7 Ways for Christians to Love Our Neighbors even when we disagree

The annual Pride Parade in Seattle drew an estimated 300,000 revelers this year. The air was incredibly festive. Participants had seen victory after victory for their cause, and many others had jumped on the proverbial bandwagon, much as a winning sports team suddenly gathers a lot of new fans.

In the providence of God, I was also preaching that day at our downtown church, located right alongside the parade route. This is the city Jesus has called me to serve, and I’ve been ministering here now for about two decades. I can assure you, it’s complicated.



What does it look like to remain faithful to God while loving neighbors who passionately disagree with Christian convictions? If you’re looking for an answer that makes both God and everyone else happy, I can save you a lot of wasted time…it doesn’t exist (Romans 8:7).

So how do we avoid the ditch on the left -- where we don’t call sin a sin -- as well as the ditch on the right -- where we are angry culture warriors battling unbelievers instead of evangelizing them? In my new book, "A Call to Resurgence: Will Christianity Have a Funeral or a Future?," I offer the following suggestions:



1. Come to terms with disagreement. For the Christian, changing God’s laws in Scripture, by popular opinion, makes as much sense as changing God’s laws in nature -- including gravity and the temperature at which substances freeze and boil. Non-Christians don’t need to accept these laws but tolerate them, if indeed they believe in tolerance, diversity, and inclusion, as they boast.



Christians and non-Christians disagree on a lot of things including what to do with our money, sin, and genitals. We won’t agree because we don’t agree. Instead of trying to pretend that we do agree, we need to accept the fact that we agree to disagree and get on with evangelizing lost people, defending our religious freedoms, and loving our critics while leaning over the plate to take one for Team Jesus.



2. Turn the other cheek.  Both homosexuals and Christians are, curiously enough, organized minority groups. 

If Christians war with homosexuals, we’re ignoring the majority -- all the people somewhere on the continuum between the two groups. 

As a general rule, those people in the middle are the very people we’ve been called to evangelize. If they see us as being mean spirited, they will be less likely to want to hear about the love of Jesus from unloving people. 

Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, not because he likes it when we lose a fight, but because he likes it when we win people who are watching the fight (Matt. 5:39).



3. Welcome everyone to your church… The same Bible that talks about sin is equally clear about love. The church I serve as pastor includes people who are practicing homosexuals, as well as others who are struggling with same sex attraction to varying degrees. 

They sit in service next to single people cohabiting, people who watch porn, adulterers -- and the self-righteous religious people who look down on all of them. 

We all start in a bad place. 

When the Bible says that Jesus died for sin, he’s talking about evil people, like me. I was sleeping with a pastor’s daughter when I became a Christian and realized that worshiping God included my pants.



We are all works in progress. We do not expect people to get their sin in order before attending church any more than a hospital expects people to get healed before they show up.



4. …but don’t allow everyone to lead your church. Christians who practice repentance should be the only ones allowed into official church membership and leadership (1 Tim. 3:1–12). 

This does not mean in any way that they are perfect, but that they agree with the Bible, and that when they are in sin, they are willing to fight to overcome sin by God’s grace. 

We’re not asking for perfection but rather for a desire for progress in victory over sin.



5. Distinguish between temptation and sin. The Bible is clear that Jesus was tempted and did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). Just because someone is tempted does not mean that person is in sin. 

Temptation is an opportunity for sin or for victory. 

We must not shame or condemn people who experience various kinds of temptation -- including sexual temptations such as same sex attraction or heterosexual fornication or even pornography -- if they desire to make a life U-turn.



At the same time, we must not endorse or encourage caving in to sinful desires either. Instead, we need to walk lovingly with people, telling them that part of the Spirit’s work in their lives is self-control, and that so long as they want to fight for holiness, we want to fight not against them but for them. And as they gain victory, we ought to celebrate and encourage them all the more.



6. The best defense is a good offense. The best thing the church can do for marriage is encourage and assist good marriages. This includes lots of teaching on sex and marriage, great premarital counseling, a supportive community for married couples, and efforts to nurture marriages that are enduring and endearing so that God’s people are getting divorced only on rare occasion because of extreme circumstances.



7. Evangelize through suffering. Bible-believing Christians will need to toughen up -- rather than crumple in a heap -- when slapped with words like hateful, bigoted, intolerant, shameful, cruel, unloving, homophobic, prejudiced, discriminatory, and more. 

Jesus told us to love our enemies; his assumption was that we would have enemies to love (Matt. 5:44).



If we say what Scripture says, we should expect to suffer as Scripture promises. In fact, Jesus promises that we’ll see trouble, experience hardship, and be hated. Rather than run away or fight back, however, he invites us to endure and persevere as an “opportunity to bear witness” (Luke 21:12–19).



We have been chosen by God to live at this time and in this culture with all its faults and flaws, as part of the church of Jesus Christ with all her faults and flaws, as people with our own faults and flaws (Acts 17:26). 

Because our society no longer values historically Christian beliefs, we have an unprecedented opportunity for a resurgence of biblically faithful, personally humble, evangelistically fruitful, missional Christianity.



The truth of God’s Word is hard like an anvil meant to reshape us into something better. But we can deliver a hard word without having a hard heart toward the recipient. 

An honest explanation of sin is essential for our message of ultimate help, healing, and hope: Jesus Christ is alive. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. 

Jesus makes life, death, suffering, and persecution meaningful.

And the backlash is a blessing. 

After all, you really don’t know how committed you are to Jesus until you have to start paying a price for that friendship.

Pastor Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington and is one of the world's most-downloaded and quoted pastors. 

from http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/11/24/seven-ways-for-christians-to-love-their-neighbors-even-when-disagree/   

Stories That Bind Our Families

Colossians 3:14 says, And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

In Sept., Readers Digest had a report on researchers who studied the ingredients make some families resilient and happy.  One learning-disabilities specialist said, The students “who know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges.”  Two researchers used a Do You Know survey of 20 questions, such as Do you know where your grandparents grew up?  Do you know where your mom and dad went to high school?  Do you know about an illness or something really terrible that happened in your family?   They concluded: “The more children knew about their families’ histories, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem.”  Another study showed the same: The children who knew more about their families proved to be more resilient.

Why does knowing where her grandmother went to school help a child overcome a skinned knee or a horrible attack?  It turns out that the children who have the most self-confidence, know they belong to something bigger than themselves.

The holidays are a time when families of all generations, get together.  When you’re sitting around the Thanksgiving dinner table, share your stories of growing up with the children in your family.  Honor your parents (Exodus 20:12) and grandparents by asking them to share about what their lives were like when they were growing up. 

2 Tim. 1:5  I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Some readers will recognize this song:

Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. 

Bind us together, Lord, bind us together, Lord, bind us together, in love.

Use your family gatherings over the holidays, to share stories that bind our families together.

Thanksgiving Prayers & Poems

"Thank You, Lord, for Loving Me"
Once, I was lost in sin.
I was blind and couldn't see.
Friends tried to talk to me.
But, I couldn't hear.

So, I wandered on in sin and misery.
Then, a still small voice spoke
and said, "Come, follow me."

Thank you, Lord, for loving me
and setting me free.
Thank you, Lord, for your precious blood;
how it ran down that old tree.

Thank you, Lord, for each drop;
for it covered all my sins.
Thank you, Lord, for loving me.
Yes, thanks for loving me.

Now, I'm following Jesus.
Now, I can see.
His Holy Spirit speaks
And, now, I can hear.

I no longer wander in sin,
But I walk in His light.
Oh, won't you come and follow Him,
and learn of His love?
© 1980 by Amanda Jean Griffith

T is for the trust the pilgrims had so many years ago

H is for the harvest the settlers learnt to grow

A is for America, the land in which we live

N is for nature and beauty which she gives

K is for kindness, gentle words, thoughtful deeds

S is for smiles, the sunshine everyone needs

G is for gratitude ... our blessings big and small

 I  is for ideas, letting wisdom grow tall

V is for voices, singing, laughing, always caring

 I  is for Indians, who taught them about sharing

N is for neighbors, across the street, over the sea

G is for giving of myself to make a better me

by Judith.A. Lindberg

Thanksgiving Prayer

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day
We bow our hearts to You and pray.
We give You thanks for all You've done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.
For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.
So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.

--Mary Fairchild

A Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Lord, so often times, as any other day
When we sit down to our meal and pray

We hurry along and make fast the blessing
Thanks, amen. Now please pass the dressing

We're slaves to the olfactory overload
We must rush our prayer before the food gets cold

But Lord, I'd like to take a few minute more
To really give thanks to what I'm thankful for

For my family, my health, a nice soft bed
My friends, my freedom, a roof over my head

I'm thankful right now to be surrounded by those
Whose lives touch me more than they'll ever possibly know

Thankful Lord, that You've blessed me beyond measure
Thankful that in my heart lives life's greatest treasure

That You, dear Jesus, reside in that place
And I'm ever so grateful for Your unending grace

So please, heavenly Father, bless this food You've provided
And bless each and every person invited

Amen!

--Scott Wesemann

Thanks for reading my blogs, & I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Gratitude for God's Blessings.

Plans are being made for Thanksgiving, which means it’s time to look back and give thanks for God’s faithful blessings.  Each year, I consider who or what I’m grateful for.

I’m grateful for God’s faithfulness.  When we sin and rebel against God, our sin separates us from God.  But God comes looking for us and calls to us; this shows that God wants a relationship with you and me.   God is faithful to his promises and to his people.  When you or I stray from God, He comes looking for us.  So let’s thank God for his faithfulness.

I’m grateful for my family.  My wife Jane and I celebrated our 30^th anniversary this year.  Our son is blessed with a good job and friends in Houston.  Our daughter Megan is serving God as a volunteer for elders in Chicago.  Our daughter Becca and her boyfriend Josh are now engaged.  God has blessed us.

I’m thankful for our church family.  We've gone through challenges and celebrations together.  We worship God faithfully, care for each other, serve our communities, love children, and help others.

This year has brought challenges and blessings.  Some have faced health struggles, endured financial struggles or lost loved ones.  Some are blessed with a new baby or anniversary or wedding.  Some have made new friends or rediscovered old friends.  I’d like to say thanks for our readers who serve our communities and strive to make it a better place to live.  I appreciate those who love and serve God faithfully.

On this thanksgiving, please join me in giving gratitude to God for his blessings.

Things Are Changing. Are you changing?

I hate getting older, dieting or getting fat, quitting bad habits, children, updates to computer programs when I just got the hang of the old version.  I do like some changes.  I like the feel of my new athletic shoes.  I like watching the Green Bay Packers pound the ball this season.  

Things are changing.  Life is like a river; the water is always flowing and moving.   Some objects are carried downstream.   Erosion happens.  In November, the days are getting shorter.  The nights are getting colder. 

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  He does not change; so we can count on his faithfulness to his promises, and if you’re trusting Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin, He promises to be with you always (Matthew 28:20). 

But God does expect US to change our ways.  In Matthew 18:3, the Teacher said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  Children tend to have a humble approach to life; children have to depend on others for food, clothing, shelter, transportation, love, attention, and nurture.  But some of us adults use negative words to describe others with whom we disagree.  Or we look down on those with less or who are different from us.  Jesus hung around with tax-collectors, prostitutes, drunks, and other sinners.  Do we spend time with others to help or share something with sinners?  Or do we ignore them?  

I was recently at a conference in which we were taught, nurtured, & encouraged to consider how we might change; we were given significant freedom in how to change.  I wrote a plan to change my life, and am seeking to incorporate those into my life.  Someone once said, You’re either changing, or you’re just getting older.

So do you want to change?  I hope you’ll trust the God of heaven and earth during this season.  If you’re already trusting Him, how do you believe the Master wants you to change?