LIVING ON THE EDGE

Most of us I believe, realize that love is important and vital to our relationships and we want it to be our LIFE’S GREATEST AIM but we forget that so many times. We get distracted. We get side tracked by other things in life that seem to be just as important but if we are ever going to be great lovers, to really love God and love people, then we must learn and keep in mind that love is LIFE’S GREATEST AIM and THE BEST USE OF MY LIFE.

Why would I say that? Why is love the best use of my life?

Because it is true that Love proves that I am really part of God’s family. It proves that I am who I say I am. Love is what validates my faith in Christ and makes me legit.

My son, who lives in Denver and is working for the largest hotel in the state, was interviewed by the secret service a few weeks ago because the president was coming to town and to that hotel and they needed to know that my son was who he said he was. So they did a background check on him to validate his identity. I have not heard from him sense. (Just kidding) Once they had identified who he was and that he was clean, they were satisfied and allowed him to remain in close proximity of the president. (He never got to give the prez a piece of his mind but he was close)

The same is true for those of us who call ourselves Christ Followers or “Christians”. The bible tells us that to validate our identity, God looks at our lifestyle. “Do we truly love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength? And do we love our neighbor as ourselves?” Matt. 22:36-39 (LB)

In 1 John 4:8 it says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God wants us to become like him not just take us to heaven. He wants us to love the way he loves because God is love. He is our example of what real love looks like and acts like. He proved it by laying His life down for us all. He loved me even in my worst condition. In while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me. The bible says that greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

In 1 John 4:20 it says, “If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen.”

So we can’t say we love God and then hate those who hurt us or gossip about us or lie to our face or cheat on us. We can’t say we love God then treat our spouses like dirt and call them a “slug” or the “ol’ ball and chain” or ignore our kids and call them “rug rats” or just use them as a tax deduction. We can’t say we love God then never darken the door of any church just because we “don’t like those people” and then call them a bunch of hypocrites. That doesn’t compute with God. Love is what proves and validates our faith. Love validates our identity. It proves I am HIS kid.

Who do I say that I am? Who do you say that you are? Do we call ourselves Christians? Or Christ Followers? If we do then we need to stop right now and do a quick background check to see if our faith has been validated. To prove we are who we say we are. “No matter what I say or what I believe or what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” 1 Cor. 13:3 (MSG)

LOVE IS THE BEST USE OF MY LIFE!

This blog site has been silent for a long time now because I have wanted it to be a source of encouragement and insight and not just a guy rambling on about stuff. There are too many of those sites out there so today I am trusting God to give me words for you to live by and that will encourage you and speak life into you so you can live life to it’s fullest. Something Jesus promised us when He came to this planet. (John 10:10)

Let me ask you a question. How would you complete this sentence? My number one goal in life is… What’s most important to you? What word or phrase would you use to complete this question?

Is it to be happy or to be a success in your career? Do you want to just have fun? Do you want to be comfortable in life? Is your number one goal just to retire or get married and raise a family? Is it to go on vacation this summer? How would you answer this question?

If you have never thought about it, you need to and you need to understand it because how you answer this question will determine your dominant life principle. We all have a one whether we know it or not.

Every time we need to make a decision, a choice, we access that database and decide what we will do based on our DLP. That thing that is most important to us.

For example if your DLP is to have fun in life and you get two different invitations that day, you tend to choose to do the one that will be the most fun for you because having fun is the most important thing to you.

It is very important we think this question through so we can understand what is our most important value and understand why we do what we do. What’s most important to you?

God has a lot to say about this subject and gives us His thoughts on the issue.

In 1 Corinthians 14:1a Living Bible translation, it says “Let love be your greatest aim.” Or let love be your most important value. Not your status, not success, not stuff, not power, not money. No. Our number one DLP should be LOVE.

When Jesus was asked what He thought the most important commandment was he said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind and all your strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. There are no commands more important than these.” (Mark 12:30-31) Jesus was very clear on what He deemed was most important in life.

Over the next several weeks I will be posting my thoughts about this subject and who knows, we may even discover that God loves us with an extravagant, unconditional love that we can experience daily.

What our families need, our churches need, our communities need, what America needs and what our world needs is not more sermons about love or more love songs or more “love doctors”. No. We need people who genuinely know and understand that… LOVE IS LIFE’S GREATEST AIM.

Over the past several weeks at Westchester Church we have been unpacking several bible passages concerning worship and what that looks like. I thought it would be helpful to give some guidelines that would allow us to get the most out of worship experience every Sunday. No matter where you attend church these will help you get more from the service every week. These are just my thoughts and I have practiced these and continue to do so even now as I prepare for the messages every week.

Look them over and then give it a shot. I understand it will take some getting used to but like every good habit it must be done at least five time before becomes a habit.

• Get up 30 minutes earlier than normal. Set your alarm and don’t hit the snooze button
• Turn a CD of Praise and worship. Make it loud enough to hear but not over powering.
• Read a passage from the bible you put on the nightstand the night before. Open it up ready to read first thing Sunday morning.
• Get the kids up, if they are still at home, and greet them with a smile on your face. Don’t be grumpy.
• Keep the music playing even after you leave for church. It will be there to welcome you home.
• While on the way to church, play a CD or radio of praise and worship. Keep the conversation focused on the Lord and avoid negative talk at ALL COST.
• Arrive 10 -15 minutes early-greet friends-Go to the restroom and get your coffee or drink.
• Enter the auditorium 5 minutes before the service begins with a heart of gratitude and expectation of meeting God. THIS IS CRUCIAL.
• Participate in the singing and take notes during the message. This will help you stay focused on God and what He is saying to you personally.
• Come prepared to give an offering. Write your check the night before, put in the envelope and put it in your bible-this will help you remember that God is always first in everything.
• At the end of the service greet those around you and then invite your pastor and his wife to go to lunch along with some other friends.

If you will follow this outline for a few weeks I believe you will see a huge difference in how you view God and He will become more real to you than you could have imagined.

God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Worship is a life style and not just a Sunday morning ritual. So start Saturday night turning your minds attention and your hearts affections toward Jesus Christ. This will revolutionize your Sunday morning worship experience.