Please pray for me, in Jesus's name, that my anger at other Christians won't shake my faith; please pray that the devil doesn't tempt me away from Jesus through anger and feelings of rejection; please pray that through Jesus's grace and by His stripes, I can forgive and love. Bless you, family. Anna.
that my anger at other Christians won't shake my faith
Tozer gives us a timely word on this:
[b]Spiritual Treason
https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?lid=13569
May God bless you with grace and love in your words and thoughts towards others.
Thank you. A million.
Dear Anna,
I have struggled with this myself. Something that has really helped me was realizing that it is not other "people" that are doing things to me, it is actually Satan using them to try to derail me because he hates Christ in me. Pitting Christian against Christian is one of his favorite past times. Your best weapon is:
Matthew 5:44
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;
Oh, Anna - if you do this in all sincerity (it might take some practice) the bad feelings, anger, frustration, whatever, just EVAPORATES! It is incredible - and the more you do it, the easier it becomes.
Yes, you must guard your heart from the root of bitterness. Once it grows, it is hard to pull out.
Something else that I have found is, when everything feels sad, say a short prayer - "Oh Lord, this feels so bad, please help me." Then just look around - often He will put something before you that will show you His love - a beautiful sunset, a dove, a breeze, a flower, a ray of light . . .
I will pray for you.
In His Love,
Laura
Dear Laura, thank you so much. You always know what to say to put things in perspective. Thank you. The gift of encouraging is such an important one. The sermon on the Mount is so beautiful. It virtually condenses all of his teachings into one, I think, and loving those who persecute you is definitely the hardest part. I guess, I get cross that God isn't dealing with them. When they seem particularly blessed, I wonder why Christians who are walking the narrow path are finding it so difficult, while Christians who are mean and who, on the surface anyway, aren't following Jesus find it so easy. I guess if you're swimming in the same direction as the devil, you'll never come up against him. It's when you're going the right way he tries to stop you. Actually, even on this site, something said was horribly "in-groupy" and for a second it made me want to run a mile, but if that happens, it's Jesus that suffers, isn't it. Cos He's blessed this site and He wants ALL of His children here. I dunno. It's hard, though. Maybe He's saying it won't be perfect anywhere and until it becomes about Him, and not the people (who, as you say, are vulnerable to being used by the devil) it'll be hard. Impossible, even. Cos if you can love them without looking *to* them for anything, or needing anything *from* them, it doesn't matter if they're mean. You're removed enough to love them unconditionally and without being jolted in any way. Sorry about the rambling, lovely lady. All of this has set off a stream of consciousness.
Please can I ask you something? Initially, did you also find it difficult? To love and bless regardless. Almost like it doesn't compute. I can just about bless other drivers who do something actively ridiculous, but people who are genuinely mean, or hypocritical... Rather, Christians who are. It's so much easier to forgive and pray for secular people. Maybe more is expected of Christians. I'll stop now :o) Thanks again, Laura. Bless you very very much for taking the time to talk to me. x x
Initially, did you also find it difficult? To love and bless regardless.
Yes, until I understood what was happening. God uses these trials to teach us to rely on Him. The loving and blessing that He asks us to do is for our own good - to protect us from the whiles of the devil. When you react in love, you are trusting God (for God is love) and the devil doesn't stand a chance. But when you react in anger (allow the flesh control), you have turned from God and now you are on the devil's turf. Other peoples actions and opinions should be essentially meaningless to our sense of well being. Only in Him do we find true peace. When difficulty comes, the quicker we turn to Him and obey His instructions, the sooner we are released from the difficulty.
I LOVE talking about God - my time is His time!
In His Love,
Laura
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