At this present time, Sharon and I are overwhelmed by all the hurting people we are ministering to. I have never seen so much hurt in my life. So many, a growing number do not have a Church home. I wanted to share this with you, I pray it helps you understand HURT better.
From Faith It
People hurt when they are hurting. We can know this, but when the pain is hurled in your direction, you forget.
First instinct? Fight back. Cut deeper, hit harder, pull out all the stops. Don’t admit where you’re wrong. Instead just focus on where the other party is in error.
Hurtful comments come from a hurting source. It’s easy to forget that. It’s easier to continue the chain of pain. To take the pain of another onto yourself. To become responsible for someone else’s pain.
What’s hard is understanding that everyone you know will fail you. It sounds pessimistic, but it’s just hard reality. No one wants to be the cause of someone else’s pain, but it happens unaware. At one point or another, every person you know will hurt you to one degree or another. It sounds terribly bleak, but it’s true. Even the people you hold the closest will disappoint you. More Here
Be real with people…….relate to them……love them like JESUS!
Loving Jesus More Than Theology:
J.A. Medders: Doctrine is dangerous. We must handle it with care. Paul reminds us that, “Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5). Love is the aroma of theology. Love for Jesus, love for others, and love for truth. And Paul warns us what happens when we swerve from love being the goal, “Some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on” (1 Timothy 1:6–7). Without love, Paul says we don’t even know what we are talking about. We are noisy gongs, feed-backing microphones, nothing burgers (1 Corinthians 13:1–3). More Here
Dr. Jim Denison posted this today:
I wanted to share Paul Kingsnorth’s thoughtful analysis so I could emphasize his point: Religion is “not . . . a set of beliefs to be adhered to, or arguments to be made and defended. It is an experience to be immersed in.”
If you and I will be “immersed in” Jesus across the new year, we can be catalysts for the moral and spiritual renewal our broken culture needs so desperately. But only then.
If Jesus is your Lord, the God who created the universe is living in your life.
Is he living through your life today?
