Thursday, May 21, 2015

Love Your... WHAT?!

Matthew 5:43-48 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


I think it's fair to say that loving a friend is pretty easy. Sure, sometimes it can be hard when they do wrong against you, but most of the time, it's pretty easy to love them. From a worldly standpoint, I'm doing pretty well. I love my family. I love my friends. I love new people I meet. I love my church. I don't think I need to love my enemies, right?

We get mixed up and confused by our culture way too easily. Culture is all about doing what's best for yourself and that's good enough. This way of thinking is contradictory to what the Bible says.

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.


HUMILITY. Loving others takes humility... especially loving your enemies. 


Why do we love in the first place? 

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. 


We did not deserve God's love, but he gave it to us. We simply can't turn around and not share that love because someone "doesn't deserve it." We're no more "deserving" of God's love than they are. It's like the Parable of the Two Debtors. One man owed 10,000 talents and received forgiveness of his debt from the king. The same man went to someone who owed him 100 talents and showed him no mercy. 
God granted us mercy, much like the King in the parable. But most of the time we are like the man who was forgiven, but yet turns around and doesn't forgive others. We have been loved, but don't want to love others. We are so selfish. God loved us so much that he sent his only Son to die the worst death, and I can't even love the person who "stole" my harmony on a certain song! (How pathetic, right?) 

I hope this challenged your thinking. You are loved, but do you desire to love others? You've been forgiven, but are you willing to forgive others even if they're your enemy? 

Pray For Those Who Persecute You

Matthew 5:43-48 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


"Pray for those who persecute you..." 


Susan, a 14-year-old girl living in a Muslim country, converted to Christianity after an evangelist had visited her school. She kept her new found faith hidden for a month until her father found out about her conversion. He locked her in a small room for 6 months, until the neighbors got curious and called the police. She was transported to a hospital and when asked how she was feeling, she replied, "I am happy and not in pain. I would never leave my Jesus who died for me."
If I had been locked up for 6 months by my father, I know my response would not be kind. She was so loving and encouraging even after being persecuted for her faith.


Jesus on the cross is another example of praying for those who persecute us. In Luke 23:34, he cries out, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Instead of being angered by all the people beating and mocking him and nailing them to the cross, he asked God to forgive them.

The Bible calls us to be imitators of Christ, so if Christ can pray for those who nailed him to the cross, we can surely pray for anyone who has ever or would ever persecute us. 

Jesus' Famous Sermon

Matthew 5:43-48 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.


Matthew 5-7: Jesus' famous "Sermon on the Mount."
Throughout most of his sermon, Jesus explained what true righteousness was supposed to look like. The love given to us by God should flow through us and go to others. In this culture, it was acceptable to love your neighbor and love people who were on your side. In the same way, it was also acceptable to dislike those who you didn't agree with, or who wronged you.

In this culture, they had a mindset of, "If you agree with me, I like you. But if you don't agree with me, we can't get along." Hearing this part of the sermon must have been a wake up call for them. Jesus was telling them to love others even if they were your enemies. He even calls the people out who only love others when they love them back. He made them out to be as righteous a tax collectors and Gentiles. He ends with a call for us to be perfect, like God our Father.

This lesson is still applicable today. It's awesome how everything Jesus taught on and preached about 2,000 years ago is still relevant today! We need to love others, even if they don't love us back. Not only do we have to love them, but we should also pray for them. It's hard to be angry with someone when you're praying for them.

I love this section of Jesus' sermon on the mount. It's simple, yet challenging. It's completely against our earthly nature. When I read this passage, I realized I needed to start praying for those in my life who I don't have the best relationship with. By praying for them, I will grow in my love for them. While I pray, I need to ask for the Spirit to help me love people because there's no way I could do that on my own!

For all of you, don't go on being self-focused, love those around you. Care for their needs. Show love to them even if they've never showed love to you. That will show Christ to them and glorifying Christ should be our goal as Christians.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

14 Best Photos from 2014 and 2015

I had so many opportunities in 2014 to become more experienced photography. Here's a little taste of what happened!


My second time photographing a wedding! 












First Wedding! I love me a good ring shot.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Photography: Top 12 Photos of 2012

I love photography and I am passionate about capturing the beauty in God's creation! (Psalm 19:1). I wanted to share some of my top photos from this year that I have taken. Here are my top 12 pictures from 2012... enjoy! 
Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3: My dad posing at OSU campus

Picture 4
Picture 5: Caleb's 2nd grade pictures

Picture 6

Picture 7: My beautiful cousins on Christmas Day 2012

Picture 8

Picture 9

Picture 10


Picture 11: My friend, Lydia, and her sister, Madalyn 

Picture 12
Please leave a comment and tell me which picture was your favorite and why. Your feedback is appreciated! 
Have an awesome day!