Today how about a little song with your lunch.  Check out this song from Casting Crowns that is very appropriate for this season.

Make room in your hearts for more of God.  It may involve getting rid of things and it may involve a renovation that only God can do to expand your heart.  After all your heart is His, He died for it, He gave it you when you were born, only God can expand our hearts as we permit. 

One action we can take is to get rid of things that clutter our heart.

• Fear, doubt worry.
• Greed, pride, arrogance.
• Ignorance, hate, bigotry.
• Lust, gossip, pursuits of sensual pleasures.
• Anger, frustration, despair.
• Love for the world.

To have God renovate and expand our heart we must.

• Desire the change.
• Permit the change.
• Grow in the change.
• Love the change.

No one likes change.  The status quo is comfortable.  But what if we are so cluttered we have no room in our heart for God to write His story.  Consider what you are missing. 

Acts 16:25–28

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”

When we read this story of Paul and Silas and where the Lord had led them, we understand why when by supernatural power they were set free, yet they did not flee the prison, but why did the other prisoners remain?  The answer I feel is that they were encountering an experience of God in the Holy Spirit’s work.  They were coming to realize that the true prison of life is not a place with bars and chains, the real prion is spiritual and brought on by sin and the penalty is death.  While the physical chains were loosed the spiritual chains remained.  The story tells of the jailer’s conversion, but I must think that others in that prison were freed that night when they encountered Holy Spirit and the good news of Christ Jesus.

Two things come from this story for personal application: The first God will get us in a place where we will accept the need for spiritual birth, renewal, or revival.  For God loves the sinner and will bring them to a place of crisis in their life.  The second is what will we do when given an encounter with God in this place either as a believer or non-believer.  Will we flee or will we yield to the words from God that will bring true freedom.  Our prison is not the circumstances, events, tragedies, or trials of life.  Our prison is the spiritual bondage that results from our response to these times of our life.  

In songs, hymns, rejoicing, and worshiping God we will be set free. 

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23–24, ESV)

The new year has come and the breaks from work has ended.  The time off from labor has ceased.  As we return to routines and schedules a command in scripture is that we should do so to bring honor and glory to God.  God calls us to work heartily.  That our motivation is that we work for the Lord.  We do not work or serve earthly masters.  Everyone is under God’s sovereign control unbelievers, pagans, wretches all are under God’s control.  Our work will be filled with more joy and be less burdensome if we see every minute of labor as an opportunity to please the Lord Jesus Christ.

Easy to say it is, to do much harder.  Let God change our motivations and the burdens become His and we are free to live fully. 

The Way of Love

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV)

The final part of this passage discusses the benefits of committing to the way of love.  God gave us the need for love and supplies the love we need.  We must never seek counterfeits, seek out the only true love from God in Christ Jesus and the way of love will yield:

• Strength to bear all that will be encountered in this journey we call life.  The good and the bad.
• The ability to see beyond the physical world and believe with a powerful faith that give us the assurance of things not seen.  What we can see is pretty messed up and it is not getting better.  The way of love yields this belief that lets us see the beauty and goodness of God.
• Hope, life giving water for the soul.  We are created with a physical being and a spiritual being,  having the image of God in us.  Our spirit needs to hope in something sure and unfading.  This can only be found in the love of God. 

This journey toward our heavenly home that is called life can be long and seem like we are traveling up hill continuously.  Our willingness to continue must be motivated by a powerful desire.  Once we have encountered the love of God our desire will be insatiable for more and God will love us more to enable us to endure the long journey without wavering.

The Way of Love

“it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:6, ESV)

 This passage describes the U.S. today except in reverse.  We have become a culture without God and without any moral compass that rejoices in wrongdoing and rejects the truth.  There are no objective truths any longer.  Young adults have been taught for decades that truth is relative and only defined by the person.

Of course, we know that this is fundamentally wrong.  See how you feel one day when someone applies this truth in a literal way and steals your car.  Then there is a definite right and wrong.  Subjective or relative truth and morality has come about to justify the sexual immorality and the substance abuse rampant in the culture.  The argument goes no one is hurt and no one is offended so there is nothing wrong.  There are consequences with devastating effects from these decisions both personally and culturally.  Primarily the one who is offended by all our wrongdoing is God.  He sees every action, is aware of our thoughts and feelings, and knows the hurts they will cause. 

The way of love must be founded on not just accepting the truth of God’s word for our life but rejoicing in that truth.  The words of God speak the truth in love to our most basic need to overcome sin in our life.  Rejoice is a worship word.  Many rejoice or worship their sins, demand them as a right, justify them as a need, or hide them from the world.  The way of love is to seek ways to rejoice or worship the truth.

Accept God’s correction because it is right. 

Let God love us in giving the words of truth and life.

Believe that God wants better for us in the truth of His word.

If God’s word says don’t then we are not limited by this word, we are not prisoners in bondage because God says don’t.  Instead, we are set free, free from sin, free from the hurt, free from the conviction, free from the consequences, free to love and to be loved by God.  Worship the truth of God and live in the freedom from sin. 

The Way of Love

“or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;” (1 Corinthians 13:5, ESV)

Continuing from the previous verse scripture teaches that to know the true way of love, first the love of God and then to love others, we must learn to put aside self.  The main idol worshiped by humanity is the idol of self.  In the ancient days, the pagan gods were captured in images of stone, wood, and metal carvings.  The image was derived by the person.  The image reflected some aspect of man.  So the main image of idolatry is our-self.  When Eve was tempted in the Garden the temptation that she would be like God was what led her into sin. 

Scripture teaches us here that we must continue to fight against the desires of the flesh and self-interest to learn the ways of love.  We must fight the feelings of superiority over others that comes out as rudeness.  We must not believe that our way is the only way, we must submit first to God’s will and wisdom.  We should fight against the becoming irritable when we are not getting our own way, when others are taking advantage of us or we think they are taking advantage of us.  In most cases they are not it is only that our pride makes us think others are taking advantage of us.  Finally, one of the most common ways that we get caught up in ourselves is that we resent the lives of others that seem to have everything we want and desire.  All these ways of the flesh prevent us from experiencing God’s love for us and from loving others.  In turn our lives and the lives of everyone we encounter become fuller and richer because we have learned the ways of love.

The Way of Love

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant” (1 Corinthians 13:4, ESV)

There is a metaphor used a lot about being in God’s woodshed.  The woodshed from decades ago was a place of privacy located near the house but became symbolic as place of learning for children.  The woodshed was where a father would take his unruly and rebellious children to teach them the ways of God.  Proverbs tells us that to spare the rod is to spoil the child.  The woodshed is only a tool of God when the child encounters a true man of God in the woodshed.  A man seeking to live righteously under the ways of God.  True men of God are almost extinct in this day.  The woodshed is an evil place when a child encounters an abuser who takes out his anger on the child.  Under the right application of love what happens in the woodshed is not just discipline with punishment but teaching with words and love.  To be in God’s woodshed is a place that one would not choose but coming out though one is better than when one went in.

I say this because yesterday was a day in the woodshed with God for me and funny thing, I was not really aware of it until today.  You see if we are to learn the ways of love, we must unlearn the ways of self.  Everything where we are focused on our being, our life, our pleasure, our good, our happiness, ourselves.  If our sentences are filled with “I’s” and our conversations are about me then I am not ready to learn or accept the way of love.  The way of love must begin with humility and to surrender our desire to be ourselves.  We must become children focused on God and not ourselves.

For love to be patient and kind it cannot start with arrogant boasting of self.  We cannot be looking at others and wanting what they have. Self-interest destroys patience because we want what we want when we want.  Self-interest destroys kindness because kindness deprives us of time, attention, and resources that are needed to focus on ourselves.  Self-interest makes us like spoiled children having temper tantrums because we want what others have. How much or your energy is spent on thoughts of yourself, your will, your plans, your needs, or your desires.  This is a good indication that maybe a woodshed is your future.  Why?  Because God wants to show you the way of love.  Get over yourself and learn the true ways of love.

The Way of Love

“Love is …”

(1 Corinthians 13:4, ESV)

The first passages speak of the importance of love but what is love.  Without love we are nothing, gaining nothing from knowing God, and my life will be a noisy affair seeking the approval of others.  Love is an overused and confused word.  David Jeremiah tells of a story he heard, ‘I heard about a teenager who was asked what she thought love was and she answered, “Love is a feeling you feel when you feel that what you feel is a feeling you never felt before.”’¹  From that definition how do you feel  about love. 

God is gracious to define the way of love and a life characterized by love.  A question we all must consider.  Are we ready to set aside how we feel about love and ourselves to learn the way of love from God?

¹ Jeremiah, Dr.  David. A Life Beyond Amazing (p. 6). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

The Way of Love

“If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, ESV)

When you read scripture there is a repeating theme addressed in the New Testament many times and it has to do with works-based righteousness.  Paul, Peter, James, Jude, John and yes Jesus all addressed the deception that we can be good enough, do enough, if it is on our terms to meet God and define the relationship as a partnership. 

This reveals the underlying issue that people want to be in control.  The idea conveyed in this passage is that so many do so much and give so much and want people to see them for their own glory but will stop short of giving what is really needed and that is to love God first and then others.  To love with sincerity and compassion and commit to do all that God expects.  This sin leads people to barter with God.  I can make a deal with God that he cannot refuse.  I will give all I have except my commitment in love, I will sacrifice for those in need except the sacrifice of self.  Human nature and God’s common grace allow us to care for other people even if we do not love them and they know it. 

Remember these things we first must start with loving Jesus. 

““If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15, ESV)

“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”” (John 14:21, ESV)

Do we want Jesus to manifest himself to us then we must risk ourselves and love as God has loved you?

The Way of Love

“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2, ESV)

The way of love is often construed to be a person who is favored of God.  That God would bring all of His power to bear on our lives,  Because of course He loves us, right?  This passage speaks of all the power of God that is given to His children for His purposes.  These are powers that are recorded in scripture given to great servants of God to lead and guide the people.  To bring about healing and hope.  We all would love this great gift of God.  So where is the point in this passage.  Anyone of any level of faith would love God if He gave us prophetic powers of healing, or infinite wisdom of God, or the faith to see the supernatural acts of God. 

Are we focused on loving the gift over the Giver?  Does our love of God come about because of what God can do and is capable of or does our love start with God alone?  No more, nothing less, simply a soul loving God.  This time of the year we love another man greatly because he brings gifts.  Is this the right way to love God.  People reject God because He has not acted in their life according to their expectations.  Like the spoiled child that does not get the gift they wanted on Christmas morning. 

If we are to be more devoted to God in love, then we must start with simply who God is.  Get in the word, see God, and love Him simply because He is.  Then when the powers of God are brought to bear in your life you will use them to magnify God and His glory.  A good place to get to know God is in the Psalms.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever;” (Psalm 136:1–9, ESV)

Can you love God simply because He is?