RELATIONSHIPS NOW!

Today's affirmation from A Year In The Now...

"Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a [purely] human point of view [in terms of natural
standards of value] . . . ."
(2 Corinthians 5:16 – AMP)

Today I will live in the now! I will live in the now because of the covenant relationships in my life and the way that they reveal Jesus to me. The people in my life – family, loved ones, acquaintances, business partners, neighbors, friends (both close and distant), and enemies alike – are all working out a higher purpose in me and, therefore, I will thank God for them all!


Today I will succeed because I walk in love, and love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). The God-kind of love is shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost, and that love will enable me to exist in a supernatural dimension of harmony, forgiveness and grace toward everyone with whom I come into contact.


Today I will enjoy the comfort of friendship. Knowing that "a friend loves at all times . . ." (Proverbs 17:17), I will believe and accept that I am loved. I deserve friends because I have shown myself friendly (18:24), and today my life will be improved because of them, as iron sharpens iron (27:17).


Today I will embrace the benefits of commitment. I will not be hesitant to make a required withdrawal from the lives of those into whom I have made an investment. I will give of myself freely, fully understanding the demands imposed upon me by my relationships, ignoring the risks. I will ask for help when I need it.


Today I will speak the truth in love. ("Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." – Proverbs 27:6) Life is in the power of the tongue, so I will not avoid confrontation when necessary, nor fear possible rejection, because there is no fear in love.


Today I will be unselfish with my time and attention. I will let those who play significant roles in my life know how important they are to me by my words and by my actions. I will be touchable.




Today I will work toward improving my relationship with God, with others, and with myself. My life will be enriched by relating to people. Today I will make a connection, and today I will live in the now!

Father, help me to value my relationships today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

BALANCING ACT: Rightly Dividing the Scriptures

These verses have always intrigued me, and, without going into detail, I've had to refer to them quite a bit lately. They have to do with human relationships and interaction...issues we all have to deal with every day. First, here's an excerpt from the intro to The Gospels In The Now which is pertinent to this:

The Bible is a miracle – not a book, but a collection of 66 books written by 40 authors over a period of 1,500 years in different languages to different people groups in different generations for different purposes. Therefore, the Scriptures must be rightly divided instead of wrongly connected. In other words, each book must be judged in its own context and on its own terms, whether it confirms any other book or not. In this way, biblical contradictions are not only acknowledged and accepted...they are expected. I celebrate the tension caused by the conflicting viewpoints of the writers who had different paradigms of God; their contradictions make the Bible literally pulsate with life! And amazingly, in spite of the given contention, the confirmation of Jesus, the Christ, is still the glue that holds the whole collection together!

SERPENTS/SNAKES

Here Jesus tells His disciples to approach their relationships with the wisdom (mindset) of a snake (the symbol of satan), while maintaining the peaceful temperament of the dove (the symbol of the Holy Spirit)...

I say all of this to you because you need to know that I’m really sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. And to be able to survive this hazardous work, you’re going to have to develop the flexibility to be wary and wise as serpents when necessary, and to still be innocent and guileless as doves. I realize that no two animals are less similar in temperament than a snake and a dove, so I’m really asking you to do the impossible.
(Matthew 10:16 - Matthew In The Now)

JUDGE/DON'T JUDGE

No doubt, these two passages are talking about two different things, but at first glance it appears that Jesus is telling us not to judge anyone/anything, while Paul is saying to judge everyone/everything!

But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
(1 Corinthians 2:15 - NKJV)

But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].
(1 Corinthians 2:15 - Amplified Bible)

But Jesus says...

“Don’t set yourself up as a judge who takes the liberty of casually condemning others, or even as a critic who thinks that he or she has the right to criticize them, because when you do that, you set a universal law into motion that will inevitably bring negative things back into your own life. In other words, don’t judge so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves. For in direct proportion to your judgment, criticism and condemnation of others, you will be personally judged and criticized and condemned. It’s just the way the law works. And in accordance with the measure you use to deal out to others…whatever you may deal out…it will be dealt out again to you. You define the terms of your own life in this sense. (Matthew 7:1, 2 - Matthew In The Now)

THINK LIKE A CHILD/DON'T THINK LIKE A CHILD

And what about this?

Then the disciples came up and asked Jesus, “Who, in your estimation, is really the greatest in the Kingdom of/from the heavens?” But instead of directly answering their question, He first called a little child over to Himself, and placed him in the center of the room, and once they had focused on the child, He said to them, “Boys, I really and truly want you to get this…unless you change the way you think about things…until your mind is cleansed from your cynicism and competitiveness with one another…until you have a paradigm shift that moves you from the silliness of being ‘childish’, so that you can enter the freedom of becoming ‘child-like’…and until you grasp the difference between these two concepts…you’re never going to be subjects in My Kingdom at all! Whoever will remove the mental clutter of adulthood, so that he or she can re-connect with what is the best part of childhood…the simple, basic ideas of trust…humility…love…forgiveness…imagination…that person will rank very high in the Kingdom of/from the heavens.
(Matthew 18:1-4 - Matthew In The Now)

But Paul says...

Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults. (1 Corinthians 14:20 - TNIV)

Again, I realize these Scriptures are referring to different situations, which is my point about "rightly dividing" as opposed to "wrongly connecting" passages. But the spirit of the letter is pervasive throughout all holy writ, and when it comes to human relationships, we find certain challenges in locating applicable Scriptures by which to live. We all want to walk in love, but we don't want to be taken advantage of. We want to believe for the best in people, without being naive to the darker side of human nature. We attempt to "know no man after the flesh", but it generally takes some real effort to look beyond the obvious humanity of someone and really see the divinity in him or her, especially when that person has used us or lied to us.

I guess I'm just thinking out loud about these things...here's one more verse I find very interesting...

But Jesus [for His part] did not trust Himself to them, because He knew all [men]; And He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man [needed no evidence from anyone about men], for He Himself knew what was in human nature. [He could read men's hearts.]
(John 2:24, 25 - Amplified Bible)

Relationships...it's a journey...

LITN XVII, Verses 1 - 19

1. Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Look...it's inevitable that people are going to do things that cause other people to stumble, but it's so regrettable for that one who causes it to happen.

2. In fact, it would actually be better for an individual to have one of those huge grinding-stones that they use in the mills fastened around his neck, and then be sunk in the depth of the sea, than to hurt one of these precious, little ones…or to abuse them in any way…or take advantage of their simple trust…or cause them to grow up and become less than what they should have been.

3. So watch yourselves. Furthermore, if your brother or sister wrongs you in any way, you should have the integrity to go and tell him or her about it, directly, and keep the conversation and the whole matter between the two of you. And if he or she gets what you're saying and has a change of heart and apologizes, you have no choice but to forgive them.

4. I mean even if they offend you seven times in a day, and seven times come back to you saying 'I sincerely apologize,' you must forgive them."

5. When the disciples heard how high His standard was for them in this area, they said to Him, "Lord, increase our faith to be able to deal with people in this way!"

6. He replied, "If you have faith, even as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be re-planted in the sea,' and the thing will actually obey you. In other words, you can do this.

7. This is how I want you to look at it. Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing in the field, or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and just say to him, 'Sit down here and eat'?

8. Wouldn't you be more likely to say, 'Prepare my supper first, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink...and after that you may have your supper.'?

9. Now, does the servant get special thanks for simply doing what's expected of him?

10. Well, it's the same with you. When you've done everything that's expected of you, you should simply say, "We're just doing our job...carrying out what we were told to do.'"

11. Later, on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus was travelling along the border between Samaria and Galilee.

12. And as He was going into a certain village, ten men who were stricken with leprosy came to meet Him, but they stood at a distance.

13. And they all called out together in one, loud voice, "Jesus...Master...have compassion on us!"

14. When He saw and heard them, He said, "All right...go...show yourselves to the priests." And they did as He said, and as they went they were completely cleansed from their disease.










15. But one of them, when he realized that his body was healed and made like new, came right back to find Him, all the while praising God in a loud voice.

16. When He at last saw Jesus, he ran up to Him, threw himself at His feet, and thanked and praised Him, profusely. And, for the record, the man was a Samaritan.

17. Jesus said to him, "Sir, your praise is excellent...but were not all ten men cleansed as you were? Where are the other nine?

18. Seriously...was no one able or thoughtful enough to return and give praise to God except for this one foreigner?"

19. Then he said to the man, "All right...get up and go into your new life as a well man...re-enter society...and know that your own faith has made you well."