Being who GOD has called us to be as Christ Followers – no exceptions.

I know that I personally have struggled for far too long, trying to

be the person that other Christ Followers want me to be. In our day and time,

we often forget WHO GOD has called us to be.  Instead of striving to live

a life that pleases God only, we try to mold and shape our lives and our

inner most beings to be accepted by others, oftentimes in our own

Churches.  This is something that strongly convicts me.  I am a people

person, and I, personally,  care too much of what other’s think of me.  Do they

accept me, do they like me?  What will they think of me, what will they

say about me?  It’s an easy cycle that we all get wrapped up into so easily.

When we do this, we lose focus on what matters most:

 BECOMING LIKE CHRIST.

This brings me to my bible verses of choice for today’s blog topic:

Philippians 2:1-5 (New Living Translation)

“1. Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from His

love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and  compassionate?  2. Then make me truly happy by agreeing

wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together

with one mind and purpose. 3. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress

others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

4. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in

others, too.  5. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus .

 To me, this speaks volumes.  Many people, even Christians, live only to make a good impression on others, (usually a selective group of others amongst

a Church congregation) or to please themselves.  Too often, Christ Followers

forget that it is in ALL OF OUR HUMAN nature to stumble and fall.  All too often,

many proclaimed Christians or Follower of Christ find themselves

becoming judgemental and wondering, “What did He or  She do?”, focusing on

gossip, which is a biblical sin. When we choose to become like Christ, we cannot have double standards and pick and choose those we favor over others.  Some

overlook the mistakes and stumbles of those they favor. However, those fellow Brothers’ and Sisters’ in Christ they don’t favor suffer the wrath of judgement

and convict others.  That’s not for us to do.  Only God can do that.

To be truly Christ like – we must be willing to truly accept or try to understand

people as they are  — angry, broken, and hurting.

The world needs people who TRULY KNOW JESUS and can accept and

love others the way they are, even with all the junk, and baggage in their lives.

I honestly believe, many more people would be open to what Jesus offers

if His followers weren’t so fire and brim-stone bent on requiring you to clean up

your act as a prerequisite for receiving it.

It’s odd how the majority of Christians are so intolerant of others’ fleshly sins

and however, are so tolerant of their own so-called spiritual ones.

 I find it a bit ironic the way people treat sinners in modern times. Remember,

before coming to Christ, we were all separated from God because of our sins.

Someone  had to accept  us , while we  were still sinners, to bring us to know

and accept Christ into our hearts.

Dig into your bibles and you will discover that the “sinners” in the Bible were much more responsive to Jesus and ready to receive the Kingdom of God, more-so than religious people.

Take these thoughts and truths into the depths of your heart and pray and ask God

if  this is a conviction in your own life.

We all fail and fall short to the glory of God daily. Love your fellow brothers

and sisters in Christ enough to  “LOVE THEM LIKE JESUS”.

Until the next post,

Love in Christ,

Jenny Hinton

“I am beautifully broken, but not defeated.”