Sidetracked Saints

What's the Most Effective Distraction the Enemy Can Throw at Us? The One that Works!

“…Now you can have real love for everyone because your souls have been cleansed from selfishness and hatred when you trusted Christ to save you; So see to it that you really do love each other warmly, with all your hearts… get rid of your feelings of hatred and don't just pretend to be good… now that you realize how kind the Lord has been to you, put away all evil… Long to grow up into the fullness of your salvation; cry out for this as a baby cries for his milk.”  ​-1 Peter 1:22 and 2 Peter 1-3

Brothers and sisters, we are certainly living in challenging times where conflict is mainstream. People have short fuses. And love is growing cold. Even we as believers fight the temptation to solve things the world’s way in this atmosphere of chronic tension; often we are wrongly focused on fighting each-other and our neighbor.

We must not fall for the clever attempts of our enemy to distract, divide and conquer through chaos and conflict. When we take our eyes off the main thing, the Main One, we cannot effectively walk out our faith. We cannot be salt and light to a world in desperate need. We cannot love like Jesus with jealousy, selfish ambition and hate brewing in our heart.

For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. James 3:16
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These things sow into the kingdom of evil and become a blinding veil over our eyes, stunting us. And in our blindness, us as a tool to stunt our brother, sister and our neighbor. The irony here is that often the same people we dislike or are jealous of, are the same we’ve been called to partner with and serve alongside in a common call. And the same people we hate outside the body of Christ are often the same people God has put in our path to reach out to, serve, and show His overwhelming love and goodness to! Satan knows that's impossible with hate in the way; it is a great manipulating force.

Remember, Jesus died for us while we were His enemies. When we were trapped in our sin and mess, with no way out and without any hope. There was nothing we had to offer Him and there was nothing we could do to appeal to His decision. He died for us, knowing everything about us before we even lived a single moment of it, whether we’d accept it or not.

If you’ve hung around here long enough, you know I spent about the first decade of my faith volleying back and forth between God and the world… To think there was something the dark had that could fill a need better than God, that it had anything it could offer me, is absurd now. But that’s the blindness of sin and self-deception.

Jesus continually pursued me, into the muck and mire, where Purity and Perfection should not go. Under belittling scrutiny, chronic doubt and convenient rejections, He’d tell me I didn’t have to live this way-always going back to these empty things; there was Better. The Way, The Truth, and The Life waited while I sought my own ways, truths and life apart from Him. And each time He’d gently take my hand and lead me out knowing full well I’d return later, no matter how remorseful I seemed or what I promised Him. He knew my faithfulness was fair-weathered. But that never stopped His search and rescue missions.

If anyone was a lost cause, if anyone deserved it less, it’d certainly have been me. I say all this to tell you, you are not too far gone, and neither is your neighbor. We’re all in progress and our good God is so patient and loving with us. Shouldn’t we have this same heart of love and pursuit for others?

When we get a revelation of His love and the lengths He went and still goes for us (and for our fellow man, believer and unbeliever!), the natural response becomes a submitted, sold-out heart of indebted gratitude! And where hearts are right before God, there is an intrinsic reverence of Him, and an innate respect of who and what He has created! And the desire to reciprocally extend what we ourselves received, knowing it was totally undeserved and impossible to earn. This rightful understanding keeps us humble before God and man.
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When we unite as one body, striving towards our ultimate mission, the church functions beautifully as God designed and can most effectively do its life-saving, life-transforming work. It can be a blessing to those within it’s walls and within it’s reach. Oh that we would let the fire of God ignite our hearts, and compel us to do just that…
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What would it look like if we resisted the enemy's efforts to thwart God's work and instead proactively allowed God to sow love and peace in and through us, even if it meant suffering for it?

How would our communities look dramatically different if we saw our differences as interconnecting pieces, instead of dividing forces, that prepared and propelled us for God’s glory, purposes, and greater plan?
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8 Truths Right from the Word

1. We are first and foremost Christians, founded on God’s Word. Loving God first and most of all is our fixed foundation. This properly aligns and empowers us to then love our neighbor by the Word’s standards and in the strength of Christ. We never define ourselves by any other thing, role, or relationship first or more than Christ. His Word is the “filter” through which we see everything, first and foremost (Mat. 6:33; Heb. 4:12; Mat. 22:34-40)
2. God created every single person in His image. Our great God designed diversity to equip and unify people in the joint accomplishment of His purposes for His glory! He uniquely created each of us, as different pieces with specific roles to use as part of one body, though many members, one church, though many churches, with one ultimate mission (Gen 1:27; Gal. 3:28; 1 Cor. 12; Rom. 3 & 12).
3. God so loved the people He created in His image, that He sent Jesus, who died to save every individual, without partiality, who accepts His sacrifice. Our brothers and sisters in Heaven will be from EVERY tribe, language, people group and nation just like they are now here on Earth!! These are mentioned for our sake; but in Christ we are one (Gen 1:27; Jn. 1:12, 13; Jas. 3:9; Rev. 5:8; 1 Cor. 12:12).
4. God defines and secures our identity and purpose. We do not get this from anyone or anything else; and no one can take it away. We don’t have to fight for the acknowledgement and accolades of people or contend with others, such as our brothers and sisters, for significance or promotion. We focus on the work He’s given us and trust that He’s going to get us where He wants us, give us what we need, and promote us all in His timing (Col. 1:15-23; Dan 2:21; Ps. 75:6,7; 1 Pet. 5:6)
5. God made our brothers and sisters our partners; we are not opponents. We’re family! We lift others up, share burdens; celebrate victories, gifts and talents! We praise what God is doing in the lives of others and acknowledge the things He created them to excel at! The success of our brothers and sisters is ultimately our success because it’s a win for Christ! And that’s cause for celebration! (Jas 3; 1 Cor. 12; Rom. 12; 1 Thes. 5:11) 
6. Jesus never resorted to verbal or physical violence but instead trusted God as His vindicator and responded in peace! We never repay evil for evil, as man’s ways and anger DO NOT produce God’s results. We instead overcome evil with good! We actively love, show mercy, do good, bless, and pray for even our enemies. We live and respond peaceably as far as it depends on us (1 Pet 3:8-22; Rom. 12:17-21; Gal. 5:16-26; Mat. 5:43-48; Jas. 1:19-20; Luk. 6:27-36; Rom 12:18)
7. Jesus never used His authority for personal gain or leveraged His position to take advantage or retaliate. He instead gave up his divine privileges, submitting himself to God’s greater plan and purpose. He humbled Himself, descending to the position of a slave to sacrificially love and serve man, even through suffering, humiliation, betrayal and ultimately death (1 Pet. 3:18; Phil. 2: 3-11; 1 Pet. 2:18-25; Jn 10, 12, 14; Mat. 4:1-11; Pro. 17:13)
8. God gives us everything we need as we rely on Him! He gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. Equips us with “armor” for protection, a specific set of “weapons,” told us who the real enemy is (not people!), and what we're truly fighting (spiritual forces behind evil attitudes and actions!). We DO NOT fight as humans do. We DO NOT conform to the ways of this world but all the ways of God (2 Pet. 1:3, Eph 6, 2 Cor 10:3; 2 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 12:1-3)​​

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“Don't criticize and speak evil about each other, dear brothers. If you do this, you will be fighting against God's law of loving one another, declaring it wrong. But your job is not to decide whether this law is right or wrong, but to obey it.” James 4:11

Let’s be real here. If we complain and contend against our fellow believer, who is doing the work God has called them to, think about which kingdom we’re really sowing in, what’s really at the center of our heart, and who we are really fighting – GOD! Some notable examples of this very thing are found in Exodus 12 & 14, and Acts 5:33-49. Scary!
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If we feel led to address something, we always submit it in prayer, check our heart and motives, ensure it is aligned with the Word and always do it God’s way!

FREEING TRUTH
God so loved the people He created that he sent Christ, who died for everyone. We are Christians first and foremost. Our brothers and sisters are our partners in this journey, not our opponents. We are pieces of one body, the body of Christ; our differences are for His glory and purposes, to unite and equip us to accomplish our joint mission! We reap God’s results by doing things God’s ways, as exemplified by Jesus! The most transformational thing in tough situations is overcoming evil with good and allowing God to use us as a conduit of love, peace, and reconciliation, to both Him and others!

NEXT LEVEL LIVING
In relation to today’s topic, prayerfully consider:

• What scriptures shape how you personally view and respond to conflict? What’s your decision-making process for handling difficult people and tense situations?
• What does the Bible say is the source of conflict/corruption? (2 Pet. 1:4; Jas. 1:14, 15; Gal. 5:16-24)
• In what areas do you need to be honest about having jealousy and self-ambition in your heart? What do you sense the Lord telling you is truly behind these feelings? What specific steps do you need to take to come into alignment with God in these areas?
• How is God’s peace different from the peace offered by the world? Where do you most need this peace right now? As Christ’s ambassador, what can you do to bring this same peace to those around you?

 
STILL THIRSTY?

• Plug some key words into your bible app search or at openbible.info, such as “peace,” “conflict,” “love,” etc.
• Read through 1 Peter this week. This book is full of help regarding our correct response to challenging circumstances, difficult people, and injustice.
• 700 Club Interview of Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 6/20/2020: https://youtu.be/SEieYnIXGjQ