Love Love Love

Noticed something last night.....though I have stated in the past I am not a big "Concert" fan, my mind has been changed.  Tell you why....Love.....We bought tickets for our worship and audio team at Christmas, for this team as a "thank you" gift for ministering with us in 2018.   It is fun hanging  out with our team.

Why the change of heart?  You know...a funny thing about Jesus is that the more He fills your heart, the roomier it becomes. My heart was filled to overflowing last night.
Of course, love can be lost. I know that.  I imagine we all do. Love can grow cold, relationships can wither, friendships can die away.  We probably all know the stats on how splintered or lost relationships can become.

Sometimes even misunderstandings happen, people move away, or we lose interest in each other. I think the withering happens when we think and live for ourselves rather than those we love. As soon as we expect something in return for our love, it is no longer freely given.

Reading Romans a lot, with the message series we are in at PCC, and I read a verse in my devotional time this morning in Romans 13:8 "Owe nothing to anyone - except for your obligation to love one another, if you love your neighbor you fulfill the  requirements of God's law."

The "Holy Roar" concert with Chris Tomlin, Tauren Wells & Pat Barrett reminded me that love is a debt I am willing to live with and can never repay.

Love, like life, involves risk. You can't really, fully love someone without risking your time, your feelings, the future. If afraid to risk, then afraid to love, because intimacy requires risk. Allowing the songs to pour over me last night reminded me that until you open your heart to someone to show them where you hurt the most, intimacy won't be found and you won't uncover the deepest secrets of love.  Again, reminded last night, until you do that with God, you don't see the depths of God's love for you.

Love Love Love ...so Ronda and I are making this a habit of God filling our hearts with worship..."One Voice" March 22 at Grace Point in Pasco...Ryan Stevenson concert April 25 in Kennewick at Crossview... April 26 Steven Curtis Chapman in Yakima....

Maybe your heart needs a fill up....Love...Love....Love...

With a heart overflowing...
Love God - Love People - Change Your World
Chuck

PEOPLE...AGGGGHHHHHH.....RELATIONSHIPS

Read 1 Cor. 12:12-20

You and I were wired for relationships.  We were not meant to do life alone. The reason for the need for God glorfying relationships in our lives is because we are “image bearers” of God. In God, in and of Himself, is a perfect love relationship. 3 distinct relationships, God the Father, God the Son & God the Holy Spirit, and in the book of Genesis it says, “let us make God in our image”.  

We were created to reflect God’s image of Himself, in our relationships with one another.

The New Testament has 59 “one another” quotes, like love one another, forgive one another, honor one another, etc…

A major part of this idea is, the way we reflect God’s glory and grace in this world is the way that we live with and love one another in relationships. While there are all different types of relationships, God calls us to a special relationship in His church.

Two of the primary ways the bible uses to describe relationships is a body and a family.

My question to you is, are you connected to the body? 

The passage in 1 Cor. 12 makes it clear that being connected to the body is vital to Christian life.

See, you need the body and the body needs you.  The body needs you for the part you play. Each person has been given unique gifts for the edification of God’s church, for the glory of His name.  Your church needs you to exercise those gifts to make the most of Jesus.

You also need the body. If you aren’t connected to a local body of believers in worship and in true fellowship then there is a major problem with your Christian walk.  The Christian life was never meant to be a solo career.  The disconnect of a body part is tragic.

If you found a severed arm in the parking lot at work, you would not go, “oh that’s ok, the arm will get along fine in life”. No, you would know that something has gone horribly wrong and you know the future of that severed arm. It will die.

Same with the person severed from the church, so…

are you connected to the local church?

Do you have people praying for you? And are you lifting up other Christians to bear their burdens? If not, do something about this immediately. Join a life group or a discipleship group. Connect to the body. If you know someone attending a church but not connected, invite them to connect with you. As you get more deeply connected to your faith family you can count on deepening your faith.

Love God – Love People – Change Your World

Chuck

THIS WORD WORKS

Read Psalm 1:1-3

Do you love the Word of God? Do you read it? Ingest it? Meditate on it?

Truth is, I have never met a person who had a deep and abiding walk with Jesus that did not have a deep and abiding love for the Word of God.  It is an absolute MUST, if a person wants to deepen their relationship with Jesus.

I pray these 3 verses in Psalms over my immediate family, almost daily.  Why? Because I want my family to love Jesus and have a deep relationship with the God of the Universe.  This psalm says to me that our depth in God’s Word has a direct connection to the depth we have in this life we live.

When we root our life in shallow things like materialism, entertainment, etc…then our life might be unsustainable, but when rooted in God’s Word, our lives will be strong. How will that happen?

John 15 Jesus tells us to abide in Him and He will abide  in us.  Abide is simply an invitation to stay close.  How do we do that? One main way, Jesus says, is to take His Words, the Bible, and have those words abide in us.

See, the Bible is not just an old historical document. It is the supernatural, inspired Word of the Sovereign King of the Universe.

One reason we should read our Bible each day, isn’t just to learn more, but to be transformed by it.

We spend way too much time in our lives listening to ourselves and the lies of the enemy and should be claiming the truth of scriptures to ourselves, and watch the Holy Spirit through the power of the Word of God begin to align our lives to His truth.

Even Jesus, when tempted by Satan in the desert, responded 3 times…”it is written”

Isaiah 55:10,11 says, “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. It is the same with my word. I send it out and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”

This means the Word ALWAYS WORKS!  ALWAYS! It works for us and on us. Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

So if you want God to mold you, shape you and also draw you into a deep relationship….then prioritize some Word time!  We want to Crave the Word of God like we crave air when submerged in water. Dive deep into the Word and God will draw upon a deep relationship with you. ABIDE.

Love God – Love People – Change Your World

Crave It!

Matthew 14:23 “After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.”

Luke 6:12 says “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to god all night.”

Do you have a place?  You need a place. Really, you need a couple places. 

When you read the Gospels, you don’t have to go far to read verses like the ones above. I think you will notice that Jesus made it a habit to go to a certain place and spend time with His Heavenly Father. Jesus liked the mountains, evidently.

Do you have a place where you regularly meet with God?  If you don’t, then get them ASAP. If you are going to deepen your relationship with Jesus in 2019, it's going to require you spend time with Him, regularly.What you do with that time is up to you, but you must spend time regularly with God to know God.

Lately,  have a couple places. Neither place is any big deal. One is my living room couch. Ronda leaves for work by 7am and then, Cooper (our dog) and I sit down and I dive into the Word. Daily. My other place is, randomly in Moses Lake. Currently, I go there weekly, and while Cooper is in rehab (leg stuff) I head over to Starbucks pop in the earbuds and listen to the Bible on-line and journal.

My point…do you have a place to meet with the Lord and if you don’t, figure it out…NOW!

What do you do when you get there? That’s on you a little…Jesus prayed all night….

I read my Bible…Pray…then read my Bible some more.

A person could write out their prayers. A person could memorize scripture.  Read. Meditate. Journal. The thing that is important…consistency.

Small deposits over a long period of time have an accumulative effect.

And it may seem awkward at first….just you there….but over time…you will develop a rhythm with Him you will CRAVE.  Your place can play an important role and your body will start to signal, hey its time to be with the Lord.  I think its good to have a second space you get to once a week or twice a month, a place where you simply won’t be hurried in your “God-time”.

The reason I CRAVE time with the Lord is because I am desperate for Him. I need Him, not just inspiration for a weekly teaching …I need Him! I need to Pray, and listen and meditate, and think.

I hope this year you can create a place where you lean in to God, and just watch Him draw near to you. He promised he would do that. 

So your homework…find the place….convert that spare room that has been vacant for 2 years, Go down to the river, Roasters. Whatever it takes.  Go there often to meet with God and He promises that He will meet with you.

Love God – Love People – Change Your World