Author: princessleah

Don’t you hate to see someone going through a painful situation? If you are like me, I am a fixer. I want to try to help them through it, give them solutions to their issue, and help. Someone said this that 90% of love is just being there. Just be a comforting presence. I’ve noticed that especially in the time of loss of a loved one, words don’t feel like they touch the heart of the matter, but being there is just what is needed. That is bearing one another’s burdens. Eph 4:1,2 tells us to walk worthy of our calling. With lowliness, gentleness with long suffering, bearing with one another in love. That is what God does for us, and that is what we can do for others. I encourage you to keep your eyes open to those who are hurting. They are everywhere. Ask God to lead you to someone who is hurting this week. Look for ways to express that you care. Learn to be there, even in silence. Help someone else by bearing with one another in love.

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Romans 15:7 says to receive one another as Christ received us to the glory of God. We are admonished in this scripture to accept one another. Christ accepts us, we should accept others. Case closed! We love like Jesus does. He loves us flaws and all, we love others flaws and all! When we accept people as they are, we can trust God to work in your life. When we accept them, we don’t condone their behavior or their beliefs. We accept them, because we want to be like Jesus. You have probably noticed this in your relationships, that if you are trying to change a person, you will meet resistance. I noticed that too! Lesson learned! When we accept and receive people as they are, we not only obey the Word, we sow seed that can be reaped in our own life. We are grateful for the people in our own life who overlook our short comings and love us anyway So if we want our story to be to God’s glory, we can love, forgive and accept one another. Just as this verse in Romans 15:7 says, when we receive others it brings God glory! You can put this verse into operation in your life today!

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Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, forgiving one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you. If we want to have healthy relationships, we need to swim in the river of forgiveness frequently. We give ourselves lots of grace, let’s do that with others too. The better we know one another, the more we potentially have to over look in each other. That’s where kindness comes in. We can choose kindness, just like we choose forgiveness. The rewards are great when we live this way. Have as much grace for others as we have for ourselves! Forgiveness can seem like a huge mountain to climb, but what I have discovered is that if the mountain is enormous, stone by stone, each shovelful of the mountain that gets removed brings more and more freedom. Before we know it the thing that seemed unovercomeable is overcome! So whether you are the one forgiving, or the one asking for forgiveness, lets do both graciously. Day by day, hour by hour, as we choose forgiveness, even moment by moment, we can improve our relationships, and improve our life.

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How soft is too soft? When it comes to blankets and pillows, softer is always better! When we are talking about grace, can you have too much? Our church is named Amazing Grace Fellowship, and you could imagine that as pastors, we want to be known for an abundance of grace. It is because of the grace of God that we are saved. The grace of God truly is amazing. We should be grace full, grace filled people. But as gracious believers, we do not become a doormat for everyone who wants to walk over us, not do we ignore people’s actions. Abuse, neglect, or other evil deeds do not get brushed under the rug. As gracious as God is, sin has its own retribution. And sin is not tolerated in the presence of God. So we can be like Jesus. He hates sin, but loves the sinner. He is a soft place to fall as He loves people through their failures and pain. We can do the same. Psalms 9:9,10 in the Message Bible says this: God’s a safe house for the battered, a sanctuary in bad times. The moment you arrive, you relax, and you are never sorry you knocked. We can be a safe haven to people in our life, by being forgiving, accepting, and walking with them on their journey.

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Our family is very competitive. We all like to win, and be better than someone else in the family. Because of that, everything is a competition. From board games, to who can clean their room the fastest, to who is the best wake or snow boarder, even to musical ability. It can be fun and healthy, but it can be a relationship killer. If everything is always a competition, we can thwart what God wants to be a blessing in our lives. We have to look at our relationships as if we were on a team. Each team mate cheers for the others. We want each to do well, but we do best when we work together. As Christians, we are on a team. We should be cheering for our team mates who are doing a work for God in their vineyard. We aren’t in competition, we are here to complete a task that God put us on the earth for. Relationships work the same way. Let’s be fellow travelers. Let our competition be against ourselves. Can we do better? Can we love more? Can we make a difference? Can our lives count for the cause of Christ. When we do that individually, collectively as the body of Christ, we will accomplish more! And in the midst of enlarging the kingdom of God, we will build healthy, thriving relationships.

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You have probably noticed that relationships can be messy. They can bring tremendous joy, and tremendous pain. All of us have experienced a messy relationship of some kind. Perhaps it started in grade school, being bullied. Or maybe you were made fun of for some physical trait, or speech disorder, or disability. Perhaps you were betrayed by a friend, or had a messy breakup or divorce. The list of relationship messes can go on and on. Relationships can be hard. Being hurt can make us build walls. The messes leave us with baggage that will affect future relationships. If we want them to be better in the future, we have to deal with the past. If we keep carrying it around with us, our future relationships will suffer. So what do we do with the past? We can learn from it, and then leave it there. Start with a clean slate. Just like each new year in a classroom, you get a fresh start. Make good choices, keep your heart full of love, and offer acceptance and love to those around you. Our ability and choice to forgive others, directly affects our relationship with God. He forgave, so we do the same. If we don’t forgive, as it says in Mark 11, God wont forgive us. Sounds like we know what to do. Be a forgiver!
Forgiveness and acceptance are like soap for the soul, they help us wash out the past, and live clean in the future.

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A great relationship can be one of the greatest joys of life. Jesus set such a great example relationally for us by loving everyone he came in contact with. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. From the account of the woman caught in adultery in John 8, we see a picture of forgiveness and reconciliation even in front of religious rulers who were trying to trap Jesus. As fellow travelers on this authentic relationship journey, we can make it to the finish line, as teammates and not adversaries. Here is your daily eword.

Monday
Receiving forgiveness, feeling acceptance, and having someone who bears your burdens is like having a soft place to fall. When we receive forgive, we say we won’t let a situation have a hold on to us anymore. When we offer forgiveness, we are humbling ourselves to accept responsibility for the wrongs we have done. When we accept people as they are, we are agreeing with God who does the very same thing. What a wonderful thing Jesus did for the woman caught in adultery. He had the opportunity to cast a stone at her, and he chose not to. Instead he offered her forgiveness, acceptance and told her to go on her way, and sin no more. When she received that kind of love, even in the midst of moral failure, this woman was given hope. When we respond in grace and mercy instead of judgment, we do the same thing. We have the opportunity to love people through the broken places of their lives. If they are already broken, they don’t need more judgment, they need love. Remember that God is the healer of all things broken. We can do the same as we are his hands and feet to a broken hurting world. It may even start in your own home. What a great place to offer forgiveness and acceptance.

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How old is your longest relationship? Your mom probably qualifies, she knew you first, and might even love you best. I love my mom so much. She turned 80 this year! She has known me all my 51 years. So maybe I should ask, whom besides your family have you had the longest relationship with? Is it friends from kindergarten, elementary school, or junior high or high school? You have probably seen that some friendships are life long, and others for a season. Of your lifelong relationships, you have probably noticed that keeping them Jesus centered, keeps them thriving. When selfishness erupts its ugly head, relationships suffer. So when we decide to love one another is any relationship whether long term or for a season, selflessness can make relationship flow more smoothly. When we decide to prefer one another, and forgive one another, relationships will become all that God intended. So start loving one another more fervently, and have thriving authentic relationships that bring you joy.

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I love this quote from the book Authentic Relationships. “A self centered life is its own punishment.” When we expect and demand things from others, we miss out on the very best life we can experience in Christ. We miss out on the blessing of God when we live selfishly. Jesus taught us that a selfless life is its own reward! When we live selflessly, we experience the joy of showing God’s love authentically. We experience the best of God’s blessings in this life. His favor, His abundance naturally flows to those who give of themselves on a regular basis. So this is a pretty easy formula to follow. Live selfishly, and miss out on the best of life, or live selflessly and receive the best life has to offer. It reminds me of the scripture in Deuteronomy 30:19 that says I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore, choose life, that you and your family can live. It’s like a duh, what are you going to choose? LIFE! So back to our topic of today, you have the choice, love others selflessly and you are choosing the very best life of all. Enjoy all the rewards this joy FULL life has to offer.

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