It is written: Be ...

God is Love. This is true, and we hear it all the time, but sometimes I feel as if in embracing this I lose reverence for God. I think that this might generally be a problem that much of society struggles alongside me in. In realizing gratitude for the Lord, and beginning to grasp his love, I think that we must also fear him. I feel as though that if I truly feared him as I should, that I might truly seek for righteousness as often I don't. Meditate with me on the words written by Peter, and consider their application to your life.

1 Peter 1:13-25 NIV
Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For,
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord stands forever."And this is the word that was preached to you.

What Might go Wrong

Some days you can almost hear Satan whispering in your ear that you are not good enough. We live in a battlefield of good and evil, and so often we feel the affects of that without even realizing it. God loves us, and though sometimes we struggle through life it does not reflect that God has turned his back to us. Why is that we so easily allow Satan to diminish our efforts? He is right when he says we are not good enough, because we aren't good enough. We are a fallen people saved by the grace of God, and no matter how much we want to do so, we will never be able to live in a way that we could even partially pay him back. Maybe if we grasp this we will realize that God truly loves us, and that though we are not good enough, he is still rooting for us.

I so easily doubt myself and my ability, but I need to learn to trust God more. He is in ultimate control, and will guide me along my way. My focus should be on living as he wants me to, not on what might go wrong.

The Race

Sports are a tricky thing. I have learned much about life from sports. I started playing t-ball when I was about 5 and ever since then sports have been apart of my life. From sports I learned about teamwork, discipline, determination, and even failure and disappointment.

Sadly sports and competition have often got the best of me. I let them get me frustrated and have at times let them get in the way of friendship. It has been amazing how serious I quickly get taking all of the fun out of the competition.

Paul encourages us to run the race to win the prize. This requires finding passion within in ourselves while finding perspective and self control. Anyone that has ever been in to running knows that it is much like the New Balance commercial, a love-hate relationship. It is hard at the time but the benefits are very rewarding.

May we find the strength and insight to run the race.

Lovin Ain't Easy

Often Hollywood portrays love as glamorous, but I think it is often far less romantic than movies make it out to be. Of course I am speaking more of love in general than just of a romantic type love, nonetheless love seems to me to often be portrayed as easy. To some extent love is natural. God created us in his image, and after all, God is love. In my previous blogs I have tried to make the case for falling in love with God, possibly at the expense of making it sound easy.

Its not easy though. Love frequently hurts, and so is the relationship we have with God, because he loves us so much he will not settle for us living as the old man lived. Yes, he is a forgiving God, but he calls us to change from our old ways to become different. If this world brings me to my knees in tears, I can only imagine how it must make God feel. I am reminded of the lyrics, "Can he still feel the nails, every time I fail?" We can be assured though that he is on our side...and that is why he sent his Son.

Do you remember what Jesus said to Peter? Paraphrased he said, " Before the rooster crows you will deny me three times." Peter didn't believe it at the time, but he did deny his Lord three times. I wonder how they both felt in that moment. It was obviously a significant moment in history as Jesus was facing death, but even in the midst of extreme turmoil I think that the burden of Peter's denial must have hurt them both. This is the same Peter whom Jesus called a rock. I have to believe that Peter's denial must of played a part in shaping him into who he would become.

We see all through out the Bible people that struggled in their faith, but many of these people sought after righteousness and God cherished them. They struggled in their love affair with God, but they repented of their struggles and their faith and love grew because of it.

A love affair with the Lord does not come easy, but he desires to have that relationship with us.

May we be broken enough to see our Lord.

Seeking Christ

The ramifications are drastic. My favorite verse in the Bible is found in Jeremiah 29:13 when God says to Jeremiah, " You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart."

God wants us to know him, but we will not find him if we merely claim a general belief in him, or if we recognize his presence, but ignore the implications of that presence in our daily lives. God wants us to long for him, and in doing so we will find him. There have been times in my life when I wanted to know God so badly that it very literally brought me to my knees. In those moments my soul cried out in thirst and I believe that God met me there.

Unfortunately there have been far many more times that I have felt dead, or staled, and I didn't know how to get going again. It hurts me to think of these times because deep down I want to know Christ, but this alone is not enough. We must learn to hunger and thirst for righteousness.

I think that in American culture we have misconstrued ideas about what hunger and thirst are. I have been fortunate enough to travel to the Dominican Republic several times and I now know that true hunger and thirst reflect desperation. If we are to be filled (Matt 5:6) we must become desperate to know righteousness. In seeking Christ we must truly, and honestly seek after righteousness in our lives.

We won't be perfect. Since the fall of man the only one to fit that bill was the Messiah himself, but complacency will not do. The sin in our lives should bring pain to our souls. Fortunately we have a God that is bigger than our sins, and he longs to know us.

May our souls cry out to know the Lord.

Mastering the Mundane

It is so easy to get caught in a mundane flow of life. I struggle with this daily, but I believe that God has called us to more than this. In John 10:10 Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." My heart cries out to find a life of adventure. When I look back upon my life I want to know that I accepted this full life that Jesus came to offer, and I believe that this begins by realizing each moment as a gift from God.

I could be wrong here, but I think there are a bunch of people out there that what to live for God but they don't know how. They look at their lives and they don't think that they have the time or the ability to make a difference in the world around them. After all, how many kids that dream of playing professional football grow up to have a name like Peyton Manning. In the same way, I think many of us look at our ministers, or at the authors of the books we read, and we think to ourselves, "I would love to be like this person, but I just am not good enough."

We often discount ourselves, but the truth is that if we are going to become people of influence it starts with realizing each moment. Each moment presents a new opportunity to be Christ to those around us. I read a great book called, "Chasing Daylight" written by Erwin McManus that does a wonderful job of communicating this.

Maybe you are at a point in life when you are wondering why God has placed you where you are. Maybe you are frustrated with life and searching for something more. I submit to you that if we learn to master the mundane, that we might find a life that is much more exhilarating. We might find a life guided by God.

Can we learn to do this together? I know we can. Lets look for opportunities to see God, and to know that he is in control.

The Love Affair

I heard an aging man speak once about the love affair that he had with his wife. She had passed on, but this man stood before his audience in tears recounting the first time that he ever saw her. As she walked toward this man and his friend, he looked to the friend and said something to the effect of, "Wow, who is that?" The friend looked to this man and informed him of who she was and that she was engaged. The man looked backed to his friend and said, "Not anymore." That was a fitting beginning to what I have been told was truly a great love. After I heard the man speak I was told of the circumstances that made his tears even more moving. In his wife's later years he had to take complete care of her. She could do nothing without his help, but the man loved her through those times as much as he did when they were young lovers.

This man was full of love. I did not know him personally, but those around me that knew him said that his love affair with his Lord was greater than the love affair that he had with his wife. That is how I want to know our Lord. I want to fall into a deep, and passionate love affair with our Lord. Can you imagine what this would be like? Women enjoy a great love movie, and truth be told, men also seek after the exhilaration that love offers. Think of the greatest love you have experienced. Think of the greatest love that you have witnessed. Then imagine what it would be like to experience that type of love relationship between yourself and the heavenly father.

Maybe this in some small way echoes what Paul said in Philippians 3:10.
"I want to Christ, and the power of his resurrection..."

I think of this and aspire to it. The thing about Christians is that no matter how much the have it together, or in some cases act as if they have it together, they are still sinners in need of the Lord's mercy. I am the chief of sinners, and I struggle to follow him daily, but this is why the thought of living a love affair with our Lord appeals so much to me.