an obsessed love

Just because you are nice to someone does not mean that you'll stand out. Just because you do a good deed, does not mean that people will know that you are a Christian.

Jesus teaches that:

32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

Luke 6:32-36

We are His. We are called to stand out--to show the World who He is. If all we do is the minimum or the norm, how is that showing Jesus' love? Simply, it isn't. Jesus asks us to do a hard thing: to love our enemies. To LOVE those who hate us and who do us wrong. To forgive those who hate us--hurt us. Do you realize how hard that is?

(I can't remember where this image is from...)

Once, there was a woman driving in rush hour traffic. She was in a hurry and did not want to wait for the cars, so she decided to take a short cut--despite a feeling in her gut telling her to be patient. She turned down a side street and saved herself five minutes of driving. That five minutes, though, put her at an intersection where a man was crossing on his bike. Before she had time to react, she had hit him. His head hit pavement and he died.

This woman was in shock. 911 was dialed and the legalities were taken care of. She didn't go to prison. A few weeks later, she paid visit to the man's family.

Do you know what they did? Can you guess?

They had every right to be angry--to hate her. She killed a father, a husband, an uncle, a friend. They had every right to shun her. But, they didn't. They opened their arms to accept her and forgave her. You see, God had spoken to this family and they understood they needed to love this woman who made a mistake. They needed to share Jesus with this soul who was hurting.

Can we also do that? Can we love those who hurt us? Hate us? Even when our loving seems to have no effect on them whatsoever?

"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."  ~Francis Chan, Crazy Love

"How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!"

- Song of Songs 1:15

What is it that you find attractive in that special someone? What is it that draws you in?

A team of people in England did a research study on the Science of Attraction through a series of videos. They are all very interesting and about 10 minutes each. If you want to check them out, click HERE.

When I asked you guys last week what you guys found attractive, I got a multitude of answers, as expected, but there were also some similarities.

Many of you agreed that eyes are very important--those windows of the soul.  The eyes of a person can make you feel respected and special while you talk to them.  They convey such deep emotion and such beauty.  How can you not be drawn in?

As for the other attractive physical qualities, there was no agreement really.  Sometimes it amazes me how different we humans are.  Even though we may grow up in the same environments or experience similar events throughout life, we grow up to have such vast and different likes and dislikes--and that rubs off on people.  What attracts me to a guy will not be what attracts my best friend Ana to a guy [this has been proven since she's in a relationship to my other friend K and I'm not attracted to him.  He's a cool dude though!  Hi K!].

But can you imagine for a moment if we were all attracted to the same people?  The world would be an utter chaos of relationships!  Oi vey!  Simply crazy ideas right there...

Fortunately, we are all different and when we meet that special someone, they will be the most beautiful to you and you will be the most beautiful to them.  Will be?  Should be.  I will choose for my man to be.

 "How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful!" Song of Songs 1:15

In closing, I'm adding a quote from a sermon I listened to over a year ago by pastor Mark Driscoll.  He's a really cool pastor and I really enjoy listening to him preach.  The quote is from his Peasant Princess sermon series and if your interested in checking them out, you should.  They are good.

"God’s plan is that your spouse would be your standard of beauty. For Adam, he didn’t have a standard of beauty. He had a wife. For Eve, she didn’t have a standard of beauty. She had a husband. God doesn’t bring in 27 men for Eve. Say, “All right, you guys all compete. Let’s see which one looks the best. Let’s see which one is able to serve my needs.” No, no, no. The issue is this. Everyone should have — must their spouse as their standard of beauty. One of the qualifications of an elder is that they are to be one-woman men, and the — everyone is supposed to follow the example of the elders. So, here’s what that means.

"And this is true for men and women. If you’re married to someone tall, you like tall. If you’re married to someone short, you really like short. If you married to someone skinny, you’re into skinny. If you’re married to someone who’s... not skinny, you’re into not skinny. You say, “Well they were skinny. Now they’re not skinny.” Your standard changed, but that’s still yours — true story, and that means if you get married at 25 and you grow old together at 75, your standard of beauty is not what your spouse looked like at 25, but what they look like at 75. Lust is comparing your spouse to others, desiring others, desiring your spouse to be like others. Job 31:1 he says, “I made a covenant with my eyes. I’m not looking at other women lustfully.” That’s the issue. God shows that in creation: one man; one woman. They’re one another’s standard. That’s it."

"I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys."

- Song of Songs 2:1

I know so many girls who are caught up with relationships.

Wait! I don't know if that sentence is right. Let me start again:

I know so many girls who are caught up with the idea of a relationship. They long for a guy--a prince, like the ones seen in the movies--to enter stage left, sweep them off their feet, and make their life a million times better. How? By being an ear to talk to, a friend to play with, a cushion to cuddle with, etc... Basically, to fill a hole in their heart.

Some of the girls that I've met crave this so ferociously that it eats away at them. These girls, whom I love to bits, don't know how to live without a guy by their side.

The problem?
In trying to find a GUY to fill the HOLE, they've LOST THEMSELVES. They forget that they are precious on their own.

"I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys." Song of Songs 2:1

A rose is a precious flower. A precious AND beautiful flower. It does not need anything else to be beautiful--it just is.

Girls, you are a Rose. Each and everyone of you. You don't need a guy to dictate your life. You don't need a guy to define you. You need to be yourself and you need to trust in Jesus.

He's got a plan for you that would simply blow your mind. He's got someone special for you and they are waiting. They are waiting to see your blossom and to relish its splendor. BUT! If you're too busy chasing after that hole in your heart, who will tend your rose? Who will keep your garden--your body and soul--fruitful? Who will be the gardener?

You are a rose of Sharon, a Lily of the Valleys. You are Beautiful just the way You Are.

we need an awakening

Stop & think for a moment.

Think about your thoughts--the things you may tell yourself on a daily basis. Are they all your thoughts? Are they things that you should be thinking?

I ask that, and some of you may immediately think I'm talking about profane and dirty thoughts, but that's not exactly what I mean.

I'm talking about the thoughts you whisper to yourself in the dead of night. The thoughts that float through your brain when you're alone, lost, and scared. The thoughts that you'd never tell anyone else because they make you sad. Perhaps you've told yourself these thoughts are true over and over again, and maybe by now you believe that. Perhaps you use them to remind yourself of "your place" in life and society. Perhaps... perhaps.

I've had those thoughts, too. I've had these thoughts:

But you know what I've realized? I'm not the one saying them. When I'm lying in bed late at night, my thoughts spinning and these ideas whisper through, they are NOT my ideas. They are the Devil's. They are Satan's. He's been whispering them to me for years and I've had enough. I'm not going to take them anymore. I know for a fact that those are not true [though I know I can be annoying at times =P]. I'm not going to let Satan mess with my head and my walk with God this way. I'm going to stand firm and tell myself His mighty truth.

I was stuck in a rut but now I'm breaking free. Are you?