|
INTRO "It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe-the Creator of nitrogen and pine, needles, galaxies and E-minor-loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love, and what is our response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency, isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts. It's falling in love with God, and once you encounter His love, you will never be the same. Because when you're wholly in love with someone, it changes everything." The following are some random thoughts from the book that I hope will cause us to think as we head into a new ministry year: 1. "What scares me most are the people who are lukewarm and just don't care. I think that if I did a poll of the readers of this book, many of you would say, 'Yeah, I am definitely lukewarm at times, but I'm not really at a place to give more to God.' Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all the other things in our lives. Most of our thoughts are centered on the money we want to make, the school we want to attend, the body we aspire to have, the spouse we want to marry, the kind of person we want to become. But the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it's about eternity, and nothing compares with that. God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives." When I first read this, it made me think of this verse: "So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth!" Revelation 3:16 2. "Walking in genuine intimacy and full surrender to God requires great faith." Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him"' "Back when I was in Bible College, a professor asked our class, 'What are you doing right now that requires faith?' That question affected me deeply because, at the time, I could think of nothing in my life that required faith. I probably wouldn't be living very differently if I didn't believe in God; my life was neither ordered nor affected by my faith - like I had assumed it was. Furthermore, when I looked around, I realized I was surrounded by people who lived the same way I did. Life is comfortable when you separate yourself from people who are different from you. That epitomizes what my life was like: characterized by comfort. But God doesn't call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn't come through." 3. Luke 14:12-14 says: "Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.'" "Have you ever actually done anything like that? Do you give to those who cannot repay you? To those who would do you harm, if they could? To those who have already done you harm? This is Christ's love. He gave us something for which we can never repay Him, and then He asks us to keep giving like He gives." "People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure. Obsessed people love those who hate them and who can never love them back". 4. "I used to be driven by my fear of God. I also used to work hard to prove that I was committed to God. Now I have tremendous fear and awe of God, but that doesn't motivate me. Now I work hard to serve God, but it isn't to prove my devotion. Now I think I'm actually in love. Maybe that sounds corny to you, but I can't think of a more appropriate way to say it. If a guy were dating my daughter but didn't want to spend the gas money to come pick her up or refused to buy her dinner because it cost too much, I would question whether he were really in love with her. In the same way, I question whether many American churchgoers are really in love with God because they are so hesitant to do anything for Him." "People who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden. Obsessed people take joy in loving God by loving His people". (Matthew 13:44; John 15:8). 5. "The average Christian in the United States spends ten minutes per day with God; meanwhile, the average American spends over four hours a day watching television. Perhaps TV is not your thing-maybe you don't even own one. But how about your time and your resources? How much of your money is spent on yourself, and how much is directed toward God's kingdom? How much of your time is dedicated to pursuing your life and your goals, and how much is focused on God's work and purposes?" God doesn't want religious duty. He doesn't want a distracted, halfhearted "Fine, I'll read a chapter... now are You happy?" attitude. God wants His Word to be a delight to us, so much so that we meditate on it day and night. In Psalm 1, He promises that those who do so are "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers" (verse 3).
How "obsessed" are you by your love for God? |
"People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with Him. They are nourished by God's Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages."