Love That Goes to Extremes

"If what we call love doesn't take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning."
-Oswald Chambers, February 21, My Utmost for His Highest

Jesus' love for us took Him to extremes. He came from Heaven to earth, lived this life we are living without sinning, was crucified, and rose again so that we may be hidden in Christ and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It doesn't get more extreme than that. I possess that love. Christ lives in me. Why, then, do I believe the lies that keep me from going to extremes in response to that love? I believe lies of guilt and inadequacy and I begin to focus on weaknesses rather than getting lost in the love that Christ has for me. I fear that I am not alone. It is my hope and prayer that we would begin to believe and rest in the truth rather than lies. The truth will set you free!

The truth is this:
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."
-I John 4: 18

When we love from this truth, our love will be patient and kind; it won't be envious and it will not boast. We can however boast about one thing- our weaknesses. Instead of allowing our weaknesses to hold us back and stifle our love, let us boast in our weakness, "for when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10) God's power is made perfect in weakness. Jesus' love for us is extreme, and we can confidently love Him.

"For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are-yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
-Hebrews 4:15-16

After all, we really are not of that much use to God, but we are incredibly valuable to Him, and "once we are totally surrendered to God, He will work through us all the time." (Oswald Chambers) I feel privileged to be included in the work of God. I don't want Him to do what He is going to do anyway without me!

What Matters Most

Is any love really more important than the love that Christ has for us? When we act toward others out of anything other than the love of Christ, we fail. Despite our attempts to "get it right,"we are incapable. This being the case, here is my prayer for you this Valentines' Day:

     "I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with the saints, to grasp HOW WIDE AND LONG AND HIGH AND DEEP IS THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AND TO KNOW THIS LOVE THAT SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
     Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever AMEN!"
Ephesians 3: 14-21

This weekend, my heart worshiped.  I long for the day that every person in the room at Florida Bible Church cannot contain himself at the thought of our God's greatness. To grasp His love for us would be to lose control and fall before his feet in worship or to laugh out loud and dance in His presence. His love never fails. Are we listening to Him? Are we drawing from Him? His love never fails!

God has been speaking to my heart about faith. what is faith? "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) I HOPE that hundreds and thousands will find their way into our church to meet Christ and have not seen it happen. I HOPE that we need another building to contain the people who come to know Christ and join us to worship Him on Saturday nights and have not seen it happen. BUT I have FAITH and pray believing that God will bring those who need Him across our paths. We must be prepared to let God's love flow from us to them. Whether we are called to love them in our daily lives or as they enter our place of worship, we need to pray believing that GOD WILL USE US. This phrase crossed my mind over and over as we worshiped on Saturday evening, "God, we need a miracle; God, we need a miracle; God, we need a miracle." We need to have FAITH. This prayer of faith says it best:

     "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is any one of you happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in FAITH will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
     Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."
James 5: 13-18

God will send the rain when we are prepared to handle it! Are we ready for the crops that the rain will produce?  Are we ready to reap the harvest? Are we ready to pray believing that God will send a miracle on our behalf? Are we ready to love the ones that He sends our way? After all isn't that what this life of a Christ follower is all about? What matters most? "Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (I Corinthians 13:13)

Butterflies

The Holy Spirit is moving, and why am I surprised? I'm surprised because I forget that the perfect, all-powerful God who is able to exceedingly more than anything I could ever ask or imagine lives within me! I forget that my humanity and imperfections don't stop His perfection. We pray believing that God will move mountains. We seek His face. We want more of Him. Forgive us, Lord, for our forgetfulness; forgive us Lord for our busyness. We desire to sit at Your feet, Lord, and worship you. 


152 people gathered together to passionately worship our Creator. The room was filled with open hearts. We revived our hearts once again through worship, released our requests to the Lord interceding on behalf of others, and we shared communion together remembering and reflecting upon the sacrifice of God's son, Jesus, on the cross and His resurrection that has provided us eternal life and relationship with Him. 


Butterflies filled my stomach as I returned to my First Love. Life has gotten in the way of my clear view of my Savior. For that, I hurt. I want to walk daily aware of His presence within me. I have all of Jesus that I need. I know there are others who desire the same thing. I woke this morning still filled with His Spirit sensing the joy of last night. It is the feeling of tears welling up within me and emotions just about to flow over the brim of my heart. One person accepted CHRIST! Several worshiped. The words of one song that we sang just took my breath away.  I wanted to jump up and down and dance around the stage as I sang it to the Lord. The feeling is similar to that of falling in love all over again. butterflies. Enjoy and worship as you read the lyrics of this song: 


"Your Love Never Fails"

Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails

I know I still make mistakes
But You have new mercies for me everyday
Your love never fails

Chorus:
You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning

And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

Verse 2:
The wind is strong and the water's deep
But I'm not alone in these open seas
Cause Your love never fails

The chasm is far too wide
I never thought I'd reach the other side
But Your love never fails

Bridge:
You make all things work together for my good


Pastor Pete brought a timely and true word about love. Love that is real is so different than love that we see depicted in movies and media. Real love, love that comes from Christ, is this: 


I Corinthians 13: 1-8
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not LOVE, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 
Love is patient,
love is kind,
it does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud,
it is not rude, 
it is not self-seeking, 
it is not easily angered, 
it keeps no record of wrongs, 
love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 


It always protects, 
always trusts, 
always hopes, 
always perseveres


LOVE NEVER FAILS
LOVE NEVER EVER FAILS
LOVE NEVER FAILS


Do we believe this? This love lives within us. Do we believe this? Why do we keep from sharing THIS LOVE with everyone everywhere? Why do  we hold back? Love never fails. Let us not restrict this love to our romantic relationships; let us love the world with this love. 


John 13:34-35
A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have Loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another. 


I leave you with this declaration written below that my father gave to me; proclaim it boldly and out loud over your life. 


JESUS YOU ARE WELCOME HERE!
THE ENTIRE CHRISTIAN LIFE I WILL EVER LIVE ALREADY ABIDES IN ME
FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST
IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVES
BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME
CHRIST IS ALL AND IS IN ALL


LET ME LOVE OTHERS AS YOU HAVE LOVED ME.

Your Love Never Fails -Chris Quilala / Jesus Culture

"It is Well With my Soul"

This weekend, 1-29-11, was incredibly moving as 125 people gathered to resync to Jesus. The worship was spirit-led and authentic. I am left on the verge of tears each week as I watch the crowd revive their lives in Christ through worship and release their requests to the Lord. This week, we wrote our requests down, placed them in a basket near the stage. We released our requests to God and sang “How He Loves;” He does love us. His love for us is immeasurable. Intercession is a gift. There are times when each of us as believers faces such hard times that we need other believers to intercede on our behalf. That is what so many did Saturday night. They wrote requests on behalf of others and released them to our Lord. This Monday, 1-31-11, John, Shayne, and our worship team lifted those requests to the Lord again, aloud on behalf of those who are hurting. I again was in tears at the thought of so many hurting people. We in our frailty and humanity feel hopeless, but God in His greatness knows exactly what joy and good will come out these trying situations when we trust Him as Romans 8:28 reminds us. These “black clouds” come over our lives and we become desperate. We hurt. Instead we should have hope in the Lord.

Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

Pastor Pete told the story of the beautiful old hymn, “It is well with my Soul,” written by Horatio G. Spafford. This hymn takes on new meaning when the story that inspired it comes to life. It is shocking and breath-taking to imagine writing these words after having lost your only son at four years of age to a deadly fever and having lost your four daughters shortly thereafter to a shipwreck. Horatio G. Spafford went from being a successful, prominent lawyer to a grieving father who had lost almost everything in just three short years.  He penned the words of this song just after he passed over the very spot in the Atlantic Ocean that had claimed the lives of his four daughters. This story inspires me to confidently say that regardless of my circumstances, IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.      

“It is well with my Soul”

Horatio G. Spafford

(1828-1888)

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.