it all comes down to love

The topic of self-control could pretty much go in any direction you want it to. 

“Don’t do this”

Don’t do that”

“Be careful for this”

“Watch out for that”

All of those are phrases you will hear connected to self-control… or religion in general, if you ask me (Nicole).  The time I’ve spent in church and “in religion”, I have noticed one big thing:  There are a heck of a lot of rules and regulations and not enough love.

There’s judgment.  Plenty of judgment.  But, not love.

There’s condemnation, but not love.

There are long “you need to work on this” lists, but not love.

But, what did Jesus say about love?

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. “ John 13:34

Before we get going on this self-control week, I really wanted to make this point clear…

Jesus loves YOU.  He love YOU.

Not the you that you wish you could be.  Not the you that makes less mistakes.  Not the you who swears that you’ll change your ways.  He love you. 

He loves me.  In the middle of my mess, in the middle of my sin. 

The responsibility of us as Christians and as the church isn’t to be the “fill-in” judge for God while He sits in heaven.  That’s still HIS job.  Our job is to love.

Love is how the world will know that we belong to Jesus.

The posts that you will see this week aren’t to judge you of the sins that you’ve found yourself in.  They haven’t been written to nag you like a boring parent until you give in and do what you’re told.  But, they’ve been written to encourage you to live a life according the the freedom that we’ve found in Christ. 

I wanted you to know that we love you and we’re sinners just like you.  Sinners who need grace, love, and mercy just like you.

Sinners who have no place, I mean NO PLACE to judge you.

We want to learn how to love like Jesus loves.  And we’re learning a day at a time.

Here’s a quote that I want to leave you with.  It’s from a current book that I’m reading and it is incredible.  If you want more information or want to talk more about this, please email me (livelearnlovetogether@yahoo.com)! 

"We have fed the world a lie. They believe that a life with Jesus is about living within the lines. However, the truth is that God's will opens a world of possibilities that were previously unavailable to us. You were never meant to live as a slave or a soldier, but as a free man. Maybe we find it so hard to follow God's commandments, because we see them as commandments instead of as liberating truth." Craig Kinsley

Love y’all.

Nicole