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Truth In Love

You never know what kinds of conversations you will have in Uber. Before my husband and I bought our car, Uber was our main mode of transportation. Being an American, I would always slide into the backseat and get the, “You are not from here are you?” Or sometimes they would glance in the rearview mirror every couple of seconds and try to flirt while I would ignore them or start talking about my husband so they would get the hint. 

Now there was one conversation that I will never forget. It started off light while the driver asked me about how I arrived here to the Dominican Republic, and I shared that I was a Christian missionary. Now if you haven’t been to the Dominican Republic before, there are a lot of different types of missionaries here. There are Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, and Christians. So when I share that I am a missionary, I always try to clarify. 

After I told him how I got connected to the country, the driver started to share his past hurts from the Christian church. As I was listening to him share his story, I realized that he was talking about a very legalistic church. All I could say to him was,” I am so sorry that you were treated that way.” I tried to explain to him that there is a difference between religion and relationship, and that more than anything Jesus desires his heart. 

This is something that we really need to work on as the church. Without even realizing it, we often give people a bad taste in their mouth for Christ because of our hurtful words or actions. It shouldn’t be this way. 

We are literally an extension of Christ here on this earth. How can we reflect Christ well if we try to play God and sit in His judgment seat? 

One of the hardest things for me, recently, has been having conversations with nonbelievers. Mainly because they have this presumption that Christians are against x, y, and z; therefore, all Christians  are unloving and unaccepting.  I want to be someone who shows them the true love and acceptance of Christ, even if we do not agree on things. 

The world stands for everything that God is against. It is a major challenge being a disciple of Christ in today’s world as we have so many coming against us claiming that we are offensive while, at the same time, they mock Jesus and everything we believe in. I have to continually ask the Holy Spirit to give me words as I speak to people about my values. My desire is not to offend others, but to speak truth in love and ultimately show them that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. It is a mighty hard challenge. 

It is a scary world we live in. I would say that even those who are not born-again are shaking in their boots because there is so much evil and uncertainty right now. In fact, they are probably more nervous than we are because they do not have the hope of Christ like we do. So many people are lost and searching for their identity, yet placing it in things of this world. The body of Christ has this huge, amazing opportunity and responsibility to share the Gospel with them. 

I saw this little instagram reel of Lisa Bevere talking about the church in our present day. She said, “The church is known more for what it is against instead of what it is about. God loves everyone, but He doesn’t love everything. Because everything God hates is about protecting who He loves. If you truly love people, you have to hate what puts them in bondage,  not be entertained by it.” 

Ooo, this is too good, and it literally sums up everything I am trying to say! Here is the link, so you can watch the whole video. We have to get back to the heart of the Father. I pray that as the body of Christ, our hearts would break for what breaks His, and that our stomachs would twist and turn for what makes His stomach twist and turn. We have to do better. The time is near. Our Jesus is coming, and it is our responsibility, our calling to share the Gospel and speak truth in love. 

You Create the Atmosphere

Have you ever walked into someone’s home and immediately felt a sense of peace rush over you? It is like you are walking into someone else’s home, and yet you feel at home. 

Do you know why this is? It is because the Holy Spirit is present in that home.

I have LOVED being a homemaker. I truly do enjoy cleaning and creating a safe place for my husband and anyone that walks through our front door. My desire is that our home would be the Lord’s dwelling place. That every evil thing that dares to enter ends up running in every direction because Jesus is the ultimate authority and His presence is so thick and evident in our house. I pray that our home is a place where the fruits of the spirit are produced and it is our overflow as we walk out the door each day on our way to work. And I pray that as we host and invite others into our place, that they would feel their burdens fall when they enter. That they would feel heard, seen, refreshed, and leave craving more of Jesus. 

Do you know that we, women, have the honor and responsibility to cultivate a healthy environment in our homes? Women, do you know that we have spiritual authority in our homes? We are the ones who allow what comes into our homes-whether it is through what we watch, listen to, even our conversations-because the enemy is always looking for an open door.

You may be reading and you’re like, “uh, what exactly does this mean?” It means that you get to set the tone in your home and for everyone in it. I want to share with you an example. 

Growing up, my family loved to have people over. My parents hosted a small church group, we had families over for meals, we invited people that maybe didn’t have families or a place to go into our home for holidays, we had bonfires in our backyard, pool parties, game nights, you name it. Even my stubborn teenage friends or my cool, college friends enjoyed coming over. Our door was always open to whoever, and everyone felt welcomed and loved in our home. Do you want to know why? It was because my momma is a mighty woman of God. She would pray in the middle of the night, early in the morning, afternoon, literally every hour. Some of my favorite memories of living with her are waking up to her worshiping or speaking in tongues while doing her hair, and other mornings when I would walk downstairs to find her fast asleep with her Bible open wide on her lap. She fought in prayer for us and for everyone that came into our home, and it made the difference. 

I aspire to be like my momma Linda. As my husband and I think about starting our own family soon, I think about the habits that I want to form or even work on in order to create an atmosphere that ushers in the presence of God in my home. Here are some things that I am working on:

–Praying through my home more. Seriously, there is so much power in this. I take my anointing oil, lay my hands on things, and I pray in every room. I pray over the conversations that will happen at our dining table, the things that we watch or listen to and that the Lord would give us conviction and discernment on what we allow in our home. I pray over our room and that the Lord guards us from any temptation and is the glue in our marriage. I pray over our office and finances that we are good stewards and that we recognize that Jesus is always our source. I cover every room in prayer and plead the blood of Jesus over every entrance. 

–Play worship in our home more. I do this when cooking, cleaning, any chance I get really! I especially like to do this when people are coming over. Which leads me to the next one! 

–Praying in our home right before people come over. I pray over the individuals, whatever they may be wrestling with, and that they would feel the presence of Jesus in our home.

–Changing my attitude about house chores. Okay, I know I said I love cleaning, and I truly do. However, there are times when the piles of laundry seem endless, and I want to scream. I heard someone say that they use cleaning as an opportunity to pray over their family or friends. For example, while they are folding their husband’s clothes, they pray for him. While they wash and put away dishes from having guests over, they pray for those people. I love this! And I think it really puts our hearts in a place of gratitude instead of grumbling. 

I think I could keep going on for a while, but I will stop here. There are so many things that we can do to usher in the Lord’s presence in our homes. You can shift the atmosphere through prayer, adoration, and discerning what you allow in your home. Your home can be a place where the fruits of the spirit are produced and that draws others into a relationship with Christ. It all starts with us.

We Have This Hope

I don’t know about you, but my heart has been so heavy lately. There is SO much going on in our world right now. There are natural disasters that are affecting so many lives, constant political arguments and one side bashing the other side. Evil is no longer lurking in the shadows. It is blatant, right in front of our faces. The world has a way of taking things that the Lord made to be beautiful and twisting them into something perverted. 

With everything that is going on, nowhere in the world seems safe right now. I have to be honest that I have felt fear working its way into my heart, making every effort to cripple me. I have had to step back and recognize that the Lord foresaw everything that is happening right now. Scripture shows us that everything happening is leading up to the coming of our Jesus. 

It hit me the other day while I was in the car. I can either choose to bow to fear of all the things that will continue to unfold during these end times,  or I could cling to God’s Word that promises Jesus is coming back for His bride. I choose the latter. 

As disciples of Christ, we have this hope. We know that there will be tribulation here on Earth. But we know that the story will not end there. We hold to the hope that we are covered in the blood of the Lamb, and no matter what happens here on Earth, we have eternal life through Christ Jesus. Our citizenship is in heaven. One day Jesus will come back for us.

Romans 14:10-11 tells us that there will be a day where all will stand at the judgment seat of God. 

“For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.”

Philippians 2:9-11 says, “For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow-in heaven and on earth and under the earth-and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

I don’t know about you, but these Scriptures give me chills! EVERY knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. There is power in the name of Jesus, and He is the ultimate authority. 

In a world that seems scary and a time that seems so uncertain, we cling to Jesus Christ. He is our hope. And we endure and run this race until the day that He comes back for us. This will be a glorious day where He will make all things new.

 “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more because the previous things have passed away. Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write because these words are faithful and true.” (Revelation 21:4-5)