I think one of the biggest challenges we have to experiencing the gift of God (that we've already been given) to the fullest is that almost everything about this everlasting, eternal, abundant, Resurrection Life of God (life of love) challenges just about everything we've ever been taught. The Kingdom of God really does have an upside down backwards economy. The last is first and the first is last. Those who humble themselves will be exalted, but those who try to exalt themselves will be... is squashed too harsh of a word? Put down? Point being: If you try to do it yourself it won't work. But if you let God do it it can't fail. Because love never fails. Remember Proverbs 3:6? "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." But conventional wisdom says, "Work hard, get what you can, whoever dies with the most toys wins." And I'm not saying you shouldn't work hard. Paul wrote, "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10). So the point is not "don't work hard." The point is, work hard from a posture of rest. Good things take time, and they take hard work. Realizing the Kingdom that has already been built, and established... MANIFESTING that Kingdom... can feel like a lot of work. Because charity is love in action. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. Every time we act out in love the Word is made flesh in us. Through us. As us. What am I trying to say? I'm trying to say its not about working in order to get something. That's wages. And the wages the Bible talks about are the wages of sin being death. (Not hell, by the way, but I'll leave that alone for now.) So we're not working in order to get something. We're working because we have something. Something so good that we just want to give it away. Something too good to keep to ourselves. And that, of course, is the point. Its foolish to give away the gift you've been given. But that's what love is: Giving everything you have and everything you are. Laying your life down for your friends. And understanding that we're all in this together. That we're all friends, whether we know it or not. We are all parts of the same body. Different parts, to be sure, but one body. And that flies in the face of everything we "know." But watch this: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). You were given a gift. For free. Give it away. For free. And look at what Jesus mentioned: Healling, raising, casting out. He wasn't anywhere near material possessions. He wasn't anywhere near what we seem to think is so important. He said it in another place like this, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). The things we think are so important... kind of aren't. And the things (the THING) that is really important... is love. It might seem foolish, but its true. Its all about love!

Love doesn't make sense a lot of the time. It seems foolish. But the truth of the matter is... the heart wants what it (HE) wants. You don't get to choose who you love. And, really, you shouldn't. Because it rains on the just and the unjust alike. God loves everybody. What else could the God who is love do but love? He doesn't turn it on and off. He is no respecter of persons. He doesn't care who you are or what you've done. He just loves you. He created you for the express purpose of loving you. And while He expresses Himself TO you BY loving you, He also express Himself THOUGH you when you love Him back by loving others. That kind of love--an unconditional love in which you give everything you have and everything you are without expecting anything in return--flies in the face of conventional wisdom though. It seems too good to be true. It seems like we should have to earn (or beg, borrow, and steal) everything we get. Especially love. Because the world does a pretty good job of convincing us that we aren't worthy of love. That all of our mistakes, our past, has disqualified us. And even traditional "religion" keeps us in that trap of trying to cleanse ourselves. Or prove ourselves. The problem is that no matter how close we get to the carrot, the stick always moves at the last second. There's always one thing we lack. Or, in our own opinions, lack is all we've got. That's the lie that we believe. That's sin. Believing that we're not worthy of being loved. Believing that we have to earn it. And that's the worst thing we can do, becauses it absolutely positively cannot be earned. You don't do in order to be. You do BECAUSE you be. Love is not about getting. Because love IS giving. Jesus took away the sin (unbelief) of the world by giving us something (someONE, Himself, LOVE) to believe in. He made life so simple. To live is to love and to love is to live. That's the secret of life. That's the simplicity of Christ. And notice, I didn't say "easy." I said "simple." Because even though love is our new (true, original) nature... we have a lot of baggage. We are finally beginning to understand (to know and believe) what is deep down inside, but there's a lot of surface stuff we're still dealing with. A lot of looking AT the mirror, and seeing our perceived flaws and blemishes, instead of looking INTO the mirror (the perfect law of liberty), and seeing our true selves. But what you see is what you be. So when you DO see that love inside... when you stop listening to conventional wisdom and stop looking for love in all the wrong places... that's when it can come out. What you believe is inside will always come out. So when you do see your true self (someone who is loved, someone who can love) that's when you can BE your true self. You can live care free. Which doesn't mean wasting what you've been given, but does mean being generous. Giving what you've got. Not because you're trying to get something, but because you have something. Something that people need. Something that SEEMS too good to be true, but is really so good that it must be true. Something that is the truth. And the way, and the life. It doesn't make sense to love people with reckless abandon. It can seem scary at first. But perfect love casts out fear. We don't need to hold back with our love. We can give it away, share it, and in that way experience it!

I guess I could have called this Rant series, "Foolish Love." But without any context that title could be taken negatively. As if to say you made a mistake with your love. And I don't think love is ever a mistake. I think sometimes we make mistakes when it comes to relationships--especially romantic relationships--when we have unrealistic expectations of people. But in those cases what we think of as "love" usually isn't. Because in those cases it seems like we are looking to get something. And love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. Giving everything you have and everything you are. And that, to me, is what flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Because the world would have you believe that the key to success is getting as much as you can while giving as little as possible. But look at our memory verse for today: "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6). In other words, live foolishly. LOVE foolishly. And I'm not saying you should squander what you have. We are to be good stewards, right? But I've always thought there was a big difference between "wasting" and using. I don't like to waste money (let's be honest, I really don't have enough to waste) but I'm not afraid to spend money. If its something someone needs, or wants, or will use, I'll get it for them. To me that's not a waste. Its like the saying, "If you enjoyed it, was it really wasted time?" So, again, I'm not saying you should waste what you've got. But I am saying you shouldn't be afraid to give it away. Its the difference between you having stuff, and stuff having you. And this phrase "be careful for nothing" doesn't mean you should act like a bull in a China shop. I tell Logan almost every day to be careful with his iPad. Because I don't want him to break it. In other translations, Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious" or "don't worry." To me it goes along with 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." Its the idea that you trust God. Trust love. Trust your gut. Let your heart lead the way. Even if it seems foolish. Don't worry about it. Cast your cares upon the Lord. Know that your heavenly Father has your back. He helps us up when we fall, and He can even keep us from falling. If God (LOVE) is holding you up, what could possibly knock you down? But, again, that goes against conventional wisdom. "Be careful. Don't do that. Be smart. Be safe. Don't take any chances." That's the safe route, right? But I'm telling you... if you never go out on a limb, you'll never get any fruit. And when you realize that you ARE the limb, or the brach, that bears the fruit... you'll understand that going OUT on a limb is really going INSIDE. Giving what you've got. Fearlessly. Recklessly. Without a care in the world. Foolishly. Flying in the face of the safe route and experiencing an abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love!

Sometimes the things we accept as true... aren't true. Or let me say it another way: Truth is higher than fact. The fact of the matter may be that you've "failed." But the truth of the matter is... you are not a failure. You are not defined by what you do. You are defined by what's inside. Because the truth of the matter is, what's inside WILL come out. Or rather, what you believe is inside will come out. And that's why its so important to know what's inside. To know it and believe it. What you do flows from what you believe. So when we're talking about this idea of wisdom... well... let me quote my memory verse for today. "Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21 NLT). We need to get intimately familar with the SIMPLICITY of Christ. With the ultimate truth of the universe. And I know this might seem a little bit foolish, but to me its this simple: God is love and He loves you. That's the gospel. The good news. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. The way to God is love. The truth about God is love. The life of God is a life of love. Living and loving. That's what life is, because to live is to love and love is to live. Conventional wisdom says whoever dies with the most toys wins. That's what the world has to offer. The rat race. But when you win the rat race (if you CAN actually win it... its more of a hampster wheel that just goes around and around in circles) all you get is the prize of being king rat. And, really, who wants that? That is not the desire of the heart. Love comes from the heart. So what else could the desire of the heart be but love? To be loved. And to love others. Relationship. That's what Jesus brought. Not religion. When Jesus was confronted with religion He kicked tables over. Tore down the whole system. He didn't want us to be separate from our Creator. God was in Christ on the cross reconciling us to Himself. Getting rid of the idea of separation. Even though that was the conventional wisdom of the time. And, unfortunately, it is still the conventional wisdom at this time in a lot of place. What we need is a little more foolishness. Wise men say only fools rush in, right? But that's what love is all about a lot of times. Not necessarily rushing into circumstances we don't understand or shouldn't be a part of, but not holding back either. What the world needs now (and what the world always has and always will need) is love, sweet love. And that's what we have. So that's what we can do. That's what's inside, so that's what comes out when we know it and believe it. So stop complicating things. Don't wait to "feel lead." I'll tell you right now: God wants you to love people. All people. All of the time. And, remember, you don't have to try to do more than you can do. But you don't need to be stingy with what you've got, either. We are blessed to be a blessing. We are positioned and qualified to make a difference in the lives of those around us. Remember when we looked at humiliating ourselves in order to love people? Not being too full of pride in order to do what is needed? That flies in the face of conventional wisdom. But I think we need more of that kind of foolish love in the world.

I think one of the hardest things about "understanding" the upside down backwards economy of the Kingdom of God is that we try to make it fit into what we "know" to be "true." When, in truth, it is upside down and backwards. It doesn't make sense to the carnal mind. It can't. It isn't supposed to. Its a more excellent way, not the same old same old. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). Let me say it another way: What is so common about sense? It seems like when we want someone to "use common sense," they can't. Or won't. Like people don't WANT anything other than what they've always had. Even if what they've always had wasn't that great. We get comfortable. Or comfortably numb. We settle for things. We accept things. And that can be a problem. Because what we allow is what continues. What we accept--or what we believe--is what we have. So sometimes when someone offers us something that we're not used to--the gift of God, say, or the love of Christ--it seems too good to be true. And conventional wisdom, "common sense," will tell you that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. There's no such thing as a free lunch, right? Another common saying. And it means if someone is willing to buy you lunch, its probably because they want something in return. And we think that's what love is all about. "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine." When really love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. Love says, "You're itchy? Let me get that for you." Period. There is no ulterior motive. Love doesn't HAVE a motive. Love IS the motive. Love is why we do what we do. We do it because its in our heart to do it. What's inside coming out because we are filled to overflowing with it. So let me quote my key verse for this Rant series: "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise" (1 Corinthians 3:18). In other words, forget everything you think you know. Stop knocking people down to make yourself look better. Don't even look down on anybody unless you are reaching down to help them up. Let go of an eye for an eye. Let go of protecting yourself by putting up walls. I know... listen, I KNOW that once you get burned its hard to go near the fire again. That makes sense. To the carnal mind. But just because something happened one way one time doesn't mean it will happen that way every time. Just because you gave someone your heart (for instance) and they didn't take care of it doesn't mean that nobody ever will. But if you lock it up tight and refuse to stay open to love you'll never know. You'll miss out on what life is all about. Fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice, shame on ME is conventional wisdom. But when it comes to love... only fools rush in. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Because when you're following your heart, you WILL get to where you're supposed to be!

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. First and foremost, loving each other. That was something that it was nigh impossible for us to do before we knew (and believed) the love of Christ. You can't love people when you are looking for love in all the wrong places. You can't give what you don't have. And love is giving. Receiving the love of God and releasing it. Giving to those we come into contact with, not because we want something, but because we have something. Love is never about getting. Didn't I already say love IS giving? So what we can do is love. What we can do is live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. But we need to be careful, in a sense, because even though we CAN do all things, that doesn't mean we SHOULD do all things. Not all things are good for us. Or for each other. Remember how hard I've been hammering the nail that says, "Less is more"? I can try to "fix" every problem, but I probably shouldn't. Because often times when I try too hard I end up hurting instead of helping. Not because I don't have good intentions, but because sometimes I don't understand the situation and I come in like a wrecking ball to save the day and, well, wreck things. I didn't mean to make things worse, but I thought I should be doing more than I should have been doing. Sometimes we need to take a step back, take a deep breath, let things play out. That's one thing we can do. What's that old saying? "I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow." We can trust the Lord. We can let Him be who He is and do what He does. We don't have to run around like chickens with our heads cut off. We can operate from a posture of rest. Of confidence. Knowing that everything will turn out ok in the end. If its not ok yet, its not the end yet. So we don't need to do everything that comes into our heads. But we can do the things that we actually do need to do. The things that ARE good for us. The things that edify. We can forgive each other. Because we are forgiven. We can have mercy on each other. Because God had mercy on us. We can turn the other cheek. We can stop taking things personally. We can live and let live. We can let people be who they are, even as they are learning who they are, and learning how to BE who they are. And we can let ourselves take that same journey. We can let ourselves, and each other, make mistakes. Learn and grow. When things get tough, we can endure. We can survive. We can thrive. And, of course, most of all... we can love. Because we are loved. Because we have love. Because we ARE love. That's what its all about. Love is the alpha and the omega. The beginning and the end. It starts with love. And, as much as something that is everlasting ever could end, it ends with love. Love is the most important, most powerful thing in the universe. Because God IS love. And we were made in His image. Made in the image of love. That's who we really are. That's who Jesus is. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. We can do all things through Christ. We can do all things through love. We can do... love!

Its about appetite. What you're hungry and thirsty for. Because, in a very real way, you are what you eat. If you eat junk food all day, you're not going to feel (or look) very good. If you eat Spiritual junk food all day, or worse yet, if you feed on what the world is screaming at you instead of the still, small voice of the Lord, you won't be very Spiritually, or mentally, healthy. Let me say it another way: If you don't know that you're loved you WILL look for love in all the wrong places. Because that is our appetite. That is the desire of our heart. What else could the heart desire but love? And I can remember--it had to be a couple of years ago now--preaching a sermon series about grace. And the whole time I was kind of leading up to the revelation that "grace changes your appetite." Except, when I got ready to get that sermon ready, God dropped this truth on me: Grace doesn't CHANGE your appetite. Grace SATISFIES your appetite! Because, really, we don't WANT to do all of those things we end up doing when we're trying to fill that God-shaped, love-shaped void inside of us. Remember Paul writing about a man under the law who does what he hates but can't do what he wants? That's bondage. The bondage of sin. Because when you don't believe that you are loved (sin is unbelief) you'll do anything to try to get that love. Anything. You'll sell your soul for it, if I can say it that way. You'll work and work and work to try to get that carrot, even the stick always moves, keeping it just out of your reach. You're caught in a trap. You need someone to come and save you. That's what happened on the cross. That's how Jesus took away the sin of the world. He gave us something (someONE, Himself, LOVE) to believe in. How else could you defeat the lie except with the truth? How else could you take away unbelief except with faith? And now that we know that we are loved... we can love. We can stop looking for it, and we can start experiencing it by giving it away. That's what love is; love is giving. Giving everything you have and everything you are. Laying your life down for your friends. That's what we can do through Christ. Because that's what Christ did for us. And as us. And that's what Christ continues to do in us, and through us, and as us. We live in Him because He lives in us. We can do all things through Him because He is doing all things through us. No longer do we have to do those things that we never really wanted to do in the first place. No longer do we have to try to earn something that can't be earned. The wages of sin (unbelief) is death. But the gift of God is the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Jesus. A life of love. Love is what makes the abundant life abundant. Love is what makes life worth living. Love is what makes it POSSIBLE to truly live. In other words, its all about love. When the Bible says, "God is love" in 1 John 4:8 the word "love" means "love feast." That's the table that Jesus prepared in the presence of our enemies. That's the six-course meal that He wants to share with us as He stands at the door and knocks. That's what we can do. We can eat of the Tree of Life. We can feast on His love. We can let God love us, and we can love Him back by loving each other. We ARE loved... so we CAN love. That's what we can do!

I want to spend today talking about self control. Which, by the way, is a fruit of the Spirit. So let me quote my memory verse and then I'll get into it. "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not" (1 Corinthians 10:23). Basically, I CAN do all things but that doesn't mean I SHOULD. There are some things that are not good for you. And, listen, I'm not saying if you do those things God will punish you. I'm saying, every action has a consequence. Not all consequences are bad though. That's not a negative word. It seems to have a negative connotation, but there are positive consequences too. Every action has an equal or greater reaction, right? I heard a preacher say it like this, "If you cheat on your wife, God won't be mad at you. But you better believe your wife will be!" So we're not talking about God judging our actions and either rewarding or punishing us based on what we do. That's what religion might try to get you to believe, but that's not the God who, as He was being nailed to the cross, cried out, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." That's not the God who would literally rather die than live without us. Now, to be sure, a Father chastens and corrects the Son that He loves. I love my son more than anything in the world. But I don't let him do things that are bad for him. I try to teach him. Train him up in the way he should go. So that when he gets older and can literally do whatever he wants to do... he won't want to do some of those things that are no good. He'll have some self control. He'll be able to enjoy his freedom. Because--guess what--this idea of "greasy grace" that "gives us license to sin" isn't anything. People have been "sinning" without a "license" for a long, long time. Grace isn't freedom TO sin. Grace is freedom FROM sin. Sin isn't freedom. Sin is bondage. Sin isn't about "I can finally do those things that I've always wanted to do but was never able to do." Nobody wants to do those things. Sometimes we get wrapped up in them. Sometimes we get lost. Or confused. Remember when we talked about keeping the mind of Christ open and not getting twisted around and confused? Sometimes we get lost when we're looking for love in all the wrong places. But even then--ESPECIALLY THEN--God is right there with us. He has sworn to never leave us nor forsake us. And in our weakness He is strong. When we call on the name of the Lord we are saved. Because He is our Savior. He gave us everything we needed. When He gave us Himself. His Spirit. When He took up abode in our hearts. When He was lifted up on the cross and drew us all into Himself. When He planted Himself in all of us. He took away the sin (unbelief... thinking you are not loved and trying to earn love) of the world and He gave us something (someONE, LOVE) to believe in. He gave us the measure of faith. So that we could do all things through Him. So that we could do the things we ACTUALLY want to do. Forgive and be forgiven. Make connections with people. Relationships. And, most importantly, be loved and love each other!

We can do all things through Christ. He is our strength. The joy of the Lord is our strength. The joy of the Lord is love. Love is our strength. Love is the "all things" that we can do. And since living and loving are the same thing--to live is to love and to love is to live--living is what we have been equipped and empowered to do. I've said for a long time that the hardest thing about life is actually living. Getting up every day and doing what you've gotta do to get to the end of the day. Its hard. Its exhausting. Physically and emotionally draining. Remember when I Ranted about how the least you can do is sometimes the most you can do? We put these unrealistic expectations on ourselves (and each other) and then we get frustrated, and disappointed, when those expectations aren't met. My point for tonight is, you don't have to do everything all of the time. The idea of "no days off" is a bit much for me. We need those times to rest and relax and recharge. Think about it, God specifically made a day of rest--the Sabbath--so that we the people wouldn't get burned out. And, of course, in fullness JESUS is the Sabbath rest of God. He finished the work on the cross so that we could rest. So that we could OPERATE from a place of rest. Because, remember now, rest is NOT inactivity. Rest is Holy Spirit directed activity. And since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and God is love, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love. (It always comes back to love.) The number one thing we can do through the Lord... is love. I know I already said that, but I think we learn best through repitition. At least, I do. So when we think about doing things... one of my favorite Bible verses is 2 Samuel 22:30, "For by thee I have run through a troop: by my God have I leaped over a wall." I like it because its, well, powerful. Its short and sweet, but it has awesome imagery. This is the kind of stuff we think we oughta be doing. Onward Christian soldier, right? I don't think I've ever met people more ready, willing, and able to fight than religious folk. "We gotta root the sin out of the camp! We gotta give the devil a black eye." And so on and so forth. The problem is that we get so caught up in fighting AGAINST stuff that we forget that the only fight left is fighting FOR something. "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses" (1 Timothy 6:12). We don't need to jump over a wall--or a fence, in my case--we don't need to run though a troop. All we need to do is lay hold on eternal life. And eternal life is the gift of God. We aren't fighting in order to GET something. We already HAVE something. We are fighting to believe it. Fighting to keep our mind and our heart open. To let what's inside come out by knowing and believing that its inside. Receiving and releasing the gift we've been given. Letting God love us and loving Him back by loving each other. That's what it means to truly live the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God by letting Him live His own life of love in us, and through us, and as us. And that, by our faith (which works by love), is what we are capable of. We don't need to run through a troop or jump over a wall. We CAN love the people we come into contact with!

The verse on my heart for this Rant series is Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." And the title of this Rant series reflects the attitude of an overcomer. A "can do" attitude. But, fair warning, at some point in the next few days I plan on touching on the idea that even though I CAN do all things, I really really shouldn't. But that's for later. For today I want to focus on the idea that nothing is out of reach. Everything is available to us. Everything, in fact, has been PROVIDED for us. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have been blessed with all Spiritual blessings in the heavenly Christ. What we need is to understand what we have, and what we're capable of. And, in a nutshell, we are capable of ruling and reigning as kings and priests on this earth (see Revelation 5:10). We can do it. And, in fact, well... look at Romans 8:19 (English Standard Version), "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God." All of creation is waiting for us to do what we can do. For us to BE who we really ARE. The earth is waiting for us to rule it and reign it. That was God's original mandate to man, "The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it" (Genesis 2:15 NLT). And notice that ruling and reigning doesn't have anything to do with controlling and dominating. It has to do with tending and keeping. Watching over the gift we've been given. Being good stewards. The Apostle Paul writes at length about how we don't really own anything but we are stewards. Jesus talked about this idea too. 1 Peter 4:10 even says, "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Which really hits it home that we are stewards OF THE MANIFOLD GRACE OF GOD. The most important things we've been given don't really have much to do with material possessions. They are mercy, grace, forgiveness... and love. All of those aspects of love that we are to "put on." We put them on by giving them away. By getting comfortable with them. And we get comfortable with forgiveness... by forgiving people. We are ABLE to forgive people because we are forgiven. But we really begin to understand what that means when we do it. When we use what we've been given... by giving it away. Freely you have received, right? Freely give. That, more than anything else, is what we can do. We can love. "I can love all people through Christ which strengenth me." And don't forget HOW He strengthens us. Don't forget what that strength IS. The joy of the Lord is our strength. And what could possibly make the God who is love more joyful than love? He loves us so that we can love Him by loving each other. Understand-- He loves us because He loves us. Because He IS love and there is nothing else He could do. He created us so that He could express Himself, His love, to us, and in us, and through us. But because of that great love we can truly live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. So we can do it... because HE is doing it. He lives in us. We live in Him. He loves us. We love Him. And each other. It's all about love. That, more than anything else, is what we can do!