November 19: Love Cares More About Who Is Hurting Than Who Is Watching.
Affirmation: I am blessed, grateful and abundant.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”Jeremiah 17:7 NIV
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”Jeremiah 17:7 NIV
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Ponder, Personalize, Practice: Continue to ponder and meditate on the truth of Matthew 6:27. Talkto God about what is worrying you. Then express your gratitude to Him.
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”
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Wholehearted Guidepost from Brené Brown
Cultivate Creativity. Let Go of Comparison.
DIG Deep
GET DELIBERATE
Take the "I am a creative being" sign you made earlier and find a place to hang it where you will see it every day. You can even make copies and hang it wherever you need to be reminded that you are a creative being (e.g., your office cubicle, your car, your bathroom mirror).
GET INSPIRED
The definition of courage in this course is sharing your story with your whole heart. Feel free to take a photo of your "I am a creative being" sign and show us where you put it by posting it on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #OLCBreneCourse! You can also share with a supportive friend or family member anything else that inspired you this week: a valuable phrase from the lesson, creative work from your journal, or an inspiration from your everyday life.
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Mastering the 7 Decisions from Andy Andrews
The Compassionate Decision
6. I WILL GREET THIS DAY WITH A FORGIVING SPIRIT.
By the act of forgiving, I am no longer consumed by unproductive thoughts. I will forgive those who have criticized me unjustly.
I now understand that forgiveness has value only when it is given away. I forgive their lack of vision, and I forge ahead.
I now know that criticism is part of the price paid for leaping past mediocrity. I will forgive those who do not ask for forgiveness. From this day forward, my history will cease to control my destiny. I have forgiven myself. My life has just begun.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
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Reading for Today
Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff
November 19
Love Cares More About Who Is Hurting Than Who Is Watching.
“He looked around at them in anger… Deeply distressed at their stubborn heart.” Mark 3:5
We often talk about Jesus as the Savior or an extraordinary teacher, but we rarely talk about Jesus as a first class troublemaker. The truth is, Jesus was always in trouble. He slipped away from His parents when He was young for a couple of days, and got in trouble for it. The religious people of His day followed Him where ever He went, eager to catch Him in a lie, or to witness Him breaking Hebrew laws. The reason they were trying to set Him up was simple. The Israelites had expanded on the original laws God gave them directly. I’m pretty sure Jesus could pull rank, but He didn’t.
On seven different occasions we know about, Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. It might not sound controversial to us now, but back then working on the Sabbath, was punishable by death. Jesus didn’t care. He did what His Father told Him to do. Sometimes in order to obey God, you need to disobey pharaoh. One day Jesus walked into the temple and saw a man with the withered hand, and He asked the religious leaders if it was better to do good or evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or kill it. After He healed, the man, the religious leaders went out and plotted how they would kill Him.
Jesus was an affront to the Pharisees, because He was more concerned about people who are in desperate need than how the religious leaders were feeling about it. He was more concerned with helping people than staying in the leaders’ good graces.
It can be tempting to base our behavior on the approval of the people around us. But Love calls us to be more concerned about the vulnerable than the peoples’ opinions about us. Love cares more about who is hurting than who is watching.
How is fear of others’ opinions holding you back from living in love like Jesus did?
We often talk about Jesus as the Savior or an extraordinary teacher, but we rarely talk about Jesus as a first class troublemaker. The truth is, Jesus was always in trouble. He slipped away from His parents when He was young for a couple of days, and got in trouble for it. The religious people of His day followed Him where ever He went, eager to catch Him in a lie, or to witness Him breaking Hebrew laws. The reason they were trying to set Him up was simple. The Israelites had expanded on the original laws God gave them directly. I’m pretty sure Jesus could pull rank, but He didn’t.
On seven different occasions we know about, Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. It might not sound controversial to us now, but back then working on the Sabbath, was punishable by death. Jesus didn’t care. He did what His Father told Him to do. Sometimes in order to obey God, you need to disobey pharaoh. One day Jesus walked into the temple and saw a man with the withered hand, and He asked the religious leaders if it was better to do good or evil on the Sabbath, to save a life or kill it. After He healed, the man, the religious leaders went out and plotted how they would kill Him.
Jesus was an affront to the Pharisees, because He was more concerned about people who are in desperate need than how the religious leaders were feeling about it. He was more concerned with helping people than staying in the leaders’ good graces.
It can be tempting to base our behavior on the approval of the people around us. But Love calls us to be more concerned about the vulnerable than the peoples’ opinions about us. Love cares more about who is hurting than who is watching.
How is fear of others’ opinions holding you back from living in love like Jesus did?
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