The Love Revolution

Starting first with a heart of love

….…love one another deeply, from the heart.1 Peter 1:22

The Grinch is a character in children’s literature. This ugly green miser loathes everyone and everything except his faithful dog, Max. His hate stems from his dysfunctional heart that is “two sizes too small,” and as a consequence he is simply unable to let any love inside. But while we can laugh, we can see glimpses of this character in ourselves, and then it’s not so funny. We are all called to love the Lord our God with every inch of our being and our neighbors as ourselves, but here is where the challenge lies! Our hearts require a “make over”, because as it is, we cannot seem to accommodate the love that is required to reach the world.

The good news is that we are not alone in our frail, human state. The Bible is full of men and women who, despite their best efforts, suffer from a chronic lack of love. Jonah is one of the most striking examples of a heart in need of expansion. Why? Because Jonah simply could not fathom the fact that God does want to reach people as “unlovable” as the people of Nineveh! Nineveh was the capital of one of the most powerful nations in the world – Assyria. The Assyrians were aggressive, wicked, cruel, idolaters and were a constant threat to God’s chosen people. All Jews would probably pray that God would rain fire and brimstone on the Assyrians to destroy them. But God wanted to give the Assyrians a second chance. From God’s large heart of love for the wicked Assyrians, He desired their repentance so that He could spare them. Jonah was appointed to carry God’s message to the citizens of Nineveh. But read what the Bible says. It does not say that Jonah ran away from the task. But that Jonah ran away from the LORD (Jon 1:3). In the opposite direction!! Jonah’s heart was too small to accommodate the love that God had for the citizens of Nineveh.

Jonah certainly understood the LORD’S character and he certainly seems to realize that his dislike for the Assyrians was there all along. In the beginning of chapter 4 he gives the Lord a seething “I-told-you-so” speech: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.” Jon 4:2

How small is Jonah’s heart!! Like Jonah, we often have the appropriate and religious words, and even the actions to match those words. But our hearts can be hard, unwilling to extend God’s love to others. Jesus said to His disciples and therefore to us:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jn 12:34-35

This is the new software to reach the world for the Kingdom of God. But what about a matching Operating System? Only God can expand our small, fragile hearts. He has given us His grace through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit within us, our capacity to love others—even our enemies—increases. In fact, God promises this to His people: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you….Eze 36:26-27.

When we say “yes” to God and His love for all people, He will stretch our hearts. This expansion is unpleasant at times, especially when He asks us to love people who make us uncomfortable or who have hurt us, but the challenge will bring our hearts closer to the heart of God and would show the world what God’s love is really all about.

I was invited yesterday to share the Word at a Youth Service in a local church. The theme was The Love Revolution. I have borrowed this theme for the title of this devotional message. The word “revolution” means “a sudden or radical change in a situation”. The Gospel is supposed to do that. But unlike many political revolutions the process is not violent, but peaceful because it is facilitated by love. When the Apostle Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthian church that everywhere believers spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him, it is by love. In John 12, Mary motivated by love for Jesus emptied a jar of the most expensive perfume on His feet and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (Jn 12:3). But apart from the fragrance of the perfume, it was the fragrance of her love that filled the room. She was totally unmindful of the opinion of others or whether she would have enough for herself – O yes, a great example of totally selfless love!

Not everybody can be a Mother Teresa, but you can be the “new creation” with a heart of flesh, not a heart of stone – a heart that can accommodate the love that God has for people around you. The John 3:16 kind of love. The kind of love that the Apostle Paul talks about in 1 Cor 13. The kind of love that: is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not rude, totally unselfish, not easily angered, does not keep an account of wrongs, does not delight in evil, but rejoices in what is true. That kind of love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. What an inventory!! And Paul affirms that that kind of love never fails! That’s the kind of love that creates a revolution of sorts– a Love Revolution.

Want to try it? Go ahead. It’s amazing what God can do through a person who is willing to expand his heart to fill it with the love of God through the Holy Spirit.

A Love Revolution can change our world when the love we have for the Lord Jesus Christ, translates itself into love for people around us.

Starting first with a heart of love

….…love one another deeply, from the heart.1 Peter 1:22

The Grinch

The Grinch is a character in children’s literature. This ugly green miser loathes everyone and everything except his faithful dog, Max. His hate stems from his dysfunctional heart that is “two sizes too small,” and as a consequence he is simply unable to let any love inside. But while we can laugh, we can see glimpses of this character in ourselves, and then it’s not so funny. We are all called to love the Lord our God with every inch of our being and our neighbors as ourselves, but here is where the challenge lies! Our hearts require a “make over”, because as it is, we cannot seem to accommodate the love that is required to reach the world.

The good news is that we are not alone in our frail, human state. The Bible is full of men and women who, despite their best efforts, suffer from a chronic lack of love. Jonah is one of the most striking examples of a heart in need of expansion. Why? Because Jonah simply could not fathom the fact that God does want to reach people as “unlovable” as the people of Nineveh! Nineveh was the capital of one of the most powerful nations in the world – Assyria. The Assyrians were aggressive, wicked, cruel, idolaters and were a constant threat to God’s chosen people. All Jews would probably pray that God would rain fire and brimstone on the Assyrians to destroy them. But God wanted to give the Assyrians a second chance. From God’s large heart of love for the wicked Assyrians, He desired their repentance so that He could spare them. Jonah was appointed to carry God’s message to the citizens of Nineveh. But read what the Bible says. It does not say that Jonah ran away from the task. But that Jonah ran away from the LORD (Jon 1:3). In the opposite direction!! Jonah’s heart was too small to accommodate the love that God had for the citizens of Nineveh.

Jonah certainly understood the LORD’S character and he certainly seems to realize that his dislike for the Assyrians was there all along. In the beginning of chapter 4 he gives the Lord a seething “I-told-you-so” speech: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, LORD? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.” Jon 4:2

How small is Jonah’s heart!! Like Jonah, we often have the appropriate and religious words, and even the actions to match those words. But our hearts can be hard, unwilling to extend God’s love to others. Jesus said to His disciples and therefore to us:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Jn 12:34-35

This is the new software to reach the world for the Kingdom of God. But what about a matching Operating System? Only God can expand our small, fragile hearts. He has given us His grace through the death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ. Because of the work of the Holy Spirit within us, our capacity to love others—even our enemies—increases. In fact, God promises this to His people: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you….Eze 36:26-27.

When we say “yes” to God and His love for all people, He will stretch our hearts. This expansion is unpleasant at times, especially when He asks us to love people who make us uncomfortable or who have hurt us, but the challenge will bring our hearts closer to the heart of God and would show the world what God’s love is really all about.

I was invited yesterday to share the Word at a Youth Service in a local church. The theme was The Love Revolution. I have borrowed this theme for the title of this devotional message. The word “revolution” means “a sudden or radical change in a situation”. The Gospel is supposed to do that. But unlike many political revolutions the process is not violent, but peaceful because it is facilitated by love. When the Apostle Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthian church that everywhere believers spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him, it is by love. In John 12, Mary motivated by love for Jesus emptied a jar of the most expensive perfume on His feet and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (Jn 12:3). But apart from the fragrance of the perfume, it was the fragrance of her love that filled the room. She was totally unmindful of the opinion of others or whether she would have enough for herself – O yes, a great example of totally selfless love!

Not everybody can be a Mother Teresa, but you can be the “new creation” with a heart of flesh, not a heart of stone – a heart that can accommodate the love that God has for people around you. The John 3:16 kind of love. The kind of love that the Apostle Paul talks about in 1 Cor 13. The kind of love that: is patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not rude, totally unselfish, not easily angered, does not keep an account of wrongs, does not delight in evil, but rejoices in what is true. That kind of love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres. What an inventory!! And Paul affirms that that kind of love never fails! That’s the kind of love that creates a revolution of sorts– a Love Revolution.

Want to try it? Go ahead. It’s amazing what God can do through a person who is willing to expand his heart to fill it with the love of God through the Holy Spirit.

A Love Revolution can change our world when the love we have for the Lord Jesus Christ, translates itself into love for people around us.

THE ULTIMATE RESCUE

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9-10).

Victoria grew up like many middle income families. She loved school and was even the in her homecoming court all four years in high school. After some tragic family deaths during her teen years, she began to experiment with alcohol and drugs. She was raped, underwent multiple abortions, and began working as a dancer at local nude dancing club, which she continued for more than four years.

After suffering nosebleeds from her cocaine addition, Victoria became very involved with the new age movement, nearly had a nervous breakdown, and eventually became suicidal. By the age of 28 she was homeless, stranded and fired from her job as a strip-club dancer. Barely 100 pounds, she was no longer profitable to the industry. Then a Christian gave her a Bible. The first book she read was Job and something gripped her heart. A church family took her into their home. They surrounded her with love and pointed her to who she was in Christ. Victoria says, “Jesus is the only healer of deep, deep wounds.”

Now, years later, Victoria’s compassionate heart is focused on reaching other lives on the brink of life or death. She founded a ministry called Victoria’s Friends, which goes into the heart of the darkest places of the city in the strip clubs. Trained women ministry volunteers bring baskets to the dancers in their dressing rooms with no motive other than to show they care. Men stay outside the clubs and pray for the women going inside. It is the ultimate rescue mission. It is the love of Christ expressed in a simple, but powerful way. This act translates into relationships that are formed between those who continue to show their love for them.

Hundreds of young women have come out of this lifestyle because one woman decided to do what others had done for her – rescue her from the pit of darkness.

What type of rescue mission might God call you to lead?