2nd Chr 7:14“If my people humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from Heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
As I delve deeper into this scripture, I find John 13:34-35:
“So I give now a new commandment. Love each other just as much as I have loved you. When you demonstrate the same love, I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you are my true followers.”
While my tribe tries to love as Jesus loved, we find ourselves frustrated and hindered in our own progress because of foolish thinking. We still hold on to anger and discord, using inappropriate emotions to justify our actions, even when we believe we are right.
I received a request from a group to pray for a fellow tribe member. In a fit of rage, a friend who saw the request demanded to know the reason for her prayer request, asserting his authority as a gospel minister. He then attacked several women in the group who were trying to correct him. While this person knows Jesus and who He is, he doesn’t fit in the tribe when he’s not honoring the person asking for prayer.
Jesus calls them difficult to love. The ones that use the terms God has stated as “wicked ways” and have their own version of the gospel.
A few days ago I was sharing something on fb saving a baby’s life, and a classmate asked me when I had changed my viewpoint as he thought I supported abortion.
I believe we need to provide discipleship for women who have had abortions. They need compassion and someone to help them with the shock of what occurred, yet because a group doesn’t do any type of comfort care when they picket abortion clinics, I don’t follow them. Here lies their miscommunication.
Although we don’t need to comprehend the motives behind someone’s actions, we must embrace the emotional aspect before reacting. We deal with sin every day; act out our emotions of anger, fear, and anxiety. The ones who should love seem unlovable when we don’t.
My friend opened his church in Spokane to the gay community. They come to worship together. They prioritize their love for God over their relationships. Despite the work my friend has done, the church community will picket my friend’s church during their service times on Sunday.
We must find the answer to our actions. It’s frustrating when I minister to someone living a lifestyle that goes against God’s ordination, especially when we do things together. A person from a group I mentioned earlier picketed an abortion clinic, pickets a drag show event and accosted my friend and her daughter. Our friendship was cut off.
Still seeking ways to mend those relationships, as they deeply wound my soul and disrupt family unity. Despite years of giving gifts, this person has not responded. Their mistaken perception of Jesus and their confusion about my identity cause me pain.
My favorite scene in “The Chosen” is when Jesus and the disciples stand outside the Temple of the god Pan. They watch as people enter the temple and Jesus greets them. This is the Jesus I follow. He loves without wavering. And Jesus doesn’t accuse them of their journey as my friend was accused of going to hell because she and her daughter went to a drag show.
https://youtu.be/QjQftj3ggms?si=0X1E79AGt0mTu-Na
This is who my tribe is:
We aren’t perfect, but we are still called by His Name, and when we turn from our wicked ways, He will hear us and forgive us and heal our land.
2nd Chr 7:14 should be our motto for life, our manifesto to walk out. It guides us to love as He does and calls us to in John, bringing the unlovable back to the Father’s heartbeat. Because we walk in the sound of His heartbeat’s cadence.
Eagle's Garden 