And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.--2 John : 6
God has been touching my heart lately with this verse and ones like it. This idea of love...
What is love? Love can be defined as "an intense feeling of deep affection." Those are such strong words. Intense. Deep. Affection. So what does it mean to "walk in love?" According to James 1:27, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." --1 Peter 4:8-10
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" 1 John 3:16-17
Love is such a vast concept. There are so many ways to show love to others and we are called to do all of them! How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! We cannot be selfish with the love He has so freely given to us. He freely gave and so must we! We cannot merely listen to the word, we have to do what is says. Love your neighbor. Love your enemies. Love the sick. Love the poor. Love the orphans and widows. Love those who persecute you. Love the sinners. Love God! There are so many ways to show love. Love is a verb. It is active. Don't keep God's love for you bottled up inside. Share it with everyone!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
A Heart for the Lost
This week I was exposed to a lot of new things. Minneapolis is one of the most diverse cities in the country and I was able to meet a lot of Somalis this week. For a project in my cultural anthropology class we're doing research on Somalia, so I went down to the global market to meet people. I met this guy named Sharci who works at this amazing African restaurant. We started talking about his culture and eventually started talking about his religion. Sharci is a Muslim and he was more than willing to talk to me about his beliefs. I was so touched by Sharci. He said to me, "I can tell that you really love Jesus." This made me so happy that he could see that in me. He had a lot of questions for me and actually asked me to come back so he could ask me more questions.
On Thursday, we went to a Somali mall. I felt a very real darkness while in the mall. The people were so nice, but I couldn't help but feel an extreme sadness for all the lost people that were there. I came back to my dorm room and called my dad. I felt Satan planting lies in my head that I wasn't capable of making a change in the lives of these Muslims, especially in Sharci's life. I told this to one of my group members and she had some very encouraging words. She said, "Sometimes, the devil tries to put lies in our paths before God gets ready to do something beautiful."I hope and pray that this statement becomes reality.
The more I am exposed to people of different cultures, the more I want to get out into the world and do ministry. My heart for the lost is becoming more and more real. I don't want to stay silent. I don't want to just sit around. We're called to have an active faith and to walk like Jesus did! Jesus loved his neighbors. He loved his enemies. He cared for the sick and the poor. He called the lost to him.
On Thursday, we went to a Somali mall. I felt a very real darkness while in the mall. The people were so nice, but I couldn't help but feel an extreme sadness for all the lost people that were there. I came back to my dorm room and called my dad. I felt Satan planting lies in my head that I wasn't capable of making a change in the lives of these Muslims, especially in Sharci's life. I told this to one of my group members and she had some very encouraging words. She said, "Sometimes, the devil tries to put lies in our paths before God gets ready to do something beautiful."I hope and pray that this statement becomes reality.
The more I am exposed to people of different cultures, the more I want to get out into the world and do ministry. My heart for the lost is becoming more and more real. I don't want to stay silent. I don't want to just sit around. We're called to have an active faith and to walk like Jesus did! Jesus loved his neighbors. He loved his enemies. He cared for the sick and the poor. He called the lost to him.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Patience
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37: 1-7
A dear friend shared this passage with me on Thursday. With what God has been teaching me about walking with the Spirit, this fit in really well. I still want to know God's plans for me, and although there is nothing wrong with this, it consumes my thoughts. I'm having to learn a lot about patience and being still before the Lord and waiting to hear His voice. It's really difficult for me and I need as much help as I can get from Him.
A dear friend shared this passage with me on Thursday. With what God has been teaching me about walking with the Spirit, this fit in really well. I still want to know God's plans for me, and although there is nothing wrong with this, it consumes my thoughts. I'm having to learn a lot about patience and being still before the Lord and waiting to hear His voice. It's really difficult for me and I need as much help as I can get from Him.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Walk With The Spirit
Lately, I've been reading Forgotten God by Francis Chan. The whole book is great, but there was one chapter that really stuck out to me. It's titled, "Forget About His Will For Your Life." When I first read that, I was shocked and confused, so I was very excited to read about why he would make such a statement. As I kept reading and meditating on these words, I couldn't agree with him more. Let me explain...
I have wanted to know God's plan for my life for years and spend so much time dwelling on that issue. There are very few people in the Bible who received God's plan for their life or even a 5 year plan ahead of time. It came down to trusting and obeying God. God wants us to respond to His Spirit's leading day by day rather than a year down the road. The fact of the matter is, how we respond daily will greatly impact how we respond a year from now.
"It is easy to use the phrase, 'God's will for my life' as an excuse for inaction or even disobedience. It's much less demanding to think about God's will for your future than to ask Him what He wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It's safer to commit to following Him someday instead of this day."--Francis Chan.
After reading this, I realized that by walking with the Spirit daily, that I won't have to worry about what God has in store for me 10 years from now, because I will be so captivated by Him and assured of His promises. "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord!"--Jeremiah 29:11. I want to be so consumed by the Holy Spirit so that I don't have earthly worries and can just walk with the Lord, spreading the Good News.
"Not only this, you don't need the Holy Spirit. You don't need the Holy Spirit if you are merely seeking to live a semi-moral life and attend church regularly. You can find people of all sorts in many religions doing that quite nicely without Him. You only need the Holy Spirit's guidance and help if you truly want to follow the Way of Jesus Christ. You only need Him if you desire to obey everything He commanded and to teach others to do the same. You only need the Holy Spirit if you have genuinely repented and believe. And you only need the Holy Spirit if you understand that you are called to share in Christ's suffering and death, as well as His resurrection. If you truly believe and have turned away from the way you were headed and joined a different Way of living, then you desperately need the Holy Spirit. You know you cannot live this Way without the Spirit in you."--Francis Chan
So, I challenge you and myself to walk daily with the Spirit. We all need Him desperately! Nothing else matters more than this relationship and this relationship calls for total surrender to the King.
I have wanted to know God's plan for my life for years and spend so much time dwelling on that issue. There are very few people in the Bible who received God's plan for their life or even a 5 year plan ahead of time. It came down to trusting and obeying God. God wants us to respond to His Spirit's leading day by day rather than a year down the road. The fact of the matter is, how we respond daily will greatly impact how we respond a year from now.
"It is easy to use the phrase, 'God's will for my life' as an excuse for inaction or even disobedience. It's much less demanding to think about God's will for your future than to ask Him what He wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It's safer to commit to following Him someday instead of this day."--Francis Chan.
After reading this, I realized that by walking with the Spirit daily, that I won't have to worry about what God has in store for me 10 years from now, because I will be so captivated by Him and assured of His promises. "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord!"--Jeremiah 29:11. I want to be so consumed by the Holy Spirit so that I don't have earthly worries and can just walk with the Lord, spreading the Good News.
"Not only this, you don't need the Holy Spirit. You don't need the Holy Spirit if you are merely seeking to live a semi-moral life and attend church regularly. You can find people of all sorts in many religions doing that quite nicely without Him. You only need the Holy Spirit's guidance and help if you truly want to follow the Way of Jesus Christ. You only need Him if you desire to obey everything He commanded and to teach others to do the same. You only need the Holy Spirit if you have genuinely repented and believe. And you only need the Holy Spirit if you understand that you are called to share in Christ's suffering and death, as well as His resurrection. If you truly believe and have turned away from the way you were headed and joined a different Way of living, then you desperately need the Holy Spirit. You know you cannot live this Way without the Spirit in you."--Francis Chan
So, I challenge you and myself to walk daily with the Spirit. We all need Him desperately! Nothing else matters more than this relationship and this relationship calls for total surrender to the King.
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