| Love is the tip of the iceberg that people are able to see. Simply put, people are able to see Love because it is what they are looking for and what they expect! "He that loves not knows not God; for God is love." 1 John 4:8 Love is not some free floating indiscernible transcendental. Love is a Person. Love has a Name. His Name is Jesus. Jesus came to all men to be the manifest Love of the Father. If we want to know the ways in which the Father loves us we only need to observe the behavior of Jesus, and to listen to His words. That is the intentionality of the heart of God. We, as His witnesses and representatives in the realm of Earth, must embody this very same personality and Love. Before moving forward into the Promises and Initiatives of 2010, we must, must, must, repent from hate and projected hate which is very much a thing of witchcraft! Hate is the principality which rules over a lesser cousin: Judgment. Hate is insidious and wily. A Case in Point: I read a 'Pastor's' writing on Facebook about homosexuality. Guess what? He's against it. IT. Remember that little, insidious word "IT." Certainly God is not in favor of "IT." He clearly says so. In dealing with ISSUES and especially sin ISSUES, rather than dealing with human beings with names, addresses, hearts and minds, we fly down the slippery slope, away from loving them, and land in Hating IT. This is the point at which the witchcraft occurs. We assign all of the hating of the Issue or "IT" onto the people - the "Them." The 'them' or the people created by God are vilified, dare I say demonized, and made the target of hatred. They are separated and segregated. Objectified. The 'Pastor' who wrote the anti-homosexuality piece went on to say that in his lifetime (50 plus years) he has spoken with several homosexuals. Really? Has he known any gay folks? Wouldn't that be something! This is a word about LOVE. His Name is Jesus. He is accepting. He loves entirely and without condition. He loves sinners to the omega point of dying for them! He loved me while I was yet in sin - and entirely black-hearted and unattractive. Kelly Deppen owes Him everything. I have never done a single thing to deserve His Love let alone His Life - yet - there you have it - HE LOVES ME. It is because I have this Testimony of His Love that Love is what I lead with. It is the Tip of the Iceberg that people can see. Love produces great swells of Favor in my life because every human heart is open to this Love that I am only able to share via His Grace. That Favor draws people to want to know the Jesus that is beneath the surface of the water, to search me deeper because their expectation is that if I lead with Love, Love is my foundation as well. In 2010 Make It a Non-Negotiable to Lead with Love! Love will open hearts, minds and doors - if it is Priority One. Jesus will open hearts, minds, and doors - if it is Priority One. Lead with the law, lead with your self-conferred title, lead with your political affiliations, lead with the name of your denomination and you will continue to experience the closed-mindedness and closed hearts that we all too sadly have settled for and thought that we were righteous! Perhaps the world has patently rejected us because they did not recognize us as LOVE! FATHER FORGIVE US! Beloveds, we have a duty to Love. Kelly Deppen is an alum of Messiah college in Grantham, PA where her great grandparents were co-founders. Her business degree is from Pennsylvania State University. She left a 22 year corporate career in Marketing and Organizational Leadership 4 years ago to write and speak full time. She is the author of PARABOLA: Experiencing Jesus Christ as Reality released November 2008 in Second Edition. Kelly and her husband David serve via Bridges Revelatory Ministry. Their mission is to be a coherent and compassionate prophetic voice to all faith expressions and to all cultures and people-groups.
You can find out more at: www.theparabola.com |
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