Issues

Christians have issues. Christians have issues,b/c Christian's aren't perfect. Christian's have issues b/c we live in a fallen world broken by sin & even though we're saved, we're still being sanctified. We are all on different levels. Different levels of maturity, different levels of surrender. There's still some blindness, still some veils, still much flesh, still more dying to be had.
I have issues. And before I even begin to pray about anyone else's, I must, while holding Christ's hand..address mines. But after that, it is okay, as you are led by the Spirit to pray for others. With God's help, we must resist talking about the person that's hurting us. We must resist tearing them down with our tongue and/in our thoughts and we must remember that we're still being worked on as well. We must remember to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought to. This can creep in, without even knowing it. We must remember that it is hard, as my mom always says, for any human being to hear about themselves; something that is offensive and needs to be changed. Only God can give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Jesus does speak through His people and sometimes we must confront in love. IN LOVE. Hard to do, if the person has wounded you. Hard to do, if you haven't done anything to them. Hard to do, when your flesh just wants to lash out and go up one side of them and down the other!!
God has been teaching me these hard lessons in life, especially on my ever-adventurous daytime assignment(job). There are a few folk I'm bringing to the Lord & they are my sisters in Christ. I have wanted to do it my way. I have sometime said harsh things to them, in my mind. I have wanted God to knock them upside the head or let me do it!! Being honest here yall...gotta be real. I still struggle to even pray for them. It's only through God empowering me and constantly drenching my heart in His agape love. It's only by me asking for the root of bitterness not to grow in me. As the battle intesifies, I wanna do it my way again. pleaseeeeeee Lord, let me handle it!!! NOPE..That's not my way daughter. Flesh gots to die. That means our way of handling things. I actually did handle it my way one time and the next day I had to apologize..HA! So you see where that got me. And the enemy will egg you on. He will tempt u with revenge and with "God, doesn't want you to be no punk!". That's how u know it His evil self whispering. Christ has not called us to a spirit of fear. So, that's not even the issue.
I'm waiting on Him. I'm leaning on Him. I must keep coming back again and again and again and again. I must ask Christ to open blind eyes. I must ask Him to help me face the fact that this person may never apologize or may never see it God's way. I still must love. I still must live. I must not allow their issues to paralyze or deter me. Again, I must remember my own. I must pray for healing for the body of Christ. We are still all family. And family does hurt family. God has shown me many a time, when I've offended another. It's not alright for them to do it & it's not alright for me to do it. I am no better than anybody else. Sometimes I've wanted not to face that it was me that was doing the hurting. Hard to look in the mirror. Easy to look in someone's else's.
My precious brothers and sisters in Christ..take all of this to God in prayer. Ask Him who is supposed to be in your life and who's not. I've currently got a few fires cooking on the stove and I'm in prayer about all of them. Some are more painful than others. But God is faithful and God is working in us all. If you have to confront in love, God will even give you creative ways to do it. I've seen it happen. Remember, He's a God of relationship...and so that He also calls us to. And relationship is work. No way around that. Even if it's a friend, colleague, supervisor, co-worker, etc...
Praise be to God, one day there will be NO MORE STRUGGLE. We will all be perfected in His glorious light and love. There will be no more issues. No more stinking flesh. Only love. Only God's pure and Holy LOVE.
Thank you Jesus! Thank you Father! Thank you Holy Ghost!
We, your children press to mirror your perfect union and relationship with one another in the Godhead. And with your help and your promises to perfect us, we will get there! In the name of Jesus the Christ..amen.

L-O-V-E.