“You will be hated by everyone because of me…” (Matthew 10:22).

So…

The statement is true.

• We will die and we will face judgment.
• Without Jesus, we will be damned.
• God’s wrath against sinners will be poured out.

This is all true.

But…dang…this is not the way to communicate God’s love for sinners!!!

Jesus told us that his followers will be hated. But Jesus didn’t say that his followers will be hated because they are annoying or because they are jerks. Jesus told us that we would be hated because of Jesus, because of his name. Just as the world hated Jesus, so the world will hate those who follow and live like Jesus.

The last thing Jesus was, was a jerk!

I like the way @aussiedave put it. He says, “If people hate you because of Jesus, that’s expected. If people hate Jesus because of you, that’s a problem.”

@aussiedave is right. Be merciful as Jesus is merciful. Be kind as Jesus is kind. Be gracious as Jesus is gracious. Being like Jesus will be more than enough for a world that wants to go on sinning to hate Jesus followers.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Sinners? Yup.
Repeat sinners? Yup.

It’s a given. We are sinners. There is not one single human being who prays to God who is innocent. We are all guilty. We are all undeserving of God’s mercy and grace. We are all deserving of God’s wrath and judgment.

Yet, God still calls us to pray.
Yet, God still answers prayers.
Yet, God still loves us.

The devil uses what everyone already knows and wants to use that against us. He makes us feel guilty for praying to God. “What right do you have? You are a sinner…a repeat sinner at that! How many times are you going to ask God to forgive you for that? You actually think God is going to answer YOUR prayers?!?!”

The thing the devil doesn’t want you to know is this simple truth. We do not pray because of who we are. We pray because of who God is.

• Of course we are undeserving. That’s why God is merciful.
• Of course we are sinful. That’s why God calls us to repentance.
• God WANTS to forgive us.

So, pray. Pray. Let God know what’s in your heart. Let God get close. Pray.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

You can worry. You can. No one is stopping you.

The only thing is that worrying changes nothing. Worrying about something will never make it better.

Or, you can pray. Give it God. God can change everything. God can change even you.

You can worry or you can pray. Totally up to you.

You know which one I advocate for. And, if you are going to pray, listen to what the Apostle Paul tells us about how to pray.

Do not be anxious about anything and in every situation, pray. How do we do that?

First, he says, “Give thanks as we present our requests to God.” Isn’t that interesting? He wants us to give thanks before and as we pray. He wants us to give thanks long before God starts answering our prayers. You know why? That God answers prayers is a given. God will answer every prayer. So give thanks in every situation and don’t worry because once we give it to God, it’s God’s problem.

Second, when we pray like that, we will have a peace that transcends human understanding. I love that. God will give us a peace that this world cannot give, and a peace that we do not deserve.

There you go.

You can worry or you can pray.

Totally up to you.