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Weekly Wisdom Winnows
by Lisa Mendenhall
As I was making my morning coffee, I was thinking about some things that I needed to give away to someone who could use them. My mind automatically started going through a list of people who might could use these things. It (my thinking process) went through a list, rejecting some for this reason or that. Then my heart CHECKED me! Do you know what I mean? My heart (conscience) said Whoa! Wait just a minute! Why can't they have these blessings? My next thoughts were along the lines of, what they did to not deserve this blessing. Oh My! Is that what God's love would think? Is that how God does me? I don't think so! The word tells us how to treat those who abuse us or misuse us.
Matthew 5:43-45 says
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Did you see what He (Jesus) said? Bless them and do good to them. Because God does the same thing. I would say that this is a command, seeing as it come from the mouth of our Lord!
Now I know this message is not popular in the church world today. It is even less popular among the heathen world. But it is God's truth regardless. We do not have the right to pick and choose which parts of God's word we want to live by. The word says if we disobey one part of the law then we have disobeyed the whole law.
In James 2:10-11 it says
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
This is why Jesus came to fulfill the whole law for us because we couldn't. Now he has one commandment for us to keep that encompasses the whole law and it is found in
Galatians 5:14
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
If I love my neighbor (Greek defines neighbor; according to Christ, any other man irrespective of nation or religion with whom we live or whom we chance to meet) then I am going to do them good irregardless of what they do to me. As matter of fact I should show more love to those that I don't get along with. Just to prove to the devil and to myself that I am able and capable of living the love walk as a lifestyle and to hit him(devil) where it hurts! He is the one, along with our flesh, who tries to get us to think and act contrary to the Word that God has specified for us to live by. If we say we can't then we either are not born again, or we are living a lie! God would not be just or fair if He commanded us to do something that was not attainable. And we know our God is just and He is fair in all things. After all, He is God!
So the next time you start to judge whether to bless someone by what they have or haven't done, First, THANK GOD that He doesn't bless us because we do or don't deserve it and Second, tell your mind and the devil to shut up and go do what is the right thing to do in God's eyes! And your reward will be great!
Rate it:
'To separate the chaff from (grain) by means of a current of air. To rid of undesirable parts. To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate: winnowing out the errors in logic. ...separate grain from chaff...separate the good from the bad...examine closely in order to separate the good from the bad; sift...' (www.dictionary.com) 'This study gave me direction and focus for my teaching. God had placed a longing in my heart to teach the body of Christ how to separate from carnal thinking and rid themselves of old ways that hinder their Spiritual growth. I desire to see them live victoriously, by the 'higher ways' of God's wisdom.'
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