LOVE - The 15 Weeks to LOVE Challenge

Yesterday, to kick off the campaign, I gave a teaching about LOVE at Family of Hope Church in Saugerties, NY (check out the video if you’d like to hear it. Here is a link in case you can't see the video above https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfnE68bMp8s&feature=em-uploademail).  This is my home church, and I’m so happy to be sharing this campaign with my family here and teaming up with them to make it a success.  I’m also encouraged by other friends and family who are joining the campaign in their lives, and in their churches. Just think if we ALL grasped the importance of learning to really love! We could actually change the voice in our nation and start showing people God’s love!

I’m super excited! But I am also a little embarrassed that I don’t already love like I was supposed to. I think there comes a little repentance in the beginning. Realizing how short I’ve fallen from what God wanted for me. But here’s the beautiful part: we don’t need to sit and feel condemned.

We sing a song in our church that says “Death to the past it’s gone. Here’s to a new beginning.”  Let’s start fresh in love. You may already be loving WAY more than me, but I know we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God. (I know this because the bible says it.) So just because you’re a lot better at loving than me doesn’t mean you’re good at it compared to let’s say…Jesus.

I’ve been told this idea is radical. It’s a little out there. And I get it. But it really shouldn’t be. Jesus was radical, right? Jesus was a little out there. But we don’t call ourselves ‘Christians’ for no reason. It has a purpose. It’s because we’re Christ-followers. We’re Jesus followers. And right now, we need to think a little outside the box to undo some of the damage we’ve done and move in the right direction.

Check out the teaching and consider joining us. Ask your friends or co-workers or your church to join us as well. If we work together, I really believe we can make a difference in this world!

Why Love is more important than sin.

Okay, so we’re going to stop walking in fear, and start walking in love. This doesn’t mean we’re accepting sin and saying it’s okay. We’re just saying we’re going to stop focusing on what’s ‘right and wrong’ and start focusing on love. 

Do you know why this is important? Because God can wipe sin away in one second. God can literally remove it from us: as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) We know this. We know Jesus wipes our sin away. “My sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”  Right?

But do you know how long it has taken God to get us to LOVE Him? It’s the year 2014 AD, which means it’s been like…two thousand years since Christ came, and how many more thousands were before that? (I honestly don’t know, although I’m sure I could google it.)

We still haven’t gotten it. We still don’t love him with all our hearts and with all our minds and with all our strength. AND THIS IS WHAT HE’S LOOKING FOR!  This is what He created us for!  So isn’t it possible that LOVING HIM may be more important than NOT SINNING, which He can take care of (and has already taken care of) in one second?

There’s a lot of things that Jesus did in the bible that we kind of feel like….well that’s great for Him but that doesn’t actually work. There’s a limit. You gotta draw the line somewhere. It’s just not practical. I’m a very practical person, so I get it. But I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t come down and tell us to be like Him just for fun. He served a pretty serious sentence, and actually requires and expects us to do what He says.

I was thinking of this story in the bible:  Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22)  I know seventy times seven is 490, but I think the point is to stop counting. 

Here’s how the story goes in my mind: I go up to Jesus and I say, Ok yeah, yeah, forgiveness is great, but how many times do I REALLY forgive? There’s a limit right? I mean your whole hippie, peace, love and forgiveness thing sounds really nice on paper, but you don’t expect us to actually live this out?  Cause my neighbor has done this thing to me 7 times and I’ve forgiven him all 7 times Jesus, but if he does it again, he’s dead to me. That's acceptable, right?

Jesus puts his head down and just shakes it back and forth slowly. How does she not get this? No, not seven times. Stop counting.  He follows this conversation directly with a story about a servant who owed a TON of money to this rich guy but he pleaded for mercy and the guy forgives him his debt and sends him home. But when he gets home he demands this really small debt from his friend and does terrible things to him because he can’t pay. Do you know why Jesus tells this story directly after his conversation with Peter? Because he’s saying, "Peter, or J.J. (that’s me), you’re the one with the huge $100,000 debt, and I forgave it, because you asked me to. Your brother causing you pain 7 times (I know it hurts), but it’s like a $10 debt compared to yours! And you think it’s too great to forgive? Change your perspective, and keep forgiving.

So is 15 Weeks to LOVE possible? Is it practical? Can it work? Yes! We just have to change how we think.

That’s what this is all about. Changing how we think, how we act, and how we feel -- taking on God’s heart and replacing our shortcomings with His love.

Love is on tap.

We’re not meant to do this in our own strength. This is really key here. We’re not just trying to be better people, doing good deeds, making people smile, although that will probably take place.  (In general, if we love, we’ll be better people.) But that’s not the point. The point is to allow the ‘Christ in me’ thing to take place. Christ in me, the hope of glory. (Col 1:27)  That is my only hope here. I can’t fully walk in love without God completely helping me out.

My Goal:  Learn how to let ‘Christ in me’ shine through all my natural stuff: my impatience, my selfishness, my memory (or lack thereof), my flesh, and just let Him take over and do His work through me. I almost think of it like I’m “tapping in” to this part inside me, and I’m going to allow it to spring forth. So what’s on tap today? Jesus. And Love. Love is on tap.