Defining Moments ~ Contagious Love: Wk.4

In a popular Muppet TV skit, “Pigs in Space,” Miss Piggy and friends are given the rare and beautiful opportunity to discover the meaning and purpose of life.  All they have to do is wait one minute and all of the universe’s secrets will be revealed.

Unfortunately, 20 seconds into their wait the dinner gong rings. Swill Stroganoff, yum! The Space Pigs quickly balance the two choices in their minds, Swill Stroganoff or the meaning and purpose of life. Swill wins. Crazy, right?

There is a similar (without the pigs and the space part, of course) account in the Gospels. A rich young ruler comes to Jesus wanting to know how he can gain eternal life. Jesus, wanting to give this young man an opportunity to know what was truly in his heart, tells the ruler to sell all he owns, give it to the poor and follow Him.

I don’t know how long it took this gentleman to weigh his two options, money versus eternal life, but he did and money won. It seems crazy until we realize that we do this all the time, too.

This is battle that John is warning us about in I John 2:15-16:

Don’t love the world’s ways.
Don’t love the world’s goods.
Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father.
Practically everything that goes on in the world—

wanting your own way,

wanting everything for yourself,

wanting to appear important

—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him.

Doing what my husband said to do versus having my own way is really a choice between obeying and abiding in God or following my selfish desires.

When tempted to buy a new purse at the store that I really don’t even want or need, the real question is, am I going to be a good steward of God’s money or will ‘retail therapy’ win?

Performing a good deed is a godly thing to do unless I turn it into an opportunity to mention it to others, secretly hoping they will be impressed with me.

Each of these decisions, and more, reflects the world’s way of thinking which has nothing to do with my Father, God. That kind of thinking only isolates me from Him.

Every choice matters. Each moment provides an opportunity to trust and abide in God by doing things His way.  The battle is bigger than I think.  Will I choose God or settle for Swill Stroganoff?

How about you? How can you prioritize your love for God above all else this week?

Sign up for our Virtual Bible Study, “Contagious Love,” to receive the audio teaching and handout, as well as the homework – or to get more information – Just click the link below:

Click Here for “Contagious Love – A Virtual Bible Study on 1 John”

 


Tags: , , , ,
Posted in *Kim Avery, Virtual Bible Study - Contagious Love | No Comments »

The Way ~ Contagious Love: Wk.3

I am directionally challenged. I don’t think this is a certifiable mental disorder (yet), but it should be. It really slows me down.  Sometimes when I am going to a familiar place from an unfamiliar location, I actually have to pull off the road and just sit and think until my head hurts.  And even then, the odds aren’t good.

Last Friday, I was scheduled to speak in a church I’d never been to in city where I don’t live. I started stressing early in the day. Knowing my propensity for getting lost (I like to call it ‘circling for a landing’), my sweet husband prayed for me and generously offered to trade cars so that I could use his GPS.

Of course, there’s the small issue of not knowing how to use his GPS but I didn’t want to worry him, so I just said ‘yes.’ Deep sigh.

The Plan

My plan was to print out a Google map, trace the route on MapQuest, learn how to program the GPS AND leave an hour early just in case I needed the extra time.

Thankfully, the Lord intervened and a friend graciously volunteered to go with me. This was great news because Susan was born with a map and a GPS hardwired into her brain.

The Solution

Ahhh… my stress melted completely away. No more studying maps, printing out directions or programming mysterious devices – Susan was my map. All I had to do was to obey her commands: turn here, turn there and by golly, before you know it we were there. Susan was my ‘way;’ all I had to do was follow her.

In I John 2, John writes that those who love God keep His commands, and he says we will know what that way of living looks like because it is seen in Jesus. In other words, those who love God will follow Jesus, look like Jesus, live and love like Jesus.

In John 14:6, Jesus put it this way,

“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus is the way to God. There is no other way.

In the Old Testament, God told Abraham to leave his familiar country and go to a place that God would show him. He didn’t hand Abraham a map or even tell him where he was going to go. God simply led the way.

When Jesus called his disciples in the New Testament, He didn’t lay out a plan of action, or map out the road. He simply said, “Follow Me.” And they did.

In a sense, we are all directionally challenged. We don’t know the way to God, how to live, how to love… and we couldn’t do it on our own even if we did.  Jesus is the only way. We are to walk with Him one day at a time.  His call is still simply, “Follow Me.”

I am so thankful that I have friends who love me enough to drive me to where I need to go. But as much as I appreciate their path-finding skills, that’s not the best part.  The true joy comes from spending time together, talking, sharing dreams, encouraging one another and growing closer to God.

God’s Way

Jesus wants that kind of intimate relationship with you and me. We don’t know where He will lead us but we do know that He will be with us and in us wherever we go. And that’s the best part.

He is still asking today, “Will you follow Me?”


Sign up for our Virtual Bible Study, “Contagious Love,” to receive the audio teaching and handout, as well as the homework – or to get more information – Just click the link below:

Click Here for “Contagious Love – A Virtual Bible Study on 1 John”

 


Tags: , ,
Posted in *Kim Avery, Virtual Bible Study - Contagious Love | 1 Comment »

Dust for Diamonds ~ Contagious Love: Wk. 2

This is my granddaughter, Peyton. I don’t want to offend any grandparents out there, but naturally, we consider Peyton to be the most brilliant and beautiful child in the entire world J.  Having said that, she still has a lot to learn.

At six months old, Peyton has gone mobile. She can’t crawl yet but she does manage to wiggle her way into a lot of trouble. She has found a way to roll off the bed, balance her Bumbo seat on the counter’s edge and grab nearby electrical cords to chew on as she teethes. Wow – James Dobson was right when he said parenting wasn’t for cowards.

The point is that while Peyton thinks she wants every bright, shiny object within her reach, that shiny bauble could wound her forever.  She needs someone older and wiser to take those things away. Yes, she will cry inconsolably for a few minutes and that will break her “Nina’s” heart, but it won’t change my mind. I have Peyton’s ultimate good as my goal.

For all our many years, we aren’t much wiser than that precious, precocious child.  Fearing following God with all our heart, and mind and soul will be too costly, like Peyton, we easily trade in the treasure of intimacy with God for the passing baubles of the world.

We want to maintain just a tad of control, hang onto the comfort of convenience and protect our hearts from anything that causes pain. Deep down that lie from Eden’s garden still echoes in our ears. “Can God really be trusted to look out for my ultimate good? What harm will it do to reach out and take a bite of the fruit of life? It’s just a small bite. I’m smart enough to make my own choices. Somebody has to look out for number one.”

Chapter one of I John was written to warn us about that very thing. We can’t have intimate fellowship with God and walk in the darkness, too. Sin, any sin, is incompatible with the holiness of God. And while we may cry inconsolably when the bright, shiny promises of pride and pleasure, security and status, and the passing praise of men are taken away, it is the path to fullness of joy.

We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy…God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. I John 1:3-5

We need never fear relinquishing anything that gets in the way of our relationship with God, because God is light and He will never do us any harm.

When Satan whispers seductive lies in your ears, and the world’s treasures promise happiness beyond belief, trust God. He knows a better way. He is looking out for your ultimate good. And even in your pain, His joy will be there.

There is no limit to the goodness of God!


Tags:
Posted in Virtual Bible Study - Contagious Love | No Comments »

Contagious Love

The movie,Contagion, made its debut recently. I haven’t seen it, but I was intrigued by Wikipedia’s description of the plot line:

Contagion follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving pandemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself.

Viruses are contagious and if they get a firm foothold they can be almost unstoppable.

As we begin our study of I John, we will discover something that is equally contagious but much more beneficial – God’s love.  And just like the movie virus, God’s love can spell the difference between life and death.

Love is Critical

Let me explain…

An interesting study was done in 1943 investigating the mysterious deaths of infants in the Foundling Home. These babies had been cared for by trained nurses, daily examined by physicians, and visitors carefully washed their hands and wore sterile gowns. Yet by the end of two years, 34 of the original 91 infants had died. Why?

Dr. Spitz found the answer in an unexpected place. As an overworked nursing staff struggled to manage their workload, they had no time to spare for holding the babies, and even feeding time was handled impersonally by nurses propping up the bottles so the babies could feed themselves. The conclusion at the end of the study was that babies need a loving touch to thrive.

Love is not optional, it is critical. We were created to give and receive love.

But like the Foundling Home, the world can be a harsh and impersonal place. Instead of enjoying a deep love given by parents, family, friends and spouses, many have received only wounds instead.

You Are Loved

In spite of that, the good news is that we really are loved. Each of us has a heavenly Father who loves us without condition and without limit. But it’s hard to believe and rest in that kind of radical love when it’s a love that you’ve never seen or experienced in any other way.

So, as John begins this important letter to the church he begins by reintroducing us to the undeniable fact that we are radically loved.  I John 3:16 puts it this way,

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

And it gets better than that. God’s love is so vast and limitless that it does more than simply fill our hearts and meet our every need; it pours out of us to bless others as well. In the same verse, I John 3:16, John follows up his original thought with this one: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Are You Loving Others?

God’s love is contagious.

Are you enjoying all there is to enjoy of this contagious love?  Is your present experience of God’s love so great that you are willing to live and die for it? There is one way to know for sure – and that is by looking at your present relationships.  How are you treating those around you? Your family? Your friends? Even your enemies? John teaches us that when you understand and receive the radical love of God it will spread to others.

I hope you will listen to the audio recording accompanying this lesson and continue with us in the study of I John so together we can know, fully experience and pass on more of God’s contagious love. You can pass it on by leaving your comments below.

Sign up for our Virtual Bible Study, “Contagious Love,” to receive the audio teaching and handout, as well as the homework – or to get more information – Just click the link below:

Click Here for “Contagious Love – A Virtual Bible Study on 1 John”

 

 


Tags: , , , ,
Posted in *Kim Avery, Virtual Bible Study - Contagious Love | 3 Comments »

Stranded

Stranded. I was sitting by the side of the road in my old, beat up Plymouth Duster, and it refused to move another inch. No amount of key-turning or tire-kicking would bring that stubborn car back to life. The baby was crying, the errands were undone and there I sat, completely stranded.

“I knew this car was ready for the junk heap,” I muttered as I gathered up my meager possessions, slung the baby on my hip and prepared to hunt for the nearest pay phone.  (Ah, do you remember the days when we didn’t have cell phones? I think the dinosaurs roamed the earth about that same time. But I digress.)

An hour later my husband arrived, raised the hood of the car, scrutinized its mysterious parts and made the grand pronouncement, “It’s out of gas.”

Hmmmm, maybe I was the one who was ready for the junk heap.

Have you ever been too busy to stop and put gas in your car? Let me save you a trip to the mechanic. Cars don’t work when the fuel tank runs dry.

And that same principle holds true for you and I as well.

Out of Love

Remember that day when you ran out of love before the sun went down? You liberally poured out love as your family woke up. You put together lunches, made the beds, fed the dog, broke up a few fist fights and still managed to put the kids on the school bus after you chased it down the road. It took a lot of love but you pulled it all off with a smile on your face.

Then, you rushed back home, took a shower, put on a suit, endured the long commute and rushed into the morning meeting only five minutes late. EVERYONE needed love that day. The boss was cranky, your coworkers were demanding and the customers couldn’t be pleased no matter what you did. You gave and gave and gave until your love tank was almost dry. But you made it through the day, and that’s all that counts.

Relieved, you drove back home, made dinner, set the table, walked the dog, checked the kid’s homework and collapsed into your chair. Praise the Lord. It was finally time to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of hearth and home. And just in time, your love cup was almost dry.

And then it happened. The kids spilled the milk, your husband complained about the food, the telemarketer called and then the dog threw up.

Stranded. There you stood in the middle of the kitchen, your hand reaching for the phone and you suddenly realized that you’d run dry. Nothing short of the rapture could prevent the eruption of negativity that was about to spew from your mouth. Your love cup was dry, and you had absolutely nothing left to give.

While the details may vary, we have all had days like that. A lot of days like that. Somehow, in this crazy-busy world the day seems to last longer than the love we are supposed to give. Yet, the commandment of Jesus’ still stands,

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12 -13

How in the world can we lay down our lives for one another when we can’t even make it through the day? Where does that kind of love come from? I want to know, and so do you.

You’re Invited

This fall, I am inviting you to join me, in person or online, in a study of ‘Contagious Love’ from the book of I John. There we will learn about a love that never runs dry. A love so vast that it not only fills our own love cup but it overflows and spills out on everyone we meet.

You can find the details here:  Contagious Love

Are you too busy to do this? I am too, until I think back to what happens when I let my love tank run dry. Then I realize that there’s no place I’d rather be.

I hope you will join me.

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Tags: ,
Posted in *Kim Avery, Virtual Bible Study - Contagious Love | 2 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »