Well, here we go with some more about being loved. Just love this stuff. You guys can choose to believe my radical beliefs about the intense, deep love that God has for us or not. I know it's true.
So today I'm working for this friend of mine who has a dog. This dog is a great dog, a real, pure bred Great Pyrenees. Huge. Gi-flipping-gantic. Shaggy, white, big dog. Who doesn't know how to be loved.
This dog was apparently abused in its past life, with its previous owners, because he walks around on egg shells. This gigantic, fluffy, furry creation of God, made to love people and be loved by them --because he was abused, and taught fear instead of love-- does not know what to do. He looks out at you with a look of wondering... wondering whether or not he can trust you, and what you are going to do to him. It's the saddest freaking thing in the world.
He's afraid to move. He doesn't know where to go or what to do, because he doesn't know how we, people, his authority figures, are going to react to Him. He is afraid. Of us. Of his owner. Of the very people who brought him to ourselves in the first place, adopted him from the hurtful situations he used to live in, adopted him to be our own, out of love. But because He's been so conditioned to think incorrectly, he responds to our acts of love with fear.
And I believe that the greatest tragedy and mistake that religion in this world makes is to teach fear instead of love. Because fear is not of God. It never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, has been. I don't care what you read in the Bible, or what you see in your life, or what you mistakenly think about Him. He is love. Period. And the greatest tragedy on this earth is the lies that get put on His name. All the fear that gets put on people in his name. There is no greater tragedy in this world, and no greater disservice that religion can do.
I say to all you people out there who are in positions of religious leadership, it must be about love. It all must come back to love. If I have not love I am nothing. nothing. I am nothing without love. When it's all gone, and this whole flipping world is rolled up into a ball and tossed into the recycle bin, and we're all standing there, naked and ashamed, yet perfectly loved, for the first time in our long lives, there is going to be one thing left over. One thing that encompasses all other things, that qualifies all other things, and that judges all other things. And that is going to be love.
So back to this dog. This great big, lovable, huggable ball of fur that you look at and just want to hug, trembles whenever you walk by him. He looks up at you like you are going to hurt him. This is what we look like to God. He created us, just like we are, so He could love us, but because we've been conditioned so long, outside of the church and inside of it, to fear, HE'S NOT ABLE TO LOVE US. Because we don't know how to let Him. This is a tragedy! There are a lot of tragedys in the world, but this is the greatest one of them all. A God who is just dying to saturate us with His love, but who can't because we don't know how to let Him.
Because we don't see it as love! I try to talk soothingly to the dog, and he doesn't know what to make of it. Because he's been conditioned. I know that my only motive in my heart is to love on him, and hug him, and squeeze him and call him George, but he doesn't know it and therefore can't see it, and therefore can't receive it!! God says stuff to us, and because of our conditioning, we think we need to be afraid of Him and so tell others. We pass our fear around. I try to discipline the dog, for his own good, AND HE IS AFRAID. WHEN WHAT HE REALLY NEEDS IS TO TRUST ME SO HE DOESN'T GET HURT. And you can't trust someone that you are afraid of. Fear and trust are like oil and water. They CANNOT mix! So because he (the dog) can't see it, because of his bad training, he doesn't listen -- and so gets hurt.
My heart is breaking writing this blog. I'm a human. How do you think God feels about us, about the people in the church, about the people outside of the church, about the whole world, all of the time?? I've had to learn this through experience. I'm candidate number one for this message. But it's a message we ALL desperately need to hear.
God loves you. I don't care who you are. Jesus, yes, Jesus Christ loves you.
Is anybody getting this? You need to be loved. More than anything else in the world, more than any amount of work you can do, more than any amount of service you can perform for Him, more than any amount of self degradation... you need to be loved!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
What already is.
Figured it out today--The old way of trying to make it happen is outdated. Your christianity, that is. That is coming from a standpoint of, "It's not here, or happening, so I have to make it happen, and bring it here." This is what we have been taught for a long time. This comes from a lack, have not, starting point. Which is simply not true. We need to come from the OTHER standpoint, the TRUE one, which is that we have everything. Seeing that His divne love has granted us all things pertaining to life and Godliness. When you learn to do this, you will wake up in the morning and be at total ease and rest, and just flow through your day in Him. in who you really are. There will be none of this trying to get in touch with Him stuff. None of this trying to get in the spirit. You ARE in the spirit, and not in the flesh. You ARE a new creation in Christ. All things HAVE BEEN made new in you. In Him you HAVE BEEN made complete. You ARE His workmanship, created in Christ jesus for good works. All things ARE working together for your good. I could go on and on. It is a FINISHED work.
Stop trying to make it work. When you do this, you automatically start out from the wrong standpoint because you agree that these things are not, and so you try to make them so. The key is to KNOW that they are, and trust it!
As my friend Troy says-- It's all about trust. And it really is!
Trust is the key. But don't get so caught up in "trying to trust". Even that can be turned into too much work. Just Trust!
The reality is that it is already here, it is already complete, it is already fully finished, done, in place, and working in your life. The only thing to do is believe it and walk in it.
I mean everything in your christianity. The whole shabang. It's a done deal. You don't have to make it work, cause He already made it work. All it takes in this new way is trust. Trust is the new way, the kind of faith where you try to make it work every day is the old way. It is a finished work. The truer way of living it is just to live it.
This is not laziness, this is true spiritual work. The work of God is to believe.
Stop trying to make it work. When you do this, you automatically start out from the wrong standpoint because you agree that these things are not, and so you try to make them so. The key is to KNOW that they are, and trust it!
As my friend Troy says-- It's all about trust. And it really is!
Trust is the key. But don't get so caught up in "trying to trust". Even that can be turned into too much work. Just Trust!
The reality is that it is already here, it is already complete, it is already fully finished, done, in place, and working in your life. The only thing to do is believe it and walk in it.
I mean everything in your christianity. The whole shabang. It's a done deal. You don't have to make it work, cause He already made it work. All it takes in this new way is trust. Trust is the new way, the kind of faith where you try to make it work every day is the old way. It is a finished work. The truer way of living it is just to live it.
This is not laziness, this is true spiritual work. The work of God is to believe.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Those who did their jobs
Was thinking today about how much I suffer, living where I do, in both the physical and the spiritual environments I live in. And it's really not much, relatively speaking, compared to the rest of the world. And I had to think about why this is. And I figured it out. It's because somebody did their job, spiritually speaking. In fact, a lot of somebodies did their jobs. The fact that we are not living in an entirely chaos ridden environment, both spiritually and physically speaking, attests to that fact.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
To Be Or Not To Be--That Is The Question.
Heard this great piece of advice from a very wise guy today. He was talking about the difference between fighting against evil or doing good. You can fight against evil all you want, but that's not the most effective thing. The most effective thing is to do good. Focus on the solution, not the problem. Be good. Don't try to stop the bad. You stop the bad not by stopping the bad, but by being the good. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Stop trying not to do bad things, and DO good things! It is the way!!
In other words, don't try to get the bad "not to be"--"be" the good!!
See, you don't have to, nor should you, spend your life fighting the devil. He's already defeated. We are told only to resist Him, firm in the faith. Resisting him does not consist of hand to hand combat. You've no business engaging the enemy. Jesus already engaged the enemy for you, and won. What we are told to do, over and over, is good things. Tons of them. The whole Bible is filled with suggestions to do good, in a million different ways. The way to beat the enemy is not by hand to hand combat, but simply by ignoring him. I did not say living in ignorance of him. You may be aware of him, but you just don't listen to him, don't agree with him, and don't believe him. And you continue to listen to God, to believe God, and to agree with God. Then the things of God will come out of your mouth, and your life will be constructed His way, and the devil will have no power over you whatsoever. And you will live in the "be" and not in the "not to be".
The best defense is always a good offense. You run a good offense all of the time and it automatically puts your opponent on defense all the time. So you don't have to worry about defense. Plus, you build up enough momentum, and it will be near imposible to stop you.
Living on the defensive all of the time is the enemy's plan. It suggests that he's constantly attacking and you're constantly having to defend against him. This is a waste of time, and it will wear you out. You do not need to live that way. It is a deception. It requires only a shift of your thinking to see things differently and to live differently. You are already victorious, so live like it. Do good. Do all that God has designed you to do. Teach, love, sing, befriend, hike, camp, build, study, learn, help, enjoy, laugh, play, act, draw, write, create, invent, color, compose, work, carve, dance, photograph, lead, serve, encourage, cook, raise kids, show mercy, make peace, forgive, trust God, be in love, sculpt, run, swim, bike, etc. etc. etc. Etc.
Live in the positive, not the negative. Be. Do not "not be". Any bad habit must be replaced with a good one. You cannot just stop doing something. Otherwise there would be a void in the continuum of your existence. Something must fill that slot! Don't try to not do things!! The more you try to not do things, the more you will do them! You must do something different to fill the void. Something will occupy that space in your plane of existence. Want to stop sinning? Find something productive and do that. YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE TIME TO SIN. There is only so much space in your plane of existence, and it must be filled with something!! BE!!! Be a writer, a singer, a jet pilot, a painter, a leader, an architect, a mathemetician, an inventor, an actor, a pastor, a director, a novelist, a drywaller, a carpenter, a plumber, a mom, a dad, a husband, a lover, a wife, a friend. You spend all your time trying to not be and you will not be!! Anything!!
In other words, don't try to get the bad "not to be"--"be" the good!!
See, you don't have to, nor should you, spend your life fighting the devil. He's already defeated. We are told only to resist Him, firm in the faith. Resisting him does not consist of hand to hand combat. You've no business engaging the enemy. Jesus already engaged the enemy for you, and won. What we are told to do, over and over, is good things. Tons of them. The whole Bible is filled with suggestions to do good, in a million different ways. The way to beat the enemy is not by hand to hand combat, but simply by ignoring him. I did not say living in ignorance of him. You may be aware of him, but you just don't listen to him, don't agree with him, and don't believe him. And you continue to listen to God, to believe God, and to agree with God. Then the things of God will come out of your mouth, and your life will be constructed His way, and the devil will have no power over you whatsoever. And you will live in the "be" and not in the "not to be".
The best defense is always a good offense. You run a good offense all of the time and it automatically puts your opponent on defense all the time. So you don't have to worry about defense. Plus, you build up enough momentum, and it will be near imposible to stop you.
Living on the defensive all of the time is the enemy's plan. It suggests that he's constantly attacking and you're constantly having to defend against him. This is a waste of time, and it will wear you out. You do not need to live that way. It is a deception. It requires only a shift of your thinking to see things differently and to live differently. You are already victorious, so live like it. Do good. Do all that God has designed you to do. Teach, love, sing, befriend, hike, camp, build, study, learn, help, enjoy, laugh, play, act, draw, write, create, invent, color, compose, work, carve, dance, photograph, lead, serve, encourage, cook, raise kids, show mercy, make peace, forgive, trust God, be in love, sculpt, run, swim, bike, etc. etc. etc. Etc.
Live in the positive, not the negative. Be. Do not "not be". Any bad habit must be replaced with a good one. You cannot just stop doing something. Otherwise there would be a void in the continuum of your existence. Something must fill that slot! Don't try to not do things!! The more you try to not do things, the more you will do them! You must do something different to fill the void. Something will occupy that space in your plane of existence. Want to stop sinning? Find something productive and do that. YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE TIME TO SIN. There is only so much space in your plane of existence, and it must be filled with something!! BE!!! Be a writer, a singer, a jet pilot, a painter, a leader, an architect, a mathemetician, an inventor, an actor, a pastor, a director, a novelist, a drywaller, a carpenter, a plumber, a mom, a dad, a husband, a lover, a wife, a friend. You spend all your time trying to not be and you will not be!! Anything!!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
The overemphasis of obedience
It is dangerous to overemphasize obedience. Just as it is dangerous to overemphasize anything. All things must be done in balance. Balance is a key to life.
That said, I believe the church in America is out of balance when it comes to obedience. It's as if obedience is the only thing necessary for a healthy Christian walk. Just be obedient and everything will be fine.
Well, obedience is fine, and necessary, but it is not all that is fine, and necessary. There are many other things that are necessary as well. Love is necessary, trust is necessary, discipline is necessary, healing is necessary, deliverance is necessary, rest is necessary, fun is necessary, etc. etc. etc., you get the picture. Without all of these things, our walk, and lives, get out of balance.
Not to mention, that there are dangers to the overemphasis of obedience. Say you think that all that is necessary for you to live the victorious Christian life is obedience, and so you make that your highest aim. Then something besides God comes along and whispers in your ear, and since your highest aim is obedience, instead of a healthy, balanced , relationship, one in which you also can discern what is His voice and what is not, you do whatever is suggested, and BOOM! Problems. And then you are pissed off at Him, alienated from the people you hurt, and even more confused, because you can't figure out why, since you were being obedient, things went so wrong. This all happened because you made obedience your highest goal, when your highest aim should be, to love Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Out of which you will learn to obey. (Matthew 22:38, Exodus 20:1.)
We see fom this illustration that not only do you need to obey Him, but you also need to learn how to know what is His voice and what is not, in order to Obey Him. 1 Peter 5:9 says that we are to resist the devil, so it is pretty important to be able to tell what is the devil and what is God. Something that can be easily missed if your first priority is obedience. On the other hand, if your first priority is love, then you will end up developing a relationship with Him, in which you will learn what His voice sounds like, so you will know it, which will make your obedience all that much easier and effective.
Now of course there are those who, because they are so out of balance still, will say to me, "Yes, but John says that if you love Him, you will obey Him." This is of course true, but notice that the love comes first. Obedience without love is called servitude, and often fosters resentment. Obedience out of love is voluntary, full of joy, and bears much fruit. Paul, in his letter to one of the churches somewhere, refers to himself as a loveslave. Slave to love--almost an oxymoron, but you get the point.
We must have a relationship with Him. It is of the utmost importance.
That said, I believe the church in America is out of balance when it comes to obedience. It's as if obedience is the only thing necessary for a healthy Christian walk. Just be obedient and everything will be fine.
Well, obedience is fine, and necessary, but it is not all that is fine, and necessary. There are many other things that are necessary as well. Love is necessary, trust is necessary, discipline is necessary, healing is necessary, deliverance is necessary, rest is necessary, fun is necessary, etc. etc. etc., you get the picture. Without all of these things, our walk, and lives, get out of balance.
Not to mention, that there are dangers to the overemphasis of obedience. Say you think that all that is necessary for you to live the victorious Christian life is obedience, and so you make that your highest aim. Then something besides God comes along and whispers in your ear, and since your highest aim is obedience, instead of a healthy, balanced , relationship, one in which you also can discern what is His voice and what is not, you do whatever is suggested, and BOOM! Problems. And then you are pissed off at Him, alienated from the people you hurt, and even more confused, because you can't figure out why, since you were being obedient, things went so wrong. This all happened because you made obedience your highest goal, when your highest aim should be, to love Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Out of which you will learn to obey. (Matthew 22:38, Exodus 20:1.)
We see fom this illustration that not only do you need to obey Him, but you also need to learn how to know what is His voice and what is not, in order to Obey Him. 1 Peter 5:9 says that we are to resist the devil, so it is pretty important to be able to tell what is the devil and what is God. Something that can be easily missed if your first priority is obedience. On the other hand, if your first priority is love, then you will end up developing a relationship with Him, in which you will learn what His voice sounds like, so you will know it, which will make your obedience all that much easier and effective.
Now of course there are those who, because they are so out of balance still, will say to me, "Yes, but John says that if you love Him, you will obey Him." This is of course true, but notice that the love comes first. Obedience without love is called servitude, and often fosters resentment. Obedience out of love is voluntary, full of joy, and bears much fruit. Paul, in his letter to one of the churches somewhere, refers to himself as a loveslave. Slave to love--almost an oxymoron, but you get the point.
We must have a relationship with Him. It is of the utmost importance.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The Triangle of Love
Have seen a new way to live. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.
Live in this perspective. God is love. He knows about everybody and knows everybody, and cares about everybody. We, as the body of Christ, are His hands to the world. So, live in the perspective that He is loving everybody, in some way or another. Understand that as you interact with everybody you interact with all the time. And look for the love. Pay attention to how He is loving them at that moment. Pay attention to how He is loving you in that interaction as well. And pay attention to how you can participate in that love toward them. But not only how you can participate in His love for them, but how you can participate in His love toward you in that moment. See, we can live in love all the time. His love for them, His love for you, His love from Him through you toward them, His love from Him through them toward you, your love toward them, their love toward you, and both of you back toward Him!! You can live in place of permanent love if you look at life this way!!! You can wake up every morning and go, "Gee. I think I'm going to live in the Triangle of Love today. " And the results will astound you!!! Just be paying attention all the time to how He is loving anyone you come into contact with, and you can live in the constant Triangle of Love!
Live in this perspective. God is love. He knows about everybody and knows everybody, and cares about everybody. We, as the body of Christ, are His hands to the world. So, live in the perspective that He is loving everybody, in some way or another. Understand that as you interact with everybody you interact with all the time. And look for the love. Pay attention to how He is loving them at that moment. Pay attention to how He is loving you in that interaction as well. And pay attention to how you can participate in that love toward them. But not only how you can participate in His love for them, but how you can participate in His love toward you in that moment. See, we can live in love all the time. His love for them, His love for you, His love from Him through you toward them, His love from Him through them toward you, your love toward them, their love toward you, and both of you back toward Him!! You can live in place of permanent love if you look at life this way!!! You can wake up every morning and go, "Gee. I think I'm going to live in the Triangle of Love today. " And the results will astound you!!! Just be paying attention all the time to how He is loving anyone you come into contact with, and you can live in the constant Triangle of Love!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Go Deep
It is worthless to live in a shallow religion. The only place worth living, in the entire universe is deep in a relationship. And I mean really deep. Shallow religion will get you nowhere.
In Hosea, it talks about how Israel had turned away from Him, and how He was missing them. And it says this. Chapter 2, verse 16-- "And it will come about in that day" declares the Lord, "that you will call me Ishi, and will no longer call me Baali."
Do we have any idea what this means? Well, the word "Ishi" means "husband", and the word "Baali" means master.
This is God talking to us. I've been trying to say this in my posts from day one on this blog, and I am even more convinced of it right now after hearing my friend read this verse today. So what does it mean?
It means that all of our shallow, irresponsible, fear laden, religious activities, and ways of approaching Him and our Christianity have to stop, because God loves us. It means this--GOD HIMSELF WANTS YOU TO STOP REFERRING TO HIM AS LORD, OR GOD, OR MASTER, and begin referring to Him as somebody that you love...and who loves you.
God never intended to have a bunch of workers. He never intended to have employees. The intent of His heart, from day one, has always been love. He has always, always, always been looking for someone to love. Just like you and me. Why not volunteer for that today? Instead of waking up and saying our prayers, for however much time we have set for ourselves to pray, why not ask Him what He's doing? Why not ask Him how He's feeling? Maybe just try to be with Him.
I present for you, the following evidence, that I think I've posted somewhere in this blog before, but if not, here goes. You and I are created in His image. (Genesis 1:26) It says so right there in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. I'm not making this up. So following that logic we can learn a tremendous amount of information about God simply by observing ourselves. And what is it that you and I want more than anything else on the face of this planet we live on? Haven't guessed yet? Well I'll tell you. It's love. You and I want love more than we want anything else on earth. We want it more than we want cars, more than we want money, more than we want houses, more than we want vacations, more than we want fame, or notoriety, or any other of a million zillion things we desire, He wants it more than He wants obedience, more than He wants hard work, more than He wants good behavior, more than He wants all of those other things that He wants.
At the end of the day, when all of your work is done, what is it that you, and I, and every other human being on the face of this planet is after? We want to go hang out and be with the people that we love. That's it!! It's that simple. What do we live for? Our time at work, or our time with our families and friends? Do we look forward to spending time with our employees and/or bosses, or with our wives, husbands, and children?? In case you don't know, I'll clue you in. We want to be with our families. What do we do when we are done with our work for the day? We go to hang out with our friends.
God is no different. Yes, there is for sure a lot of work to be done here. Yes, we need to learn to obey His voice. Yes we need to discipline ourselves, blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc. BUT WHY?? IT'S BECAUSE THE RESULT OF ALL OF THESE THINGS IS LOVE. The goal of our instruction is love out of a pure heart!!(1Timothy 1: 5-7)...from which some have swerved, and turned aside to vain discourse, willing to be teachers of the law, but not understanding the things they say or assert! This is where we are going to with all of our obedience, with all of our work, and with all of our discipline. It's all for ONE reason. Love!! That's it!! And my initial statement at the beginning of this post, to abandon shallow religion, was not a call to rebellion against Him, IT WAS A CALL TO GROW. WE CAN'T REMAIN IN SHALLOW RELIGION FOREVER. THAT'S NOT WHERE WE ARE GOING TO LIVE FOR ETERNITY. I quote First Corinthians 13 as proof. Where there are tongues, they shall cease. Where there are prophecies, they shall cease. Where there are all these things that we have been doing for so long, without knowing why, THEY SHALL CEASE. WHY? BECAUSE WHEN THE PERFECT COMES, THE IMPERFECT SHALL BE DONE AWAY WITH.
If with the tongues of men and of angels I speak, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all the secrets, and all the knowledge, and if I have all the faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And if I give all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give up my body to be burned, and have not love, I am profited nothing.
Go for love. It is the meaning of life. Whatever it takes. When you wake up in the morning, stop thinking about how you are going to discipline yoursef, and think about asking Him how He is. Or what He's up to. The answers may really astound you and delight you! Maybe focus less on what you are going to do for Him today, and more on just spending some time with Him. Think less about how much time you are going to spend praying, and think more about how much time you are going to sit with Him and let Him love you. Why not, when you see the beautiful sunrise, tell Him how beautiful He looks??
Want to light a fire? Would you like to light the world up?? Want to change it?? Want to do all those things your pastor is constantly talking about doing? Here's a clue. People are attracted to love. The world is looking for love. Do we wonder why we can't convert anybody?? It's because we're not in love. We're trying to make more employees. He's not after employees. How do I know?? Because He says so. Because He says that one day YOU and I, will stop calling Him Baali, and start calling Him Ishi...your husband... your lover... your friend.
In Hosea, it talks about how Israel had turned away from Him, and how He was missing them. And it says this. Chapter 2, verse 16-- "And it will come about in that day" declares the Lord, "that you will call me Ishi, and will no longer call me Baali."
Do we have any idea what this means? Well, the word "Ishi" means "husband", and the word "Baali" means master.
This is God talking to us. I've been trying to say this in my posts from day one on this blog, and I am even more convinced of it right now after hearing my friend read this verse today. So what does it mean?
It means that all of our shallow, irresponsible, fear laden, religious activities, and ways of approaching Him and our Christianity have to stop, because God loves us. It means this--GOD HIMSELF WANTS YOU TO STOP REFERRING TO HIM AS LORD, OR GOD, OR MASTER, and begin referring to Him as somebody that you love...and who loves you.
God never intended to have a bunch of workers. He never intended to have employees. The intent of His heart, from day one, has always been love. He has always, always, always been looking for someone to love. Just like you and me. Why not volunteer for that today? Instead of waking up and saying our prayers, for however much time we have set for ourselves to pray, why not ask Him what He's doing? Why not ask Him how He's feeling? Maybe just try to be with Him.
I present for you, the following evidence, that I think I've posted somewhere in this blog before, but if not, here goes. You and I are created in His image. (Genesis 1:26) It says so right there in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. I'm not making this up. So following that logic we can learn a tremendous amount of information about God simply by observing ourselves. And what is it that you and I want more than anything else on the face of this planet we live on? Haven't guessed yet? Well I'll tell you. It's love. You and I want love more than we want anything else on earth. We want it more than we want cars, more than we want money, more than we want houses, more than we want vacations, more than we want fame, or notoriety, or any other of a million zillion things we desire, He wants it more than He wants obedience, more than He wants hard work, more than He wants good behavior, more than He wants all of those other things that He wants.
At the end of the day, when all of your work is done, what is it that you, and I, and every other human being on the face of this planet is after? We want to go hang out and be with the people that we love. That's it!! It's that simple. What do we live for? Our time at work, or our time with our families and friends? Do we look forward to spending time with our employees and/or bosses, or with our wives, husbands, and children?? In case you don't know, I'll clue you in. We want to be with our families. What do we do when we are done with our work for the day? We go to hang out with our friends.
God is no different. Yes, there is for sure a lot of work to be done here. Yes, we need to learn to obey His voice. Yes we need to discipline ourselves, blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc. BUT WHY?? IT'S BECAUSE THE RESULT OF ALL OF THESE THINGS IS LOVE. The goal of our instruction is love out of a pure heart!!(1Timothy 1: 5-7)...from which some have swerved, and turned aside to vain discourse, willing to be teachers of the law, but not understanding the things they say or assert! This is where we are going to with all of our obedience, with all of our work, and with all of our discipline. It's all for ONE reason. Love!! That's it!! And my initial statement at the beginning of this post, to abandon shallow religion, was not a call to rebellion against Him, IT WAS A CALL TO GROW. WE CAN'T REMAIN IN SHALLOW RELIGION FOREVER. THAT'S NOT WHERE WE ARE GOING TO LIVE FOR ETERNITY. I quote First Corinthians 13 as proof. Where there are tongues, they shall cease. Where there are prophecies, they shall cease. Where there are all these things that we have been doing for so long, without knowing why, THEY SHALL CEASE. WHY? BECAUSE WHEN THE PERFECT COMES, THE IMPERFECT SHALL BE DONE AWAY WITH.
If with the tongues of men and of angels I speak, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all the secrets, and all the knowledge, and if I have all the faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And if I give all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give up my body to be burned, and have not love, I am profited nothing.
Go for love. It is the meaning of life. Whatever it takes. When you wake up in the morning, stop thinking about how you are going to discipline yoursef, and think about asking Him how He is. Or what He's up to. The answers may really astound you and delight you! Maybe focus less on what you are going to do for Him today, and more on just spending some time with Him. Think less about how much time you are going to spend praying, and think more about how much time you are going to sit with Him and let Him love you. Why not, when you see the beautiful sunrise, tell Him how beautiful He looks??
Want to light a fire? Would you like to light the world up?? Want to change it?? Want to do all those things your pastor is constantly talking about doing? Here's a clue. People are attracted to love. The world is looking for love. Do we wonder why we can't convert anybody?? It's because we're not in love. We're trying to make more employees. He's not after employees. How do I know?? Because He says so. Because He says that one day YOU and I, will stop calling Him Baali, and start calling Him Ishi...your husband... your lover... your friend.
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