What Jesus Did! - Perfect!

If you love only the people that love you, then you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, then you are no better than other people. Even the people without God are nice to their friends. So you must be perfect, the same as your Father in heaven is perfect. - Matthew 5:46-48 (ERV)

THOUGHT:

I am called to be perfect! Especially perfect in my relationship with others. My goal is the character and compassion of God. WOW! What a challenging call. But the transformational nature of Jesus' love and his disciples' Kingdom Family lifestyle demand that we surpass conventional standards of righteousness and pursue the heart and character of God himself. Anybody can be nice to someone who is nice to him or her. But what about those folks God places in our lives as that grain of sand out of which we are to fashion our pearl? You know, those irritating, dependent, demanding, and critical people that God uses to fashion us into more Christ-like children or to confront us with our own selfishness. In the Kingdom Family, we're to rise above the mediocre standards of the masses and find the redemptive standard set by our Father!

PRAYER:

Majestic, righteous, and holy God, I bow in worship and adoration at your kindness, mercy, and grace demonstrated to me in so many different ways. Work your righteous and character-altering work in me, and as I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, please make my character more reflective of yours. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Related Scriptures:
- Col. 1:28
Let that patience work in you to give the result God wants. Then you will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be. - James 1:4
- 2 Peteter 1:3-4

The Lord God is with you

Zephaniah 3:17 (New International Reader's Version)

17 The Lord your God is with you.
He is mighty enough to save you.
He will take great delight in you.
The quietness of his love will calm you down.
He will sing with joy because of you."



Zephaniah 3:17 (New International Version)

17 The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."



Zephaniah 3:17 (New American Standard Bible)

17"The LORD your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.


Zephaniah 3:17 (Amplified Bible)

17The Lord your God is in the midst of you,
a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]!
He will rejoice over you with joy;
He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and
in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them];
He will exult over you with singing.



Zephaniah 3:17 (English Standard Version)

17 The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.


Zephaniah 3:17 (New King James Version)

17 The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17 (New Life Version)

17 The Lord your God is with you, a Powerful One Who wins the battle.
He will have much joy over you. With His love He will give you new life.
He will have joy over you with loud singing.


Zephaniah 3:17 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

17 The LORD your God is among you,
a warrior who saves.
He will rejoice over you with gladness.
He will bring [you] quietness with His love.
He will delight in you with shouts of joy."


Zephaniah 3:17 (Today's New International Version)

17 The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing."

Ti-L poti imagina pe Dumnezeu Tatal tau cum canta , striga, chiuie de bucurie de dragul tau? ...Il poti vedea cum ii tresalta inima cand priveste la tine, cum nu mai poate de veselie pentru tine? ...e extradordinar!...Dumnezeu sa cante de bucurie de dragul tau !...sa I se zbata inima in El pentru tine...

David spunea lui Dumnezeu asa : "Tu ma inconjori pe dinapoi si pe dinainte, si -Ti pui mana peste mine. " Psalm 129:5. iti dai seama? ....Esti in bratele divine ale lui Dumnezeu in fiecare moment! ...nu se poate abtine sa nu te stranga in brate cand priveste la tine, la modul in care I te rogi, I te inchini, Il cauti, cauti mereu sa Ii fi placut, cand glasul tau se inalta si Il lauda din toata inima, cand deschizi Cuvantul Lui pregatit sa iti vorbeasca, sa Il cunosti , sa Il faci cunoscut....iti dai seama? ...

As vrea sa ramai cu aceste ganduri si sa le porti cu tine astazi si in fiecare zi! Nu sunt gandurile mele, sunt ale Lui!

What Jesus Did! - Finding our Target

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those people that do bad things to you. If you do this, then you will be true sons of your Father in heaven. Your Father lets the sun rise for the good people and the bad people. Your Father sends rain to people that do good and to people that do wrong.
- Matthew 5:43-45 (ERV)

THOUGHT:

This is a powerful conclusion to the things Jesus has been teaching us. In the Kingdom Family of God, the "greater righteousness" has as its visible sign a radically different, redemptively loving commitment for those around us. As Jesus reminded us in the Beatitudes, and again challenges us here, our goal is to love our neighbor. When our desire is to act redemptively, our neighbor becomes anyone who needs the love of the Father. The Father -- God himself -- is to be our inspiration, goal, and target in this pursuit. Because God is our Father, his traits should be our traits. He loved the world and sent his Son knowing that many would reject him. Yet that love is transformational: transformational for our world, our friendships, our families, and our attitude toward our enemies.

PRAYER:

Almighty, yet compassionate Father, give me greater patience and confidence as I try to love those who are not very lovable and try to return grace to those who have enmity for me. When I do these things, I know that I am only allowing your character to come through in my life. In my quest to be like you, I do not desire your power, O Lord, for you alone are God. But I do earnestly want to take on your holy and gracious character. Work your will in my heart through your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Related Scriptures:

Say only good things to those people that do bad things to you. Say good things to them and don't curse them. - Romans 12:14

But you are chosen people. You are the King's priests. You are a holy nation of people. You are people who belong to God. God chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He called (brought) you out of darkness (sin) into his wonderful light. At one time you were not God's people. But now you are God's people. In the past you had never received mercy. But now you have received mercy {from God}. Dear friends, you are like visitors and strangers {in this world}.

So I beg you to stay away from the evil things your bodies want to do. These things fight against your soul. People who don't believe are living all around you. Those people may say that you are doing wrong. So live good lives. Then they will see the good things you do, and they will give glory to God on that day when he comes. - 1 Peter 2:9-12

We work hard with our own hands {to feed ourselves}. People curse us, but we speak a blessing for them. People persecute us, and we accept it. People say bad things about us, but we say good things to them. At this time people still treat us like we are the world's garbage--the trash of the earth. - 1 Corinthians 4:12-13

What Jesus Did! - Benevolent Compassion

If a person asks you for something, then give it to him. Don't refuse to give to a person that wants to borrow from you. - Matthew 5:42 (ERV)

THOUGHT:

In the last several statements, Jesus challenges us to a way of life that does not reflect conventional thinking. These radical challenges should not be read legalistically. At the same time, we must hear Jesus' imploring us to live by a Kingdom Family ethic toward others so that we can be powerful witnesses in a world so self-absorbed. While letting someone take financial advantage of us is not Jesus' intention (there certainly are other passages in the New Testament that help us understand this), he definitely wants us to be incredibly generous with others. We must refuse to put our personal possessions above the needs of others. God's Kingdom, and our citizenship in it, should be the primary force determining what we do to help, how we help, and how much we give up to help. But clearly, our lifestyle should be one of blessing and helping and giving, not judging and criticizing and hoarding.

PRAYER:

Sacrificial Father, you gave so much for me so that I could be your child. Please help me see people through your eyes, with your truth and compassion. I want to be a source of blessing in what I say and do. Grow my generosity so others may see your grace in me and give you the glory. In the name of your most precious Gift I pray. Amen.

Related Scriptures:
This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers and sisters {in Christ}. Suppose a believer is rich enough to have all the things he needs. He sees his brother {in Christ} who is poor and does not have the things he needs.

What if the believer who has things does not help the poor brother? Then the believer who has the things he needs does not have God's love in his heart. My children, our love should not be only words and talk. No! Our love must be true love. We should show our love by the things we do. - 1 John 3:16-18
- Jas. 2:15-17

What Jesus Did! - Taming the Rebel Heart

If a soldier forces you to walk with him one mile, then go with him two miles.
- Matthew 5:41 (ERV)

THOUGHT:

A bitter-hearted rebel lives in many us. We hate it when someone takes advantage of us. We view the lane-changing, frenzied, aggressive driver as a jerk and sometimes look to get even with him or her. This bitter-hearted rebel also lived in many Jewish hearts. When Roman soldiers imposed on them to carry their equipment, they resented it deeply. Jesus reminds us, however, that his Kingdom Family reorders all human relationships. Jesus wants us to ask, "How can I be a redemptive blessing even toward those who mistreat me?" His challenging commands awaken us to our responsibility.

We are to lead others to Jesus, even those others that we don't particularly like. Incredibly, the impetuous Peter learned this lesson and taught the churches in Asia Minor the same principle. Even more incredibly, the apostle Paul was the product of a movement who sought to convert, not condemn, its greatest opponents and oppressors. But then, the heart of the Kingdom is to follow a King who forgave his persecutors, revilers, and murderers at Passover so they could become his disciples at Pentecost.

PRAYER:
Compassionate Father, please give me the grit and grace to act redemptively in the lives of even those who are irritants, opponents, and problems in my life. Through your Spirit, soften my heart that I might see your goal of winning the most difficult people in my life to Christ, rather than trying to get even with them. In Jesus' holy and precious name I pray. Amen.


Related Scriptures:
- Gal. 6:2
- 1 Pet. 2:9
- 1 Pet. 3:15-16