Why Love Matters

Let's start off this story with a line from the old Don Henley song, The Boys of Summer.

"I thought I knew what love was.  What did I know."

We go through our lives with changing ideas about just what love is. It begins with the simple, honest love of a small child. Jesus wrote about these kids and their faith saying, "

"Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." - Matthew 19:14

Is a child's love different from their faith? Not really, if you think about it. Both are simple, honest, and unconditional.

As we grow older our "love definition" changes, as do our beliefs. They become conditional and more self-centered. It's all about me instead of all about Thee. Both get entangled and mixed with other feelings - lust, and selfishness mainly. One word - sin.

We find ourselves alone, wondering what happened to the love we once had?  That childlike love, when things were simple and life was good. Do you ever long for those days? Would you like to go back to that simpler time and experience true love all over again? Yes, be we can't.

Our love for others continues to become more complex and we lose track of its true meaning and intention. It becomes contaminated by the world we live in.

Finally, we come to the end of our lives, when someone is in their last days of life, what does of love look like for them then? Often it is extremely lonely. What can be done? I have a few suggestions.

1. Love everyone we meet. And love them unconditionally. Jesus already commanded us to do this but we always seem to forget just what His love was like, to our detriment.

2. Get off our butts and GO love someone! Visit someone, invite them to lunch. If they're not doing it, we should call them up and take the initiative.

3. Send someone a text or message. Maybe they're having a really bad day and when we reach out, they know someone cared enough to actually act.

If we sit at home and "hope" someone is doing okay, what good is that? We could, and should, pray for people. But God placed us here for a reason. Not simply to think, but to act.

How are we doing with that?

"But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first." - Revelation 2:4

The Boys of Summer - Don Henley

Run The Race!

"On your mark. Get set. Stop!"

Wait a minute. That's not right. I think that "stop" should be a "go." Otherwise the runners aren't going to get very far.

Exactly. Welcome to the world of Apathetic Christianity - filled with wanna-be Christians who are all talk and no action. There is no movement. That's not good. Why? Because we ARE in a race. Go!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:1-2

And again . . .

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." - 1 Corinthians 9:-24-27

Have you ever prayed for God to "use you?" I have. But that's almost like praying for our feet to move at the start of a race. When the gun goes off at the beginning of a race we are supposed to move, not wait for God to move us.

What can we do today to bring glory to God? Call a friend and see how they are doing. Ask someone how you can pray for them. Take someone out to lunch or for a coffee. Get in the race!

The important first step in any race is to get yourself moving. Then, run to win the race - for God, not for yourself.

Dare You To Move - Switchfoot

The Race Of Faith - John MacArthur

The Abundant Heart

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." - Luke 6:45

And sometimes the heart uses words.

We all have people in our lives that speak and act hatefully. They speak lies and half-truths, deceiving those who they are supposed to love and help. And most of them are in Washington D.C.

But we DO have people in our lives that hurt us with their words. Why is that? Our opening verse for today tells us why. The "abundance of the heart" is speaking. The people who speak hate have hearts that are filled with it.

Hateful people also use other means to convey what's inside. Some choose their silence. Silence also speaks volumes. Some use weapons, some use their fists. Some use sexual assault. Whatever the weapon of choice is, they wield it without thought of others. Only themselves. Their heart speaks, inflicting wounds on the undeserving.

Do you remember that old saying that goes, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me." Yeah, well, that's a lie.

When Jesus spoke His "abundance of the heart" message it was to His disciples and those who had come to hear Him speak or to be healed. He told them not to judge others, but then went on to tell them HOW to judge others - with righteous judgement.

If someone sends us a nasty text, what are we to do? Reply in kind? No. Our first step, after we absorb the hurt, should be to pray. WE can't change them. But God can.

Next, we must exhibit some grace. Clearly, "the abundance of their heart" is not love. Give them some time to calm themselves, then speak or text. Tell them how YOU feel. What is the most abundant thing in OUR hearts? As Christians, it should be the fruit of the Spirit.

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control." - Galatians 5:22-23

Do WE exhibit those characteristics as a believer in Jesus Christ? We might have a cross around our necks and go to church but is our heart truly filled with God's love, with His Holy Spirit? If it is, then we cannot help but speak and act in love, in patience, in kindness.

Best Intentions

We start off each day with the best of intentions. We're going to nail that job interview, pass that test, lose that weight. etc. Then we actually get out of bed and everything changes.

Best intentions are like New Year's resolutions and they usually come with the same results. Failure. So what does it take for us to actually, and finally, make a change in our lives?

Sadly, much needed change often comes with a catastrophic event of some sort. "I am going to change my eating habits for sure this time, " said the overweight man lying in his hospital bed after cardiac surgery.

What about our Christian walk? We say the same things. "I'm going to pray more often than I do." or "I should really go to church today." It's the same thing as the secular world we live in. That shouldn't be us. Something needs to change.

Enter Jesus.

Jesus literally changes our lives. He can change us on the Damascus road or He can change us on the way to the hospital. But He does change us! If you haven't been changed after meeting Jesus, you haven't met Him.

Let's get off our butts today and change something in the "normal" way we operate. BE the change. Make a difference in someone's life today. Don't simply escape the day with best intentions. Do it! Do something! And pray!

Text a friend you haven't heard from in a while. Better yet, pick up the phone and call them. Go to Walmart, buy some blankets and drop them off at a homeless shelter. Buy some extra food and drop it off at your local food pantry. But don't forget to tell them the most important thing.

"These are from Jesus. He prompted me to do this today. Have YOU made Jesus Lord of your life?"

Unless Jesus is part of what we do, we are acting in vain.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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 do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Remembering that "God is love," be more than best intentions.

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace." - Acts 20:24

Best of Intentions - Travis Tritt

Early Morning Ideas

In the silence of the morning is when I find that my mind works best. Perhaps it's because I have no immediate deadline to meet or checklist to complete. I just stare out the window, dreaming, with my eyes open.

Some say it's the Holy Spirit. I don't know. I hear no words. But my mind does go places it otherwise wouldn't, in the morning. Ideas just pop into my mind for no apparent reason at all and often they lead to wonderful things.

It's easy to tell when God is behind an idea. It's like it has a mind of its own. Puzzle pieces just fall into place without anyone lifting a finger to put them there. Like this past weekend.

Sunday morning I was sitting in my chair in the living room, looking out the window. Suddenly an idea popped into my head for a Bible study. Not quite your everyday early morning thought. It seemed so perfect.

Another thing about these early morning "ideas" is that they usually are to the benefit of someone else, not me. Another sign it's from God. If my early morning thoughts were about ME and making ME happy, they would probably be from Satan.

There are many people in my life who could benefit from a Bible study right now. The subject matter of a study also found its way to conscious thought this past weekend. It was the subject of my blog on Saturday. Hmm.

Do things like that happen to you? Sudden ideas, realizations of something you wouldn't otherwise think of. That happens often enough in MY life to make me sit up and take notice. "Where the heck did THAT come from?" is my usual response.

I don't spend too much time focused on the answer to that question. Instead I try to figure out how I can accomplish it. Ideas just seem to flow, especially in the early morning hours.

The following video was one I first saw in the early morning hours this past weekend. It gave me inspiration for writing this story, for the Bible study and it served as a reminder that, whatever I am doing in this life, do so for the benefit of others and for the glory of God.

"In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch." - Psalm 5:3

Create Happiness In Everything You Do

The LittleThings

Today's fast-paced world screams for our attention. So many distractions! But if we can just tune out all the noise, there are so many things we can learn simply by observing, by slowing down.

For example, I met with a young couple yesterday. They're getting married in three weeks and I have been asked to officiate. I have met with them a few times now and have observed some things that have reminded me how important our observation of others can be.

The bride-to-be is very respectful of her parent's wishes. When asked about her wedding dress, the young woman said she'd "get married in a sweatshirt . . . but my mom wants . . ." The couple wanted just get married by themselves "but my dad really wanted to walk me down the aisle."

Just a few words or a simple gesture can say a lot about a person.

I've seen more women lately getting pregnant without the marriage part. That tells me something. They seem to be more interested in pleasing themselves than in pleasing their parents or God. That may sound mean for me to say such a thing but it's true. I'm just observing the things people are doing. And I am reading my Bible.

The Bible tells me many things about pleasing God. "Honor you father and mother" for example, is an excellent way to God. Having sex outside of marriage is not.

The world we live in often tells us one thing while the Bible tells us another.

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." - Luke 16:10

"Doing what is right in the eyes of The Lord" is a very big thing. It is the smallest of leaks in a ship that can foretell of the disaster to come. What are we telling people, in the way we live our lives, that forms their opinion about us? Are we mindful of God's wishes for us? Or mindful of our own desires?

In The Bible, it always went well for the selfless, the merciful, the compassionate. Not so well for the greedy, the proud and the arrogant. How will it go for US today?

Hoe will we honor God today? What little thing will we do today that will forge someone's opinion about us and the kind of person we are? Let it be said of us that we followed and were obedient to our king and did what was right in God's eyes. 

The Blessing - John Waller

Priorities

Hey, yesterday was Independence Day! How did I miss that!?! That's like the biggest day in United States history and I missed it? My wife and I usually go into town and watch the fireworks. This year? totally missed 'em. Our minds must have been elsewhere. And they were.

Our daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl yesterday.  My wife and I were so excited. Nothing could have kept us away from seeing this little pink-faced beauty. Yesterday morning my wife was in Door County - a three-hour drive away from the hospital. Suddenly, with one text message, her priorities were changed and we were on the way to the hospital.

Let's stop and think about our priorities for a moment. What comes first in our lives kind of tells people who we are. If someone looked at you and had to list your top three priorities, what would they be?

Before I came to faith in Christ, my priorities were set. I thought they were pretty good at the time.  Maybe yours are similar.

1. Family
2. Work
3. Friends

After I fully accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my priorities changed. My LIFE changed. Suddenly. Out of nowhere, Jesus vaulted to the top spot and everything dropped down a notch or two. It was quite an adjustment period.

1. God
2. Family
3. Friends

The importance of work in my life took a dramatic drop and, to be honest, I don't mind one bit. I have actually set limits for myself as far as work goes. There were times when I worked 50-60 hours a week when deadlines were tight. Now I refuse to work any overtime at all. It's not worth it. My priorities changed.

As we examine ourselves, which the Bible tells us we should do, do we ever find ourselves lacking? I did. So I changed my priorities. So can you, if you find them out of order.

I saw a quote yesterday my Mohandas Gandhi, I think it's true. Our actions express our priorities.

What do our actions say about us? If we say we are Christians, God should be our top priority, yet I know Christians that don't go to church. They don't attend worship. We were created to worship! Our priorities tell other who we worship.

I know people at work who always seem to be at work. They are always in early. They always stay late. They work weekends too. The company loves them! Personally, I think their priorities are screwed up.

Our new grand daughter is redefining priorities for many people this week. And that's a very good thing. But let us always remember who is #1. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

^"5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?" - 2 Corinthians 13:5

^"33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33

^"9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it." - 2 Corinthians 5:9

Priorities

One Step Beyond

When I was growing up in the 60's there was a television show called "One Step Beyond." It was a show similar to other "out there" shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. It took the general subject matter for the show and extrapolated possibilities to frightening or unthinkable ends.

This story has nothing to do with any of those shows at all. All I am interested in today is the concept incorporated into the title - the concept of taking . . . one step beyond.

I believe that if we are to get noticed in today's world we must take one step beyond what is normally expected. Maybe it's a business going the extra mile or somebody showing up on your doorstep in a time of need with a frozen meal. Success and recognition come to those who take and extra step in their relationships.

We can watch the television news and we can whine and complain about things we don't agree with, but the person who makes the biggest difference is the one who actually does something about it. They make the effort to go a step beyond what might be anticipated.

Where I work there is a man who is undergoing cancer surgery today. He is not a believer in Jesus. Before I left work on Friday I had wanted to pray with my friend. I hoped for an opportunity during my busy day.

About mid-afternoon I sent a plot to the print room, got up from my desk to go get it and noticed this man, coat on, walking out the door. His day was done and I had failed to pray with him. Disappointed in myself I began to pick up the pace, hoping to pray with him in the parking lot.

Suddenly I slowed and thought, "Hey, if God wants me to pray with Him God will provide." Or, perhaps it was more like God telling me, "Hey! I've got this."

The man suddenly walked back in the door! He said something to one of our fellow employees and then turned again to leave . . . just as I arrived on the scene. I asked him if I could pray for him. He said sure, so I did. I gave him a hug and he left.

I don't know what the outcome of his surgery will be. But I do know this. He left the building that day knowing someone loved him and cared for him. It felt good to go that one step beyond what is "normal" in this world. Saying "have a good weekend" just doesn't make it when you're thinking about cancer.

This week my challenge for you is to go one step beyond in someone's life. You can do it! It's Christmas time!! That couple down the street that is struggling, maybe invite them over for dinner. Your friend whose mom is battling cancer, send her an encouraging message. The friend you had a fight with. Call them and apologize . . . even if THEY were wrong. Go one step beyond the expected. Jesus did. He went WAY beyond the norm. We should too. They will know who we are, and whose we are , by the things we do. So let's do it!!!

The following is an episode from One Step Beyond called The Promise. Please watch it . . . all the way to the end. Then you will understand why I have selected this verse for you today.

"For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life." - Job 33:4

The Promise - One Step Beyond Episode

Act

Most of us would look at the picture to the left and think, what a nice looking couple. A good-looking groom and his beautiful bride. It's hard to believe that the woman is a criminal. Yet she is currently serving time in prison awaiting her execution.

Execution? "What did she do? Kill somebody?" we ask ourselves? No. Well, it must have been pretty serious to warrant the death penalty. It must have been something major. Maybe she was a spy and betrayed her country. Treason is punishable by death here in the U.S. Maybe it was that. Nope. She is not from this country, but her husband is. This beautiful young woman, a mother of two, has been sentenced to die because she is a Christian and refuses to renounce her faith. You can read the full story by clicking on the following link.

Sudanese Woman Sentenced To Death

One of the things we tend to do as Americans is to let things slide, to not get involved. We procrastinate. We put things off. When things don't actually affect us directly we tend to shrug them off with an "Oh, well" or a "Oh, that's too bad" and we never really do anything about it. We simply refuse to act. That's sad.

We have laws against inaction in this country. They are known as "Good Samaritan" laws. That in itself is sad. We have laws forcing us to do what we should be doing anyway? Why do we need a law for that? Well, it's because we often refuse to act when a particular situation warrants action. Good Samaritan laws basically say that, if you see someone being beaten up for example, and you do nothing about it, there is a price to pay. I would submit to you this morning that the price we pay for our inaction is also measured in heaven, not just here on earth.

"5 I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold; so my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath upheld me. 6 I trampled down the peoples in my anger; I made them drunk in my wrath, and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth." - Isaiah 63:5

It doesn't take much effort to help someone. It doesn't take much time. Consider reaching out and making a difference in someone's life. The "Christian majority" in this country has been silent for too long. It's time we did something for our Lord and Savior. Please, won't you take five minutes and send your congressman an e-mail. Here are some links to make it easy.

Find Your Senators and Representatives

You might need the additional four digits on your zip code (I did). You can find that here:

Look Up A Zip Code

Thank you!!

Here's a few encouraging verses to help us get off our butts.

"14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." - James 2:14-17

"6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury." - Romans 6:6-8

After I wrote the post above I read the article below. It appears that if we DO take action we WILL be heard.

US "fully engaged" in case of Sudanese woman sentenced to die for Christian faith

Our God is a great God. We who call ourselves His children are also soldiers called upon to fight for Him. Let's sound the trumpet and join in the battle today!