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Next week, an annual phenomenon will occur. All across the country people will make decisions regarding healthy eating and exercise. Fitness centers will see a huge increase in memberships. In fact, the industry will often offer sign-up savings to coincide with the new year. It’s a good deal for them because more than half of these members will not come in, meaning more profit!
At the same time, church attendance will decline after the annual increase of attendance to do people making their annual Christmas visit. Kids school work, sports, work and family time will be the main excuses for ‘just not having time for church.’
Most people put far more time into taking care of the physical body than they do the spiritual. Jesus addressed that when he reminded his followers that just pursuing the physical is meaningless if you don’t add the spiritual dimension.
Don’t emphasize the temporal at the expense of the eternal.
It’s interesting that when Jesus offered up his last prayer before his death he prayed for unity among believers. Unity is impossible when hatred is present. Love of the brethren is, in some ways more important than loving the ‘pagan’ because we are being watched. When I ask people who don’t attend church why they don’t, most of the answers center around church politics and hypocrisy. We say love the sinner and hate the sin but that starts in the church, in the body of Christ, the Family of Believers. It was the love/unity of the body that attracted people to the early church and people haven’t changed that much! All of us have people that annoy us for a variety of reasons — things they have done; personality conflicts; actions they have taken. Yet first and foremost we need to see others as God’s creation, not define them by their actions. We don’t love them because of who they are, we love them because of who Gd is. Jesus died for us when we were at our worst, the least we can do is to love others when they are at their worst through the power of the Holy Spirit working within us.
Whether you believe in the whole virgin birth thing or not, one has to admit that during the Christmas season, the focus of our society turns towards love, joy and peace. History has shown that even the most brutal battles have taken time-out for Christmas.
The three words “I Love You” are full of a variety of meanings. When I say I love you it could be because I want something from you; when I say I love you it could mean you have done something that makes me happy. Often people equate the feeling of happiness and belonging as being love. But authentic love, the love that comes from God is so much deeper than that.
Man’s love says “I’ll love you if”; God’s love says “I love you regardless. Man’s love says, “I may love you today, but tomorrow I may fall out of love; God’s love says, “nothing you can say or do will keep me from loving you. Man’s love says, “I can’t forgive you for that; God’s love says, “I’ll forgive you again, and again and again.” Man’s love can be unfaithful; God’s love is always faithful.
Authentic love can only be found when we find God for he showed his love through the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
A cheerful heart is a choice. Difficulties will come. Tragedy will occur. But the resilient spirit will see joy in the midst of calamity. A crushed spirit dwells on problems not possibilities. A crushed spirit relies on their own strength or the strength of others to flourish. When human effort fails, and it will, strength is sapped away. When we place our hope in God we can look adversity in the eye with a cheerful heart. This is impossible without Jesus Christ as Lord.
Your passions drive your actions. When your actions revolve around yourself, (your own comfort; your own desires; your own strengths) your passions are focused inward and your joy is dependent on fulfilling those passions. When you are passionate about Jesus Christ your joy is not based on yourself but on the realization that Jesus is passionate about you. Your actions are based on Your mutual love for each other. Jesus is passionate about you and he wants you to be passionate about him. That’s why he said if you love me, if you’re passionate about me, If your desire is for me, then you will naturally to have the things that I have promised you.
