Will you share that with me?

I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my prayers. I will call on Him as long as I live, because He has turned His ear to me. (Psalm 116:1-2)

How easy is it to love someone because they do things for you? Probably a whole lot easier than it is to love someone who only takes and takes and takes, right? I wonder just how many so called 'Christians' love God because he 'does things for them', while they take and take and take all that he gives? God isn't looking for our 'sacrificial offerings' - the things we 'give' - as much as he is looking for the ways we just spend time communicating with him. As with any other relationship, there must be communication - not just superficial stuff that gets bantered around, but deeper, more meaningful discussions about what is bugging you, giving you anxiety, or bringing you pleasure and hope. These are the conversation God relishes - those that come from an open heart and a hungry spirit.

There are lots of times it is easier to 'do something' than to just sit down and spend time together with someone you are in relationship with, isn't it? You could just hurriedly 'work out' some detail for them and that might make you feel like you 'showed them' you loved them, but let me just say that some of the greatest moments of love are manifest more in the times of 'real conversation' - the times we let our hair down, so to speak. These are the times when we not only need to be heard, but we also yearn to just hear from the other person we are in relationship with. If this is so true in our physical relationships on this earth, then why do we think it would be any different in our relationship with God himself?

If you are like me, the other person may have to work a little to get your attention. I can get so consumed in what I am doing that I forget to just 'pause' for a while to take time for that important relationship. The thing about God is that he is always listening - his ear is always turned toward us - poised and ready to hear. Our challenge comes in just setting aside the 'stuff of the day' long enough to take time to just share our heart with him. In some circles of the church world this is called 'prayer', in others it is called 'communion'. I don't care what you call it, as long as it is genuine sharing. Have you ever prayed what I will refer to as a 'canned prayer'? You know the ones I mean - they are pre-written and you just 'say' them. There may be a place or time for them, but I think God is more honored by the times we just 'talk' things out with him.

Want to get to know God a little bit deeper? Talk to him! Want to understand his heart? Talk to him! Want to figure out the next step you are to take in life? Yup, you got it - talk to him! Nothing relieves anxiety more than talking things through with the one who knows what caused the anxiety in the first place. Nothing gets to the heart of the matter quite like unpacking it with someone you love and who loves you. There is much to be said about listening, but equally as important is this part of communication known as 'sharing' - openly, honestly, and humbly. Just sayin!

What did obedience cost Mary and Joseph?

As we have looked at the birth of Christ, we have considered the fact he was born of a virgin, with an earthly father so willing to honor God with his life that he married a woman who was already pregnant. In that day and time, a very taboo thing. We also saw how the mother of Christ was chosen by God and given the dramatic news that she would carry the Son of God. Imagine her awe, but also see her tremendous amount of fear as she would have received this announcement, knowing all she knew about the time in which she lived about how a woman out of wedlock showing up pregnant would be treated. We also explored the lowly birth of Jesus in a stable of sorts, surrounded by animals, visited by shepherds, and then honored by magi from afar. The announcement of his birth was by angels - start to finish. Mary heard from an angel (a messenger from God), while Joseph was set at ease by a messenger from God on another occasion - assuring him the thing he was about to do in marrying Mary wa

A brilliant display indeed

Love from the center of who you are ; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply ; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. (Romans 12:9-12) Integrity and Intensity don't seem to fit together all that well, but they are uniquely interwoven traits which actually complement each other. "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it." God asks for us to have some intensity (fervor) in how we love (from the center of who we are), but he also expects us to have integrity in our love as he asks us to be real in our love (don't fake it). They are indeed integral to each other. At first, we may only think of integrity as honesty - some adherence to a moral code within. I believe there is a little more to integrity than meets the eye. In the most literal sense,

Do me a favor

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:1-4) Has God's love made ANY difference in your life? What is that difference? Most of us will likely say that our lives were changed for the good, while others will say there was a dramatic change. Some left behind lifestyles marked by all manner of outward sin - like drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, or even thievery. There are many that will admit the things they left behind were just a bit subtler - what we can call inward sin - things like jealousy,

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