Love is More Than A Feeling

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the world's most popular readings for weddings. These lines are perhaps the most poetic words Paul ever wrote. Here we find a simple and beautiful description of what love is and what love is not.

Love is NOT a Feeling

Feelings come and go. In a given day, any person may experience hundreds of various and conflicting feelings. Even couples who are deeply in love experience a wide range of feelings toward one another. Paul says love is lasting and eternal. On this matter, at least, Boston got it right. Love is "More Than A Feeling."

Love is Selfless

Reading through Paul's description of love, it becomes clear that true love thinks first of others and lastly of self. Jesus said as much in John 15 when He said the greatest love of all is the one who gives his life for the good of others. Paul described this type of love in his Philippians 2 hymn honoring the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. God's love, in John 3:16, was made known through the gift of His Son. True love is selfless, sacrificial, gracious and generous.

Love is a Choice

Paul writes that love "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things." These four words refer to how we respond to others and what we assume about others. Our love for others cannot be dependent on how they treat us.  We cannot control the behavior of those around us, yet we can control how we respond to them and we can control what we assume about them.

We can choose  to bear all things and endure all things. This means we don't react with violence, hatred or revenge. We take the pain upon ourselves (as Jesus did for us) so they need not suffer.

We can always assume the best about others. Even when it seems they wish us ill, love chooses to believe the best and hope the best about others. (This doesn't mean we should put ourselves in positions to be abused. It does mean we choose to think the best of them, even as we protect ourselves)

Love is Action

Loving people are those who act loving. This chapter is full of applicable teaching and I've chosen three obvious actions on which we can focus to be more loving people.

Those who love others act more sacrificial, less selfish and more forgiving. If you want to implement more love into your life, choose one of these loving expressions and focus each day on how to align your life with it:

How will I be more sacrificial today?
How will I be less selfish today?
How will I be more forgiving today?

How March Madness Helps Me Think About The Power & Creativity of God

just for giggles...

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SENSIBLE WORSHIP: Leftovers from Romans 12:1-2

Last Sunday, I preached on Romans 12:1-2. During my preparation, I always create a personal paraphrase of the passage from which I'm teaching. Here was this week's paraphrase:

After everything I’ve said, now I must call you to action. Because of God’s mercy, give your whole self over to Him. Don’t hold anything back and don’t hold on to any old sins. This type of worship is the best way to respond to Him. You’ve been renewed, so let it change the way you think. You shouldn’t look like the world anymore, but your life should mirror God’s will. That’s the best way to live.

I never get to preach all the content I discover while preparing. Here are 10 Observations from Romans 12 I made while studying over the past few weeks.

1. Paul’s appeal was based on the truths he had already shared. Primarily, Paul’s appeal is rooted in God’s mercy toward us. We must understand Romans 1-11 as an exposition of God’s mercy.
2. Even Romans 1, which speaks of God’s wrath, is an explanation of God’s mercy. The better we understand our own depravity, the more clearly we see the depth of God’s mercy.
3. Humility leads to gratitude, because in seeing ourselves with clear eyes we recognize the vast amount of God’s mercy toward us.
4. A living sacrifice means we are giving away something that is costly. If it is not costly, it is not a sacrifice.
5. A living sacrifice means we do it now. It is not okay to think, “I’ll give God my full attention in eternity, but for now I’m going to enjoy this world.” Waiting until you die means you’re offering a dead sacrifice.
6. A holy sacrifice means we cannot offer God a sacrifice which we know is full of sin. As long as we are holding on to sin, we cannot offer our life to God. That is unacceptable.
7. A top priority for every follower of Christ should be seeking to discover the thing for which they’ve been set aside. We’ve been set aside to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. We’ve been set aside to be aliens and strangers We’ve been set aside to be ambassadors of reconciliation.
8. An acceptable sacrifice is the sacrifice of Abel which means our first and best. Offering God our live’s leftovers is not acceptable.
9. If we offer ourselves as a living, holy and acceptable sacrifice; we will no longer look like the world. A Christian who “conforms” to the world is a hypocrite. He is behaving in conflict with his identity.
10. In testing everything against God’s will, one can discern what should and should not be done. Discernment means when I face a tough decision, my first question should be “is this good, acceptable and perfect?”

One final thought... Our service is reasonable because:

• Of what God has already done for us
• Of what God is continuing to do
• Such service is God’s will and His will is good, pleasing, and perfect
• God is worthy of our best efforts
• Only spiritual things will last

From Hope to Despair to Hope Again: Riding the Psalm 31 Roller-Coaster

I read the first verse of Psalm 31 and sighed deeply. I could tell this wasn’t going to meet me where I was today.

“In you O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.”

That’s just not my experience in the past several years I thought. I tried to take refuge in God. I tried to do what was right. I tried to rely on Him to come through when the hour got darkest.

And He didn’t. I was, in my opinion, put to shame.

Verse 2 wasn’t much better.

“Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily!”

I remember praying those words. I remember begging for a speedy rescue, and then comforting myself that God doesn’t always work on our timeline. He doesn’t always provide a rescue the way we think He should.

I didn’t want to read any further. I was content to roll around in the mud of my disappointing past. As often happens, the stream of memories flooded over me… the lies, the betrayals, the agonizing choices all felt as if they were my life today, not the fading past they truly are.

But I read on, because that’s what I do. And verse 5 bowled me over.

“Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”

Recognize those words? Of course you do. They are Jesus’ words on the cross. He spoke them right before He died. But long before Jesus spoke them, David wrote them. David didn’t write them before he died, David wrote them as a living commitment. He was literally putting his life into God’s hands.

God could do whatever He wanted with David’s life… He could take away his kingdom, he could allow David’s son to rebel, he could take David’s life.

…and David was okay with that.

I read further.

“Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach, especially to my neighbors, and an object of dread to my acquaintances…”

I’ve been there. I’ve had to answer uncomfortable questions about newspaper articles which weren’t really even about me. I’ve had employers refuse to hire me because of my name. I’ve had my neighbors and acquaintances look suspiciously at me because of things they had heard.

“those who see me in the street flee from me.”

I thought of all those times in Meijer when people (who once served alongside me) hid from me.

“For I hear the whispering of many – terror on every side! – as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.”

I remembered THAT email. The one which was sent to many of my friends. The one which revealed my true friends (a blessing in disguise). The pompous politician and his side-kick who schemed and slandered me then tried to bribe me…

Man, this Psalm 31 is depressing… but…

If I commit my spirit to God (give him full authority over my life), then I can’t really complain if He deems it appropriate to allow my adversaries to “win” and He allows my name to suffer and He allows me to be uncomfortable.

Everyone is happy to give up control of their life to God if that means He is going to “bless” them and make their life wonderful. It’s not as easy to give up control if He is going to sharpen us and form us through fire and tribulation.

Verse 14, after David’s airing of grievances, says:

“But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand;”

Maybe God hasn’t provided the rescue I thought I needed or deserved. Maybe He still has something coming. Either way, I’m okay to trust Him. Either way, I can commit my life to Him.

If Jesus could commit His spirit to God, knowing it meant death…

If David could commit His spirit to God, knowing he might lose everything…

So can I, right?

Verse 24:

“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD.”

*Update: This was written in 2013, many years ago and many miles ago. Today I can look back and say, "Yes. He was faithful."

You Need Not Pay Rent To Live On Anxiety Island

Everyone experiences stress and anxiety in their lives, but no one needs to live there. Anxiety Island is a lonely place where we believe the lie that no one else could possibly understand what we are going through. Jesus understands because He has been there. Because He suffered in every way like we do, we know we can look to Him to find the way out of anxiety and into God's peace which is the alternative to anxiety.

On the night Jesus had every reason to break down from anxiety, he prayed.

Prayer is the alternative to anxiety.

Philippians 4:6-7 says:

"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Turning our stress over to God allows us to rest in His peace instead of rolling around in our own panic. In the previous verses, Paul recommended constant rejoicing as a hallmark of the Christian life. The absence of rejoicing creates a void into which anxiety loves to move. For that reason, Paul continues in these verses by pointing out that thanksgiving should be the sauce on top of our prayers.

Thanksgiving is the antidote to anxiety.

When my life is full of gratitude to God, I leave no room in my heart or mind for anxiety.

This passage is about the power of prayer, not my problems and panic. We approach God with our needs because we are confident in His provision. That confidence is the result of regular thanksgiving and gratitude.

Notice, these verses do not promise we'll get what we ask for. They do promise peace, which is the result of letting go. For prayer to be effective against anxiety, we must be willing to give our requests to God and not take them back.

Trust is the antidote to anxiety

In the garden, Jesus asked God if there was another way. There was not. Even though Jesus didn't receive his request, He was so full of peace that He was able to endure His great trial with great patience, faith and even forgiveness. He trusted His Father to do the right thing!

Don't stay stuck on Anxiety Island. Fill your life with gratitude for all God has done, is doing and will do. Find reasons to rejoice in every situation. Present your requests to your Father, and let them go. Be confident that He will meet your needs, He will work things out and He will do what is right!