Judgement and the Heart of Jesus – VOTD.05.09.17
And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18 If there is one thing that makes…
No Excuses – VOTD.05.08.17
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else… Or do you show contempt for the riches of (God's) kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s…
Policies vs. Values – VOTD.05.01.17
“‘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,’” (an expert in the law described the two greatest commandments).
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied to him…
But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:27-29)
A few weeks ago, a major airline had a catastrophic public relations nightmare as a passenger was forcibly removed from their aircraft while other passengers caught it all on video. The images went viral as they were shared all over social media and the news. As a frequent flier of that airline, I received a letter last week from their CEO that was undoubtedly crafted by some of the best damage-control experts in the industry. I mean, it was a work of art, among those of us who work in communication.
But one line near the beginning of the letter struck me, particularly. You see, I immediately thought of us Christians when I read it:
The incident “happened because our corporate policies were placed ahead of our shared values. Our procedures got in the way of our employees doing what they know is right.” (more…)
Returning to Our First Love in 2017 pt 12 (final) – VOTD.02.28.17
Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight Exodus 33:13
Have you ever read a Christian book on rekindling the spark of love in marriage? These books not only show how to diagnose the nature of marital problems, but also give specific, practical steps and activities to help correct the problems. All of this might be helpful, or it might be useless, depending on the readers and their problems.
The same goes for dieting books, exercise, and a myriad of other problem-fix books and programs out there. There is a market for a “simple formula” we can employ to fix our not-so-simple problems. That’s one of the reasons it’s difficult to give a one-size-fits all answer to solving the first-love dilemma.
I think this is what Jesus faced in writing to the Ephesians. He knew a 3-step process wasn’t going to be useful to them. So what does He do? He gives us some broad relationship-improvement ideas. (more…)
Returning to Our First Love in 2017 pt 6 – VOTD.02.07.17
Be diligent that none of you fails to take hold of the grace of God; for if he does there can very easily spring up in him a bitter spirit which is not only bad in itself, but can also poison the lives of many others. Hebrews 12:15
Returning to our first love. We’ve talked about loving the Lord with all our hearts and loving Him with all our souls, loving Him with all our mind and loving Him with our strength. But there are a few other areas that have Christians trapped in 2nd love experiences.
Firstly, bitterness. Christians are bitter because their trust has been betrayed, feeling cheated because their church hasn’t lived up to all the promises it makes; resentful because people with the “Christian” label don’t live like it; cynical because they know it should be better and it’s getting worse…
This is especially easy for people who have been in the faith a while. When everything was new, everyone seemed so godly, so fresh and loving. We were encouraged to follow the characteristics of these “super-Christians” to become a better Christian ourselves. It’s possible that that is reasonable short-term advice, but in the long run, it won’t last. As time goes on, we see kinks in the “super-Christians” and that can be pretty disheartening. Cynicism sets in…Bitterness isn’t far behind. (more…)
Returning to Our First Love in 2017 pt 5 – VOTD.02.06.17
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: this is the first (most important) commandment Mark 12:30
Last time we talked about loving the Lord with all our hearts and loving Him with all our souls. Today I want to hit on loving Him with all our mind and strength.
“With all your mind.” When our minds, wills, and emotions wander from devotion to God, be careful. Our minds are so adept at hoodwinking ourselves with logic-plays that seem so air tight but miss the truth by miles.
As we saw last time, our relationship with God deepens as we spend time in communion with Him. But if we forsake this communion, our understanding of our true condition before God will grow dull, and often our minds will be the last to realize it. Our spirits are glum, we’re bored, we’re tread-milling through life and our minds are telling us that we’re OK, or that all we need is more discipline, a better job, an on-fire church… After all, maybe it’s normal to be bored in the Lord. Our minds rationalize right into a lost first-love and we never even know. (more…)
The Love Measure: Maturity (pt 2) – VOTD.07.12.16
Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian… Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. Galatians 3:23-25
We’re talking about loving God and its relationship to Christian maturity. A child is little more than a slave until he or she comes of age. A guardian directs their lives (Gal 4: 1-7). The rules Paul scatters through his writings are like that. They take care of us and show us the way when we are immature. But with maturity comes the freedom of loving God more exclusively and passionately, so that “Love God and do as you please” becomes no longer a phrase, flippantly thrown around to get what we want, but a truth that is manifested in our lives.
For example, when we love our children, we take care of their needs, protect them, even do things to bring them pleasure… Now, at the same time there are some government laws to protect children, but they are totally unnecessary if we love our children. We don’t need those laws. (more…)
The Love Measure: Maturity (pt 1) – VOTD.07.13.16
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
Summarizing Jesus words in today’s verses, Augustine said, “Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.”
Great words. True words. Something inside me resonates with these often-quoted words…and saddens me a little, too. And I think, if only we could pull it off better. We seem to do a lot better at the “do as you please” part of Augustine’s famous quote, than the “love God” part. And this is compounded because the pandemicly shallow grasp of loving God among His people.
It seems like the phrase is more often used to justify what we want to do than to describe the life of a passionate lover of God. (more…)