p.101 One formerly lost sheep diligently pursuing another because he knew something about straying sheep: they need to be pursued.
God's call to shepherds:
p.105 It's also a troubling passage Who can consistently love this way? Weak, sick, and straying people are not nice to be around. They refuse to help themselves. They misread your motives, they resist your attempts to help, and they run away. Who can keep giving them the kind of help they need? You can't and I can't.
God shepherds you first:
p.106 He did. As you continue reading the passage, you realize that no human shepherd can ever provide what God longs for his people to experience. but he cares too much for his people to leave them without a shepherd so he planned to become the supreme shepherd who was and is exactly what his people need.
p..108 You will fail as an under-shepherd. But when you fail, remember that you have a shepherd too. He pursues you so you can again take the responsibility he calls you to. And when you have experienced his shepherding, you become more like the kind of shepherd he is. You seek out those who are straying in order to bring them back.
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Loving Well, chapter 6 Partnering Love: Working Together to Care for Each Other
p.89 Your involvement in the lives of your closest relationships was never meant to be built on a mutual like or dislike It's not supposed to be built on your favorite hobbies, restaurants, department stores, or stage of life. Instead, the nature of your vertical alliance with Jesus is the single most important determining factor for all of your horizontal friendships.
Learning to value people I don't like p.93
If you struggle to love someone, or even like her, start by asking "What does Jesus enjoy about this person? What traits, strengths, and qualities did he put in her? Keep going. If she's one of his friends then focus on her love for Jesus.
Learning to value people I don't like p.93
If you struggle to love someone, or even like her, start by asking "What does Jesus enjoy about this person? What traits, strengths, and qualities did he put in her? Keep going. If she's one of his friends then focus on her love for Jesus.
Loving Well, Chapter 5 Longsuffering Love: Patiently Bearing with Each Other
p. 75 "I love you; therefore, I mold myself around your weaknesses so that you grow strong enough for the things God has called and gifted you to do." LOVE THIS!
Communion Reminds You of God's Patience:
When I take the Communion elements, I announce to myself, to those around me, and to my Lord that I am a mess. I also announce that I didn't get over being a mess simply because Jesus rescued me.. I won't ever get over my need for his death and resurrection. I won't get past it. I won't outgrow it. That's why we repeat Communion so frequently.
Sharing in Communion is one of the most authentic, honest activities you can participate in. When you remember Christ's death, you remember and re-proclaim your own weaknesses, failures, and moral inadequacies. You proclaim that you just cannot do it on your own. That you don't need a jump start for a dead battery-you need an entirely new engine block. The days I'm surprised at how big a mess I am are the days I've forgotten the faith I say I believe. SO GOOD!!!!
p.80 Impatience blossoms when someTHING becomes more important than someONE.
Communion Reminds You of God's Patience:
When I take the Communion elements, I announce to myself, to those around me, and to my Lord that I am a mess. I also announce that I didn't get over being a mess simply because Jesus rescued me.. I won't ever get over my need for his death and resurrection. I won't get past it. I won't outgrow it. That's why we repeat Communion so frequently.
Sharing in Communion is one of the most authentic, honest activities you can participate in. When you remember Christ's death, you remember and re-proclaim your own weaknesses, failures, and moral inadequacies. You proclaim that you just cannot do it on your own. That you don't need a jump start for a dead battery-you need an entirely new engine block. The days I'm surprised at how big a mess I am are the days I've forgotten the faith I say I believe. SO GOOD!!!!
p.80 Impatience blossoms when someTHING becomes more important than someONE.
Loving Well.. Chapter 3: Struggling Love:Confessing our Temptations to Each Other
p.43 Too many people fear that after someone opens up his life, their responsibility is to rush in and somehow give answers or solutions to what the other person faces. And so we shoot from the hip, 'okay, thanks for sharing that with me. Now here is what you need to think..here is what you need to believe...here is what you need to do...
SUCH RESPONSES CRUSH OPENNESS.
p.45That means when your friend opens up her life to you, first respond by simply appreciating her openness as an invitation to share your lives together.. You say, "Thank you for trusting me with that I appreciate you being vulnerable. I'm glad to get to know you a little more deeply" This affirms that her openness has not chased you away, but that you are moving toward her while she is moving toward you.
Thirdly, make sure at some point to ask, 'where is Jesus involved?' Ask this even if you're not sure what the answer is. Sometimes I have to add, "I don't know where he is, but I do know that we need to look for him. What do you think he is doing? By asking the question, your're helping her think about where the next steps are on her journey with the Lord through life.
SUCH RESPONSES CRUSH OPENNESS.
p.45That means when your friend opens up her life to you, first respond by simply appreciating her openness as an invitation to share your lives together.. You say, "Thank you for trusting me with that I appreciate you being vulnerable. I'm glad to get to know you a little more deeply" This affirms that her openness has not chased you away, but that you are moving toward her while she is moving toward you.
Thirdly, make sure at some point to ask, 'where is Jesus involved?' Ask this even if you're not sure what the answer is. Sometimes I have to add, "I don't know where he is, but I do know that we need to look for him. What do you think he is doing? By asking the question, your're helping her think about where the next steps are on her journey with the Lord through life.
Loving Well, William P Smith Chapter 2
Sympathetic Love: Taking on Each Other's Sorrows
you sympathize with them.
Jesus: He is not hardened to your distress. p.21
p.22 Our friends need to see our tears over the broken parts of their lives. Part of love is letting them know that their pain matters deeply to us.
I wrestle with trying to find a way to express how dark an devil it is to ignore people's hurt when they're grieving. Let me if this picture helps. (ex.of a friend who lost a wife in a horrible car accident and a counselor walks in all bubbly and cheerful.
p. 23 She could not have communicated more clearly that she had no idea the depth of what he'd been through and was continuing to live out.
God is not like that. Nor can you be. Ignoring pain or changing the subject is neither helpful nor kind.
The longer you study how God has reacted to you in your own pain, the fewer times you will be calloused or indifferent to someone else's pain.
p.25 Real sympathy means to feel what they feel..
p.27 Jesus, our Truest Sympathizer
And he understands firsthand how you are tempted to lash out, self-medicate, run away, manufacture your own diversions, or simply give up, hoping to be left alone. He was tempted in every way.
Just Listen:
One of the easiest ways t0 sympathize is to simply listen to the people around you. This doesn't always feel productive or even practical. Can just sitting with someone and hearing her story be of any benefit? Ask anyone who has suffered, and he'll tell you yes!
SO SO SO SO GOOD!!!
p.29 Here's the lie I think many of us believe: when someone is sad or grieving, I have to say something wise that will be really helpful (SO TRUE--emphasis mine!)......Inviting the other person to tell her or her story is huge, and many times it's one of the few things you can offer.
you sympathize with them.
Jesus: He is not hardened to your distress. p.21
p.22 Our friends need to see our tears over the broken parts of their lives. Part of love is letting them know that their pain matters deeply to us.
I wrestle with trying to find a way to express how dark an devil it is to ignore people's hurt when they're grieving. Let me if this picture helps. (ex.of a friend who lost a wife in a horrible car accident and a counselor walks in all bubbly and cheerful.
p. 23 She could not have communicated more clearly that she had no idea the depth of what he'd been through and was continuing to live out.
God is not like that. Nor can you be. Ignoring pain or changing the subject is neither helpful nor kind.
The longer you study how God has reacted to you in your own pain, the fewer times you will be calloused or indifferent to someone else's pain.
p.25 Real sympathy means to feel what they feel..
p.27 Jesus, our Truest Sympathizer
And he understands firsthand how you are tempted to lash out, self-medicate, run away, manufacture your own diversions, or simply give up, hoping to be left alone. He was tempted in every way.
Just Listen:
One of the easiest ways t0 sympathize is to simply listen to the people around you. This doesn't always feel productive or even practical. Can just sitting with someone and hearing her story be of any benefit? Ask anyone who has suffered, and he'll tell you yes!
SO SO SO SO GOOD!!!
p.29 Here's the lie I think many of us believe: when someone is sad or grieving, I have to say something wise that will be really helpful (SO TRUE--emphasis mine!)......Inviting the other person to tell her or her story is huge, and many times it's one of the few things you can offer.
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