God's Love

According to Grudem, he writes God's love means that God eternally gives of himself to others. I can't think of an addition to add to this or rewording of this definition. "God eternally gives of himself to others."

As we look further into God's love and how we should imitate his love, most of us normally find similar points like "God is love", "Christ love for sinners", "We must love God", "We must imitate God's love to others", etc. But my mind recently started evolving around how exactly do we love others? I start with verses like "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." But how do we show love to others? How do we daily bring love to one another?

After talking with other guys about this...We've concluded showing love to one another is bringing Christ to one another. Bring them Christ. If God is the root, foundation, and definition, of love then we must then be deliverers of Christ. My best thoughts on how do we show love by bring Christ is to point people to Christ. Our pain and our emotions are so unstable, and the best gift we could give to someone is to point them to Christ for his answers and deliverance. Love, peace, and joy are found in Christ.

So many times people tend to fix small problems, which is the wrong approach because the small problem is happening since there is a bigger issue. Why waste timing trying to fix the small issue when a bigger issue can be fixed by pointing others to Christ?

What love is greater than this?

House Church

Wow, house church was incredible. I attended a college ministry bible study last night that turned into a prime example of house church. Total of only 15/20 folks with a handful of married couples and 2 babies. Words to the worship songs were up on the living room TV as a husband played his acoustic guitar. Some of us close friends while some of us were just meeting for the first time, but the atmosphere was right for a great night in the Word. Before we started, a spectacular dinner was spread across the dining room table for those to go around and fill their plates. This wasn't a meal prepared out of necessity but merely from the love and hospitality from the host.

After songs the powerful study on Gethsemane and the wrath of God was unpacked and delivered. If you don't understand Gethsemane then you don't fully understand the true meaning of the Cross. The pure and perfect Savior was dropped to his knees as he carried the burden of all our sins.

The night ended with each of us going around the room and serving the Lord's Supper to each other.

This is house church. This night was a demonstration of how remarkable a family can come together and dive-in to God's Word. I really wish you could have been there.

God's Love

I'm not a big viewer of "Jon and Kate plus 8", but the whole situation surrounding their divorce is very sad. I'm shocked to see the media continuing to roll on this situation, which is very personal to the whole family. Many questions arise...Does this change peoples view on divorce? How does their divorce impact viewers opinions on marriage? Are you crying for kids, wife, and/or husband?

I don't know the couples past, but I hope many people can see the peace in having a relationship built on Christ. I believe truly understanding God's love permeates any human misunderstanding. Ourselves focused on Christ will reveal a life in humility counting others more significant than yourself(phil. 2:3). Serving and honoring each other in any relationship is key, but the mega-media is pumping a "me-first" attitude into our hearts. God hates divorce, but we will make major decisions based on selfish instinct and not God's desires.

It's very sad to see Kate's face as she says they are getting a divorce. Losing relationships kill people, but I'm so thankful we can all have a continued, loving, relationship with God! Amen.

Be A Minister

Praise God for church! I love the opportunity to join with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to worship Him through song and scripture. It's a very warm and accepted peace to be a part of a church body.

My thoughts today hinge mainly on myself, but I can see others beside me with the same fault. We enter in the sanctuary greeting others we know. We sit down and worship. We stand up and leave. All along the way we socialize with those we know, but today my heart stood still for someone I saw sitting alone.

How can myself and others walk in and out of a church without talking to those alone? As members, we can't wait for a minister to walk around the church or stand at the front door to greet everyone. We must all be ministers to visitors and those not connected with the body of believers.

Maybe this post is just a personal motivator, but I think this is a major issue in large churches.

Confession

I have a confession to make.
The past few years of my life have been incredible. I've been able to grow and learn so much in the word of God since my freshman year in college, but, even though I grow and continue to learn, I still feel like I'm unable to disciple.

I feel like I'm not yet filled with enough wisdom and knowledge to adequately disciple someone younger than me. It's so much easier to chase after a gospel-centered minister to be discipled by rather than discipling someone younger. Do you ever feel like you want to become more holy? Knowing we will never be as holy as God, what is our "top" of being holy? In other words, will we ever truly attain our goal of holiness?

My confession is this: I've avoided discipling others because I continually feel unholy.

If I was God watching me continue to avoid leading others in discipleship I would be crying. He is probably telling me he has given me enough. He has led me where I need to be to carry-out his duties and his callings. He won't lead me into anything I can't handle, and I have faith he will continue to strengthen me in knowledge and wisdom in the future. I must stop waiting to become "something" while I am really nothing without Christ (galations 6:3). He is where I should place full dependance and foundational truth. Without Him I am nothing, but with Him I can do all things.

God wants to Advance the gospel and he is waiting for me to be a part of this.

I hate divorce

"I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel Malachi 2:16a

I hate divorce.

This is a statement from God. If this is a statement from God then why do we listen to the world? Why do brothers and sisters in Christ allow each other to listen to the temptation of the world? Selfish cowards let there brothers fall. I hate divorce too, and I hate running through God seeking life without having a brother step-up and encourage, follow, and aid in building another brother's relationship towards a God filled marriage covenant. Why do we "let things slide?" The movies we watch, the shows we see, the magazines we read, but still nobody gets in the grill of my face and says "love her like God loved the church." Do not break the faith. Do not listen to the world.

Sexual temptation roams large. Sexual temptation bites evil poison into relationships. Where is a brother? Where is a sister? Do we pray for sexual purity for our brothers? our sisters? I'm tired of allowing myself to listen to the world. Can someone please stand up and understand the woman is the daughter of God. Outside of marriage a man has no right to her body. Her body is a temple of God. Sit down coward. Stop lacking in your faith with God and glue the heart of God to your forehead. Unlawful sex takes prime real-estate to destroy God's holy and pure vow of the covenant of marriage.

Marriage is from God.

My heart weeps.

I hate divorce.

God not pleased

"You placed defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the Lord's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 1:7-8

God sets the tone. God deserves our honor and respect. He requires the very best of our abilities. "For I am a great king, says the Lord Almighty, 'and my name is to be feared among the nations." How often do we shorthand prayer and praise towards God? We have the time in our day to spend with Him, but we decide to minimize the time with Him to jump over to something else. He is worthy of all our praise!

How lost do we have to be for God to say, "I am not pleased with you." (v.10)

May we give everything to Him who made all things.

I have loved you

Malachi 1:2
"I have loved you," says the Lord.

In this book we find the Israelites back in their sinful ways, but the Lord quickly sets the tone at the top of this book. He loves us.
Now I know the Israelites have really been through a lot with their past journey, which includes many experiences of God's wrath, but it's note worthy to see him say "I have loved you."

Then the next few verses the Lord shares his thoughts on Esau and the people of Edom. He is obviously not happy with the people of Edom, but verse 5 seems to summarize the situation. If only the people would truly see the greatness of God, then they will come out of their wicked land. "You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the Lord -even beyond the borders of Israel!' But the people will continue to be under God's wrath if they continue their self-reliance in thinking they can rebuild on their own.

Like the people of Edom, I know I frequently think "self-reliance" ways. But how can we ever truly see God's greatness if we aren't dependent on him? In all things, and everything, we must depend on Him. Our minds battle and emotions stir but God will deliver peace and comfort during times of uncertainty. Depend on him