Obedience.......Really?

John 14:15

Jesus said

“If you love me you will obey what I command”

“On the line”

“Set……………Go”

As a basketball coach

I have barked that command to my players thousands of times.

Sometimes they would jump to attention………

Ready to go……

Ready to get it done!

Other times…..

Well other times they seemed to have to think about it…..

To gather up all their resolve…..

To set their minds on what was good…..

To recall their love for the game so that……

So that they might become energized…..

Energized to set aside personal comfort for ………..Love.

It’s tough to be commanded.

It’s tough to be pushed out of comfort.

They didn’t like it a lot.

I don’t like it much myself.

So why then……

Why obey?

Because we are supposed to?

Because it’s our duty?

Honestly…… I need more.

And truly…..

I believe there is a higher calling……

A higher calling that spurs me towards obedience.

Obedience from the heart.

Why obey?

It’s simple really……

Love and Trust.

Guys,

How about it…..

Let’s obey His commands.

Let’s trust Him today so that…..

Christ in us can love through us.

John 15:11

Jesus said,

“I have told you this so that

My Joy may be in you and

Your Joy may be complete.”

All praise be to You Jesus for the Life You have given us

Amen

Lessons- Father Has Much to Show Us

Acts 10:28

….But God has shown me…..

“Here, let me show you.”

My friend Tim smiled……

He carefully placed the nail gun….

Firmly holding the plank in place.

BAM BAM………..BAM BAM.

And so the first planks of our new hardwood floor

Were anchored…..

Anchored so that the rest might be aligned

Just as they should.

And so began my process of learning….

Of being shown…

Of growing….

Of becoming more complete….

More able….

More able to deal with this new part of life…..

This new aspect of……. manhood.

Christian……

Father has much to show you.

Jeremiah 33:3

“Call to me and I will answer you

 And I will tell you great and unsearchable things

Which  you do not know.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kemmlVEYciM

Check out the link

You’ll be glad you did.

How Will They Know?

John 13:37

Jesus said

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples.

If you love one another.”

Who is it?

Who is that one person…..

That one person you will love…….

Today?

What will it look like?

A smile?

A kind word?

A gift?

A moment of your time?

Who is it?

Who will Father bring my way today……

So that He may love……

Through me?

Guys,

Let’s do what we do today….

So that Christ in us….

Can Live through us.

Father

I pray all men know that I am Yours today…..

Because of Your Great Love in me……

Being lived out through me.

Amen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CobNWUXb1M

Check out the link above.

What Do You Know?

John 13:3

Jesus knew……

He had come from God and

He was returning to God.

Christian….

What do you know…….

I mean really, really know?

What do you know…..

In your heart of hearts….

At your deepest core….

To be true.

What is it you can…..

(As the old saying goes)

Hang your hat on?

Guys,

Do you know…..

God Loves you.

God is Good.

God is Able.

Do you know…..

You have been born from above.

You have the Life of Christ in you.

You have been given…. the Mind of Christ.

You have been given…. the very Spirit of God.

Christian….

Do you know…..

You can handle anything in Christ.

God’s Love is made complete in you.

You have been given a Spirit of Power and Love.

Jesus knew…..

He knew….

Where He had come from…..

Who He belonged to…..

Who He was…..

And

Where He was going……

And so…..

Secure in that knowledge….

With nothing to prove….

No image to uphold….

He was able to….

Wash feet.

John 13:1b

…He showed them the full extent of

His Love.

Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit

Move in our own spirits today to know

Who we are

What You have saved us from

Who we belong to and

Where we are going

So that

We may be free to live out Your Love

As we

Live from Your Love.

Amen

Yes......and so.....Hope Turned to Love

1 John 4:10

This is Love…

Not that we Loved God,

But He first Loved us and sent His Son

As an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

As soon as she said yes……

Hope turned to Love.

I remember…..

Being a senior in high school…...

Cruising the hallways between classes….

Hangin’ with the Fellas

When…….

There she was……

I had seen her before….

I had talked to her…..

I had even given her a ride home once……..

But now…..

This time……

Something was different.

She was different.

Her eyes…..

Her smile……

Her laugh…….

Her……. Beauty.

Hope began to rise……

I wondered……

Does she see me?

Would she talk to me?

Could she possibly be interested……

In me?

Now I want to  tell you all-

I wasn’t exactly a ladies’ man-

I had been burned a few times-

There’s nothing quite like the pain of rejection…..

To shake a man’s confidence.

Should I or shouldn’t I….

What if she said no……

Is it worth the risk……

I was so lonely….

She was so……

Everything….

Everything good.

Maybe I should just talk to her….

Yeah that’s it……

I’ll just talk to her a little…..

Check her out.

That would be safe….right?

I asked my best friend what he thought……

“Talk to her Charles……

You better talk to that girl”

I can still hear him in his broken Chinese English.

Okay then…….

Here goes.

Hey.

Hey, she smiled as she fiddled with her locker.

How’s it going?

Great- Headin’ to class.

Oh….. yeah, me too.

I was wondering….

You know……. there’s a basketball game this week….. at A.C.

I was thinking I might go….. and I wondered…….maybe if you might like to go….. with me…..

I mean I understand if you’re busy and all, but you know… I was wondering….

Yes

As soon as she said yes……

Hope turned to Love.

I think it’s like that with God.

We notice Him.

We have questions.

We see His Beauty in the Life of Jesus.

We see how He operates in the World.

We see His Power.

He’s such a mystery……… Even dangerous.

We feel somehow…… He’s maybe even beyond us.

Friends who know Him encourage us…….

But……….

I mean look at Him…..

He’s so…..

Everything…..

Everything good……

And I’m not.

I mean…….I hope that He might notice me…...

I hope that He might care for me……

But is it worth the risk?

I mean….. I have been burned before.

And yet…..

There He is…..

Smiling…… Inviting….

“I have what you’re looking for Charles”

“I have……. Life”

Okay then……

Here goes…….

Father…..

Will You have me…..

Will You have me to be Your own…..

Yes

And as soon as He says yes….

Hope turns to Love.

1 John 3:1

How great is the Love the Father has lavished upon us….

That we should be called the children of God.

Thank You Father for…..

Yes.

I Love You Jesus.

Amen

I Just Thought You Should Know......

1 Timothy 1:16

But for that very reason

(that I was the worst of sinners)

I was shown mercy,

So that in me, the worst of sinners,

Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience

As an example for those who would believe on Him

And receive Eternal Life.

Have you ever been in love?

Maybe romantic love…..Or maybe just…….

Love for something… an activity… or an experience.

Me…….

I love lots of things….

I love my wife…

I love my children….

I love teaching…..

I love writing……

I love coaching a team….

I love spending time with friends….

I love thinking somehow……

In some way……..

Maybe….. I have been a part…….

A part of what Jesus is doing in this world.

It’s curious to me…….

How the things I love……..

Well… they’ve changed me.

Now, I’ll tell you….

I am not quite sure

I would describe myself as……

“The Worst of Sinners”

Before I received the Life of Jesus…..

But I am quite sure……..

I was a sinner.

I was lost.

I was broken with no hope of fixing myself.

There was not Life…..

There was only existence.

Pain, rejection, anxiety, striving…….

Even…… self-loathing.

Ah, but then there’s Jesus.

Jesus…..

The one who loves the helpless.

The one who reaches out to the rejected.

The one who offers Love…. and Hope….. and Life…...

Even to the worst of sinners.

Jesus……..

I fell in Love with Jesus.

Loving Him has changed me.

Loving Him continues…… to change me.

I am a New Creation…..

I have been reborn….

I have a Father….

I am a Child of The Great King….

And yes…..

The very Life of the Creator….

The Creator of all that is or was or ever will be…..

His Life……. Flows through me.

Oh now,

Please don’t misunderstand……

I know I still sin…..

But I am not a sinner.

No…… at my deepest core……

I am in Christ.

He has given me a new heart…… A good heart.

A heart that is alive, and able…..

To Love.

I love Jesus for that.

I just thought you should know.

Father, Lord Jesus, Spirit of The Living God,

Thank You that even in my ugliness You Loved me.

Thank You for pouring Your Own Life out for me and  into me…..

So that.....

I may truly Live.

Amen