He is jealous for me.
Dec 7th
“He is jealous for me. Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.” –”Oh How He Loves”, popularized by the David Crowder Band
Reading through James with my wife a few days ago, something really caught my eye. In James chapter 4, verse 5, James (talking about how we cannot be friends of the world) says, “Don’t you know that God’s spirit in us is jealous for all of our affection?” Different translations translate the verse using different words, some say He has jealous desire for us and others that He yearns jealously for us- but they all have the same meaning. God wants, demands, desires and is worthy of ALL (not most) of our affections. ALL.
Makes you think back to what Jesus said, that the greatest commandment in the law was, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strenth.” That just really struck me as I read over it, God is jealous for my affections! Every bit, every single bit of them.
Get this. Seriously. Get this. Sit down and read the next couple sentences twice, no, better yet- 3 times. God, THE God of Heaven and Earth, Sun, Moon, Sky and Sea- THE God who breathed galaxies and polar bears, the Rocky Mountains and fireflies, as well as the entire universe into existence loves you and me with an insane amount of love (that I can’t even wrap my head around). Take a breath and then get this: he wants you to love Him! He wants you to love Him with all your heart! Incredible.
Maybe it’s just me. But that is absolutely amazing. And just awesome. I don’t get just how much God loves me, I really don’t, but add to that the fact that he jealously desires my love – all of it. Wow. And in light of His wonderful love, how could we not give Him our hearts? Our whole hearts.
If, by God’s grace, we have a little bit of a clue how awesome God really is, and just how much he loves us- the fact that He desires our hearts should bring us to our knees in adoration and worship and make us fall more deeply in love with our wonderful Father.
What is that to you?
Sep 27th
Peter . . . said to Jesus, ’But Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ’. . . what is that to you? You follow Me’ —John 21:21-22
One of the hardest lessons to learn comes from our stubborn refusal to refrain from interfering in other people’s lives. It takes a long time to realize the danger of being an amateur providence, that is, interfering with God’s plan for others. You see someone suffering and say, “He will not suffer, and I will make sure that he doesn’t.” You put your hand right in front of God’s permissive will to stop it, and then God says, “What is that to you?” Is there stagnation in your spiritual life? Don’t allow it to continue, but get into God’s presence and find out the reason for it. You will possibly find it is because you have been interfering in the life of another— proposing things you had no right to propose, or advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another person, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit. Your part is to maintain the right relationship with God so that His discernment can come through you continually for the purpose of blessing someone else.
Most of us live only within the level of consciousness— consciously serving and consciously devoted to God. This shows immaturity and the fact that we’re not yet living the real Christian life. Maturity is produced in the life of a child of God on the unconscious level, until we become so totally surrendered to God that we are not even aware of being used by Him. When we are consciously aware of being used as broken bread and poured-out wine, we have yet another level to reach— a level where all awareness of ourselves and of what God is doing through us is completely eliminated. A saint is never consciously a saint— a saint is consciously dependent on God.
–taken from Oswald Chambers, “My Utmost For His Highest”
Ponderance.
Sep 23rd
I read this this morning and it’s really interesting stuff. Read it. Read it and think on it for a few minutes.
John 10:1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Jesus says that he is the gate for the sheep. That if anyone enters by him they will be saved. It is a beautifully simplistic parable, but for some time it has puzzled me. I got the fact that Jesus is the way the truth and the life, for sure. But I didn’t get what exactly the thief and robber was. Was never very clear to me.
This morning I was just thinking that salvation, freedom and life area through Jesus and him alone. And it struck me. The thief is anything else. The thief is everything else. The thief is the idea that anything other than the all-sufficient sacrifice of our Lord and savior could help us into the fold.
Ever heard of legalism? Exactly. All at the sects and groups and clicks and subcultures advocating Jesus + wearing dresses and headcoverings to have favor with God. Or Jesus + circumcision. Or Jesus + staying away from music with a beat. Or even Jesus + having right” theology. Jesus plus ANYTHING is a false gospel. It seeks to destroy, where Jesus seeks to give life abundantly.
All of us must take heed where we stand that we don’t allow the enemy to shift our focus from the resurrected Christ alone. May our hearts yearn for him and Jim alone.
I want to fall in love.
Sep 14th
Do you ever have a brief moment where you just are flooded with thankfulness for God’s work in your heart? I have had many of those moments today. I very distinctly remember hosting a bible study in the apartment that I shared with my brother and the guy leading was talking about how language that says things like “falling in love” or “being in love”, referring to God and/or Jesus was completely unacceptable.
He had printed handout sheets, that had his notes printed on them. One of the things on the handout sheets was a list of Christian songs that were looked down on because they included language which was “improper”.
His premise was basically Hebrews 12:28-29, which says, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” He talked about how it was simply irreverent to use words that indicated romantic feelings to describe the relationship we share with our God. It was even suggested that for a guy to say he was “in love with Jesus” was to indicate homosexual feelings, and is completely out of line. Our relationship with God should be a strong loyalty, a rich devotion, and total awe. Love just isn’t a good word to use.
At the time, I agreed. It all seemed to make sense. Besides, I really respected the guy and all the guys from my church were there and seemed to be on board with the idea to. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t tell this story to make fun of the guy who was teaching. I love all those guys – but I will say that now, I could not disagree more strongly.
Jesus said that the greatest commandment in the law was to fall totally head over heels in love with him. He really did. Seriously. In Matthew 22:36-38, he said:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.
That is pretty serious love. ALL your heart. ALL your soul. ALL your mind. ALL your strength. Wow. Let’s be serious for a minute, what does it mean for me to say that I love my fiancé with all my heart? What would it mean if you said you loved someone with all your heart? (not to mention all your soul and all your mind) God is plainly saying that we are to love him with our all. Every fiber in our body. With everything we have. Passion. Untamed passionate love for the amazingly, wonderful, incredible God who created us and then died to save us. That’s what he desires and even commands.
I grieve that so many Christians have the “awe, reverence, and fear relationship” with God, and totally miss what God desires with his children. They miss what Christ desires with his bride. An intimate, passionate, personal relationship. Micah 6:8 says:
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Please hear me on this! I grew up attending a church where as toddlers we were strictly forbidden from running in “church” (not because we might hurt ourselves, but because it was viewed as desecrating the holy house of God), it was terribly wrong to place your Bible on the floor, and God was feared, not loved. I grew up scared of God. Scared of hell. Scared that God hated me and was going to damn me to hell, rather than realizing that he was calling me with amazing love to come to him. I can tell you all about this firsthand, believe me! And I can tell you that it is incredibly stifling. It is dead religion. It is cold, dead, sterile, religion – and God hates it.
We were created to worship, love, adore our God. We were created to walk in a sweet, passionate, intimate relationship with him. Jesus Christ loves his dear children with all of his heart. He died for them. And he wants their hearts. He wants them to fall in love with him.
Far Too Easily.
Aug 29th
One of the most important things I ever read on my pilgrimage toward Christian Hedonism was from a sermon preached by C. S. Lewis in 1941. He said,
If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
That’s it! The enemy of worship is not that our desire for pleasure is too strong but too weak! We have settled for a home, a family, a few friends, a job, a television, a m microwave oven, an occasional night out, a yearly vacation, and perhaps a new personal computer. We have accustomed ourselves to such meager, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has shriveled. And so our worship has shriveled. Many can scarcely imagine what is meant by “a holiday at the sea”-worshiping the living God!
–Taken from John Piper’s book, “Desiring God”
What Do I Know Of Holy?
Aug 28th
Get somewhere alone, watch this video, try not to weep, and let the Spirit of God move your heart.
Reality Check.
Jul 30th
Last week was the biggest reality check I have ever had at any point in my existence. Along with my fiance and 20-something others, I traveled to the Dominican Republic for a week-long missions trip. I don’t even know where to start, except to tell you that I am a changed man. Let me tell you, seeing poverty, meeting believers, and see God work in amazing ways like we did will change you. It will change the way you shop, change the way you think, change the way you look at the “American dream”, change the way you look at church, change the way you think about what really is important — nothing I have ever experienced has ever brought life so clearly into focus. Nothing. Ever. At all.
When you meet a 70-something year old brother who doesn’t have ANTHING, no electricity, no running water, no clean water to drink, very little food, maybe two pairs of ragged clothes, and can barely fit his single bed mattress into his shack, but is filled with indescribable joy because he has a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ – it will change you a little bit.
John Piper once said, “I don’t preach the prosperity gospel, I preach a gospel so full of joy in the resurrected Christ — you don’t need prosperity.” I used to think I got that. Not now. I get it a lot more now than before, but I’ve got a lot to learn. I want Christ to so grip me, to so fill my heart, to so flood my being, to so fill me, to be my one and only source of joy, to be my constant and ultimate satisfaction, so that no matter what happens to me, nothing will ever escape my lips but praise for Him.
On the note of awesome Piper quotes, Piper also famously said, “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.” I wish that everyone could have met these brothers and sisters, let me tell you, God was wonderfully glorified in them – and they were wonderfully satisfied in Him. And I want to be more like them. I so desire that closeness and intimacy with the God of the universe. I want my heart to be constantly overflowing with joy in Him and Him alone. I want to be so wrapped up in my glorious creator that my physical situation does not matter to me at all.
If you ever get the chance to go on a missions trip out of the country, there are few things I can recommend more highly. We all need our perspectives expanded. We need our perceptions of reality challenged. We really, really do. Here in America, we live in such a bubble insulated from reality. We live in safe comfortable bubble. And make no mistake, this bubble of prosperity and the “American dream” will damn so many to hell. It’s not wrong to make money, don’t get me wrong. But Satan has turned SO many hearts cold with a little dose of American prosperity. So, so many have lived the American dream and settled down and gotten really comfortable here, when the Bible tells us to live as “pilgrims”, “aliens”, “strangers”, and “sojourners”. To be very blunt, I honestly don’t think God is very amused with so many American “Christians” worrying about their retirement and their 401k’s, instead of selling all they have and feeding the poor.
As I type this, I absolutely realize that I have four fingers pointing at me. I really do. But please hear my heart. James wrote in 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.
I speak as one who was deceived for many years. For many years I sat in the pew every morning and thought that because my name was on the church membership roll and since I was baptized and knew all the right answers, I was saved. But I wasn’t! It doesn’t matter what church you go to. Or if you go to church. Hearing sermons doesn’t give you brownie points with God. And going to church doesn’t make you a Christian.
In Matthew 13 Jesus was telling the parable of the sower and in verse 22 He said:
“The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”
Thousands and thousands of American Christians sit in the pews every Sunday morning and “hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.”
Oh, we must be so careful. I must be so careful. Oh God fix our eyes on you. Please do not let ANYTHING shift our focus from you and you alone. Father, we need you every hour. Every hour. Grip our hearts, oh God, that we would count all our riches nothing and give ourselves away for your glory. Loosen our grip on ourselves, our dreams, our lives, and our possessions. Make us willing to “loose” everything for you.
Jesus doesn’t call all Christians to die. But He does call all Christians to lay down their life. Dying is easy. Laying down your life, your pride, your wealth, and your dreams — everyday — is MUCH, much harder. But that is the call of Christ.
Jesus is after your heart.
Jul 26th
“Jesus’ presence always brough astonishing peace to me no matter how bad the situation I was in. Whenever I was in prison, he was always there for me. He transformed the jail into a heaven and the burdens became blessings. There are many Christians who do not feel His glorious presence as something real, because for them Jesus only occurs in their minds and not in their hearts. Only when someone surrenders his heart to Jesus can he find Him.” –Sundar Singh, missionary who dissapeared bringing the gospel to Tibet.
Anticipation and Desire, Part 2.
Jul 1st
Christ wants us to get His love for us. He really does. He really wants everyone to know the passionate, sacrificial love He has for His bride, the church. He was cruelly, ruthlessly beaten within an inch of His life and then nailed to a tree and died a hideous, cruel, and terribly excruciating death. His suffering and death accomplished the salvation and redemption of His bride, and it also was the most powerful demonstration that there could possibly be of His powerful, wonderful love.
Seeing the cross should be enough for us to surrender our lives to Him. It should be enough for us to forsake all and follow Him. It should be enough for us to fall on our faces and weep at the realization of such love. It should be enough for us to follow Him no matter the cost. And simplest of all, it should be enough for us to get how much He loves and how we owe Him everything. But if you’re like me, it’s not. That is to say – while it is, my heart is so prone to forget and so prone to lose the vision that every reminder is a really good thing.
As I was attempting to share in “Anticipation and Desire, Part 1″, I believe marriage is one amazing picture that God gives us to challenge and inspire us. It really is. And the more you think about, the more incredible you will realize it is. The groom having a sacrificial love for his bride, even willing to lay down his life for her (as Christ did for the church). The groom preparing a place for his bride (as Christ is for his bride). Both giving all of their affection and devotion to each other and promising to the be faithful to each other (like Christ and his bride). The bride eagerly awaiting and anticipating being joined to her groom (as we eagerly await Christ’s return). The bride doing everything she can to prepare herself and better herself for her groom (as we are to be striving to be perfect for Christ, 1 Peter 1:13-16). The parallels just overwhelm me. I was told about them all my life but they started really all making a lot of sense to me since I am about to be married.
The application is the kicker though. It’s one thing to just give mental recognition to the principles in play and think, “Wow. That’s cool” and it’s another thing entirely to really let them really sink into your heart and challenge the way you think and live. I invite you to really ponder some of the questions I’ve been asking myself and just search your heart with me.
Does Jesus Christ REALLY have your heart? All of it? Or is that just something you say because you know you are supposed to?
Do you anticipate Christ’s return? Do you genuinely hope that he comes back soon? Do you desire to be with him much more than anything and everything this world could ever give you? (or if you had to be totally honest would you rather be a millionaire?)
Are you striving for perfection for Christ? (the fact that you won’t reach it in this life does not qualify as a legitimate excuse) Do you have a mentality that loves Christ so much that it spurs you to stay away and run from anything that would pollute your mind or keep you from a pure devotion to him?
2 Corinthians 13:5 says that self examination is a good thing. We have to constantly check ourselves, check our motives, and check our hearts. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said:
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Ask yourself, “Do I really, truly love God with ALL of my heart and soul and mind? Or am I dividing that love with something else?” Only you know the answer.