Category Archives: Love & Works

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March 9, 2018

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Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Love & Works, Sharing Our Faith

IT TAKES ALL KINDS

murning dovesBut whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. [1 Corinthians3: 11 (NLT)]

Last Sunday, while worshipping in the beach gazebo, my attention was drawn to a nearby tree. A pair of doves kept disappearing into the branches only to reappear a few moments later. Back and forth they went, building their new house one twig at a time. Like the doves, those of us in the gazebo are slowly building something—a new church. Rather than twigs or bricks, we’re building it with people—one person at a time.

After worship two Sundays ago, we saw a fellow sitting alone on a park bench strumming his guitar. My husband walked over to him, listened for a while, and, introduced himself. The men chatted and the guitarist, Jimmy, said he was in the park that morning for his NA meeting. My husband then invited him to bring his guitar and join us for worship the next week. Self-taught, Jimmy is not much of a musician and both his story and attire told me that, while he’s not exactly homeless, he lives on the fringe of society. Lord, forgive me, I wasn’t happy about that invitation nor was I especially thrilled Sunday when our new friend was there at the gazebo. I’m ashamed to admit that I was afraid Jimmy’s presence would offend others in attendance.

While watching those doves build their nest, however, the Holy Spirit did some much needed work on my heart and I saw how judgmental and self-righteous I’d been. The birds didn’t examine each twig to see if it was perfect or ask its history or lineage. They just kept bringing twigs into the tree. Wondering how to build a church, I’d forgotten about the cornerstone: the first stone set into a foundation, the stone that keeps the walls upright and strong. The church’s cornerstone is Jesus and the answer to how to build a church is simple: Do what Jesus would do.

Jesus brought healing to the sick, forgiveness to the condemned, hope to those in despair, faith to those who doubted, and love to the unloved. Jesus neither ignored nor tolerated sin but He welcomed all sorts and conditions of people. He didn’t ask Peter, John or James about their pasts before calling them and not everyone around Him was what could be called “respectable.” Criticized by the Pharisees for the company He kept, He welcomed tax collectors, prostitutes, the unclean, zealots, Gentiles and Samaritans. He gladly spent time with sinners who wanted to learn from him or put their faith in him. Jesus welcomed me and I’m no different than Jimmy—my tarnished past just hasn’t taken the heavy toll on me that it has on him. Moreover, I still have plenty of work to do on the sin of self-righteousness!

So, how do we build a church? We do it by living the truth of the gospel, connecting with one another, serving, and speaking and acting in love. Most of all, we build a church by seeking the lost and welcoming all who come! When I asked my husband why he invited Jimmy, he answered, “That’s what Jesus would have done!” and he was right. Sunday, after Communion, I wondered how long it’s been since Jimmy felt welcome and appreciated, took the Sacrament, or was reminded that God loved him enough to die for him. As we finished our service and gathered our things to leave, his NA group came in to use the gazebo. We offered them our remaining coffee and rolls and invited them all to join us for worship next week. “Hope to see you next Sunday,” I called to Jimmy and, this time, I meant it!

For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. [Luke 19:10 (NLT)]

Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” [Luke 5:31-32 (NLT)]

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March 8, 2018

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Love & Works, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin, Today: Make it Count

AGAPE

Coronado beach - Bil PavlackaJesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” [Mark 1:29-31 (NLT)]

Last summer, we enjoyed beautiful sand sculptures created by Bil Pavlacka on Coronado beach. One had been constructed as a memorial to the seven sailors who died on the destroyer Fitzgerald that month. It was not Pavlacka’s first memorial; he’s sculpted sand to honor a Navy Seal killed in Iraq and to recognize the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting and the Paris and Brussels attacks. Those sculptures were labors of love—love for people he never personally knew but people he knew were his neighbors.

What a contrast his work is to the bumper stickers I recently saw on a truck parked beside us. There didn’t seem to be a minority group the driver wasn’t anxious to hate, insult or possibly worse since the back window also sported a “License to Kill Arabs.” According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 917 hate groups (such as white nationalists, black separatists, racist skinheads, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, neo-Confederates, anti-Muslim, anti-LGBT and anti-Semitic zealots) currently operate in the United States. Based on his bumper stickers, the truck’s owner must have belonged to several of them. How easy it is to spout hate for people we don’t even know; yet, they are our neighbors!

We are called to love one another—not romantic (eros) or friendship (philia) love—but agape or unconditional sacrificial love—like the love God had for us when he sacrificed His son and the love the good Samaritan had for a total stranger. It has nothing to do with attraction, affection or even liking one another. Agape love isn’t emotional; it is a choice. It also happens be one of God’s commands.

Agape love is like building an intricate sandcastle; it takes time, effort, dedication and patience. On the other hand, hate is like those bumper stickers or a well-placed kick aimed at a sandcastle; it is thoughtless and destructive. Jesus doesn’t ask us to like everyone but He does expect us to love them—to be kind, considerate, understanding, patient, tolerant, polite, and good to them. Fortunately, we don’t have to do it on our own—the Holy Spirit empowers us to love one another as God loves us. Like building a sand castle, however, it doesn’t come easy and there will be times our efforts fail. Nevertheless, we must keep at it until we get it right. What we can’t do is take the easy way out with hate!

It is the duty of every Christian to be Christ to his neighbor. [Martin Luther]

We love each other because he loved us first. If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers. [1 John 5:19-21 (NLT)]

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March 1, 2018

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, God's Grace & Love, Love & Works, Prayer

FILL US WITH YOUR LOVE

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [1 John 4:7-8 (NLT)]

scarlet- swamp hibiscus - Corkscrew SwampEvery Saturday, our newspaper runs a guest editorial written by one of the local pastors. In one of these commentaries, the author shared that a ministerial colleague begins every pastoral prayer with, “O kind and loving God, fill us with your love.” There’s a whole lot of prayer packed into those few beautiful words. God doesn’t just love; He actually is love. So, when we ask God to fill us with His love, we’re inviting Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit, as well.

So, what does God’s love look like? We only have to look to the Bible to see. When God lays love on people, He changes their lives. He corrects, feeds, leads, forgives, chastises, heals, comforts, and teaches. He frees them from slavery to both man and sin. He walks with, listens to and speaks with them. He blesses, spends time with them, and calls them into service. He loves unconditionally, impartially and generously. Most of all, He loves sacrificially! God’s love isn’t passive; it’s active. When we ask Him to fill us with His love, we best be prepared for some changes to be made both in our lives and in the lives of others!

I can’t help but think of a line from Hello Dolly! in which Dolly Levi says, “Money, pardon the expression, is like manure. It’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around, encouraging young things to grow.” She’s actually quoting Thornton Wilder who probably borrowed the quote from Francis Bacon. In any case, when manure is not put to good use, it starts to stink and the same goes for both money and love! If we ask God to fill us with His love, let’s remember that God’s love is way more than a warm fuzzy feeling. His love isn’t meant to stay in our hearts; it’s meant to be used the same way Jesus used God’s love. When we ask God to fill us with His love, He expects us to spread His love around; His love compels us to love one another.

I’m beginning to think some of the best prayers are the shortest ones: O kind and loving God, fill us with your love!

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” [John 13:34-35 (NLT)]

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February 26, 2018

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Bible Stories, God's Grace & Love, Love & Works, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin

OUT OF FEAR

turkey vulturesBut if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you… The Lord himself will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in everything you do, until at last you are completely destroyed for doing evil and abandoning me. [Deuteronomy 28:15,20 (NLT)]

In writing about the mezuzah last week, I learned that 4,649 laws govern every aspect of its writing. Each of the 713 letters must be perfectly shaped, written on handmade specially processed parchment made from a kosher animal, inscribed in black ink formulated from a specific recipe, with a unique quill pen, by a qualified scribe. Why so many rules to fulfill a requirement that was only a few words in Scripture?

The fourth commandment about the Sabbath is the longest one but pretty straightforward: make it a day of rest rather than work. Although Scripture referred to conducting business, field labor, treading in a winepress, loading animals, traveling and kindling fire as forbidden work, it never provided an all-inclusive list of prohibited activities. To further clarify the commandment, work was classified into thirty-nine categories of forbidden activity. To obey perfectly, however, more interpretation was needed. Since reaping (clearly field labor) was forbidden, what if someone climbed a tree and accidentally broke a branch or rode an animal and detached a stick to hit it? Since an accidental sin was still a sin and, technically, breaking a branch was reaping, those activities were prohibited, as well.

I’ve often given the Bible’s Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes grief over their pettiness regarding the law. After studying Deuteronomy 28, however, I’m beginning to understand how the system of laws governing the conduct of the Jewish people became so complex. After listing the blessings for obedience, Moses laid out the many curses for the Israelites’ disobedience to God and those curses are far more extensive than the blessings. They include everything from wasting diseases, plagues, captivity, inflammation, boils, military defeat and scorching heat to becoming food for scavenging birds, madness, swarms of insects, starvation, and cannibalism. It’s not a pretty picture Moses paints as he warns the people to obey all the words of the law.  After reading those curses, it’s easy to see how fear of punishment led to legalism and why the minutiae of the law became more important than a relationship with the giver of the law. Fearful of punishment and striving for absolute obedience, the Jews wanted to cover every eventuality.

Although the law pointed out sin, what the people didn’t understand was that the law, no matter how intricately interpreted or followed, could not keep people from sin. We must never make the mistake of thinking we can reach a level of perfection good enough for God; the Israelites couldn’t and neither can we. In actuality, the law revealed that people are sinful and can never attain righteousness through obedience to it; no matter how carefully they try, they will always fall short. Righteousness is attained only through faith in Jesus Christ.

Several weeks ago, I received the following “wisdom” in my email: “Love God and do as you please.” A paraphrase of St. Augustine’s words, it is not carte blanche to sin. Rather, if we genuinely love God with all our being, we will want to do only what pleases Him. We don’t please him to avoid captivity or pestilence or to work our way into His good graces; we please Him out of love. We don’t do it on our strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit. As for me, that seems a whole lot easier than having the Sabbath quandary of whether or not I can turn off the alarm clock, open an umbrella, or pick up the button that fell off my jacket.

Once and for all, I give you this one short command: love, and do what you will. If you hold your peace, hold your peace out of love. If you cry out, cry out in love. If you correct someone, correct them out of love. If you spare them, spare them out of love. Let the root of love be in you: nothing can spring from it but good. [St. Augustine]

Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. [Romans 13:10 (NLT)]

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February 23, 2018

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, God's Word: The Bible, Love & Works, Prayer

MEZUZAHS

rue anemone - swamp lilyWrite them [God’s words] on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. [Deuteronomy 11:20-21 (NLT)]

After unlocking the door, he reached up to the small metal case on the right side of the door post, touched it, and brought his fingers to his lips. My friend is Jewish and inside the box he touched was a mezuzah—a parchment (called a klaf) upon which the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 are hand-written.

Like the tefillin worn during prayers, the mezuzah serves as a reminder of God’s continual presence and the covenant He made with His people. For the Jew, it’s like God saying, “As you enter this house and as you leave it, remember me, your heritage, and all that I’ve taught you.” When touched upon entry, the mezuzah is a reminder that the home is a holy place and, when touched upon exit, it is a reminder of how one should act when out in the world. Observant Jews place a mezuzah on nearly every exterior and interior doorway (bathrooms excepted) as a constant reminder of God as they walk throughout the house. The mezuzah also tells anyone passing through the doorway that it is a Jewish household: a home that serves one God and operates by a special set of traditions, rituals, and principles.

As Christians, we don’t affix mezuzahs to our doorposts but there certainly are times I wish we had a sign by the door that said, “Jesus lives here!” It would remind all who pass through the door (including me) that ours is a home that serves Jesus and operates by His principles. While it should be obvious to anyone that Christ is our king, I wonder if it is as obvious as it should be. I’m not talking about crosses or pictures of Jesus on our walls, Bibles on the bookshelves, or Scripture verses on pillows. Is every room in our house filled with the Fruit of the Spirit? Are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control evidenced in all of our interactions? Is there mercy and forgiveness in our dealings? Is the presence of Christ sensed and is God acknowledged in all we say and do? It’s those things, not décor, that identify a home where Jesus lives.

Thinking about touching the mezuzah upon entry and exit, I wonder what it would be like if, every time we came in the doorway, we paused for a brief moment of prayer, thanking God for our safe arrival, asking Him to help us leave the worries and troubles of the day at the threshold, and praying to be filled with His wisdom, love and patience. What if, every time we left our houses, we also paused for a brief moment of prayer, asking God for safe travel and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all we say and do?

There are hundreds of rules regarding the mezuzah: everything from what size room requires one and the height of its placement to the form of the letters in the script and the way the scroll is to be rolled. Although Jesus freed us from the Old Testament laws, the purpose of the law has not diminished—both in our houses and out, we must always remember the Lord our God and all that He has done (and continues to do) for us.

Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. [Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NLT)]

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February 19, 2018

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Word: The Bible, Holidays & Holy Days, Holy Spirit, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Nature, Sharing Our Faith, Today: Make it Count

LIVING WATER

Medicine LakeJesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water. … But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” [John 4:10,14 (NLT)]

When in Canada last summer, we came across a strange body of water called Medicine Lake; although it looks like a lake, it really isn’t. It’s where the Maligne River backs up before disappearing into several underground pipelines. The cave system draining this river is one of the most extensive in the world. Every spring, the runoff from melting glaciers and snow fills the river with water much faster than it can drain and, as the water backs up, the river becomes a lake. As the summer progresses, the inflow slows and the water level gradually lowers until, in autumn, it once again looks like a river. The disappearing water resurfaces far away in lakes and rivers throughout the Canadian Rockies and eventually ends up in the Pacific Ocean. Medicine Lake is like a bathtub without a stopper that is being filled faster than it can drain; once the faucet’s flow slows down, the tub’s water level lowers but it never quite empties.

On the other hand, the bogs near our northern home are more like bathtubs with drains so gunked up from hair, soap and other yucky stuff that the water can’t empty. Typically, rain and snow are the only source of a bog’s water. Formed when a lake fills with debris, a bog has little or no drainage and the water that enters it stays there. Without movement, the bog’s water becomes stagnant, gets a foul odor, and can become a breeding ground for insects, bacteria, parasites and disease. Thinking of these two bodies of water, I wondered if I’m like Medicine Lake or a bog. Like the lake, do I spread God’s blessings or, like the bog, do I keep them all to myself? The water that feeds both starts clear and fresh, but only water that flows (as it does in the lake) remains that way.

Jesus said He gives us living water, the Holy Spirit, so that we’ll never thirst again. For the water to remain fresh and sweet, however, we can’t allow it to become stagnant; it must flow in and through us and, like the water from Medicine Lake, spread far and wide. Like those underground streams, we must be His pipelines, not just of our blessings, but of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Only when Jesus’ living water pours through us can we bring life to the world. Are we stagnant cisterns or flowing pipelines with rivers of living water flowing from our hearts?

Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. [John 7:37-39a (NLT)]

The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. [Isaiah 58:11 (NLT)]

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