Unconditional love! It is almost, if not totally, impossible for us to comprehend the terms. As humans, we place so many conditions on love. Are they lovable? Do they treat me with respect? Is my love reciprocated?
That's not so with God's love for us. He loves us passionately and unconditionally. Allow that last word to sink in. Unconditionally. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us more. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us less. Impossible to comprehend? Perhaps. True? Absolutely.
Recall the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:38-39 (NLT): “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
What can separate His love from us? Death or life can't. Angels or demons can't. Our own fears and worries can't (admit it, every once in a while, don't you fear or worry that He doesn't love you?). Our own emotions can't. Whether we are on highs to the skies or lows to the deepest oceans, He still loves us.
Impossible? Perhaps in our realm. But remember, He is not on our realm. He loves you. As you prepare to unleash the potential of your life, it begins with the realization that success or failure doesn't change God's love for you.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
You Are Forgiven
Often, when trying to overcome our past, we have a difficult time believing that we are really forgiven. While we sing songs about it, we talk about it, we even thank God for it, forgiveness is something our heart has a difficult time accepting. Perhaps it is because we have a difficult time forgiving others, and we believe God has the same difficulties we do. Perhaps it is because we believe we don't deserve forgiveness (none of us do). Or perhaps, we are experiencing the results of poor decisions and we figure our difficulties must mean that God hasn't forgiven us.
Whatever the reason, there are a couple of things we need to remember when our hearts won't allow us to "feel" forgiven. First of all, “The human heart is most deceitful and terribly wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Our feelings don't always tell the truth. We should never try to build the foundation of our lives on something as uncontrollable as our emotions. Emotions come and go, shift and fluctuate. But truth is always truth. Forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a reality. Whether we feel forgiven or not, when we have come to Jesus and repented of our past...we are forgiven!
Listen to what John told us in 1 John 3:20: “Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” The Scriptures are clear that our lives are identified not by our failures but rather by the death Christ died on the cross.
Forgiveness is not achieved, it is received. Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:7: “He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.” Don't miss it. HE purchased OUR freedom, OUR sins are FORGIVEN. There is nothing we can do to achieve this forgiveness, we just receive what He has already purchase. You are forgiven!
Whatever the reason, there are a couple of things we need to remember when our hearts won't allow us to "feel" forgiven. First of all, “The human heart is most deceitful and terribly wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jeremiah 17:9) Our feelings don't always tell the truth. We should never try to build the foundation of our lives on something as uncontrollable as our emotions. Emotions come and go, shift and fluctuate. But truth is always truth. Forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a reality. Whether we feel forgiven or not, when we have come to Jesus and repented of our past...we are forgiven!
Listen to what John told us in 1 John 3:20: “Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” The Scriptures are clear that our lives are identified not by our failures but rather by the death Christ died on the cross.
Forgiveness is not achieved, it is received. Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:7: “He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven.” Don't miss it. HE purchased OUR freedom, OUR sins are FORGIVEN. There is nothing we can do to achieve this forgiveness, we just receive what He has already purchase. You are forgiven!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Who Are You
One of my all-time favorite movie scenes comes from (and I am not embarrassed to say this) The Lion King. I have watched the movie too many times to count (don't forget I'm a grandparent), and I have scene the Broadway production twice. In this scene the wise sage, Rafiki, confronts young Simba about his carefree living while his kingdom is laid waste by his uncle, Scar. The following dialogue takes place
Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back means I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long.
Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick
Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past. (and laughs)
Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the from way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.
(Rafiki swings his stick again at Simba, who ducks out of the way]
This week we are looking at the taunting that the people of Israel faced from Goliath as David shows up at the camp. The story is found in 1 Samuel 17. Goliath stands over 9 feet tall. His armor weighs 125 pounds, and the tip of his spear weight 15 pounds. And he taunts the Israelites for 40 days, morning and night.
For many of us, our past mistakes loom as large as Goliath. No matter what we do, no matter how many times we say we're sorry, no matter how many Bible verses we read or how many worship songs we sing, our past always seems to be there, towering over us like a large enemy we just can't figure out how to bring down.
Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back means I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long.
Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick
Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past. (and laughs)
Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the from way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.
(Rafiki swings his stick again at Simba, who ducks out of the way]
This week we are looking at the taunting that the people of Israel faced from Goliath as David shows up at the camp. The story is found in 1 Samuel 17. Goliath stands over 9 feet tall. His armor weighs 125 pounds, and the tip of his spear weight 15 pounds. And he taunts the Israelites for 40 days, morning and night.
For many of us, our past mistakes loom as large as Goliath. No matter what we do, no matter how many times we say we're sorry, no matter how many Bible verses we read or how many worship songs we sing, our past always seems to be there, towering over us like a large enemy we just can't figure out how to bring down.
And like the Israeli army, far too many have become so obsessed with Goliath's taunts, that we can no longer hear God's promises. But David shows up, fresh from the pastures. In the pastures, he has been hearing God, not Goliath. And as David hears the taunts of the Goliath, his response is much different from the soldiers who have allowed their lives to become defined by the giant. David stands and says, "Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Kings 17:26).
One of the quickest ways to forget what God has promised is to focus on the voice of the enemy. Any number of triggers can bring the giant of our past out to taunt us. But like David, we must be careful to never allow fear or our past to define us. We should never allow what has defeated us in the past to define us. As a follower of Jesus, we should allow God to define our lives.
This week, we are going to focus in on three truths from the Word of God that God uses to define our lives.
Monday, May 13, 2013
At The Dance
When I was in school, our high school would have these socials, where you would go to the gymnasium on a particular night, and you were suppose to dance. You would invite a date and go to the "dance".
Problem was, only about 10% of the crowd actually danced. The rest of us stood around the walls or sat in the bleachers and watched. Imagine going to a dance and not dancing...just watching.
Unfortunately, this is not just a teenage problem. This is a a life problem. God intends for us to enjoy the dance of life; yet far too many of us spend our time, leaning against the wall and watching life. We dream of doing something great or radical. We dream of being more than we are. But we end up just standing against the wall, and as Perry Noble writes in his book Unleash, we "never experience the rhythm of God's grace." We never experience the "immeasurably more than we can ask or thing" (Ephesians 3:20) awesomeness of God.
Yesterday, I introduced our new sermon series based on Noble's book, by challenging us to take part in the dance of God. This week we will explore the encouragement to unleash the abundant life that God has provided for each of us. During the sermon series, we will explore different things than inhibit our dance. God hasn’t called His people to stand along the wall and watch. He wants us to participate in the dance of the extraordinary and amazing.
Problem was, only about 10% of the crowd actually danced. The rest of us stood around the walls or sat in the bleachers and watched. Imagine going to a dance and not dancing...just watching.
Unfortunately, this is not just a teenage problem. This is a a life problem. God intends for us to enjoy the dance of life; yet far too many of us spend our time, leaning against the wall and watching life. We dream of doing something great or radical. We dream of being more than we are. But we end up just standing against the wall, and as Perry Noble writes in his book Unleash, we "never experience the rhythm of God's grace." We never experience the "immeasurably more than we can ask or thing" (Ephesians 3:20) awesomeness of God.
Yesterday, I introduced our new sermon series based on Noble's book, by challenging us to take part in the dance of God. This week we will explore the encouragement to unleash the abundant life that God has provided for each of us. During the sermon series, we will explore different things than inhibit our dance. God hasn’t called His people to stand along the wall and watch. He wants us to participate in the dance of the extraordinary and amazing.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Unfairness and Irresponsibility
When we view life as being unfair, the problem becomes, we use the unfairness to excuse our irresponsibility. Andy Stanley says it this way: “If I don’t get a big piece of the pie, can you expect me to be a responsible person? Why try? Why go the extra mile if I don’t get the benefits? I have every right in the world to walk away from my responsibilities because someone else got my fair share.”
Why? Because as we have already seen, irresponsibility creates conflict between ourselves and others, and it creates conflict with ourself. Benjamin Franklin said it this way: “He that is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else.” When we make our focus the unfairness and unevenness of life, the more we are tempted to excuse our irresponsibility because of what someone else has or hasn’t done.
This week we are studying Matthew 25:14-30, The Parable of the Talents, and in this amazing story, Jesus offers a unique insight on God's view of unfairness and irresponsibility. And it is fascinating.
The parable comes as the result of a question asked by the disciples requesting that Jesus describe the kingdom of heaven. Jesus responds with a series of parables to help them (and us) understand what the Kingdom of God is like. Now, if there is anywhere you would expect fairness and evenness, it would be the Kingdom of God. But this parable provides a shocking revelation about God's kingdom, fairness, and irresponsibility, as we shall see later in the week.
Why? Because as we have already seen, irresponsibility creates conflict between ourselves and others, and it creates conflict with ourself. Benjamin Franklin said it this way: “He that is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else.” When we make our focus the unfairness and unevenness of life, the more we are tempted to excuse our irresponsibility because of what someone else has or hasn’t done.
This week we are studying Matthew 25:14-30, The Parable of the Talents, and in this amazing story, Jesus offers a unique insight on God's view of unfairness and irresponsibility. And it is fascinating.
The parable comes as the result of a question asked by the disciples requesting that Jesus describe the kingdom of heaven. Jesus responds with a series of parables to help them (and us) understand what the Kingdom of God is like. Now, if there is anywhere you would expect fairness and evenness, it would be the Kingdom of God. But this parable provides a shocking revelation about God's kingdom, fairness, and irresponsibility, as we shall see later in the week.
Monday, May 6, 2013
That's Not Fair!
Every parent has heard the dreaded three words. They are the words that make your blood boil. The words that set off mini-explosions in your brain..."That's not fair!" At some point every child says them to their parent. Whether they are being to asked to do something they don't want to do, or they perceive that a sibling is being treated more favorably, at some point every child utters those words.
And we parents all have the same response, don't we? "Life's not fair." We want our children to know that they need to become acquainted with the harsh realities of life....it's not fair. But isn't it amazing, that while we want our children to understand that reality, we often forget its harsh truth as adults? I mean it even became a point of debate in our last election. Remember the 99% and the 1%.
There is something in us that wants life to be fair, but we know it isn't. What we are really saying when we declare that life isn't fair is that life isn't even. And while we want it to be even, we understand it is impossible for it to be that way.
The question of life is not "Why do some people seem to get all the opportunities and I get very few?" The real question is "What will I do with the opportunities I have been given?"
This week, we are going to explore a parable taught by Jesus commonly referred to as The Parable of the Talents. And you may be surprised to learn that when we, as God children say to Him, "That's not fair"; His response to us is..."Life's not fair."
And we parents all have the same response, don't we? "Life's not fair." We want our children to know that they need to become acquainted with the harsh realities of life....it's not fair. But isn't it amazing, that while we want our children to understand that reality, we often forget its harsh truth as adults? I mean it even became a point of debate in our last election. Remember the 99% and the 1%.
There is something in us that wants life to be fair, but we know it isn't. What we are really saying when we declare that life isn't fair is that life isn't even. And while we want it to be even, we understand it is impossible for it to be that way.
The question of life is not "Why do some people seem to get all the opportunities and I get very few?" The real question is "What will I do with the opportunities I have been given?"
This week, we are going to explore a parable taught by Jesus commonly referred to as The Parable of the Talents. And you may be surprised to learn that when we, as God children say to Him, "That's not fair"; His response to us is..."Life's not fair."
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