There are a few things important to Jesus.

• That our lives would be set apart and dedicated to Him
• That our lives would be dedicated to loving and caring for other people

And, though it sounds simplistic, we all know it isn’t. Why? Because our agendas are much more complex. Many things are important to us and most of those things revolve around SELF. We want our dreams to be fulfilled, we want to be happy, blessed, secure and have our insecurities and fears quieted by someone or something. So we spend our lives on a search for the inner satisfaction we long for. We search for the right “person”, and the right “things”. The person and the thing might change, with the changing seasons of life, but the search is on-going, sadly on-going.

It’s really too bad that the teachings of Christ are not something we sit with, pay attention to and commit our entire beings to understand, live out, and be dedicated to. If we did this, our lives would be simpler, even in the middle of complex circumstances.

Let’s look at what Jesus said about mercy and the treatment of people.

Read Luke chapter 10:25-37

In this passage Jesus was asked by an expert in the law what one must do to inherit eternal life. It was a test, like many other tests to try to trick Jesus into some wrong answer. Jesus put the answer to the question back on the one asking,

“How do you read it?” Jesus asked back.

When the answer was to love the Lord and love your neighbor. Jesus replied,

“You have answered correctly, Do this and you will live.”

But that wasn’t enough,  he wanted more clarification, and asked, ‘Who is my neighbor?’

It was at this time that Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan, and Jesus asked the man which of the people on the side of the road was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers, and the expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him”

Jesus replied, “Go and do likewise”

What does Go and Do Likewise mean to you today?

The story tells us that a Levite passed a beaten up man by walking on the  other side of the road. But, the Samaritan paid attention, tending to the wounds, and the needs. The Samaritan didn’t just stop and look, stop and comment or even stop and pray. The Samaritan did the extra step and followed through to get this wounded party to a place of rest and safety, supplying every need. The Samaritan was living in the footsteps of what Jesus would do.

Are you just passing people by? Maybe giving a quick answer, a short prayer, or a pat on the back.

Or, are you paying attention to the need, and seeing if you can be part of the solution?

Jesus told us…go and do likewise.

And, Jesus said,

“Be Merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Luke 6:36

Two things to consider:

The love and care of God is working for you today. He cares about your wounds and will not leave you on the side of the road, alone  and uncared for. You are important to Him. Likewise, he calls you and I to do the same, to love others with the same love Christ loved us with. Our neighbors are not just our people group, but all people.

As the holidays approach, Renew your commitment to others…through service, giving and imitating the lifestyle of Jesus Christ.

At Cornerstone Fellowship, in Livermore California, we are going to focus on what it would mean to Renew the way we look at the holidays. We are going to be challenged to ask ourselves some questions about how well we are thinking of others  rather than just self. We want to take Christmas back and imitate Christ, making the advent season something holy and pleasing to God and of service to others.

To find out more visit www.cornerstoneweb.org during the month of November and December. Especially listening to the Sunday services this weekend! Together let’s do as Jesus taught us, and lets be merciful and care for others more than we care for ourselves. Afterall, we are already cared for. Embrace the love of God and with that same love…lend a hand, a heart, and some help to others who need the love of Jesus too.

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I am in a battle today. It is in my mind. No, I am not mental or crazy, just distressed a little in my thoughts. The trouble is, the little distresses in my thought life can build and become a full blown barrier to my faith walk. It has happened time and time again. Unfortunately, I know how to build faith barriers far too well, and want to try something different this time.

In order to try something different I must realize that how I have done something before, doesn’t work. To repeat something that doesn’t work is insanity, so not sure why we all do it. But, most of us do.

My mental battles usually fall into a pattern:

• Someone says something that sticks in my heart and hurts. Or someone treats me in a way that causes my insecurities to stir a bit.
• Or, something happens that sticks in my heart, bringing up fear or worry, doubt or discouragement.
• I think too much about what was said, what happened or how someone acted and take it to a larger place that begins to build a case in my brain.
• There the battle begins. My perspective gets filled with negative junk and the spiral seems to go out of control. Do you relate?

Most women are vulnerable to the things that distract us from turning to God. Things such as:

• Doubt. Questioning God’s Word and his goodness.
• Discouragement. Looking at your problems rather than at God
• Diversion. Seeing the wrong things as attractive solutions
• Defeat. Feeling like a failure, sometimes so much so that we see no use in trying.
• Delay. Putting off doing something so that what God has called us to do or what we wanted to accomplish never gets done.

These 5 D’s are tools the enemy uses.

Jesus had an interesting perspective that has the power to change our lives. And, it is different than worry, stressing over people’s actions or reactions, and different than fearing every little problem. It had to do with acceptance and trust.

Today’s truth: Matthew 6, medley of verses

“I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will drink, what you will eat, what you will wear. Look at the birds, your heavenly Father feeds them…are you not much more valuable than they? Your heavenly Father knows that you need these things. Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added as well. Do not worry about tomorrow. Sufficient for today is its own trouble.”

• Life is filled with troubles. Accept it.
• Do not worry, God is your provider
• Do not worry, you are valuable to God
• Do not worry, God sees your situation,  your life and knows your needs
• Seek God and lose your worries in Him.
• All things you need will be provided as you seek God’s Kingdom in your life.
• Don’t borrow trouble from tomorrow, each day has it’s own.
• Trust God one day at a time. Believe that you are valuable to Him and He will care for you.

New Perspective.

Jesus says I don’t have to worry because he will always provide for me and care for me through life and its daily troubles. He does this because He loves me and I am valuable to him. He is my Heavenly Father and He knows What I need.

Well…what are we waiting for? Today take your hurt feelings, wounded heart, and all your cares to Jesus. Thank Him that He can handle them better than you. Thank Him that you are valuable to Him and that He cares for you. Thank Him that He knows what you need. Thank Him that you can learn to live just TODAY, and not borrow from tomorrow or hang on to the past.

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It’s funny how we try to be something we aren’t in the hopes of finding who we really are. Silly people.

Glad God loves silly people, hurting people, and people who look for love and significance in all the wrong places. He knows we are pushed into a tight space, a hard to break-out-of mold of the world around us. Yet, he urges us to take a different path, learn a different love, sing a different song and dance to different music. God is always leading us to a place of authenticity. He has created us to live in who He has made us to be, not who anyone else expects us to be. He wants us to be 100% His, and 100% real about who we are in Him.  It’s us who hold back.

We are comfortable in our old clothes of shame and fear. We are familiar with the groove we  have been walking in. So we settle. Settling for less than God’s best. Settling for imitations and plastic smiles. Settling for emotional pain when we can have real inner healing.

I wonder why we settle.

The Samaritian woman was used to settling too. She went from relationship to relationship. I’ll bet she just wanted to find herself in love. I’ll bet she just wanted to be special and find her place. But, man after man, and she was still empty and just going through the motions.

Meeting Jesus didn’t seem like anything earth shattering at first, but then he let her in on something…he knew her. She didn’t know him, but he knew her, reciting her past to her like he was an old friend who had walked it with her.

Perhaps that was what he wanted her to see. He was the Messiah, and though she didn’t now Him, He was going to give his very life for her redemption.

Love. Unreal.

What did he tell her was necessary to live differently?

Today’s Truth: John 4:23

“A time is coming when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth.”

He was pointing her to an authentic life of worship, a reality check of sorts. He was inviting her to take water that would quench her inner thirst.

This same Jesus knows you, and me….He is inviting us to authentic worship too. What is authentic worship? Laying down our life and trusting Him with the details. Looking Up To God and Living Out our Faith. Lifting hands to Him and commiting hearts to change.

Yes, Jesus is offering something that is different. He doesn’t want to squeeze us into a stuffy old box. He wants to take us out of the confines of self imposed rules and reguations. He wants us to live beyond others expectations. He wants us to trust our lives and days to the one who KNOWS us.

What would worshiping in Spirit and Truth look like in your life today?

If you get a chance read all of John chapter 4, let it speak to you. Let it tell you a story of hope.

Living with Joy….Debbie

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