Just a thought about our Christian obligation to love and to forgive
http://www.crossmovementrecords.com/articles_view.asp?articleid=57169&columnid=1089
If you don't know, Ambassador is a Christian rapper with the group Cross Movement. They are a bunch of urban ministers that preach, teach and rap and very uncompromised Gospel to reach the youth. I saw this article on their site and it disturbed me on a few levels, but I dont know all of the details so i keep my mouth shut and dont judge things before i know all of the facts. In the meantime, my job isnt to condemn the brother, nor is it to make excuses for adultery; my job is to believe my brother gets back on the right path, restore the marriage, etc and keep preachin. Yet, people are kickin a man while he is down as they are doing with Michael Vick.
i guess because i have been forgiven of much, today, i am much more apt to forgive. people sin. we have to remember that Jesus is in Heaven, and we are the fallible creatures that seek Him for strength and guidance. Sometimes people fall and that is why we shouldnt put people on pedestals and exalt them to superstar status. look at all of the celebrities on drugs and alcoholics. WE ARE HUMANS!!!!!! We mess up, it isnt an excuse, its just reality!!!!!! and if each of us was to be honest, we all have sinned. maybe we didnt commit adultery, but we didnt walk in love with our nieighbor. maybe we didnt kill someone, but we were a lil bit haughty. maybe we didnt practice withcraft, but maybe we shut up our bowels of compassion to a genuinely needy person. anyway you slice it, its sin. PERIOD!!!!!! But I dont have time to walk out anyone elses salvation, im busy dealing with my own. So if I am busy looking at you, Im taking time any from my own walk. not productive!!!!!!
peter sinned and repented but Jesus didnt sit him down for a period of time.
david had a man killed, sexed a mans wife and lied about the issue, yet he repented and God said he was still a man after God's heart.
who has the right to determine whose struggle is fit to be accepted as a struggle and whose struggle isnt. i do agree that adultery is unacceptable 100% of the time, but so is lying, so is being mean to people, so is pride, so is racism, so is arrogance, etc.............if a preacher thinks of himself higher than he should, should we demand that he be seated? if so, i know a bunch of people who need to take a breather.
Again, I am not an apologist for sin, but Jesus told the woman who was caught in adultery (in the act) to go and sin no more. the people wanted blood, but Jesus forgave her and sent her on her way. Could Jesus be telling us and teaching us something by this and other lessons?
People will know us by our love walk, thats what Christ said, but what do i know? Love and forgiveness arent weak or soft, they are powerful. However, there are times when alienating ourselves away from sin is appropriate: Didn't God have satan kicked out of Heaven? Didnt God have Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden? Didnt Jesus whip the moneychangers out of the temple? Didnt Ananias and Saphira drop dead when they lied to the Holy Ghost in the book of Acts? Didnt Paul smite the heckler of the Gospel with blindness in the book of Acts? Didnt Jesus say that if someone offends you to go to that person, then take elders, and as the last resort kick the unrepentant out? Didnt Paul tell the Romans to Mark those that cause division among you and have no company with them? YES to ALL!!!!!!!!! But we must understand the character of Love. God is Love and Jesus came to show us the Father. It's simple.........but we have to view the entirety of the character of love, because while love is always loving, forgiving and caring, love will bump you out of its presence. Sounds like im out of line with Scripture, but im not
I think that the Body of Christ needs a lesson in love. What many of us are calling love, is actually just being a nice person, it isnt really the love of God. Never fear, Piecing the Puzzle Together will break down Christ's message and give those who have ears to hear and eyes to see a Scriptural and Jesus based lesson in love. Love is the new commandment that Christ gave us in john 13 and it is the means by which the world would recognize us. If we dont know and understand what love really is then we, in essence, dont know God's character.
i guess because i have been forgiven of much, today, i am much more apt to forgive. people sin. we have to remember that Jesus is in Heaven, and we are the fallible creatures that seek Him for strength and guidance. Sometimes people fall and that is why we shouldnt put people on pedestals and exalt them to superstar status. look at all of the celebrities on drugs and alcoholics. WE ARE HUMANS!!!!!! We mess up, it isnt an excuse, its just reality!!!!!! and if each of us was to be honest, we all have sinned. maybe we didnt commit adultery, but we didnt walk in love with our nieighbor. maybe we didnt kill someone, but we were a lil bit haughty. maybe we didnt practice withcraft, but maybe we shut up our bowels of compassion to a genuinely needy person. anyway you slice it, its sin. PERIOD!!!!!! But I dont have time to walk out anyone elses salvation, im busy dealing with my own. So if I am busy looking at you, Im taking time any from my own walk. not productive!!!!!!
peter sinned and repented but Jesus didnt sit him down for a period of time.
david had a man killed, sexed a mans wife and lied about the issue, yet he repented and God said he was still a man after God's heart.
who has the right to determine whose struggle is fit to be accepted as a struggle and whose struggle isnt. i do agree that adultery is unacceptable 100% of the time, but so is lying, so is being mean to people, so is pride, so is racism, so is arrogance, etc.............if a preacher thinks of himself higher than he should, should we demand that he be seated? if so, i know a bunch of people who need to take a breather.
Again, I am not an apologist for sin, but Jesus told the woman who was caught in adultery (in the act) to go and sin no more. the people wanted blood, but Jesus forgave her and sent her on her way. Could Jesus be telling us and teaching us something by this and other lessons?
People will know us by our love walk, thats what Christ said, but what do i know? Love and forgiveness arent weak or soft, they are powerful. However, there are times when alienating ourselves away from sin is appropriate: Didn't God have satan kicked out of Heaven? Didnt God have Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden? Didnt Jesus whip the moneychangers out of the temple? Didnt Ananias and Saphira drop dead when they lied to the Holy Ghost in the book of Acts? Didnt Paul smite the heckler of the Gospel with blindness in the book of Acts? Didnt Jesus say that if someone offends you to go to that person, then take elders, and as the last resort kick the unrepentant out? Didnt Paul tell the Romans to Mark those that cause division among you and have no company with them? YES to ALL!!!!!!!!! But we must understand the character of Love. God is Love and Jesus came to show us the Father. It's simple.........but we have to view the entirety of the character of love, because while love is always loving, forgiving and caring, love will bump you out of its presence. Sounds like im out of line with Scripture, but im not
I think that the Body of Christ needs a lesson in love. What many of us are calling love, is actually just being a nice person, it isnt really the love of God. Never fear, Piecing the Puzzle Together will break down Christ's message and give those who have ears to hear and eyes to see a Scriptural and Jesus based lesson in love. Love is the new commandment that Christ gave us in john 13 and it is the means by which the world would recognize us. If we dont know and understand what love really is then we, in essence, dont know God's character.
Bits and pieces from my book..............stay tuned
