“Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of; bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus attractive to all.”  (Philippians 1:9-11)

 Does your life, the way you live it, the way you treat people, the way you talk, the way you work and play, make Jesus attractive to all?  Does your life cause people to take notice and give glory to God?  Does your life cause the people around you to want to have what you have?

 So much of the world has been turned off by the hypocrisy of the church.  I know that some of this is just a perception, but have we really been the light?  Have we shared His love?  Are our lives full of the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control?  Do our lives draw people closer to God or further away?  These are questions we must all continually ask ourselves.

 As His children, we are called to live lives of love – “a lover’s life.”  This is our greatest mandate.  Love God and love others.  Jesus was our example.  We are told to “live a life of love, just as Christ love us and gave Himself up for us.”  (Eph. 5:2)  

 That’s what love is – the giving of yourself to another - the laying down of your life, your time and your desires to serve and love another.  Love is more than a feeling; it’s an “act.”  If you say you love someone, but never do anything for that one, you don’t really love them at all. 

 Jesus loved us by giving up His life for us.  He lay down everything, including His very life.  He, the very Son of God, came not to be served, but to serve.  That’s love.  There is no greater love.

 Let Him be your example.  Let His love fill you “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”  Then you can’t help but love the ones God brings into your life, even the “unlovely.”  If you do this, I promise, your life will make Jesus attractive to all.

“So let’s live our part in the Feast, not as raised bread swollen with the yeast of evil, but as flat bread – simple, genuine, unpretentious.” (1 Cor. 5:8 The Message)

I find this verse funny, but it’s actually a very good analogy. What kind of bread are you? Are you raised bread, puffed up with yeast, or are you flat bread?

In this verse, “yeast” represents sin. Paul is saying, sin is no small thing. It isn’t something which only affects you. Yeast or “sin” affects the whole batch of dough. It has repercussions on you and the people around you.

We need to see sin as God sees it and we must do all we can to rid it from our lives. In this chapter, Paul is addressing sexual sin, but in God’s eyes, all sins are equal. Pride, anger, selfishness, and gossip can cause the same kind of fallout if left unchecked.

I believe most sin in our lives is a result of thinking too highly of our selves and not enough of others. That’s pride. Sin happens when we are puffed up with pride and thinking only about “me.” If we love others, we will not want to hurt them, but rather our desire will be to serve them.

Of course, because of our flesh, this is not always reality. It’s so much easier to put “me” first. Jesus was our example. He did not come to be served, but rather to serve and give His life for us. He, who deserved to be served, more that any other being, did this for us. He told us to do the same. This is not easy. The only way this can be accomplished is with the Spirit’s help.

But, be encouraged, because God is taking you from “glory to glory.” “He who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion.” I share this verse a lot because I love it. It’s so true. God will not let you continue to flounder in your sin. He will bring conviction and He will open doors for you to find the freedom you desire.

Let’s get back to the bread! God wants you to be like “flat bread.” LOL!! That’s the opposite of “the pride” that so easily besets us. We are called to live simple, genuine and unpretentious lives. In other words, we are called to walk in love, humility, sincerity and simplicity.

As I keep saying, “The gospel is simple.” It’s all about love. When we are living lives in simple humility, we will be ones who put others first, and who ooze with the love of God. When we see what God has rescued us from, it’s easier to walk in love and humility with God and others.

So let’s be “Flat bread!”

“When He comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence … inner motives and purposes and prayers.  Only then will any one of us get to hear the “well done” of God.”  (1 Cor. 4:5 The Message)

 “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.”  (NIV)

 It’s not about how much we “do” for or in the name of God.  Our good works cannot earn us brownie points with God.

 It’s about the heart – nothing more, nothing less.

 I don’t say this so we can get off the hook, by not doing anything for God.  This is not an excuse to sit on our duff.  God wants us to serve Him and He deserves nothing less – but we must do so for the right reason and with the right motives.

 And what, might you ask, is that?

 I’ve talked about this so many times I’m starting to sound like a broken record.  Love, love, love! That’s what it’s all about.  We love Him because He first loved us.  We also love others, because He loved us.  This is the first and greatest commandment – to love.  It’s His love that is to compel us to serve and love others.  Unless we do “good works” out of love, those works mean “nothing.”

 That’s what God says.  You could do the greatest acts of service ever known to man kind, but if you did not have love in that, God says that act is meaningless, not only that, He virtually calls it “an annoying noise.”

 That’s how God feels when we serve Him out of duty or to get noticed, etc., rather than out of the pure motive of love.

 The second motive, which comes on the heels of “love,” is to bring honor and glory to Him.

 Everything we do, should be done for His glory.  Matthew 5:16 says it well.  “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven.”  All our good works, should point people to the Father.  They should cause people to look to Him, not to us.

 It’s so easy to do things for the praise of man.  Who doesn’t like a pat on the back?  Sometimes we are doing this without even realizing it.  That’s why we must continually examine our hearts.

 When we serve Him with the right heart and pure motives – and we cannot hide this from God - then when we stand before Him, we will receive our praise from God.  We will be able to hear Him say, “well done.”

 That’s what we need to live for – the praise of God.  We must continually remind ourselves that God sees not as man sees.  He looks on the heart.

 When we serve Him and worship Him out of a heart of love, gratitude and a desire to bring glory to Him, then and only then, will our offerings, our acts of service, our prayers be like a sweet smelling fragrance before His throne.

“And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it.  How could they miss it?  Because instead of trusting God, they took over.  They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing.  They were so absorbed in “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road.”  (Romans 9:31-32 The Message)

 Wow, quite the scripture!  Can you relate to this?  This verse is talking about Israel in Paul’s day, but it could easily be talking about the church in our day.  I don’t mean overall as a general statement, but sometimes this is exactly how we are.

 We love to get together and talk about God and what He’s doing in the world.  We love to read the latest books about Him and how to live a better Christian life and there is absolutely nothing wrong with these things.  These are good things.  But in that constant talking about God and reading about Him, the question to ask ourselves is, “Is my life really changed by this?  Am I more in love with God?”

 This verse also says that “they were so absorbed in “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road.”  It is so easy to get involved in “God things”, serving Him, keeping busy for Him, but in the midst of that, actually missing Him. 

 It’s not about what we do for God or what we say about God or even what we know about God; It’s about actually knowing God.  Knowing, as in being intimately connected to Him in relationship.  It’s about being loved, and in return, loving Him.

 This is exactly what Jesus condemned the Pharisees for.  Oh, they loved to talk about God and regale the world with their knowledge of the Scriptures.  They loved to “serve” God by praying big eloquent prayers before men, by giving large offerings that people would take notice of.  But in all of that knowledge, that talk, and that “doing” for God, they completely missed Him.

 It’s not enough to know the Word.  It’s not enough to even do great things for Him.  What God really wants from you, is your heart.  He is madly in love with you.  He desires you.  He longs for intimate relationship with you.

 Some say God doesn’t need us, but I don’t buy this.  He really and truly loves us and it hurts Him when we don’t take the time to be with Him.  Our names are written on His hand.  That’s what I used to do in school days when I liked a boy.  He thinks about us all the time. “How vast is the sum (his thoughts of us) of them!  Were I to count them they would outnumber the grains of sand.” (Psalm 139:17-18)

 More than any other thing – God wants you.  He wants your love.  He wants your heart.  Anything we do for God, all our words about God, mean nothing unless they come out of a heart that is in love with Him. 

 I Corinthians 13 states it well, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.  If I speak God’s word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.  If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten no where.  So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.”

 Enough said!

“We can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives by the Holy Spirit.”  (Romans 5:5 Msg)

 What father does not want to give their child good things?  What father does not wish they were able to give more?  We, as earthly parents, delight in blessing our children.  We want the best for them, and because of our love for them, would do most anything to protect them.

 If we, as earthly parents, are like this, how much more is our Father in heaven?  In the Word it says that it is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom.  He finds pleasure in giving to us!  He desires to give us everything we need and more, and in truth, He has.  We just need to receive it!

 We are so blessed as children of God.  We need to understand what we really have in Him.  Through Him , we have a full and abundant life.  We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Heavenly places.  We have everything we need for life and godliness.  We have everything in the Kingdom – life, provision, healing and protection.  We have been given many great and precious promises, which in Him are “yes and amen.”  I could go on and on.

 God, the Father, wants to give all of this to you and more.  He wants this coming year to be a year of blessing and abundance.  He not only wants to meet all of your needs, but He also wants to give you the desires of your heart, as you delight in Him.  That is the key – to delight in Him.

 So may 2012 be a year of blessing and abundance and the fulfillment of desires, as of yet unfulfilled, as you make this a year when, above all, your delight is in Him, who knows you, unreservedly, who loves you, unconditionally and who blesses you, undeservedly. 

 The greatest thing we can give to Him is our hearts – our love, our adoration.  That is what He desires and deserves above all – love, intimacy, relationship with the ones He gave His all for. 

 May this be a year of focus on just that.  Not just serving Him, but loving Him with all our heart, mind and strength.  What better way to serve Him, than to love Him?

Mark 2:17  “Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 Jesus was criticized, by the Pharisees, for spending time with sinners and tax collectors.  The Pharisees wanted to have nothing to do with such men.  They literally wanted to keep themselves separate from the world.  The word says we are to do so, but by “world” it does not mean worldly people.  God loves ALL men.  He desires for all to be saved.  He loves every “sinner”. 

 Jesus said, “I came for sinners!”  The righteous – those righteous in their own eyes – such as the Pharisees – did not feel a need for the salvation of God.  In their own eyes they were “good enough” to merit God’s favor. 

 The sinners, by contrast, were drawn to Jesus for he loved them as they were.  They knew they were sinners in need of a Savior, and that is why Jesus came for them.  Such one’s just need to be loved into the Kingdom, not judged or condemned.

 In our churches, we so often focus on the saved, but rarely focus on the lost around us.  We “do” church week in and week out, but often forget or ignore the many lost and needy around us, going to an eternity without God. 

 We expect the world to come to us and rarely take it out of the four walls of the church.  But, for the most part, the world wants nothing to do with the church.  Jesus ate with sinners.  He hung out with them (not all the time – we still need fellowship with believers). 

 But I believe He truly loved them.  They weren’t just a “project”.  He loved on them and showed them, by His life, what it meant to be a Child of God.

 To be a child of God means to, first of all, know you are loved and then in turn, you become a lover.  A true believer is a “lover”.  We should be known by love.  Love God and love others!  That, Jesus said, sums up all the commandments. 

 Just love!  Hang out with the lost.  Don’t isolate yourself to just Christian friends.  Let the love of God rub off on those around you.  Let the world see what a true authentic child of God is. 

 Look for opportunities to minister to the needs around you.  Invite your neighbors or people in need into your home for dinner, and don’t try to convert them on the first try.  Just allow God’s love to flow from you and allow the Spirit to move in their hearts. 

 Trust God.  He can open up doors, hearts and conversations.  Let’s ask God for the lost in our churches and in our lives.  Let’s not put all our focus on the saved.

 In the parable of the lost sheep, God left the ninety-nine sheep and went looking for the one lost sheep.  That doesn’t necessarily seem smart if you’re going to build a church, but that is God’s heart.  God is not willing that any should perish.

 God give us your heart for the lost.