The Lord gave me this yesterday morning at Canvas. Thought I’d share.
You’ve heard the old expression “Waste not, want not.” God showed me that this applies to His love as well.
If we waste God’s love, and let it sit idle in us, then we don’t really want it. But if we don’t waste His love and we are constantly sharing with others, we will never want for it.
How often do we have God’s love and say we want more, but we haven’t done anything with the love He has already given? Why does He need to pour more love into us, when we haven’t given any away to others? He fills us up to overflow, but if we don’t let that overflow pour out onto others, then why should He need to pour more into us? If our cup stays full, there’s no need for Him to pour out more. BUT when we pour out into others, God will continue to pour into us so that we will always be overflowing with His love to share. A perpetual cycling overflow keeps the love pure and constantly stirred up within us. It allows us to pour out the Living Water of Christ into others.
The reverse is true as well. If we never pour out, our well remains. Despite it being full, it becomes stagnant, lifeless, maybe gets a moldy thin film on top that keeps it from being oxygenated. What then? We become dull, complacent, content with going through the motions and the status quo. Also, if we don’t waste the love of God by letting it get stale within us, then we will never have to long for it. God will be constantly pouring out on us and blessing us with His love. We will never have to yearn for it because it will be ever present. When we pour out, the fruit will be lush and plenty. Seeing this fruit will be a blessing to us. It will stir up the Living Water in us even more so that we will desire to pour it out as it keeps bubbling over!
Should it not be so? Should we not be so excited about the amazing awesome love of God that we want to tell and show other at all times? Was that not what Jesus asked of us in Matthew 28:19, to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…” So how can we be content with having a full cup?
We need the overflow.
God works in the overflow.
Lives are changed in the overflow.
Pour out His love!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Passion Week Fast 2010 Day 5
Last day. Here we go.
So this week started with the passion of Christ, then we talked about his humanity, so today we’re gonna blend both.
I said before that many people see the miracles of Christ and forget that He was human just like us. Let me draw your attention to the time when Jesus was tempted in the desert. Satan came at Him when He was weak and tempted Him full force. Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus’ could’ve fallen and made food or water for himself?
Think about it. What if Jesus had succumbed to temptation? We would not have our salvation because the Lamb would no longer have been spotless. We know God had this plan in motion since the beginning, and it causes us to take it all for granted. Don’t forget, Jesus was a HUMAN! As a human, He would have had free will. He could have sinned any time that He was tempted. He could’ve moved away to another country, got married, had kids, lived happily ever after.
But EVERY DAY of his brief life on earth, He made a CHOICE. He chose to suffer and die for you because He would rather deal with the pain while he was here on earth, than deal with the pain of living in eternity without YOU!
How much more amazing was His sacrifice when we realize that He didn’t HAVE TO make it, but that HE CHOSE to make it. He gave His everything so that we could be with him forever.
As he was whipped 39 times, each time He chose to take the next lashing for you. As he was being spit on while carrying the cross, He chose to keep going for you. As the nails were driven in, He looked past the pain, and chose to endure for you. As He struggled to support His weight in order to breathe, and as He drew His last breath, He chose to die for you. How amazing is His love for us that He would rather CHOOSE to suffer and die than CHOOSE to spend eternity without us?
So, He chose us, now it’s our turn. My prayer for all of us is that we choose daily to follow Him. It is NOT a one time decision. Everyday we will face temptation, and each time we are the victor, it is a choice for Christ. How can we complain about choosing to walk the narrow path, when Christ chose to die for us? Where is there a comparison? There is nothing that can compare to His ultimate love for us.
God calls us all to be faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10), but He promises a crown of life, and He promises to be with us every step of the way. So as a close to these Passion Week devotions, read Jesus’ last command, ‘The Great Commission.’ Matthew 28: 19-20
Emmanuel, God with us. Go with God! Choose to live for Him. Choose to show His love to others. Go!
The video below was put together by someone in honor of Resurrection Sunday. The background song is one of my faves for Easter: ‘Completely Free’ by Big Daddy Weave. Have a listen. See you tonight at the Seder. I love you all.
Big Daddy Weave "Completely Free"
So this week started with the passion of Christ, then we talked about his humanity, so today we’re gonna blend both.
I said before that many people see the miracles of Christ and forget that He was human just like us. Let me draw your attention to the time when Jesus was tempted in the desert. Satan came at Him when He was weak and tempted Him full force. Has it ever occurred to you that Jesus’ could’ve fallen and made food or water for himself?
Think about it. What if Jesus had succumbed to temptation? We would not have our salvation because the Lamb would no longer have been spotless. We know God had this plan in motion since the beginning, and it causes us to take it all for granted. Don’t forget, Jesus was a HUMAN! As a human, He would have had free will. He could have sinned any time that He was tempted. He could’ve moved away to another country, got married, had kids, lived happily ever after.
But EVERY DAY of his brief life on earth, He made a CHOICE. He chose to suffer and die for you because He would rather deal with the pain while he was here on earth, than deal with the pain of living in eternity without YOU!
How much more amazing was His sacrifice when we realize that He didn’t HAVE TO make it, but that HE CHOSE to make it. He gave His everything so that we could be with him forever.
As he was whipped 39 times, each time He chose to take the next lashing for you. As he was being spit on while carrying the cross, He chose to keep going for you. As the nails were driven in, He looked past the pain, and chose to endure for you. As He struggled to support His weight in order to breathe, and as He drew His last breath, He chose to die for you. How amazing is His love for us that He would rather CHOOSE to suffer and die than CHOOSE to spend eternity without us?
So, He chose us, now it’s our turn. My prayer for all of us is that we choose daily to follow Him. It is NOT a one time decision. Everyday we will face temptation, and each time we are the victor, it is a choice for Christ. How can we complain about choosing to walk the narrow path, when Christ chose to die for us? Where is there a comparison? There is nothing that can compare to His ultimate love for us.
God calls us all to be faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10), but He promises a crown of life, and He promises to be with us every step of the way. So as a close to these Passion Week devotions, read Jesus’ last command, ‘The Great Commission.’ Matthew 28: 19-20
Emmanuel, God with us. Go with God! Choose to live for Him. Choose to show His love to others. Go!
The video below was put together by someone in honor of Resurrection Sunday. The background song is one of my faves for Easter: ‘Completely Free’ by Big Daddy Weave. Have a listen. See you tonight at the Seder. I love you all.
Big Daddy Weave "Completely Free"
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Passion Week Fast 2010 Day 4
Back for more huh? Well here it goes…
Yesterday we learned that we can be angry for righteous reasons, and that love is important above all else. Here’s more from the Passion Week teachings of Jesus. I didn’t accidentally miss Wednesday; the bible doesn’t record anything that Jesus did on Wednesday. It is assumed that He was chilling with the twelve in Bethany .
On Thursday, Jesus observes the Passover meal, and washes the disciples’ feet. Many would wonder where the lesson is. It is this: In order to win souls, you must relate to the people, and humble yourself as a servant. Did Jesus have to have the Passover meal? No, but it was culturally relevant and important to the people. We have to show that God can relate that His love is attainable for anyone. Did He have to wash their feet? Again, no, but it was culturally relevant. There were no cars, and everyone wore sandals. So the first thing that was done when they entered the home in the evenings, was? You guessed it! Moms everywhere would shout from the kitchen, ‘Wash those nasty feet before you come in here.’
Read John 13 yep all of it. You didn’t think I was gonna do all the work on these devotions did you?
When Jesus washes the feet, there are several key points to consider.
1. In John 13:1, it states that Jesus had shown his love to them already in His time with them, but He washed their feet in order to show the full extent of his love. So, to show the full extent of our love requires humility. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Most High God stripped off His outer garments, wrapped a towel round His waist, and washed His disciples’ dirty feet. It doesn’t get much more humble than that. How much easier should it be for us as mere humans, to humble ourselves before each other? Think about this for a moment.
2. Peter, the disciple with Foot in Mouth Disease, didn’t want to let Jesus wash his feet, but when Jesus gave him the condition (v 8), he gladly accepted and wanted Jesus to wash every part of him. Jesus reply is that even though we are bathed, we will still have to regularly wash our feet. Another metaphor? Yes. Although it speaks to the cultural relevance of walking everywhere in sandals and always needing your feet washed, think about it this way. When we’re baptized, we arise clean, as a new creature (2 Cor 5:17). However, along the way, we stumble, we sin, and our feet get dirty. Do we let them stay dirty? No, we wash them with the blood of Jesus (yes I used that cliché just for Nick). We must seek His face daily, but when we fall, we must repent, and run to Him, and make up the time we lost in that fall.
3. We must do likewise. He tells the disciples, makes a point, that now that He, their Lord and Teacher, has washed their feet, they also should wash each other’s feet (v 14-15). Servant is never greater than master (in this life), so when they humble themselves and bless others, they will also be blessed. How about that? I always wonder why after I help others, I feel like I have been blessed. It’s because Jesus himself said it would be so.
So there you have it. In one night, Jesus showed the disciples that they must relate to the people and humble themselves before others. In doing so, they will be blessed.
How have you served lately? What blessings have you received? Better yet, what blessings have you missed because you haven’t humbled yourself to serve?
See you tomorrow with the last devotional. I love you all.
Yesterday we learned that we can be angry for righteous reasons, and that love is important above all else. Here’s more from the Passion Week teachings of Jesus. I didn’t accidentally miss Wednesday; the bible doesn’t record anything that Jesus did on Wednesday. It is assumed that He was chilling with the twelve in Bethany .
On Thursday, Jesus observes the Passover meal, and washes the disciples’ feet. Many would wonder where the lesson is. It is this: In order to win souls, you must relate to the people, and humble yourself as a servant. Did Jesus have to have the Passover meal? No, but it was culturally relevant and important to the people. We have to show that God can relate that His love is attainable for anyone. Did He have to wash their feet? Again, no, but it was culturally relevant. There were no cars, and everyone wore sandals. So the first thing that was done when they entered the home in the evenings, was? You guessed it! Moms everywhere would shout from the kitchen, ‘Wash those nasty feet before you come in here.’
Read John 13 yep all of it. You didn’t think I was gonna do all the work on these devotions did you?
When Jesus washes the feet, there are several key points to consider.
1. In John 13:1, it states that Jesus had shown his love to them already in His time with them, but He washed their feet in order to show the full extent of his love. So, to show the full extent of our love requires humility. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Most High God stripped off His outer garments, wrapped a towel round His waist, and washed His disciples’ dirty feet. It doesn’t get much more humble than that. How much easier should it be for us as mere humans, to humble ourselves before each other? Think about this for a moment.
2. Peter, the disciple with Foot in Mouth Disease, didn’t want to let Jesus wash his feet, but when Jesus gave him the condition (v 8), he gladly accepted and wanted Jesus to wash every part of him. Jesus reply is that even though we are bathed, we will still have to regularly wash our feet. Another metaphor? Yes. Although it speaks to the cultural relevance of walking everywhere in sandals and always needing your feet washed, think about it this way. When we’re baptized, we arise clean, as a new creature (2 Cor 5:17). However, along the way, we stumble, we sin, and our feet get dirty. Do we let them stay dirty? No, we wash them with the blood of Jesus (yes I used that cliché just for Nick). We must seek His face daily, but when we fall, we must repent, and run to Him, and make up the time we lost in that fall.
3. We must do likewise. He tells the disciples, makes a point, that now that He, their Lord and Teacher, has washed their feet, they also should wash each other’s feet (v 14-15). Servant is never greater than master (in this life), so when they humble themselves and bless others, they will also be blessed. How about that? I always wonder why after I help others, I feel like I have been blessed. It’s because Jesus himself said it would be so.
So there you have it. In one night, Jesus showed the disciples that they must relate to the people and humble themselves before others. In doing so, they will be blessed.
How have you served lately? What blessings have you received? Better yet, what blessings have you missed because you haven’t humbled yourself to serve?
See you tomorrow with the last devotional. I love you all.
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