Coming to Jesus in 1969 I understood that becoming a Christ follower was serious business and that’s why I resisted becoming a Christian for some time. You may ask how long I resisted and probably I would have to say all my life, though I didn’t realize it at the time.  Sometime we resist the “Presentation” of Christianity and of Christ. We call this religion. This happens when we color the meaning of Jesus’ words and life to suit our motives or lifestyle. In truth, this representation is a counterfeit though the people in it don’t see it that way.

In this world most things are anything but reliable. Whether we look at the stock market or the price of gas, it seems everything is in flux and this can cause great anxiety in most of us. Whether it’s a product or a relationship it seems everything and everybody is beyond the value of our personal trust. But what if we could discover something that was so reliable that each person, regardless of the station in life they find themselves, or the country they live in, could find that something or someone to give ourselves over to 100%?  Wouldn’t we grab the chance of such fulfillment, regardless of the cost? I believe there is is only one thing, or one person in the universe, that is worthy of that kind of trust.

My last blog I talked about being in a relationship with God that goes beyond the elementary things of acceptance and forgiveness.

Heb 6:1

So let us stop going over the basics of Christianity again and again. Let us go on, instead, and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start all over again with the importance of turning away from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.

Far too often, non-believers are convicted of their rebellion to God and His purposes, and are ready to deal with their guilt over past sin and rebellion. They come to Christ as their Savior, to be forgiven an embraced as an adopted child, but there is so much more that God has in mind for this new relationship which Christ paid for.

Do you remember the first crush you had as a little kid? My four year old grandson has a crush on a little girl in his preschool class. It is a time in our lives when we are captivated by beauty. For a boy of four, it is something that stirs this little guys heart that causes him to want to please the one of his affection. Granted, this first love experience may not happen at four, but we are wired for love, after all. Are we not made in the image of God? We still retain certain aspects of the nature God which he designed Adam with. We are made just like Him having the aspects of the nature of “Love” like Himself, though marred.

Loving Others as Christ Loved Us

When we become Christ followers, God begins a “Remodeling” process to change how we think and live.

One of the first areas He starts to work in is our thinking because our thinking sets the course of our action.

This is why reading and meditating on Scripture is so vital to the process and success of our transformation. Without the steady impute of “What & How” God thinks we will never realize the transformation Jesus is truly after.

As we are seeking God for his equipping in the various places we find ourselves? I want to encourage us all in our pursuit of being filled with the Holy Spirit to have the power from above rather than just human power in demonstrating God’s love.

Eph 5:15-18
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

So often life is consumed in getting our projects or responsibilities done. Working to pay the bills. Doing the wash only to get them dirty again. Going to the store to stock up on what we have consumed, or a thousand other tasks.

What if, in some small measure, we carved out some time and energy to be a blessing in some small way, for someone else?
What if we decided to do some act of kindness in order to represent God’s heart to a hurting world? After all the scriptures says “For God So Loved the World ( people ) that He Gave”, so wouldn’t it be fitting for us to do the same?

For the last few days, I have been thinking of one captivating concept, motivated by a picture of my daughter-in-law’s & son’s baby. Let me explain.

Dusti took this picture of Shepherd as she was greeting him because she delights in the fact that Shepherd lights up like a Christmas tree every time he sees her now. It is a learned response and not automatic.

The Lord spoke to my heart the moment I saw the picture: