Links & Quotes

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“God made humans in His image so that the world would be filled with reflectors of God. Images of God. Seven billion statues of God. So that nobody would miss the point of creation.” —John Piper

“I do not admire the extreme of one virtue unless you show me at the same time the extreme of the opposite virtue. One shows one’s greatness not by being at an extremity but by being simultaneously at two extremities and filling all the space between.” —Blaise Pascal

“The most striking thing about Our Lord is the union of great ferocity with extreme tenderness.” —C.S. Lewis

“Our Lord in His infinite wisdom and superabundant love, sets so high a value upon His people’s faith, that He will not screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened.” —Charles Spurgeon

“Christians are priests, but how priests if they offer no sacrifice? Christians are lights, but how are they lights unless they shine for others? Christians are sent into the world, even as Christ was sent into the world, but how are they sent unless they are sent to pray? Christians are meant not only to be blessed themselves, but in them shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, but how if you refuse to pray?” —Charles Spurgeon

John Stonestreet shares some alarming information that makes pornography a public health threat.

 

Thursdays With Oswald—Love Like God Loves

Oswald ChambersThis is a periodic series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

Love Like God Loves

     There is only one Being who loves perfectly, and that is God, yet the New Testament distinctly states that we are to love as God does; so the first step is obvious. If ever we are going to have perfect love in our hearts we must have the very nature of God in us. In Romans 5:5 the apostle Paul tells us how this is possible; he says, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us.” …

     That means I have to identify myself with God’s interests in other people, and God is interested in some extraordinary people: in you and in me, and He is just as interested in the person you dislike as He is in you. … 

     God grant we may not only experience the indwelling of the love of God in our hearts, but go on to a hearty abandoned to that love so that God can pour it out through us for His redemptive purposes for the world. He broke the life of His Son to redeem us, and now He wants to use our lives as a sacrament to nourish others.

From Conformed To His Image (emphasis mine)

Quite simply: we need to love God more, so we can love others more. Will I let the Holy Spirit shed that love in me? Will you?

Love The Sinner

Love the sinnerIf anyone sees his brother commit a sin…he should pray…. (1 John 5:16)

The King James Version says this a little more poetically, “If any man see his brother sin a sin.” The Greek does not have the indefinite “a” in front of sin, and the verb tense makes this an ongoing process, so it’s probably more accurate to say it like this: “If anyone sees his brother sinning sins.”

The apostle John is head-over-heels in love with Jesus. So time and time again his counsel is for us also to fall more in love with God, and to demonstrate this by loving others. There is no more loving thing we can do for someone sinning sins than to pray for them (see also Galatians 6:1 and James 5:19-20).

John doesn’t ask us to catalogue their sins; otherwise he would have said “a sin” or even “their sinS.” We are not to be the sin police trying to document each and every infraction! Instead, when we see a brother or sister with a lifestyle that is separated from the love of God, we need to pray for them.

I think John might ask us to pray that they would see the love of God so clearly that the love of sin would become cold and pale and unattractive.

Love Cycle

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…Whoever loves God must also love his brother. … This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. (1 John 4:21, 5:2)

Love cycleThis is a really cool cycle! I know I love God because I obey His command to love others, which I can only do because I love God and obey His commands.

Here’s the cycle breaker: If I don’t love others, it’s a clear indications that I don’t love God, and the cycle of love-obedience-love is shattered.

Loving God is the natural fuel to obey Him. He is love. He demonstrated this by loving unloveable, sinful me. If He loved me, how could I do anything less than love Him? If I truly love Him, I will naturally want to obey Him. His commands aren’t difficult because He empowers me to do them. His command is to be like Him—He is love so I must love.

I know I am loving God because I am loving others. I can only love others because the love of God is in me. This love inspires me to obey Him and love others. This obedience draws me closer to God, which fuels me for even greater love.

Love fuels my obedience. Obedience fuels my love. And this virtuous cycle can go on and on and on and on and on!

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Do You Want To Be A (Better) People Pleaser?

I know a lot of people who want to please others. This pursuit, however, can get you into hot water. For instance, when you need to confront a friend on their poor behavior. Or when someone doesn’t properly express their appreciation to you for appreciating them.

The Bible gives us a better way to be a people pleaser. 

Paul wrote: So we make it our goal to please [God]… (2 Corinthians 5:9).

Instead of goal, the King James Version says, “we labor.” If it is labor, then it truly is a labor of love: work that is challenging, but rewarding. In fact, the rewards are so overwhelming, that the sweat of labor is quickly forgotten.

The Greek word for labor/goal means work that is activated by the love of honor, and so it brings forth our very best effort.

I desire to honor God and please Him, and I desire to be honored by God and find my full pleasure in Him. After all, as the Westminster Catechism says, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

So my labor of love is activated first by my love for God; and secondarily by my love for others. Isn’t this what Jesus gave us as the Great Commandment (see Luke 10:27)?

It is God Who has made us for this very purpose [to enjoy Him forever] and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come [honor and eternal pleasure]. (2 Corinthians 5:5)

The Holy Spirit helps activate and direct my labor of love. The Spirit uses my labor of love to draw others to Christ; the Spirit assures me that my labor of love is bringing honor and pleasure to the Father. And in that knowledge, I find my pleasure to continue to labor in love.

So if I want to please people, my goal must be a labor in love that pleases God. Out of the knowledge of His pleasure and honor, I am better prepared to present a labor of love to others.

God pleaser (first) → People pleaser (as an overflow) 

The better we please God, the better we’ll please people.

Intentional Blessing

As many of my regular readers know, I often wake up with a distinct song in my mind. Many times these songs—which I believe are God-given—prepare me for my day. (I know it may seem like an unusual way for the Holy Spirit to speak to someone, but, hey, it works for me!)

Today’s song is an old hymn. One part of it goes like this…

Out in the highways and byways of life,
many are weary and sad;  
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife,
making the sorrowing glad.
Make me a blessing, make me a blessing,
Out of my life may Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

I want to be a blessing to others, but I don’t want to be an “accidental” blessing.

I think it’s a good habit to pray through my day before the day even gets started. I can then begin to think about my coworkers, my breakfast appointments, my board meetings, my classmates, my friends, even my family. I can begin to pray specifically for those interactions that God will give me the specific words to say in that moment that will bring the greatest blessing.

Of course, there will often be those unplanned interactions where you can bless someone. But let’s make sure we’ve done our part to be ready for those planned interactions.

I pray that you are letting Jesus shine out of your life and that you are being an intentional blessing to someone today!

Reciprocity

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible.

Reciprocity is a big word that simply means: You will get what you give.

Hear me correctly. I’m not saying give more just to get more. It doesn’t work that way because that’s not true reciprocity; that’s just plain selfishness.

Reciprocity is giving to others just because you have it in your power—and in your heart—to give, and it will “bounce back” to you.

Reciprocity is from your heart. God makes sure you get the return blessings.

And, by the way, if you have something you could give but you don’t give it, your “bounce back” becomes a world that is smaller and smaller, with greater scarcity.

Reciprocity is win-win. Selfishness is lose-lose.

When you’re kind to others, you help yourself; when you are cruel to others, you hurt yourself. (Proverbs 11:17)

The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller. (Proverbs 11:24)

The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. (Proverbs 11:25)

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Others First

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible.

I have a friend who has a photo album on Facebook called “Me.” The description says, “Sometimes it is just all about me.” And, sure enough, all of the pictures in that album are just her. I know her well enough to know that this is tongue-in-cheek, because she is not a self-absorbed prima donna.

Sadly, some Christian leaders exhibit the It’s-All-About-Me attitude. This really irks me, especially because we see the exact opposite characteristic in Jesus.

Let me key in on just one example from His public ministry. John the baptizer has just been martyred by King Herod. John was Jesus’ cousin. I’m not sure if you’ve ever had a loved one martyred or even murdered, but I’m sure we’ve all lost a loved one at some point. It might be a little easier to take if we saw it coming, but the sudden deaths always jar us the most. We have to have time to grieve our loss.

Jesus had all of the same emotional responses that you and I have, and He wanted some time away to grieve. He got into a boat with His disciples and headed to a remote place on the other side of the lake. Looking for a little time alone to grieve the death of His cousin, Jesus was met by a huge crowd. He would have been perfectly justified in saying, “Not today.” Or even in saying, “I’m going to let My disciples pray with you today.” Instead, Jesus put the needs of others first.

  • Jesus healed all who were sick
  • He taught them
  • Then He provided food for the nearly 10,000 people who were there
  • After the meal, Jesus sent His disciples (who also needed some grieving time) back across the lake without Him
  • Jesus stayed behind and dismissed the entire crowd. I sort of imagine Him hugging people, shaking hands, and continuing to listen to the questions and concerns of everyone

It was only after this that Jesus went up into the hills to spend some time alone in prayer.

Yes, leaders have to take care of themselves and their people. But good leaders take care of others first.

I unpack this idea in even great detail in my book Shepherd Leadership. If you want to be used as a leader, you must allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate this others-first attitude in you.

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Shop With A Purpose

Why do you go shopping?

Just for fun?

As a stress-buster?

For real needs?

Where do you go shopping?

Whichever store is closest?

The one with the best prices?

     The one with the most desirable styles?

How about shopping somewhere that really makes a difference?

Betsy and I were wandering around Rockford, MI, last weekend and stumbled upon an incredible store called The W.A.R. Chest Boutique. W.A.R. stands for Women At Risk. (Please read more about the mission of W.A.R. on their website.)

In a nutshell, W.A.R. sells items made by women who have been rescued from slavery or other oppressive conditions. These women have been taught a skill to make jewelry or clothing or other one-of-a-kind items for your home. And here’s the great part: 90% of the proceeds go back to the women who made the items! Yes, 90 percent!

You can get involved by:

  • Educating yourself on the plight of at-risk women around the world.
  • Shopping at the two W.A.R. boutique locations in West Michigan.
  • Shopping W.A.R.’s items online.
  • Hosting a W.A.R. party in your home.
  • Praying for these women, and for organizations that are helping them.

Don’t just shop. Shop with a purpose.

Never walk away from someone who deserves help; your hand is God’s hand for that person. (Proverbs 3:27)

Obey─Remember─Teach

I see this pattern of instruction repeated throughout the Bible, but especially as the Israelites are getting ready to enter the Promised Land:

  • Obey God’s commands
  • Remember what He has done for you
  • Teach His commands to your children

When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He quoted a passage from Deuteronomy, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” And He added, “And love your neighbor as yourself.” These, Jesus said, were the fulfillment of all the law.

  • Love God
  • Love yourself
  • Love your neighbor

This Great Commandment corresponds with this pattern of obey-remember-teach.

  • I obey God because I love Him.
  • When I remember what He has done for me, I can fully appreciate my own value in His eyes.
  • I teach others because I love them and want them to experience the same blessings from God that I have experienced.

This is what I need to be constantly evaluating:

  • Am I obeying God out of fear of what may happen, or out of love for Him?
  • Am I finding ways to continually be reminded of His blessings? Do I realize how valuable I am to Him?
  • Am I expressing true love to others by passing on what I am learning?

Obey [love God] … Remember [love myself] … Teach [love others].

What a great way to live!