Two Ways Jesus Treated Others

As Christians, we certainly want to behave as closely as possible to the way Jesus did. We constantly pray to be made more like Jesus.  We want to be like Him in every way, His forgiveness, His compassion, His mercy, His unwillingness to compromise with sin. So let's take a look at the two biggest, in my humble opinion,  attributes Jesus displays in His interactions with people. Let's look at two attitudes Jesus displays.
1) He behaved as holy, but not holier-than-thou. Phillipians 2:3-11 warns us not to have the attitude that we are somehow better than those around us. It explains that even Jesus,  who was, in fact, equal to God,  humbled Himself to the form of a servant.  Folks, if Jesus treated others with respect,  who are we to stick our pious noses in the air when dealing with people who we see as "less" holy than we are? We didn't get holy on our own! In fact, scripture says that our own righteousness is filth before God (Isaiah 64:6). So remember that verse the next time you begin to feel self-importance rise up in you, repent, and then represent! In John 4:1-27 we see a prime example of Jesus being holy, but not holier-than-thou. We see the Samaritan woman, who a normal Jewish rabbi would never have considered speaking to, being actively engaged by Jesus.  She is treated with care and gentleness. He acknowledged her bad lifestyle,  but still allowed her to become one of the first female evangelists! We have to learn from this example that we must never be "too good" to spend time with, and present the gospel to, those that have been marginalized. In Luke 7:36-50 we see yet another example of Jesus treating an unsaved person with grace. Jesus was at a religious leader's home for a meal, and this woman came in and fell at His feet, weeping, and washing His feet with her tears and her hair. In His holiness,  He allowed this extravagant display of repentance. In His "not holier-than-thou" attitude,  He reprimanded the religious leaders who began to complain among themselves,  reminding them that the woman had provided for Him a service that they had been too arrogant to provide. Finally,  in Mark 1:40-41 we see Jesus willing to physically touch someone untouchable in order to heal them. This man had a horrible skin disease,  and to touch him was considered "unclean". Thus example shows us that we are called to get our precious hands dirty in ministry!
2) He was compassionate, not condemning. Jesus came into contact with sinful people every day. So do we. If we are to be Jesus' representatives, we should behave as He did. He never ignored the sins of those he met, but he confronted them with compassion, not condemnation. In Mark 2:1-12 we read that Jesus meets a paralytic man. We read that not only does He willingly heal the man, but addresses the issue of his sinfulness as well. And how does this happen? Does Jesus say, "you are sinful, I can not be near you"? No, quite the opposite.  He says "your sins are forgiven." He shows love, not a judgemental attitude!  He never told the man to straighten up his life, and THEN he would be healed. Mercy came first. Another example of Jesus showing compassion rather than condemnation can be found in John 8:1-11. Here we find some poor woman who has not only committed sin, but has managed to get caught. We see that the religious leaders are ready to stone her to death for adultery. But Jesus turns the tables on religious law and exhibits great compassion by giving the religious leaders an ultimatum.  He says that the one of them with no sin may cast the first stone. Maybe as He was writing on the ground with His finger, He was writing out a list of their sins (purely speculation of course). Of course,  we see that there is a slow shuffling away of any stone-throwers, and Jesus is left alone with the woman.  Here we see the great compassion, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. " Jesus always showed compassion.  Even at the very end of His ministry,  when He hung on the cross,  He asked the Father to have mercy on the people (Luke 23:32-34).
If we want to be successful as followers, disciples, of Jesus Christ,  we must learn to behave as He behaved.  We must cast down our self-importance and pour out the Savior's heart before those He loves.

He Wants Us to Want Him

Does anyone remember that old song, "I want you to want me"? Well, I'm not sure about the lyrics,  but the title could be the subtitle to the Holy Bible.  God's greatest desire is for us, His favored creation,  to earnestly desire Him. Reading through the scriptures,  you can hear His voice calling down through the corridors of time, declaring His love for us in millions of ways, and asking for that love to be reciprocated. In fact, that is the main reason for our existence: loving our Creator. He tells us that if we will take steps towards Him,  He will come to us (James 4:8). Drawing near to God may sound intimidating, but nothing could be further from the truth.  All you have to know is how to speak. He is there, waiting for you to ask, seek, knock. He is your Father,  he adores you.  He has waited for unknown millions of years to have you confide in Him. First Chronicles 28:9 tells us to know God, that if we look for Him, He will be found by us. There is no place you can go where God cannot be found. Wherever you are,  whatever you've been through or done, God wants you. He loves you,  and He desperately wants you to know and love Him in return. All you have to do is admit that you need the unfathomable love that only He provides,  surrender your desires and self-ownership to Him, and believe that He is. He IS. No person you will ever love can match the faithfulness of Jehovah. Jesus was willing to surrender His position as the Son of Glory, to give His body to be tortured in our place.  Do you honestly think anyone you know on earth would do that? No. Someone might do a kindness to you,  offer a helping hand,  provide a needed service,  something like that,  but no one else besides Jesus is perfectly sinless and able to appease God's judgement for you.  No one can take your place on the cross or in hell. No one else can offer you total deliverance from bondage,  heal your body, mind and spirit. There is no relationship more important than the relationship between you and Jesus.  He wanted you before He formed the earth, and He wants you to want Him. And no matter where you look, you will never find a relationship more satisfying.

Made for Ministry

 You matter. He matters. She matters. We all, members together of the body of Christ,  matter. We matter to God, we matter to the "church", we matter to each other.  The scriptures say we are all part of a building,  that we are "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5). We each have an inborn purpose for which we are set apart by God.  Each of us was brought into the world with a set of specific skills, and talents, that were meant to be used for the glory of God and the edification of the body of Christ.  Now, not everyone will go into "the ministry", because not everyone has been called to the specific offices of pastor, evangelist, prophet,  etc. Not everyone will lead Sunday school or work in the church office. But, and hear me on this, EVERYONE who trusts in Jesus as savior and Lord, is called to be in "ministry".
 No matter where you work, or even IF you work, you are, as a disciple of Christ,  called to munister the gospel to the people you interact with.  Whether you are in a boardroom,  a storeroom, or your children's bedroom,  it's the call of God on your life to speak God's love and redemption, the truth about sin, repentance and forgiveness to your audience.  It doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, healthy or sick, married or single: you have an audience somewhere.
 Don't let the enemy tell you that you don't matter. God made you exactly perfect for the ministry He has called you to.  He gave you talents, skills and experiences that no one else has.  He gave you the right message for just the right moment to bless a certain someone. You matter. You are needed. You are important,  immeasurably important.  If no one else is telling you that,  I am here to tell you that God thinks you are so important that He has you engraved on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). So get on your knees and accept the love of Jesus,  and thank Him for making you perfect for your ministry,  and then...GO MINISTER!

Totally Abandoned to God

Matthew 4:18-20 tells the story of some professional fishermen being called into their eternal destiny by Jesus Christ.  If you look in your Bible at the last verse, you will notice that the men "at once" left everything and went after Jesus.  They didn't make preparation for their business,  they didn't go home and let their families in on the plan, they just got out of the boat and went. They became totally abandoned to God.  It makes me wonder if I am totally abandoned to God.  What have I left behind in order to fully follow after God?  Have I fully left everything,  have I allowed God total reign? Is there any part of my personal life that still keeps me maybe a little separated from where Jesus wants to take me? Can people who have been around me for a long time tell a difference in me since I started following God? These questions are for you too. What have you sacrificed, what have you put aside to follow after the Master? Take some time to think and pray about these questions.  Ask God if there is anything you are doing or saying,  or not doing or saying,  that's keeping some distance between you and His will for your life.

Are You a Defeated Christian?

If you take an honest look around at church, and if you know those around you intimately,  you are going to have to admit that you are looking at quite a few defeated Christians. Today's church is full of people who say they love God,  who may never miss a service,  they may even be in leadership,  but they are in bondage to something. It could be anything: lies, fears, alcohol or drug use,  pornography,  unforgiveness, anything.  But aren't they following Jesus?  He said He was the truth, and that if we knew Him we would be made free. So why are there so many people in the church struggling with bondages? I blame political correctness. What? But why? I think the reason most Christian people are locked down by sin is because what is being preached from the pulpit today is so watered down,  has so little truth in it, that people aren't able to be made free. So many pastors are afraid of offending the delicate sensibilities of the world,  that they speak in softened, feel-good rhetoric and are too afraid to confront the sins that are prevalent in the church today. So, with self-help but no gospel being brought to the people,  it has become commonplace and accepted for people to be in bondage. Now, if you like these watery versions of the gospel,  God has given us free will,  you have every right to stay in bondage.  But you don't have to. *John 8:31-32. The answer? Get in the Word!  After you know the promise of Jesus to make you free, the next step is to line your mind up with the scriptures* Phillipians 4:8. You have control over your mind,  and when bad thoughts come your way, you ARE NOT bound to follow through on them. Replace the bad thoughts with scriptures,  recite them out loud until your mind is focused on Christ *Romans 12:2

Doubly Covered?

It occurs to me that someone might be wondering why the page is called Doubly Covered Sojourner. Well, the sojourner part is easy-this world is not my home.  As for the other part, a short explanation.  Doubly covered, covered twice. First,  and definitely more importantly,  my life, my spirit,  is covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.  Through this blood, I am protected, delivered, healed, and I have eternal life.  His blood has within it the power to destroy any and all attempts by the enemy to attack me. For the blessings of the blood of Jesus I am forever grateful.
As for the second "covered", I am talking about the fact that I am following the scriptures command of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, in which God commands that women who speak the Word of God outside their homes have their heads covered. God gives no orders as to what type of covering we are to use, only that we are to be covered.  I personally have used everything from scarves to hats to beanies. And since there's no specific outline of the exact type of covering,  I kind of feel that churches that ordain specific rules and regulations concerning the size,  shape, color or design are adding man-made ordinances to the scriptures.  The covering is meant to be an outward visible sign that the woman accepts her position in the God-ordained headship order. It's not a magic formula, and wearing it doesn't mean you are holier than those who don't.  It's simply a sign between you and God. Easy, feminine,  obedience.

Marriage Vows

I was watching a Christian program the other day and decided that I was ready to stop watching the program and get into the scriptures. The statement that came out of my mouth was: "alright, I've heard from the marriage counselor, now I'm going to read the marriage vows." That's what the Bible is, our Husband has given us His vows, His promises, and what He expects from us, His bride. A relationship with Jesus is very much a bridal relationship. And He really expects very little of us: faithfulness, love, commitment. If we can offer these things so willingly to our earthly spouses, who in context have only faded, temporary joy to offer us in return, how much more should we offer them to our eternal Husband, who offers us nothing short of bliss, eternally? Give of yourself freely to Him who has given everything for you.