A New Year, A New You, A New Relationship

Once again, it's that time of year when we all start thinking about New Year's Resolutions.  Getting fit, losing weight, eating healthier, saving more money...  We tend to talk a pretty good game, but by February (or maybe even early January) we have often already fallen short of our goals.

Why do we do this to ourselves?  I think for probably six or more years in a row I have resolved to get in shape and lose weight.  I have even done pretty good a few years, for at least the first half of the year.

This year I need to take a different approach.  Jodi and I have a big goal that we are about to tackle, and I know that it will be a really great thing for us if one year from now we can sit back and have almost finished.  Or goal - NO EATING OUT FOR ONE YEAR.  Yep, that's a big one.  But this year I am very confident.

The difference -

This year I have made sure to include someone else in all my planning leading up to this.  I think you know Him.  God really likes to be involved in us setting goals in our lives, and when we pray and involve him as we set goals, they seem to become much more achievable.

So this year, as you resolve to lose weight, get in shape, eat right... get God involved.

A great way to involve him is also to set goals regarding your relationship with him.  I find the years I have resolved to read my Bible more, or set aside time for devotion, achieving my other goals went a lot smoother too.

So what are your goals this New Year?

Who's Party is this?

Photo Credit

This is a great post that sums up a lot of what Jodi and I talk about this time of year...

A Holy Experience: When Christmas Gets Radical: Whose Birthday Is It Really?

Thoughts???

The Three Little Matches

Once upon a time, there were three little matches.  One day the matches were talking about how they wanted to burn.  The first match said that he wanted to make sure not to burn too bright, or too fast.  He wanted to burn very slowly. So when he was ready to burn, he said he would stay very still and do his best to control his flame and keep it very small and dim.

The second match thought that didn't sound like a lot of fun.  He said I want to burn very bright.  I want to have the most beautiful and bright flame a match can have.

The third match thought for a while, then slowly began to speak.  He said that what he really wanted most of all was to burn bright and ignite other matches that would hopefully go on to light more matches until all of the matches were burning bright together in the biggest, hottest, and most beautiful flame the world has ever seen.

What kind of match will you be for Christ?

How can we be more like the third match?

The King Is Coming!

Advent, from the Latin word adventus meaning coming, or meaning the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.  

As I write this this first snow of the year is falling, Thanksgiving has passed, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, and we prepare for the flurry of activity called Christmas.  But how do we slow down and remember what the very first Advent was like?  How do we remember what it was like for the world to prepare for the King to come?  How do we celebrate Christmas, not for ourselves, not for presents, not for decorations, not for endless amounts of food, but for the King who through his life gave us life?

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  Luke 2:9-11 KJV

 Christ born into this world, as a gentle baby, would die for your sins.  Sins that you had not committed yet.  Sins that you may not even acknowledge.  But with God's unending grace and Christ's loving sacrifice, you are covered and your debt has been paid in full.

So how should we remember this extraordinary birth and subsequent amazing life?  What should the gifts sitting under our tree look like?  What thoughts should fill our heads as we wait in never-ending lines at the store?  What should our Christmas parties be?  

Pause and Give Thanks

While we all search furiously for our elastic waist pants and puffy shirts...
let's not forget to pause...
and give thanks.

For me and my family, once again, we have had a hectic, sometimes trying, but amazing year.  I want to thank God for Dylan, who is growing into a young man much too fast; Lincoln, who has grown up so much this year it is hard to believe; and Kristian, who will be one year old in just over two weeks.  I also want to thank God for Jodi, my amazing wife, who has strength and love and understanding much beyond what she gives herself credit.  She is also incredibly supportive of me, no matter what.  But most of all, I want to thank God for his grace and love.  I do not deserve the blessings I have received.  Please help me be a herald to the world and carry the good news of you to all those I may encounter so they will know your love and experience your grace.

What are you thankful for this year?

A wedding, a vacation, three kids on a plane, in-laws, and puke!

What do these all have to do with eachother, besides the first part of my vacation (oh there was also pinkeye and carrying two car seats and three kids' luggage through the Chicago airport?

What they all have in common is patience.

When I said I was going to post a blog while on vacation, I didn't know what I was going to write about. Well God has put this topic on my heat and mind. Now just to clarify; I like my in-laws. We get along great. I love being with my kids. But when family vacation consists of dragging three kids through busy airports to go to a wedding were one is the ring bearer, with pink eye, the other two were by God's grace kept quiet by sleep for one and a mother in-law with an abundance of fruit snacks for the other, while my wife was also in the weeding... The puke came later, but you get the point.

So, now to the point of this post.

Love is patient.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV

If we profess to follow Christ, it is important to act and speak out of love. Love is patient. So when life really gets going, I mean really going. Remember to be patient. And act out of love.

He is alive!

How do we make sure that when we talk about Christ that we make him feel alive to those around us?

This is a very important point.  Christ is alive.  As Christians sometimes we talk about the Bible and God, along with Jesus as if they were just stories, or things from the past.  It's not that we consciously decide to do this.  It just happens.  Sometimes it's the way we tell Bible stories... just like we were told.  And sometimes they become just that... stories.  But the Bible is God's Living Word. And Christ is (not was) God's Word alive in man.

Why does this matter?

Why does it matter to you?

It matters because we are not worshiping a statue or some old dead guy.  We are living in a relationship with someone who loves us.  We are in a relationship with someone who hopes we will grow closer to them.  We are in a relationship with someone who loves us and knows all of our dirty secrets... and still loves us.  This is as real and alive as any relationship we have with our friends, our family, anyone.

Why does it matter to people you know?

If you believe this and want others to experience this living breathing awesome God you know.  If you want the people around you to grow in a relationship with Christ, then you don't want to talk about Christ as if he was dead, or out dated, or stale.  He is alive! And that is how we need to communicate when we talk about him.

How do you make God come alive in your life?
How was Christ talked about in your life when you were a kid? ...when you became an adult?

If God is love...

If God is love, why did he kick Satan out of heaven?

This was the question Dylan came up with last week...

My first thought was wow, how do you answer that? Then as I thought a little, I realized that God never stopped loving Satan. He simply realized that if Satan stayed in heaven that he would have destroyed it. So, while he stilled loved Satan, God knew he had to get him put of heaven.

This is an important point for us to remember. Sometimes love is tough. When we find ourselves asking things like why does God allow pain? Maybe there is a reason... Maybe we are seeing tough love...

We don't always understand God's actions (or inactions), but God always loves us.

Have you seen or experienced God's tough love?

What would God look like to reach you?

If God was tyring to get your attention by showing up in your life, or by placing someone in your life, what would he look like?

In William P. Young's book, The Shack, the main character had a rocky relationship with his father, so God appears to him as an old woman. This made him much more receptive to what God had to say.

Or in the TV show Touched By An Angel, different characters were met by different angels. Some women, some men, some young, some old. They always seemed to know which one would be the right one to reach the person they were trying to help.

So if God needed to get you to listen to him, what would he look like? Who would he be?

Putting the pieces back together

Every day we live out our lives. We tend to fill up our time with a lot of things.  Work, hobbies, family, friends, chores, sleeping, eating...  Why do we do all of these things?

Recently I have been trying to keep this in focus.  My job has been very hectic and my typical 9-5 (actually 7:30 - 4:30) job has been spilling over into my nights, and weekends.  It has been taking away from my family's time.  I have been tired and stressed, and it has shown in my attitude.  I'm not proud of this.  So what do we do about this?  Sometimes we have to be busy.  Often times we have very mundane and trivial things that just have to be done.  So how do we do these and not get our priorities out of line?

Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk, discussed this in great length.  He wrote The Practice of the Presence of God the Best Rule of a Holy Life about this.  A more modern take on this is Steve Case's God is Here, Connect, which was inspired by Brother Lawrence's writings.  Lawrence's main point was that no matter what we are doing, we should be doing it for God and we should be doing it with God.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:17

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  1 Corinthians 10:31

If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Peter 4:11

We don't necessarily change what we are doing.  But we change how and why we are doing it.  I'm sure that if I can readjust my attitude while working extra hours, that my attitude toward my family when I get home will be much different.  I'm sure their attitude toward me, and feelings about me working more, will also change.

So what does God expect from us...

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?  Deuteronomy 10:12

I pray that I can begin living my life with this constant clear connection to God.  I pray that I can make every moment and every action in my life for God.  I pray that you will, too. 

In His image...

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?   2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV

How do you smell this week?

How have you seen God exemplified by someone's actions this week?  How have you tried too exemplify Christ?

Are you stuck?

Do you ever feel stagnant?  Stuck in the mud?  In life... In you faith?
Sometimes life does get us down. We feel like we're not getting anywhere...  Sort of like we just keep doing the same things over and over again...

What if we get to a point where our relationship with Christ starts to feel this way?

The past few years have been pretty tough around here.  We have seen a lot of people go through job loss and the loss of about everything else you can imagine.  Personally, we have been very blessed.  I have a great job, and countless other things for which to thank God.  But, medical bills for the boys have slowly been piling up.  And, there have been close family members going through some difficult changes.  It has taken it's toll... (just look at my hair line and gray beard).

As I look back over the past year, I was becoming very stagnant.  Now, I am back.  On fire.  Alive.

What got me hear may not work for you.  There was one key ingredient though that must be there.
So what is it?  Prayer.  Not the kind where you say God take me out of this slump.  Those don't always work... sometimes you're in the slump for a reason.  I prayed for Christ to be alive in me once again.  I prayed for God to correct my ways of thinking and help me think more like Him. And I prayed over and over again.  And (fittingly for me and my love of music) God spoke to me through the lyrics of a band.

Now... I'm back.

We make our stand here between the angels and animals.

We fear nothing here, where we can beat any feat set to keep us crawling.

We’re calling you here to give leave to destruction of fear 

and stand tall against all who will dare to shake you. Don’t let them shake you.

"Stand strong, where I could not, please stand strong"

Oh please, this plea, dear God, let it not from my lips be conceived.

So grip your fist and swing until your knuckles bleed.

If you are the new breed scream, "I am immortal!" 

We can’t sit quietly because there’s more to life than we see.

So if you are the new breed scream, "I am Immortal in you!"

Excerpt from Oh, Sleeper's song The New Breed.

How do you get past the stagnant points in your life?  Is anything else stagnant in your life bleeding into your faith?  How do you keep your relationship with Christ alive?

Why Does God Love Me?: Part 3

In last weeks discussion the topic of how much God loves us compared to how much we love him came up...  So this week we will talk a little about how much God loves us versus how much we love him.

Cue music to get us in the mood...

We will never love God as much as he loves us.  That is just how it is.  Thinking that we will ever come close to his love is like people who think they need to get cleaned up and then they will come to church.  This is a very confused way of thinking.  God does want us to love him, but he knows that he is in a lopsided relationship.

When we stop and think about this it can feel very overwhelming.  There are some great lyrics in this song that try to paint a picture of how much God loves us and how powerful that love is.

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are, and how great Your affections are for me.

If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.

Oh how He loves us, how He loves us so.

Do you ever feel like you're sinking and drowning in God's love?  Do you feel guilty that you don't love God as much as he loves you?  That you don't always love Him?

Comment, post your thoughts, post any verses, or lyrics that help you in these times.

Why Does God Love Me?: Part 2

Last time we looked at how we have experienced God's love for us to try to better understand why God loves us.  Now we are going to look at why God loves me when I don't even love myself.

Sometimes it's hard to understand why anyone would love us.  We screw things up, hurt people, let down our best friends and family.  Sometimes we lie, cheat and steal... or even worse.  We get lazy, don't take care of ourselves. We don't like the way we look, or act.  Sometimes we feel dirty and unworthy of anything. We are just plain disgusting and despise who we are. In fact, sometimes we hate the person we are.

So how does God love us? 

Paul explains...

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.    - Romans 8:38-39

 If none of that can separate us from God's love, why would we think anything else would.

God wants us to be close to him and experience his perfect love.  He is waiting.

Do you ever feel unworthy?  Do you feel separated from God's love, or anyone's love?
If you do, comment back about it or if you have a verse that pulls you out of these times, share it.

Why does God love me?: Part 1

Why Me? What is it about me that makes Him love me?

My boys have some great ways they try to tell me how much they love me.  Dylan used to always say "I love you bigger and bigger and up to the sky!"  Lincoln has been saying "I love you too much!"  These are both such great pure expressions of pure innocent love.  Plain and simple.

 As adults we have trouble expressing and sometimes even experiencing this pure love.  We tend to see the flaws in people and in relationships.  God gets it right.

As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him.
And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins.
Psalms 103:11-12 The Message

God loves us not our sins.  So why does God love me, he sees me, not my flaws.  He sees the life I can live past the history I have lived.

So to better understand why God love us, let's talk about how we experience God's love for us.
Comment back with some ways you have experienced God's love for you in your life. If you have never experience God's love, share that too.

Why Does God Love Me?: Intro

Why does God love me?

Do you ever ask yourself why God loves you?  Why does an all powerful, all knowing God love me?

What am I to Him?  I am not good enough to deserve His love.  I have never done anything worth Him loving me.

But thankfully, God is not like us... and he does love us.

If you have ever had these questions, please keep reading here over the next month while we explore Why Does God Love Me?

Here's some theme music...

God is Love: Michael Gungor Band

First thing first...

Before we get going, I want to lay out some groundwork.

I plan on posting at least once a week and hope to have a good deal of comments by Sunday morning to start the discussion Sunday mornings. Please feel free to comment as many times as you would like, don't hold off on discussions until Sunday mornings. This blog will hopefully be read by and receive comments from people that are not in the class on Sunday mornings, so hopefully there will be a lot of online discussion.

We will draw from many different resources.  Sometimes the blog will follow a book, sometimes a Bible study, sometimes it may just be drawn from real life.

The official kick off of the class will be in September.  We will begin with a Bible study on Why Does God Love Me?

Please start looking for posts, and invite others to read this blog and join in the discussion.

Welcome...

Welcome to my new blog... of his love.  This blog will hopefully become a place to discuss many topics.  As noted on the About this blog page, this blog will be used in my Sunday school class.  However, I would like to welcome anyone that has come across this blog to read and comment.  The more people that join in the discussions, the better.

The ball will get rolling this September, so check back soon for new posts.

I look forward to reading all of your comments.