Jesus presence is within and surrounding us. Let’s begin with the love for family and being rejected by them. Nothing can break your heart like the lost of family members and it’s not about death; dying, but actually being cutting you out of their lives for nothing more than jealousy. To be hated and resent by family members like sibling rivalry, being so much different than them. To be seen for your compassion, mercy, Kindness, forgiveness and love as someone phoney wanting something in return. It may seem like you’re doing everything in your power to out shine them when you’re just being you. The hardest thing to do is to find yourself at war with one of your own. Tears in your eyes and reluctant to war with them like they are a stranger on a battle field. Put aside all your love, psych yourself out to see them as an enemy when you know in your heart how much you love and care for them. The devil is liar! He put thought in peoples heart and minds towards one other, and we’re the ones who allows him the invitations instead of resisting him in the process and not give in.

Are we not our brothers keepers? There’s always going to be a Judas in the midst of us, whether family or friends. And just remember it is the devil who possesses them, so when we recognize it we must pray for them. Like Jesus being nailed to the cross looking down at the people remember how much he loves them and would do anything for them with the echoes of “crucify him, crucify him” repeating in his head. So as you enter the room with them in it and you’re filled with dread because you know anything you say or do is going to be met with criticism or respond with a negative comment. Their energy in the room towards you is absorbed within your spirit, you feel it and everything in you wants you leave, but yet you stay allowing them the audience to keep throwing the punches as you wait and pray patiently for a change in them. Always a target of their jokes and humiliations, but you continue to hope and pray for the love of God within you. Do they even know what they are doing? Like Jesus said, “ forgive them father, for they know not what they do? Can they be so cruel? When they needed me I was there, nothing was too much for me to give when asked, I did my best when I could to help them and it was all unconditional love. But for my love hate, my tears resentment, and for my mercy and forgiveness a constant reminder not to let it go.

A stranger can treat you with such hatred and you’d expect it, they don’t know who you are, but your own? You feel like someone has sliced your spirit and soul, you can never be the same again and you’re broken, shattered and divided. “Family” Blood is ticker than water, isn’t that the way it should be? But like the Gentile to the Jews, stranger would love and treat you better than your own, which shouldn’t be! You can be kin by blood, but yet divided by the devil, to walk the walk of shame and to know you sell yourself short not because of sin, but because of the lack of knowledge, wisdom and understanding to who’s and whom you are.

When you’re inflicting hurt and pain to others unknowingly, especially to your own family with such hatred and discord it’s call possession. When you’ve picked up your cross and follow Jesus as he commanded, you do endure what it felt like for him. He never expected for us to carry the burden he’d carry, but for us to never forget so we can carry on the legacy for generations until he return, lest we forget. It is our responsibility like Jesus to recognize the frailty within one another and to leave the judgement and condemnations to such as a time when Jesus himself returns. Jesus knew it at the cross and many of us has to feel it in meeting Jesus there on Calvary, the brokenness of heart that it takes to fulfill the will of God all for love. Maybe for all we know the return of Jesus is predicated on all of humanity to meet Him at the cross, remembering when he said, “take up your cross and follow me. The cross costs!