Author: pastordarryl68

How often is my love for someone conditional upon what they’ve done for me and what they continue to do for me, how they treat me, how they talk to me, etc?

I don’t deserve the love of Jesus. I’ve done nothing to merit His love. All of my behaviors prior to His redeeming work on the cross for me, prior to Him dying for me and raising from the dead so that I might come to Him and know Him…even though I’d sinned, even though I’d failed, even though all my behaviors were in direct opposition to His love, HE LOVED ME and had a plan, from the beginning of creation, that I might know Him.

I love Him BECAUSE he first loved me.

Realizing that my love is reactive to Christ, realizing that I react to His initiating of love, it TOTALLY REMOVES the excuse for me not loving others.

Even if they’re not loving towards me, not kind or compassionate towards me, I have to realize, I wasn’t those things toward God either, so how could I not extend some poor imitation of Christ’s love to this person, compared to the true love that Christ has shown toward me?

Thanks for the reminder, Mike Winger.

It breaks my heart, literally grieves my spirit, when people claim to be followers of Jesus but, under the banner of his name, spew distaste, hatred, contempt for other persons, stereotypes, groups, etc.

People matter to God; therefore, they ought to matter to us, too… ALL OF THEM, regardless of whether we agree with them, like what they do, what we think of their values, principles or logic and regardless of how they think of or treat others. We don’t have to like what they do or approve of their values or behavior (and we shouldn’t), but we are commanded to love them and our love for them exhibits the difference between professing Jesus and possessing Him.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Matthew 5:43-47 (ESV)

34 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. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

John 13:34-35 (ESV)

A pastor is soooooo grateful for the partner that unites with, loves, and serves the church…just the way it is. And likewise, the body loves a pastor who does the same. The same is true with a marriage. A spouse is soooo grateful for the spouse that loves and serves them…just the way they are.

There is always room for improvement in the church…because it’s the sum total of its human partners. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The same is true with the local church. The church is only as selfless, as holy, and as compassionate as its weakest participants. As followers become more and more in every way like Him, so does His church.

There are people and pastors whose only contributions are, “You should do this…”, “I wish the church did this…”, “I hate that the church does this…”, “we left our last church because they did this…”, “we left our last church because they wouldn’t do this…”, etc. If it is in line with the Word of God, BE that change. Influence with love, sacrifice and service…not with demands, expectations and lines drawn in the sand around your preferences.

No marriage will ever survive those types of attitudes and contributions nor will any church partnership. I cannot go into a relationship wanting to change the other person for my self-centered preferences nor should I leave a relationship because the other will not change to meet my standards or expectations. I’ve observed many a divorce in young marriages because one thought they could force change in the other, once they were married and found out that it did not happen that way.

That’s not to say that there aren’t a couple reasons that you should leave a church partnership or a marriage…but not before first confronting it. Doctrinal error and immorality in a church MUST be confronted and escaped if the body will not heed sound doctrine. Infidelity and abuse in a marriage…the same.

That’s also not to say that every bride of Christ cannot better mirror the majesty of the Bridegroom, doing GOOD works as His workmanship created in Christ Jesus. We can most certainly better reflect His glory by doing some things better, adding some things, and eliminating some things. But according to Ephesians 5, Christ does this by loving and serving His body, giving Himself up for her, and cleansing her with the Word. It’s not about his preferences…it’s about His love and her wholeness.

What would our churches look like if we took the approach of Jesus?

Our marriages?

Our homes?

It’s good to remind ourselves, on occasion, what kind of people are sitting in “church services” – the gatherings of the local body of Jesus followers. In our culture where people who are seeking God or something from God still “go to church”, not all people assembled in a “church building” are expected to be followers nor are all followers at the same stage of spiritual health, fitness, and growth. We need to bear this in mind and adjust our expectations accordingly. That doesn’t mean that we adjust our worship or our doctrine…just how we view people.

• Some are seeking belonging and acceptance…but are not followers.
• Some are investigating faith in and knowledge of Jesus…but are not followers.
• Some are deconstructing false doctrines and false beliefs that they’ve been exposed to by family, education, and/or false teachers…they may or may not be followers.
• Some are learning and beginning to place their faith in Jesus…might be followers but maybe not yet.
• Some are growing in their knowledge of Jesus and The Word as they are taking baby steps of faith through the leadership of God’s Spirit…following Jesus.
• Some are exercising their faith and intimate knowledge of Jesus as they serve, share, give, grow and worship…following Jesus.
• Some are deepening the breadth of their understanding of The Way, The Word, and the character of God…following Jesus.

Not all voices represent God’s Word, God’s Will, or God’s Spirit equally. Not all know what they are talking about. Not all come from a clear God-centered perspective.

But all voices represent someone created in God’s image, deserving of the honor, dignity, and respect due to God’s image-bearers.

Be wise.

Be discerning.

Be kind.

Be compassionate.

Be gracious.

Be forgiving.

It’s good to remind ourselves, on occasion, what kind of people are sitting in “church services” – the gatherings of the local body of Jesus followers. In our culture where people who are seeking God or something from God still “go to church”, not all people assembled in a “church building” are expected to be followers nor are all followers at the same stage of spiritual health, fitness, and growth. We need to bear this in mind and adjust our expectations accordingly. That doesn’t mean that we adjust our worship or our doctrine…just how we view people.

• Some are seeking belonging and acceptance…but are not followers.
• Some are investigating faith in and knowledge of Jesus…but are not followers.
• Some are deconstructing false doctrines and false beliefs that they’ve been exposed to by family, education, and/or false teachers…they may or may not be followers.
• Some are learning and beginning to place their faith in Jesus…might be followers but maybe not yet.
• Some are growing in their knowledge of Jesus and The Word as they are taking baby steps of faith through the leadership of God’s Spirit…following Jesus.
• Some are exercising their faith and intimate knowledge of Jesus as they serve, share, give, grow and worship…following Jesus.
• Some are deepening the breadth of their understanding of The Way, The Word, and the character of God…following Jesus.

Not all voices represent God’s Word, God’s Will, or God’s Spirit equally. Not all know what they are talking about. Not all come from a clear God-centered perspective.

But all voices represent someone created in God’s image, deserving of the honor, dignity, and respect due to God’s image-bearers.

Be wise.

Be discerning.

Be kind.

Be compassionate.

Be gracious.

Be forgiving.

I’m not a lover of high-risk, death-defying activities like bungee-jumping, skydiving, sleeping in a hammock while suspended over a deep, jagged ravine, playing Russian Roulette, eating mushrooms, etc. I have no need or compulsion to feel the rush of adrenaline of a near-death experience. I’m not afraid. I just personally do not find joy OR purpose in voluntarily charging into those situations (no judgment against those who do). I do, however, love the beautiful scenery only observed from some of those incredible heights.

On the other hand, I’m not one to beg God to keep me on this earth one more second than He has already deemed my life useful for His glory and the good of His people. My time is appointed BY God and FOR God and I hope to live every moment as such. I don’t want to waste a minute of this gift on earth (though tragically I have), but I also won’t beg Him for more when I’ve misused what He already entrusted to me. I’m going to trust His sovereign will.

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. [21] For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:20-21 ESV

Sometimes I think I may just be too simple and shallow. Do you ever think that about yourself?

I hear lots of conversations with people who really struggle with questions for which they don’t have answers…some just want to know answers and search endlessly for them, some get derailed by answers or lack thereof and some walk away if they don’t get the answers they want.

There are a lot of things about God and life that are mysteries…we may never in this life know the answers to them. There are other things for which we have multiple answers and different philosophical bents that diverge into opposing belief systems. For example, creation – young earth/old earth, literal days of creation or figurative, predestination/election and free will, hell – eternal/temporal, punitive/redemptive.

I’m one of those people…I’m okay without answers. I’m okay with mystery. I just chalk it up to faith in the God who knows all. That may be a soft way of saying I’m lazy-minded. I don’t feel like I need to “know” in order to live according to the purpose for which He designed me. But I enter some conversations and follow others where I feel like there must be something wrong with me…maybe I just don’t care enough, maybe I’m just not smart enough, maybe I’m just lazy.

I’m not condemning those who have questions for which they want answers, and I’m not self-deprecating because I don’t have a deep need for answers. I wonder if we’re all just wired differently – some more simple and others more complex – and that presents opportunity for the body to stimulate, encourage, exhort one another.

I heard this phrase the other day: “I’m living through my questions.” I found it intriguing.

I think I could just be living in my ignorance, but I’m going to phrase it this way: “I’m living through my faith”…faith that He is God and I’m not. If I don’t know, I probably just don’t need to know right now.

“Work as if everything depends on you; pray as if everything depends on God.”

I cringed every time one of the men who attended our church used to say “If God wants it to happen, it’ll happen” – this was always in the context of work that needed to be done around the church campus. My response: “No sir, God’s not going to come in and set those chairs up…God’s not going to come in and paint that shed…God’s not going to come in and mow that lawn…God’s not going to come in and clean that building or pay those bills. He’s going to tell His servants to do the work so he can do the miracle and He tells them through us, the leaders of the church.” God DOES move His people to do the work and give the money to provide the way for HIM to accomplish the things that He wants to accomplish – and he does so through the hard work and sacrifice of His obedient servants.

In John 2 at the marriage of Cana, Jesus told the servants to fill 6 stone jars with water, and each held 20-30 gallons of water.

Have you thought about how much work that was? Drawing over 120 gallons of water from the well and bringing them to the wedding feast…because there weren’t faucets back then.

It was only after the servants did all that work that they were able to witness Jesus perform his first miracle of turning the water into wine. They did the work so God could do the miracle.

The same is true in your life today…your marriage, your parenting, your community of followers (the church), your discipleship in reaching your neighbors and your city, your finances, your work, etc. We do the work; God does the miracle. What work does God want you to invest in these relationships so he can perform a miracle in their lives?

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”

-John 2:5

Doing good does not MAKE you a disciple of Jesus — a believer, a follower of Christ, a child of God. Only the blood of Jesus, his atonement through his death and resurrection offered by His Holy Spirit in redemption, reconciliation, and restoration can MAKE you a disciple of Jesus. The only thing we offer is our repentance from sin and surrender to His invitation to make Him Lord.

BUT...doing good MARKS you as a disciple of Jesus. IF you are a follower of Jesus, one of the ways that others will be able to tell is by your love for one another - doing good all the time with all of ourselves.

Jesus told the disciples about what it would look like when He returns for those who have inherited His kingdom. He told them that they would be marked by their behavior. Matthew 25:35-40 “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, [36] I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ [37] Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? [38] And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? [39] And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ [40] And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Sometimes we get that wrong and assume we will be rewarded by doing the least of these, even though that’s not what the verse says – it says TO the least of these. Sometimes we want blessing, rewards, favor, acknowledgment, encouragement because we gave God an hour one Sunday last month when we attended church, or we gave him 15 minutes of Bible reading one Wednesday morning when we were sitting in line at the DMV, or because we gave our old VCR to a homeless shelter for the less fortunate. As we all well know, that list could go on and on.

In 2 Samuel 24, King David was told to go before the Lord, build an altar and make an offering on the altar. The guy who owned the place (the threshing floor) where David wanted to build the altar was willing to let him use it for his altar and even offered to give him the supplies he needed to make the offering. But David was not willing to accept this in order to offer it to the Lord. He said, “I will not offer to the Lord my God anything that cost me nothing.” He was not willing to give to God only what came easy or free to him – his leftovers. He bought the land on which the threshing floor sat as well as the animals, crops, and equipment on the land. This land later became the location of the Temple.

Doing the right things for the right reasons in the right ways at the right times is a MARK of a follower of Jesus. Our identity ALWAYS drives our behavior. We give things up. We make sacrifices. We surrender who we once were and submit ourselves to Him, His church, and His Way. How we live is determined by who we are.

What am I giving to God today that costs me nothing/little? What am I giving to God today that costs me my personal agenda, wants, desires, comforts, pleasures, etc.

Doing Good Matters – ALL THE TIME!

Doing good does not MAKE you a disciple of Jesus – a believer, a follower of Christ, a child of God. Only the blood of Jesus, his atonement through his death and resurrection offered by His Holy Spirit in redemption, reconciliation, and restoration can MAKE you a disciple of Jesus. The only thing we offer is our repentance from sin and surrender to His invitation to make Him Lord.

BUT…doing good MARKS you as a disciple of Jesus. IF you are a follower of Jesus, one of the ways that others will be able to tell is by your love for one another – doing good all the time with all of ourselves.

Jesus told the disciples about what it would look like when He returns for those who have inherited His kingdom. He told them that they would be marked by their behavior.

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, [36] I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ [37] Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? [38] And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? [39] And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ [40] And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Matthew 25:35-40

Sometimes we get that wrong and assume we will be rewarded by doing the least of these, even though that’s not what the verse says – it says TO the least of these. Sometimes we want blessing, rewards, favor, acknowledgment, encouragement because we gave God an hour one Sunday last month when we attended church, or we gave him 15 minutes of Bible reading one Wednesday morning when we were sitting in line at the DMV, or because we gave our old VCR to a homeless shelter for the less fortunate. As we all well know, that list could go on and on.

In 2 Samuel 24, King David was told to go before the Lord, build an altar and make an offering on the altar. The guy who owned the place (the threshing floor) where David wanted to build the altar was willing to let him use it for his altar and even offered to give him the supplies he needed to make the offering. But David was not willing to accept this in order to offer it to the Lord. He said, “I will not offer to the Lord my God anything that cost me nothing.” He was not willing to give to God only what came easy or free to him – his leftovers. He bought the land on which the threshing floor sat as well as the animals, crops, and equipment on the land. This land later became the location of the Temple.

Doing the right things for the right reasons in the right ways at the right times is a MARK of a follower of Jesus. Our identity ALWAYS drives our behavior. We give things up. We make sacrifices. We surrender who we once were and submit ourselves to Him, His church, and His Way. How we live is determined by who we are.

What am I giving to God today that costs me nothing/little? What am I giving to God today that costs me my personal agenda, wants, desires, comforts, pleasures, etc.