Speaking the truth in frustration

Sometimes we speak the truth out of frustration, instead of speaking the truth in love. Love will speak the truth. Love will rebuke. But it will speak a truth that is in itself relational, because truth is found in a person - Jesus. We are ambassadors proclaiming the beauty and awe of the Word. And calling people from foolish deeds of death to an overwhelming beautiful Kingdom and to a Gospel that will set them free.

the call to messiness

The Christian life is not a call to earthly palaces or grandeur, it is the call to follow Jesus. This often means getting in the "trough" (muck) and "passion" (suffering) of peoples lives. This is the grandeur of the Heavenly Kingdom, it has the power to reach even the worst of places.

Preaching the Gospel through God's love for us

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

                                                                                             -- 1 John 3:16,17

The Gospel is commanding. It takes dominion in our lives changing our hearts and our minds, conforming us into the image of Christ. We preach the Gospel, because God has ordained the preaching of the Gospel as a means of His grace. And he has established that His Gospel will be preached through those in the church, us. But even though God has ordained this, it is not mechanical. John doesn’t just say, we obey and do what is right. John says that we love. We love to preach the Gospel. And we love others. So where does this love come from?

John lays out the heart of the believer and where our motivation comes from to love the lost– the work of Christ in our own lives – “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” When we get this, when we get the depths of Jesus’ love for us, our hearts will be moved to love others. John demonstrates an integral connection between being loved by God and walking in the truth of the Gospel and the outward expression of the Gospel’s work in loving others.  Our motivation for ministry to others comes from the security of the redemption we have in work of Christ.

 I like the words of Jeremy Riddle’s song, Sweetly Broken -

At the cross you beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees
And I am
Lost for words so lost in love
I am sweetly broken holy surrender

 As we are beckoned to Christ, we are “sweetly broken” and able to walk in “holy surrender”. It is no longer a work. It is trusting in the work of Christ, having faith in His work, laying all that we are down, and allowing His work to change us. In the Gospel, God boldly works in us through sanctification, with all certainty and determination to continue to grow in our hearts love for others. We are God's handiwork. This is why John states that loving others must happen if we are in the Gospel. He says this because the Gospel is not weak, the work of Jesus is not weak, but certain to work love into our hearts. So this love that we have growing in our hearts for others is a work of God and not our own. And God is not thwarted  . . . . 

This fact gives me much encouragement, when I don’t feel capable of evangelizing or loving others or even don’t feel like loving others. God is at work in me and He will accomplish it, because it is about His work, not mine. And even when I have those times I don’t want to love others, I know He is at work in me. 

Here is the deal; we are motivated not through looking at ourselves and working to muster up a love in ourselves. We are motivated, because He first loved us. He loves us! Do you get that? Let me repeat that. He loves us! He loves us so much that He brings us into His love for others. God has chosen the Gospel as the means for this love to be made manifest. And as we come to trust the Gospel, not just that He saves us from God’s wrath, but that God also brings us into His Kingdom and conforms us into the image of Christ; we will discover that love is growing in our hearts. We don’t look to ourselves; we come and look to Christ, believing in His work. 

And as we step out in these truths knowing it is not about whether or not we fail, because God’s work does not fail. God has determined to do a good work in us, because He deeply loves us. . . . Paul says that all things are "Yes" in Christ.

This is the power of the Gospel as it sanctifies our hearts and conforms us into the image of Christ. The more we see the magnificence and grandeur of what Christ has done for us and grow in our understanding of the Gospel in our own lives, the more passion we will have as God takes us into His story and uses us to reach out to others and bring them into this love. 

Treasuring Him - DWYL Sermon Jam Video

Love is the Fulfilment of the Law. (Paul Washer)

To forgive - Do we believe?

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. – Matthew 5:23,24

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. – Colossians 3:13

Why is that we don’t believe? When our hearts are hurt, we run, we hide, we push others away, but we don’t believe. God has called us to forgive. God has called us to love. God has called us to love even in the hardships and the hurts and when we are sinned against. He has called us to love when love is not returned. He has called us to love our enemies. He has called us to this, not because we are capable of loving or bearing the hurt and pain and suffering, but because He is our refuge and He knows our hurt and pain and our broken heart. And He knows what it takes to heal our hearts. It takes being near Him and making Him our refuge. When we push others away and choose not to forgive, we disobey God, who has called us to grow in love, and we run away from trusting God to be our shelter in the pain. We cannot fully heal till we have forgiven. And even in those situations where it seems impossible to forgive, there is a God full of compassion, who longs to walk along side with us, who longs to hold us and to be with us and to give us the strength to live. We can live our lives seeking to protect ourselves or we can allow God to protect us to be our shelter. So do we believe? Our we willing to trust, and to love, and to forgive?

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." – Matthew 18

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. – Luke 6

Read this : Love is worth fighting for

Love is something worth fighting for

The last few weeks, God has been really impressing on me this verse. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” This Sunday, my pastor talked about a man who was in a fox hole in the middle of a battle trembling, afraid, frozen with fear, and unable to get up and fight. Later, after the battle, a sergeant talked with him, and he told him that those who are able to fight are able to do so because they already know that they are dead.

Love is not something that is experienced and lived in the comfortable Christian-ease lifestyle. Love is something that is lived in the reality of the battles of life. Love is a theology that must be learned in the trenches, in the mud, and in the mire of life.

We often try to protect our hearts. We stay trembling in the fox hole, afraid because running out into the battle field makes our hearts vulnerable and puts us at risk of dying. We stay in our comfortable Christian-ease environment seeking “safe and holy” relationships. We believe . . .A Christian’s heart shouldn’t be broken or hurt or devastated or unprotected. Relationships shouldn’t be messy. . . But then Christ comes and shocks us. He doesn’t live a life of protecting His heart. He comes to love by dying.

He tells us to forgive those who have sinned against us. He tells us to turn the other cheek, when we are wronged. He tells us to serve more, when we are taken advantage of. He tells us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. He tells us to love as He has loved us. You see, you cannot love until you are dead.

The scripture tells us to protect our hearts from seduction and evil, but it never tells us to protect our hearts from righteousness and godly love. When it comes to godly love we are commanded to die.

Love is still a worthy cause - Sara Groves

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

1 Corinthians 13:4-13

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

A good and pleasant life is found when we are together

Psalm 133: A Song of Ascents. Of David.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

I think if we want what is good and pleasant, if we want the blessing. We must press in to love each other, even in difficult circumstances. Even in the most broken of circumstances. Even when we have wronged each other. Even when we are afraid. Healing is not found in running from hard situations, but running toward each other in love. A good and pleasant life is found when we choose to love and live together and walk through hardships together.

I think it is hard sometimes, because our hearts are involved. When we pursue love our hearts become vulnerable. And its scary because we don't know if we can hold up. Here is the thing, we are not any good at protecting our hearts. It doesn't work. But when we pursue and run after God abandoning our hearts to Him, and we pursue to love others in His strength, He upholds us and becomes our refuge and strength. He is also our healer and our rescuer.


"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

to Love

Jesus said that no greater love is this, that a man would lay down his life for another. Laying your life down, frees you to love. Because you are dead, you can run not seeking your own agenda or desires. Your pursuit becomes loving other to build them up and encourage them in Christ not to gain what you desire.

This is free, disciplined, radical, unabandoned, safe love that is from Christ. This is the kind of love that I want to know and live.

The cost of loving others

When Christ said that there is not greater love than one who lays down his life for another and commanded us to love as He has loved us. He meant it. Loving others will cost us our life. We must lay it down to love.

Love

Sometimes doing the noble thing is the the thing that will break your heart the most. But I believe that love is worth a broken heart.

Sleeping around and having had an abortion

God has been really challenging me lately. Over the past year or so He has been teaching me what it means to love someone. One of the things I've been wrestling with is how I would respond if the woman God would have me marry had a history of sleeping around and had had an abortion. Two very difficult things to come to grips with. It would be hard.

But I know this, I'd want her to feel safe and loved. I'd want her to feel pure and cherished. I'd want her to feel secure in my love and that she could trust me with her heart.

I'd want a woman to know this not just in a marriage but also as a brother. I know with my real sisters I want this. And I want my sisters in the Lord to know that they are deeply loved.

I am glad that God has put this on my heart. And has had me work through this, cause it has taught me more about the Gospel. God did not pursue a virgin, but a harlot, which is what I am without his grace. I murdered His Son. And yet God loves me and has covered my sin. This is the Gospel. This is the Love Story. I want to know this love and I want to love others with this kind of love.

Unshockable

One of the things my pastor says often is that he wants us to be an unshockable people, where we come together and love each other despite all the muck and mess that each of us bring to the table. When we truly understand who we are, and we see our own sin and our own desperate need for the Gospel, now at this very moment, we are not shocked by other peoples sins and faults. There is no longer any room for boasting. We have no good thing apart from Christ. And as we see God's patience and love in our own lives and understand his grace and the power of the Gospel, it frees us to love those around us. It also frees us to celebrate, because when our boasting is gone, we are free to rejoice together in the one who truly deserves the glory and honor and majesty.

Running from the pain

Official first blog of the year :)

This year or so has been a year of learning that you can't run away from pain. The other day, I had something really tough happen to me that ripped my heart out. I don't know if it will ever get repaired. I haven't even figured out how to talk about it. I don't know that I want to. But right after that incident, I got hit with a ton of bricks. I went and sat in a place where the tv was turned on. On the show, there was a young child, whose parents had died violently. With his parents gone, he now had the responsibility of looking after his three younger siblings. He would often go without just so that they could eat. I just wanted to weep. How does a heart respond to that? How can a heart take it? I cried out to God, I want to be there, but I don't know if my heart can take it. I can't, I can't even take my own pain. But I think life is more than trying to be able to handle it. I don't know that we are always supposed to be able to handle it. Am I going to turn away my heart just because I can't sleep at night? No, I am going to press into the firm foundation that is Christ and I take the beating and weather the storm. By God's grace I will not run. I believe in life I can either protect my hear in relationships, situations, and hardships, or I can love. Love doesn't protect itself from pain, it loves even in the pain. It does not run away.

2 Corinthians 4:7-12
1 Corinthians 1:8-10
1 Corinthians 13
Hebrews 12:28-29
Luke 4:18,19

Dare to Love

Love . . . Let it bring us to our knees.

LORD, in loving others, may I lock the door behind me and throw away the key and commit to never leave. And may You send angels to guard the door. Abba, give me wings of eagles to soar in Your love and renew Your strength in me, so that I might run where young men fail; and love and not grow faint. For Love is not a fight; it is something worth fighting for.




Love is not a place to come and go as we please. It is a house we enter in and commit to never leave.

"I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

Love them as I have loved you

A letter written to a friend July 21, 2005

I wrote this in my journal right before you asked me to pray for you last night:

"This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." - John 15

This gives us a glimpse into the heart and life of Jesus and how he treated those around Him. They must have been shown much love by Jesus, because they showed much love for one another. Christ loved personally those around Him.

Abba, put this heart in me, allow me to faithfully and fully invest in the lives around me. Let me hold nothing back nor hold on to things that are fleeting, but abandon my life to give. Reveal to me your love. Let me come close to the love of Jesus, in a real and personal and intimate way."

I need prayer for the same thing, to be able to come face to face with the reality of Jesus's love, to experience His tenderness and strength of love, the lion and the lamb. I need to know a love bigger than my own.

Pray fervently for both of us,

Your brother

Give Me Your Eyes

I Surender All

This song is what the LORD has been teaching me lately. I would, however, change the lines to "You are worth it all, now". He is pulling me close, in the midst of my pain, He is stripping my flesh away and coming close and washing me, in the midst of my hurt. He is bringing His arms around me, and holding me, when I cannot hold myself. God is good.