Okay so I have always had this overwhelming call on my life to literally just love people. When I read the bible, I am drawn to verses about love. Loving is what we are called to do. I feel if we love there will be a change in this world. There will be a move. A move of love.
So with this blog, I am free to share whatever I want when I want and I LOVE that. With that being said, I am going to share with you one of my favorite verses of all time.. And you would not guess what it is about..
1 Timothy 1:5
The whole point of what we're urging is simply love-- love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.
That is great.. It is literally what we are called to do. Simply love.
If we are called to love, we must know the definition. Right?
Biblically, God is love. 1 John 14:6. Plain and simple.
But God. Ohh how he is uncomprehendable, incredibly HUGE. I am going to break love down into words that our fragile, little minds can understand.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Ladies and Gents. THAT is love. And man it is a beautiful thing.
I want to get all of your attention right here. Love can change things. Love is a move where poverty does not just HAVE to exist. We can love our way through it. Love is a move where no one HAS to be lonely. Love is a move where there can be peace in the home, in the church, in the school. Friends, Love is the Move.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Roots.
root1
–noun
1) a part of the body of the plant that develops, typically, from the radicle and grows downward into the soil, anchoring the plant and absorbing nutriment and moisture.
2) the fundamental or essential part.
3) the source or origin of a thing.
–verb (used without object)
1) to become fixed or established.
–verb (used with object)
1) to implant or establish deeply.
I looked up the definition for root just for kicks and giggles to see what the dictionary had to say. And to my surprise it was quite interesting. The first definition I expected. It was scientific and talked about plants. Okay. The second definition got me thinking. The fundamental and essential part. Root? Essential? I decided to ask myself what is the root in my life. Next. The source or origin of a thing. What is the source to my actions? The "fruits" in my life? Then we are moved along to the verbs. To become fixed or established (without an object). To implant or establish deeply (with an object). How can I be fixed? How can I be established? And now I ask myself, How do I become... rooted?
Getting to the roots of my life.
Hmm. Well of course I can say to myself honest and truthfully that God is my everything and I know without a shadow of a doubt he will always be there. But as a human being, I am not always "connected" with God as I should be. He needs to be my "root" of my life. The roots in my life at the moment are technology, relationships with my friends, etc. If you catch my drift, I am thinking there needs to be a change NOW.
Fruits. Huh?
Now by fruits, I don't literally mean the tasty food we all know and love. I am talking about the actions in our life.
'But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!' Galations 5:22-23.
If you don't get anything out of what I am saying, Take this. If we are not connected to God, we will not produce good "fruit" in our lives.
'Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Seperated, you can't produce a thing.' John 15:4-5
After coming across these verses, it really came to life to me that I need to stay connected to God. If not, I won't be any good. There would be no fruit.
Becoming fixed, established, and ROOTED.
'Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.' Romans 12:2.
First, PRAY. Ask for forgiveness about the sin in your life. Accept that Jesus died on the cross so that you may live free from your sin.
Second, STAY connected to God. Easy as 1-2-3. Make it important. Read the bible and keep on praying.
Like go. Now. Get connected. Be fixed. Hear what God has to say. And be STILL.
ROOTS. We all come from some place. We all have a connection somewhere. It's where that connection is made that is important in life.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Beautiful is the Life.
Beautiful is the Life. I named my blog this after seeing a shirt today that said "Life is Beautiful". That statement got me thinking. All too often we take life for granted, and we don't actually LIVE. Life is too precious to pass it by. It only comes once. And in a blink of an eye it is gone.
Who would be a better example of living an authentic life than Jesus? These past couple of days I have been reading in John. and WOW. For some reason, in my head, it did not click that Jesus was so serious about his call in life to save people. That sounds so bad for me to say. I mean come on he's JESUS. But when I compare that to my life, I'm not doing anything. I am just going through the motions and maybe, just maybe someone will see Jesus in me. Anyway, lets get back to the example of Jesus. His first miracle was turning water into wine.... Yes ladies and gentlemen I said Wine. I wonder why Jesus chose for his first miracle to be water to wine. I mean he could have made the water to juice and said no one else is getting drunk. Ha! Why did it have to be at a party? Mind you this was the first time EVER that his glory was shown. Even to the disciples. Hmm. I find it interesting that Jesus did not hang out with the ideal christians. Day after day, you see Jesus going out to speak. It's amazing to me how awesome his life was. Not that he had it all physically, but he knew what he had to do in his life. So he did it.
I am reading this book called The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. (Check it out sometime). In the book he talks about various places in his life and what he has done. What particularly stood out to me was that he went to the people who needed to hear God's word. Night after night, Claiborne would sleep on the streets of Philly. He would minister to people, not shoving it in their faces, and they would listen. God took care of Claiborne and his friends as they slept on the streets. Here's an excerpt from the book:
"Back at college, I had asked one of my Bible teachers if he still believed in miracles, like when Jesus fed thousands of people with a couple of fishes and handful of loaves. And I wondered if God was still into that stuff. I wanted miracles to be normal again. He told me that we have insulated ourselves from miracles. We no longer live with such reckless faith that we need them. There is rarely room for the transcendent in our lives. If we get sick, we go to a doctor. If we need food, we go to a store and buy it. We have eliminated the need for miracles. If we had enough faith to depend on God like the lilies and the sparrows do, we would see miracles. For is it not a miracle that the birds find enough worms each day? He was right. On the streets of Philly, we experiences miracles. We would wake up sometimes with a blanket on us or a meal beside us that wasn't there when we went to sleep."
Not only am I going to challenge myself, but I would like to challenge you too. Our lives are too beautiful to not have a purpose and to not be lived out to the fullest. What can we do in our lives to make it out of the norm, extraordinary, and radical? How can we change lives for Jesus? I think by living out our lives as Jesus did. Literally showing his glory, where it is least expected.
Who would be a better example of living an authentic life than Jesus? These past couple of days I have been reading in John. and WOW. For some reason, in my head, it did not click that Jesus was so serious about his call in life to save people. That sounds so bad for me to say. I mean come on he's JESUS. But when I compare that to my life, I'm not doing anything. I am just going through the motions and maybe, just maybe someone will see Jesus in me. Anyway, lets get back to the example of Jesus. His first miracle was turning water into wine.... Yes ladies and gentlemen I said Wine. I wonder why Jesus chose for his first miracle to be water to wine. I mean he could have made the water to juice and said no one else is getting drunk. Ha! Why did it have to be at a party? Mind you this was the first time EVER that his glory was shown. Even to the disciples. Hmm. I find it interesting that Jesus did not hang out with the ideal christians. Day after day, you see Jesus going out to speak. It's amazing to me how awesome his life was. Not that he had it all physically, but he knew what he had to do in his life. So he did it.
I am reading this book called The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. (Check it out sometime). In the book he talks about various places in his life and what he has done. What particularly stood out to me was that he went to the people who needed to hear God's word. Night after night, Claiborne would sleep on the streets of Philly. He would minister to people, not shoving it in their faces, and they would listen. God took care of Claiborne and his friends as they slept on the streets. Here's an excerpt from the book:
"Back at college, I had asked one of my Bible teachers if he still believed in miracles, like when Jesus fed thousands of people with a couple of fishes and handful of loaves. And I wondered if God was still into that stuff. I wanted miracles to be normal again. He told me that we have insulated ourselves from miracles. We no longer live with such reckless faith that we need them. There is rarely room for the transcendent in our lives. If we get sick, we go to a doctor. If we need food, we go to a store and buy it. We have eliminated the need for miracles. If we had enough faith to depend on God like the lilies and the sparrows do, we would see miracles. For is it not a miracle that the birds find enough worms each day? He was right. On the streets of Philly, we experiences miracles. We would wake up sometimes with a blanket on us or a meal beside us that wasn't there when we went to sleep."
Not only am I going to challenge myself, but I would like to challenge you too. Our lives are too beautiful to not have a purpose and to not be lived out to the fullest. What can we do in our lives to make it out of the norm, extraordinary, and radical? How can we change lives for Jesus? I think by living out our lives as Jesus did. Literally showing his glory, where it is least expected.
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