Love

“…and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” -1 Peter 3:21 I believe Jesus’ whole life was flowing from his baptism. Of course, we believe in Christianity that Jesus never sinned; he never made a mistake. So, why was Jesus baptized? Was Jesus born again when he was baptized? Was he forgiven of his sins? Was he repenting of something? No. He was being obedient to the Father as he was beginning his earthly ministry. And, just as that happened, the skies opened up and God said, “You are my beloved Son in whom I’m well pleased. I take pleasure in you.” We have to remember, friends, that this is the most important part of our baptism. For us as sinners, we’re forgiven of

“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall. -Isaiah 25:4 Love is care for human good. Love is not your feelings or your emotions. Love means you give a hoot. That’s what it means. In fact, you can actually feel emotions or feelings of affection toward someone and not actually love them. And vice versa. You can be angry with someone and love him or her. You can be really upset with someone and yet find it in your heart to love. You can hope somebody is arrested and put in jail and still love. That’s the truth. Prayer: Dear Lord, as I open myself to your love for me, may that love fill me with love for those who have

“When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” -Acts 7:54-56 Stephen, the first martyr, was executed for preaching the gospel. His last words as he looks to heaven as stones are being thrown at him even though he hasn’t harmed anyone are found in the one passage in the Bible where it says Jesus is not sitting at the right hand of the Father; he’s standing at the right hand of the Father. Some theologians say that Jesus is actually giving Stephen a standing ovation. And what are Stephen’s last words? “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” Reminds me of

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” -John 13:34-35 We have to love others. We have to. Yet I know this is sometimes a confusing thing to do. Every Sunday at church we say, “Turn to your neighbor and say, ‘God loves you, and so do I.’” I remember one Sunday after the service, I spoke with a somewhat analytical and quite thoughtful man who asked me a great question: “If I turn to someone in church and I say, ‘God loves you, and so do I,’ how can I be honest with that if I’ve never met this person?” Now, if you understand agape love, you understand that you can say “I love you” to everybody. Why? Because Christian love, agape love, has nothing

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” -John 8:12 This ministry does its best to reinforce the idea that you are loved no matter what. Nobody gave you God’s love, and nobody can take away God’s love. It will be there forever. And, until you abide in that, your life will never change. Everything we do in our spiritual disciplines needs to be about realigning our souls with this one fact, that in the kingdom of God, he loves us. When we own that, our lives become so holy because we’re living from a place of desire and joy and peace out of a heart that’s been renovated. When we do that, we can’t help but do what is right. Prayer: Dear Lord, my soul is yours, realigned to the

“We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” -1 John 19-21 This concept of love has tremendous consequences for our theology, doesn’t it? Henri Nouwen, when he taught on this passage, 1 John 4:7-21, he called this the first love. John says we only love because God first loved us. That means that in order to love like a Christian, you have to be completely abiding in God’s love for you. And, until you find a home in God’s power and love, you’ll never really have the power to love people who hate you, love people who offend you, love people who gossip