What the World Needs Now

"I was thinking about how we need to operate in agape love. Love covers!"

People are hurting. Times are not just tough, they are tumultuous. There is fear on every side. Terrors on the outside with divisions on the inside. If you have been following the news or the social media stream you know exactly what I am talking about.

People all over the world read this blog from every walk of life. You are concerned and feel the pain of what is going on firsthand. In our nation we are experiencing things we never would have dreamed of. Some of you are mourning the loss of a friend or the loss of an ideal you have lived by because of the actions of others.

I titled this post "What the World Needs Now" with the old song in mind. We need love. But not just any love. We need agape love. If you aren't familiar with what agape love is let me tell you about it.

Agape is a Greek word for love. It is different than our English word from love in the sense that agape is a very specific type of love. In fact the Greeks had several words they used to describe love. We in our language would say "I love my friends," "I love my spouse," "I love my dog," and "I love nachos" all in the same day. Obviously we do not love nachos the way we love our spouse. Nor do we love our friends like we love our dog. (For some they love their dog more than their friends!)

In the Greek language they had separate words for the different kinds of love. They would use phileo for the friendship type of love. Eros was used for the sensual and romantic type of love. But agape is different. We find that it is entirely a word that was used mostly by the Bible and was used for the love that we as Christians are supposed to have. It is a unique type of love that flows from God the Father.

It was the agape love of the Father that motivated Him to send Jesus to live and die for our sin and salvation. It is the agape love that Jesus lived in that caused Him to touch the unclean and heal them, to stop with a half breed outcast woman by a well and save her soul, and to weep at the death of His friend and raise him from the dead. Jesus is love incarnate because 1 John tells us that "God is love."

God is agape love. It defines Who He is and how He operates. It is this agape love that we are to operate in. It is this agape love from the Father, working through His children, that the world needs. Without it the same problems will keep going on. Division and separation, prejudice and murder will continue without agape love.

When we, God's children, the church of Jesus Christ, come together in love and spread the love of the Father it will tear down the walls of separation. The love of God will show the world that we are His disciples. Our love will be shown in our obedience to the commandments of God and people will see the difference in our lives. This love will compel us to reach out with the Word and power of God. This love will motivate and fuel our prayers for the world and cause us to pray for our enemies and bless those that spitefully use and persecute us.

Agape love is what the world needs now. Love never fails.

Day 282 - A Small Church With A Lot of People

"Small church hospitality with the large church opportunity. We need the best of both worlds. It is possible."

These thoughts are really notes from what I was crafting regarding our church staff and volunteers attitude towards our members and guests. We have a church in a rough area. At times it is difficult to have a gentle approach when confronted with some of the issues that come on our campus. Regardless, we need to still have the right approach to our people. There are times we have to say no but it must be done in the right spirit. 

What we concluded after wrestling with these issues is that this year of 2015 we were going to love people more and do church better. That included accommodating our members and guests. We needed to streamline processes and make it easy to be connected and involved. 

We are not perfect at this and the change is still taking place. Just today I heard of instances in two separate ministries that needed adjustments. The good thing is that we are noticing it and making the changes. 

Really the problem and the solution are found in one word: family. If we know that the problem is because we are too familiar with our family then we need to love one another and overlook offenses because we are family. In the Bible we are told to treat our elders as father and mothers, young women as sisters and young men as brothers. We are the family of God. All brothers and sisters in the Lord. 

Families can have their issues. Especially large ones. But family also has the closest bond of all, blood. We are bound together by the blood of Jesus. We are family and we need to stick together, love one another and prefer one another above our own interests. 

What would a church, business or home look like if we truly started doing this? What are some practical ways to do this?

Day 278 - Brothers and Sisters

"They are all very sweet people and it is always an honor to be with them."

All over the world there are people who have believed in Jesus and given Him their heart and life. Christians. Or we could call them brothers and sisters. They are covering the face of the earth. Every day there are more and more of them. Every day they are gathering together in the name of Jesus and being encouraged and growing closer to Him. 

It doesn't matter the doctrinal differences or the lines that have been drawn. If it is Jesus who is their Lord and ours then we are family. In persecutions we grieve with those who are suffering. In victories we rejoice together. 

We are bound by blood; the blood of Jesus. There is now no longer black and white, brown or any other color, there isn't class systems that separate, there is no cultural or economic background, the Bible even says there is no longer male nor female, we are one in Christ. 

Let's love the family. Let's pray for each other. Let's agree in our salvation and not separate in non-essentials like worship style's and the like. Let's honor the members of the body of Christ. After all, He died for all of us the same. We have the greatest value of all because His blood was shed for us. We better learn to get along because we will be together for eternity!

What do you enjoy about the family of God? How can we honor one another? 

Day 248 - More Than Partnership

"I was grateful for Jess because she sat in my spiritual guidance meeting. It helps having her perspective as a woman and a wife."

Marriage is more than partnership. It is covenant. When two people get into covenant they are no longer separate, they are one. God spoke of marriage from the beginning saying that the two shall become one flesh. When I look at my wife I see myself. 

It is sad because many people do not see their spouse this way. Not just men but also women have this problem. I have spoken with couples who keep separate accounts, the woman won't take the man's name, or they are in disagreement with one another. All of that isn't sin but it makes for a terrible marriage. The more separated a marriage is the tougher it will be. 

Unity is essential and the devil knows it. That is why he works so hard to break up marriage. It is a picture of Christ and the church, which he hates both, and marriage is unity. When there is unity there is blessing, exponential effectiveness and progress. There is real power in unity. A blessed marriage happens when there is agreement. Here is where agreement happens; the Word of God. If two people can agree on God's Word then they can make it in marriage and life. 

That is where the oneness happens. It is where people can finish each other's sentences and look like each other as they grow old together. 

How can we foster unity and oneness in marriage? What scriptures can build unity in marriage?

Day 148 - Christian Crossfire

"I think the church is talking to much to ourselves about what we believe and unbelievers are getting caught in the crossfire. Then we wonder why they won't become a Christian. What we need is love and unity in the Body of Christ."

As long as we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot we will walk with a limp. If we as the body of Christ can walk in unity and love we would become exponentially more effective. Jesus Himself prayed for the unity of the body. 

Unity does not mean uniformity. We don't all have to be clones. We just have to live in respect and honor. 

I think that God left some things out of the Word so that we would have to learn to walk in love. We don't have all the answers but we do have 'the' answer, His name is Jesus. Those who are searching would look harder in our direction if we were loving to our own. Jesus said they would know us by our love. Let's love the brotherhood of believers, pray for each other and have each other's back. We are after all on the same side. 

How can we promote unity in the body of Christ? What is the difference between unity and uniformity? 

Day 28 - Bad News

Today's thoughts come without a direct quote.

Let me set the stage for you. We are driving to a school field trip for our daughter and son and brought along our other son who isn't in school yet. On the ride there we get news...bad news. Pastor Bayless Conley, a great man of God and family friend, had been in a boating accident along with some other pastors. We didn't know what happened or what condition they were in. All we knew was it was bad. We went to prayer and then I reached out to the family to let them know we were praying and would be there in a heartbeat if they needed anything. Even though we pushed through for our children we had Pastor Bayless on our hearts the whole day.

Days like this show me how real the body of Christ is. It makes scriptures come alive when you experience the pain of someone else and bear there burdens.

Thankfully after some months of recovery we also were able to rejoice with the Conley family as Pastor Bayless healed and returned home and eventually back to the pulpit. We continue to thank God a year later for his healing.

Pastor Bayless' son Harrison (also a pastor and great man of God) wrote a blog about what he learned 8 weeks after the accident. You can find it here:
https://harrisonconley.wordpress.com/2014/03/16/8-things-i-have-learned-in-the-last-8-weeks-2/

Have you experienced something that showed you how connected the body of Christ is? How did it change your view of the scriptures and the church?

Day 5 - Unity

"It is always tough when people cannot agree. Yet we are called to unity by God. It is best to leave as much as you cannot change to God and what you can change (yourself) to the instruction of the Holy Spirit."

I love the statement in here that we should leave what we cannot change to God and submit ourselves to the instruction of the Holy Spirit. We can take others, circumstances, and anything else we cannot change to God in prayer. What we have control over is ourselves but even that can get messed up when we operate in the flesh. What makes the difference is submission to the Word of God and the instruction of the Spirit. I may not agree but I can submit to God. I may not like the direction it goes but if I have God's peace it doesn't matter.

What are some other ways to unite or get in agreement?