July 18: IF YOU'RE GETTING CRITICIZED FOR LOVING THE WRONG PEOPLE…

Affirmation: I accept my fears and doubts and move forward anyway.

(Repeat the affirmation over about 10 times so that you can remember it throughout the day, the week and the month.)

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27)
Worry will discourage us to take even the smallest step. In many cases, it’s not that God’s unable to perform miracles rather it’s us who refuse to take that one small step needed to be the starting point for God’s miracle.

~~~~~~~

Ponder: Memorize Psalm 25:4-6. Make this your prayer today. Today, complete the verse by memorizing the 3rd sentence: Remember Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from days of old. Psalm 25:4-6

Focus on what this promise means to you.

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from days of old. Psalm 25:4-6

~~~~~~~

Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff

                       July 18

IF YOU'RE GETTING CRITICIZED FOR LOVING THE WRONG PEOPLE, YOU'RE PROBABLY DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. 

Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right." 

ACTS 10:34-35 

One of Jesus' best friends was a guy named Peter. I love Peter because he got it wrong more often than he got it right. I can relate. Do you remember the time he got into a fight with another friend over which of them was Jesus' favorite? Every one of us does this in less obvious ways all the time. Rather than sidelining Peter because of his shallow behavior, Jesus tapped him to carry on His kingdom movement after He left. I would have bet against Peter, but he obviously got something right about Jesus. 

Peter knew he would be misunderstood if he loved people the way Jesus did, and that's exactly what happened. A few years after Jesus left, Peter, who was Jewish, met a guy named Cornelius, who was a Gentile-someone the Jews weren't supposed to associate with. Through his friendship with Cornelius, Peter came to realize the Jews had been wrong to tell an entire group of people they couldn't join their community. And since "Gentiles" meant anyone that wasn't Jewish, that basically meant just about everyone wasn’t in. 

Peter put himself out there and reached out to the Gentiles, even when he knew his own people would criticize him for it. He said: "I now realize how true it is that God doesn't show favoritism." In other words, we're all tied for first in God's view. 

This is what it looks like to follow Jesus. When we're criticized by reli­gious people for sticking up for those who are pushed out, we're probably doing something right. Loving people the way Jesus did means a life of catching heat because of the way you love. If that's happening to you, you're in good company. 

 

Who have you been neglecting to put first when it comes to sharing love?