Don't Matter

In the midst of my struggles
In the midst of my turmoil
In the middle of troubles
In the times my blood boils
When no one is reading
Or if all stop on by
Well I'm feeling blue
Or my spirit's flying high
It don't matter
Cause God loves me
And Jesus is still in control...

Whether you read this
Whether you don't
If you have great knowledge
Whether you don't
God still loves you
He gave His life you see
To adopt you as His child
To forever set you Free...

Come Along With Me

God’s love for us is so great He gave His only begotten Son as the final sacrifice for our sin. His sacrifice is our salvation. This is the only sacrifice that God accepts because we are blemished, our righteousness is as filthy rags.

Now come along with me as I take this little journey.

In the beginning God created everything including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of Life. Told Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know what happens after that.

Now, man, tainted by Adam’s sin, is under the curse. Man now must live under the “Law” – aka The knowledge of Good and Evil. Simple enough. Follow the law, all will be well. Break the law, things go bad. Problem is, man couldn’t keep 1 simple rule (Don’t eat), what makes him think he can keep 10? So blood is shed to cover man’s sin. Must keep sacrificing to cover sin. Not perfect, because man keeps on sinning. God knows this. Always has.

Enter Jesus into the time / space continuum. God in the flesh to show us God’s heart. God in the flesh to take man’s sin upon himself. God in the flesh to shed His blood to be the final sacrifice to wash away the sins of the past and the future. The final sacrifice for a sinful mankind. God in the flesh to make us all acceptable to the Father and pour out His Spirit on those whose faith is in that final sacrifice.

He lived to show us Who love is. He died to make us acceptable to the Father, to wash us clean, to take away the barrier between us and the Father, to impart His Spirit to us so that we can live in the Spirit and not by the flesh.

Side note: Paul wrote in Romans that “he who has not the Spirit are none of His.” You can follow the rules without love, and according to Jesus and Paul it means “nothing.” (I Corinthians 13) When your whole point of view is “the law” and you don’t have love it’s nothing. What did Jesus say to the religious leaders of His day? “You know the letter of the law, but not the spirit behind the law.” (Also consider Mark 7:6, John 6:63 Check out Paul’s views on this subject: Romans 7:6, Rom 8:2, Rom 8:4, Gal 5:18)

Jesus said, “I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life. No one comes to the Father but though me.” Very pointed. Very simple. Okay. Jesus is God incarnate, aka, God in the flesh. Jesus gave us His Spirit – God the Spirit. If we learn from Jesus and follow the Spirit, we will be following God. God is Love.

So, if God is Love, and the Spirit is God, and Jesus is God, therefore Jesus is Love in the Flesh. Therefore, The Way is Love, The Truth is Love, The Life is Love. Not mankind’s view of love, but God’s design for Love. All the Law is summed up in Love God and love your neighbor.

But what does that mean? You may ask. Check out I Corinthians 13. Only Jesus death on the cross makes us acceptable to the Father. What did Paul say he wanted to know? The law? No. New rules? No. What to drink or eat or what not to drink or eat? No. Paul said he only wanted to know “Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”

Many will come in that day and say, “Lord, did we not do many wonderful things in your name.” And He will say “Depart from me for I never knew you.”

Do you know Love, or just the rules? Are you putting on God’s righteousness, or are you trying to justify yourself by your own righteousness?

Lord, Save Us...

From "Lord, Save Us From Your Followers" by Dan Merchant

The point is, it's easy to make exceptions to Jesus' call. Now I'm not trying to be a jerk here; I'm merely illustrating how flipping easy it is for us Christians to disqualify someone or some group. We declare them unworthy...unworthy of our best...unworthy of the love we're called to share. That is simply unacceptable. I don't think it's right to partake of this faith and blame others for this tumult. You know, that whole "He who is without sin..." thing weighs on me. And since none of us are in the "No Sin Zone," aren't we all in the same predicament?

I tend to get confused, so I want to be sure I'm articulating my thoughts as clearly as inteneded. Let me see if we're tracking together, okay?

Christians are the ones who believe in the God of love, right? We're the ones who love and worship the Prince of Peace, right? Isn't that us? Aren't we the ones who are to hold patience, kindness, and forgiveness up as ideal standards? We're the truth and grace people, correct? Then why are we hammering others with the truth (our take on it, anyway), and then neglecting to share the grace? Those two things go together; one doesn't mean as much without the other.

Why are we so comfortable blaming those who disagree with us for the conflicts in our country? Why are we allowing the gospel of love to divide America? I'm comfortable with the bar being higher for us. If not us, then who? We're saved, right? Isn't that worth something now? Jesus is the One who accepts everybody, who includes the weakest in His embrace, restores the broken, deperate, and unworthy (there I go again, trying to sneak one by you...yes, you're right, we're all unworthy, that's why I'm so grateful for grace). If we are truly to represent Him, we better come up with a better plan than dividing the country over temporal, political issues.

On Vacation

This is from Cadillac Mountain over looking Bar Harbor, Maine or as the the local would say Baa Habaa.

Miss everyone. Will be coming back tomorrow evening. See everyone on Sunday, unless you send me a picture of yourself by way of email then I'll see you before then.

Be blessed, be a blessing.

Love and Laugher and lots of music,
DJ GlenMC

Contemplating Simplicity

We live in a consumer driven society which thrives on stuff. Our computers become obsolete the moment we take them out of the box. Our games are ‘so yesterday.’ We are all looking for the ‘next big thing.’ One day it was the Commodore 64, then it was the Nintendo 64, then it was the Playstation, PSP, Xbox. Or it was Windows, then Windows NT, or 98, then XP, now Vista. Oh wait, my old programs don’t work with Vista, so I now have to buy an updated version of a program that was working fine before, but it won’t work now, because I bought a new computer because my old computer wasn’t good enough or fast enough or small enough.

Or my car is old and I need a new one, or it’s a gas guzzler and I need to get a more economical one.

Or my house isn’t big enough. It doesn’t have the latest gadgets.

So we go to work, to make money, to spend on newer, faster, bigger, better or convenient things. And of course, we have to buy newer, fancier clothes to impress the bosses so we can get a better job, so we can make more money to spend on more things so we can keep the consumer wheel turning.

I feel like a gerbil in a cage on an exercise wheel sometimes, running but getting no where.

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3

What does “stuff” have to do with ‘simplicity that is in Christ” you may ask? I believe it has a lot to do with it. If we didn’t let our ‘stuff’ possess us, it would be so simple to ‘give our cloak to those who have none.’ We would stop worrying about somebody stealing out stuff. (This would be if everyone came to understand the simplicity that’s in Christ. Problem right now is we live in a fallen world. We must remember to be ‘Cunning as serpent, but as harmless as doves.’) Love also protects those one loves.

There are things that just seem to be necessary, paying the electric bills, buying food, clothing, rent or mortgage payments.

And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 1 Tim 6:8.

But, we aren’t content. We are consumers. We are taught (churches are included) that we are successful and we are blessed if we have bunches of stuff and not just stuff, but the “newest” or “latest and greatest” stuff. Didn’t Satan tempt Jesus with stuff. “Bow down to me and all this can be yours.” Matt 4:9. We compromise. We ‘play the game.’ We do what is ‘required’ in order to get by. But, should ‘getting by’ be our goal in life? Should our goal in life to be striving for the temporary? Or should we be looking to the eternal?

I had a thought in church the other night that, “The person fighting to keep his ‘hard earned cash’ is no better than the person who is trying to get the government to take it away to give to someone who ‘needs’ it." We are all sinners in need of the Savior.

We excuse ourselves from helping the homeless (Yes, I am guilty of this) by saying, “Well they are able bodied. Doesn’t the Bible say, ‘if you don’t work, you don’t eat’?” Or we leave the welfare up to the government. “Well, they shouldn’t have gotten into that situation. They are not my responsibility.” To really love requires getting involved in someone’s life.
Love is the simplest thing, but it’s also the most difficult. Love requires involvement. Love requires commitment.

Love doesn’t concern itself with what others are doing or have done. Love is more concerned with “what can I do to help.”

Love isn’t caught up in “it’s your own fault you’re in this situation.” Rather love is more occupied with “How can I help you out.”

Love doesn’t want to give “hand outs.” Love wants to give a “hand up.”

Love doesn’t want to just live for you. Love would die for you. As a matter of fact, Love did die for you and rose again. Jesus is God incarnate. (God in the flesh) God is Love, therefore, Jesus is Love in the flesh. Jesus is the Way. To make it simple, “Know Jesus, Know Love. No Jesus, No love.”

Love also knows there are times to stay, and there are times to walk away...'brush the dust off your feet" if you will. Love isn't about winning arguments. Love is about winning hearts.

May we truly come to know the freedom that Jesus bought for us on the cross, the freedom to love.

Blessings and Grace,

Love and Laughter,

And whole bunches of hugs.

CS Lewis Quote

I got this quote off of the site listed below for the band Sixpence None the Richer.
Not sure if this was the quote a friend of mine was looking for, but I think it's worth sharing.

http://www.crlamppost.org/sixpence.htm

First off, many of you may be asking, "What's the deal with the name Sixpence None The Richer?" The band's name comes from this passage in C.S. Lewis' book Mere Christianity:


Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given to you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. So that when we talk of a man doing anything for God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what it is really like. It is like a small child going to his father and saying, 'Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.' Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child's present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction. When a man has made these two discoveries, God can really get to work. It is after this that real life begins. The man is awake now...

Blessings and Grace,
Love and Laughter,
DJ GlenMC

Takes No Pleasure

A lady meets an old friend of hers on the street and asks how he’s doing. He tells her that he’s doing okay but that his church is looking for a new pastor.

“But why?” the old lady asks.

“Our pastor, all he talks about is hell. We’re just tired of listening to him.”

They parted ways.

A couple of weeks later they meet again. The old lady asks the man if they found a new pastor yet.

“Why yes we have. We love him and think he’s great,” was his reply.

“What does he talk about?” asked the curious old lady.

“Hell,” was his response.

Surprised, the old lady inquired, “But, I thought you said you were looking for a new pastor because all the old pastor talked about was hell. Now your new pastor talks about hell, and you’re happy. Why?”

“Simple,” he explained. “Our old pastor talked about hell as if he were glad people were going. He would spend time telling us who was going, and seemed to take glee in the thought of people being eternally separated from God. Our new pastor talks about hell, but his heart is that no one should go. He offers up Him who gave His life to make us acceptable to God. He shares the free gift of salvation that’s found only in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God. He’s grieved by those that don’t accept Him, and rejoices for all who freely accept this most precious Gift that God has freely offered to us.”

A gift is only ours when we accept it. If we have to earn it, it’s not a gift, it’s a payment. We could never earn it.

Heaven is open for “all who call upon the name of the Lord, who believe on His name.” Read the whole book of John for some insight into that. Read Romans for a glimpse of who is righteous…hint, there are none righteous, no not one.

God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Ezekiel 33:11

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
Proverbs 24:17

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Pet 3:9

Love your enemies.
Peace and Love,
Blessings and Grace,
DJ GlenMC

Thought for this Political Season

Read the quote, then read my previous post on "Inconvenience."
DJ GlenMC

"Many of our troubles are due to the fact that our people turn to politicians for everything."

Margaret Thatcher.

Inconvenience

We, as a people, don’t like to be inconvenienced. Our lives are too busy. We have too much to do. We have stuff to take care of. We have important meetings to attend. We need to pay for our bigger house, newer car, new toys, our vacation homes, our pretty yards, our status, our pools and hot tubs.

Our kids grow up not wanting to be inconvenienced. They are too busy playing video games, watching TV, listening to their iPods, talking on their cell phones, creating their web page.

As a people we would rather get the government to do what Jesus told his followers to do. We think we are doing the “Christian” thing by getting the government to steal from the rich to give to the poor. It’s easier to get someone else to walk that extra mile rather than do it myself. It’s more convenient to get some faceless government agency to take care of the needy, than for me to get involved with someone else’s life. I might miss the next episode of “Survivor.”

“Hey, having that baby can inconvenience my plans for my life.” “Doing what I’m asked inconveniences what I want to do.” “I’m an important and busy person. Don’t bother me with that ‘love my neighbor’ stuff.”

Maybe we need to set aside the things that are not important, and get down to the things that are.

On the flip side of that, we must realize that other people do have other things going on in their lives and we are not the center of the universe and everyone can’t cater to all our needs. (Yes, I know, it’s hard to accept. It was a shock to me too. I’m still dealing with the repercussions of that.) Take for example, my pastor, for that matter any pastor. Nice guy. Great teacher. He can’t be everyone’s friend. He wouldn’t have time for his own family. He can’t accept every invitation to dinner. He can’t be everywhere. He’s human just like the rest of us - bound by time or the lack thereof.

Some people think because you are in some position of authority you are better at praying for things than they are. “You, as the authority, must have some higher knowledge and can ask God for stuff.” Those of us who have accepted Christ as our Savior, we can boldly go to the throne of God and place our supplications at His feet. He is never inconvenienced. He will never turn you away. But, we must also realize that “no” is an answer. All the promises of God are “yes and amen,” but sometimes our desires may not necessarily be good for us. Some times our desires may not be in line with what God desires for us.

May we come to learn that love is not inconvenient.

Blessings and Grace,
DJ GlenMC

Quote

Latest fun quote I've heard.

"Your life is an occasion. Rise to it." - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Be blessed, be a blessing,
DJ GlenMC