It is very serious that we ensure we are not ones who call on Jesus, but practice lawlessness – forsaking His commandments. “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar …” 1 John 2:4. We can’t say that we love Him if we don’t give up our own will and keep His commandments. If we live like that, it is ourselves that we love, not Jesus. ... By reading about Jesus and the way He lived during His time on earth, we can see what His commandments are, what we need to do to follow Him. “Jesus said to him, ‘“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” Matthew 22:37-40. Source
With the many different situations life throws at us, it can be challenging to love an offending neighbor like ourselves. Seemingly impossible. This is where unity in the Church becomes such an asset. Together, we can battle for one another and for the challenges we each face. Encouraging one another to hold the line and teaming up in prayer is invaluable. That team praying around the clock together until something happens can move God to act on our behalf. I've seen it happen time and time again.
A few times in the blog, I have made a veiled reference to situations where some of my children have had to confront and/or report peers who were acting as a danger to themselves or others. The nature of the issues was such that I could not share. Those of my children who had to face this kind of thing had to stand their ground on God's Word and keep themselves from falling into a sin trap in the midst of some of the situations, and they knew they'd probably lose the person as a friend because of their position and actions.
I am happy to report that most of the people who were in those challenging situations are still friends with my childre today. In fact, after the person came out of the sin, they treasured those relationships with my children more because of their stand and measures to keep them from harming themselves or someone else. I am thankful my children felt comfortable to confide in Clint and me, seek our counsel and prayer support, and were strong enough to hold fast to God's Word. For me, it has been a joy to see the person change and the friendships grow stronger.
Dear Reader, It's a challenging world. Evil is promoted as good and good is considered evil. Our young people are being assaulted with continual deceptions. Their minds get easily caught up in sinful ways of thinking. They need a beacon to pull them back to the Lord. It's the unpopular choice, but be an unmoving and steady beacon that is resting on the firmest foundation there is..the Word of God. I'd rather be the one who helped pull them out of the darkness than the one who encouraged them to stay in the darkness. Real love like real prayer can be very hard work.
