Redefining Love

*This is a blog that I wrote back in April, but for some reason I never got around to posting it. Well this week the thought of "Redefining Love" has been on my mind again. I originally came across this post with the idea of using it for my personal study and/or just adding something to it. But as I read through it, I didn't see that there was anything that needed to be added or taken away. It spoke to my heart in a powerful way once again, and I pray it does the same for you.

          As I mentioned in my previous post, I was able to be a part of an amazing move of God last weekend. Part of that awesome move happened around midnight Saturday after we left the church. Our FOCUS group was gathered in the living room of a generous church member's house, planning our lesson for Sunday School. We knew that we wanted to talk about the true meaning of love, but we couldn't seem to get any of our ideas to work. It seemed like we kept hitting a brick wall, and it was frustrating. Finally, one of the girls in the group asked if we could pray. Of course, we all quickly agreed. She didn't pray for a miracle, but God answered her prayer in a miraculous way. Immediately after she finished praying we decided on the scripture we were going to use. There were seven verses, and seven of us, so we each read a verse. I honestly believe that in that moment we were bound by a form of unity that I have never experienced before, and the Holy Spirit began to speak. When we finished reading the scripture someone made a comment about love being an action. Then someone else added to that, and we literally went around the room finishing eachother's sentences. We had the basic outline of our lesson planned in just a few minutes. I can't even begin to describe how awesome that was. We were overwelmed by the greatness of God, and it bubbled over in the form of joyous laughter. The only words that seemed to appropriately describe the moment was, "God is good!" :)

          Our lesson that next morning was titled, "Redefining Love" and God has used that exact same message to minister to me all week. The basis of our scripture was 1 John 3:14-20 and the message we received could be summed up like this... Love is an action, so if you don't act on it then it isn't really love. God is love, so when we show love to others we are also showing them who God is. Love involves passion and sacrifice, therefore Jesus made the ultimate demonstration of love through His death on the cross. 

Three in One: Getting to Know the Trinity

          God has really been opening my eyes lately to the power of the Trinity - God in three separate persons. It's one of those things that I've always known about, and always believed to be true, but never really understood or truly grasped the meaning of. Well last week God laid it out to me like this...

God: My Father

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

-Romans 8:15

          
          As a father watches over and protects His children, so does God watch over and protect us. And as a child is taught to respect and obey his father, so should we respect and obey our heavenly Father. The word Abba is Arabic for father, but it is accompanied by another word which also means father. Therefore Abba is often believed to have been more of a childlike term of endearment - almost like the word "Daddy" in English. I believe God uses the word "Abba" to try and teach us that we need to depend on Him like a little child depends on his daddy. We need cry out to God to fix our boo-boo's when we get hurt. We need to call out to Him when we need someone to get the monsters out from under the bed. When the kids on the playground are making fun of us, we need to run to our Daddy. It's all about that childlike faith. But we can't forget that Abba is also accompanied by the word "Father" because when we run away from home and realize we can't make it on our own, it's our Father we need to run back to with shame and humility. When get out in the real world and it knocks us down to our knees a few times, it's our Father we need to call for advice on how to get back up on our feet again. When He speaks, we listen. And what He tells us to do, we do without argument. The relationship between a father/son or father/daughter is all about respect and obedience - or at least it should be. Children seem to be constantly searching for approval from their parents. When they are younger they want their artwork to be displayed on refrigerator for all to see. When they are older they want to see that look of pride and feel that pat on the back when it comes time for family introductions. Search for that same approval from God, and always live your life in a way that would make your Father proud. Come to Him with childlike faith and endearment, but at the same time offer Him the respect and reverence He deserves, and obey His commands when He speaks.

Jesus Christ: My Prince
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
-John 15:13

          

          Jesus is the lover of ours souls, and He loves with an unconditional love. He demonstrated this love when He laid down His life on Calvary (Romans 5:8). Before He offered up His life, Christ prayed to His Father. This prayer is found in John 17 and in it He prays first for Himself, then for the disciples, then for us who had yet to believe. Christ came to be our intercessor, so that we could have a direct communication line with the Father. But before we were even brought into being, He was already making intercession for us! He ends His prayer by saying "I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." He is basically saying "I want the love that You (God the Father) have for me, Your perfect and blameless (only begotten) Son, to be in them (the sinful beings who are about to betray and crucify me)." Wow! There is truly no greater love. Now Christ has ascended and we are awaiting His return. He is the Bridegroom and we are his bride, anxiously awaiting the marriage supper around His throne (Revelation 19:6-10). This comparison between Christ and the Church and the relationship between a husband and wife can be found in Ephesians 5:23-25. We are to submit to the will of Christ, just as the wife is to submit to her husband. We must humble ourselves before Him, cast our cares at His feet, and surrender our lives to Him in humble obedience. How could we not demonstrate our love for Him in these acts of service after He demonstrated His love for us on the cross at Calvary? We need to give Him the praise He deserves, it is the very least we can do. And just as in any other relationship - communication is the key. We must stay in a state of constant communication with Christ in order for our relationship with Him to remain strong. The Word of God is His love letter to us. He speaks His love to us daily through His Word, through nature, through others, and through that still small voice. Our prayers, worship, and service are our love letters back to Him. Have you told Him lately that you love Him? 

Holy Spirit: My Best Friend
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
-John 15:26

          

          I have been amazed by what all I've learned about the Holy Spirit this year. I was able to be a part of a ladies bible study and our focus for the study was the Holy Spirit. Most of the inspiration for the study came from Forgotten God by Francis Chan and though I haven't yet got a chance to read the book I was left in awe by how much we truly seem to have forgotten the third person of the Trinity. We take Him for granted, and so often forget that He is also a separate being just as The Father and Son are separate beings. In fact, one scripture in particular that left me dumbfounded was John 16:7 in which Jesus Christ Himself said, "It is expedient (advantageous) for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." I have often thought that life would be so much easier if Jesus were here with us in person. But John 14:17 gives an explanation for why it is so advantageous for Him to go, "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth in you, and shall be in you." The world could see Jesus Christ in the flesh, and they still rejected Him. The Spirit, however, dwells within us. Jesus in the flesh could walk and talk, but He could only walk and talk as far as His human voice would allow and His human legs would take Him. Therefore He taught His message to twelve men who would carry the message after He was gone. But even those twelve men, though they could see Him with their eyes and hear His voice with their ears, often failed to let His words sink into their hearts. The Holy Spirit, however, is not contained to a fleshly body. He dwells within us and can speak directly to our hearts. He is everywhere, at all times. He can speak to hearts in Africa, and at the same time speak to my heart thousands of miles away. He is our helper, our comforter, and  He is with us always. We simply have to call upon His name. The Holy Spirit is our evidence that Jesus Christ is very much alive and living. The Holy Spirit is our evidence that God cares for us and loves us with an everlasting love. The world doesn't understand because they can't see Him with their eyes or touch Him with their hands. But we know He's there  because we can feel Him in our hearts. He is our very best friend, so we need to treat Him like. Talk to Him and spend time with Him - don't take His friendship for granted!

Eyes of Faith

"... faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God." - A.W. Tozer

          Many non-believers use the phrase "seeing is believing" to defend their beliefs. However, I am a believer, and therefore I prefer to twist this statement up a little. I like to say that believing is seeing, because in order to see God you must first believe that He exists. Seeing can be believing, but only if you're looking through the eyes of faith rather than worldly eyes. Look with your heart and then you will begin to see. Open your eyes to the invisible things of God. For as Hebrews 11:3 says, "Things which are seen were not made by things which do appear". In other words, the things of this earth are only made visible through the invisible things of God. So how can we see things that can't be seen? Faith makes it possible. Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is "the evidence of things not seen" so when you look through the eyes of faith you will begin to see things that did not seem visible before, and belief in those invisible things will naturally follow. 

          A.W. Tozer seeks to provide a definition for faith in chapter 7 of "The Pursuit of God". Tozer comes to the conclusion that "looking" and "believing" are synonyms. He says that looking is done through external eyes, but believing is done through the heart. He then says that faith is when you focus your eyes on the things of God and look to Him in all things. He used Psalm 34:5, 123:1-2, and Matthew 14:19 to support this definition. As I read through these verses and through Tozer's explanation, I was utterly amazed. I began to read Hebrews 11 (aka "The Hall of Faith") and God began to speak. As He spoke, my eyes were opened and I began to view faith in a different way than I had ever seen it before. 

          First of all, I think it is important to point out that in Biblical numerology the number 11 means "chaos" and the number 40 means "some sort of probation or trial period". Hebrews 11 is a book devoted to defining the word faith and it consists of 40 verses total. So before I even begin reading this chapter I have already determined that faith is defined (and refined) through a chaotic trial period.
          The chapter provides several examples of Old Testament figures who demonstrated true and genuine faith even in the midst of trial and chaos. For example, verse 7 says "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith." And verse 17 says "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son... Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead." These men, along with the others listed in this chapter, endured and conquered great trials because they looked at their situation through the eyes of faith.  They knew the promises of God and they took Him for His word, never doubting or wavering. Although they had not yet received the promise, they embraced and clung to it because they knew that God was faithful and they believed wholeheartedly that He would not suffer them to be tempted beyond that which they could bear.
          Imagine if they had not looked through the eyes of faith. Imagine if Noah had said, "I have to see the first raindrop before I'll begin building the ark." He and his whole family would have been destroyed and life would have ceased to exist. But Noah never doubted God. Scripture says he "moved with fear" and began to prepare for what he could not see with external eyes. He hadn't yet received the promise, but He saw it in the distance because he was looking through the eyes of faith. He looked to the Heavens and believed in what could not be seen. In the end, God provided a rainbow in the sky as evidence of His promise.
          If you're having trouble seeing through the eyes of faith today, look to Christ for strength and place your trust in Him. Be assured that even if you can't see God's promise today, it's waiting patiently in your future. So embrace the journey, because God will prove Himself faithful in the end... and He may even provide a rainbow as evidence of His faithfulness. Then you will be able to use your rainbow to give a little hope to someone else and help them to also be able to see through the eyes of faith.

Enemies of God

          I was reading from Psalm 144 the other day. It is a powerful chapter and I highly recommend that you go back and study it for yourself. But as I was reading there something intriguing that stood out to me. In verse six David says "your enemies" which suggests that God has enemies. This was a concept that I had never really considered before. Of course we always refer to Satan as the enemy of God, but this verse suggests that Satan is not the only enemy of God. We as humans typically consider our enemies to be other humans. But what human being could pose a threat to God? After all, verse three says "What are human beings that you should notice them, mere mortals that you should think about them?" God loves all humans equally and desires salvation for each and every one. It's not humans who are the enemies of God, but rather it is the power of Satan working through humans. An enemy is defined as "one who feels hatred toward, intends injury to, or opposes the interests of another; something destructive or injurious in its effects." Satan feels hatred towards God and all of His followers, he is opposed to the interest of God to save people through the blood of Jesus, and he intends to put a stop to God's plan. Satan seeks to accomplish his task through something destructive, something that will be disastrous in its effects. These tools of Satan are the enemies of God.

Lies. Pride. Gossip. Jealousy. Greed. Doubt. Fear. Bitterness. Apathy.

          Satan lies to God's people and strives to convince them that his ways are better than God's ways because they will never live up to the expectations of God. The lies of Satan ultimately lead to a life of defeat outside the will of God. Satan uses pride to keep people from stepping out and surrendering to the call of God, and as a result many will never see the Kingdom of God. Gossip is a tool used by Satan to break up churches and tear apart families. Jealousy is used to put family against family, friends against friends, and neighbors against neighbors. Greed leads to selfish thoughts and desires. Satan uses the power of greed to draw people slowly away from the purpose God designed them to fulfill. Doubt and Fear are used to keep believers from taking that leap of boldness and truly shining the light of God into the darkness of those already under Satan's power. Bitterness causes divisions, and a house divided will not stand. Last but certainly not least, apathy is a powerful tool used by Satan to convince believers that there is a such thing as good enough when it comes to serving Christ. This a lie as well because it's impossible to give God all that He deserves. When we as Christians become apathetic we are not only keeping ourselves from fully experiencing the work of God, but we are also keeping others from Him as well. And in the process, we are giving Satan an upper hand.
          Granted, Satan doesn't have a chance when it comes to challenging God. I've read the end of the book, and I know that God wins in the end. But it's not a happily ever after for all involved in this story of life. Not everyone wins in the end. We've all been influenced by the tools of Satan at one time or another in our life. Take a look at you're life right now... Are you under the power of God, or under the power of one of His enemies? When judgement day comes will you find that you're on the winning team, or the losing team? It's even possible that you're on God's team, but you keep lending a helping hand to Satan and the powers working under him. Which is it? Examine your heart and determine the answer. Pray. Seek God. Ask for Forgiveness. If a change needs to be made, then make it. Time is running out and God has a place for you on his team. He has a position available that only you can fill, so take up your cross and follow Him.

Broken & Beautiful

This is a study I did last year, but I came across it the other day and it spoke to my heart once again. It's short, sweet, and to the point - but it speaks truth that words can't explain. Like many of my studies, it begins with a question... Why does God find broken people beautiful? It's one of those things that I've always known to be true, but I've often wondered why it's true. Why does a perfect God love imperfect people? It doesn't seem like there could be an answer to that type of question, but God's Word says to ask and it will be given to you, and on this particular day He gave four answers to my one question.

1. When they are broken, He is near. (Psalm 34:18)
2. He desires their broken spirit & delights in their sacrifice. (Psalm 51:16-17)
3. Broken people are looking for a Savior. (Psalm 69:20)
4. Brokenness comes to pass and beauty follows. (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11)

Take time to look up the scripture attached with each answer, ponder them in your heart, and let God speak to you personally. Listen to this song as well and allow the words to minister to you.

"We all fall short. We all have sinned. But when you let God's Grace break in, it's beautiful. Come as you are. Surrender your heart. Broken and Beautiful."

Thanksgiving

I was looking through some of my notes on Facebook the other day and I found this post that I had written for Thanksgiving last year, and then last night my pastor preached a message on giving God praise so I thought I would share because MY GOD IS WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!!

"Thanksgiving week is coming to an end, but that doesn't mean I need to stop giving God praise for the countless blessings He has given me in my life. This year has not been easy by any means, but I'm thankful that God has never left my side. I've turned my back on Him so many times, and yet He always welcomes me back with open arms. I'm thankful that four years ago He found something in me that was worth saving. I'm thankful that He has given me hope and a future. I'm thankful for His Love, His Grace, and His Mercy. I'm thankful that He is not only my Father, but He is also my Best Friend. I'm thankful that He has given me peace, comfort, and understanding in the moments when I needed it the most. I'm thankful for the lives of those He has taken from my life. I'm thankful for the difference they made on this earth and the lives they impacted while they were here. I'm thankful for the vision He has given me for my life. I'm thankful that He has led me to a school where I'm surrounded by amazing people who are full of His Holy Spirit. I'm thankful not only for His guidance and direction, but for His discernment and confirmation as well. I'm thankful for the spiritual leaders, encouragers, and prayer warriors He has placed in my life. I'm thankful for my amazing family, the constant stronghold in my life. I'm thankful for my amazing church family, the church that Love is building. I'm thankful for my amazing youth group, the bloodline of Christ. I'm thankful for new friends God has placed into my life and the joyous mystery of what is yet to come. I'm thankful for old friends God has placed back into my life and the unfolding of His mysterious, magnificent plan. I'm thankful for His Holy Word and all that He has taught me through the years. I'm thankful for the power of His conviction. I'm thankful for His daily inspiration. I'm thankful for His perfect plan. I'm thankful that He knows me better than I know myself. I'm thankful that He is in control. I'm thankful for the valleys where He has grown me and the valuable lessons learned. I'm thankful for answered prayers. I'm thankful for His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His return. There aren’t enough words to describe how Great He truly is, nor how grateful I will forever be. But I trust there will come a day when I can finally give Him the praise He deserves, and I can only imagine what a glorious day that will be!"

Looking Up, Seeking More

          As my last few posts have revealed, I've been struggling a lot lately and my mind has been a scattered mess. I've been frustrated with the way people handle situations, and aggravated by the way God's people have become so wrapped in playing religious games that they lose sight of who He is and what His vision is in their life. I'm tired of people thinking they have the right to tell others how to serve God instead of focusing on their own calling and serving Him in their own way. We are the body of Christ, but we each have our own role to play. No one person in the body of Christ is any better than another. We are all broken people, only made whole by the love and mercy of God our Savior, so why do we try so hard to tear each other down instead of building each other up? If only we would fall back in love with God, we would see that religious matters don't really matter at all. If only we would get to know our Savior on a personal basis, we would see that it's not up to us to dictate how our fellow brothers and sisters should worship. My heart is breaking for God's church and His people. My only desire is to make God proud and bring a smile to His face. He deserves so much more from us than what we choose to settle for. Something has to be done, but I don't know what to do or where to start. I'm crying out. The songs "If We've Ever Needed You" and "Lord Move or Move Me" have been playing on repeat in my mind. Then one day last week God began to speak to me through a passage in the book I was reading...

"For this great sickness that is upon us no one person is responsible, and no Christian is wholly free from blame. We have all contributed directly or indirectly, to this sad state of affairs. We have been too blind to see, or too timid to speak out, or too self-satisfied to desire anything better than the poor, average diet with which others appear satisfied. To put it differently, we have accepted one another's notions, copied one another's lives and made one another's experiences the model for our own. And for a generation the trend has been downward. Now we have reached a new place of sand and burnt wire grass and, worst of all, we have made the Word of Truth conform to our experience and accepted this low plane as the pasture of the blessed. It will require a determined heart and more than a little courage to wrench ourselves loose from the grip of our times and return to biblical ways. But it can be done."

- from A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God

          Those words were written over half a century before I ever read them, but it seemed as if they were written for the sole purpose of speaking to me in that very moment. It reminded me of the day I accepted Christ as my Savior because every question and every doubt I had was answered in only a few short minutes. God broke through my madness and clearly revealed Himself to me. If I am this disappointed in God's people right now, I can't even imagine how disappointed He must be. I kept thinking about the children of Israel. Every time I read their story I say to myself, "How does God still love them after they've turned away from Him so many times?" and "Why do they continue to turn away from God after all He delivered them from?" It's no secret that the children of Israel are symbolic of the church of Christ. We are no different than them. God blesses us and we turn away from Him. God delivers us and we reject His plans. God saves us and we live as if we were actually worthy of His salvation. We are not worthy, so we need to start living like it and stop taking God's grace for granted. Recognizing a problem within God's church doesn't make me a saint by any means. It's easy to talk about change, but it's another to actually enact change. Pointing fingers doesn't make me any less of a sinner, but disobeying the conviction of God does make me more of a sinner. God assured me through this writing from Tozer that hope does exist. God can still use the church despite it's flaws. God can still use me despite how many times I've let him down in the past. As a body of Christ we need to come together and cover each others weaknesses, not expose them. We need to remember where God brought us from and the countless ways in which He has blessed us along the way. We need to seek after God in a way that we never have before. We need to thirst for Him like we thirst for water. We need to crave Him as if He's a drug we're addicted to. We need to stop viewing ourselves as self-righteous and worthy of God's love. We need to open our eyes to needs of this world and the needs of our own souls. Our one and only focus in this life needs to be to know God more and invite others to do the same. Only then will the problems within the church vanish. Only then will discord become unity. Only then will we be healed from the sickness that has infected the church of Christ for so long. We need to put God back on the judgement seat where He belongs, we need to look to Him to solve our problems, and we need to seek His will above all others. He alone is worthy of such a position.