Skip to main content

Loving the Lost

    Jesus didn't come to save religious people who think they already know everything there is to know about Christianity, He came to save the lost. Let that sink in. A lot of Christians like to get into their "Holy huddles" and to separate themselves from the rest of the world. That's not the mentality of Jesus. He was where the people were at. Jesus desperately longed for those who were lost to know His love for them.

Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (ESV)

Luke 13:34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. (NIV)

    If we want to make a difference in this world for Jesus then we must imitate His heart for the people of this fallen world. When Jesus looked around, He saw lost sheep without a shepherd and had compassion for them. What He didn't see was people who were so messed up that somehow they would infect His Holiness. Why do we so often think that way? That is the mentality of the old covenant. Because of the nature of their covenant with God, the Jews had to remain separate from the world to maintain their relationship. Jesus abolished that when He died for our sins 2,000 years ago. It's about time to stop thinking that way. 

Matthew 9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (ESV)

    Look at the people around you differently. See them as Jesus did, with a compassionate heart and not with judgement as the Pharisees did. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, were the only people who Jesus rebuked while here on earth. They kept the law themselves, but did not love and shepherd the people they were meant to guide. Let us not make the same mistake, but draw the lost in with the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. 

Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (ESV)

Matthew 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)

John 13:35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (NIV)
1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails. (NIV)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dancing Through the Fire

     For a couple weeks now the Lord has been pressing this message on my heart. He revealed a flaw in my thinking I hadn't noticed. You see, when hard times come it's in my nature to duck and cover. I go into "survival mode" and I get tunnel vision. I only focus on getting through what's in front of me alive. But in doing so, not only do I miss a lot of opportunities, but I give in to the voice of fear in my life.     I know I don't speak only for myself when I say that God wants to us in our "every day lives." Not only at church or on a special mission trip, but in the trenches of the grocery store, the gym, work, etc. It is His will that every soul is saved and He wants us to go out into the world and win those hearts for Him. But when I put myself in survival mode, I block out all the opportunities God lays before me. When I numb myself with the routine of each passing day, week, and month, I miss out on sharing the one thing of eternal importa...
1 comment
Read more

How Firm a Foundation

Matthew 7:24-27 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Luke 6:46-49 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against th...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Path to Life

     Through this most recent season in life, God has been teaching me what it truly means to follow His plans for my life. Over the last year or so,  I have had to make some of the most ''adult" decisions in my life so far. Through that process, I have had to rely heavily on faith and the leading of the Holy Spirit to discern which is the right way to go. It has been a challenge for me, a planner to the core, to put my trust fully in God's plans and leading even when I am unable to see what's ahead and I am glad to say I have come out having learned a few things.      The main takeaway I would like to share is this: the right way is not the easiest way . That probably sounds very obvious if you have spent any time in church, but I never thought about that principle carrying over into walking out God's plans for my life. You see, there have been decisions that I have made over the last year that I was certain were what God was leading me to do. An...
Post a Comment
Read more