once a cheater, always a cheater

Most of us have heard the phrase "once a cheater, always a cheater". Some of us have said the phrase and I would guess, most of us believe it... to some degree. It is a little piece of worldly wisdom...it means to me - "Look at the past of a person and beware, what they've done previously - they'll do again". It is logical and I've employed this regularly throughout my life.

This morning I was thinking about grace (giving others what they do not deserve)... I also read the following:

Romans 12:2
Do not conform 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.

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

...and the parable of the lost son (below).

I began to realize the greatness of God...To Him, "once a cheater, always a cheater" does not exist. It is possible for us to transform! Not be what we were! Now...Let me also say that I do not think I am supposed to deny what I was and what I've done...God doesn't! I see two messages from God to me that I will share with you.

For those struggling with their past...maybe sins, maybe actions, shame, abuse, etc.:
You do not have to be the person you were forever...When you... (Mark 12:30)  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength", you will be transformed! Not of the same form...different - more and more like Jesus! You are not what you were...

For those that are transforming:
You do not need to be ashamed of your past. You are not what you were...but...you know that God is in full control of our lives. He knows what you did and who you were, and, He - the King of kings - is not ashamed of you! He wants you to use your past to relate, give grace, and love others so they can see the fullness of God's grace and love!

Thank Jesus, who removes our sins, for the grace extended to us so that the saying " "once a cheater, always a cheater" does not have to describe us!

Luke 15:11-32

 The Parable of the Lost Son

 ¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.    ¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
   ¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.
   “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
   ²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
   ²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
   ²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
   ²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
   ³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

I've got my gift all picked out!

So Black Friday has come and gone... and .... to be honest... I'm dismayed at our addiction to things. We (I'm just speaking for what I see going on around me and in America) are so addicted that we cannot even see how bad it really is. I'm one of several million people that watched several other million people crawl all over items in a store like hungry fire ants and said "Whew! That's crazy! At least I'm not like that..."

But is it true? Do I not desire a vacation with the family (I mean that's basically something that is a necessity...right?)? How about a computer for the kids to do homework? My wife and kids need new clothes....

... or so I think. It is my addiction to things...fueled by all those around me. We're in it together...enabling each other with comforting thoughts like... "I'm not like so-and-so, they are SO materialistic". Please don't get me wrong I'm in no way saying that material things are inherently bad... God delights in providing material things for His children.... What I'm saying is I see in me...around me... in our country, a focus on the material and not a focus on God. It is a matter of where my heart is... where our hearts are.

So this year, starting now... in this Advent season... (yes Advent started quietly maybe silently in comparison to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday reporting by the media...) to change my heart and focus it toward God and the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ!

I would like to propose a prayer for all Christians this holiday season. I would ask that we pray for God to prepare something special in our hearts...that we HEAR His call, are WILLING to respond, and are immediately OBEDIENT to act. I pray that it is our LOVE for each other as followers of Christ and LOVE for others that they see and are drawn to know more about our Creator!  

It is this gift...the free gift of salvation, I pray has the biggest impact this Christmas!

Christopher B

This is for a premie baby, Christopher B - my cousins son - who passed away this weekend. His time on earth was short but he was able to connect people to God...interesting work for a human 27 weeks premature. This is a post from the Caring Bridge journal my cousin posted (I did not ask permission, but I'm hoping that since the journal is public, she won't mind). I love the way that when God gives you a glimpse of Him....you see SO much....

"A friend from monument came to visit me and Christopher yesterday. Like everyone, she was speechless in his presence, not even attempting to find words to describe the experience. We marveled at Christopher and all of his little victories and shared some good conversation. As she got ready to leave she said, "Well, I'm gonna go home and tell my husband that I saw God today." My eyes opened wide and I looked at her with glassy eyes. "You know, its a country song...George Strait sings it." I told her that I'd never heard the song, but that I LOVED that expression used in relation to seeing Christopher, and that I would go home and listen to it right away.

Once home, there were too many things to do so, of course, I forgot to ever listen to the song. But I was able to pull it up on my IPOD as I drove to the hospital this morning. The chorus says "I've been to church and I've read the book, I know He's here, but sometimes I just don't look..." I was suddenly overwhelmed with how appropro the verse was. It's easy to get caught up in our days of work, school, dishes, laundry, gossip, news, and headlines. We get distracted from seeing God right in front of us...until something, or someone, like Christopher comes along.

Not only did I see God today in the purest, tiniest miracle of Christopher, but I saw Him in the SCHWANNS delivery man who showed up yesterday with several frozen dinners, paid for by friends from Denver. I saw God in my neighbor who knocked on our door last night and asked if she could plant our trying-to-survive-but-really-dying mums. I saw God in the hundreds of beautiful emails and texts we've received over the course of the last few days. I saw God in the nurse who gave Christopher the gentlest bath I've ever seen. I saw God in my fifteen and sixteen year old daughters who came to visit their brother today before going to school.

Truly, I am overwhelmed at the magnitude in which I see God, working in ALL our lives through the birth of this tiny person. An entire community coming together with such love and support...there is no doubt in my mind who's hand is behind this...God's!"

Rest in peace little Christopher B...

1 is More Than 99?

The right thing to do is not always the most logical...that is what I've been thinking about lately. Strategic planning sessions, lawyers, savvy CEO's, mentors and friends alike often give advice for the right thing to do often based on logistics...probability of something happening and providing a risk assessment. Then the "correct" answer is the one that limits risk and/or has the best probability of happening. I've given advice based on these concepts.

In Isaiah 55: 8-9 God says: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

Good thing... Jesus told a parable about a lost sheep in Mathew 18: 12-13 "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off."

That does not seem to make logical sense...why leave ninety-nine to go get one ? Why be so happy about it? I've been taught in school and logical thinking as an engineer that that is a stupid move...Yeah...God's ways are not my ways... I want them to be...I want to be happy I found one when I just left ninety-nine. So often I'm busting my hump to corral the remaining ninety-nine so I don't lose any more! That's the logical thing, right? It doesn't cross my mind that I should go after the one!

I am even worse than that, though... You see... I expect Jesus to come after me when I am the one out of ninety-nine that is alone. I feel like the man that brought his son that was possessed to Jesus and Jesus says that everything is possible for those that believe...the next is my favorite..."Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”...the story can be found in Mark 9:14-32.

Prayer:  Thank you, Father that You sent Your Son after the one! Thank you that each of us can identify with that one and that we can experience Your love. Please help me, Lord to better understand Your ways and help me to go after the one....even when it is not the logical thing to do! 

Swim

I remember watching my kids learn how to swim. They did great in the shallow end where they new they could swim, but if anything happened, they could just stand up...no harm, no foul. I remember watching them - under my urging - strike out for the "deep end". Inevitably they would be swimming like champs until they realized that they were actually in the deep end. They couldn't touch the bottom! There was something about that realization that made them physically unable to swim - no matter how well they were doing prior. They would flail around and either I'd have to swim out and help them or talk to them to calm them and then they would continue to swim to the edge.

This is how I picture my walk with God.... I like to swim where I can touch the bottom. I'm still serving, I tell myself. I'm doing God's work...However.....there is a longing in my heart for more...for the deep end...for what is unknown - scary....

Right now I feel like I have started swimming into the deep end and I have realized that I can't touch but I have enough energy to get back to where I can...I'm flailing...I want to get out to the deep... rely on God and His provisions...but something keeps doubt in my mind....barely treading water....should I go back to what is known?...will I drown out here?...Does anyone even know that I'm out here?...

Swim, Bradley....just focus on Me and swim....

Bread

OK... this may be not quite appropriate...but...I've got to tell you....I was REALLY mad when my church replaced our "bread" in communion (you know the little squares...what Dane Cook calls Christ Chex) with little flecks (about half the size of the square).

Man... I NEED more Christ .... not less! The little flecks are NOT a replacement for the squares...take note admin folks that order "the bread of Christ"!

Also... I've been to churches that give you actual bread...you know... you tear off a hunk. Secretly, (well not so secretly now..) I want the moist chewy Christ. Right?! Who wants a crusty, dry Christ?

I tend to want Christ my way. It is hard sometimes for me to grasp the fullness of Christ... It is easy for me to see his grace, love, understanding... It's like the chewy bread of Christ... yummy and tasty! But what about the Christ that brings a holiness that chases out the demons...What about the temple table tossing Christ? That's harder for me to stomach...I don't like the hard, crusty Christ.... But... alas, I need the fullness of Christ. I need the butt kicking Christ as well as the hugging Christ.

Just don't give me little bread fleck of Christ... I at least want the full square!!!

The Black Hole

Many people live in what feels like a building with no windows. Their life turns dark gray and the weight of the world starts to crush them. Nothing seems fun and they feel worthless... I know... I am one of them. Today's blog is very important if you are also a person that experiences depression. Here are some facts:

• 80% of people that seek treatment for depression are treated successfully.
• By 2010, depression will be the #1 disability in the world. (World Health Organization)
• The strongest risk factor for suicide is depression.
• Many who attempt suicide never seek professional care.
• Over half of all suicides occur in adult men, ages 25-65.
• For young people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death.
• There are an estimated 8 to 25 attempted suicides to 1 completion.
• 1 in 65,000 children ages 10 to 14 commit suicide each year.

I have also found that I find comfort and indeed the ability to exit my depression through God's word.


That may sound hokey... but if you have depression 1) tell someone and get help 2) tell God.

Here is what God has told me during these lonely, cold, dark times...

1 John 3:1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! (We are children of God - the King! - we are...you and I are...princes and princesses. You are worth something! Something special, indeed!)

1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (Since we are His children, it makes sense that He would care about us. I've found that it is easier to say that I give my worries and cares to God and much harder to do it...as I have been able to do this - it is HARD - I have definitely seen His hand in my life and His peace in my being)

1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (Don't think that God does not hear you...he does! We have the ability to approach God in His throne room...we don't even have to make an appointment! When I start to feel low... I barge right in there and tell Him - it doesn't have to be a perfect prayer...He will meet you where you are...reach out and say what you want - from your heart)

1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  (Thank you God for including this...even when I think that I am small, weak and worthless....You choose me! God CHOOSES YOU.)

 

God loves you and works through you...you are valuable and the world needs you! You are not alone...there are many of us around...it is not shameful...reach out - get help...and call to God!

 

Approval Rating

It seems as though my fellow humans are interested in getting and having approval from their peers, superiors and followers (which is great because then I don't feel like the only one!). Growing up in high school peoples lives are often hijacked in the name of popularity. I've worn some pretty ugly clothes just so I could feel like part of the crowd! The news media often talks about a famous persons (especially the President's) approval rating.

I've had the hunch, though, that a high approval rating may not be the indicator of success...

This morning I read in 1 Samuel 15 about Saul, the first king of Israel. Saul was chosen because he was humble and did what God told him to do. Well.... fast forward a few years and here's God telling Saul "Hey, remember those Amalekites...? Well I'm tired of them pushing my people around.... so... Saul, I want you to go and wipe them out - don't leave any of them alive AND kill all of their livestock, too!" Well, Saul is a big king now, he wants to be seen as someone that can lead effectively - you know...have good approval ratings with his subjects.

So here is what Saul does - Saul goes out and NEARLY wipes out the Amalekites. You see he brings back their king and their best livestock (he killed all the weak and useless ones). The people were SO happy with Saul! Great job king! In fact, let's build a little monument to Saul!!! Yahoo!

Samuel was mad as a hornets nest! Why? Because Saul did not do what God asked...Saul did some of it...MOST of it but not all of it. Why? Because Saul was more interested in how the people viewed him than how God viewed him. What does God say about this? Well, God is sorry that He selected Saul as the king...and so is Samuel.

My first thought is "Wow, what an idiot, Saul!" "Just do what God tells you and you would have been OK" Unfortunately, the longer I thought about this the more convicted I became of my own actions!!! How many times has God spoken to me to do something, help someone, quit doing something... You want to know what? Saul is better than me, because sometimes I don't do what God tells me to do at ALL - I don't even do some or MOST.... I sit back and worry about my approval rating... will people say that I'm some kind of freak???

Prayer:  God, please give me the strength and courage to do what you ask of me. Help me to do it right away and help me to do all of it!

Maybe someday my approval rating won't matter...Hopefully......people will say that I'm some kind of freak!

Eleventy First

Cool! I've had Eleventy One visitors!!

Burning

Just lettin' God burn in me today...That's so amazing to me...really....God - in me...us! I want to be a torch that is aflame with His light and love...
 

Luke 3:16 "John (the Baptist) answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come (Jesus!), the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" Matthew 3:11  is similar....


Lyrics from a song by TobyMac...Burn for You
I'm a brand new man, I'm a conscious man
I'm a man who's burnin' for you
The mistakes I've made have been chased away to the bottom of the ocean blue
I'm a brand new man in a foreign land, I'm a man who's feelin' that fire
And it's all so clear when I'm standing here at the peak of my desire

So won't you move me like you used to
I want the world to know I burn for you

I feel revived again, I am alive again
(Burnin' for you) You got me lifted and lifted you lift me up
I feel revived again, I'm energized again
(Burnin' for you) You got me lifted and lifted you lift me up

I'm a whole new guy with a whole new vibe
Changed inside - more flame in the fire
Can't stop, won't stop praying for desire
Like the bunny on the screen feel so energized
Old shell gone without a trace, new face
No more shortness of breath, new pace
Live life now without the taste of fear

Tapestry

When I was young a read a book that supposed that death, war, father time, mother earth and fate were actually people. They each had their jobs to do...it was pretty interesting and the thought of fate has stayed with me since. See fate's job was to weave a tapestry using thread that represented peoples lives, where two threads crossed, people met and interacted...

I often think of my life represented that way... a thread ...there are times that I want to just be alone, not be bothered by anyone, just do it myself ...but I think of Romans 12:3-8 "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 (I like this... seems to say that we should continually evaluate ourselves as our faith grows). Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others (We are not all supposed to be the same, God wants me to appreciate and protect the differences among us - we belong together!). 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. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage (I think that this is where I live...); if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently (sometimes I wish this was me); if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully"

I see that even if I am a fantastically beautiful thread... I don't make much of a tapestry. But God wants us to be together, sharing life and faith and weave a wonderfully awesome tapestry! Each of us excelling where He gave us strength and each of us lifting each other up...yesterday was a hard day for me and I had so many people that gave me kicks in the butt, and encouragement, and love... THAT is what we are created for...living in Christ to love each other.... I'm glad that my thread is interconnecting with yours and that together we are weaving an incredible tapestry ....

Shame on me?

I'm not sure if this happens to you, but I get focused at times on why something is happening to me or people I know. Oftentimes, after much reflection (or if I'm lucky - a great friend or family member will talk me through it) eventually I find out that some of my past decisions and choices have come to full and ....yep - I'm reaping a crop of my own crap! I get a knot in my stomach and guilt fills me...guilt turns to shame and if I came to this realization by myself I DO NOT want to talk to someone about it - it's nasty...gross (that's why I said - "If I'm lucky, someone else gets me to that point" - at least they can be there to help alleviate the shame). I also read that just because I believe that Jesus is my Savior, it doesn't mean I'm exempt from suffering and pain - I read that it is that fact that some people suffer more than if they didn't believe! So, Brad.... don't feel bad that you go through bad things from time to time!

Like Gideon I get stuck on ME. Why is this happening to me? Why isn't everyone joining my pity party??? Then when the answer is revealed to me...I want to crawl in a hole. Same with Gideon...luckily for him someone (Jesus - the angel of the Lord) got him to realize this and before he could feel shame...the angel focused Gideon on what God has planned for him - check out this exchange:

Judges 6: 14-16 
"The Lord turned to him (Gideon) and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Yah, dude - get out there and kick them out of your land!)
“But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”(This is so cool - I feel like this always - "What can I do? I'm one person, from a small town in the mountains, I don't have anything special!" Plus, it's hard to really stand out in the crowd - by and far most people want to "fit in" and being outside the norm is not a comfortable position to stay in)
The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”(This is the best news of all - God promises to be WITH me. We'll tackle my problems together!)

What I'm getting out of this so far is that guilt is: "I made a mistake!"
Shame is: "I am a mistake"

The thing is - God says "No! - you are NOT a mistake! I created you (see Psalm 139:13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.") and I have a plan for you (see Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."), so....you cannot be a mistake!"


Prayer:  Thanks Jesus for taking my shame... I make mistakes and sometimes I have to live with some of the consequences....but at least I don't have to be weighed down by the oppression of shame! 

If you are reading this and are carrying shame for decisions you've made - talk with Jesus about it. If you would like to bounce it off of someone... contact me, I'll listen!

Sniveling, Good For Nothing Weaklings....

You ever watch a football game and no matter what one of the teams does, it works out for them. I have days like that. I fumble around and everything turns out in my favor... Great Days!!

There are other days that are not so great - no matter what I do, it seems to turn out wrong...string a couple of those days together and...well depression kind of sets in. "Can I do anything right? Am I worth anything at all? I'm a sniveling, good for nothing weakling"...There are times I secretly wonder (I sure wouldn't want anyone to know this) "If you're such a great God, Why am I going through this?" or "Why do bad things happen to good people?"... Maybe.... secretly..... You have wondered this, too.

Well, I'm reading today and here's what jumped out at me - Judges 6:13 “But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”Sounds like - "Yeah, well, if God's so great, where are all these miracles people always talk about? Why can't I experience a miracle? Instead, I'm put in the worst position of all! I'm weak! Why doesn't God care about me and save me?"

Cool - See Gideon was speaking to "an Angel of the Lord" - i.e. Jesus ...  Way to go Gideon! You asked the question I sometimes have right to His face!!!!

So... did God strike down Gideon right then and end him (that's what I would be afraid of)? I'll write about how this turns out next post.... : )

Where is He?

Ok... I'm reading 1 Samuel and am at chapter 4 (if you so desire to read)

....so the Israelites have been delivered by God from Egypt (Exodus). He instructs them to build an ark so that he can meet with them and give them orders (Exodus 25:22). They carry the ark and split the Jordan and walk across dry (Joshua 3:17), and God instructs them how to conquer their enemies and take possession of the Promised Land (Joshua and Judges). The Hebrews (as foreigners referred to them) have had a long history of "seeing" God and His association with the ark of the covenant (uh the Jordan splitting!, enemies that are much stronger then them submitting, His "cloud", etc).

The way I read it - it just so happens that the Hebrews become numb to the presence of God. In 1 Samuel 4, I read that the Hebrews decide to take the ark of the covenant to battle (I mean, come on...if we are getting our butts kicked let's sick God on them...right?!). The problem is - is that, well...they became numb to the presence of God and didn't realize that the ark was not God. They had difficulty in differentiating the presence of God with a symbol of God.

Bad Hebrews....right?

My first reaction is...Yeah! What are you guys thinking...that's just a gold covered box....ha ha ha....idiots! Well with a bit more reflection and thought (meditation...for you Christian folks), I realized that I tend to do the same thing from time to time. I get comfort from time to time in wearing my "cross" necklace - yep, even clutch it when things are going bad. I found that I get comfort in entering a church... you know the modern day version of the tabernacle where the ark of the covenant is kept...the very essence of God - with His people!

What I am getting out of my walk so far is that God

1. wants to be with us
2. has made many attempts and helping us to understand what His presence is
3. gave His Son so that He could send His Holy Spirit to live IN us (wow!)
4. has plans to be with us eternally

What I see as my response from time to time (which oddly enough is similar to the responses of all of God's people - in the Bible and today)

1. I sometimes just seek Him when I'm "in trouble" or "had a GREAT day", not as often when I just had a day, a regular day - I'm getting better at this - I think ;)
2. I want to be alone and "do it myself"
3. I confuse God's presence with symbols of God's presence
4. I don't want to acknowledge parts of what God wants me to do because...well, frankly...it's inconvenient for me....(yikes!)
5. I tend to be focused on what's happening now and everything up to about 10 years from now...not really on eternity...

I'm glad that God works in me to realize these things and gives me a heart to want to change!

Love - a tall order...

So I've been thinking about what it's all about. You know...what am I here for...

As a read, I see that we all are here to love - to love God first and a close second, love our neighbor (Matthew 22:34-40). Through this I read that I will be transformed more and more into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). So how does Christ love..

From 1 John 3:16-18 "¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life (wow!) for us. And we ought to (yes, do this) lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ 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? (it seems that I've been taught by our culture - neighbors, strangers, books, TV, media, friends and yes...family to strive to gather material possessions, protect them, put them in safes, boxes, get security systems, etc. But the answer from God - his plan - seems to be letting go... if Ihave material possessions and someone else needs them...I am to surrender them. If I don't...it says that I don't have the full love of God in me. Hmmm.....hard to do for me.) ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (People will know there is something special in me when I love like this... not with words - but with actions - in truth...you know...from the heart - like I really mean it)" The highlights are mine...

I always thought that love was just a feeling in your heart - it warms my body and excites my mind. I still believe that this is true...but I realize that I feel this way when I take action. I want to feel this way all the time but it is strange because I also feel threatened by the thought of giving my stuff away...I'm not talking about the stuff that I'm done with...that doesn't fit me or is worn out...I'm talking about giving things that mean something to me - that I still use and like and want. Giving those things show that I have the love of God in me.

This is hard...        

Will you join me in bringing love to the world?