Call To Prayer / Matthew 6:12

Matthew 6:12

ESV and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

KJV and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us

TLB and forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.

GWT  Forgive us as we forgive others.

Call to repentance, asking for forgiveness and forgiving others is a included in the teaching gave us on prayer. Debts, sins, trespasses are synonymous. Acknowledging the wrongs we have done, repenting and forgiving the wrongs done to us by others. Just as God provides for our daily needs forgiveness is a daily thing for us to do. When Jesus was asked how many times awe should give His response was seven times seventy. He also told us if we are hit on one cheek to offer up the other one. Forgiveness is not easy but is necessary. The price Jesus paid for our forgiveness was with His own life. We should be thankful we don’t have to die to forgive because He has already done this, and thankfully He rose from the grave giving to us the keys to life. I am thankful that we are forgiven.

Call To Prayer ? Praying for our enemies

Jesus teaches to love those who hate you and bless those who curse you. Those who are in the world can find this almost impossible. Why would we love someone who hates us, and why would we want to bless them? To be honest I find this a difficult task. When someone hurts you, your reflex is to protect yourself and strike back. You have been hurt and you want to hurt the person in return, but this is not God’s way. While on the cross, Jesus said, ‘Forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.’ If it had been anyone else hanging on that cross dying for someone else’s crime, I do not believe they would have been asking for the ones who were responsible to be forgiven. It is His love that forgives us, even though we do not deserve His grace and mercy. We want the ones responsible for our pain to pay for what they have done, but Jesus died to pay that price. The best thing I can pray for one you would call my enemy is for them to receive the love of Jesus and repent. The blessing of His salvation, His love, and His healing. If they turn to Christ and give their lives to Him, they would no longer be our enemy, but a brother or sister in Christ Jesus. So I pray that anyone who has ever done you or myself wrong, repents and receive the blessing of His salvation. That they learn of His love and mercy, and that they grow in His love. I also pray that I can love them as Jesus loves me.

P.S. I hope this post makes sense, I am intense pain which fogs up my thoughts, but I wanted to write this while it was fresh in my mind.

J. A. P.

If you are Japanese or of any Asian race I am sorry if the title offends you because that is not my intent. You see I am half Japanese. My Gigi and Baba came from Okinawa. My mother and I were born in Oahu. I grew up as a child being teased and being called ‘jap, nip, and slant eyed’ to name a few names. Do you remember the song, ‘I’m turning Japanesa’?  Well I do since it was sung to me as a taunt quite often. I even was called names that I will not write here because of their vulgarity.  Now the prejudice acts I have dealt with in my life are very minor. Prejudice and hatred has been around throughout history. There is not a group that has not been hated because of their race or their religion. At one time or another people from all over the world has been a slave at one time or another in history. People have suffered horrible acts because of their race. The holocaust always comes to my mind when people pull out their race card saying that they are being wronged, because I think about the terrible acts committed against the Jews and I do not hear that they are rioting are filing law suits against anyone because they have been wronged. There is a movement going on right now that has inspired me to speak up. My heart is broken over all of this hate. A person commits a crime and the people are outraged against the police? Stop hating! You only hate to stir up strife and create conflict. You do not know peace and you do not know love. Do you even know why you are angry about? You may justify your words and actions but if you are spreading hate, anger, and violence, how can this be right?

Okay now is time to bring out the big gun. At some point in a person’s life they have been treated wrong and hurt. Rights have been violated, false accusations have been made, and some have even been beaten and abused. Shall I continue to list the cruel injustice that people of all different backgrounds have faced? I have been abused, molested, and raped. I have also been falsely accused and railroaded through our criminal court system. I have been angry and bitter over the things done to me, but you know what changed me? The love Jesus showed me. When I was going through the court system and fighting for my innocence God began showing me all that His Son Jesus went through for me. Then I compared the wrongs done to me and realized it was nothing in comparison to what Jesus lived through and how He did so without a fight but with love and forgiveness. He did not ask God to curse those who mocked Him and spit on Him. He did not strike down those who beat Him, and finally He did not condemn those who crucified Him, instead He asked His Father to forgive us. His love and mercy is so great who took all the weight of the consequences of sin for every person who would ever be born and carried to the cross in His body, and He did this for even those who hated Him. Jesus is the opposite of hate, because He Is Love!

1John 2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in darkness.

His love drives out the darkness but He will not make you walk in His light. You have to choose to walk in love. He will not force you to do anything. You cannot blame Him for your actions and you cannot blame anyone else for your behavior. You choose to do right or wrong, but be careful not to call good evil, and evil good.

Okay now about the title of this. Once again I mean no offense to anyone who is Japanese or any other Asian. I am a J.A.P.  I have taken a slang term that was meant to cause offense and this is what it means to me now. I am Jesus’ Asian Princess because through His blood and His sacrifice, I am adopted into His kingdom. So if someone calls me a Jap now I take pride because I belong to Him. I hope I have not made too many of you mad because I have said this, but it is just an example of what the world makes bad God turns around and makes something better.

Loving The Unlovable / The discussion continues…

NKJV Luke 6:32 “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

Matthew 5:44 (NKJV) But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,^[a]

Footnotes: Matthew 5:44 NU-Text omits three clauses from this verse, leaving, “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

How do you love someone who hates you? If you have the answer please tell me. Thankfully Jesus is not only my Savior but He is also my teacher. We all have people in our lives who do not like us and even some who hate us. For some we may have given them reason by something we may have done. We may have hurt them or done some wrong to them. Then there are those who you have done nothing to them and they hate you. They do everything they can to make you miserable. They are hostile towards you and all you can do is ask yourself, ‘What did I do?’.You go out of your way to be kind and courteous to them and they react as if you spit poison on them. Then you read these words, ‘Love those who hate you’. What goes through your mind is probably, ‘Are you joking?’ or ‘You can’t be serious.’ How can you love someone who outright hates you? They reject you, they hurt you, and they may even persecute you. They definitely do not love you. So what can make you want to love anyone who is like this? My inspiration is Jesus! Even as He was dying on the cross and being mocked He said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do’. In the 33 years He spent on this earth, Joseph had to move Him and His mother Mary while still a very young boy because the ruler ordered all boys under a certain age be killed because the king was afraid that he would lose His throne. Then when He started His ministry, people attacked Him both verbally and physically. They wanted to stone Him. The Pharisees plotted against Him. They were able to pay Judas 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus.They arrested Him, falsely accused Him and demanded His crucifixion. He was beaten, ridiculed and mocked. He was even spit upon. Had to carry His own cross to the place of His death. Then once nailed to the cross people called out, mocking Him, even one of the men who was being crucified next to Him ridiculed Him. Why would the Son of God go through this when He knew beforehand He would go through all of this? Why? He loves us. He loves us no matter who we are or what we have done. So why can’t we love like this? I have no magical answer. All I can do is follow the example Jesus gave to us all. To be honest I fail miserably on a regular basis on this area. I try and keep making the effort. It is frustrating, but I know that I didn’t deserve His love and He still loved me.So when I get angry and hurt by the way someone treats me, I have to make the effort to think about, that this person is still loved by Jesus and since He is in me I can let Him love through me.Just as He loves me. He has forgiven me and loved me perfectly. So as hard as it may be that is the mercy and grace I must share with others.

If you would please leave your story on loving someone hard to love. You never know who you will inspire.

How do you love a sinner? A discussion

I had an enjoyable conversation today with someone new. Our conversation began with some of my writing. Which continued into religious topics, from confronting sin, to love(not the romantic love but love) Then they asked me a question, ‘How do you love a person who lives a sinful life? We did not get into depth, but it was a question asked to give some thought to. We did not discuss my first thought, which was that Jesus gave His life for us while we were still sinners. What they partially wanted to know is how would this topic be received, and how would one write about this. Even though I will share my views on this subject, this post is more for discussion and wanting to know your thoughts.

So please tell me how you go about loving someone who is living a life that is objectionable to your beliefs?

Here are some of my own thoughts.

1. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. He did not wait till we followed all of His commands.
2. He taught us to not only love our neighbor but to love those who hate us.
3. There was the woman caught in adultery who the crowd wanted Him to pass judgement on, wanting her to be stoned. He did not condemn her but forgave her of her sin and told her to go and sin no more. He did not tell her how terrible she was but showed her love.
4. The woman at the well He offered her living water before He addressed her living situation. He knew who she was and how many times that she had been married and that she was now living with a man that she was not his wife. She then ran to tell others of Jesus.
5. On the cross He asked to His Father to forgive us that we know not what we do.

I have many other thoughts but these she me how Jesus loved us as we are. As I grow in His love His love transforms me. Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commands. People talk about falling in love, and love at first sight. To me this is attraction. Real love is more than that, and true love can only be learned from the One who truly is love. I am no expert on love and my relationship with Jesus is not perfect. Not because He does not love me perfectly but because I do not truly understand what love really is. As I grow in my relationship with Him I am learning more what love is and how to love. I have been guilty of being judgmental and even hateful towards others in my zeal for Christ. i have beaten them down with religious rules. I know that a life without Jesus ends in death. I have pushed people away from His love with my  thinking about the need to follow the rules. I discuss this in my post

The Hammer https://emotionalpeace.wordpress.com/2015/11/25/the-hammer/

I have learned to look in the mirror and examine my own heart and actions. Seeing how much Jesus loves me and accepts me is teaching me to love others. I now see that He loves us all, even those who continue to reject Him or that who have not met Him yet. It is through us His body to show His Love to the unlovable.

Now it is your turn;

Please leave your thoughts, views, and experiences in the comments.

 

Proverbs 18:21 Power of life and death are held in the tongue.

Proverbs 18:21  ESV  Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

     A few years back I had come to realize that my speech was ugly and hateful. I had so much anger and resentment over the abuse and wrong doings that had happened to me were controlling me. I always felt the need to protect myself and the slightest wrong would allow me to justify to myself, a reason to retaliate. I did not have the physical ability to do harm but the words that came out of my mouth were as damaging as any physical damage a person could do. I had no intention of forgiving those who had hurt me. Then one day I heard the words spewing out of my mouth like lava from a volcano and realized that it did not matter how long ago I asked Jesus into my life, I had not learned to forgive as I had been forgiven. If I did not learn how to forgive all the hatred and bitterness of forgiveness would destroy me and anyone I cared about. I learned that forgiveness was not an emotion that I needed to feel, but an action I had to do, so that I might find peace.

     I started keeping a journal and decided that I had to change how I spoke. Going to church alone was not going to make the necessary changes I needed to make. So every day I had to make the decision to speak words of life, encouragement, healing, praise and thanksgiving. This was not an easy task, and I failed many times, but I wrote down my failures keeping myself accountable. When I blew it and let anger or any other negative emotion raise it’s ugly head and spoke harsh and hateful words, I confessed to Jesus, repenting and giving Him thanks for His grace. I also knew that I could not do this on my own, so I searched His Word and submitted myself to His will. I knew the days of demanding my own way had to come to an end. I am no where near perfect but I am thankful that He is transforming me into a woman that is pleasing to Him, and that it is His Word that gives me the direction that I need.

A few of the scriptures I have focused on are
Proverbs 18:21, Proverbs 15:4, Psalm 141:3, Psalm 34:13
1Peter 3:10, the book of James, but some specific verses are 1:26,
and 3:2-10. Search the scriptures for yourself, because there are so many more than these few. God can change you if you allow Him to.

Forgive (Matthew 6:14-15)

If you do not forgive, you are only sentencing yourself to prison. So forgive and receive the freedom that forgiveness brings.

Many feel that to forgive means to forget. That is not true. If you forget, all you have done is forgotten. Forgiveness takes place when you know the wrong that has been done and you show mercy and do not hold it against the one who has wronged you. This will not undo the pain and hurt that was caused by the wrong acts of the other. It just means that you are no longer carrying the burden of being their judge. Forgiving someone that has wronged you also does not mean that they will change or even be sorry for what they have done, and that you will continue to let this other person hurt you. You are free to love and be healed. What they do with the forgiveness offered to them is up to them. Some may ever think that they have ever done anything wrong. Your forgiving them will not change this. Still forgive them and pray for their salvation, so that they can experience the One Who came to forgive all who will receive Him, Jesus Christ the Author of Love and Forgiveness!