Tag Archives: Love

Where Is God?

Posted on by

0

It really is hard for us as humans to wrap our minds around God. We really can’t understand who God is. He is other. He is different from us. We simply can’t fathom who He is us.

We know of God what God has revealed to us through Scripture, through tradition (the wise teachings of others), reason (our ability to think and understand) and experience (the things’s we’ve experienced). So, there are things that we know about God. But there’s lots of stuff that we don’t.

Listen to what Isaiah 57:15 says:

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.

In this verse, it says God inhabits eternity. His name is holy. To say that His name is holy is to say that He is Holy. In scripture, you name wasn’t just what you were called, it was who you. To say that God is holy is to say that this is who He is.

He is holy. He is other. He is different.

But look in this verse what else He is. He is with the lowly of spirit. He is with the ones that are contrite. He is with the ones that understand they are in need of His grace and salvation. He is with the broken, the needy, the hurt, the one’s that know that they need Him.

Today, if you know you aren’t what you need to be; if you understand that you’ve made mistakes; if you understand that you need God, guess what?

You are right where He wants you. You are in the place to know His grace. You are in the place where He can draw you near.

Today, in knowing that we need Him more and more and more, we find that at that exact moment and place, He is waiting on us.

Today, where is God? He is with us.

The Best is Yet to Come

Posted on by

0

There is a biblical command to keep our eyes on things above. There is this notion that our eyes, and our lives, are to fixed on what really matters.

Not the things of this world that are shifting and changing, but the things of heaven that remain constant and the same.  Listen to what it says today in Hebrews 8: 5-7

They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

In this passage, we see the author of Hebrews say this – they were serving a copy and a shadow of heavenly things. That’s a powerful concept.

Think about this for a minute. There’s some good stuff in this life. There are moments that are really amazing. Moments where we feel the power of God. Moments where we feel the movement of the spirit. Moments where we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is using us.

These are truly life changing moments.

And Hebrews tells us that these moments are just a shadow of heaven. The best is yet to come.

So, live life. Enjoy it. Serve God. Live fully. Love fully. Be salt and light. Work for good. Work for God. Wring every drop of life out of this life.

But always remember, that the best is yet to come.

Puffed Up?

Posted on by

0

It’s important for us to always been learning. It’s important for us to always be growing.

This side of heaven there is always something more that we should know. This side of heaven there is always more for us to learn.

That is very important. Knowledge is very important. Learning and growing is very important.

God gave us a mind for a reason. God wants us to use it.

But, as important as learning is, it is not most important.

Ok, then what is most important? Listen to what Paul tell us today in 1 Corinthians 8: 1-3:

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

Knowledge is important. But Love. Love is most important. Knowledge, without love, puffs us.

Today, if we want to make a difference in the lives of others, knowledge is important. We need to know the Bible and know how to talk about it.

But what makes the biggest difference is this – love. Love makes all the difference. In our lives. And in the lives of others.

May we not neglect knowledge. But may we cling to love above all else.

For to love to show the world who God really is.

A Taste of Eternity

Posted on by

0

One of the criticisms people can have of the church and of us as Christians sometimes is that we can be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good.

We can focus on heaven to exclusion of other things.

Why work for change here upon the earth, when our reward is in heaven?

Why should we worry about the earth at all? Why should we try to change things at all. After all, this world is not our final destination.

Now, there is something to the notion that as Christians, this world is not our final home. This world is not our final security. This world is not our final hope.

Our final hope is in heaven.

Then, what is heaven?

Listen to what Jesus tells us in John 17: 1-3

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent

We see here that knowing God as God, and His son Jesus Christ. That is eternal life. That is heaven.

In heaven, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, we know know God fully, as He fully knows us. We will have that full knowledge of God and of everything.

Well, that journey starts now. Through knowing God here, through our walk with Christ here, we get a foretaste of heaven.

This is enteral life. Know God. So, today, through our knowledge of God, we are getting a taste of eternity.

Today, live in that great, joyous knowledge. Today is a day of eternity. Today, let’s live in that power.

Follow Me – Love Podcast

Posted on by

0

The sermon podcast for Sunday, September 18, 2011 is up on Asbury Church’s website.  This is the next sermon in our series about discipleship and the transformed life entitled “Follow Me.” This deals with following Jesus to Love and we examine the life of John. We look at Luke 9: 51-56, 1 John 4: 7-11, and Romans 2:4. In these we see how following Jesus changed John.  You can listen to it by clicking here, or you can listen to it here on this blog by clicking below. And, as always, you can subscribe to my sermon podcasts through iTunes.

A New (Old) Command

Posted on by

0

I love reading about the life of John the Apostle.  He had an interesting life.

He was one of Jesus’ closest disciples.  In the Gospel the he wrote, he doesn’t even list himself by name, but instead calls himself the disciple that Jesus loved.  He was the disciple that remained at the foot of the cross, and after Good Friday, Mary went with John to his home.

But, he also had a temper. And had some pride issues. After a town rejected Jesus, he asked Jesus to call down fire from heaven upon them, and Jesus rebuked him for it.

Later, he and his brother James were arguing over who would be greatest in the kingdom, and Jesus told them that they were missing the point.

So, we see that John had great moments of faithfulness, but also many faults.

I like him because he sounds like all of us. Moments of faithfulness, moments of failure.

And in this we see today, John tell us what he had learned

I am writing to remind you, dear friends, that we should love one another. This is not a new commandment, but one we have had from the beginning. Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.

Everything else fades. John had done more with his life than most of us would ever wish to.  He had seem more than we could ever imagine.  He had literally walked with Jesus, and had been a pillar in the birth of the church.

And as he wrote to others about what mattered most in the Christian faith, that is what he said – love.  It is the greatest of all the commandments.  Everything else pales in comparison to love.  It is the fulfillment, purpose, and whole of the law.

So, today, let us place others ahead of ourselves.  Let us look first to them.  Let us do unto others as we would have them do unto us.  Let us love.  And in love, we find our purpose for our lives.

Today, let us be an example of God’s love to everyone.  Let us shine forth that love to everyone.  Let us radiate that love to everyone.  You were made for that.  And that is God’s greatest commandment for you.

Today, let us love.

 

Mysteries

Posted on by

0

There are some things in life we don’t understand.  There are some (many) mysteries about God that I can’t fathom.

There are questions about suffering that while I may have an explanation for, I can’t understand.

There are moments of pain that I don’t fully understand the reason for.

There are parts of God’s character that I don’t know, and won’t know, until I stand before Him one day.

There are many, many mysteries that I don’t know the answer to. And I’m thankful that I’m not the only person that feels that way. And I am also thankful that I’m not the only person that has walked with God to feel that way. Listen to the words of Psalm 131:

O LORD, I am not proud;
I have no haughty looks.
I do not occupy myself with great matters,
or with things that are too hard for me.
But I still my soul and make it quiet,
like a child upon its mother’s breast;
my soul is quieted within me.
O Israel, wait upon the LORD,
from this time forth for evermore.

You and I, we don’t know everything. There is a mystery to God and to life. There are things too great and too deep and too wide for us to know.

The Psalm says that’s ok. Quiet yourself.  Wait upon God.  Know that He loves you. Know what you “know.”

What do we know? God is good. God loves us. God cares for us. God has saved us. God will take care of us.  We can trust Him.

I fully believe God is not as worried about the stuff we don’t know, as He is with the stuff we do know. Don’t worry about what you don’t know.  Worry about what you do know. And what you do about it.

This is not an excuse not to think and grow and learn. But, what it is the reality that we don’t know everything.

But we do know this. God loves us more than we’ll ever know.  And He wants us to love each other in the same way.

Today, know what you know, and what you don’t know. Don’t worry about what you don’t. That’s ok. None of us know it all.  Today, live in the knowledge of His love. And live out His love for all to see.

Yes, there’s a mystery to God. That’s ok. May we have the faith to believe. And may we live in the reality of the knowledge of His love.

Do Something

Posted on by

0

I tell folks that I’m not particularly useful in life. I’m a preacher!  There’s not much I can do in life that’s actually helpful! 🙂

I say that jokingly, but as someone who really does spend a lot of time preaching and counseling and preparing our church for what God has called us to do and to be, one of the things that I really enjoy, when I get the chance, is the opportunity to do mission work. It’s a neat thing to be able to “do” something like fix, or rebuild, or work in some fashion.

I remember once taking a group of youth to build a habitat house in Lauderdale County, MS, and it was a great joy to be able to “do” something, but just as importantly, see these kids learn to “do” something as well. To be the hands and feet of Jesus in this day.

Today, God is going to give you the chance to “do” something for Him.  It may be something in your eyes that is “big,” it may be something in your eyes that is “small.” But, both of these, the big and the small, they are something that you can do for His glory.

Listen to the words of one of my favorite passages, Colossians 3:17:

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Everything you do today, you do it for God. Everything. From the biggest task, to the smallest errand. Everything you do today, you do it to glorify Him and to be an ambassador for Him.

You can influence many with your words, your actions, your heart, your smile, your attitude, your very being.

Everything you do today, everything, is done for God.

Today, you have the chance to “do’ something for God.

Don’t miss that chance. Don’t miss that moment. God has given it to you. Today, may we do what God is calling us to do.

And may we do it for His glory and for His purpose.

The Puzzle – Love Podcast

Posted on by

0

The sermon podcast for Sunday, July 31, 2011 is up on Asbury Church’s website.  This is the last sermon in our series about Spiritual Gifts – “The Puzzle.” This series talks about spiritual gifts and this one deals with the gift of that is the one that all Christians should have, and is the greatest of all the gifts.  Love. The text for this sermon is 1 Corinthians 12:29-13:13.  You can listen to it by clicking here, or you can listen to it here on this blog by clicking below. And, as always, you can subscribe to my sermon podcasts through iTunes.

Different

Posted on by

0

One of the things that I know Jesus calls us to is to be different.  We, as Christians, are just supposed to be different.

Different from our culture.  Have a different set of views, a different set of eyes, a different purpose.

As I said in my sermon Sunday, as Christians we are to live a life that makes those all around us say – hey, I want that!  I want what they have!

Now, that life is not perfection. That life is just, well, different.

Ok, what does that different look like?  Here’s what Jesus said today in Matthew 20

But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus says it must be different among us. As Christians, whoever wants to lead, must serve.  To really show what a great Christian you are, we don’t pound our chest, we don’t see who can quote the most verses, we don’t try to “out holy” each other.

We do what our Savior did.  We serve.

We care.

We forgive – others and ourselves.

We love.

We help.

We are called to be different. We are called to be a little weird. In the world, it’s about power and fame and wealth.  In the faith, it’s about Jesus. It’s about service.  It’s about love.  It’s about humility.

It’s not about seeking our way. It’s about seeking His way.

That way of loving God and loving our neighbor.

Today, are we different? Are we living different from our culture? Are we living in a way where those around us say, hey, I want what they’ve got?

Today, as Christians, may we be different. And, in doing that, may we bring glory to our awesome God.