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

Such As These

Each year of VBS is different. The kids change, each one growing into who God wants them to be. We teachers grow and change as well. We are often taught things by the very kids we are supposed to be teaching! It's crazy.

For me, this year I was taught some amazing things by a young little dude named Felix. He'd slap my hand with a smile (high five) and then give me a hug.

"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

Jesus was totally correct. Their innocence, their willingness to smile and love. They trust others easily. They have not yet become tainted by the world. It's very refreshing.

I looked in on my little buddy's class when they were singing one of the VBS songs. His mom was holding him in her arms. Everyone was facing away from me. Everyone except Felix that is.

He looked kind of bored and tired. But then he saw me and gently waved. I waved back and smiled. And then HE smiled.

The lesson I learned from Felix this week is this. Love freely and without condition.  Never be afraid to express that love. Someone may really need it. But do so gently and with the innocent intent of a child.

A child's love is pure. There are no ulterior motives. Remember what Jesus said . . .

"The kingdom belongs to such as these."

We must love God like a little child would - freely, unconditionally, trusting, without motive. And then, when we enter in to God's Kingdom, we will be greeted with open arms.

Do we love like that? Is that how we love others? Is that how we love God?

Perfect Love

I have a theory, however I can't prove any of it. I feel like it's true but it's just a feeling and nothing more. Although it is that very feeling that proves my theory.

I think.

Let's start with some basic truths and proceed from there.

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them" - 1 John 4:16

"There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear." - 1 John 4:18

The first part of my theory is this: All humans desire to be loved. We were created that way. It's part of who we are.

And now here is the second part of my theory: Because we were created in God's image (Genesis 1:27) I believe that God also desires to be loved.

Basically, we were made to love and to be loved.

What would the world look like if we all loved each other unconditionally?

The key to all of this unconditional love is the Holy Spirit. When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit enters us and changes us. The Holy Spirit in us is the proof.

Unconditional love is amazing. It's perfect love. When we experience it, or give it, in this world we get a glimpse of the Father's love for us.

And then there's Jesus - the ultimate unconditional love giver - when He willingly gave His life up to pay for our sins. He never said the words 'I love you' from the cross but He didn't have to. He lived it. 

How will we love unconditionally today?

The Love Test

Here's a fun little game you can play at home. It's called The Love Test and, if you win it, you will either be incredibly loved....or dead. Probably both.

Step 1: Make up a list of everyone you love (hopefully, this will take a while). Your spouce, your family, your friends, etc.

Step 2: Take your list and put a check mark next to each person you would be willing to die for. Who would you sacrifice your life for in order to save them?

Step 3: Make a list of all of the people you don't like. All your enemies. Hopefully this shouldn't take very long.

Step 4: Of all of the people on your enemies list, would you be willing to die to save any of them? Put a check mark next to those enemies you'd give up your life for.

How did you do? Jesus took a test like this long before you and I were born. He knows the name of everyone who has ever lived AND who is yet to be born. He chose to die for everyone. On your list. On everybody's list!

Extra credit: Read the following verses and think about them this morning.

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends." - John 15:13

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:43-44

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:7-8

If we think we care about someone enough to die for them, good. That's wonderful. But there is no beating God in any test of love. He loves us too much.

But God IS just. And "the wages of sin is death." Jesus died for everyone but we have a choice to make. Will we choose life or death?

The last question in The Love Test is this: Are we ourselves on any of those lists we just made? At some point we must be willing to 'die to self' in order to fully come to life.

"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." - Matthew 10:39

Such As These

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” - Luke 18:16-17

As I write this story our granddaughter is sleeping in the other room. All is quiet. For now. She is all tired out from teaching her grandfather life lessons.

Things were different yesterday when she was running all over of yard, exploring. She talked and giggled and sang little songs as she went. That's why I paid particular attention to her when she ran over to a tree stump, stood on it, and posed, motionless, like she was a tree. Kids are wonderful examples of how our relationships should be. Innocent, doubtless, pure, happy, wonder-filled and thoughtful.

Do we approach our relationships in ways like a child? Are our relationships pure with no ulterior motives? Are we 100% committed to each relationship we have? Or do we doubt and question when someone disagrees with us or rebukes us in some way?

I looked at the picture of my granddaughter again. Was she really pretending to be a tree? Or was she forming the shape of a cross? Does our relationship with Jesus reflect the love of life that a child has? And, speaking of Jesus, shouldn't we be making sacrifices in order to make our earthly relationships last?

One of our main problems as adults has been that we grew up. We attended seminars, Bible studies, and leadership summits. All in an effort to grow in our faith. But really, Jesus wants us to have the faith of a little child. Simple, pure, unquestioning.

Children can be all over the map when it comes to their behavior. But they also can have incredible moments when they become the teachers. The question facing us adults is, are we willing to learn from our children?

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “’From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?" - Matthew 21:16

Everyone Is A Lesson

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart." - Jeremiah 1:5

Think about what God just told Jeremiah. God knows us before we are born. So, why are we born then? What is the purpose of us being born? I think it's to learn things. To grow. To make decisions and learn from their consequences.

Think about your relationships. Some last a long time. Other relationships are very short. Some can end abruptly while others simply fade away. What do we learn from them?

Our earthly relationships are a reflection of our heavenly relationship with God. Are our earthly relationships strong? Are they one-sided? Are they self-sacrificing? Unconditional?

As I see relationships in my life come and go, I think about my relationship with God. It changes all of the time. Somedays it is strong. At other times I wonder if it's there at all.

Our relationships are often one-sided. It can seem that, if we ourselves didn't keep the relationship active, it would simply fade away. So, should we let that relationship end? Should we let it fade? What does God do with US? What does God do when we ignore Him?

What lesson do we learn when a cherished relationship fades in our lives? I think the lesson we can learn is two-fold. First, we can learn exactly how God feels when we ignore Him. And second, we have an opportunity to show others how wonderful God's unconditional love truly is.

When God said, "I will never leave you or forsake you," does that line up with how WE treat our relationships?

Is there someone in your life right now who has faded away, relationship-wise? Does God allow that to happen in His relationship with us? WE are the ones who walk away in God's relationships, not Him.

We should reach out to the other side in ALL of our relationships. With our friends, with family, and with God. How will we reach out today?

Reach Out Of The Darkness - Friend and Lover

The Perfect Gift

Have you ever had one of those mornings when you just did NOT want to get out of bed? Every morning, right? Lol! I had one of those recently and as I lay there my mind went to a wonderful place, filled with the best gift anyone could ever receive. Love.

We humans spend a large part of our lives looking for love. It's like we were created to love and to be loved. Hmm. Perhaps that's why Jesus told us the first and greatest commandment in "To love . . ."

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” - Luke 10:27

Whether it is God or our neighbor we are commanded to love. Seems simple, yet people have a hard time doing that for some reason. Instead, we hate, we kill, we ignore, we talk trash. Satan is good at what He does. But he can't stop our desire to love and to be loved.

As a former youth leader at church I have seen many young men and women "looking for love in all the wrong places." They seem to think that having sex is the same thing as love. It's not. That's called lust and lust is a sin.

Sadly, today as I look at these same youth group kids, now adults, I see many of them with children. There are no fathers in their pictures on Facebook. The guys who said "I'll love you forever, Babe" are now with someone else. Sex does not equate with or create love. It creates children.

Here's another thing that people get wrong. Living with someone and having sex with someone without their being married FIRST. Having sex without being married is called fornication in the Bible. Here's what the Apostle Paul says about it. There are many other examples to choose from as well.

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." - 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Ouch! Did you catch the part that said "will not inherit the kingdom of God?" Yet today many of these things take place as if it's a "lifestyle," not a sin. Why? Because it is something that our culture teaches. It's rampant in our schools and universities. It is even condoned in some of our churches, even though the Word of God clearly calls it a sin.

Like I said before, Satan is very good at what he does. And if we are following Satan's plan and not God's, what does that make US?

Satan worshipers. Not God worshipers.

Let me return to my warm comfy bed where all is right with the world. Where love is pure and unconditional. And where I can pray to a God who loves, not as the world loves, but as GOD loves. It's how we were CREATED to love.

Let's not mess with God's prefect plan. We need to repent of our sins and turn / return to God. Only then can we find true love. We will find the love we always knew we wanted because we will no longer be looking for it in the wrong ways or the wrong places. True love is the perfect gift. Not because we receive it but because we first give it.

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:8

Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places - Johnny Lee
Courageous - Casting Crowns

The Mystery Box

Want to know what true love is? True love is loving someone when you have no idea who they are or what they believe. It is loving someone because they just . . . are.

Sitting alone in the dark is one of my favorite things to do. Why? Because outside influences are relatively few. That's a problem our society has today. Too many outside influences. They distract us from God and that is NEVER a good thing.

"Alone, in the dark" is also where I get most of my ideas for these stories, like today's story for example. First, I had better explain what a Discmania Mystery Box is before you quit reading. It's a box full of disc golf discs. The point is that the buyer doesn't really know what's inside and you always receive more than you thought you would.

People are like a mystery box, until we "open them up" and find out more about them. Then we have to decide what to do with the contents. Some people get discarded because they don't have the same beliefs as we do. Some people don't make the cut in our lives because of their skin color, sexual orientation or political persuation. That's wrong. That's not the point of the mystery box. The point is the way you feel BEFORE you open the box.

What if God placed someone in your life that He wanted you to love but you refused to do so. How do you think that would go for you? Would God bless you because of your refusal to love?

"Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40

There are no qualifiers in Jesus' command here. We are to love our neighbor! Period. That's everybody! It's the overweight black man sitting in McDonald's all by himself. It's the oddly-dressed lesbian couple who just walked in. It's the disabled woman with the shriveled arm that is taking your order. It's everybody.

When God gives us a mystery box human, He wants us to love that person. He doesn't care if they are Republican or Democrat, black or white, gay or straight. He wants us to love . . . everybody!

I watched The Blues Brothers movie the other day - a movie from my younger, pre-believer days. There is a song in that movie that fits this story perfectly. At the beginning of the song there's not a lot of love in the audience. But as the crowd listens to the words, things change. That's how God effects our hearts when we read His Word. We change. and we love.

Everybody Needs Somebody To Love - The Blues Brothers

The Simple Things

When we distill life down to its basic elements it really is quite simple. Our "needs" are actually  very few. We need air to breathe, we need food, water and sleep. Clothing is optional but quickly becomes essential when the temperatures drop, or someone comes to visit. Shelter is another seasonal need. But the one thing that we all need is love.

Have you seen any of those videos of kids being surprised by their mom or dad who came home from military service overseas? I love watching those. So do you, I'm sure. Why is that? I think it's because the kids miss the physical and visual presence of their parent. The ability to give them a hug. They miss the presence of tangible love.

I have found that, even in my old age, I still need to be loved, just like everyone else. But kids especially need to feel loved these days.

When I was a youth leader at my church I saw kids whose parents were divorced or separated. Relationships never seem to work when love is not present. Love is the key.

I met a kid nine years ago while on a mission trip. This kid was very loving as a small child. The member of our team were humbled by all of the hugs we received. But today that little kid is a teenager. Facebook posts are filled with gang signs, tough talk and thoughts of death and suicide. What happened? I think love, true, unconditional love, has disappeared from this persons life.

I reached out to this young friend this week. We talked about love, the kind Jesus offers. I could almost hear the pain in this young one's heart when they said, "It's nice to know that someone cares." What they are really saying is that they didn't know that anyone cared before.

We all want to feel loved. The question is are YOU willing to love someone else the way YOU want to feel loved? Someone has to make the first move. Extend a hand in friendship, change your schedule to accommodate someone else, listen to them, empathize with them. If you can't do that, perhaps YOU are the one who needs to feel loved.

Christians are especially good and showing love. Why? Because we know God. We have experienced HIS love for us. Are we just supposed to keep His love to ourselves? Or would God want us to share His love with others?

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ c 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  - Matthew 22:37-39

Pretty Simple

Love Is A Cross - Russ Lee

God's Children

It's hard to figure out sometimes - just how much God loves us. Even when we think we've got a handle on it, God steps up His game and knocks another example right out of the park.

A young friend of mine and her two kids were at Dairy Queen the other night. We were having a conversation about God, relationships, love, and life in general. Conversations are different with a couple of kids mixed in.

At one point we were talking about God's love for us, despite our shortcomings and continuing willingness to sin. It's a difficult thing to understand because God absolutely hates sin. He hates it! Yet we keep right on sinning anyway. Even though we are His children.

Why does God love us so much? Why did God send His one and only Son to die for us on the cross - punishment for OUR sins. That is hard to understand.

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." - John 15:13

The depth of God's love can be hard to figure out sometimes. How do you explain something you don't understand? Well, God was about to provide us with a perfect illustration.

My friend's daughter began to get cranky. That squirming kind of cranky where you try to appease the child but nothing seems to work. Nope. Not interested in mommy's phone anymore, nor "Grandpa's" French fries or even ice cream. One of those "I want to go home now!" kind of crankies.

Suddenly a young girl walked up to the mom and her child, and leaning in, she gave my friend's daughter a hug.

Absolute silence. Another person confronted with unconditional love and who couldn't understand it

A loving look from the girl who gave the hug. A look of disbelieve and appreciation from the cranky baby. No words were spoken at all. Just a gift of love and its acceptance.

What a beautiful expression of God's unconditional love for us! It is given despite who we are and despite what we've done. It is given freely. And why? Because God IS love. We need to quit trying to figure out why and just dive into it and accept it - like a child dives into an ice cream cone.

Amazing Love - Chris Tomlin
This Is Amazing Grace - Phil Wickham

Loss

There is no way to describe how we feel when someone that we love dies. We can try explaining things but we always fall short, often stopping in a remembrance along the way. The emptiness is real though. I can tell you that for sure. There's a reason for that.

We humans love to be loved. We were created that way. God is love so why wouldn't a little of what He is rub off on His work?

Although we are all basically the same, each one of us is unique. In our uniqueness we live differently and we love differently. We react differently in situations and we love differently in our relationships. How we love is directly proportional to our love for God.

"7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." - 1 John 4:7-12

When someone dies there is an absence in us, in our hearts. We miss the person who is gone. The more we loved someone, the more we miss them when they're no longer with us. Why? Because we love to be loved.

If you have lost someone, draw near to God. God heals hearts and we all have hearts that are hurting in some way. One of the best ways God gives us to heal our hearts ourselves is to love someone else. When someone dies wouldn't it be a great tribute to love others the way they loved us? (See verse 11 above).

Love someone today. Where someone is hurting, visit them there. Where someone is at a loss for words, send them some encouraging ones. The best way to comfort someone, to show someone you care, is to tell them, and show them, that you love them.

Do not love like the world loves. Rather, love like God loved us and sacrificed His Son for us. Willingly. Love until it hurts and then love some more.

The world is desperately in need of love these days. BE that love.

(This was written for the Dobizl family, the Mortensen family, the Volkman family and the Bush family. And all those who have lost someone recently. There is hope and healing in the arms of Christ. I love you all.)

Me and Jesus - Stellar Kart

Love Reigns

I have a theory about love. It's more than a theory I guess. I have seen it proven time and time again. But there is no physical evidence to support it. The "proof" resides in our hearts and in our minds. See if you don't agree.

If you go to Google and type in the phrase "is a two way street" you see words in bold like love, respect, friendship, trust, forgiveness, marriage." A relationship that is a one-way street won't last long. I guess a one-way love relationship is possible. It's just not profitable.

"7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." - 1 John 4:7-8

I that right? Is God love? Does that mean that an atheist cannot love? Well, I guess that depends on the atheist's definition of love. But, based on the scripture we just read they cannot really KNOW what love is. They're only guessing?

I think Jesus is God's example of love. Look at His life. A servant, He sacrificed everything for the ones He loved. Do we do that in our relationships? He loved unconditionally. Do we do that? Or are our relationships dependent on being loved in return.

In many cases the love God has for us is one-way. We don't love Him back, although He loves us. Therefore should our love be one way? Yes!

Two way love relationships work because we get what we give. Everyone loves to feel loved. But the relationships that work best are the ones filled with unconditional love - a love like God's for us. When we start putting conditions on our love for God we diminish that love.

We must look at our relationships. Are they one way? Are they unconditional? Can we truly love, in God's definition of love, without knowing God and His love for us?

The theory I have is a modification of the two-way street theory. What if there was a U-turn at the end of the two way streets so they feed each other in a perpetual, eternal way like a big, flat oval? The love would never end. Are your relationships like that?

He Reigns - Newsboys

Like A Child

It didn’t occur to me until several days later just how Jesus must have felt in Matthew 18 and 19 when He said these things:

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." - Matthew 18:3-5

"14Jesus 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

This past weekend at Lifest, a Christian music festival in our area, a little girl came up to me as I was returning to camp. She walked right up and gave me a hug. Well, she gave my leg a hug. Short girl. Why did she do that?

She recognized me from the year before. I had shared some cheese puffs with her and her brothers. That act must have made quite an impression on her. Or at least on her stomach.

How sweet and innocent I thought. The love of a child is so pure, so perfect and unconditional. Her hug made an impression on ME and it reminded me of how our faith towards God should be.

When we see Jesus one day, what will we do? How we will approach Him – this God, Creator of all things? According to what I read in the Book of Matthew, we are to come to Him like a little child. Do we do that? HOW do we do that?

First, I feel that I child's love is pure. It is free from all other entanglements, conditions and contaminants.

Second, it is unconditional. No matter what, a child loves freely and without fear.

And third, a child's love is selfless. They love without thought of themselves, They love simply because they want to. It's who they are.

Let us love like that. Let is LIVE like that. A child, though they are young, is a great example of how our relationship with God should be. How will we demonstrate our love for God today?

Live Like That - Sidewalk Prophets

Touch

If you will pardon the pun, today's message is kind of a touchy subject. You see, I have this theory about touching. No, it's not the kind of touching that's been all over the news lately. That's bad. I'm writing about touching someone's heart.

My wife and I were talking the other night about this very topic. She related a story about another lady at church who had given her a hug. This lady told my wife that, when she came to the church for the first time, my wife went over and sat by her to make her feel at home. That meant a lot to this particular lady and now she and my wife hug each other every Sunday. My wife touched someone's heart.

My boss at work is a good friend. We have known each other a long time so when he developed some medical issues I got a little concerned. I went into his office and listened to him talk about his fears for his wife and family should something happen to him. I prayed for him right there, placing my arm around his shoulder. After the prayer he gave me a hug and said, "Love you, bud."

Do you see a pattern here? First there was a non-physical "embrace" of the heart - thinking about the other person's needs. Then came a physical touch - a hug - showing gratitude and thanks for what one person did for another.

The world offers a different kind of love. All these celebrities and politicians getting in trouble for their sexual misconduct. They did not follow the two steps outlined above. They failed on step one when they placed their own desires above the desires of the other person.

Jesus loves us unconditionally. When there are no conditions and no selfish, sinful thoughts in our relationships, it's easy to feel loved knowing that someone actually does love us.

Think about little children and the innocent love they show others. That's the way WE should love. The way the kids in the following passage of scripture approached Jesus is the way WE should act to everyone we meet.

"13 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there." - Matthew 19:13-15

How will you and I touch someone's heart today?

Baby Joey Spreading Love and Joy
Free Hugs Campaign

Disappointed?

We've all been disappointed at some point in our lives. Things don't go the way we think they should. Things don't get done when we want them to. So many things disappoint us in this life. Wouldn't it be great if we could eliminate the disappointment from our lives? Well, maybe there is a way.

I was hoping to get lots of stuff done this weekend on the tiny home I am building. The weather looked like it was going to cooperate. Everything was lining up so I could accomplish just what I wanted to do.

Then I was reminded that my wife was taking a trip to visit her father. She asked me if I would like to come along. I said yes. Even though I knew I would be missing out on a day of construction, there are some things that are more important. Family. Marriage.

Well, at least I had Sunday. Oops. I guess not. Our grandson was singing in church. We HAD to go. He did a great job. Then we went out to eat afterwards. Family.

I didn't get all the things done I wanted to accomplish. But other things got done instead. Am I disappointed about not working more on the tiny home? Yes. But I got to see my father-in-law. As I was showing him pictures of the tiny home project he put his arm around me in appreciation. Priceless. I also got to spend time with my wife, which is ALWAYS good. I got to see my son and his wife, her parents and our grandson. A hug from each of them, especially the grandson, was priceless. Oh, and we all worshiped together. Again, priceless.

Politicians disappoint us, NFL football players have disappointed us of late too. So what do we do? There are so many things that disappoint. But there is One who never disappoints. I have heard it said that, "If you think God has disappointed you, you don't know Him very well."

When I get disappointed with life's events or in the people I encounter around me, I try to stop and think about all of the blessings I have been given and remind myself who gave them to me. That usually snaps me right out of the disappointed mood I find myself in.

I also remind myself that I myself disappoint God every single day. Who am I to complain when things don't go MY way.

When you feel disappointed in life, try reading God's Word. Remind yourself of His promises to each of us - His sons and daughters. Then, specifically, read this and see how it makes you feel. It always leaves me feeling better than before I began.

^"28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:28-39

So, how are you feeling now? I don't know about you but I'm feeling better. :)

If God is for us, who can stand against us? No one! So forget about life's disappointments and seize the day by seizing and reading your Bible. You will find that being reminded of your faith in Christ can remove many of the disappointments we feel in life. So rejoice . . . and read!

I watched this old Hee Haw video with my father-in-law on Saturday. He liked it. Maybe you will too.

Gloom Despair and Agony on Me - Hee Haw
Don't Worry About Tomorrow - Van Morrison

In Your Eyes

Driving through the darkness on my 45-minute morning commute to work can lead to some amazing thoughts as my mind wanders where it will. It can also be pretty boring!

I had slept in yesterday and was running late. The radio show I usually listen to was over so I groped around my car for a CD to listen to. God picked out a good one - The Book of John.

It was good to hear those stories again. Jesus and Nicodemus, turning water into wine, the woman at the well . . . but the story that touched my heart that day was from John 5. The story of a father's love for his son.

I invite you to look at this picture that my daughter-in-law took of her son and her husband - my son. What an amazing picture! It says a lot all by itself. I also invite you to read this passage from John 5, then take another look at the picture.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. ²⁰ For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does" - John 5:19-20

Jesus was, of course, talking about HIS Father, Our Father in heaven. Jesus spent His whole life doing what His Father taught Him, speaking the words his Father wanted Him to say. The life that Jesus lived prompted God to say this about His Son.

“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." - Matthew 17:5

I look at this picture from a unique point of view - the father of the son (no capital letters). It's not hard to watch my son now, teaching HIS son, and not feel proud. This is MY son with whom I am well pleased.

Still, I find it hard to imagine God's love for us, that He would send His one and only Son, the Son He loved, to die on our behalf. If you think that God does not love you, think again.

Unless you have children it is hard to understand what self-sacrificing, unconditional love is. Walking around at 2:00 AM, carrying a child who has an ear infection or is colicky. Caring for a sick child, not caring in you yourself get sick. You only want your child to get well.

But to see your child, grown, and doing the same thing for their child. Loving THEM unconditionally . . . well, that is very special indeed. It kind of makes me wonder . . . how God must have felt, watching His Son honoring Him in all that He did.

So on this day I pray for all of the world's fathers as they teach their sons. May they do what is right in your eyes, God. I pray also for the sons. One day they will be fathers themselves, teaching their sons the same things. And may we all do what is right in your eyes, Father. May we make YOU proud of us in the way we live our lives. Always serving, always loving, always intentionally teaching our sons and daughters your ways, with the same unconditional love that you first showed us. This is how we will honor you, by living . . . in your eyes.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
You Raise Me Up - Westlife

Deer Valentine

So it was a little chilly yesterday morning. It was fourteen below zero. on this February 14th, Valentine's Day. Warming up now, it's six below, as I am heading into town for worship (I am dictating this entire message).

I thought I would tell you a little story, a Valentine's story, that my wife and I saw last night. Three deer came into our yard after the sun went down. They stood around a little bit and then all three of them just settled down for a cold winter's nap . . . thirty feet from our house . . . in the snow. They spent the entire night in our backyard.

This morning my wife looked out the kitchen window as we ate breakfast. She was hoping the three deer would still be there. They were. But now there were four. Interesting.

She watched them for a while. One of them was pretty far off. But eventually my wife left for church so I took over as head deer watcher. What a treat! I happened to notice that this fourth deer coming closer was . . . a buck!

Now my wife and I had just spoken this morning about how we never see bucks in our yard. We have only seen one in our 34 years of living in our house. We always see does and now she wasn't around to see this big boy so I ran to get my camera and took some pictures to show her that, yes, there actually WAS a buck in our back yard.

I couldn't get a really good shot so I moved out into the sun room. Well, my focus being on the buck, I didn't notice the doe that was eating out of our bird feeder which is about ten to fifteen feet away from our sun room. The doe got scared by my movement and ran off down the trail into the distance.

I turned my focus back to the buck and I noticed he was staring at the fleeing doe that had run off. And he was staring at her rather intently. She continued to run, white tail wagging in the air. The other two does just continued to lie there but the buck was not focused on them. He just continued to stare at the running doe. Then he took off and he pursued her.

When he caught up with her she finally stopped and they both stood there together. He had left the two does behind to chase after the one that was frightened.

That Valentine's Deer story, played out in our back yard,  reminded me of the story Jesus told of the man who had 100 sheep and how he left the 99 sheep behind to chase after the one that was lost.

12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish." - Matthew 18:12-14

Have you gotten frightened or "interrupted" in life? Have you run away from the flock, so to speak? Often we think there is no going back. That's not true. God loves us, He pursues us and He wishes that none of us should be lost.

How many times does it tell us in the Bible, "Do not be afraid" or "Fear not." Let the story of the deer be an encouragement to us this morning. He gives us examples of His love wherever we look. Even in the back yard.

God gave me that example of unconditional love Sunday morning, when the buck gave up his morning breakfast to chase after the one who was frightened. May God encourage YOU this day. May you not become afraid as you walk through this world. And may you stand boldly in the position of a child of God, through your faith in of Jesus Christ. Amen.

As The Deer

The Key To True Happiness

"Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul." - Deuteronomy 30:9-10

What makes you happy? Go ahead. Make a list. I'll wait. I'm serious! Make a list of the things that make you happy. While you're going to your "happy place" I'll get you in the mood for some real happiness by showing you this little paragraph from an article I just read entitled "What Really Makes A Person Happy."

"Friday, March 20, marks the third-annual International Day of Happiness. The day came about after a 2011 UN General Assembly, where the importance of happiness was discussed as not just a priority for global health, but also as a “fundamental human goal,” from which all things — even economic growth — can benefit. With this realization about the importance of happiness in mind, the first UN Conference of Happiness was held in 2012 and it was decided that starting in 2013, every March 20 to follow would be celebrated as International Day of Happiness." - Amanda Chatel, Bussle.com

You know, I've just decided hat there are two types of people in this world. One kind thinks that what they just read is absolutely wonderful. The other kind, the group I belong to, thinks, "That was the biggest crock of you-know-what I have ever read and it is a perfect example of what is wrong with this world." Anyway, enough of that. Let's get happy!

So what DOES make you happy? I'm going to guess what's on that list of yours and I bet I nail a few of them . . . all with just one word. Love.

I think most of us are at our happiest when we are loved. Is there anything on your list of things that make you happy that do NOT involve love of one kind or another? We love . . . love. We sing songs about it, write stories about it, we emblazon it on our coffee mugs and out tee shirts. Yet, despite all this "love" in our lives we still can be a broken and crumpled mess at times. Why is that? I think it's because we haven't committed to truly love ourselves. And we truly haven't committed our hearts to Jesus.

Since I gave my life to Christ I have experienced more love than I have ever known. And it is a deeper love . . . and unconditional love . . . a sacrificial love. It is an amazing love. The only problem with this kind of love is that many people don't know it even exists. They think they already know what love is. There is something greater . . . something purer . . . something deeper.

So how do you find this kind of love? WHERE do we find it?

Before I give you my sales pitch about Jesus I want to tell you something I have found to be true. I surrendered my life to Jesus 9 1/2 years ago. I am no expert theologian. I just read the Bible and believe what it says. But I testify this day to a greater love than anything you have ever known.

Since I made that commitment to Christ, the love I feel for others has grown deeper. That love has changed in natural as well. It is no longer a needy desire to be loved. It has changed. The love I feel for others is now sacrificial in nature. It is unconditional. And THAT is where true love lives.

If you want to feel loved like you've never been loved before, seek out Jesus. Seek out a true believer and begin a conversation. The name "Christian" has be high jacked in my opinion and no longer holds it's biblical meaning.

I urge you to call out to God. Ask Him to love you and to prove to you that He exists. If you do so with a sincere heart you had better hold on because the life you lived before will change. You will be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

There is nothing any human can say or do to convince another human to do something. This has got to be something you WANT to do. All I am doing here today is asking you to consider it. Jesus changed MY life. Jesus can do the same for you. And you will experience love like you have never known.

"11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:11-13


You Are My King / Amazing Love - Chris Tomlin

A Deeper Love

Having lived for nearly 62 years on this planet, I have discovered a few things about love. Like, just when I think I know what love is, along comes another wrinkle or "revelation" about it that causes me to know that . . . I really didn't know what love was at all.

I was having a conversation with a few young adult friends this past week. I think that was when I came to the realization that there is yet another type of love, another level, if you will. But, as with many discussions, in order for us to move forward, it is sometimes necessary to go back. So let's start off with a few words from the apostle Paul.

"11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. - 1 Corinthians 13:11

For this topic I think that's where we need to begin. It is when we leave our childhood behind, our childlike love, and we begin a journey of discovery that ultimately leads us right back to where we began. Here's another verse that hints at what I'm trying to get at. These words come from Jesus.

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

Close your eyes and think about the kind of love a child offers. Do you see the images in your mind? A child running into his mother's arms. A young girl hugging a puppy. Stuff like that. Warm and fuzzy images to be sure. There is a reason we find those mental pictures so pleasing and desirable. It is because, I believe, we long for them. We long to experience a love like that again. That childlike love that contains no fear or doubt.

Children trust. They offer love openly and freely, without fear of rejection, without doubt. They love completely and without question. So . . . that begs another question, "What happened to us?" I think we became afraid to love deeply and unconditionally because, to some degree, we have become afraid to see love as a commitment. If not afraid, perhaps . . . apprehensively cautious. That is not a healthy fear.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear." - 1 John 4:18

We spend much of our lives, after childhood, trying to get back to that simple kind of love we once had as a child. First finding it and then loving in it . . . again. It is more of a longing though, not really an active search. We will never find it that way. We should get off our butts and crave it!

The world in which we live today is much different from the world of our youth. Love comes with many more descriptors than it once did. Some think love will never find them because love has burned them too many times and they fear being hurt again. Others would give anything to be loved because they can't seem to find it anywhere. Still others are doomed to never find that perfect, child-like love because, as that old country song goes, they are searching for love in all the wrong places.

I was listening to a young friend recently. As she talked I listened . . . with my eyes. She was saying one thing with her lips but her eyes were telling me something else. She is longing for, and deep down, desiring, something deeper. That's when I began to see this need in her for this higher love I am writing about today. I began to see it through the compassion and love I have for my friend. The love of Jesus.

There is a desire within each of us, I think, for a deeper, more intimate, unconditional love. The kind of love we used to have as children, we long to have and experience that again. It IS possible to find that kind of love. The kind of love we all seek requires us to go back to the beginning . . . to the source. But we are often afraid to make the trip, to take the first step. And that is where we fail.

The young lady I was talking with is in a same-sex relationship. These kinds of relationships are embraced by our society these days and encouraged in our schools. Yet, same-sex relationships are "discouraged," to say the least, in the Bible. So what are we to do? What do we do when people we love make choices and decisions that lead down a path that is contrary to God's desires for us? Back to basics.

"30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:30-31

Hey, let's face it, we are ALL sinners. We spend so much time concerning ourselves with what we think OTHER people should be doing, we forget to examine ourselves, to see what it is that WE should be doing. We spend so much time talking about other people's sins, we forget to assess our own sinful nature and hold ourselves accountable. And most importantly, we forget to love.

"8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." - 1 John 4:8

As the discussion and the evening ended that night with my young friend, we parted company. But before we left, we hugged, and we exchanged I love you's. You see, this life is a journey - not to accomplish all we can, not to point out the faults of others, but to love all we meet. Jesus lived His life as an example of love. Something we should emulate. I don't judge or convict those who sin, because . . . that's me too.

Instead, I pray my young friend and others might see in me, not an old, uncaring man, but someone who exudes the love of his savior, Jesus Christ. Someone who has God's Holy Spirit living in me and loving through me.

The secret to the deeper love we all desire is found in Christ. It is found in the Bible. The information we all need for that "perfect love" and life has already been given to us. We just need to read it and apply it. So, do you desire a deeper, higher love? What are you waiting for? Run into His arms . . . like a little child. He is waiting, patiently, for you. He waited 53 years for me, he'll wait for you.

Here is a secular song written in 1957 for the musical The Music Man. A small group named The Beatles did a cover of the song five years later. Imagine the lead singer, Paul, singing this song, not to a would-be lover, but as a prayer to God. The song then takes on whole new meaning if you think of it that way. May you find the true meaning of love, as I did, in the arms of Christ. Then you too will finally know what love truly is. And you will realize there can be no love at all in our lives until we can finally sing . . . till there was You.

Till There Was You - The Beatles

Funerals

I love funerals. Well . . . not really. I love what HAPPENS at funerals . . . for the most part. Like
yesterday. What an incredible display of love an affection I witnessed at the funeral of our discipleship pastor, Pastor Gary.

Many tears were shed during the service. Tears of joy as people told stories that amazing and humble man of Christ and all of the peoples lives he touched. But also tears of great sorrow for the loss of a husband and a father and a mentor to many. May we ALL live in such a way as to have people testify to OUR godly character when WE die. We should live the way Pastor Gary did, always encouraging, sometimes rebuking, but always faithfully following His Lord and Savior, the King of all Kings, Jesus.

I have a theory. I think that the same reason we wait until a funeral to tell someone how much we love them is the same reason we don't tell someone about Jesus. We're afraid. And in both cases the people we need to tell these things to are dead, or about to die. Why do we wait? Why?

Several years ago I began telling people I love them, right to their face. It doesn't matter whether you are a man or a woman, young or old, rich or poor. If I love you, I'm going to tell you. Sometimes people look at me with a wondering expression on their face, especially the guys, but then I tell them a little story and they always return a smile.

"The Greeks have three different meanings for the word Love. One is the kind of love a husband and wife have for each other, a physical love. The second kind of love is a the love present in a friendship, brotherly love if you will. But the third kind of love, agape love, is the kind that Jesus has for everyone of us - a deep, sacrificial love." Pastor Gary had that kind of love and he gave of it freely.

When Jesus died for us on the cross He exhibited the perfect example of agape love. He sacrificed Himself out of love for each of us whether we loved Him or not . . . whether we believe in Him or not. There are many in this world who feel that Jesus wasn't real, they think He was a myth. Yes, He died for even them. He also died for Muslim extremists, serial killers, you name it, He loved us all. And then He tells us in John 13:34-35 to "love one another as I have loved you." In that way people will know that we are disciples of Jesus.

As I heard the stories of Pastor Gary the other day, just from the testimony of the lives Gary touched with his own brand of agape love, I KNOW that Gary was a disciple of Christ. I KNOW this because I can see it in the lives of everyone he touched; their tears bearing testimony to a REAL man of God.

So I challenge you today, I challenge myself, to live a life for Christ, and, in Christ, love all whom we meet in this world. And deliver them message of The Gospel to all we meet.

In yesterdays service, one of the people who offered testimony about Pastor Gary asked those who had been discipled by him to stand up. Nearly everyone present arose. Standing proudly in tribute to a teacher, and mentor, a husband and a friend. I am proud to call him, my brother.

Tell someone today that you love them. Pour yourself into the life of someone whose vessel is running dangerously low. In that way you can fulfill The Great Commission . . . to make disciples of all nations. And live a life devoted to Jesus. He will be glad you did.

You know, each time I donate blood there is a sign on then way out, thanking me for "giving the gift of life." What an amazing testimony that would be, to give The Gift of Life, Jesus, to all we come in contact with as we walk through this world. May we make an effort to live that way, always.

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:8

Amazing Grace by The Royal Scots Dragoon Guard

[This post is dedicated to Violet, their two sons & grandchildren. Ans also to the rest of Gary's family and friends, especially Pastor Paul and my friend Jenny]