Little Children, part III

Ok so, 1 John is my favorite New Testament letter - many of you know this (or at least, now you do).

Any and all love that is shone / poured out from our mouths / hands is only a response and outpouring of love received. 

I find myself so often praying "to see Your love afresh." My anxiety (due to procrastination mostly) tends to blind me from this Love, which is like none other. When His love is being blocked from my heart - how am I to extend grace (read: love) to my roommate? to my friends? to the worship team? ...to myself?

We must accept the love from the Father. Feeling far from the love of God is not uncommon for sinners. Sin is the gap that, without Christ, separates us from God. "Thanks be to God... for neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing is able to separate us from the love of God - which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8, butchered from memory). We must experience his forgiveness and grace (see 1 John 1:9) inwardly and daily, in order to live it outwardly. 

Freaking chapter 4:19 "We love, because He first loved us." (NASB)

1 John 3:16-18 "We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children (I love when he says "little children"...it means "hey if you're sleeping - wake up - time for the point") let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." (NASB)

James 2:15-16 "If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use it that?" (NASB)

Our roommates and friends and those around us are to be treated above ourselves (see part II, below). Our time, our desires, our money - is not our own! It is for God, it is for others. (read: I am a hypocrit. Here i am talking about money and I'm the one flying to Vegas to see DMB on one hand and telling my friend in East Asia that I'm going to be late on giving him his support. I say these things because I need to hear them. please know this.)

examples of this: folding laundry, cleaning kitchens/bathrooms/living rooms, making beds, taking out trash, buying the TP, cooking breakfast/lunch/dinner for those around, offering to make starbucks runs, giving rides, verbal encouragements, hugs, speaking spiritual truth, listening.... (the list goes on)

lol, listening? really? My roommates have listened to countless rants on all sorts of things, because I need to get it out and they listen (these can last up to an hour sometimes). They serve me so much in this way. 

to continue, sometimes those around us don't know what they need. Or they know it, but feel like its unattainable. For example, I have a friend and he sometimes (read: always) overbooks himself. We've chatted about this a few times, but this is a life lesson (I think, unfortunately) best learned the hard way.  This doesnt stop me from trying to help him. So today, "Hey bud - we're taking a break. Let's go hike bishops on monday after the crazy weekend." Although to me, it seems like another thing on his list, he was all over it and admitted to me (and himself) it was necessary.  (that was a long story to get to the point and I apologize.)

Last point: don't be afraid to receive love.  I am not perfect and you are not perfect. When a brother or sister wants to show love, why not allow them? (of course, this is within reason, just like our love to give must be in reason). 

Let Paul speak to us as he did to Titus and the church in Crete to be "sensible" (2:2, 5, 6, 12) and to be "sound in love" (2:2) and to be "zealous for good deeds" (2:14).

 ...thats all for now :)

Little Children, part II

Yeah, this should be with the last post...

Paul (of course) understood what it meant to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (see lower post) and to "love one another as I have loved you" (Jesus, John 13:34, paraphrase)

Philippians 2:2-4

...make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interesets, but also for the interests of others.

Little children, love another.

I don't understand the love of my Savior. 

#1. I can and do love my roommates readily because they are my roommates. I'd do most anything for them. 

#2. I can and do love my friends, as long as it doesnt interfere with #1

#3. I can love and sometimes do love those not in #1 or #2. 

On Wednesday at Crusade, Jamey hit it on the head - I look around and say to myself "gee Brendan, living by #1 and #2 is ahead of most people. You're doing great!" Sadly though, I find that in the absence of perceived love returned, I stop serving/giving joyfully, but out of precedent and that "well I should do this" part of the noggin. 

Christ died for all. Knowing that some would ignore it, He still died. Those whom He loved as friends were died for as much as those who scoffed at Him. Returned love was not a requirement for the pouring out of His own love.  (but even as I type this... what about when he went to Nazareth and was rejected?)

I heard a pastor say once that when the "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John) was very old and brought to the congregation to teach, he would speak of love (1 John anyone?). He would say something like "Little children (John was older than everyone), if we love one another, we are doing something right" (dont hold me to that quote, but same idea). 

What does it look like to "love another" as John speaks? I think of this: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. " There is a heirarchy there:

1) God

2) Others (not just friends... see the parable of the good Samaritan)

2 (not a typo)) self 

How is love shown? Time, money, prayers, quality time, service... As we give these things on (and dare I say, "as we love...") ourselves - we are to the same for others. Quite the calling indeed.

Spring

Spring oh Spring:

makes everything green.

Green oh green!

What a lovely Spring!

The wind moves a million shoots of grass beautifully

Waves of air surfed by nature bring forth life

Scattered clouds shade patches of rolling hills

Rows of flowers shine under morning sun

Sun breaks through,

Light, cool breeze,

bright green hue:

Spring.

(I'm unsettled on this last part, poetically)

Rains poured out

Clouds said "bye"

...Time to sprout

Spring.

....happy Easter!!!

Awake.

Blue Sky.

Bright Sun.

He is risen. 

The Veil Was Broken

Sorry for the delay, I started the upload at 10:30 last night and at 12:30 it wasn't done and I got sleepy...

It's said in Matthew 27:

"And behold, the veil of the temple was in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split" (v51)

This is a little diddy i started about 10 months ago and never settled on the lyrics. Well, as of right now, I like what they are. It's likely to change again...

Lyrics:

Oh it hid there, not to be seen

But once a year, if you were clean.

The high preist - if he was clean.

would go to place, (that) remains unseen

Oh He hung there, up on His tree.

The wise men wondered, how could it be?

How could it be? I don't know

That when He died, what did they see?

The earth was shakin and it came down.

The earth was quakin, (it) fell to the ground

It came onto, to the ground

The veil was broken, each and ev'ry thread.

The veil was broken; we should be dead.

It came onto, to the ground.

The presence of God is all around

But His presence, now dwells within,

For with His death, He conquered sin!

The veil was broken.

Ev'ry thread.

The veil was broken. 

We should be dead.

Good Friday

Hello!

Ok so, I have another song coming... tomorrow I think. It will be appropriate (this i also think).

*scurries to grab guitar*