Life gets tough

Sometimes life gets tough.  We have had our share of detours recently it seems.
Water heaters, dryers, sick kids, loved ones lost... Life indeed gets tough sometimes.

This week I've really been searching and praying for what to write.

So I decided to write about hardships.  Jodi pointed me to this blog post on enduring the curves life throws at you. Listen to the song linked in the post, it will lift your spirits if you are struggling.

How do you get through the hard times in life?

Do you have a Bible verse, or a hymn, a song, a prayer that lifts you back up?

How do you remind yourself that God has not left you alone to make it through these trials?

Sinner

What is a sin?
How do you define sin?
How does the Bible define sin?
Are some sins worse than others?

If you start looking for answers to questions like this on the internet, you see lots of different view points.  You will find some people that are trying to reason if being homosexual (and discussing if that is a sin) is less of a sin than killing someone.  You will find lots of verses in the Bible that talk about sin.  First let's try to define what sin is.

If you look the word up in the dictionary you will find that sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.  I define sin in a much broader manner.  Sin is anything that goes against the will of God.

So once you dig through what sin is and are left with discussion after discussion trying to rank sins you realize that the Bible does not give us an all inclusive list of what sins there are and which ones are the worst, and maybe some others that aren't that bad.

What you will find if you keep searching for answers in the Bible is that we are assured that we are all sinners.

FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD - Romans 3:23

If you are reading this, you are a sinner.  If you never read this, you are a sinner. But, keep reading...

YET GOD, WITH UNDESERVED KINDNESS, DECLARES THAT WE ARE RIGHTEOUS. HE DID THIS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS WHEN HE FREED US FROM THE PENALTY FOR OUR SINS - Romans 3:24

Yes, God sent his son to pay for your sins and set things right.  Even though none of us deserve this grace, we all receive it if we believe in the Lord.  It doesn't matter which sins you have committed, or how you rank them, or if you rank them.  You have been given the same gift that the sinner next to you has been given.

God love each and every one of us with the same unconditional love, so do you really think it matters to figure out which sins are worse than others???

Faith Like A Child

Wow...

How do we keep a child like faith?

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.  Luke 18:17

As we mature in our faith and in our life, sometimes we make things harder than they should be.  We over think, we second guess, we doubt.  Christ knew that we would do this and made a point of it (Mark 10:15, and Luke 18:17). How do we make sure to grow and mature in our faith, but not out grow that awe and wonder that we had as children?

I love seeing my kids discover and learn about Jesus Christ.  The amazement in their eyes as the hear how much Christ loves and care for them is inspiring.

Do I still have the look in my eyes?  Or have I lost it because I have made my faith too complicated.

How do you keep your faith fresh and uncomplicated?

Do you still say wow when you hear John 3:16?

Engage!

How do we engage with the world around us?

This year I am all about challenges.  So far the family's goal for the year of not eating out is going great.  Jodi and I don't even want to eat out right now.  So, it seems like a great time for another challenge.

How do we engage with the world around us?  How do you engage with friends, family, coworkers, strangers...?

Our church's vision is to impact and influence our community and world with the love of God.  So in order to do this we have to engage and interact with people.  We have to talk to people that are outside of our church.

So here is the challenge part.

How do you do this now?  How can you do better?  What seems to work well?

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?  

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