Wednesday already? Where does time go? Last night went quite late with an elders meeting at church. So a little extra coffee is in order this morning. My flavor of choice is Door County Christmas.
Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.
Romans 12:10
Love is not only essential to obtaining peace upon this earth; love is also vital in adhering to the will of God… The word of God tells us that we were given a New Commandment regarding love in the gospel of John through the very mouth of Jesus Christ; in this gospel we find these words recorded, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Notice that Jesus says you MUST love one another; loving is not optional or something that we can turn on and off in the body of Christ… When we love we are not just showing kindness to one another; the love spoken of in that portion of scripture speaks to the fact that we are actually put God on display in our very lives as we are told in the bible that God is love…
I hear from time to time, those people who leave churches because the music or message did not reach them. I often wonder what brought them to the church to begin with. I also hear people say that they are all about love and want to express the love of Jesus. But the message and music needs to inspire them to be able to do so.
I have to admit that I have sat through many a sermon that I just couldn't relate to. I recall one on drug addiction that really meant nothing to me. I had the Packer game on my mind within minutes. Half way through the message I realized that the one person I had been praying for who was an addict was there that day. The Holy Spirit pointed me in the right direction, I didn't need the sermon. I was blessed to not need the message. But someone else did and I was being selfish by wishing for some other message. My duty was to take part in the message by praying for those who needed to hear it. It wasn't long after that day when the message was on being selfish.
Once I realized that not every moment has to be about me and that I can be fed by being there and praying for others my worship experience became much, much more to me. I needed to see that my love for me was all I worried about. I was not showing the love of Jesus by disengaging from the service.
I guess I really wasn't showing love by my actions. I really proved that I would pray for the addict but really did not care. I grew up that day, big time.
How about you? Are you self serving? Can you share God's time with others?
Have a great day.
Marty
Great blog entry, Chief
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeff.
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