Acts 26:29 NLT
Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.”
Our attitude about those around us is very important if we consider ourselves to be Christians.
If our attitude about the people we are around is one that we feel they will never get it, we put ourselves out of step with God’s Will.
1 Timothy 2:1-4 NLT
I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
Praying like this is doubly important for those who we feel give us grief. The people at work may ridicule us for our faith in God. It is vital that we love those who we look upon as our enemies.
Matthew 5:43-48 NLT
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
And this list includes the people that we disagree with politically. In the US, this is the most divided time that I have ever experienced in my lifetime.
Paul reminds us here who our real enemy is:
Ephesians 6:12 NLT
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
And the only way we win this battle is with Jesus Christ, centered in our hearts and minds.
John 15:5-8 NLT
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
When our focus turns to our circumstances and the people around us to change, we turn this idea upside down, and we place ourselves in the place of God.
But when we realize that God is at work and everything outside of our thinking and what we do is in the hands of God, we begin to see that the change needs to take place in our hearts and not in our circumstances or the people around us.
Romans 8:28 NLT
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the sacrifice that You made for my sins, a price that I could not pay.
I am thankful for Your grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve You by serving those around me.
I pray that You give me the compassion and willingness to love the people around me the same way Jesus loves the church. And that You provide me with the discernment to notice when the Spirit prompts me to act.
I thank You for the hearts of the people around me, and I pray that through my attitudes, thoughts, and actions, You are glorified, and it becomes evident to Your work in my life.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
