what are we spending our lives on?

"When we love, we are free." -- Frances Chan (quote from his book Crazy Love)

We are continuing our series Love More ... Expect Less. at The Community Fellowship, and yesterday we talked about how to have your best life. If I had to sum it up in a single sentence, here it is: be consumed by God and His love as you serve others. Hope that makes sense to you. It does to me.

Galatians 5:13-14 (nasb) --- For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Those are huge verses with lots of complicated thoughts for us. Lets just throw in a couple for today.

LIVE FREE. God offers it. We can accept it. Live in it. Freedom means we accept who God made us to be while we accept the fact we are forgiven and blessed. No matter our state of mind and of life, we are free because of the goodness of God.

DEAL WITH FLESH. Sin stinks. No way around it. Satan is on the offensive (and He is offensive in big ways). It is time to deal with our junk, realize forgiveness and let God win in and through our lives. Lots of us have a really hard time dealing with sin and our shortcomings, but when we choose to deal with them, it is a whole lot easier to accept what God has done and to serve others.

God has called us to serve, to share His love and to live outside of ourselves. We have to catch that truth. Look back at the scripture I quoted above. God says, Live in that freedom and serve others with the right motives. Examine your heart. Examine what you do, how you treat others and even what you think. All of that will lead you to see what you are living for. Answer that question. What are you living for OR who are you living for?

I will leave us with a few verses that have kept me thinking this weekend and then a question (same one I gave our folks yesterday morning):

Isaiah 58:9-11 (niv) ..."If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

What are we willing to spend our lives on?

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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