Loving but still rejected by many?

Jesus was so loving to people around him and he also wanted the best for people and helped them.  He also held great wisdom which some bible scholars of the time felt intimidated by.  Who is this person trying to teach us of all people?  I don't think they were too impressed with Jesus' confidence and call to teach them and saw Jesus as a big threat to their egos and self importance!

Jesus was often misunderstood and rejected by many despite him tyring to help people. Have you ever felt like Jesus?  To still love people who reject us is not easy but Jesus still did it on the cross.  When Jesus was dying he shouted 'Father forgive them for they do not know what they do' - Luke 23 v24.  Jesus forgave even his killers - wow what kind of love is this?  Certainly this is divine love that cannot be equalled with earthly love.  Earthy love leans towards loving those that only love us back.  God's love should give us a picture of what we can strive to do; to love unconditionally.  May be we can ask God for wisdom as to why people may turn to hate and this may bring clarity to situations, where we are then able to bring some thought, love and opportunity to bring heaven into a situation. 

Empathy and Compassion

Jesus emphasised the importance of empathy and compassion for those who misunderstand us and reject us.  Have you ever been rejected?  It's probably one of the most hurtful things you can feel however God wants us to still love through our rejection and pain. Through it we can learn to lean into God who will never let us down and let that be our stability and confidence. If we don't we may become depressed or bitter about situations that can only lead to self harm in the end.  

Seeking Understanding

God understands you, even if others don't.  We can feel secure in knowing that God created you and understands you completely.  We can use misunderstandings by others as a learning experience.  What can I learn about God through this negative experience?  Do I need to learn to forgive others?

Inner Growth

Rather than focussing on external validation from others, it's important to focus on our relationship with God and our own personal growth in character and wisdom.  Knowing God loves us and has created us as we are, we can stand secure and use our lives to help others rather than create further barriers of hate and discord. Rom 12 v 18 - For as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  God is saying it depends on us very much if we will forgive or not. We can't change the other person but as long as we are helping ourselves then that's all God asks of us. 

Mark 12 v 10-11 - The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone (which can also be found in Psalm 118 22-23).

If Jesus was rejected by many, then he was using this to show us that we may also be rejected in life, it's inevitable at some point. How will we respond?  What will our character show when times are difficult and friends are scare?  How can we ensure we survive rejection; by knowing the one who loves us more deeply than anyone else and that's God.  We can feel completely secure in that 'All things will work together for those that love God'. Rom 8 v 28.  'God is my refuge and strength a very present help in trouble'. Psalm 46 v 1. 

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a divine person and is the third person in the Holy Trinity - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

John 14, 16 says, I will ask the father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever.  John 15, 26-27 says, The helper is the spirit of truth.  When he comes he will tell about me too because you have been with me from the beginning. 

When Jesus was baptised the Holy Spirit descends onto him as a dove and means we can also receive the Holy Spirit and follow Jesus' example after baptism. The Holy Spirit will start to produce changes in us like giving us more of the fruits of the spirit such as, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. If you are new to faith you may have already noticed that you are changing for the better. 

Gal, 5 v 16 - So I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.  They are in conflict with each other so you are not to do whatever you want. But you are led by the Spirit not under the law. v 25, Since we are led by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Through the Spirit of God we are gradually changing to be more like God. Wow isn't that amazing!  We can receive the Holy Spirit through asking for it in prayer and reading God's word and building a personal relationship with Jesus through faith.  We may receive the Holy Spirit in many different ways and there are 9 gifts of the spirit, these being, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophesy, discernment, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues. 

Some people may receive some of these gifts but not necessarily all. I've seen a lot of people get hung up on receiving gifts, however I believe we should focus on working on the fruit of the spirit first then see what God will do. The purpose of all these gifts are to reveal truth about God's Kingdom either for individuals or a collective and they are not to be abused for own personal gain or power.  

Don't feel discouraged when you don't see your gifts shining through. The gifts are not necessarily loud and obvious. The gifts sometimes are given without us realising it and one day you may be chatting to someone and a word of wisdom may come out of your mouth exactly at the time the person needed to hear it, you may begin to understand the bible a lot more than you used to and a verse or passage may suddenly become illuminated to you (knowledge), you may pray for someone and they become well again, you may understand a situation before anyone else (discernment).  You may feel a strong sense you have a word from God for someone through divine intervention (prophesy), you may begin to develop a prayer language (tongues) and you may gain understanding as to what that language was meaning (interpretation of tongues). 

We are told that it is difficult for persons not of faith to understand the Holy Spirit because these gifts are not operated necessarily by knowledge, rationale or intellect but come from our spiritual minds and hearts which are opened through the decision of faith in Jesus Christ. So to receive these gifts, do not rely on your own strength and abilities (as we usually do in the world), it will only happen through God working through you by the Spirit.  God's spirit is often gentle and quiet like a dove.  When we live right it allows the dove to settle over us, when we are in sin the dove may fly away (just something for all of us to ponder on). 

1 Cor 2, 14 - The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 

How does the Holy Spirit speak to us?  You may sense God speaking to you through quiet conviction.  We may feel led to go a certain way or to make a decision about something.  We may also receive peace about a decision we have made.  God often leads us gently without us realising it and we have to trust God even if we don't know all the answers and the reasons why.  I know personally I've had to do this many times in my own life.  I don't always know the way forward but I know someone who does and that's God.  He will never let us down when we fully commit our lives to him. 

Know your Purpose - Know your Partners

Know your Purpose

Jesus was sent to earth with a divine purpose; to love mankind and to die for mankind.  He lived with great intention and used the time ordained to him to make a difference to others. 

Whatever age, we can do the same using Jesus as our example. Knowing your purpose can help you have a clearer vision of the path God might want you to take.  You may even have laser focus on the things God wants you to pursue during your lifetime.  Our earthly lives are quite fleeting, usually having 70-90 years to live our lives 'What might your purpose be whilst living on earth, as it's never too late to find out?

If you are unsure, may be it's time to pray and God will start to reveal the types of things he wants you to achieve.  He knows who you are and what you are uniquely good at and will help direct you to what is right.  It says in the bible that God may even use your weaknesses for his glory!  2 Cor 12, 9-10 My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  Everyone has an individual path to greatness, but are you willing to pursue that individuality and embrace who you truly are? It's no good following the crowd, following the trends or following our own paths, as God's paths requires your uniqueness to shine out.  Do you have the courage to accept who you really are and use what you have well? 

Embracing who we truly are may not always be easy because we might not like what we see or discover in the mirror.  However, God has created you just as you are with gifts and abilities that will bless so many other people.  Other people will have differing gifts to yours and that's okay; it's part of a bigger plan for everyone to work together for greater good. 

In your purpose you will find contentment and peace.  Those who know their purpose can hold great power to help others.  God doesn't waste our experiences or hurts, and what we have learnt from those can be healing for so many others going through similar experiences. 

Know your Partners

Jesus had twelve disciples that helped him on his mission and purpose.  Paul sent them out in twos to different areas to spread the gospel.  So it is with your passions, purpose, scars, weaknesses and strengths that you carry, God may send someone to come alongside you and support what you are trying to do and achieve for a greater purpose.  As Winston Churchill once said success is moving from one failure to another without loss of enthusiasm. Partners can help us find that enthusiasm when things go wrong. You may also be called to support someone else along your journey to ease their purpose and to encourage.

Often when doing divine work, we can get very discouraged through obstacles or difficulties in our path, sometimes put there intentionally to stop us moving forward with the things God wants us to do, but a good partner can encourage you to carry on again and again.  Partnering with a good church as well who can encourage and pray for you is also very important.  Paul speaks about the people trying to help him with much love and about his passion/purpose to save people:

Phil 1 3-5 Every time I think of you, I give thanks, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ

Rom 10 v 1 My heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved 

I wrote an album in 2020/21 and knowing my purpose (which one of them is music), and knowing my partners (my husband), became very apparent.  My husband mixed and mastered all of my songs whilst I produced, performed and wrote them.  We made a good team!  And may be God brought us together for such as time as this, as without each other this may not have come about. 

Do you know our purpose and partners?  When we have the combination be sure you will be able to sky rocket to new heights with purpose and strength in all that God is calling you to do.