Asbury Church

It’s so easy to be a conduit for negativity to spread. To encounter frustration or anxiety or hatred and anger, and then to spread it further.

What’s so moving about the account of Joseph, when he finds out that Mary is pregnant, is what he does NOT do.

He doesn’t make things worse. Rather, he just quietly makes his decision, and that action allows God to continue to work.

In other words, Joseph acts like a spiritual firebreak.

We could use more of that kind of thing these days.

"Are You Better Off Today Than You Were Four Years Ago?”

That’s the question politicians like to ask us.

But, when’s the last time you put that question to yourself, spiritually?

As we see with Zechariah’s unbelief in Luke chapter 1, God has more for everyone, even good, moral people.

The Tenth Commandment is against “coveting.”

That’s an old-fashioned concept that no one really seems to talk about any more.

Which is a shame, because coveting is a sure way to be unhappy.

This is because coveting is wanting something that isn’t yours to have.

Including someone else’s life. And wanting something that isn't yours to have is a sure way to be miserable.

It’s like when Peter asked Jesus what the future held for the Apostle John.

Jesus’s response? “What’s that to you, Peter?”

It’s the same for us—we are constantly allowing ourselves to covet things that aren’t ours: other people’s lives or bodies or families or bank accounts.

The only solution to this is gratitude.

How do you respond when the Holy Spirit prompts you to act, especially when the request feels unusual or unexpected? Do you obey? Do you hesitate? Do you try to reason your way out of it?

What if God is calling you to take the first step in love toward someone who isn’t like you, someone who may disagree with you, avoid you, or even hate you? When we realize obedience to the Lord is not ultimately about us, we open the door to unexpected and extraordinary opportunities. We never know what hangs in the balance, are you ready? 

The question I get the most whenever I talk about Love Goes First is this:

What about when I go first and it doesn’t seem to make any difference?

I love this question, because it means folks are actually putting these ideas into practice.

The interaction of Jesus and the rich young ruler gives us an answer.

Jesus loves the young man by telling him something he doesn’t want to hear.

The result? The man walks away.

And Jesus lets him go.

There is a lesson there for us.

The only way we are going to reach the people that don’t think like us, vote like us, agree with us—maybe even hate us—is to go first toward.

There is no other way.

The problem is that going first comes with a cost.

We can’t say that Jesus didn’t warn us.

How are we going to reach the people who don’t vote like us, think like us, agree with, maybe even hate us?

The first step, surely, is to actually *see* them.

Many people go a long time without ever truly being seen.

Take Zacchaeus, for example: a radical change in his life starts when Jesus stops and sees him.

That’s what my mom used to say to me and my brothers when we were little boys and would complain about the snakes around our African house.

I still don’t think she was right about the cobras we complained about. But with regard to other people: she’s dead on.

Other people really are more scared of you than you are of them.

In a world in which everyone is waiting to react to everyone else, the one who chooses to go first and act will fundamentally change the status quo and thereby open up new possibilities to walk into.

In the episode with Jesus and the woman at the well, it starts with just a simple (and shocking) question:

“Can I have a drink of water?”

One of the most overlooked aspects of Jesus’s ministry is how often he found himself in conflict—and with whom. Often it was not those who he was trying to reach, but members of his own tribe. If we're to reach across divides and love those who aren’t like us, we must accept and embody a particular trait of Jesus: the willingness to be misunderstood by our own side. If we choose not to, it will be our biggest barrier—and drive us deeper into division. 

We live in the most scientific and technologically advanced society in history.

And people are more imprisoned by their feelings than ever.

Isn’t that strange?

The political commentator Ben Shapiro is known for his catchphrase:

"Facts don’t care about your feelings."

That is 100% true...

and these days 100% irrelevant.

Many people claim that what’s true is whatever they *feel* to be true.

How do we move forward?

We start by looking at the interaction between Jesus and Pontius Pilate, and by examining the places our own feelings are getting in the way of the fact of the gospel.