Do You Need To Hear Something Positive Today?

One of my great concerns about us as a people of God, as a Church, as followers of Jesus, is that we are so leader oriented. I wouldn't say that we worship our pastors and worship leaders but there is a bit of the world in our attitude. The world likes to elevate people to a demi-god position. Look at what we do to actors. So George Clooney can act, does that make his political opinion more important than yours? So Oprah Winfrey is a good interviewer, does that mean she knows what she is talking about spiritually? We do this to people who are no better than us, lifting them up, making them famous and important, and then treating their opinion as if it is based on some kind of special insight or wisdom. Part of this creeps into the Church.

We are looking for heroes, people we can follow, people we can quote, people we can trust and believe in but we do it for all the wrong reasons. In the Church there is no one more important than anyone else but there is respect. We respect those who are called into positions of leadership. We respect them because it is a difficult place to serve, not because they are better than anyone else. There are all kinds of callings and positions and they are all important to make the body function. We respect those who are called as the servants of the Body because it is a right thing to do, because the Bible tells us to, which means it is what God asks. But don't get it wrong.

We get it wrong when we start losing sight of the purpose and we start making the person more important than who we are in Jesus. We get it wrong when we see one person's calling of greater significance than our own or of someone else's. What is important is our purpose, the mission we were given. What is important is the Head of the Body and what he directs us to do, everyone of us, so we can work together to see the body function as it should.

There are two incidents of this in the Bible that really stand out for me. The first is found in Numbers 11. Moses had brought 70 of Israel's elders together. He caused the Spirit of God to come on the elders and the elders prophesied. Yet there were two elders still in the camp, not with the others, and the Spirit came on them as well and they prophesied.

Joshua, who had been Moses' aid since he was young, took great exception to this. He felt it took glory away from Moses and he told Moses to stop them from doing it. Joshua was making Moses more important than this thing that God was doing. Thankfully Moses was a mature leader and refused such temptation from his admirer:

“Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:29)

A leader called by God does not want to keep to himself the secrets or blessings of the Lord. He doesn't want his name to shine in lights. He doesn't want to be lifted higher than anyone else. He wants all of God's children to have what he has and to eat from the blessings he has received. We find this same scene played out with Jesus.

In this case it was the disciples who wanted a sense of being a special class. They were privileged to be picked by Jesus and they wanted to preserve that for themselves. In a sense they wanted to be the elite, belonging to a priesthood, having the inside track, part of an inner circle. They had it all wrong. Jesus had only called them so he could train them to go out and train others, to train the entire world. But the disciples had seen someone casting out a demon in Jesus' name and they stopped him. They actually stopped him. How easily legalism creeps in. Jesus corrected them in the same manner as Moses:

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:39-40)

Later Apostle Paul would run into the same problem with the Corinthians. They were dividing themselves into who they were following, causing conflicts, not unlike the doctrinal fights of our day. Paul had to tell them that one leader was no more important than another and each had his place and purpose and the only one who mattered was Jesus.

We need to get our perspective back in order to be doing what we need to be doing. It is great that there are people like me who are called for a specific reason in the Body of Christ, but there are so many more callings that are equally important. It is great that we have people who are given the gift of preaching, teaching, writing, singing, playing music but we need all the gifts to shine not just a few. Where are those with the gifts of encouragement, prophesying, healing, wisdom, knowledge, miraculous powers? Why have we allowed these to fade while placing special honour on others?

My friend, we need you. We need you to stop living in the shadow of your brothers and sisters and to shine in your calling. We need you to grab hold of your gift. I said your gift, not someone else's. Grab hold of that thing and give it all you have to serve others with it. There is no elitism in the Church, no priesthood because we are all of the royal priesthood. As Paul wrote:

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:7)

This is much longer than I intended to write but I want you to understand, you are important to Jesus, to the Church and to me. Please, throw off any ideas you had on leadership as understood in the world and start to think with your spiritual mind, the mind of Jesus. Be who Jesus has called you to be, and shine for his glory. I need you.











 

When Love Fades

Have you ever had someone love you so much that they were more interested in what was good for you than in what would make you think well of them? This would be the person who would tell you quite frankly how that hat looked on you or that you were dating a loser. This would be the person more interested in your future than your past, who thought you could always do the impossible if you would try, and who always wanted you to see yourself in the best light. This would be the person who you knew to be sincere when they expressed concern for you. Perhaps their honesty was a bit much to take at times but you always turned to them when you wanted to see the truth of a situation, and then avoided them when you wanted to lie to yourself.

Apostle Paul was like that with the Galatians; he sincerely loved them and he was sincerely concerned for them. Something had happened to them. Something had interrupted their faith. They had started off well, were sincere in their love of God and in their faith in him. They had tasted of his goodness, power and glory but now something was dragging them back to their former practices and beliefs:

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? (Galatians 4:8-9)

That is a good question: Once you have met and know Jesus how could you ever turn your back on him? Once you have tasted that love and walked in the richness of his fellowship, how could you ever be tempted by anything ever again? Unfortunately it is not that difficult to do.

It's not that people stop believing Jesus, it's just that they stop having time for him. Like the beginning of any affair in a marriage, it starts by not spending time with the object of your affection.. It's not that the love disappears, it simply starts fading a bit, gets weaker and the bond between the two people loosen. After that it doesn't take much to grab our attention and steal our heart away. We stop spending time with Jesus, get busy with other things, fill our head and heart with other notions, and before we know it we have another lover and we are lost to our first love.

It is unbelievable how weak we are with relationships. Those that don't fade and eventually break, stay together out of fear of not being together, but it has nothing to do with love. The relationship is still cold and broken. There is no life to it, no flame of passion. This too can describe us with Jesus. We are still loyal to him but we really don't feel anything. We serve but it is more out of duty or fear than it is out of a loving and thankful heart. It is in this state that we start up with a secret lover or two. We fall back into what we were familiar with and mask it in religion. It is a sad thing being trapped in a loveless marriage.

Praise be to God that there is no reason to stay in that state. You can rekindle that love by discovering the real Jesus all over again. Throw off everything that has entangled you, give those other lovers the boot, throw open the windows of your heart and be honest with Jesus. Confess the hidden things to him and allow him to start with you all over again. You don't need to hold on to those useless things, ideas, practices, rituals, anything you have come to depend on. The only dependency you should have is on Jesus, the true lover of your soul. He must be your everything or he will become nothing to you.

Examine your relationship with him again. Is he less important to you than he was in the beginning? Is there anything you would rather do than spend time with him? Are there things other than Kingdom things that are your motivation in life? What are the first things you consider when you go to make a decision? How much of your day involves Jesus? Is he your reason for everything or is he something you do when you can fit him in? Is your relationship as strong as it was or is it beginning to fade? Are you primed for an affair with your former life? Are you being attracted to other things? Well do something about it today. Don't put it off. Tomorrow could be too late for you. Ask Jesus for forgiveness and allow him to lead you back to health.

What happened to that one honest friend you had? Is she just a fading memory now; a well appreciate shadow from your past? Don't let Jesus become the same thing. You will never find a better lover, friend, champion, hero, companion and master than Jesus Christ. Hold on to him tightly and never let him go.

What So Many In The Church Fail To Understand

There are so many people who are still lost in the attitude of law and who have entirely missed the point of grace. The world is a place where everything has a price, a cost associated with it, so it is difficult for us to understand the free act of God's grace in such a context. Law is an easier thing for us to understand because justice is something we cherish in a world of law breakers. So we sit in our churches with our lists of do's and don'ts thinking that everything is well with us in a world that is going mad. But the truth is that we are just as lost as the world if we think a law will save us.

With the giving of the Holy Spirit, our Father has taken what was on paper and he has written it on our heart so that we are able to live the purpose of the law. Read through the Scriptures again and see how much our heart's condition matters to God. People struggle to understand where the law fits in compared to God's grace but Apostle Paul explained it very well in a few short verses. He starts off with:

So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ^[h] that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24)

So we see here that the law had purpose up until the arrival of Jesus. In fact, it's purpose, like everything from the Old Testament, was to lead us to Jesus. Paul explains it like this:

What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. (Galatians 4:1-3)

The Law given to Moses dealt with the basic principles of this world. It is all that they could handle at the time. God had to reveal a lot more of himself through this nation, using the Law, before he could bring them into the freedom of maturity. They were being raised under the trusteeship of the Law. Makes sense; a child under guardianship cannot make his own decisions but must follow the direction of the guardian. He has no choice in the matter.

Eventually that child is going to reach the age of majority and will be entitled to the freedom of sonship. That is what Jesus did for us, moving us from guardianship to the full rights of a son:

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:4-7)

Perhaps this is not all that exciting for you who are young in your faith but for those who are mature enough to understand, this is incredible stuff. I know that Paul seems to make a mere mention of the fact but the role of the Spirit is well worth taking note of. Jesus became the door for us to go through, to enter into this relationship with our Father. The cross is that door for us, not a place to hang out but to move beyond. It is the entry point. The mark of sonship, that we belong to God is the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Look at it again:

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”

Not everyone in this creation sees him as Father and not everyone has the right to call him Father, but we do. And as he gives us the Spirit, the Spirit moves the Law from the paper to our hearts and we are now governed by the greater law of love. The entire law is summed up in two very simple things that can only be lived out in practicality when we are possessed by the Holy Spirit: love God with your entire being and love your neighbour as yourself. Everything depends on these two things that are written on our hearts by the Spirit and worked out in our daily living.

Unfortunately, there are huge sections of the Church who insist on the guardianship of the Law, setting aside grace because they do not understand it in the context of this world. They are very much like the Pharisees and priests who joined the early Church and became the circumcision group that followed Paul around and constantly stirred up trouble for him. But just because they struggle with the big picture of what God has done does not mean we have to. Just because they remain in the guardianship of the Law does not mean we have to. We have been set free so that we can become sons of God.

Claim that freedom today. Come out of that guardianship and enjoy the full benefits and privileges of sonship by the grace of God. We are the children of God, joint-heirs with Jesus Christ who is the first born of a very large family. Trust God and accept this free gift of redemption. Receive the Spirit and start living as God has always intended for us to live, in deep fellowship with him.

Something Worth Celebrating

What a beautiful day! To wake up to the reality of God's love and his presence can't help but put a song in our heart. He loves us! That is the reality in which we live; He loves us! And because he loves us we have nothing to fear or worry about. Apostle Paul put the truth of it quite simply when he wrote that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Try to name one thing that you think God's love is not strong enough to overcome. It has overcome sin and death so what little insignificant thing do you think is more powerful than sin and death?

Part of the problem we have is that we do not understand just how strong God's commitment is to us. If we consider it in legal terms, we all understand what a contract is. If I enter into a contract with some person or some company we have come into agreement with terms that spell out the responsibility and obligation of both sides to each other. No one can add to that contract and no one can take away from it. If either tries then there are consequences spelled out in the contract. This is how Apostle Paul explained it to the Galatians:

Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. (Galatians 3:15-18)

What God promised to Abraham he fulfilled in Jesus Christ and he signed that covenant with us in blood. There is no way that God is going to break that covenant because our God is not a man that he would say yes today and no tomorrow. Our God is the God of "yes" and "amen". He is the promise keeper, the Rock, the only one we can fully depend on. Come on now, he has even defeated sin and death to get to us with his love, so what is a little morning blues to that?

We need to find a way to get rid of our doubts, shake ourselves up, realize his love and purpose for us, and live in the grace and power of that love. We have no reason to face this day with fear or worry. We have no reason to feel defeated or overwhelmed. We have no reason to feel weary and burdened. We are loved by our faithful, loving, powerful God who has promised us all things. We have been told that whatever we need we only have to ask for it in the relationship we have with Jesus Christ. Through Jesus we have become the children of God and as children we have access to the throne.

The access I speak of is not revoked because of our unfaithfulness and sin. Are you kidding? God's grace is so amazing and so plentiful that when we sin grace is immediately applied as we repent. Look at Abraham. He was far from perfect. In fact there were times that he was a terrible man, giving up his wife to another man to save his own skin. But God's grace constantly covered Abraham and Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Come on my friend, don't allow this spirit to stay on you. You are not defeated and you are not weak. You are a mighty warrior, victorious in all things because God is on your side. More than that, through the Holy Spirit in you, Jesus himself is with you today and in his authority all darkness is vanquished from your sight. You have no reason not to smile, laugh and enjoy this day. You are loved with a love that no force in all of creation or outside of creation can touch, disturb or destroy. You belong to the great Covenant Keeper and that is worth celebrating.

Hey You! The One Sitting There In The Dark. What Are You Hoping For?

Who you say you are and who you think you are can vary greatly from your actual reality. If we want to discover who we truly are we need to notice how we react in an emergency. It is amazing how emergencies bring out our character and the things that are really in our heart. We say we are a people of faith but when something tragic or dramatic happen to us, what is our first reaction? Is it to turn to a friend for help? Is it to run to family? Is it to run to the doctor or to our credit card, depending on the type of emergency? Or do we pray, trusting that the promises are true and are applied to us and our family?

It really depends on how you answer this question: Where is your hope found? I know, it sounds like a dull and drab question but I want you to ponder it for a few minutes, right now. Are you dependent on your parents, spouse or perhaps a friend? What is your back-up plan? Are you reliant on your education, your intelligence? Perhaps it's your beauty that you hope will always put you on top? It is amazing how we so easily fall into this trap, finding something that seems to be more concrete and accessible than our hope in Jesus Christ.

It is a shame when we start relying on other things than Jesus Christ. Everything else is temporary and in a constant state of change. Relationships change and evolve. The people we thought would always be there for us move out of our lives. Finances rise and fall with a whim. Jobs are anything but stable in this age. Governments come and go, laws are changed, society's values change. Our youthful beauty is lost with time, or at least the appearance of such shallow thoughts of beauty. Even our intelligence fades with age and those degrees become dusty and outdated. There is only one constant in this world and his name is Jesus Christ. His love and promises forever stay the same.

Paul wrote to Timothy:

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:9-10)

If you are relying on anything or anyone else you are going to face heartache, but if your reliance is on Jesus Christ then your life will be forever filled with his joy. That is not to say you will not face difficulties but you will discover that his joy never leaves you when you, in faith, push through such times. We are more than conquerors because Jesus has overcome everything. It means that no matter what we face we can overcome it because he has already overcome it. 

Don't just say that you trust Jesus and love him dearly, live it every single moment of your day. He doesn't just give us hope, he is our hope. He gives us strength and power to overcome all the schemes of the enemy. He has given us authority to chase away demons, to heal the sick and give sight to the blind. He has given us such a great hope so that we can show the lost his great light in all the dark corners of this world and in their lives. We are not a defeated or suffering people. May Jesus be glorified in our lives as we push through everything to break out into victory with this living hope we have discovered through God. When you can honestly say that Jesus is your everything and you are willing to lose all other things in your life, then you will know what is real hope.

 

Why Is Life So Complicated?

So much noise. So many voices. So many distractions. It's a wonder we can hear God's voice at all as we overcrowd our life and complicate it beyond anything reasonable. It would be interesting to make a list of all the essential things and activities in our day and then make a list of all the non-essential. I wonder which would be the longer list? I wonder if we would be able to tell the difference between the two? No wonder we are getting the philosophies and ideas of the world so mixed up with God's Word.

Every day I am hearing or reading things from Christians that come directly from the current thinking in the world system. "Believe in yourself." "You can do anything you put your mind to." "If you think you can, you will." Yet, until we realize our total fallen state and that we have nothing of any worth to offer Jesus, we will not be able to fully accept his grace, mercy and compassion. As long as we believe that there is some good in us God can do nothing for us. We have to realize that Jesus must and has done it all for us, that there is nothing we can do for ourselves, before we will begin to understand the extent of his love for us and everyone else.

Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth:

Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:34)

There are two parts to this. First of all we need to come back to our senses and stop sinning. The problem with the Corinthians is that they had started twisting the gospel Paul had brought to them. They started rejecting the fact of the resurrection. They were philosophers and they loved talking about new ideas and new religions which they would then take on or reject. Somehow they were allowing the philosophies to dilute the truth of the gospel. Not unlike today as we pick and choose from a whole grocery store of thoughts, ideas, and life philosophies. Instead of sticking to the clear Word of God we are creating our own beliefs from bits and pieces of everything that tickles our ears.

Second, these people were distracted from their purpose. Instead of doing what God has called us all to do they were distracted by their great debates and discussions. They preferred to sit around and talk about the gospel instead of actually doing the gospel. Paul said it was to their shame that some people were still ignorant of God. Isn't that crazy? It's like working at a grocery store and spending all day discussing the best way of stocking the shelves without actually stocking the shelves. It is great that we have opportunities to study the Bible but the Bible is more than a piece of literature to be discussed and studied; it is an instruction manual that tells us what we are suppose to be doing. The most important thing for us to be doing is getting out of our churches and into life so we can share the good news of Jesus Christ.

We are complicating our lives whereas God has made it simple for us. You have not been saved for your own pleasure but so that you could be used as an instrument in someone else's salvation. We have not been left in this place to chase after the things of the pagans, to pursue our own entertainment and pleasures but instead to live for Jesus by serving other people. It's all about getting your head screwed on right, coming back to your senses, to stop sinning, to stop making life about you and instead making life about Jesus and others. Examine your day, cut out the non-essentials and see what you are left with. Then start filling your day with the purpose of your life. Remember, you died to yourself and now you live in Jesus. Without him you have no life. As Paul stated, Jesus is our life and we live for his purpose, not our own.

What Have We Done To God's Design?

As a youth I was always fascinated with 1 Corinthians 14 and the description of what a Christian gathering looked like. As one who found church absolutely boring and predictable, I was intrigued by the inclusiveness of Paul's description of the order that was needed because of everyone's preparedness to participate:

When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. (1 Corinthians 14:26)

Church in my youth was not unlike it is today. There may be a bit more singing and the songs may be a bit more upbeat and modern but the format is still the same:

- greeted at the door
- find a seat
- listen to the welcome and announcements
- sing some songs
- tithes and offerings
- listen to the preacher
- prayer
- go home or out to lunch

Not a lot of participation or even potential participation. It is all very predictable and controlled. Man got his hands on the new thing that God was doing and had to control it. Take note in this passage that Paul was not trying to control the Spirit but simply to help the Corinthians understand that there must be some order to it all:

- If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. (v. 27)


- Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. (v. 29)


- And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. (v. 30)

Wow! I wonder what the experience must have been like? The freedom to speak through as many people as he chose, the various revelations that would come in, the variety of speakers, no long winded preaching. Realize the beauty of this:

For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. (v. 31)

I point this out to you because it is important for us to understand that we are still often governed by the traditions of man. Many of us think that we walk in the freedom of the Spirit believing that what was done by the previous generation was God ordained. I think God has a lot of patience with us, that he has permitted many things that are not his will, and that we should really examine what governs us.

As far as I am concerned every generation should question what has been handed down to it and every person should seek God's will for themselves. There have been many incorrect teachings in the past. Perhaps the evil age of denominations is now over. I certainly see a lot more mix of Christians online. I rarely hear people online discussing their denominational differences. But I am still thinking we don't do church right.

We have become very professional with our clergy, our priests. I don't care what denomination you are from, we treat our ministers, our pastors, our clergy like priests and that is not what we see here in this passage. It was recognized that everyone was filled by the Spirit and had received spiritual gifts for the Church. No one had to show their credentials before bringing a word. There was no requirement to obtain a bachelor degree before being accepted to speak. The traditions of man did not exist yet and the Spirit flowed with incredible power.

Just as we have seen a revolution take place in our worship, where there is more freedom now to worship and praise with our spirit, so we must see a great change in our approach to our gatherings. I still long, as I did as a youth, to see the Spirit move again like he did in the beginning, when we will recognize that we are all members of the royal priesthood, that everyone is capable of being used by the Spirit to bring instruction and encouragement to the Body of Christ. Learn to distinguish the difference between the traditions of man and the will of God.






 

Don't Dismiss Something From God Just Because You Don't Understand It

It is funny that I often find myself in a position of defending a spiritual gift such as speaking in tongues. I have no Pentecostal background neither have I had any involvement with the Charismatic movement, but what I am is a student of the Word of God and Holy Spirit possessed. The gift of tongues is real, it is special and it is given for our private edification with God. You could call it a love language between you and God. It is not necessary for your salvation nor is it the only sign of being possessed by the Holy Spirit, but it is wonderfully special and mysterious.

In Paul's argument as to the place of tongues in the life of a follower of Jesus, he gave us a bit of insight into what takes place with this gift. Paul is adamant that the gift of tongues should not fill our meetings because it holds no value for anyone without Jesus. As he explains this he also tells us what transpires as we use this gift. He points out some dangers:

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. (1 Corinthians 14:14-15)

The gift of tongues is a wonderful mystery. You can hear yourself praying but you don't understand any of it, yet you know that the deep longing, desires, passions and love are being communicated to God. You can feel the possession of God throughout but at the same time your mind is left disengaged from the communication. There is a real danger that your mind can wonder and wherever it wonders to your heart will be sure to follow. It is important that while your spirit is engaged that you engage your mind in prayer as well. It is a difficult thing to explain the process but it is wonderfully fulfilling and encouraging. Most people have no idea the incredible experience of singing with their spirit.

Too many people dismiss speaking in tongues as useless and plain bunk. It is useless for other people. It communicates nothing to anyone but yourself. It holds no value in the higher priority of communicating the message of Jesus to the lost, as Paul explained to the Corinthians:

If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. (1 Corinthians 14:16-17)

This is plainly understood. Our public worship and thanksgiving glorifies God to other people. Paul states clearly here:

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue. (1 Corinthians 14:18-19)

However, just because it has no place in our public meetings does not mean it does not have a great value in our relationship with God. It has great importance in our personal growth with Jesus and it is a very personal gift that he has given to us through the Holy Spirit. It is a gift I strongly encourage you to explore as you seek to love God with all your mind, heart, soul and strength. It truly is a great personal spiritual gift from our loving Lord Jesus. Don't dismiss it just because you don't understand it. The Spirit gives understanding to everyone who seeks it. God ahead, enjoy this gift from God.
 

Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind

In a rushed and hurried world it is easy to forget who we are suppose to be. In a world filled with problems and hardships it is easy to let go of our character. In a life overflowing with drama it is easy to lose sight of what is important. In a Church that is always under pressure and defending herself it is easy to overlook the foundation of her existence. What is life without love? What is the Church without love? According to the Word of God they are nothing:

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2) 

For centuries poets have tried to find the words to describe love but what they managed to come up with is of lesser quality than what the Word describes. What we find in 1 Corinthians 13 is a beautiful description of Jesus' love but this is the same love he told us we must have for each other. It is a powerful, demanding, all encompassing love that expects the very best from us. It is so great that to take it in we have to look at it in sections. As we do this my prayer for us is the same as Paul's was for the Ephesians:

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19)

In Paul's inspiring definition of love he starts off with something very simple: "Love is patient, love is kind". (v. 4a) Often in evaluating my words and actions I don't get any further than these two things. I use 1 Corinthians 13 as a measuring rod to check myself, to see if what I say and do convey the love of Jesus. My wife is often my testing point. There is no one I love more than my wife and there is no one I spend more time with than her. This means she has more opportunity to annoy me and drive me crazy than anyone else and at the same time no one knows me as well as she does. If I can't love her with the love of Jesus what hope is there in me loving others?

My wife and I are individuals at the same time as being one together. We share many similar interests but we also have dissimilar interests. We have different characters, different strengths and weaknesses, sometimes different goals. We definitely have different perspectives because we have different life experiences so we have the potential of really getting on each others nerves. But we share something in common what allows it all to come together and work to our advantage; we both love Jesus and are loved by him and that love is our measuring rod.

In all I say and do with my wife my desire is to be patient and kind. Love means that she is important enough to me that I will be patient with her whenever a situation or conversation requires patience. This means refusing to get aggravated with her or even frustrated. Many wrong words are spoken and wrong actions taken in moments of frustration but because she is the object of my affection I choose to be patient because she is important to me.

In moments of tiredness, frustration, exasperation, worry, fear, anxiety it is possible to take it out on the people we love the most, but this is a poor excuse for letting go of our responsibility. I find one of the greatest testing points for love is kindness. If we are not kind with those we have a responsibility to love then we do not have a grasp of what love is. Kindness is found it what we do and say, but not just in the action but in the attitude. I can wash the dishes for my wife, giving her a break, but I can show in my attitude that I don't like it. Some spouses are just plain mean to each other and this reveals the immaturity of their love.

In all relationships there is the "falling in love" experience, that euphoria that blinds you to the other person's faults and to the short comings of the relationship. Soon enough the euphoria will wear off because it is a fantasy love and then the real work begins. Relationships take work as we learn to love each other, as we learn to be patient and kind. This is the truth for the Church as well, love requires work and is a decision we take.

Don't misunderstand me, this love of Jesus we are to have for each other is not something we are capable of without the Holy Spirit. He gives us that ability but we have to chose to walk in it. We have to chose to apply the love in our relationships. The members of the Body of Christ have to chose to be patient and kind with one another. Of course we have only scratched the surface in examining the love of Christ but it is enough to evaluate whether we understand and live the love of Jesus. Examine yourself in your words and actions today to see if you treat those you love with patience and kindness. Tomorrow we will take another step in examining the deeper things of God's love.

God's Economic Plan and Bail Out

During the student devotion time over the past week we seemed to follow a theme of contentment. Considering the economic times the world is facing right now I consider it an appropriate message. Considering the way our society has developed over the decades it is a message that is lost on most. Of course contentment is being satisfied with what we have. It is that thing that we all think we will have when we achieve just one more thing, whether it is the raise we long for, the home we hope to buy, the marriage we plan to have, or that child for whom we have prayed.

Yet this "one more" thing is the great trap that we have been raised in. We all know that when we achieve that next thing there will be another desire to replace it; or is it only me who has experienced this? Considering the average household debt and how hard everyone is working to get ahead I would hazard to guess that I am not alone.

In all of this there is something precious we are losing out on; our dependence on God. Perhaps the world is about to be humbled to its knees again. Perhaps we are all about to be refreshed in this area of dependence on God. We shall see. But I want you to consider it just a little bit today.

In chapter 6 of Matthew's Gospel Jesus simply states, "Don't worry". He starts that thought off with a "therefore" which forces us to consider what came before it. So before this statement of "don't worry" we find Jesus' instruction not to seek the treasures of this world but to invest in our spiritual condition. I think we would all agree that most of us have lost our practice of this teaching. Have you? Well consider this: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Now there is no one around right now except for God and you. You can afford to be honest. Where's your heart? You see, you have to be willing to answer that question honestly before you can understand how it is possible to live without worry. You need to understand where you are in this relationship with God and what it is that he honestly holds out for us. We also need to be able to define our society.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?"

These are the words of Jesus and in order to be able to make them practical in our lives we need to know where our heart is. This isn't just a money issue. This is an attitude issue that encompasses even relationships. Remember that Jesus told us that our love for him must be so great that any love we have for anyone else would seem like hate when compared. When we ask where our heart is, what gives us the most pleasure, what brings us the most joy, the most satisfaction we need to consider our bank account, our possessions, our hobbies, our relationships and our work?

Worry and fear exists when we have given the wrong things the priority. Often we give our wants the priority but Jesus made it clear that it is our needs that will be supplied. My fear is that we take the resources God gave us for our needs and we spend them on our wants.

I will give you the example I gave my students. Your mom or dad gave you $50 to get a new pair of jeans and a couple of shirts. You really need those jeans. On the way to the store you pass by the video store and notice that they finally have a copy of the video game you have been waiting for, and it is on sale. You weigh the two things in your mind and rationalize your way into buying what you want. Come Monday morning you have no pants to wear to school and stay home which is okay because you can now play on your video game. Unfortunately the video game is not going to do for your future what education will. You invested in your wants instead of your needs. How does this illustration translate into an adult life?

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

If people want to live according to their wants instead of their needs that is up to them, just don't blame God or claim he has renaged on his promises. Our God remains faithful. He continues to invest in our lives every day. He is awesome in this way, but he is targetting our needs not our desires. There is another scripture that speaks to this point as well:

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. " (James 4)

Look at the language James uses in the nest sentence:

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?"

What did Jesus say?

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

None of this was said or is being said to judge, although James' language is severe in this matter. Jesus taught us this to save us from a life time of heart ache and misery and to set us on a path of kingdom thinking. Contentment is not found after the next desire is fulfilled and it is not even found in what we have now. Contentment is found when you become satisfied in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything else is finite; it will end, it will be lost, it will decrease, it will change. Yet the love of our God is unending and Paul assures us that nothing can separate us from it.

The world is changing again. Does it leave you with fear or anxiety about your future? Are you plagued by worry? Then ask the Spirit to teach you what it is to live without fear and without worry. Ask him to teach you the same lesson he taught the apostle Paul:

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4)