Through Christ we can overcome
God, in His infinite wisdom, made us and planned our lives with a purpose and a destiny. Yet within our person we have hang-ups that have developed. These don’t surprise Him as He is fully equipped to heal and empower us to overcome.
Hang-ups are tricky because they range from trivial to serious, so it’s easy for us to ignore them and or think they do not impact us or others in a bad way. That rational sounds good but it’s not true! In fact our hang-ups probably are hurting us and others more than we know, including keeping Christ at a distance. Yet there are practical steps to overcome hang-ups daily.
These are not deep with spiritual definitions, on the contrary they are simple in understanding but difficult to practice. They reveal the Nature of Jesus which contains and releases His power and love!
What hang-ups do you desire to overcome?
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32
First be KIND to one another. I know this elementary but let’s look into this from an open heart. God’s kindness has been given to you and I when we did not deserve it, in fact He is kind daily to us which is linked to His faithfulness and mercy. He is asking us to be the same to others!
This transcends our feelings and our justice system as it’s based on His Love for all mankind! This simple act can move mountains and melt hearts. It can also heal wounds and restore relationships that have been lost. Today decide to be kind! Make a decision to not only receive the Nature of Jesus but to give the Nature of Jesus to others!
The second is be COMPASSIONATE to others. This is not referencing getting worked up emotionally so that you will give to a cause, but rather this is realizing how much compassion Christ has had on us. His compassion is linked to His loving kindness which is better than life. He saw our depravity and moved to us. He saw our sin and mistakes and gave us compassion. This is what He is asking us to give to others.
When they don’t deserve it, when we want to shut off our heart and turn our attention somewhere else, we give compassion. This touches our marriages, our kids and our lives. Jesus often was moved with compassion before He did something great! Could it be that if we will be moved with compassion, something great will happen?
The third is to FORGIVE others. This is massive as we are asked to overcome our issues, our hurts and our pain to give His Nature away through forgiveness. For many of us this is a heavy weight to bare as we have been wronged and maligned yet we too have done wrong and we have maligned others. Therefore Christ is asking us to forgive as we have been forgiven.
This is based on the justice system of heaven as it’s governed by unconditional Love. We have received this Love and as we forgive others we are giving this same Love away! I know we have legitimate hurts and pains yet Christ is greater! He is the healer of our lives, spirit, soul and body. He is our fulfillment and as we determine to give His Nature away we will overcome our hang-ups; we will be free!
Determine today to be kind, compassionate and forgiving to others! Focus on what hang-ups you desire to break and watch them fall away as you practice these three things daily.
Have a great week and see you Sunday!
Something great is happening!
PD