Safe Haven

Did you know seeing yourself as ‘less than’ is not healthy relating?  Did you know if you see yourself as ‘less than’ with some people, you see yourself as ‘more than’ with others?  Neither are healthy ways of relating to people.

God entered into our world to live, die, be buried and raised up again to bring us back in relationship with Him, so we could live the way He created us to originally live.  In this relationship, is a safe place for God to show you how you are relating.

Oh I don’t think any of us relate well all the time, and we all have much to learn to be more like Jesus; but I think some of us have some very unhealthy ways of relating to others.  Jesus summed up all the commandments this way; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, body and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Loving God is that intimacy with Him, the source of life itself.  Loving others is that mission we have here on this earth, to work with God to reflect Him everywhere and loving ourselves is the joy of the journey. 

God cares about relationship, thus He cares about how we relate.  For those of us that might have been treated with shame and motivated by fear, these 2 emotions may have become a constant state for us.   

But there is freedom and God is that safe haven where we can learn to relate well and be more like Jesus.

Let us ask God to release us today and show us practically how He wants us to work with Him so we can be everything He created us to be; live to our full potential in Him. 

God is a conversationalist

  God is a conversationalist

God is a God of conversation.  According to Steven Furtick we do not do that today; we comment.  I believe that is true.

One of my favourite things to do is sit with someone, have coffee and hear their story.  If there is anyway I can participate with God to encourage, inspire, tell the person about Jesus I will; but usually I listen.  

I believe we reflect Jesus when we do this.  Jesus is God's conversation with humanity.  Remember Jesus sat down beside a well and talked to a Samaritan woman.  A Jew, a rabbi, talking to a Samaritan, this was unheard of in the culture.  Not only did He talk to her, he asked her a question; a woman of questionable conduct, and a completely different belief system than His.  John 4:7-8/A woman, a Samaritan, came to draw water. Jesus said, “Would you give me a drink of water?”  (The Message)

Because of conversation, the gates of Samaria were opened up.  It was started by a conversation.  John 4:39-42/Many of the Samaritans from that village committed themselves to him because of the woman’s witness: “He knew all about the things I did. He knows me inside and out!” They asked him to stay on, so Jesus stayed two days. A lot more people entrusted their lives to him when they heard what he had to say. They said to the woman, “We’re no longer taking this on your say-so. We’ve heard it for ourselves and know it for sure. He’s the Saviour of the world!”  (The Message)

God is a conversationalist.  Jesus tired from his journey, sat down, listened and listened.  

Someone who is different than you, who thinks differently, votes differently – ask, we don’t ask – Jesus can’t be the answer when a question is not posed.  You don’t have to compromise your position, if so Jesus would not have sat down with the Samaritan woman.  He did and the whole town was turned upside down.