Friday, November 14, 2014

The Elegant and Meaningful Message of the Book

1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV) 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

There is so much noise surrounding the Bible. There is so much rhetoric. There is so much bias. There are so many skeptics, with so many things to say. But when you actually open up the Bible and read it, wow. Just wow. The message is elegant, beautiful, deep, and meaningful. There are so many ideas, so many stereotypes. It's taught to mean things it never meant and twisted to say things it never said. But in the end, when I actually, myself, open up the book and read it myself, I find something quite different.

That has been my experience in many areas. History is another example. I was very illiterate regarding history and as I read it, more and more I understand the present problems the world faces. Another area is regarding church history, the crusades, and the development of the New Testament canon. I had read books like the Da Vinci Code and the Gnostic gospels. Such fabrications, such obvious forgeries. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. In retrospect I was looking for a reason to disbelieve. I read a bunch of conjecture and took it as fact. I watched the movie Zeitgeist as well. It was an interesting look at world politics, but it also tore apart Christianity. At first I was impressed. But after reading up on the topic, I realized that most of the information about religion in Zeitgeist was simply not true. I watched a rebuttal to Zeitgeists claims regarding Jesus, and similar stories in other religions, and almost none of Zeitgeist's claims held up under academic scrutiny.

Truth gets lost very easily in this world. So does trust. But there is one outside the system in whom we can trust. That is God our Father, through his son Jesus Christ.

Our Father in heaven is indeed faithful. And I will in return be faithful to him. During this present hour of struggle we must suffer in all manner of trials. I've found these trials particularly taxing on my emotions, my ability to keep going everyday, and my ability to sleep soundly. These trials often hurt badly, it's no doubt. But, as verse 7 says, the testing and building of my faith is yielding something worth more than gold. Did you know that an ounce of gold today is worth 1,180 dollars? An ounce is the size of a peanut. Imagine what your faith will be worth in heaven.

I choose to believe what God says today, in his book. That is a radical thing to do, even in a church setting. A lot of people will give it lip service, but they don't live it. After youth group they go home and have sex with their girlfriend. They go get drunk and watch the game. On and on. It's radical to really believe and follow the Book. Can you handle that? Can we do that?

Let's do it. Do you really believe him? I do. He says in verse four "This inheritance is kept in heaven for you." That's not just a nice religious thing to say, or a romantic tradition, it's a fact and a reality.

Verse 3, in his great mercy we have a new birth into a living hope. It's so elegantly stated, don't you think? The scriptures cut right through my mind, my emotions, and the Holy Spirit within gives me a trigger that what I'm reading is actually true. I love that. It's just awesome. It's amazing. It's foundational. It cuts through all the advertisements, false truths, sexualized culture, rhetoric, pomp, and lets me know there and then that God is indeed the sovereign creator of the known and unknown universe.

Verse 5, we through faith are shielded by God's power until our coming salvation. Wow. Shielded through God's power. I love that. I need that shield, everyday. When I wake up in the morning I take a few minutes to lean over and make my petition that God my dad would shield me from the temptations of this world. Verse 7 the perseverence of our faith through this world of skeptics, and reasons to doubt will, yes, will result in praise, glory, and honor at the coming of Jesus Christ.

Verse 8, though you don't see him, you know him, you love him, you believe in him. Remember what Jesus said to Thomas? Jesus said: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

Finally at the end of verse 8, and going into verse 9, you are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the end result of your faith, which is the salvation of your souls. Very simply, it is eternal life we are receiving through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Amen.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Christians in Politics: A Brief Analysis of Issues in the United States

Recently the Republican party claimed a majority in the Senate and increased their majority in the House of Representatives. Elections were held on the local, state, and federal level. In 2016 a new president will be elected. So... who cares?

It's important that Christians and non-Christians a like take part in the political process. Citizens need to hold their elected officials responsible for the decisions they make. Unfortunately we live in a time of unparalleled corruption in the government process and in the private sector. It's making life in the United States very difficult. So we must hold our elected officials accountable for the decisions they make, and we must also even more so, be in constant prayer for our leaders, purposeful, specific prayers for individuals and their attitudes and ideals.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 (ESV) First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

It's difficult to hold elected officials accountable. People go into politics, participate and very quickly they can become jaded and discouraged. But it has to be done. Though our primary purpose is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, many of us are also called to participate in government.

What about "separation of church and state?" someone might say. Well, that statement actually comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson. It's not actually a part of any legal document in our country. But of course we don't have or want a theocracy. We don't need that. We have a democratic republic, with citizens who have freedom of religion. Perfect, let's keep it that way. But of course Christians can participate in the government of the country they're a part of. It's a responsibility of any citizen. In addition, mention is often made of "God" such as on our currency when it says "In God we Trust." There is nothing wrong with that, no one is being forced to believe anything, yet the founders included certain references to God in the original framework. Anyone trying to change that has stepped outside the bounds of the Constitution. That should remain indefinitely in the framework of our country. Why? Because it works, it's built into the design of the country.

As John Adams said, "“Human passions unbridled by morality and religion…would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net.” (Source: John Adams Historical Society)

So what are the issues? What's going on in this country? We definitely need to get educated. I'll come out right now and say that I am a conservative leaning Libertarian. Both parties have failed this country in their own unique ways in the past fifty years. I tend to vote for 3rd party candidates, Libertarians or Constitution party candidates. I also vote for Republicans and some Democrats, depending on their voting record, but I do my homework before voting for anyone. (A good resource for checking voting records is a site called On the Issues.)

The United States has been slowly progressing down a dark path since World War II. I think a lot of us see it. We're not going to go all the way back to the 1940s, but let's consider the past fifteen years, since the events of 9/11 occurred.

The presidency of George W. Bush will forever be a scar on the honor and dignity of the United States of America. It was a time of the curtailing of civil liberties, economic trouble, corruption, surveillance, the bloating of the federal government, deficit spending, and illegal war. The war on terror began, a war that will probably never end. During the presidency of George W. Bush we saw illegal wiretapping, the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions act, financial industry bailout, and of course the invasion of Iraq. Then came the economic collapse.

Then comes on the scene the charismatic senator, Barack Obama. He campaigned on ending the war in Iraq, closing Guantanamo bay, restoring the Constitution, restoring civil liberties, dealing with corporate corruption, and going after Bin Laden in Afghanistan. I voted for Barack Obama in 2008, because I was so desperate for hope and change.

Unfortunately, the presidency of Barack Obama from 2008 to today has been very similar to the Bush presidency. We've seen continued building of the surveillance state, NDAA indefinite detention of American Citizens, scandals like Benghazi, Fast and Furious, the IRS scandal, and the NSA surveillance scandal. The Obama administration even threatened to withhold social security checks from veterans and the elderly if Congress didn't raise the debt ceiling. Obamacare came out, a piece of legislation clearly written by the health care industry and for the health care industry. (IE: Guess who sets the rates?) President Obama's cabinet is full of lobbyists, including a former Goldman Sachs employee running the treasury and a former Monsanto lawyer running the FDA. Under Obama the drug war was expanded, and Federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries continued (in violation of state laws). Obama has given a lot of lip service to "protecting whistleblowers" but his administration has come down even harder on whistleblowers than the Bush administration did. The Obama administration has bombed Yemen, Libya, and very nearly began a war with Iran. Voters came out in force against any kind of bombing of Iran though, and that misguided venture was stopped. Of course there is also Obama's drone war in Pakistan which has left 2,400 dead, civilians included. I haven't even gotten to the wallstreet bailout, or the Federal Reserve's money printing, but I think we've established the high level of corruption. Need I go on?

Our leaders are not being held accountable, to the point that as I've previously mentioned Princeton and Northwestern have analyzed in a study and found that the United States is no longer a democratic republic, but an oligarchy, where a wealthy elite control the country.

The question must then be: How can be begin to hold our elected officials accountable?

Let's look at a few possibilities:

1. Be in contact with legislators via letters, email, and phone calls.

2. Sign petitions & share causes on social media

3. Write to local newspapers regarding key issues

4. Participate in local politics, councils, and committees

5. Talk to friends and family regarding important issues

6. Expose evil and promote the good

7. Run for Office

Perhaps you're wondering, what does all this have to do with Christianity, and the gospel? Well, probably more than you think. Consider abortion, since the Supreme Court ruling over 56 million dead. They have a word for that, genocide. How can I share the gospel with dead children? The answer is, I can't. As the culture becomes more and more depraved and sex obsessed, it becomes more difficult for Christians to stay faithful, and it becomes more difficult for people so lost in sin to come to faith in Christ. Corruption begins to infest every level, academic, economic, scientific, media, politics; everything becomes infected by the greed and depravity caused by people living without the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual principles are required to guide the hearts and minds of citizens; guided by moral beliefs people prosper and the free market can function. Without it, laws upon laws have to be added to protect against this, and prevent that, and eventually it all falls apart. Or as G.K. Chesterton said, "If men will not be governed by the Ten Commandments, they shall be governed by the ten thousand commandments.”

In conclusion, let's just briefly go through some key national issues that I hope you'll pray about, and get involved with as you feel called to do so. I'm not going to go into a lot of details on each particular issue but I will include a link for each issue, for further study. There are many, but these are some key issues:

1. Religious Liberty - if we lose freedom of religion, then we've lost our ability to freely be Christian. We must fight for religious liberty.

2. Civil Liberties - Hitler said that the best way to take power is very slowly over time, piece by piece. Slowly but surely our freedoms are being taken away in this country. Commit to restoring the freedoms that make America great.

3. Abolish the Federal Reserve - this agency has caused huge amounts of inflation of the US currency. As a result average Americans suffer, paying higher prices for the same products. Help Audit the Fed, help End the Fed.

4. Repeal Citizens United Ruling - The citizens united ruling by the supreme court has allowed billions of dollars to flow into the political process. It's a fatal wound on democracy.

5. Abolish Abortion - Pray about this issue, pray a lot. And get involved! People need to get educated about the science behind abortion. It's not even debatable based on the science alone, much less the moral implications.

6. Protect Net Neutrality - the internet is the last hope for the free exchange of information, other it's just the television "programming." Consider being an advocate for a free and open internet. Otherwise internet slow lanes may become a reality.

7. Label Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) - Monsanto has been fighting hard to prevent genetically modified foods from being labeled. Never-the-less people are fighting back, and there is a growing demand for organic food. The health effects on the United States people is obvious. Heart disease and cancer are out of control in the USA.

8. Protect Traditional Marriage - Some would prefer that government stay out of marriage entirely, but at this point, best to protect the traditional view of marriage.

9. Repeal Obamacare - This corrupt piece of legislation must be abolished. Pray about this issue.

10. Turn off the Television - boycott television media, refuse to watch the corrupt media corporations like CNN, Fox, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and the other propaganda networks. Support alternative media, and internet news.

11. Deal with corruption in Banking & Corporations - How can we deal with the issue of corruption? More laws, less laws? Prosecution? Prayer?

12. Non-interventionist Foreign Policy - We as a country and a people are over 17 trillion dollars in debt. The wars in the middle east need to stop for financial reasons and moral reasons. Bombing countries and constantly manipulating events and installing puppet dictators has made us enemies all over the world. Supporting Israel is of course important, but invading countries and manipulating politics in the region has been a dismal failure over the past sixty years. Bring the troops home, bring the bases home, keep Israel protected, but 700 bases across the planet is too many.

There are many key political issues and all of them need dedicated champions. Get involved if you can, and be in constant prayer for the new leaders in the republican controlled Congress: for wise decisions, humility, character, and perseverance against corruption. In conclusion, as Malcom Muggeridge said "It would be difficult for anyone looking around the world today to resist the conclusion that something has gone very badly indeed with what we continue to call “Western Civilization.” This awareness tends to be distorted and muffled – if not obliterated – by the media, which manage to induce us to take for granted the continually explosive situations that confront us on every hand, and to see as an enlargement of our freedom and an enhancement of the quality of our living the steady and ominous erosion of the moral standards on which our traditional way of life has been based." - The True Crisis of our Time

Good luck and God bless. We'll need both.

"The most effective way to do it, is to do it." - Amelia Earhart

Psalm 33:12 (ESV) Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Works Cited

Blanks, Jonathan. "Obama Says He Ended the ‘War on Drugs.’ Don’t Believe Him." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 18 July 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/07/18/obama-says-he-ended-the-war-on-drugs-dont-believe-him/>.

Boren, Zachary. "Major Study Finds The US Is An Oligarchy." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.businessinsider.com/major-study-finds-that-the-us-is-an-oligarchy-2014-4>.

"Bush Administration Scandals." The Center for Media and Democracy. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bush_administration_scandals>.

Chulov, Martin, and Helen Pidd. "Defector Admits to WMD Lies That Triggered Iraq War." The Guardian. 15 Feb. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/15/defector-admits-wmd-lies-iraq-war>.

Dreisbach, Daniel L. "The Mythical "Wall of Separation" How a Misused Metaphor Changed Church–State Law, Policy, and Discourse." The Heritage Foundation. 23 June 2006. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2006/06/the-mythical-wall-of-separation-how-a-misused-metaphor-changed-church-state-law-policy-and-discourse>.

Goldfarb, Zachary A., and Karen Tumulty. "IRS Admits Targeting Conservatives for Tax Scrutiny in 2012 Election." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 10 May 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/irs-admits-targeting-conservatives-for-tax-scrutiny-in-2012-election/2013/05/10/3b6a0ada-b987-11e2-92f3-f291801936b8_story.html>.

Kirchner, Lauren. "The Obama Administration’s Pursuit of Whistleblowers Is Taking a Toll." Columbia Journalism Review. 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/us_drops_in_global_press_freed.php?page=all>.

Lennard, Natasha. "Obama Signs NDAA 2014, Indefinite Detention Remains." Salon.com. Salon, 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.salon.com/2013/12/27/obama_signs_ndaa_2014_indefinite_detention_remains/>.

Lubin, Gus. "20 Lobbyists Infesting The Obama Administration." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-lobbyists-inside-the-obamas-administration?op=1>.

"Military Commissions Act of 2006." American Civil Liberties Union. 13 Mar. 2007. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <https://www.aclu.org/national-security/military-commissions-act-2006>.

Miller, S.A., and Sean Lengell. "Bush Signs Wall Street Bailout." Washington Times. The Washington Times, 4 Oct. 2008. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/04/bush-signs-wall-street-bailout/?page=all>.

"Obama's Numbers (April 2014 Update)." FactCheckorg. 1 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.factcheck.org/2014/04/obamas-numbers-april-2014-update/>.

O’Bannon, Randall K. "Abortions Top 56 Million since Roe v. Wade | NRL News Today." NRL News Today. 10 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/2014/01/abortions-top-56-million-since-roe-v-wade/#.VGI7J8kYTkg>.

Sledge, Matt. "The Toll Of 5 Years Of Drone Strikes: 2,400 Dead." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 23 Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/23/obama-drone-program-anniversary_n_4654825.html>.

"The Patriot Act." Constitutional Rights Foundation. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.crf-usa.org/america-responds-to-terrorism/the-patriot-act.html>.

Volz, Dustin. "Despite Obama's Pledge to Curb It, NSA Mass Surveillance Wins Rubber Stamp." National Journal. National Journal, 13 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/despite-obama-s-pledge-to-curb-it-nsa-mass-surveillance-wins-rubber-stamp-20140913>.

Monday, November 10, 2014

The Servant Leader: A Radical Concept

This post is part of the November Synchroblog.

John 12:26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

The radical idea of the servant leader. I have brought this subject up many times. The true role of leader in the Bible is that of the humble servant. People have said that kind of limited view of leadership is "dangerous." I disagree. The biblical view of leadership is most certainly humble service. Listen to what Jesus had to say regarding leadership:

Matthew 20:25-28 (ESV) But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

That seems pretty clear to me. Also have a look at the way Luke recorded it:

Luke 22:24-27 (ESV) A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

Also, have a look at the example Jesus left for us in his actions in John 13:

John 13:12-15 (ESV) When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

The role of the leader is the servant of his entire congregation, his organization, or missionary group. In the United States often the pastor or leader looks more like an Oil Tycoon or CEO. Rick Warren comes to mind. Or in the case of Mark Driscoll, when the pastor plays King on the mountain, and staff members get bullied as a result. Power, prestige, influence has often been the role of the pastor in the United States. Such things invariably lead to corruption. Dare I even mention the Pope or Bishops across Europe who have so often wielded such immense power, leading to such intense corruption in the papal ranks?

I really don't think I'm wrong about this one. You'd be hard pressed to find scripture to back up a Pastor as a wielder of influence and power. Historically we've seen time and again that when too much power is wielded by religious leaders that power is abused and the cause of Christ in the world is damaged. To me, that seems much more dangerous than the servant leader.

It's important to understand that while I am referring to a humble servant leader, that is greatly different than a servile weak leader.

Let's look at 1 Timothy 3:

1 Timothy 3:1-7 (ESV)
The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

The servant leader is a radical concept. Self controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. Gentle, but firm, able to lead but not lording it over his people. It takes careful balance.

In conclusion, how would Jesus lead? He led by serving. He set the ultimate example of putting others before himself. In the end his servant attitude meant he died for his friends. That is the ultimate picture of a leader, yesterday, today, and always.

Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV) Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Christian Bloggers on the topic of Leadership for November:

Justin Steckbauer – The Servant Leader: A Radical Concept
Mary – Can I Get A Doctor?
Glenn Hager – The Man Of God Myth
Lisa – Forgive
Jeremy Myers – Reconciling Mark Driscoll
Peggy Brown – Abi and November’s Synchroblog: Spiritual Abuse and Redemption
Edwin Pastor FedEx Aldrich – Shooting Stars: Of Scandal, Abuse, Restoration, and Systematic Failures
Tara – Forgive Us Our Sins As We Forgive Those…
Liz Dyer – Sorry

Saturday, November 8, 2014

What is love?

What is this mystical idea called love?

Love is the greatest ideal. It's the greatest value. Everyone loves love. Whether it's an atheist dreamer, a New Ager, Universalist, Buddhist, Hindu, Jew or Agnostic Marxist, it's all about love. Love, love, love. Love is the answer, right?

The Bible says "God is love." 1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

But what is love exactly? Let's check the English dictionary first, just so we know where we're starting from:

According to dictionary.com and it's entry for "love" love is:

1.a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2.a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.

3.sexual passion or desire.

Interesting. Simple enough, words like "affection" and "profoundly tender passion." And what about the Bible? What does it say about the L word?

Well, according to Strong's Concordance, New Testament Lexicon the word used in 1 John 4:8 for love is transliterated from Greek "Agape."

The definition/semantic range for "agape" is "

brotherly love, affection, good will, love, benevolence
love feasts

If God is love, then he must in fact, love us. It could be said about God that his most defining attribute would be his capacity for affection (love) toward his children. That's you.

In addition to God loving us, his children, he also came as Immanuel, Jesus Christ, and gave two supreme commands, both of them in direct regard to love. Remember?

Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus replied: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”(bold added for emphasis)

God loves us, and he asks us to love him in response. In addition, he says to love others (including ourselves). One could say that Christianity itself is believing in Jesus Christ and his work, and loving God and people. It's really that simple.

But loving is sometimes difficult, isn't it?

I remember when I was young I had a lot of love to give. It seems to me that when we are young we have a very high capacity for love. Maybe as life goes on that supply, that treasure trove of love is depleted. Sometimes our parents neglect us, or abuse us. Sometimes tragedies happen early on in life. The girl we got the crush on tells us to get lost in no uncertain terms. Friends leave us. Parents fight.

Then on into adult life, and other things happen. Time and again things happen, and life starts to feel like a drudgery. Bitterness takes the place of love and openness. Pain replaces forgiveness with anger. We lash out at those closest to us when they hurt us, in a desperate attempt to protect what little love and self esteem we have left.

It's a tragedy, of course it is. I know every single person reading this can relate in some way to enduring pain, and being drained of their ability to love. I know for certain I'm not alone in that one. It's difficult. It's very difficult. But if we are to be Christian brothers and sisters, we must relearn how to give love and receive love.

The following is a letter a dad wrote to his daughter while she was young, regarding the impact the world might have on her in the future. I think it illustrates very well the love we have when we're young and how can sometimes lose it:

Dear Daughter,

I hope you never notice the magazine rack at the supermarket.

I hope you never see the billboards on the highway or the ads on the side of the city bus.

I hope you never learn about Hollywood and the fashion industry.

I hope you never listen to pop music.

I hope you never walk down the makeup aisle.

I hope you never hate your own appearance.

I hope you never pick up the habit of putting yourself down whenever someone compliments you.

I hope you never feel the pressure to physically conform to the perverse standards of a disordered world.

I hope you always stay exactly as you are right now. Innocent, carefree, unencumbered, pure.

But these could only be the hopes of a foolish idealist like your Dad. I can rub the genie lamp and make a thousand stupid wishes, but you will grow. You will start to learn about the culture that surrounds you. You will form opinions about yourself. Your vivacious, bubbly happiness will give way to more complex emotions. You will develop new dimensions.

In these times, here in your very early life, you only cry because you're hungry or tired or you want me to hold you. One day, though, your tears will come from a deeper place.

And, when that day comes, I want you to remember one thing: you are beautiful.

(Read the rest of the letter - click here.)

Love binds everything in the Christian faith together in perfect harmony (Col 3:14). Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV) says "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

The only reason you and I are capable of loving anyone today is because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). God loves you very much. For some, some lucky few that is very easy to understand. For me, that is very difficult to understand. But it's true. Even if at times I can't feel it, more and more, that love sneaks in through the cracks. At times I can feel his loving presence in my heart, surrounding me, in the trees, the wind, in the sky above. It's the love of God that is the replenishing power to refill your drained love reserves. He's got love to fill in all the broken areas within you.

We can put the disciplines into practice too. Colossians 3:12-14 lists compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience as the clothing of the Christian people. Those are wonderful personality traits! Cultivate them! It's not too hard. Sometimes when I'm at work I remind myself in my head, go strike up a conversation with a resident, ask them about how they're doing and encourage them to keep going. Or I remind myself to compliment someone about their progress forward. When I'm in line at the store I try to remind myself to smile, and look the person at the cash register in the eyes so they know I consider them to be a real person of value. Here's a good one, when I'm rushing around in traffic on the way to work, I remind myself, patience, as my angry emotions are building up! That's a tough one.

What I'm trying to say here is that it's a duel approach. The front tire is prayer and alone time with God. I pray for those attributes, I pray for more capacity for love in my heart and in my life actions. But prayer isn't enough. I can pray all I want, but that won't change much unless I also take actions. The back tire is making a valiant effort to practice the principles of love, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience in my everyday life. How can I put it into practice? How can I slow down just a bit more, and show some extra care and love for those around me?

Very simply, over time with prayer and practice the qualities I'm attempting to emulate slowly become core parts of my character and I just naturally do them.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹²For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

There are so many scriptures I could pull regarding love, because love is the entire message of the Old Testament and New Testament. It all comes together in love. All the endless laws of the Old Testament were all guidelines to let people know that people who love one another "don't do this, don't do that" (Gal 5:14).

An entire book could be written about 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, and it would've even have to be about loveless rejects arguing cessation vs. continuation (that's another story). I remember this scripture being plastered all over my parents house when I was growing up. Love is this, love is that. Sometimes it's easier to read than to put into practice though. Oh well.

The most famous scripture out of the Bible is regarding love: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The Bible describes the ultimate expression of love like this:

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

You'll notice that a lot of the verses I'm pulling from the Bible are either from the book of John or 1 John. The Gospel of John is really the passionate love gospel. It's all about love in John, and John is my favorite gospel. 1 John, written by John himself, of course talks a lot about love as well. He was the love writer of the love gospel. And I love it!

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In closing, the world will know who Jesus is, by our example of love. Love is much more important than blasting sinners. Let the Holy Spirit handle that work. Love people and give them grace. Be a picture of Jesus to them. Bless people that talk smack behind your back. Bless people who stab you in the back. Bless people who have hurt you in the past. That's the tough part of love. We don't get to hold grudges as Christians. Not allowed to. We get to love people. Think about it. Have you ever seen an angry street preacher arguing with people, or a pastor condemning a certain people group? Imagine how turned away people feel! Very often we can work so hard to win an argument, but really all we've done is lost the person. How can we love? How can we listen? How can we identify with their point of view? Those are the questions that must be asked of the modern Christian. Contend for sound doctrine, Biblical authority, share the apologetics arguments, but do so all in love. The perfect way to say it I think is this: "Speak the truth, in love" (Eph 4:15).