March 10: GOD NEVER RUNS OUT OF ROOM WHEN PEOPLE WANT TO BE NEAR HIM.

Affirmation: I am capable of doing anything I choose. I trust my intuition and insight.

(Psalm 25:5-6 may be an appropriate prayer for this affirmation. You and I are capable…but we need guidance in truth from God.)~~~~~

Ponder, Personalize, Practice. Let’s read this verse over at least 5 times aloud to begin memorizing it. As you read it ponder the phrases.

”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 of old.“

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭25‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

~~~~~

Reading for Today

Walk in Grace. Live in Love. by Bob Goff

March 10

GOD NEVER RUNS OUT OF ROOM WHEN PEOPLE WANT TO BE NEAR HIM. THE MORE PEOPLE WHO COME, THE LARGER THE SPACE GETS. 

The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so. 

JOSHUA 5:15 

 

Every few days there's another flare-up in what people call the "culture wars." Apparently you can load a weapon with an idea, aim it at someone you've never met, and it becomes a war. 

What strikes me is how quickly something on the news becomes a flash­point among people in our faith community. Within hours, pastors and thought leaders often publish articles, weighing in on whether somebody is biblically correct. These critics are usually anything but kind. It gets personal. It feels mean-spirited. I'm not sure if it's obvious to everyone or just a few how incredibly insecure these people are. 

These tug-o-wars rarely reflect the kind of love Jesus urged us to embody. When we live in grace and walk in love, we can empathize with people and the circumstances that were the context for the problem. Most often I've thought the most honorable thing to do was to pass on jumping in. Something in us wants to take sides. Joshua had the same experience. He met an angel and asked which side the angel was on. "Neither. Take off your shoes" was the response. 

Jesus didn't have to take sides. We don't either. He loved people on every side, and we can too. He didn't see issues; He saw people. He didn't see an article to be written; He saw a bad misstep to be rewritten. He stood with and for whoever was pushed to the edge and was rejected. Their acceptance didn't come at the expense of someone else. There has never been a capacity issue with God. The more who come, the bigger the room gets. Why do we feel so strongly about constructing walls between us to identify who's in and who's out? God sends out an invitation to every single person in the world and checks the mailbox every day to see who RSPV'd. Be one of them. 

Next time you feel torn between two sides in a debate, remember God's love isn't as complicated as we make it-nor does it have the divisions we want to enforce. 

What side have you taken that you need to let go of?