“Religion is fueled by the craving for certainty. Faith is fueled by the craving for intimacy. I think. Maybe.”
Ken Wilson
Love is the most ruthlessly demanding thing. So we prefer a religion of rules. Especially if the rules don’t impinge on us too much.
also Ken!
1John 4:16
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
God is love.
Rom. 11:36
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
From love, through love and to love are all things.
Col. 1:15
(love) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him (love) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by (love) and for (love). 17 (love) is before all things, and in (love) all things hold together. 18 And (love) is the head of the body, the church; (love) is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything (love) might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in (love), 20 and through (love) to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Don’t see a qualifier here…
Col. 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
But here we are to clothe ourselves in love.
1Cor. 13:1
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not 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 have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
1Cor. 13:4
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, 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.
1Cor. 13:8
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 perfection comes, the imperfect 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 childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor 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.
1Cor. 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
“If might is right, then love has no place in the world.”
The Mission
1Cor. 15:52
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Anyone can read the bible, anyone can preach a sermon or give a talk. Anyone can teach a class.
But not everyone raises the dead, heals the sick, frees the captives, or sets the prisoners free.
I find it wondrous that the Christians that stand on the premise that miracles ended when the ancient apostles died, still believe that you can communicate with the Living God through prayer.
What sets us apart?
I have been away from church and christians for several months, things seem so much simpler without all the Christian clutter. If it were not for daily bible reading, and thirty years of christian fellowship, i’d walk away. But one thing alone cements things firmly in place.
Grace
Grace that cared for us when I was laid off.
Grace that delivered a real good friends demons. (complete with voices)
Grace that heals. I’ve see the lame walk, the blind see, limbs healed, pain gone.
Grace that sent three men to stand by my side when my dad died. These three have no idea how significant their couple hours were.
Miracles set us apart.
Because of His love.
“It’s important the Church is interacting with God. I’m afraid were headed toward the mindset of keeping the cameras on; the audio running and money in the bank to pay for it all. We cant take time to interact with God because we’ve created a time where people are entertained rather than interaction with God. If we change it, then the people wont like it? Then what will we do with all this overhead?
Job 4:12
“A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it.
Breathe
I was having lunch with my friend Bob several years ago. I was busy unpacking how stressed I was at work and he gave me a simple piece of advice. “Breathe deep” he wrote it on a napkin, I put the napkin in my journal.
It has changed everything for me. When I get out of sorts, and I remember, I step back and breathe deep. Stopping and breathing has brought me back to center on God many many times since then. From time to time I forget then I hear Bob say, “I’m serious, stop right now and breathe deep, I’ll wait.”
Gen. 2:7
the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Breath is the first gift we received from God. In my opinion, along with silence, It is the highest form of worship.
“…the very existence of human beings comes from God. We live, not so much on a borrowed, but on a given breath.” Miroslav Volf
Rom. 11:36
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
It is all a gift. Each breath, each heartbeat, a gift, given by God.
1Cor. 4:7
For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
God is a giver.
Divine love gives and does not receive.
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Faith recognizes and affirms, and gratitude appreciates that everything that we are and have comes from God…God gives so that we can exist and flourish, but not only for that. God gives so that we can help others exist and flourish as well…God gives so that we, in human measure, can be givers too.” Volf
I like the writing of Madame Guyon, she wrote…”God gives us gifts, graces, and natural talents, not for our own use, but that we may render them to Him. He takes pleasure in giving and in taking them away, or in so disposing of us, that we cannot enjoy them; but their grand use is to be offered in a continual sacrifice to Him; and by this He is most glorified.”
If we take on the attitude that everything comes from Him, then nothing is impossible. We do not shy away from the miraculous.
Matt. 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Heal real sick people, raise real dead people, cleanse real lepers, drive out real demons, and give, give, give, give, give, give freely. This is what we are told to do.
In that light read Romans 12:1-12
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Rom. 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Rom. 12:3
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Rom. 12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
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1Kings 19:19 So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother good-by,” he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done to you?”
1Kings 19:21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.
1Kings 19:21 The Message
So Elisha left; he took his yoke of oxen and butchered them. He made a fire with the plow and tackle and then boiled the meat—a true farewell meal for the family. Then he left and followed Elijah, becoming his right-hand man.
Burn the equipment, cook the meat, feed the people.
You cannot serve both God and money.
“Faith is the art of hearing the invisible; Hope is the art of believing the invisible; Love is the art of trusting the invisible.” Leonard Sweet
I have been away from other Christians and Christian culture for the past several months thanks to work.
It appears that we are answering questions no one is asking.
I wonder what would make the good news really appealing?
Sin is the subject of jokes. Jesus is a cartoon, and all we can do is tell people what we are against. It is all upside down, no wonder the fastest growing religion is the “nones.”
Just what is it we are offering?
I say the unconditional love of the Living God.
We have our work cut out for us.
“Jesus is the God of peace and order, but in the process of gaining more of Him that sometimes means disorder. God is not predictable, nor is He to be controlled…”
John Wimber
