Month: October 2013

Longing to Love Jesus

Screen Shot 2013-10-21 at 3.56.37 PMThere are people who believe they can fly. They believe this to the core of their being. They would not give it a second thought to leap off a tall building to prove that they can fly.

But they can’t.

No matter how much they believe they can.

When one’s belief doesn’t jive with reality, it’s not belief but a delusion.

One can believe with all their being that they love Jesus. But when our life choices and behaviors are not consistent with our belief, it’s not faith. It’s a delusion.

I am pastor. I’ve studied theology. I have a Masters Degree in Divinity. I’ve preached hundreds, if not thousands, of sermons. I have read hundreds of books about God. I can tell you quite a bit about God. And I really do believe I love God.

It’s just that my life choices and behaviors and thoughts don’t always reflect that reality.

Jesus says, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I command you?” Luke 6:46.

Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commands” John 14:15.

It’s not that working really, really hard to obey and keep Christ’s commands is the pathway to loving God.

It’s that when we love God and love Jesus, obeying and keeping his commands are the natural result of love.

It’s so much easier to make my faith about working harder and doing the right thing. But what God truly desires from me is my heart and my love.

I wish there was a twelve step plan to make me love God more. I would do it. Because I love God.

But that’s just the thing. You can’t force love.

Loving God comes from being in love. While I love God, I am not sure if I’m in love with God as I once was.

I want to recapture my first love that I had for my Savior. I long to be in love with God again. I want to recapture that passion and zeal for God.

The Reason Pope Francis has Influence

Screen Shot 2013-10-21 at 1.46.06 PMMore than any other Pope in recent history, people love Pope Francis.

This is remarkable given the public ire the Catholic Church has had to deal with in recent history regarding their very public cases of sexual abuse by her priests.

Pope Francis seems to have turned all that around.

What is it about Pope Francis that people are drawn to? Why are people so intrigued by Pope Francis? How come he has become the beloved Pope of, not only the Catholic Church, but the world?

One word: integrity.

In carrying his own bags, living in a simple apartment, turning down the life of luxury, making his own phone calls, answering his own emails, being around and serving people, taking the metro, etc. the world sees what faith in God ought to look like.

The world understands that faith looks more like strength in humility, grandeur in service, power in simplicity, and the miraculous in the everyday life than strength in power, grandeur and opulence, and influence through power.

Pope Francis is beloved and has influence because his life matches his faith.

And friends, that’s where our influence lies too: when our behavior matches our beliefs.

A. W. Tozer on Money

Screen Shot 2013-10-13 at 4.38.04 PMAs base a thing money often is, it yet can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor; it can keep a missionary actively winning lost souls to the light of the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality.

 

A. W. Tozer