Easter - A great time to reflect

I have never been one to be very emotional. People usually see a smile on my face. At least that's what time told.  I've always been one to bottle things up and wait for things to internally explode before I really explore the root of my feelings and deal with them. Why do I bring this up?

Over the many years of being a Christian I have taken count of Good Friday & Easter. I have thought through the meaning, the depth of what the life and death of Jesus means for me as someone who has chosen to follow him. All of my life I have struggled to experience emotion. I have watched the "Passion of the Christ" and watched the others around me both men and women crying as they take into account the experience of seeing still a limited view of what Jesus truly experienced. There have been times where I've wondered why I struggle so much to explore or feel emotion. Maybe it's because I didn't see much emotion out of my dad except for a temper. Maybe it's because I'm afraid that if I delve into hurt and shame other emotions might arise.  You can only explore emotion and have a conversation with your dog for about 10 seconds before the blank stares get to you and you realize you want something more. I'm looking for someone who will take the time do learn all about me. Someone who will see me for who I am and will truly know my heart and still love me. Sometimes living a lone and being a 33 year old single guy weighs down on me. Other times I put my focus where it belongs and my refection turns me to the truth of Gospel.

The disciple John writes the following after describing the resurrection of Jesus and his interactions with people who loved dearly.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 

-John 20:30-31

Jesus is so much more then a good man. Our church does a amazing good Friday in which our pastor tells Jesus' life story as he lights candles as people begin to follow him and extinguish them as people fall away. Last night it struck me how alone Jesus must of felt when I says the famous phrase. "My God, my God why have your forsaken me." Last night and even now it strikes me that Jesus chose to die alone on a cross while even God the father turned is his back away so that I would experience the power of God in my life. He willingly died and took on my sin and shame so that I would never be alone.  These thoughts brought me to the edge of tears and deepened my view of Jesus's work on the cross. Isaiah wrote the following hundreds of years before Jesus walked the earth.

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.     Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,  smitten by God, and afflicted.     

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,  and with his wounds we are healed.     

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;  and the  Lord  has laid on him the iniquity of us all.    He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,  yet he opened not his mouth;  like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.   

By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?     

And they made his grave with the wicked  and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.   

Yet it was the will of the  Lord  to crush him; he has put him to grief;  when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;  the will of the  Lord  shall prosper in his hand.   

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,  make many to be accounted righteous,  and he shall bear their iniquities.     

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,  and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors;  yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.  

-Isaiah 53:3-12 

He intercedes for me, loves me and stands up for me! God knows my heart and still loves me. He knows where I fail and yet still makes me successful. I am truly humbled to be called one of Gods kids. I feel more loved and accepted today then I could have ever imagined. Today the truth of the Gospel rings true in my heart! The truth is there is no such word as alone in Gods kingdom. As humans we're going to feel rejected and we will sometimes experience what it means to have no desired human interaction. But we will never feel more rejected then Jesus did. Understanding this truth would keep thousands of teens & adults from hurting and even killing themselves. The statistics, news story and things you read on social media are heart breaking.  Millions go about life feeling alone and rejected. These millions fail to realized that they are loved by a creator who sent his son to die on a cross so that they could experience life here on earth knowing and loving a good God.

This God cares about your anorexia, your parents divorce, the rape you experienced, or the other hurt you face. You're not alone or unloved.

My prayer is that my experiences past present and future will grow my faith and the faith of those around me. My prayer is that I will have the ability to make an impact to those around me as I grow deeper in my life of Jesus and his gospel.

God is so longing to see you come to experience his unfailing love. That's what Easter is all about!

God's Not Dead

It's easy to see the battle of belief in God's existence. You can see it in tv shows, in the media and even worse yet you can see it in how we(Christians) live. This evening I went to the theaters and saw the movie "God's not dead". When I launched this blog I never intended on reviewing movies but I believe this one warrants a review and a strong encouragement to go see it. The story is inspired by the large number of lawsuits and confrontations that Christians have had in Universities in the United States. The story follows a freshman college student who is forced to deny his belief in God on paper by a philosophy professor. He decides to risk his college, future career plans and relationship with his girlfriend (I didn't like her much)to take on an atheist professor to prove Gods existence to the class in an effort to stand up for God. He engages in a battle within himself to do what's right by standing up for what he believes regardless of what those closest to him think. This story also follows several others including a pastor and his missionary friend, a young converted muslim girl who been in hiding, a reporter who's made her living trashing Christians and others including the girlfriend of the professor and her brother. This movie does a great job creating multiple story lines with quick character development. I loved how the movie intersected everyone's story line so that their lives at the least rub up against one another and even influenced some life choices. The fact that this movie is showing in select theaters is awesome and is a must see and a must buy when it comes out in BlueRay/DVD. You will leave encouraged with your faith increased.

Some thoughts that came out of this move tonight  challenged me in my walk with Jesus. It's easy to get in arguments with people about politics and even faith issues. But how many of us would put our lives on the line to defend our belief in Jesus? How many of us make life decisions out of our disbelief in God's goodness. Many of us have go into or  even stopped short of relationships because we fail to see God's goodness in our life. We look elsewhere for our satisfaction and identity.  At the beginning of this blog post I stated that you can see the battle of belief in the way we Christians live.  Based on my own thoughts and actions I easily see the areas of my disbelief. I easily see the battle brewing in my own heart not for God existence but for my level of faith. I see how life in my life would look if I really lived out what I claim to believe.

Tonight I'm thankful for God's grace, I'm thankful that he truly is so Good that I don't have to look elsewhere for fulfillment. 

If you're reading this post I have a couple challenges for you. 

1. Go check out this movie. (Click below picture for more info)
2. If you're struggling to see God's goodness.  Talk to a pastor, a trusted friend or feel free to email or contact me. 

You are valued, loved and accepted so much that Jesus died for you. We as God's family can rest in Gods grace. Knowing that he sees the truth about us and loves us where we are.

James 4:6 6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 77 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

God's Not Dead Movie Website

Who do we trust - Ourselves or God?

As you read this, my hope is that whether you know Jesus or do not, you are inspired go deeper or give him a chance. His desire is that you understand how much he loves you regardless how long you’ve been a Christian, or even if your not.

When you live in a liberal town you see things and meet people that make you wonder about how others came to believe what they believe. When you watch TV you begin to see that the world is filled with examples of people who want to live life for themselves and on their terms. Saturday toward the end of the night I decided to flip through the on demand and find something to watch. (I had a great time watching “A Knights Tale” - I love that movie. I enjoy the witty lines and the modern music in a medieval setting.) I was flipping through and found a documentary on religion called “Religious”. In this film a not-so-funny comedian, Bill Maher, traveled around the World asking people of different religions questions and then making fun of them for believing in God. At many points in the documentary he admits he doesn’t know the answer to the questions he is asking. I have to be honest and say that I turned the movie off after about 45 minutes in. It seemed that he was looking for the worst representations and the craziest of every religion. One of the questions of the film was in relation to hell even existing.

After church on Sunday I had coffee with someone (never met her before) who called herself a Christian. Usually I don’t argue with people when they “call themselves” a Christian. I didn’t this time and we didn’t even talk about religion during coffee. We had covered the basics of beliefs before via email. We had an ok conversation. Afterwards we exchanged text (she asked me to be honest) about seeing one another again and I decided that since we both have very different views of faith that I would not re-engage this person. I got an earful about being judgmental and hateful. After reading up on that religion I see that the biggest issue in that faith is the lack of the gospel. This religion is built on a belief that you can choose everything you want to believe about God as long as you are a good person. The after-coffee dialog confirmed everything I believed about this church after reading up on their website. This works/non-works religion has no absolutes only wishy-washy ideas about God and him really sending people to hell. The “no good person goes to hell” dialog bothers me. If God’s love for us was pulled out of our ability to be a good person where is the measuring stick of what “good” means? Who decides who’s good and who’s not? Many people in the world have and still do believe what they are doing is good. Politicians cheat and lie for the “greater good”. Hitler killed believing what he was doing was good for his people. There is even a TV show about a serial killer who only murders bad people. Without an ultimate measuring stick we are left to decide what’s good for ourselves, and as you can see by examples throughout history we don’t always do a good job of deciding what’s really good. This is where the law (Ten Commandments) proves that no one is good but rather everyone needs the gospel. So works, being a good person doesn’t do it.

One of the other areas we struggle with is our belief in the power of the Gospel. For me it’s funny, I have no problem praying for the sick and truly believing God can deliver health or praying for the hurting and believing God will comfort to them. When it comes to my own life understanding and believing the truth for myself seems hard and sometimes impossible. I’ve wondered why for most of my life. I’ve been drawing closer to God a lot more over the last 3 years. I’ve been reading books (I’ve not been big on reading most of my life), the word and listening to sermons. I understand more about the gospel today than I ever have before.

Growing up in the church it’s easy to talk about sin and not feel its weight or talk about grace and not feel its relief. Over time the idea of sin and grace can become such a regular thought that we tend to disarm it of its power. We forget that the requirement for our sin is death and is not a made up fiction but rather a true price to pay. Without Jesus, death is a sure thing. We tend to handle our faith the same way some people play poker online, but without learning the rules or seeing the small print and they end up signing up for a real game. They believe they don’t play with any real money so they just keep playing and losing. What if one day that debt became real and game makers decided to send a loan shark after you for your negative poker balance? All of a sudden the countless games you played and lost from your computer have become more real. Suddenly you regret not learning the game rules or reading the agreement you blindly clicked “I agree” to. Sadly we forget to think about the consequences of our actions until it’s too late. People wait to prepare by getting water and food until a hurricane is about to strike and there is nothing left, or wait to take care of themselves until after they have health problems. The media can warn us over and over yet we seem to still be blind to the fact that the natural disaster is on the way and can hit out of the blue or if we eat 5000 calories a day we are going to die early. God’s love for us warns us of our impending need for a savior, and the consequences of our disbelief or complacency is eternal separation from him.

There are a lot of people in the world who believe in a “Higher Power” but fail to connect Jesus to that equation and don’t become a Christian because they don’t want to change their life or lose their false sense freedom. Others feel like they must have it all together to understand everything about God before they trust him. Both ideas lead to the same place.

False sense of Freedom

One of the false misconceptions about Christianity is that it’s all about rules. I’ve heard it said that staying out of religion or Christianity for that matter gives people the freedom to live the way they want. The scary part is that most of what we want is selfish things that usually lead to us hurting others or ourselves. Our desires lead us to places of perusing idols that are self-destructive. Marriages end because either or both spouses are more about pleasing themselves than their partner. Looking at Hollywood, or even Nashville, it’s easy to see what happens to those who get what they want and reject Jesus at the same time. This is not always the case, but so many people who “have it all” end up on drugs, getting into trouble, and even dying from their self-destructive behavior. The few who were blessed enough to experience the good things that have come out of those two cultures and follow Jesus at the same time seem to have a sense of humility and freedom. My point is this- money, fame, a living a life based on ideas of success and freedom, are false ideas of what brings joy, peace and true freedom. True freedom is experienced when we lay our lives down and follow Jesus. The bible promises to give us the desires of our heart.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Ps. 37:4

Once you get even a glimpse of God’s love and goodness your desires change. You will not look at life the same as you did before you met Jesus and decided to follow him. Freedom looks different. Freedom is found in a God who died for you and gave his life for you. Freedom is found in truly understanding grace. Life is less about us, more about others, and all about God. How would America look today if we cared about each other more than ourselves? Stayed away from lifestyles that God has warned us are harmful? Turned away from sin? How would marriage look in America if fewer men struggled with pornography? What if we treated homosexuality the way we treated people struggling with pornography and help them see that God loves them? The problem with the Church today is that we are less accepting of people yet more accepting of sin. If we reversed the two I think the American church would look different.

Having it all figured out

I think most mature Christians will admit they don’t have it ALL figured out. Issues like ‘how does a virgin birth happen’ or ‘how can a sea be parted, people get healed, resurrected’ are not things that cannot be proven by science, but rather only explained by faith in an all-powerful God. The fact is, that having it all figured out is not needed for relationship. Most friendships or even relationships we enter into do not start with us knowing everything about the other person. We decide to start the relationship to get to know the other person in hopes that we will gain a friend that we can trust out of this. Jesus understood our need for friendship and relationship with him when he said:

I don’t call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. But I’ve called you friends because I’ve made known to you everything that I’ve heard from my Father. John 15:15

God has given us all the tools through Jesus to understand and explore his love for us. He’s not asking us to have it all figured out but rather that we would begin a friendship with him. Doing this becomes the greatest friendship you will ever have. Out of this friendship you gain a father, king. and a friend. You get a comforter, guide. and equipper in the power Holy Spirit. You gain a family of believers that can help you through hard times, love you, and point you in the right direction.

Here is your Christmas Card

Merry Christmas

God has been stirring me to write for over a week as he's been brewing things in my heart this Christmas season.  Today I was talking with someone and sharing the struggles of this season that we were both facing. The holidays tend to be hard for a lot of people. Christmas can be a really good opportunity for you to get depressed about what you don't have, once had or never wanted.  For me this season has been really special because of all the things God has done throughout this year. If I could sum this year up in a phrase it would be called "The Search for Identity." This year has been a year of seeking the lord for his plan for me and getting a clear picture of how loved I really am. This last week our pastor taught the 4th Advent message this Sunday teaching out of Galatians 4 (You can hear the sermon series at www.realityolympia.com) This week really captured some ideas that I had wrestled over this year and I think most of us struggle with from time to time. Most identity issues come out of a lack of seeing our true value through God's eyes. Some see themselves as more valuable than God but most struggle to see how much God truly values them. I can be honest enough to say that this has been a lifelong battle for me.  Most of my life I have struggled with feelings of inadequacy, lack of acceptance, value and purpose.

Galatians 4:5 God sent him to pay for the freedom of those who were controlled by these laws so that we would be adopted as his children. 6 Because you are God’s children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into us to call out, “Abba![a]Father!” 7 So you are no longer slaves but God’s children. Since you are God’s children, God has also made you heirs.

I've heard the word adopted in reference to our relationship to God many times.  Every time I've thought "Well thats awesome that God adopted me". Yet I've never though about the aspects of adoption in contrast to the negative things I've struggled with.  I'm stealing these things from this weeks sermon. I mentioned that I've struggled with inadequacy, lack of acceptance, value and purpose. Part of being adopted its be loved no matter what, being chosen, wanted, and set apart.  The power of adoption though Christ has the power to undo any lie you have believed about yourself. Adoption has the power to reset ones life giving them a second chance.  Adoption through Christ proves that we are so valuable that we are heirs to God's kingdom.  Regardless of our past, struggles in our present life or worries about our future God's incredible love for us empowers us to overcome wrong thoughts about our self. His love gives us strength to overcome in the moment, and faith to believe that he knows our future and has planned it out. Going into 2014 I'm excited to see what he's up to. There are a lot of people who need to know how much he loves them. There are a lot of young people (my passion) who need to know that they are heard, not forgotten, unloved or left behind.

In 2014 I believe that God would have us seek him in Faith knowing through him we have the power to change our cities, lead or families and friends to him and see amazing things in our own lives. Jesus even said we would do great things than him. In 2014 God's desire is that we would truly experience the power of the holy spirit to heal, restore and make new.  The question is how hard are we willing to seek him? How much of our own agenda are we willing to lay down to see him kingdom come and his will be done? How much do we truly trust him?

Let join together as one family. Seek the lord for our cities, our friends and family. This Christmas Eve, lets see this season for what it's truly about. God's redemptive work to save his kids from themselves. God incredible love to live, and then die on a cross for you and me and finally his awesome power to rise again proving he can overcome the power of sin and death for every person who chooses to believe in him!

Behing every good man there's a good _____________!

I have to admit one of my biggest struggles in my walk is being in the word. I've been feeling Gods poking me to get back in communion with him for a while and like allot of people it's easier to go watch tv or hang out with people than it is to sit, pray and read. 

With that being said I've started to read the book of Romans and I've been processing ideas and thoughts and comparing some of them to what I'm reading in my time with God.

Your suckyness isn't fake

It's been a life long struggle to see myself the way God sees me or to believe that I really am the good man that my mentors tell me I am. The fact is that I constantly struggle with falling short and feeling like I'm not living the great life I'm suppose to. The truth of the Gospel tells me that apart from Christ I'm not far off from being sucky.

Rom 1:18-32 GW  God's anger is revealed from heaven against every ungodly and immoral thing people do as they try to suppress the truth by their immoral living.  (19)  What can be known about God is clear to them because he has made it clear to them.  (20)  From the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse.  (21)  They knew God but did not praise and thank him for being God. Instead, their thoughts were pointless, and their misguided minds were plunged into darkness.  (22)  While claiming to be wise, they became fools.  (23)  They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for statues that looked like mortal humans, birds, animals, and snakes.  (24)  For this reason God allowed their lusts to control them. As a result, they dishonor their bodies by sexual perversion with each other.  (25)  These people have exchanged God's truth for a lie. So they have become ungodly and serve what is created rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen!  (26)  For this reason God allowed their shameful passions to control them. Their women have exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.  (27)  Likewise, their men have given up natural sexual relations with women and burn with lust for each other. Men commit indecent acts with men, so they experience among themselves the punishment they deserve for their perversion.  (28)  And because they thought it was worthless to acknowledge God, God allowed their own immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things.  (29)  Their lives are filled with all kinds of sexual sins, wickedness, and greed. They are mean. They are filled with envy, murder, quarreling, deceit, and viciousness. They are gossips,  (30)  slanderers, haters of God, haughty, arrogant, and boastful. They think up new ways to be cruel. They don't obey their parents,  (31)  don't have any sense, don't keep promises, and don't show love to their own families or mercy to others.  (32)  Although they know God's judgment that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do these things but also approve of others who do them.

I'm pretty sure I've done a number of the things in the list above. In addition I have failed to trust God. I tell people that Jesus is my lord and savoir but struggle with the realization that he loves me. unconditionally  I say "father" in my prayer time but struggle to grasp how a good father loves his kids.

Rom 3:21-26 GW  Now, the way to receive God's approval has been made plain in a way other than Moses' Teachings. Moses' Teachings and the Prophets tell us this.  (22)  Everyone who believes has God's approval through faith in Jesus Christ. There is no difference between people.  (23)  Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God's glory.  (24)  They receive God's approval freely by an act of his kindness through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free from sin.  (25)  God showed that Christ is the throne of mercy where God's approval is given through faith in Christ's blood. In his patience God waited to deal with sins committed in the past.  (26)  He waited so that he could display his approval at the present time. This shows that he is a God of justice, a God who approves of people who believe in Jesus.

Love given by humans is rarely given without strings. Married poeple expect certian things from their spouses to prove they are loved by the other person. Parents expect that their kids loving them looks like them doing everything they say with out question or maybe just taking them of them when they are old.

God doesn't have strings on his love for us. He didn't say "I'm only going to die for you if you stop sinning and go to church every Sunday." God gave his son knowing that some will choose death yet he died no less for them then his did for me. 

What about those who have chosen salvation?

Rom 8:14-18 GW  Certainly, all who are guided by God's Spirit are God's children.  (15)  You haven't received the spirit of slaves that leads you into fear again. Instead, you have received the spirit of God's adopted children by which we call out, "Abba! Father!"  (16)  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.  (17)  If we are his children, we are also God's heirs. If we share in Christ's suffering in order to share his glory, we are heirs together with him.  (18)  I consider our present sufferings insignificant compared to the glory that will soon be revealed to us.

Ever talk with someone who's chosen to adopt a child? People who adopt amaze me. There must be a part of them loves in a special way. To love a child that's not theirs like they are their own is amazing. I'm been blessed to have been adopted in to a family as an adult. I'm amazed still as I sat recently at a restaurant with my mentors/God parents at how much they love me. They didn't have to pour all the time, energy and love into me that they have over the last 13 years but God wired them in such a way that they by nature adopt youth. They saw a young man who was lacking love and confidence and have done their best to be an example of Gods heart. How great is it that God adopts us. He loves us so much that he would give us a part of his inheritance.  We don't deserve it but we need it.

Living out the life of being adopted.

Rom 8:31-35 GW  What can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?  (32)  God didn't spare his own Son but handed him over to death for all of us. So he will also give us everything along with him.  (33)  Who will accuse those whom God has chosen? God has approved of them.  (34)  Who will condemn them? Christ has died, and more importantly, he was brought back to life. Christ has the highest position in heaven. Christ also intercedes for us.  (35)  What will separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or violent death separate us from his love?

Gratefulness - I think our walk with God as an adopted child of God should start with gratefulness. How can we not be grateful for the gift of salvation? Coming to the conclusion that we need God should make of grateful that he saw our need and delivered. God could have done another of things but he chose the path of loving his creation.

Confidence - This is where I struggle. I've spent most of my life not realizing that I'm royalty. I've spent allot of my life stopping short of living out a life as a chosen son. I've stopped short of believing that God has big plans for me. Thus allowing the enemy to keep me from fulfilling the calling God has put on my life. God have given me a new confidence I see my calling not as a path to chose but rather God's plan that he has laid out for me. Its not a matter of if I fulfill the life he's chosen for me but rather when.  If your struggling with future plans or believing in Gods calling on your life. Remember he knew about the holdups, they things that have come in the way and he's not surprised and he's even prepared the poeple ahead to speak into your life or help push you along. Perhaps now is the time for you to begin to have confidence in your calling and the things that he's saying to you.

Humility - It's important that we remind humble. Realizing that God didn't choose us because where  awesome. He chose us because of our potential to be an example of his goodness. To many Christians lack humility when talking to unbelievers. Because of that we are called hypocrites and haters.  We have to keep in mind that the same way God dies for us while we were still sinners he's died for them and the sin they are in now. If we come to the unsaved with heart of humlity showing that we too are broken but greatful for Gods goodness toward us and confident that God will allow us to live out our calling. People who don't know Jesus will get a glimps of the Gospel in action.

Non Christians don't need to see super-humans who looks like they have it all together. Rather they need to see the real side of our lives. Broken people who need a loving father to rescue them from death, sin and a life alone with out love. They need to see that suck just as much as they do. The only difference is that we have accepted the gift of love that they have not.

Thanks for reading,

John

Love Stories

I have to admit I can be a sucker for love stories. I don't necessarily go searching for them I don't spend my evenings watching Sleepless in Seattle or You Got Mail though I've seen both and enjoyed them. There's is something about two people coming together that is appealing. Maybe it's just the hope for the future brewing.

Tonight I made mistake of flipping though the Comcast TV guide and ran across a movie that I've seen only parts of but have never watched the whole thing. Here is comes.. Tonight I watched "A Walk to Remember." Yes ladies its a sweet love story. Tonight in this film I got a little bit more than I bargained for. The love story was sweet but I never realized that there was a second love story hidden in this film. Did you catch it?

This film is quite interesting because hidden (maybe not so much) in this story between two teens is a pursuing healing God. Through the faith of young dieing girl, a boy is saved, the relationship between father and son is reconciled and God uses a daughter to remind a pastor to believe his own message of forgiveness and faith.

This story shows us what love looks like Sure is a story about two people but the big story is about  God pursuing and loving his people. I think there is something in this story for everyone.

• If your single there is hope - you will find someone
• If your in the mist of a broken relationship there's hope that God would heal that it. 
• If your struggling with the loss of a spouse or someone close to you God reminds us of his love and that even in the mist of death and sadness God still has a plan, he still wants what's best for his people though it might looks different than we might realized. 
• God's plan is bigger than ours his plans for us effect all those around us as we chose to walk by faith, be an example of God's love to others. 

“Jamie: You know what I figured out today?
Landon: What?
Jamie: Maybe God has a bigger plan for me than I had for myself. Like this journey never ends.....

If your struggling tonight remember God loves you and though things may not look they way you might want he has a plan for redemption, he has plan to save those who don't know him. He loves to redeem and restore relationships sometimes all that's needed is a little faith and trust in God to see a miracle.Trust him and his plans..

Do you know what love is??

1 Corinthians 13

New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Tonight take a moment, slow down, take a breath.. Remember God's love is unfailing. His love saves us, heals us and never disappoints.. His love is greater than any other force on earth. His love caused him to send his only son to die on a tree for you me.. 

I don't know about you but humbled...

The Love Problem - A message for married people.

This evening I caught today's episode of Dr Phil. He was talking to a divorced couple who have been apart for 5 years. This couple can't seem to get along regardless of the long term effects on their children. Dr Phil listed off a number of things that their kids will struggle with if they don't get it together. Things such as acceptance, the desire to find love any where they can get it, bitterness, guilt and shame.

This episode got me thinking about love. (Funny I know) I can relate to some of the struggles that Dr Phil talked about in kids who's parents divorced. I was significantly older than this family's kids but even at an older age it easy easy for a young person to pick up the burden of their parents failed relationship and take on the blame, struggle to fill accepted and have problems with future relationships.

My own struggles in life have come from a failed understanding of love. I think this failed understanding plagues our world. This shows up in our schools, marriages and even our churches. What does the bible say about love?

1Co 13:4-8a  Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn't jealous. It doesn't sing its own praises. It isn't arrogant.  It isn't rude. It doesn't think about itself. It isn't irritable. It doesn't keep track of wrongs.  It isn't happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth. Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.  Love never comes to an end.

God doesn't struggle with love. he doesn't struggle to be patient, and God surely doesn't give up on us. To many people have given up on love. They forget that they have a sin nature. That sin nature causes them to stop being patient. It makes them rude, it helps and even encourages them to keep records of past hurts and it tares people apart and makes them forget about why they got married in the first place. One problem with our marriages is that we (men) forget that if we're suppose to love our brides as Christ loves the church then we have to fight our flesh, stay patient, not give up and work on our relationship's to keep them healthy. If your struggling with your marriage tonight keep in mind that God hasn't given up on you or your spouse. Today might be a good time to take a step back and ask yourself if you've stopped being patent.. Are you doing the opposit of what the bible calls love? Have you given up on the promise you made to love for better or for worse. Even when things where at their worst Jesus never gave up on us.  If you have given up it's not to late.. Now is the time to ask God for help.

Turn it around!

The problem you're facing is not going to be fixed by reading a book or counting to 10 in a argument. Rather seeking the lord to deepen your understanding of love. If you want to understand how to love your spouse better the answer lies in Jesus' example of how he loved people. Jesus had grace, patience and all the way to his death on the cross. He never gave up he knew that his sacrifice would redeem a fallen world and he was willing to exchange comfort for pain in order to love his bride well. 

Tonight God calls all of us married or not to take a step back and sit in Gods presence and experience what love feels like. He's calling us to give up our selfish ways for a relationship with him.  The fact is that if we want to have healthy relationships we need to forget about our own feelings and lay our lives down for one another.

John 15:13  No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

If we the Church want to be the example of what love looks like we need to carry that into our relationships, friendships and marriages. If the church truly understood the love of Christ and was humbled by his sacrifice we would act different. Our divorce rate wouldn't be the same as unsaved people. If we truly understood love we wouldn't hate the sinner and the sin. We would love the sinner so they would see Gods love through and stop sinning.   If your struggling with Gods love talk to someone you trust. Feel free to even contact me. All of us need a deeper understanding of love and all of us need to see the growth in the significance and need for the cross in our lives.


Blessings,

John