Where's the love?

I've been convicted more and more these days of the stinginess of my love. When I read about Jesus' life here on earth, it reveals a love that's full and free. Jesus loved people without strings attached. He met them where they were at and loved them. He gave people the freedom and dignity to choose for themselves how they wanted to respond to His love. That's why I really appreciate this video because it challenges me to love without question, to give my love away completely for free.

But, this video also challenges me to love people fully with all that I am. Again, that's how Jesus loved people, with all of Himself. He held nothing back, not even His very life which He willingly gave up for our sake. His sacrifice was the ultimate selfless act of love in which everyone who chooses to believe and accept this incredible gift can then spend all of eternity with Him in Heaven. Love is so amazing, yet so mysterious at the same time.

When I think about God's unconditional love for me, I am always floored and amazed. The bible talks about "the mystery of God," meaning there are some things about God that we may never, ever understand this side of Heaven. For me, part of the mystery of God is His unconditional love. The more I experience God's love, the more I am overwhlemed by the depth and breadth of His love. If I really sit down to ponder this, I believe that the only way to fully embrace and experience the fullness of God's love would take an eternity. 

The bible says, "We love becuase God first loved us" (1 John 4:19). I find comfort in this because this means that I don't have to generate this full and free love on my own. But the more I press into God's love the more His love will fuel my love both for Him and for others. What an amazing truth! My prayer is that from this day foward you would experience a greater depth and breadth of God's love in your life and that His love would bring healing, salvation and restoration to your life. I pray that God's love would literally begin to bubble out of your heart because it is so full of His love. In Jesus Name, Amen.

It's a love thang

Over these past few weeks I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed because as I have been praying and thinking through how to really minister effectively while being faithful in an entitlement enviornment, but what I've come to realize is that God has been revealing to me my own spirit of entitlement. So, to make this story a bit shorter, these past few weeks have really come, because of God's grace, to their inevitable end which is me repenting and asking Jesus to give me a servant's heart. On further reflection, its like I've become more prideful than broken "I deserve this, I deserve that, I can do this, I can do that" which is directly connected to having an entitlement mentality. This is an old, but new facet of the pride within my heart. Most my life, I never really thought I deserved anything.

Since God saved me 9 years ago from a hopeless life of drug addiction, I've always been more broken than prideful (generally speaking). I knew full well then as I should still know now just how sinfully worthless I was before God divinely intervened in my life. So, during this past week I've been reflecting on just where God has taken me from and where He has me now. Where God has me now in this faith journey, does make perfect sense, if, I pause long enough to see the whole journey and not just the here and now. Sanctification is a process as Paul tells us: "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Phil 2:12b-13). When I just look at the here and now, I lose sight of just how much grace, mercy and love God has lavished on me, I forget that it is God who is working in me. Just this morning, while I was worshipping God in my room to a personalized worship set, I realized that I've slowly become less and less actively in love with Jesus.

I know that God is building perseverance in me and equipping me through ministry (and life) hardships to mature me, but while in the midst of this I've become less and less actively in love with Jesus. I have not allowed my heart to express its love for the precious Savior and Lover of my soul which has been a welcomed wake up call for me. It's so amazing the grace that Jesus extends to me. I am so grateful that even when I drop the ball in our relationship, Jesus never does. He never stops being actively in love with me. It's a love thing.

Are you starving Jesus?

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:12-14).

What does it mean to be a prophetic voice today?

What goes through your mind when you read Peter quoting Joel in Acts 2:17-21?

"'In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'"

Two questions should come to mind: 1) Are these the last days? And 2) Has God poured His Spirit on all people? More specifically, has He poured out His Spirit on this generation?

Now, if you believe that God has poured out His Spirit on all peoples and believe that this generation is included in this outpouring, than you should then also believe that we are living in the last days where all peoples will have the potential to be a prophetic voice to the world for the Kingdom of God. If you spend anytime on the Internet than you know that there are so many people out there who have something to say. Whenever I go to “You Tube” I get bombarded by video after video of people speaking up and speaking out about anything and everything. Blogging is also gaining a lot of popularity. People in this generation have a lot to say (myself included).

Now, to be honest a lot of what’s out there is just people seeking to be funny or inventive or shocking, but there are those who are genuinely sharing the passions and convictions that they hold in their hearts. If I take a step back and take a broad view of what’s going on, what all this says to me is that there are so many people out there who have the potential to be a prophetic voice for this generation. They just need to be brought into the Kingdom of God by people who have faithfully taken up the mandate made famous by Dawson Trotman, founder of the Navigators: “To know Christ and to make Him known.” These words really summarize the two greatest priorities of the Christian life: 1) to know Christ intimately and 2) to make Him know to a world that does not yet know Him. To ground these in Scripture, we can root these in the Great Commandment (Matt 22:37-39) and the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20).

If you believe that you are a prophetic voice to the world than your focus needs to begin to change from being on yourself to towards the world around you. So this means, spending time discerning the times that we live in. Have you ever really sat down and taken a closer look at the times that we live in? Maybe it's time that you did.

Reality Check

The doctrine of Total Depravity is the summarization of the spiritual condition of fallen people due to the result of the original sin of Adam and Eve. Total Depravity does not mean that we are all as evil as can be, but it does mean that every inclination a person has has been polluted in some way by sin. Now the basic premise for this is that in the beginning people were meant to love God fully by worshipping and serving Him and Him alone. But, because sin has tainted every aspect of a person we are more apt to worship everything else, except God. When we think in terms of Total Depravity, we must think of it in the context of our worship and devotion of God.

What I've been challenged with recently is making the transition from understanding Total Depravity to owning my own personal depravity (how Total Depravity manifests itself in my own life). For me, it's like I'm looking at myself in a mirror where I think the reflection I'm staring at looks pretty good, but that's the lie that I want to believe. The reality of the matter is, which is far closer to the truth is that my reflection looks more like what I would see if I were staring into one of those circus mirrors. You know those mirrors that stretch and smoosh you. If, I say that I believe in Total Depravity than this is what I must accept: that I am fundamentally distorted and I live in this distortion everyday.

But, that's not the end of the story. The bible says: "For if, by the trespass of the one man [Original Sin], death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace [Salvation] and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ."(Rom 5: 17). In Jesus, God has provided a way of redemption for all mankind. When I come to Jesus, I come to Him just as I am, warts and all, and He loves me just the way I am, but He loves me enough not to leave me this way. That's why the Bible also says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Being a new creation in Christ means that the old misshapen and deformed me is being transformed day by day into something new, something beautiful, something glorious. But, I must make that conscience choice to come to Jesus just as I am and then walk with Him down this road of redemption.

Being Wounded for Jesus

Since the beginning of this year, I've been reading this daily devotional by Adolf Schlatter called Do We Know Jesus? Today on July 23rd, I was confronted with this question: "How often does love bring pain because people we would like to help do no permit themselves to be loved?" Schlatter continues on to say that "In Jesus' service one receives wounds."

If you're like me, when I think of being wounded for Jesus, I often think of being physically hurt or thoroughly slandered and belittled by someone for the name of Jesus. But, to think about being wounded for Jesus by someone who refuses to be loved has made me rethink what it truly means to love my neighbor as myself (Mark 12:31).

When I reflect back on the past five years, I can see how the Lord has been teaching and showing me what it means to truly love someone as myself. It has been a process, but I can see how the Lord has been softening my heart towards others. The more the Lord has simplified my life, the more I've been able to look past my own circumstance and see the needs of others. The less complicated my life has become, the more I've been able to make room for others by beginning new relationships and deepening others. An interesting observation in the midst of all this is that, not only has the Lord simplified and uncomplicated my life, but He has also simplified and uncomplicated my heart. There is now a spaciousness in my heart for more of the Spirit of God and His passions.

One thing that I've learned on this faith walk is that Jesus is passionate about loving people by bringing them into salvation and redeeming everything in their lives to the glory of God. So, when Jesus encounters someone who refuses to be loved, this grieves and pains Him because He knows that sin has hardened this person's heart and now holds them in bondage against receiving the love and care that they need. We have to remember that loving others is a gift from God (1 John 4:19) and that to be able to serve another is a privilege that deserves a willingness to self-sacrifice.

When someone allows you to love on them by inviting you into their lives, take a risk and love them by sharing eternity with them. There is no greater expression of love than to lay down our lives for another in order to share eternity with them (John 15:13). And when someone refuses this kind of love our hearts should be wounded and we should be deeply grieved, not because they have refused our love and our pride is hurt or because we feel insecure about our own lovableness, but because in that moment we feel what Jesus felt as He hung from the cross.

The Kingdom of God. part 1

1For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit (2 Cor 5:1-5 NLT).

I don't know about you, but I long for eternity. I long to finally be able to see God face to face (Rev 22:3-4). Sometimes, I can get so bogged down with this life that I forget that the Holy Spirit is, not only a guarantee of what's to come, but through Him I actually have a piece of eternity that dwells in me all the time. He is included as part of our inheritance in Christ (Eph 1:14). We must never forget that the life of the Spirit is eternal life. The Spirit of the living God knows no other way to live, but eternally. How much of your everyday are you actually living the life of Heaven?

If you're like me, than the answer to that question is pretty obvious. "Not as much as I would like." But, could there be any other answer? Probably not. Now the more I think about it, the more I think we need a different question, one that gets more to the heart of the original question which is in essence, How much of the Kingdom of God are you experiencing in your everyday life?

Yes, it is true, that the fullness of life that Jesus promises us (John 10:10) that believers experience is only in part (1 Cor 13:12) because it is only at Jesus' Second Coming will the Kingdom of God be fully realized where, as Paul says, we will put on our "heavenly bodies." But, believers must never forget that we can and do experience eternity in the here and now. Though it is but a taste, it is still a taste of God's Kingdom (Heb 6:4-5). Remember, we as believers actually carry around the Kingdom of God within us because the Spirit of God is of the Kingdom. So maybe the better question is: How much time are you spending with the Holy Spirit throughout your day? Because it is through Him that we experience the eternal Kingdom of God. "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17 NIV)."

Struggle

It's on this day that Jesus was betrayed by a friend (Judas Iscariot) and was abandoned by a friend (Peter). It's on this night that Jesus agonized over going to the cross, but it is here in the garden of Gethsemane that Calvary was won. It's when Jesus wrestled with submitting His own will and said these words, "Not my will, but what you will," Jesus resolved in His heart to fully embrace what was ahead. After this, there was no stopping Him. He was ready.

There are moments when I am confronting with this deep sadness for sin. And it's real easy for me to be overwhelmed and consumed by hopelessness. If I'm not careful, in these moments I can easily forget that God can turn anything, even the most horrendous event, and use it in a process of good. Romans 8:28 says, "And we all know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." It's in these moments that I have to ask myself, "Do I believe this?"

And if I do, I then have to ask myself, "Do I truly love God?" Jesus loved God and was called by God to change all of eternity. Jesus loves and and calls me to follow Him. Is it my love for God that drives me to follow or is it God 's love for me that is my driving force? It must be the latter because I know just how fickle and finicky my love is. I believe that when someone truly encounters the love of God that person will be changed, no ifs, ands or buts about it. God's love has a way of transforming the human heart and softening our obstinate wills (Ps 51:10).

Sometimes I can get really down on myself because I feel like I'm always wrestling with submitting my will to God. But, then I am am reminded that Jesus was human in every way, but yet was without sin (Heb 4:15) and that He also wrestled with submitting His will to God in the garden of Gethsemane. If you're like me, it's real easy to think of Jesus in superhuman ways, in ways that make Him more superhero than man. But, I don't think that's a healthy (or biblical) view of Jesus. He was human in every way, was tempted in every way that we are, so He knows of our suffering and is then able to help those who are being tempted (Heb 2:18).

It's not that we struggle, struggle is good because it shows our love for God when we do. We struggle to submit to God's will and that is a good thing. But, if you're like me, it's real easy to think that I'm such a sinner because I struggle, but that's not right either. Struggling and temptation are not sins. It's only when we stop struggling that we give into temptation and then sin. So how do I truly know that I Iove God? I know it through my struggling.

Redemptive Relationships

Friendships are important. When I think back on my life, what I remember most are the friendships that I held. Sure, I may remember certain times and places, but most of all I remember the people who shared those moments with me. When I look through the photo album in my mind that stores the snapshots of my life, I see people because all we truly have in life are our relationships.

Now if I call myself a Christian, the Bible challenges me to make all my relationships redemptive ones. What is a redemptive relationship? It's a relationship that always has eternity in view. Jesus was a man who lived his life on earth in this way. When Jesus talked to someone or touched someone he made an eternal impact on their lives. Sometimes it was for the better (those who accepted his message), but other times it was for the worse (those who rejected his message). Either way, people left Jesus changed.

Paul also knew the importance of always keeping eternity in view. He made sure all his relationships were redemptive ones. I'm reminded of Paul's friendship with Onesimus in the book of Philemon. One particular verse stands out to me: "I [Paul] am sending him [Onesimus]- who is my very heart - back to you [Philemon] (v.12)." Who's in your heart?

Paul continues on to say: "Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord (vv.15-16)." You see, because Paul always had one eye looking forward towards eternity, he saw the salvific nature of the situation and understood the redemptive role he would play in Onesimus' life. He was intentional about making his relationship with Onesimus a redemptive one.

Do you long for those who are dear to you, for those in your heart, to also be dear brothers and sisters in the Lord? I know I do. But, I also know that I need to be intentional about making all my relationships redemptive ones. It's a conscious choice that I must make everyday with every person in my life, including those whom I may only encounter for a moment.

Longing for God

There is this relentless longing in my heart which makes me ask: What am I longing for?

Now on a good day, which is a day that I had the opportunity to interact in a significant and deep way with one or two people, this longing within me actually grows. Whenever I get to really connect with others, it's in these moments that I feel their intense longing which reinforces my own longing and deepens my own hunger for God. It's at the end of these days that I can't wait to be in the presence of God. Have you ever been so hungry or thirsty for something that it was painful?

Now, it's really easy to get bogged down by our earthly cravings and we all have to contend with these types of longings. What I'm talking about are our soul cravings. What is it that your soul hungers and thirsts for?

I'm reminded of Jesus' words that "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled (Matt 5:6)." Spend some time asking yourself this question: What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness?

Alone with God

Since the beginning of this year, I have been making a concerted and intentional effort to give myself at least 30 minutes of face time with Jesus in the morning in prayer and worship. Before I even get out of bed, I turn the lights on, grab my bible and start reading. What I've come to realize is that there are so many things in this world that are vying for my attention and trying to pull my attention away from Jesus. If I don't start my day by connecting with Jesus in a real, deep and personal way, I've noticed that my days are much more burdensome. And the place where that happens for me is in reading God's Word.

How can I explain it? When I connect with God in the morning, I mean really connect with Him (and not just going through the motions, just to say I did it that my friends is legalism), it's like every morning God tells me that He loves me and that He'll be with me the whole day, strengthening me to resist temptation when I'm weak and helping me step out of my comfort zone in order to love somebody by being Christ to them. It's during these mornings that I get to hear that I am His beloved child with whom He is well pleased.

Every morning, I spend some time reading prayfully and canonically a psalm from books 1-3 of the book of Psalms and also a chapter from the Gospel according to Mark. On some days I'll read a little from Romans as well. I have no agenda, except to let the Word of God have its way with me, to let it do to me what it will. If I'm reading a psalm, I let the emotions of the words fill and resonate within my heart. We all have burdens that we carry, so I will oftentimes connect a current situation in my life to the psalm and let the psalm be my prayer to God.

After that, I get into the life of Jesus. I've been paying particularly close attention to Jesus actions. How He touched people. If you're like me, I have a tendency to gravitate and focus on Jesus' words (the red letters) because they are so profound and powerful. Jesus spoke to people's hearts and that truth changed them. So, most of the time, I'll just scan over the narrative sections (the black letters) making little mental notes of where Jesus is and where He's going. But, these days, I've been realizing that Jesus' compassion and humanity really shines in His actions towards people. He made it a point to touch people and allow Himself to be touched by people. I'll often imagine myself in the story, maybe as a person in the crowd tryng desperately to get a glimpse of Jesus or possibly even touch Him.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to touch Jesus?