“Love must be sincere…” Rom 12:8-10
Love must be sincere. Sincere is literally from a word that means “pure, unmixed, untainted.” In other words, in order for love to be love it must be unfeigned and pure in its motives. Love based on duty and obligation isnt love. It just isnt. And I dont just mean romantic love, I mean all love.
How do you know when love is sincere? When love is really love? I think the test of sincerity lies in looking at the small stuff. Love does not just love in big, spectacular ways. What if someone just loved you in big, spectacular ways - buying you extravagant gifts, taking you to exotic places, etc.? What if they didnt love you in small ways - asking you how you are doing, giving a hug when you need to be comforted, listening to you? Could you call that love?
Loving in the small ways proves its sincerity. Why? Because when you only love in spectacular ways who gets the glory? You do. You come out looking great. Im not saying you shouldnt love in spectacular ways or that its wrong when others praise you. It’s just that love of that kind is about being showy, it doesnt mean its sound. But when you love in ways that arent showy, when you dont necessarily get glory, isnt that when you know you are doing something truly selfless? When you dont get the glory, isnt that when you know that your love is real and sincere? When you do something that doesnt have to be seen by others, thats love. We dont have to receive recognition. Our actions can be unseen, showing that its sincere.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Waiting Room
“And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” Heb 6:15
Waiting…that word has a negative stigma attached to it. I think many times we can fall into the mindset that something is wrong with us because we are waiting. We all have something we yearn for that we do not have – be it a spiritual gift, a spouse, or even a family. We yearn for these things, and when we don’t have them we start to wander what’s wrong with us. But just because you are waiting for something does not automatically mean you don’t have it because you are guilty of sin or because you need to be perfect. I don’t know if I have met a person yet who loves waiting for something. The word waiting often evokes in me an inner-resistance, a refusal to submit. We say, “Patience is a virtue,” yet being patient implies a level of suffering. The word itself comes from a word that literally means “to suffer, to bear.”
But that’s the way we often look at it isn’t it? We think ‘Because I am waiting something is wrong with me. God is not giving me what I want because something is wrong with me. There’s some sin God is punishing me for or He is at the very least displeased with me and wants me to get my act together.’ For example, singles (and I used to think this way too) seem to think there is some secret test you have to pass before God brings along the One. We think that’s why God brought that other person a spouse and not us, they must have passed the test. And until we pass this secret test under God’s supervision we won’t get married. We see God as distant, uncaring, and demanding perfection. God does not demand we have all our ducks in a row before He gives good gifts. I do, however, believe He uses time to prepare us to be good stewards of the gifts we will be given.
Sometimes it just isn’t the right time to have what we want. It’s not good for us. If it was good God would not withhold it. God’s timing is different from our own.
Waiting doesn’t have to be a bad thing. God may be pulling you away like a tide for one season of your life to release you later into another season where you have what you have longed for. And if that’s not what God wants for you then He will conform your desires to His own as you delight in Him – “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4). And contrary to popular opinion waiting does not make you weak, it actually makes you stronger.
Waiting…that word has a negative stigma attached to it. I think many times we can fall into the mindset that something is wrong with us because we are waiting. We all have something we yearn for that we do not have – be it a spiritual gift, a spouse, or even a family. We yearn for these things, and when we don’t have them we start to wander what’s wrong with us. But just because you are waiting for something does not automatically mean you don’t have it because you are guilty of sin or because you need to be perfect. I don’t know if I have met a person yet who loves waiting for something. The word waiting often evokes in me an inner-resistance, a refusal to submit. We say, “Patience is a virtue,” yet being patient implies a level of suffering. The word itself comes from a word that literally means “to suffer, to bear.”
But that’s the way we often look at it isn’t it? We think ‘Because I am waiting something is wrong with me. God is not giving me what I want because something is wrong with me. There’s some sin God is punishing me for or He is at the very least displeased with me and wants me to get my act together.’ For example, singles (and I used to think this way too) seem to think there is some secret test you have to pass before God brings along the One. We think that’s why God brought that other person a spouse and not us, they must have passed the test. And until we pass this secret test under God’s supervision we won’t get married. We see God as distant, uncaring, and demanding perfection. God does not demand we have all our ducks in a row before He gives good gifts. I do, however, believe He uses time to prepare us to be good stewards of the gifts we will be given.
Sometimes it just isn’t the right time to have what we want. It’s not good for us. If it was good God would not withhold it. God’s timing is different from our own.
Waiting doesn’t have to be a bad thing. God may be pulling you away like a tide for one season of your life to release you later into another season where you have what you have longed for. And if that’s not what God wants for you then He will conform your desires to His own as you delight in Him – “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4). And contrary to popular opinion waiting does not make you weak, it actually makes you stronger.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Watchman of the Heart
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Phil 4:6-9
I love this verse for so many reasons. Actually, I love Philippians in general. Philippians corresponds to so much in my life. Lately I have been wandering how to better guard my heart. I thought I knew how to guard my heart but the past few years have proved me wrong. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” Prov 4:23. We have a tendency to let the wrong things into our heart or give it to the wrong people. As a result, we get our hearts broken.
Guarding your heart means you protect your source of life from being polluted and from giving it to the wrong people. What is so cool about the verse in Philippians is that it says the peace of God will guard your heart. The greek word specifically means “to be a watcher in advance.” The peace of God guards us from impending danger. If I pray to God about everything with a heart of thanksgiving His peace will guard my heart. Guarding my heart is not something I can do in my own power or discernment; God’s peace guards my heart.
I love this verse for so many reasons. Actually, I love Philippians in general. Philippians corresponds to so much in my life. Lately I have been wandering how to better guard my heart. I thought I knew how to guard my heart but the past few years have proved me wrong. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” Prov 4:23. We have a tendency to let the wrong things into our heart or give it to the wrong people. As a result, we get our hearts broken.
Guarding your heart means you protect your source of life from being polluted and from giving it to the wrong people. What is so cool about the verse in Philippians is that it says the peace of God will guard your heart. The greek word specifically means “to be a watcher in advance.” The peace of God guards us from impending danger. If I pray to God about everything with a heart of thanksgiving His peace will guard my heart. Guarding my heart is not something I can do in my own power or discernment; God’s peace guards my heart.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Love: A Weapon the Enemy Can't Stand Against
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Pet 4:8
Some things just speak for themselves:
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Some things just speak for themselves:
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Distraction
Neh 6:2-4 But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
Where your focus is determines the direction in which you will go. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor 4:17-18). The greek word for “fix” literally means “to aim.” Again, aim determines direction.
Hebrews 12:2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Jesus is the place of our focus. Without that, our direction wavers.
Where your focus is determines the direction in which you will go. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor 4:17-18). The greek word for “fix” literally means “to aim.” Again, aim determines direction.
Hebrews 12:2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Jesus is the place of our focus. Without that, our direction wavers.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The Beauty of Emotions
Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matt 26:36-38
It has come to my attention that there is a popular idea among churches in regards to feelings and faith. The theology is this: the facts are what matter, believe in the facts regardless of how you feel. The facts are first, feelings should be last. The logic behind it goes something like this: passions and emotions cannot be trusted, they are always getting you into trouble, and they must be conquered. Become calm, unaffected. One must become a clear and unbiased thinker and remove emotions and passions. Passion and desire are part of our flesh.
Also, love is not a feeling, but an action, a commitment to the well-being of another person. Joy is not happiness, but a confidence that everything will be alright. While I agree with these statements to a certain extent, they unsettle me. These statements provide an incomplete solution in my mind. In fact, I think they are taking the heart out of faith. The underlying thought is that your mind (intellect) is superior to your heart (feelings).
It has come to my attention that there is a popular idea among churches in regards to feelings and faith. The theology is this: the facts are what matter, believe in the facts regardless of how you feel. The facts are first, feelings should be last. The logic behind it goes something like this: passions and emotions cannot be trusted, they are always getting you into trouble, and they must be conquered. Become calm, unaffected. One must become a clear and unbiased thinker and remove emotions and passions. Passion and desire are part of our flesh.
Also, love is not a feeling, but an action, a commitment to the well-being of another person. Joy is not happiness, but a confidence that everything will be alright. While I agree with these statements to a certain extent, they unsettle me. These statements provide an incomplete solution in my mind. In fact, I think they are taking the heart out of faith. The underlying thought is that your mind (intellect) is superior to your heart (feelings).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)