John 13:34--A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
What does that mean? Pretty simple, isn't it? Love others, like Jesus loved us.
John 14:21--Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.
Also simple, no? If we love Jesus, we follow his commands. Okay, easy enough. Let's keep going.
Luke 9:26--If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
Alright, alright. All this sounds pretty elementary. Nothing complicated to read into. Don't be ashamed of Jesus and the words he spoke--the words above, included. Alright. I'm sure you're asking yourself if there's a point in all this. There is, trust me. I'm just layin all the cards on the table.
Two more verses:
Mark 1:14-18--After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fisherman. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and i will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 28:18-20--Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Okay, now to the juicy stuff. Tonight was midweek, and we went over the discipleship study, and what it really meant. So that's where all these scriptures came from. Now, as for the emphasis to it all: We love Jesus. That is why we do all of this stuff. That is why we love others, and obey his commands, and--as the first part of Luke 9 said--deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily. Because we love Jesus.
Again, easy stuff, right? That's what I thought too. But we also went over Luke 13:25-33, which basically says that we have to love Jesus soooo much, it's as if we hate the people in our lives in comparison, in order to be His disciple. And if we really love Jesus, we'll want to be his disciple, and obey all his commands.
Obeying all his commands include Matthew 28:20--teaching others to obey Jesus' commands, and making them disciples. And if we are truly not ashamed of Jesus, as Luke 9:26 says we shouldn't be, we should be more than eager to go make disciples; all because we love Jesus.
The crunch lies in this: we're human. We don't take too easily to something or someone intangible, and it takes a lot of faith to do that. It's hard to love someone that you can't see. For me it shouldn't be that hard, especially considering where this intangible being brought me from. For those of you who know my story, you would think I wouldn't know what to do but love God more than anything on earth. Yeah, about that...
My brother and my best friend are both awesome guys. I love them to death--like no other. My flaw, however, comes from the fact that I talk about them a lot more openly and a lot more often than I talk about the one that saved my life from physical, emotional, and spiritual death--literally. If I really loved Jesus that much, I should have absolutely no shame in talking about him, like there was no other person on the earth that ever mattered to me or would ever matter to me again. I would want others to know what he did for me, and I would want others to know the love, peace, and joy that can only come from this great God. But the truth of the matter, is that my brother and my best friend are coming first in my life, even above God. Listen to me for five minutes and you'll hear it.
I openly apologize to God and to my brother and best friend for doing this to them. I have realized my sin, and I now repent from it. My life is not one I live for myself anymore--why I keep trying is a mystery to me. And I am trying to live my life for God, not for human beings as as small and insignificant my brother and best friend are in comparison to this almighty, powerful, loving, merciful, graceful God has been to me. God has to be the complete and total focus of my life, way above anything anyone else can be in my life. I will follow his commands, and love others like he has loved me, but I will love others because my God loved me--and still loves me.
And for you: is God the complete and total central focus of your life? If not, why isn't he? And do you love Him enough to make him the center? Think about where he brought you from, and where you could possibly go to. And then think about if you could have gotten where you are now without him; likewise, if you could possibly get where you're wanting to go, on your own. If you realize God's true power, you would know your answer is that no, you can't do any of it on your own, without God's help. He knows what he's doing, and he's there to lend a helping, saving hand anytime you ask. So just call to him. Ask, and you will receive.
Keep in the Word, keep praying, and keep in Step with the Spirit. I love you all, as Jesus has loved me!!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
The people in your life
Today has been focused, for me at least, on people that are put in my life. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Are my friends there by coincidence, or is there some bigger purpose to it? Even the people that are constantly in my life that I don't necessarily get along with; why are they still here?
At first I just assume God has a funny sense of humor. But you know what happens when you assume wrongly. So I looked at it again. And this is what I found:
John 13:34--A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
And this:
Phillipians 2:1-4--If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than youselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
This is a theme for my week: love and humility. I am a disciple of Christ--I do my best to follow his commands and live as he did, which was, and still is, in love and humility. He loved every single person he came in contact with, from the "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John) to the blind beggar on the side of the street, to the Pharisees in the temples that wanted him arrested. And to top it all off, he humbled himself with all of them. He allowed himself to become nothing, even as he was essentially EVERYTHING, to fall under arrest at the arms of the Pharisees, to fall to his knees and wash the feet of the very disciples that followed him.
So, in order to keep in order with the role of a disciple, I need to take on this sackcloth, as it were, of humility and deep unconditional love, and I need to be living every moment I can loving everyone as Jesus himself loved me, and giving to everyone I can, looking at others as better than myself, and giving to them as if they more-than-deserve that title. This means making time, no matter what I would rather do, to be there for someone else, to find any way I can to affect their lives and build them up as God wants me to. This means not getting into the incessant arguments that I'm prone to get in, but rather loving someone to death to silence the conflict.
And since I'm not the only seeing this blog, I extend the challenge to you: What are you going to do this week to show yourself loving and humble? What parts of your life could you change or tweak to go that extra step to build someone else up?
Remember: "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." --John 8:31-32
I love you all!!!
At first I just assume God has a funny sense of humor. But you know what happens when you assume wrongly. So I looked at it again. And this is what I found:
John 13:34--A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
And this:
Phillipians 2:1-4--If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than youselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
This is a theme for my week: love and humility. I am a disciple of Christ--I do my best to follow his commands and live as he did, which was, and still is, in love and humility. He loved every single person he came in contact with, from the "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John) to the blind beggar on the side of the street, to the Pharisees in the temples that wanted him arrested. And to top it all off, he humbled himself with all of them. He allowed himself to become nothing, even as he was essentially EVERYTHING, to fall under arrest at the arms of the Pharisees, to fall to his knees and wash the feet of the very disciples that followed him.
So, in order to keep in order with the role of a disciple, I need to take on this sackcloth, as it were, of humility and deep unconditional love, and I need to be living every moment I can loving everyone as Jesus himself loved me, and giving to everyone I can, looking at others as better than myself, and giving to them as if they more-than-deserve that title. This means making time, no matter what I would rather do, to be there for someone else, to find any way I can to affect their lives and build them up as God wants me to. This means not getting into the incessant arguments that I'm prone to get in, but rather loving someone to death to silence the conflict.
And since I'm not the only seeing this blog, I extend the challenge to you: What are you going to do this week to show yourself loving and humble? What parts of your life could you change or tweak to go that extra step to build someone else up?
Remember: "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." --John 8:31-32
I love you all!!!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Matthew 6: 27 says do not worry. How many times is that heard throughout the day? "Don't worry about it. It'll be ok." How many times is it believed? Don't lie...not often, right? Well God is definitely showing me these days how much I need to really actually listen to that command. Here's how it went.
There's a retreat coming up this weekend that I'm going to, and am really, really excited to go. I had written a note to my boss at work, telling her that I needed that weekend off, because I would be out of town. However, I look at the schedule when it comes out, and it says I'm working 7 hours, on both Friday and Saturday. And my boss is not one to be lenient when it comes to scheduling conflicts. And yet, one more simple note to remind her what I've already told her causes her to redo the entire schedule. Something I never would have guessed she would do for me. So I thank her and God. A lot.
Another thing that's been on my mind a lot lately has been the concept of servitude. The greatest impact that's affected on this earth is when someone is seen as a servant to others, even when they don't have to be. Even in everyday situations, when hanging out with friends, are you serving each other? Are you giving your all to everyone you possibly can, to see their lives affected, or are you there to enjoy it for yourself, to suck up as much out of it as pleases you?
Honestly, I can say I've been slipping on that point. I love hanging out with friends; ask anyone I know, they'll tell you the same thing. But I'm there cause I don't wanna miss anything; I wanna be part of everything that happens with my friends. I wanna be in on it.
My viewpoint really needs to change in that regard. I need to give to everyone, to make sure I'm doing everything I can to lift everyone up, not thinking about myself. I need to be humble.
This reminds me of my friend Taylor. He is the perfect example of a servant. He is the most selfless person I've ever met in my life. Seeing that example helps me out in a way by partly giving back to him--since he definitely needs it, doing all that giving he does; and partly making me see that it's all about other people. Their needs come first. It's kinda like love. Jesus said that the world would know that we are His disciples by our love. And 1 Corinthians 13 says that love is patient and kind...is not proud...is not self-seeking. The stereotypical definition for a servant is one who exudes all of those qualities.
So for me, the next time I'm hangin out with a group of people, or even just one-on-one with someone else, I'm definitely gonna be doing all I can to make sure the other person feels the love. What are you going to do?
Yeah, I ramble, so what? Leave comments if you like it, or even if you don't. I wanna know your thoughts :D
There's a retreat coming up this weekend that I'm going to, and am really, really excited to go. I had written a note to my boss at work, telling her that I needed that weekend off, because I would be out of town. However, I look at the schedule when it comes out, and it says I'm working 7 hours, on both Friday and Saturday. And my boss is not one to be lenient when it comes to scheduling conflicts. And yet, one more simple note to remind her what I've already told her causes her to redo the entire schedule. Something I never would have guessed she would do for me. So I thank her and God. A lot.
Another thing that's been on my mind a lot lately has been the concept of servitude. The greatest impact that's affected on this earth is when someone is seen as a servant to others, even when they don't have to be. Even in everyday situations, when hanging out with friends, are you serving each other? Are you giving your all to everyone you possibly can, to see their lives affected, or are you there to enjoy it for yourself, to suck up as much out of it as pleases you?
Honestly, I can say I've been slipping on that point. I love hanging out with friends; ask anyone I know, they'll tell you the same thing. But I'm there cause I don't wanna miss anything; I wanna be part of everything that happens with my friends. I wanna be in on it.
My viewpoint really needs to change in that regard. I need to give to everyone, to make sure I'm doing everything I can to lift everyone up, not thinking about myself. I need to be humble.
This reminds me of my friend Taylor. He is the perfect example of a servant. He is the most selfless person I've ever met in my life. Seeing that example helps me out in a way by partly giving back to him--since he definitely needs it, doing all that giving he does; and partly making me see that it's all about other people. Their needs come first. It's kinda like love. Jesus said that the world would know that we are His disciples by our love. And 1 Corinthians 13 says that love is patient and kind...is not proud...is not self-seeking. The stereotypical definition for a servant is one who exudes all of those qualities.
So for me, the next time I'm hangin out with a group of people, or even just one-on-one with someone else, I'm definitely gonna be doing all I can to make sure the other person feels the love. What are you going to do?
Yeah, I ramble, so what? Leave comments if you like it, or even if you don't. I wanna know your thoughts :D
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