Sitting at Forza

I'm at my favorite coffee shop today in the whole world.  Its the Parkland Forza.  Nothing special about why i like coming here i just have since my junior year in high school.  But thats not what i'm talking about today. Today I am learning what it means to practice what you preach in a hard way.

If you haven't caught on by now I am going to ministry and i'll be a pastor soonish, but I find myself having more problems being a christ follower when i try to do more for my faith.  Most of what i'll write is about my thoughts or even a bit of my struggles as a pastor hopeful.

Today Practicing what i preach.  In two weeks i'll be preaching twice and I don't have both ready but i know for one i want to preach about How to Love.  Not a purity talk by the way. I just want to show what the bible says about loving everyone and how to do so.

I know its easy to love those who love you back, thats no challenge.  That also doesn't show us what Christ love was about.  I have even gone so far as to figure out how to love my enemies, quite a challenge.  But even this doesn't teach me what Jesus' love was all about completely at least.

This last week has taught me a few of the pains that i believe Jesus feels.  One tho is about how Jesus loves us.  The question was asked this last week, "Does the bible say I need to love sinners?"  I listen to the discussion go down and was kinda shocked at how people reacted.  1 Thessalonians 5:21 "Test everything that is said" We are told to love everyone so asking why isn't a bad question.  I actually liked the fact someone was bold, or dumb enough to even ask.  So i started thinking about what he said as a reason why he wasn't sure.  "I don't know if i can love someone who doesn't love Jesus"

My sermon was going to be about why we should love all people and then how.  With a simple 3 step process: Identify, Invest, and intercede.  I was sooooooooo proud that i managed to make my sermon have some alteration. I was set and ready to go, but you know as a good Christian i  pray "God let everything i preach be from you." Then the Holy Spirit of God, who guides me and teaches me, gave me a little taste of reality and the practice what i preach came together.

I would say I am good at meeting people outside church and loving them.  Others have said i'm "skilled" or "gifted" in that area. So i thought I was a good person to even talk about this.  I had many learning experiences thru middle school high school, all public school too.  I was not ready for the Holy Slap in the face by the Holy Spirit i got this last week.

I have a friend who i can say i love dearly.  I care about this person and would do just about anything for this person.  I can let my emotion guards down and actually talk about the personal things in my life, that won't be blogged about.  I've known this person for over a year and we have had a lot happen.  We have fought and made up multiple times and once even took all summer to get over.  We butt heads often but i love my friend all the same. I am always willing to listen and i enjoy having someone i trust to talk to.

Lately tho my friend has been acting differently around me.  They will be nice and friendly one day then the next be cold and ignore me.  For a while i kind of blew it off but now its when different people are around they act differently.  Its so fast paced and crazy I can't keep up.  I felt like a stepping stone only kept around cuz I'm useful as a tall strong man. I was getting ready to close myself up and be a friend to this person but they would never be my friend again.  I would not let them be a part of my life and wreck my day for whatever their issue is, and justly so.  At least i thought.

The book of Hosea is about God's love for us and what he deals with.  Hosea is a prophet who is told to marry a prostitute, so he finds one named Gomer, as crazy as it sounds.  His wife goes back to work often and Hosea has to buy her back knowing what she has done.  That sounds rough, like my first thought is get that divorce man!  But thats not how God deals with me, or you.  God loves us and has bought us back by the blood of the spotless lamb.  I don't always choose God first and I am forgiven for it every time i mess that up.

So now what? Of course i know that i need to love my sinner friends and love people at the church, but i also have to choose to love those who flip back and forth in my life and make it difficult to live day to day. Jesus called his disciples friends in John 15.  He says "I confide in you." Jesus had to forgive those guys often. They betrayed him, ran when he was in danger, and were his biggest fans.  If jesus has called me to love like he has loved then i think what i need to do is preach that message.  That's a love is the tough but is  what Jesus taught us to do.