Love Large

Luke 7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."

I haven’t thought much about the relationship of love and forgiveness other than; I know that Jesus loves me and forgave me and died for me to prove His great love, which He offers to all humanity. But this passage also says something more. It speaks to the reality of love expressed in the amount of forgiveness received. In other words, I am able to love much because I have experienced great love demonstrated in the release from sin in my life.

That’s one of the problems with sin; it robs us of the qualities of life, which makes life worth living. Take love for instance, we discover the quality of the love of an individual when that individual offers to us forgiveness which is undeserved and unmerited. This is similar to the love God offers to us, which has at its core, ultimate forgiveness. There is a logical outcome from this experience…its called LOVE. My ability to love flows from the realization that I have been totally accepted and forgiven. Have you ever been around un-forgiven people? Not much fun if you ask me.

But here is the, “good news,” Jesus says, “that you can be forgiven,” and that this forgiveness will be confirmed in our ability to experience and express love. Have you ever received anything like that? I can tell you from experience that this is one of the most liberating and freeing experiences that you can ever have. The other side of this issue is true as well; those who forgive little have little love to give. How tragic it is to go through life with this burden of unresolved sin, which robs us of liberating love.

We can have many excuses not to forgive, excuses like, that person hurt me so deeply, or; if I ask for forgiveness I will need to take responsibility for my actions, or; how could anyone forgive someone like me? These are the deceptions of Satan whose debauchery is to keep us in bondage to sin and unaware of the freedom and love which is offered through faith in Jesus Christ. Our excuses pale in the reality of this love found in Christ.

So here is the challenge, let your love be the demonstration of your forgiveness. LOVE LARGE! You have been forgiven much, we all have.

Blessings, Rip

The Favor of God

Luke 2:39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

I have often times thought about my own childhood growing up in a small Midwest town. The circumstances of my young life are not all that interesting, and many of the things I did were typical things that any youth would do. There is, however, a key ingredient that helped shape my life, and that was the faith and practice of my parents.

I did not know until I was age 16, when after feeling the call of God on my life to become a pastor, that my mother and father had dedicated me at birth to God. They did this in a public service where they stated that they believed God would use me for His kingdom work. They did not specify what, but held the belief and hope that one day I would be a pastor.

The amazing thing about this is that my parents were faithful through thick and thin. I know that there were times that they had doubts about the realization of their dedication. In fact, at one point in my mother’s journal, she expressed doubt because of my poor grades in school. However, they remained faithful and continued believing in me and for me that God’s will be done in my life.

It’s not hard to see that the parents of Jesus knew that their child was someone special, yet they did what was required so that Jesus was provided the opportunity to become what God had purposed in His life. That’s what godly parents do. They sacrifice and pray and hope and even cry; that their children become God followers and that their children discover their unique calling to come and follow Christ.

Kathy and I committed ourselves to this same course of parenting concerning our own daughter. We have worked faithfully, praying and believing and even crying, that she discover and become all that God intends for her life. Sometimes it is a struggle; the nights get long; and the fruits of our labor seem far from fulfillment at times. Yet, that that is the course of this life.

We do so gladly because we know that the favor of the Lord is the reward and that having the presence and purpose of God in our daughter’s life is the greatest reward and satisfaction any parent could want. The promise is not quick results but a sustained life of purpose. It is worth every ounce of strength and every sleepless night to see the outcome. I think that is what was felt in Mary toward the end of this chapter when it says, “that she cherished all these things in her heart.”

The question today is this. What are you praying about for those in your life, children, spouse, friend, or colleague? What have you offered up to God on behalf of them? The opportunity awaits us to offer up to God each other so that the favor of the Lord might be upon them. What more could we do?

Blessings, Rip

Fear

Mark 6: 49-50 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

We all have it. Fear grips us at times of doubt, at times of distress, at times of uncertainty, at times when we least expect it and at times when we find ourselves in the midst of the storm. Fear is part of life; we can’t escape it or ignore it. What we are called to do is face it.

This is easy to say but difficult to do. Fear has many forms to it that at times are overpowering. For instance, fear is disabling, forcing us into inactivity because of the unknown. We cower back because we don’t want to become exposed to the circumstances that face us. Fear causes us to postpone the very things we need to do in order to move forward, thereby causing us to miss the reality of being all we are called to be.

Fear steals our ability to think clearly and to act with decisive motions to achieve the goals set before us. Fear causes us to hide feelings and emotions and to miss out on the joy that can be found in relationships and life. Do you have fear? Of course you do. We all do. Do you know how many times that the words, “Fear Not,” appear in scripture? According to the movie "Facing the Giants," it is somewhere close to 365 times, one time for every day. In reality, however, there are over 100 references to this phrase contained in the Bible.

Why do you think God puts such a high priority on this idea? It is because God has a better plan. You see, most fear is generated in our unbelief of the power and presence of God in our lives. It’s easy to get caught up in fear tactics if we are unfounded in our belief that all things belong to God and that God is sovereign in all He says and does. It’s normal to believe the worst about circumstances if we don’t live in the reality that God is in control. If I did not live in the belief that God loves me and that God has a plan for my life, I would live in constant fear. As it is, I have fear enough to last the day.

So what does Jesus say? “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.” He said this to his followers who were in a boat in the midst of a storm at sea. But this message is also for us. In the midst of the storms of life, we have the promise of the presence and power of God, not to remove us from the storm but to walk with us in the midst of that storm.

Yes, life has fear, but God has all of life in His hands. Don’t be afraid; believe.

Blessings, Rip

Listen

Mark 4:2-3 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen!”

Let me get right to the point of this idea. We have a problem with listening, well, at least I do. My problem is multi-fold. First off, I don’t always want to hear what is being said. It may be that I don’t like the application of instruction I am receiving, or I think I know better than the one speaking, or perhaps I just don’t care. Are you like that as well?

Perhaps you’re the type of listener that lets it go in one ear and out the other. I am at times being polite enough to stand there, but my mind is already ahead to what I am going to say next so that the force of the words being spoken to me lose their effect. On the other hand, you might find yourself here--a listener who is only there so that he can get something, some dirt on the other person to use against him/her at some future time. You see the problem is not in the hearing; it is in the listening.

Hearing is easy. There is a lot of noise in our world today; just flip through the channels of the television and you will hear all kinds of stuff from ultra-conservatives to screaming liberals. Each one of them is calling out for your attention. It is easy to hear them and sometimes to be blinded by their words and emotion, but have you stopped to listen to what they are actually saying?

Hearing is the ability to receive words into our mind; listening is the ability to make sense of the words we hear. This may surprise you: NOT every word you hear happens to be good. The ability to listen enables us to decipher between words that are profitable and words that need to be discarded. So there is the problem. What determines in our life the difference between the good and the bad?

I think it is interesting that the parable, which Jesus uses here, is dealing with good seed and bad seed and the gist of the parable is the suitability of the soil, which is the listener’s ability to understand or accept the good seed. This is true in life. If our spiritual soil is good soil, nurtured through the power of God, then we can make sense of the words we hear and turn them into instruction for the living of life.

Jesus said at the end of this parable these words, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." What are you listening to today?

Blessings, Rip

Sabbath Day

Mark 2:27-28 “And he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."

I don’t guess that I have ever considered this idea before. The Sabbath was made for man. I get caught up in the ritual of Sunday and church attendance, all of which is important and beneficial to my maturity and growth in Christ, but I forget that this day was made for me--a day set aside for my renewal.

In God’s divine wisdom, this day was set aside for us. WHY? Well, I think the answer is this. Unless we take time away from the ordinary rigorous events of everyday life, we will lose sight of the things that are really important. I tend to get caught up in the stuff of life and so often this stuff controls me. It affects my sleep, my waking day and even my eating habits. Unless I can get away and allow God to have control of me, I usually will end up in a tragic mess.

All of us cope with stuff everyday; some of us use other stuff to dull the pain; some of us withdraw inwardly; and some of us act out our stress in negative ways. The list could go on, but the point is this. We need a day (time, event, process etc.) to get in touch with that which is really important.

I am a big proponent of weekly attendance at church. It’s a good habit and faithful practice; however, it too can become less than meaningful unless the purpose is clear. The purpose must be this interaction between my human condition and the redeeming restoring power of God in my life. There must be the moment of awe, where God intrudes into my stuff and reveals what is untimely important. This happens when I set aside that day, or journey, or process which connects me with God.

You see, the day is not made for my self-indulgence but for my self-recreation. That’s the problem. I tend to treat these days as fulfilling my wants and needs, when in reality it is about filling my heart and mind with the power of God’s purpose in me. You don’t discover “God-purpose” by happenstance. It grows through diligent practice and constant renewal of our minds. A day for me, God said, is for that purpose.

And who is Lord of this day? Jesus is. So Jesus is giving me this day, and in essence, every day to come to a deeper relationship with Him. What are you doing with this day?

Blessings, Rip

According to Ability

Matthew 25:14-15 "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.”

So what are you doing with what God has given you? That question always convicts me because I have been given so much and often times I try so little. Notice I said try. It is not about how much we accomplish; it is always about how much we try. I think sometimes we get that backward. We think we are only successful when we are achieving great goals and successes. WRONG! God is the one who brings about the fruit of our efforts; our responsibility is to be faithful.

That, my friend, is the problem. We have this thing all mixed up. We have fallen into the trap of thinking that it is all about us, when in fact it is all about God. That’s why we have such a difficult time being involved in anything of real lasting significance. If God is the one responsible for the success, then it is dependent upon Him. Our responsibility is faithfulness, which keeps us moving forward because of who He is--not based upon who we are.

Great ability does not mean a great difference; what it means is great responsibility. To whom much is given, much is required is true because the responsibility is based upon that which God has entrusted us to do. Faithfulness is what we can offer; success is what God accomplishes in His power.

Our ability determines the talent. I have discovered as I grow older that I have learned to have more ability. I have grown in wisdom (I know some would dispute that), and I have grown in the area of faithfulness learning that if God is at the center of everything then everything revolves around God. Even this growth was not something I accomplished by myself. It was only through God stretching me in faithfulness that I began to realize how faithful God is to me. My talent then becomes the ability not to accomplish more, but the ability to believe more.

I confessed at the beginning of this message that I get convicted. This is why: my ability does not measure up to faithfulness; it is often seen in thinking I can make it on my own. Lord, forgive me when I come to this futile thinking; set me free to be faithful according to my abilities.

Blessings, Rip

God’s Stuff

Matthew 22:21-22, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s."

I’m not a great fan of paying taxes, never have been and never will be. However, I do enjoy the benefits of the governmental services I receive so I will continue to do my part regardless of my feelings about taxes.

It is amazing to me that so often this passage of scripture is talked about regarding our civic duty and not regarding our responsibility to God. It is quite clear to me that the gist of this passage is giving to God what is God’s. I think, and I have God evidence about this, that everything belongs to the Lord. We are stewards of all that is given to us by our Father in heaven.

Civic duty is fine as long as it is kept in perspective. Last week I found myself glued to the television watching the returns for a primary election, which in many ways has no effect upon me personally. In fact, I did not even bother to vote. Why was this so important to spend even a few moments of my time watching and even hoping a particular person would win?

It’s so easy to get caught up in things, which have little meaning on eternity and forget about the things that will last for eternity. I feel that this is what Jesus is hinting at in this passage. Go ahead and give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar, but give also to God the things that belong to God.

I guess the question is this: how do I deal with God’s stuff? How do I treat the things and opportunities which are afforded me through the grace and love of my God? I realize that I can give my tithe, but there is more in this than the simple 10% formula. This is about coming to a point in my life where I discover that everything--let me stress that-- everything is vitally important in God’s economy. When I give to God what is God’s, I am giving myself.

So here is the challenge. As I live my life, I must do so in full understanding that it all belongs to God. Let us give to God that which is God’s. That might be a new way to live for some of us.

Blessings, Rip