That's Not Jesus

"We spend too much time preparing to fight, to have an argument, or to posture and walk away."

JESUS’ PRESENCE will affect all who stand before Him. No one will do what they want to do, but they will either kneel in peace and wonder or be cast out in extreme regret. He is the Prince of Peace. He is King of kings. There is fear and awe in His Presence.

Not that I’m equating myself to Him, but there is in the church this attitude, posturing, like we’re all that and so “get out of my way.” Whether it’s to people, God forbid, or the devil. News flash: the devil ain’t gonna move ’cause we’re speaking UNLESS we sound and look like Jesus. Who, to circle around to the first sentence, affects all who stand before Him

BECAUSE, here’s the reason, He is peace.

Do we bring peace when we enter the room? Or is someone angry at us instead? Do we suffer persecution, or do we choose to allow the Spirit of God to surround us with peace? We spend too much time preparing to fight, to have an argument, or to posture and walk away. Jesus said the disciples (learners) would suffer persecution then He said they’d speak the gospel before kings and not to worry about what to say in that moment because the Spirit would provide it (Mark 13:9,11;Luke 21:12).

So which is it? Are we puttin’ up our dukes? Or turning the other cheek? Did we give them our shirt as well as our coat? Keeping in mind, that one was a thief. He stole it (Luke 6:29-30). Or did we take them to court, whether that’s to gossip before a group at church or to an actual legal proceeding (1 Corinthian 6:1). We are not to bring judgment. That’s not Jesus. He is forgiveness. He turned the other cheek better than anyone ever.

“Do not form a judgmental character, and you will not be diagnosed as unhealable. Do not condemn others, and you will not be diagnosed as terminal. Forgive, and you will experience God’s forgiveness.” (Luke 6:37 Remedy)

“You don’t get it, Suzanne. It was just a joke.” Was it? Or did you laugh because you wanted that to happen to them? In your head, you caused their humiliation. Let’s go back to 1 Corinthians 13 again. You can have wisdom and know mysteries. You can know the language of angels. You can give your money until you’re broke. You can lay down your life for others. I’m reminded of a scene in the movie “Hacksaw Ridge” where the Japanese commander committed what he thought was honorable suicide. You can lay down your life for perceived honor, but if love is not the motive, you are nothing.

READ “Greatest.”

I get it. People are cruddy sometimes, and we’re full of emotions. We have to learn to not react to them and to set aside our feelings for who Jesus is in us. Did He walk away from the naysayers? He walked through them when they tried to toss Him off a cliff, but it wasn’t His time to die for their sins (Luke 4:30). He went into the wilderness to commune with the Father. Prayer. He spent lots of time in prayer and received wisdom on how to act and react (Matthew 26:36;Luke 5:15;Luke 6:12). He backed up from the Jordan and gave cousin John space when people were giving John grief over the proximity (John 4:3). But He turned away from no one because of hatred, unforgiveness, and impatience. The only seed He sowed were the words of the Father. He planted no bitterness, no offence. He made no spiteful comment. He was so full of the Spirit and the Presence of the Father that every action, every reply, every teaching was presented in humility and gentleness.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9)

I’ve heard ours. A sex joke, and it was a crude one; a rant against a fellow minister over his words about giving, another ran over a godly man’s vision of heaven; the heated dismissal of a perceived enemy, “just walk away”; condemnation against those in other religions, who have yet to see Jesus, INCLUDING THE JEWS. Reminder: JESUS IS A JEW AND THE KING OF THE JEWS. I heard the one who lacked wisdom, the weaker one, who spoke out of their emotions, if you will, that person who didn’t know what the speaker knew about peace, basically told to sit down and shut up. Where’s the gospel of love in this? Where is peace? Compare now the words of Paul, to support the weak, to cause no strife (Romans 14:21-22;1 Thessalonians 5:14). And Jesus’ to love and do good to our enemies.

“But you are to live in harmony with God’s design for life, so love your enemies, do good to them, and lend without expecting to get anything back. Then you will get the greatest reward: a character like the Most High God’s and you will be his true sons and daughters, for he is kind to the unhealed—those still consumed with selfishness. So, be gentle and kind just as your Father in heaven is gentle and kind.” (Luke 6:35-36 Remedy)

If those men and women consider themselves our enemies, why do we? Why do we see them that way? Because I also heard a man of God speak blessing over a woman who came to him with what she sincerely thought was the job of the church. She thought he should also condemn those who she condemned. His only comment was how much courage it took her to speak to him about it. This should be our point-of-view, always. We are to look loving, sound loving, and BE LOVING, so that no one can find any part of us that isn’t love.

Whether it’s for that person who gets all up in our face or someone in the ministry who messes up, FORGIVENESS, the love of God enabling us to embrace all people, must be our heart. Because it is Jesus’.

“’In your anger do not sin’—do not let your anger or any strong emotion take control of your minds and determine your choices; don’t retain anger in your hearts. The devil tempts us through our emotions, so don’t give him any opportunity to confuse you or lead you astray.” (Ephesians 4:26-27 Remedy)

“Continue to love each other very much. This is more important than anything else. If you love people, then you will always want to be kind to them. You will always be ready to forgive (choose to forget) any wrong things that they have done.” (1Pe 4:8 EasyEnglish)

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com