
• Will you feed the SPIRIT inside you by listening to GOD and serving those HE sends you to today?