Courageous Third

Personal thoughts, Craig Carter…

Read the book! Just Follow

Summarizing 40 days of real life, Fall of 2024. Journey with a normal person just following God. A former Corporate Finance Controller, radically loving and praying for hundreds of people and nations; in Korea, China, and the USA.

No compromise to faith – All done with no compromise to deeply held Christian faith. Praying with all, exactly how I pray privately or with other Christians. Others see authenticity and God’s merciful compassionate love, as we love as God loves.

Examples:

• Bible, Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan – Someone from one religion went out of his way to love a stranger in need, that had a different religion. Jesus said to imitate this love! Neither changed religious beliefs.
• Personal Examples, Other Faiths – Invited to pray for a Russian Atheist Leader, Baha’i Corporate Attorney, Druze SW Engineer living in Israel, Sikh Product Manager for his marriage, finances and death of their son, Muslim and Jewish friends for their marriages. Hundreds more from dozens of nations. All of these people shared how loved they felt, often in tears, and how prayer touched them. Many had never experienced this kind of love and care before, the deep love of God!
• Personal Examples, Catholic and Protestant – A Protestant blessed to be asked to pray for nuns, priests, and others. Catholic nuns and priests praying for a Protestant. Worshiping together. Praying together. Reading the Bible together. Seeking together how to show the world the love of God. Read in the Bible John 17, Jesus prays for unity not uniformity! Do we agree on all things, of course not, but we can work together in love.
• So, should we love and help others, even if they don’t ever believe in our faith, and this helps them become stronger in their faith? Is it loving to do this, yes. So yes! Look in the Bible, there are stories about exactly this. God loves. All. Even though He knows not all will receive His love and follow Him, He still loves all. We must do the same, if we say we just follow Him. Read the book, this is not a theory – it is reality, lives and nations are changed as we love.

Writing this is challenging.

Realizing the pushback is usually from religious Christ followers asking this question: 

“Is loving people of other faiths what God wants? Won’t that require I compromise my faith?”

No, there is no compromise, it is living out our faith! Do we say “…all faiths are the same and that they all point to the same God.” – of course not – their own texts do not support this. Read the Bible. Koran. Other books – most major religions claim they are the only way to God.

Even asking this question breaks the merciful loving heart of God. Really? Do we think God wants us to hold back loving people? Loving doesn’t mean we agree, it means we see them as God does, in love.

Yet, that was me.

I used to ask this question. I didn’t love live Jesus. I was like Saul… God had to open my eyes.

Those receiving the love and prayer never question, they are busy soaking up God’s love! Jesus had to open my eyes, humbling me, to love as He does. It is hard, crushing, painful to love like Jesus did – and God had to give me courage to just follow Him in love. Few love like Jesus, likely why the world has yet to embrace Him. May He open your eyes also, to love all deeply, to Just Follow Him. For God gave His son Jesus up to death to show His love for all people, as our example. All people God died for. Some will accept Him, most won’t. Yet, he loved them so much He died for them.

May we follow our leader.

Giving our lives as He did.

To love all.