Look At God Not People Archives » Let Love Be My Motive Studio

God laid it on my heart these past couple days to talk about how Jesus isn’t looking for us to “get clean” before we ask him in our life. Neither should the church you attend. The church you attend should be showing the love of Jesus by meeting you where you are at, sins and all. None of us our perfect. None.

I have went to different churches with different denominations. Where I have learned the most is where I felt the love of Jesus and was taught biblical principles. I’ve never learned something out of fear or condemnation. We know that fear nor condemnation come from God. Love casts out all fear and God is Love. There’s a big difference between conviction and condemnation. Condemnation is overwhelming guilt that pushes you away from God. Where conviction is where Holy Spirit points out you have something to work on in your heart through love.

When I went back to church in 2015, I was sick and in need of a doctor. In other words, I was consumed by the enemies lies, what people portrayed God to be, overwhelmed by the heaviness of my sin, and just came home from the bar a couple hours before while still battling a pill addiction. I stepped into The River and was very timid and didn’t really want to talk or be seen by anyone. However, I was stopped by 4 amazing women that day that I still love to this day. They knew that I was struggling but loved me anyways, just as Jesus does. I walked into worship and it was completely different than anything I had ever saw. People were free. They held up their hands praising God, weeping, and laying hands on one another. And then Holy Spirit hit me….Like right in the face. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about! The song we were singing was talking about was about breaking free from addiction and depression.

I am unsure why there is this lie floating around that Jesus expects you to be white as snow when you come to him…probably just one of satans tactics…But, if we were clean and not in need of a doctor, God wouldn’t of went Jesus to die for us. It’s never too late to come to God & you’re never too dirty to come to him either.

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord . “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.
Isaiah 1:18 NLT

“Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.”
1 John 4:18 NLT

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
1 John 4:16 NLT

Before you start reading this, please read it all the way to the end!

I have sat down with atheists, wiccan’s, lutheran’s, and catholic’s. You name it, I probably talked with them. The most common response that I hear from people is that they didn’t expect me to be as open and to listen to what they had to say and believe in. How often do we listen with the intent to listen instead of having a response on the back burner? As a Child of God, we are to show people who don’t believe, Christ’s character. What did Jesus do? He hung out with the outcasts. He hung out with the “big time” sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and more than a couple people that the world would call “unworthy”. I love this about Jesus. That he would love and die for someone like me. Someone, who society and this world would call irrelevant and a waste of skin.

One of the other problems I heard from people who have strayed away from God and The Church, is that we have a bunch of denominations that all believe in God but are at one another’s throats. Some of these “Churches” have turned into a place of judgment instead of grace. Many churches today focus on laws, and regulations, instead of showing people the love of God when people come through the door. I am not trying to throw the stone at anyone. I am just going off of the conversations I have had and the thoughts that had come along with it.

If we aren’t displaying Jesus (I mean his character, not statues), when people walk through the door, what are they seeing? Not only at church either! We are supposed to be living this lifestyle outside those four walls! Before I knew God, I looked to the church and the people in the church to reflect who God is. Often what I saw in the church, I wanted no part of. If we aren’t displaying The Love of God, we aren’t doing what God has called us to do.

Another topic that has reoccurred in almost every discussion, is how judgmental we are. I actually remember feeling this way. I saw people who seemed to be “too clean” to get their hands dirty to hangout with the poor, addicted, or broken. I have been in their spot. I felt hurt and not accepted. We are called to love, it covers a multitude of sins! If we are the one’s who start to judge others, we are living by the law. If we live by the law, we have to live by the whole entire law, therefore we end up condemned. So let God, be God.

What I learned through my own experiences from coming from Catholicism to exploring different religions, to having a personal relationship with Christ was that I looked to people instead of God. I didn’t really know God at all. I took what people said were the “rules” of being a believer and didn’t compare them to The Bible. Through my journey of finally knowing who my Abba is, I had to unlearn almost everything I was taught. See the devil is super good at lying and trying to stop you from God’s purpose for your life. But with doing my own research, I found God to be pure love, forgiving, encouraging, patient, kind, and everything I ever looked for in this world. What I really was searching for was God. I searched in a lot of the wrong places! Including drugs, alcohol, and some really unhealthy relationships.

I really don’t know who this post is for, but I hope if it’s someone who doesn’t know God, they do their own research like I did. If Holy Spirit gave you a love tap in one of the areas above, remember God is a merciful God and full of grace. I am by no means perfect. However, I try to live my life in a way that shows people who don’t know God, who he really is. The less of me, the more of Chirst, the better of you and I are! That is what God asks us for. He wants you to reach out to him and give him your heart. He wants you to try. If you mess up, guess what? He still loves you and is rooting for you to try again! I pray that we become more like Christ everyday! Showing unconditional love to everyone, not just the people who are in our comfort zone.