What Can We Learn From Egyptian Christians?

Thank you to Carlos Whittaker for posting this picture and allowing people to comment on it's meaning.

Take a look at this picture from the recent conflicts in Egypt.  What does this image say to you?  Comments, please:

Read more about this here :  Christians Protect Muslims during Prayer

Cheating God is Making Me Fat

Well, I'm learning alot about myself through this journey of learning what it means to love.  Today, I stumbled upon a devotion that I cannot ignore because it directly relates to me and this journey I am on.  Here's the deal:  it's no secret that I like food...alot.  Let me be totally honest...I love food!  (There's that word...love...I bet God wants to show me something!).  As a result of my affinity for all things delicious, I am somewhat...er, rather...well, quite a bit overweight.  I know I have an eating problem, and try as I might, I cannot seem to overcome it.  While being healthy is important to me, as is feeling good about myself and being able to play football and softball and run around with my kids, I have resolved myself to being overweight and having to just "deal with it."  Then I found a free 21 day devotional book concerning food and today i read day one. 

"OK God, you've got my attention - I hear you loud and clear!"

Here's the big reveal - turns out that I am loving food more than I am loving God.  I have actually thought this is the past, but I didn't have the correct perspective.  This past Friday we hosted our first small group study on Francis Chan's book "Crazy Love" and we talked about how BIG God is.  God is so far more than we can ever possibly imagine, and I have chosen to replace Him with steak and potatoes,  burgers and fries, Ronald McDonald and Wendy(s).  I know I've always been an emotional eater, meaning when I get sad or depressed I go find something to eat.  When I get bored, I eat.  When I am mad, I eat.  When I am nervous I don't eat anything, but I make up for it later on when I am no longer nervous.  But here's what I came to realize today...I should be turning to God in those times, not a bag of chips. 

To some of you this may seem like no big deal, but here I am trying to learn about what it means to love God and love like God, and He shows me that I love food more than him.  What if one of my kids was upset and wouldn't say a word to me, but went to the pantry and grabbed a snack instead.  I'd feel like they were robbing me of an opportunity to show my love for them.  When my kids are hurting, I want to hold them in my arms and tell them things will be OK, that we'll get through this together.  As big as God is, He wants us to turn to Him for comfort, yet I essentially say, "No thanks, God...I've got "Five Guys" who I'd rather have help me feel better.  This is absolutely stupid on my part.  I've been cheating God out of a chance to show me the greatness of His love.  It stops now!

So today is day #1 of a new part of my journey...the part where I ask for forgiveness, and then start turning to God instead of food.  When I am sad - there's God.  When I am tired - there's God.  When I am frustrated with my job - there's God.  When I am bored - there's God.  When I don't feel like getting up a few minutes earlier in the morning to go exercise - there's God.  I have to stop relying on food, and rely first and foremost on God. 

Just a 'Feel-Good" Story?

I have been moved by the recent story of Ted Williams.  No, not the guy who once hit over .400 for the Red Sox, but a homeless man living in Ohio who has a "golden radio voice."  In case you haven't seen it yet, here's the video:



Now, this guy has great voice!  And I am genuinely thrilled that the Cleveland Cavaliers stepped up and gave him a job.  I am thrilled that he has been reunited with his 90 year old mother.  It's great to see a guy go from rags to riches!!  Reminds me of the movie with Jamie Foxx called "The Soloist" - homeless guy on the streets who has a great talent and finds redemption.

But my heart aches for all the other homeless people who do not have great radio voices or who couldn't play the cello in a closet let alone in a performance hall.

What about them?  Why is it that we are so quick to overlook people who can't help themselves?  I include myself in this...I admittedly am attracted to the emotional, feel good stories of a guy like Ted Williams getting another chance.  How many times have I failed to even give spare change to the guy on the corner?  Too many to count I am sad to admit. 

This blog is about love.  Too many times we take the easy way out and love those that we deem to be worth loving.  I mean, it's so much easier to love a guy with a great voice, or a cello player or a decorated Army veteran.  I'm not here to suggest we shouldn't help those types of people, but what about the guy who has had both arms amputated?  What about the woman who was disfigured after being beaten by her abusive husband for years?  What about the children in orphanages who have down-syndrome?  Where's the feel-good story there?  No one will get any media attention for  helping them and I'd like to find a way to step out of my comfort zone and pay attention to the ones that we normally overlook.

Remember all those "WWJD" bracelets and bumper stickers that were so popular years ago?  I do and I ask the question, what would Jesus do?  Would He find the one guy with special talent and exalt him to some position and give him a house and food and have him appear on talk shows?  I don't think so and here's why:  time and time again we saw that Jesus spent time with the "outcasts" of society and I believe that he would paid attention to the ones nobody loved.  Lepers...no one would go near these people, but Jesus did.  Blind, lame, bleeding, possessed...these were not people with special gifts, but rather things that people considered curses and yet Jesus went to them and healed them and then made a big scene and got lots of attention as a result.  No, he didn't do that did He?  He didn't look for attention.  He didn't hold press conferences and tell the world how he healed a blind guy, or stopped a woman's bleeding.  He healed, He fed and He gave a second chance to people who had no hope of ever getting it.

I am thrilled for Mr. Williams and I will keep tabs on his story and I genuinely hope he stays sober and clean and takes this opportunity to change his life.  But I pray that I will remember the ones who are still standing in the cold without food or water and without hope. 

Genuine love means taking the road less travelled.  Genuine love means walking past the cameras, past the ones with special gifts and helping those who have no hope.  Genuine love means sacrificing what we value as good no matter the cost.

Love Ain't Easy, but God Never Fails

Have you ever had one of those times when you thought you were doing something right, but then the backlash makes you wonder why you bothered in the first place? I won't get into details, but I've had that happen more than once and each time I find myself swallowing my pride or taking one for the team or any number of other cliches.  It seems to be hardest when family is involved.  I find myself asking the question "Do my personal views need to be glorified or do I need to make sure that God is glorified?"  The answer to that is easy when looking from the outside-in, but in the midst of a situation, the lines in between the two can be easily blurred.

Today I am especially reminded of the verses on which I have based this blog.  "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ( Corinthians 3:4-8).  Wow...that's hard stuff.  Personally, I have read that verse a hundred times and while I know what it says, it wasn't until recently that I began to internalize the importance of these verses.  What is the greatest commandment from God? "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27).  The greatest commandment is to love and through 1 Corinthians 3:4-8 we know what love looks like.  Are we doing it?

I encourage you to try this little exercise:  rewrite 1 Corinthians 3:4-8, but insert your name in place of the word 'love' or pronouns referring to love and read it out loud.  Here's how mine reads:

"Kevin is patient, Kevin is kind. Kevin does not envy, Kevin does boast, Kevin is not proud.  Kevin does not dishonor others.  Kevin is not self-seeking, Kevin is not easily angered and Kevin keeps no record of wrongs.  Kevin does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  Kevin always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Kevin never fails."

This is humbling as I reflect on the fact that I am generally a good person. But if the greatest commandment is to love, and I insert my name and can then clearly see that I fall short of reflecting what love is, then I have got some work to do.  It is a daunting task to look at love and look at our shortcomings and seek to try to correct the situation.  For me - I get three words into that verse and fall apart...I am not a patient person.  Personal evaluation and reflection is overwhelming at times, but what gives me hope is knowing that I can rely on God's attributes and not my own.  Now let's rewrite that verse and insert God's name and I will show you what I mean:

"God is patient, God is kind. God does not envy, God does boast, God is not proud.  God does not dishonor others.  God is not self-seeking, God is not easily angered and God keeps no record of wrongs.  God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  God never fails."

While I fall apart on the first three words,  I am comforted that I can lean on God right to the final three words where I am reminded that "GOD NEVER FAILS."  So while I am easily angered, God is not.  While I may keep a mental list of the wrongs others commit against me, God does not remember mine.  While I may fail miserably in every aspect of my life, I can count on Him because God never fails.

Love isn't easy - I don't find anywhere in the Bible where God says anything will be easy (a result of the fall?) but He's there to help us.  The Holy Spirit that indwells us gives us the strength to do the difficult even when we don't think we need the help.

A Mother's Love

As mentioned in a previous post about books, I haven't done much reading in the last 15 or so.  However, in the last 12 months or so, starting with some suggestions from my brother-in-law, I have regained a passion for reading anything and everything I can get my hands on...mostly free from the library.  While borrowing books from the library is great, I find myself being aggravated at times because I must refrain from dog-earing the pages and marking them up with underlines and highlights.  Yes, I am finding lots of material worth remembering later on.  I know the "e-readers" are becoming increasingly popular - but can you select and highlight passages to refer back to later?

I have discovered that I enjoy reading about people who made incredible sacrifices in order to serve God.  The first couple of books I read explored the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.  Absolutely inspiring!  Most recently I read a book called "No Greater Love" written by Mother Teresa.  Everyone knows who she is and about the work that she did in Calcutta, India, but I was interested in reading something from HER perspective.  Why did she do what she did?  What words of wisdom can she offer?  Did she ever consider doing something different with her life?  The thing that amazed me most after reading her book, was the number of times that she talked about LOVE!

Mother Teresa was able to completely abandon her own wants and desires because of her love for Christ.  She thought of herself as a bride of Christ and intimately loved Him with all of her being.  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength" was a command recorded by 3 of the 4 gospel writers.  It is also mentioned numerous times in the old testament (Deut. 6:5; Deut 10:12; Deut 11:13; Deut. 13:3 to mention a few...)  It must be an important thing to do for it to be mention more than a few times throughout Scripture.  Mother Teresa was able to care for the sick and dying because of her immense, personal love for her Savior. 

In point of fact she refers numerous times in her book to the passage in Matthew 25:40 "...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Mother Teresa saw the image of Christ emblazoned on every person she pulled out of the gutter.  She gave food to the famished, medicine to the sick, dignity to the dying & love to the unlovable.  She didn't spend all her time preaching - although she was more than happy to share about Christ when someone asked.  She knew that her actions helped to meet the needs of a broken person and that quite often opened a door to a conversation about Christ's love.

I wasn't left with a feeling of guilt after finishing this book, instead I felt empowered and motivated to help those less fortunate than me.  How can I possibly complain about all sorts of things, while 1/2 way across the world, there are people that haven't had a meal in days?  I don't feel guilty about that, I feel blessed to live in the country I live in.  "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required..." Luke 12:48.  I am reminded rather that we have a responsibility to help those in need.  I think a great number of people are willing to help, but Mother Teresa points out that it is much too easy for people to choose to reach out to the rich instead of the ones who really need help.  She says that in general the majority of people would rather try to witness to a bunch of rich folks than clean the wounds of the dying.  Yeah, she was probably right. 

Love, pray, love, serve, love, give, love and then love some more.  That is a quick summation of Mother Teresa's life.  No task was too gross or too degrading.  Nothing she did was too menial and nothing was more important than for caring for one of God's children.  She understood God's love for her and she was able to show that same love in a very tangible way.  I pray that God would open my eyes to see the opportunities before me to show His love, no matter the cost.

 

Loved Before You Were Born

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”  (Jeremiah 1:5)

God knew you, as he knew Jeremiah, long before you were born or even conceived.  He thought about you and planned for you.  We weren't some cosmic accident, but rather individually knit together by a God who loves us.  I've never had a so-called "conversion moment" as I was raised in a Christian home and Christianity was all I knew.  As a result, I have had a difficult time wrapping my head around the idea that I was made intentionally for a specific purpose.  Honestly, it has been a constant struggle for me to comprehend God's love for me.  To think about God's love meant thinking in general terms in relation to this Creator loving everything that He made.  It wasn't personal enough for me.  And it is for that reason that I have created this blog.  I know God loves me...but I need to learn more about what that means and how to then apply it in showing that love to others.

There are two families in our church that are currently in different stages of adopting a child.  I cannot write enough about the love that is shown through adoption (I'd like to sometime!) but for this post, I want to share the picture of God's love for us that I see through watching our friends.  One of the families has already met the child they are to adopt and I know that their hearts ache to be back with him.  I cannot imagine having to leave a child behind on the other side of the globe.  They've experienced this child's laugh, his smile and warm embrace.  They've seen him play and run and have seen the progression from the shyness of their first encounter to the acceptance and comfort of knowing they will soon be together forever.  As it is with adoption, especially international adoption, there is a waiting period and paperwork that must be contended with and that means weeks of waiting and longing.  But this family now knows who their child is going to be.  Their child has a name, a face, a personality and has captured the love and affection of two people soon to be known as Mommy and Daddy.

Preparations are being made for this child's arrival into their family.  There have been baby showers and shopping trips and the room is decorated with his name proudly spelled out in large white letters across one wall of his bedroom.  There is so much anticipation and so much love that goes into making things perfect for the big day when they walk him through the front door.  I can only imagine that every moment of their days are filled with thoughts of being with their son and showing him a love that he hasn't known before.

Isn't this a fantastic picture of that verse in Jeremiah?  God knew who we were before we were born just as this family now knows their child before his "birth" into their family.  I have 3 children of my own, and I can remember the emotions waiting for the birth of each of them.  The difference was that I did not "know" my child the way these adoptive parents have had a chance to know their son.  In my case, I knew a baby was there and it was mine and I loved him or her no matter what.  But to be able to see the smile, the laughs and get the hugs and kisses before the "birth" - that makes it so much more personal.  God loved us on that personal level.  He knew us by name, He knew our smile, our laugh, our cry, our pain, our struggles, our joys, our excitement...all before we were a twinkle in our parents' eyes. 

"In the very beginning, when this great universe lay in the mind of God like unborn forests in the acorn cup—long before the echoes awoke the solitudes—before the mountains were brought forth. Long before the light flashed through the sky, God loved His chosen creatures. Before there was any created being—when the ether was not fanned by an angel’s wing, when space itself had not an existence, when there was nothing save God alone—even then, in that loneliness of Deity and in that deep quiet and profundity, His heart moved with love for His chosen. Their names were written on His heart and then were they dear to His soul. Jesus loved His people before the foundation of the world—even from eternity! And when He called me by His Grace, He said to me, “I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you.” -- Charles H. Spurgeon

How do we respond to Him? Do we reject His love and forget that we were once 'orphans' in a foreign land or do we cling to him with love and affection?  Remember that God has always thought of you as valuable and that he has a purpose in mind for you.  Now THAT's family planning!

Who Deserves it More?

In spending some time this week considering God's love for me, the question crossed my mind: Would I be willing to die for someone else?  In reading the book of John, I came to this verse John 15:13 "Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one's own life for his friends."  I've given money to friends when they've needed it, and I've even taken blame for mistakes at work so that a coworker wouldn't be reprimanded.  But if push came to shove, could I make the decision to give my life for someone else?  It takes some soul searching to try to come to an honest answer.  I think that most husbands (good ones anyway) would say that they give their life for their wife and the majority of parents would willingly sacrifice their own if it meant saving a child's life.  But what about a sibling? A cousin? The guy or girl who sits in the office across the hall?  The jerk who cut you off this evening on the way home?  If you're like me you got to the end of the list of choices I gave there and thought, "Yeah right...I'm not even going to yield for that guy let alone give my life for him."  Somehow we seem to be able to place a value on the lives of the people around us and make judgement calls based on who deserves our love. 

One of my favorite authors, Donald Miller, calls this the "Lifeboat Theory."  In his book, Searching For God Knows What, Miller describes a scenario where people are (and I will paraphrase to save time) drifting through life in a big lifeboat.  As food begins to run out, we look at each other and assign value and try to justify why we are better than everyone else.  No one is about to risk death and give up their ration of food so someone else can live, right?  He then applies that to our everyday lives.  I deserve to live more than "that" guy...I have a graduate college degree.  I'm clean-cut, give 10% and wear a tie every week to church...clearly I deserve to be rescued before that kid that wears all black to church with piercings and black nail polish.   I have a certificate in Biblical Studies from an online seminary, sing in the choir, serve food to the homeless and attend prayer meeting...that woman only vacuums the sanctuary once a week, why does she deserve to live more than me?

Stay with me, here's the point - isn't it a good thing that God's love doesn't work like that?  I'm sure glad, because I've screwed up many times and I've spent years not being willing to serve in the church.  If my hope of God's love was based on service or who is most 'perfect' - I'd be fairly low on the list.  But I'm sure I would be able to look around and try to justify why I am better than that person or that guy or some woman at work.  We are all created in God's image and He loves each of us unconditionally.  And here's the kicker...He was willing to give His life for us and took it one step further...gave up the one thing most precious to Him...His Son!  I may be willing at some point in my life to make a decision to give up my life for someone else, but tell my son I'm giving HIS life for someone else's...not a chance!  And that's why I am glad He's God and I am not dependent on my own abilities to attain His love and grace.

We all know the verse John 3:16 and we see it on signs at almost every football game, but how often do we really think about the depth of God's love for us that he would send us His son?  He sure loves us!!  God doesn't play favorites and check out some list of who's been naughty or nice...we don't have to be perfect for God to love us...thankfully.  Here's one of my favorite verses:  "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8)  God doesn't wait for us to deserve love.  God gave his life for the jerk who cut him off in traffic.  God loves us whether we have a college degree or can't read and write.  God loves us whether we have the Bible memorized or never opened the front cover.  God loves Billy Graham and my foul-mouthed, lying, cheating and drunken neighbors.**

"So are we supposed to be looking for opportunities to die??" - Ummm, nope.  But we sure can give of ourselves in other ways.  We can sacrifice ourselves by giving up the great seat on the bus.  We can park farther away from the front door of a store so an older lady doesn't have to walk as far in the cold.  We can skip lunch tomorrow and buy a sandwich for the homeless guy on the corner that everyone else walks by.  We can forego buying Christmas presents for our spouses this year and instead buy some toys for kids whose parent(s) are in jail.  We are no better than they are and God loves us the same.  Shouldn't we try to love others that way too?

**To my knowledge, none of my neighbors meet this description and I am not intentionally describing someone you know.  If you feel that I was describing you, perhaps that is God's way of telling you something!!

4 Words No Father Wants to Hear

"YOU DON'T LOVE ME!"

You can't find 4 words that have the ability to make a father crumble more than these.  They are powerful words when strung together that way.  They give an eight year old the ability to make a grown man stop dead in his tracks.  It's unfortunate, but I think we have all uttered that phrase at one point in our lives...I remember my Dad telling me many times that I would 'understand once I had kids of my own.'  He was right.  There are times when I wish that I could go back and undo the things I have said to my Dad over the years, but this is the one phrase that tops the list. 

My eight year old daughter has thrown that at me a few times, and each time I feel like I have been punched in the stomach by Evander Holyfield (not that would know how that really feels).  In that moment I welled up with so many emotions: anger, love, sadness, frustration.  If you've heard those words come flying at you, you probably felt the same way.  I wanted to scoop her up in my arms and hug her so tight, but at the same time I felt like yelling at her, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!! YOU ARE EVERYTHING TO ME!!  DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS ME TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT!!"  I'm man enough to admit that I cried when she first said it to me.  She could not possibly understand the depth or width of my love or the lengths I would go to protect her and care for her or her brother and sister.  It breaks my heart just thinking about it.  I really could not understand how my Dad must have felt until I had kids of my own.

I cannot help but think that my reaction to hearing those words is but a drop in a bucket compared to how God must feel.  He breathed life into us, has watched us grow up, has seen us take our first step, heard us speak our first words.  Yet so many of us act like He's not there.  We spend years convinced that he's not real and ignore him even after we acknowledge His existence.  We call ourselves His children, but curse His name and disobey Him and get mad at Him when things aren't going our way.  He doesn't let us have something we want and we turn into little children and throw a tantrum and say, "You don't love me!"  Oh, how that must break His heart.

I can imagine God turning quiet as He sits down on His throne.  He buries His face in His hands and begins to sob quietly.  After a few moments pass, He wipes the tears away and raises His head with a much different look on His face - one of anger, yet at the same time sorrow and love.  He stands up and begins to speak with a tender voice that sounds like thunder, "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU!! YOU ARE EVERYTHING TO ME!!  DON'T YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS ME TO HEAR YOU SAY THAT?!  THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN MAKE ME STOP LOVING YOU!" 

I've read many verses in the Bible that tell us of God's love for us, but had such a hard time fully understanding it until my children came along.  We can love a pet or our favorite sports team, and we sure can love our spouse and our children - but none of that compares to the way God loves us.  And what does He ask in return?  Nothing.  Sure, we can pray and read the Bible and go to church and help others, but we can't earn His love or do anything to make Him stop loving us. He loved us even before we wanted to recognize Him.  Revelation 3:20 tells us, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock..."  He stands out there in the rain, the snow, the wind - He watches as we open the door for others but don't even glance His way.  Yet he stands there and continues to knock.  He pursues us because He loves us.  He knows what's best for us and uses our circumstances, both good and bad, to teach us and guide us.  He gave his life because He loves us. "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son..." (John 3:16)

As I go forward in this journey of learning about love, I need first to have a firm grasp of God's love.  I will be exploring that in my next few posts.  I hope that this process will, either through words or how I live it out, help someone out there to see God's love for the first time.