Posts
A La Carte (September 16)
18 hours ago
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Hate Crimes, Sex, and the Love of God
A fantastic and thoughtful post by Douglas Wilson. I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts on it, especially the distinction he draws in how we respond to sin in terms of failure vs. rebellion.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Why I Love My Wife: Reason #23,056
Scene: Yesterday evening, our basement.
Me: The Hurricanes have a big game tonight at 7:30.
Expected Typical Wife Response: Huh.
My Wife: You know who looks really good right now? Boston! They made the Canadiens look like a high school team last night!
Me: The Hurricanes have a big game tonight at 7:30.
Expected Typical Wife Response: Huh.
My Wife: You know who looks really good right now? Boston! They made the Canadiens look like a high school team last night!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Why We Don't Understand Headship in Marriage
"Just as Jesus redefined greatness as being a servant in Matthew 20, Paul redefines being the head [in marriage] as having the responsibility to love, to give oneself, and to nurture [his wife]." - Jeff StinnettCheck out the full sermon, preached at my church on December 7th, here. Great stuff.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Don't Just Do Something, Stand There
"We have become so engrossed in the work of the Lord that we have forgotten the Lord of the work." - A.W. Tozer
Sola5 Wednesday Recap - 11/12/08
This weekly topic is an effort to recap the Wednesday night Bible study I teach at Sola5, my youth group. I hope it serves to help us all in contemplating the ceaseless riches of God’s grace as revealed through the Scriptures.
Do you love Jesus Christ? That’s the question we all sought to answer last night in our study of John 21:15-19. When asked by a scholar what the most important commandment in all the law was, Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” There is no more important consideration for the Christian than our love for our God and for our Savior. If then, the question is of supreme importance, shouldn’t we devote some mental energy to answering it honestly? In our text from last night, Jesus posed the question to Peter, and pressed him in his response to consider all that a commitment to Christ entails. We sought to look at Jesus’ words to Peter and apply them to ourselves, with the goal of evaluating how our love for Christ is and in what areas we need to increase our affection for our Savior.
Jesus begins by asking Peter the very pointed question, “Do you love me more than these?” Pointed, because Peter had made exactly that claim prior to his denial of Christ. In Mark 14:26-31, Peter responds to Jesus’ proclamation that all the disciples would desert him by saying that even if everybody else turned and ran, he never would. He proclaimed a superior love for Christ, only to have that notion shattered by failing to even verbally identify with Christ during his greatest need. The pride is gone now, and Peter simply answers, “You know I love you.” In his response we see the first step in a love for Christ – saying it. Confessing our faith is the starting point, but even it can be difficult, as Peter learned - and as perhaps you’ve learned in you spiritual journey. In a world that is fallen, sometimes merely identifying with Jesus can lead to ridicule or worse. Yet Jesus pushes Peter past this starting point with his reply – “feed my lambs.” In essence, Jesus is calling Peter to the more difficult step in our love for Christ – living it. Jesus tells Peter that if he really loves him, he will care for his people, teaching them the way that Jesus had taught him. If our faith is real, as James tells us, it must become action, it must do something. There are many ways that our actions can proclaim our love for Christ. My students last night came up with several: caring for the outcast and the ignored, living a life where proclaiming your faith is a natural occurrence, being a person of your word whom others can depend on, being a person of integrity when you think nobody’s watching but God, and demonstrating by the use of your time what’s really important to you. In all of these areas, we put flesh and blood on our faith, demonstrate its reality and vitality, and demonstrate a true love for Christ in much the same way that our actions toward our spouse or significant other reflects our love for them. It’s interesting to note also that Jesus repeats his question and answer three times, mentally taking Peter back to his moment of greatest failure. Our actions aren’t earning our favor with God. We will all fail, just as Peter did. Yet, God’s grace picks us up and pushes us forward.
Many of us are content to stop here, if we get this far at all. Yet Jesus calls Peter further in verses 18 and 19. He foretells the violent death that Peter will endure as a result following him. He then ends with the simple admonition, “Follow me.” He is showing Peter – and us - that in answering the question of our love for him, it’s not enough to say it and live it, but we must be willing to die for it. Jesus gave some tough words to would-be followers throughout his ministry – telling people to forget their recently deceased loved ones, hate their families, and be ready to suffer and die. Our commitment to Christ should be such that we see him as far surpassing all things – even life itself. He must be our treasure in the field, for which everything else is expendable. He loved us unto death, and he calls us to the same love. Take some time today and ponder the question, “Do I love Christ?” Are you content to profess faith without doing anything about it? Or perhaps you’re living a life of faith, but still clinging to other loves above your Savior? No matter where you are, no matter how strong your love, the call of John 21:15-19 is the same. Move forward. Find a deeper love. Or, as Jesus simply put it, “Follow me.”
Do you love Jesus Christ? That’s the question we all sought to answer last night in our study of John 21:15-19. When asked by a scholar what the most important commandment in all the law was, Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” There is no more important consideration for the Christian than our love for our God and for our Savior. If then, the question is of supreme importance, shouldn’t we devote some mental energy to answering it honestly? In our text from last night, Jesus posed the question to Peter, and pressed him in his response to consider all that a commitment to Christ entails. We sought to look at Jesus’ words to Peter and apply them to ourselves, with the goal of evaluating how our love for Christ is and in what areas we need to increase our affection for our Savior.
Jesus begins by asking Peter the very pointed question, “Do you love me more than these?” Pointed, because Peter had made exactly that claim prior to his denial of Christ. In Mark 14:26-31, Peter responds to Jesus’ proclamation that all the disciples would desert him by saying that even if everybody else turned and ran, he never would. He proclaimed a superior love for Christ, only to have that notion shattered by failing to even verbally identify with Christ during his greatest need. The pride is gone now, and Peter simply answers, “You know I love you.” In his response we see the first step in a love for Christ – saying it. Confessing our faith is the starting point, but even it can be difficult, as Peter learned - and as perhaps you’ve learned in you spiritual journey. In a world that is fallen, sometimes merely identifying with Jesus can lead to ridicule or worse. Yet Jesus pushes Peter past this starting point with his reply – “feed my lambs.” In essence, Jesus is calling Peter to the more difficult step in our love for Christ – living it. Jesus tells Peter that if he really loves him, he will care for his people, teaching them the way that Jesus had taught him. If our faith is real, as James tells us, it must become action, it must do something. There are many ways that our actions can proclaim our love for Christ. My students last night came up with several: caring for the outcast and the ignored, living a life where proclaiming your faith is a natural occurrence, being a person of your word whom others can depend on, being a person of integrity when you think nobody’s watching but God, and demonstrating by the use of your time what’s really important to you. In all of these areas, we put flesh and blood on our faith, demonstrate its reality and vitality, and demonstrate a true love for Christ in much the same way that our actions toward our spouse or significant other reflects our love for them. It’s interesting to note also that Jesus repeats his question and answer three times, mentally taking Peter back to his moment of greatest failure. Our actions aren’t earning our favor with God. We will all fail, just as Peter did. Yet, God’s grace picks us up and pushes us forward.
Many of us are content to stop here, if we get this far at all. Yet Jesus calls Peter further in verses 18 and 19. He foretells the violent death that Peter will endure as a result following him. He then ends with the simple admonition, “Follow me.” He is showing Peter – and us - that in answering the question of our love for him, it’s not enough to say it and live it, but we must be willing to die for it. Jesus gave some tough words to would-be followers throughout his ministry – telling people to forget their recently deceased loved ones, hate their families, and be ready to suffer and die. Our commitment to Christ should be such that we see him as far surpassing all things – even life itself. He must be our treasure in the field, for which everything else is expendable. He loved us unto death, and he calls us to the same love. Take some time today and ponder the question, “Do I love Christ?” Are you content to profess faith without doing anything about it? Or perhaps you’re living a life of faith, but still clinging to other loves above your Savior? No matter where you are, no matter how strong your love, the call of John 21:15-19 is the same. Move forward. Find a deeper love. Or, as Jesus simply put it, “Follow me.”
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Like a Child
Take a look at this great post from Zach Nielsen about a lesson in forgiveness from his 5-year-old son. As one about to become a father for the first time, this one hit me very hard.
HT: Vitamin Z
HT: Vitamin Z
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The Anti-T.O., Part 2
Last month, I posted about a great story of sportsmanship from an obscure Pacific Northwest division II college softball game. Here's an ESPN segment on the event...
HT: Justin Taylor
HT: Justin Taylor
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Anti-T.O.
I love sports. I'm a very competitive person - whether I'm cheering on my favorite teams or playing a pick up game with my youth, I like to win. The decibel level in my house when the Panthers score a touchdown, the Hurricanes put one in net, or the Bobcats sink a buzzer-beating three approaches 747 levels. Sports also provide great teachable moments in our spiritual journeys. Often times, the negative teachable moments get far more publicity. Chad Johnson runs his mouth about his tremendous worth and demands a trade, baseball players juice up for a competitive advantage, and Pacman Jones just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time 15 times in three years. That's why when a story like this one (written by terrific Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler) comes along, we'd all do well to put away our rampant cynicism and see a living illustration of Paul's exhortation to "look not only to [your] own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
