What does it mean to love God wholeheartedly?

The greatest, most important commandment is the love our God with all of our being (Matthew 22:36-38).

The fact that it is the greatest, most important commandment means two things:

- We'd better obey it.

- To disobey it is the greatest sin imaginable.

But, what does it mean to love our God with all of our being? Does that mean that we are to have the "feelings" of love in our heart for Him? Is it simply an emotional response that God is calling for?

The answer is a resounding "No!" While there will often be an emotional aspect to our love for God, the feelings of love are not what is commanded. After all, how can God command us to feel certain ways? Our emotions are so unpredictable at best.

There are many aspects to what it means to love God with our whole being. But, the Bible tells us more than a few times what that love looks like.

It tells us that if we truly love God, there is something we will do to show it. This action step is the natural response to someone who truly loves the Lord.

John 14:15 (New Living Translation)

Jesus: "If you love me, obey my commandments."

John 14:21 (New Living Translation)

Jesus: "Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me..."

1 John 5:3 (New Living Translation)

"Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome."

Do not misunderstand these verses:

These verses are NOT saying that to love God, we simply do what He says.

These verses are saying that if we love God, we'll show it by doing what He says.

So, will you spend time in God's Word today to see what He has said so that you can obey it? Doing so is not the act of love. But, it powerfully shows that love for God exists in your heart.

Godly parenting isn't just teaching, it's ...

As I counsel people who are hurting, I often hear from parents whose children are destroying their lives.

Sometimes, the parents sitting in front of me are committed Christians. They are the real deal. They take their walk with Jesus seriously. But, in spite of their godly lives, their children chose to reject the ways of God.

However, in many cases, the parents sitting in front of me are part of the problem. Essentially, they are grieving over consequences that they brought on themselves.

Your children hear what you say but your actions speak much louder. They see you go to church but they watch you at home when church friends have left. They watch to see if you really believe what you are saying.

If when you are around other Christians at church you behave in a way that isn't consistent with how you act when only your children are watching, they'll come to think that you are simply a hypocrite and/or that Christianity is just a farce.

They see the commands of Scripture and then they watch you. They see if you take complete obedience to God's Word seriously or if it's all just a show.

They hear you say that Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship. But, then they watch you to see if you are enjoying that relationship or if you see Christianity as just a set of rules.

The odds are that children will not take seriously something that their parents don't take seriously.

If you desire for your children and grandchildren to choose to follow Jesus, then show them in your speech and your life that you are wholeheartedly committed to Jesus. Show them that it is so much better of an option than any other life pursuit. Speak of God's Word ... and LIVE it when you are at church, at home or when you think no one else is watching.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (New Living Translation)

"And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up."

This Mindset Could Revolutionize the Way You Live

Unfortunately, Americanized Christianity is often so different (in fact, it is sometimes opposed) to the Christianity we see lived out by the first century followers of Jesus.

Just read the biblical book of Acts. Some of the things that happened in that book were certainly limited to the first century because the Apostles were still alive. They had authority and power from God that did not get passed down to anyone else. Yet, the effectiveness in evangelism, the power to radically influence their culture, the power of prayer, and so much more show the church and Christianity as it was meant to be.

What did they have (or understand) that we are missing?

I believe that one of the primary mindsets that so many are missing today is what it means to follow Jesus. Americanized Christianity has reduced "being saved" to a prayer. Supposedly those who have prayed a prayer sometime in their life to get saved are Christians regardless of the fact that they bear no fruit of a Jesus-follower. They don't spend time in God's Word and they don't intentionally conform their lives to its teachings. They don't desire to regularly spend time with God in pray. They don't tell others about Jesus. On and on we could go with the sort of fruit that a believer naturally produces in their life.

One mindset that Jesus drove home among His followers is this: the Kingdom of God/Heaven.

John the Baptist's ministry was all about the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 3:2)

Jesus began His earthly ministry talking about the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 4:17)

Jesus talked often about the Kingdom of Heaven in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3, 10, 19, 20; 6:10, 33; 7:13, 21)

In fact, the word "Kingdom" is used 128 time in the Gospels (in the New Living Translation). It is a major theme in the teachings of Jesus.

So, what does it mean? Was Jesus talking about the Kingdom in Heaven that will be the future reality of believers? If that is your understanding, you are missing a huge blessing.

The teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven is, in part, future: There will certainly come a day when Jesus reigns as King in a visible way over planet earth and in Heaven. But, it's not simply a future reality.

The teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven is present: The Kingdom of Heaven exists right now. King Jesus is building His Kingdom. He is claiming the allegiance of men and women, boys and girls on planet earth. Anyone who repents of their sin and self-centered ways and, by faith, receives the free gift of forgiveness that He offers while giving their full allegiance to Him becomes a soldier in the Lord's army. They enter the Kingdom at that moment.

Luke 17:20-21 (New Living Translation)

"One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, 'When will the Kingdom of God come?'

Jesus replied, 'The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, "Here it is!" or "It’s over there!" For the Kingdom of God is already among you.'"

One of the clearest objectives of a soldier is submission to his/her commander. Obedience must also be instant and complete.

This is why Christians must study and conform to the truths God has given us in His Word. We are soldiers. His Word is our manual. We no longer live for ourselves but for Him. He expects complete compliance.

This is why we must also pray. If we are in the Kingdom, then we are in enemy territory (Ephesians 6:10-12). Prayer is our way of staying in communication with our Superior Officer who can send whatever we need to the front lines to help us.

This is why we must also share the Good News of forgiveness offered by Jesus. Sharing the Gospel is our way of bringing other people into the Kingdom. We realize that the enemy will one day be destroyed along with all who follow him. So, we tell others about how our Commander loves us so much He sacrificed His life so that we could come into His incredible Kingdom and enjoy Him forever.

Is life a battle? Yep! But, if you're in the Kingdom of God, you're on the winning side. The final chapter of earth's story has already been written. We win!

So, live as a worthy soldier of the Cross today. You're a privileged member of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Mary was crying and Jesus got angry! Why?

Some folks think that the only time Jesus got angry was when He cleansed the temple. That is not true. There was at least one other time that He was incensed.

In John 11, Jesus learned that his dear friend, Lazarus, had died. As with any death, there was unspeakable sorrow. There were tear-filled eyes and sorrow-filled hearts. Groans came from somewhere deep down in the souls of those who loved him most.

Try to imagine the following scene as Jesus met the sister of Lazarus, Mary. Imagine her quivering, contorted, tear-stained face as she was still trying to understand that her brother really had died and was never coming back. The deep ache in her heart cannot be described. It can only be experienced by those who have suffered such a deep loss.

John 11:32-36 (New Living Translation)
32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled.
34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.
They told him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Then Jesus wept.
36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”

In the New Living Translation, it says in verse 33 that "a deep anger welled up within him." In other translations, it says that He was "deeply moved" or some other such thing. The words in the original language (Greek) speak of a strong emotion that could be labeled "indignation."

So, why did Jesus get mad? He's in the presence of people who are hurting deeply. Anger seems completely out of place … until we reflect on WHY He was angry.

Jesus wasn't indifferent to the suffering around Him. In fact, John 11:35 tells us plainly that "Jesus wept." His heart went out to those people. He wasn't grieving for Himself or Lazarus. He knew that Lazarus was in Heaven and having the time of his life! Why did Jesus weep? Because He saw the hurt all around Him. He was moved to grieve by seeing and hearing the heart cries of those around Him.

So, we see that He grieved. That's extremely appropriate when spending time with a family who has just lost a loved one. But, why did He get angry?

The reason that makes the most sense to me is that He was angered at sin and death. In that moment, He saw his friend, Mary, experiencing unspeakable grief and it was because she lived in a sin-sick world. She was experiencing such sorrow because she lived in a world that was so far below the joy of the Garden of Eden. There was no death and no sorrow before Adam sinned. But, when Adam sinned, death and unspeakable grief were the result.

Romans 5:12 (New Living Translation)
"When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned."

So, the dear people that surrounded Jesus were weeping because the world in which they lived was broken. It was sin saturated and death was the result. Jesus was looking at the result of a broken Creation and He was angered.

If I could be so bold as to try to identify what Jesus was thinking, I imagine He would have thought something like this: "This wasn't how things could have been! They could have enjoyed My presence in the utopia that I called the Garden of Eden. They could have eaten of the Tree of Life and never experienced death. But Adam sinned and blew it for everyone! And as I look around me and see what sin did to my perfect Creation, I'm furious!"

Jesus didn't come into our world to experience frustration, though. He didn't come to throw His hands up in despair at how badly sin had wrecked His Creation. He came as a conqueror on a mission that He would accomplish, even if it meant His death ... and it did.

He came to conquer sin and death! When He died on the cross and rose again, He administered the death blow to sin and death! As we place our faith in Jesus, we can be completely forgiven of our sin. Sin will lose is its stranglehold over us. And one day, we'll live forever with our God.

1 Corinthians 15:57 (New Living Translation)
"But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ."

This is the Good News that we celebrate even as we reflect this day on Jesus' Crucifixion.

6 Reasons Why I Talk Often About the Day of Judgment

I was told recently that I bring the topic of the Day of Judgment into my sermons quite often. I appreciated the comment because it made me reflect upon whether or not it was true. But, it also caused me to question why I was motivated to do that.

It only took a few moments of reflection to realize that the statement was true. I do talk much about the Day of Judgment. Here are a few reasons why:

I want to be motivated the same way the Apostle Paul was motivated:

He kept going. He didn't give up. Why? Because he wanted to receive the prize at the end of his life.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (New Living Translation)

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing."

Jesus entices us to live holy lives by promising rewards:

Is it wrong to follow Jesus, in part, because of the rewards we will receive on the Day of Judgment? Apparently, Jesus didn't think so. As Jesus gave instruction on how His followers are to live, He said "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you" three separate times in Matthew 6:4, 6 & 18. I want to live this life so that I get as many rewards as possible on that Day.

Focusing on rewards keeps us focused on Heaven:

Instead of getting bogged down in the details and discouragements of life, we can keep our head up and live in light of eternity. When we focus on earning heavenly rewards, we'll think of Heaven often.

Matthew 6:19-21 (New Living Translation)

"Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

Thinking about our heavenly rewards keeps us from becoming worldly minded:

Many people, even believers, do not think about the Day of Judgment (I am guilty of this more often than I would care to admit). We often live for ourselves and for the moment. Or, as the Apostle John warned us:

1 John 2:16-17 (New Living Translation)

"For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."

Simply stated, when our primary focus is on earthly things, we are acting like unbelievers. When we focus on our eternal rewards, we are acting like followers of Jesus.

Looking to the Day of Judgment short-circuits our desire for revenge:

I have a confession to make. Some may read this motivation and think that it's really the primary one. It's not. But I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge it as one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to the Day of Judgment. While I strive to love and pray for my enemies (those who have deeply hurt me) and while I genuinely pray for their salvation, I am looking forward to the day when the Righteous Judge will right all wrongs. I can abstain from revenge or even finding satisfaction in simple thoughts of retaliation because I know that the Apostle Paul said there is coming a day when God will deal with all wrongs.

Romans 12:19-21 (New Living Translation)

"Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the LORD. Instead, 'If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.' Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."

Thinking about Judgment Day motivates us to be certain of our eternal destination:

A terrifying truth is that many people who think they are headed to Heaven are only a heartbeat away from Hell. Many of them will not realize their error until it is too late.

To satisfy their hearts and minds that they are saved, they look around at how their peers are living, compare themselves to those who claim to be saved, assess that they are at least as good as their peers if not better, and come to the conclusion that their eternity in Heaven is secure. On the Day of Judgment, they will fall to the ground in terror as they realize their error ... but it will be too late to remedy their doom.

Matthew 7:21-23 (New Living Translation)

Jesus said: "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.'"

Do you want to read more about what this terrifying Judgment will be like? Simply turn to Revelation 20:11-15. It's described in enough detail to keep your imagination busy all day.

Many people who think they are headed to Heaven are not. This is another reason why I speak on the Day of Judgment. I desire to entice the saved to pursue holiness like Jesus and Paul did. But, I also desire to warn the lost like Jesus did.

Conclusion

So, am I looking forward to the Day of Judgment? Yes! I know all too well that I will be denied many rewards because of a lack of action or a wrong motivation or any number of other things. But, I believe that there will be many rewards for me to obtain and enjoy. I want to live this life in light of the fact that one day, I will see Jesus look at me, smile, applaud and say, "Well done! Well done!" (Matthew 25:23). And I want to take as many folks with me as I can!

How do we know how powerful God is?

There are three characteristics of God that we cannot possibly fully understand: His infinite knowledge, His infinite presence, and His infinite power.

These are often labeled by the following three words: God's omniscience (He completely knows all things), His omnipresence (He is completely everywhere at all times), and His omnipotence (He can do absolutely anything He desires to do).

In Psalm 139, the writer describes each of these three. He gets caught up in wonder at his amazing God and describes:

* God's omniscience (Psalm 139:1-6)

* God's omnipresence (Psalm 139:7-12)

* God's omnipotence (Psalm 139:13-16)

Well, if you were the writer, how would you illustrate God's power (omnipotence)? I know how I would. I love looking into a clear night sky and trying to imagine the size of space. I love getting lost in how BIG it is out there. And, then I think about the fact that my Father in Heaven spoke everything into existence in 6 days.

But, that's not how God moved the Psalmist to describe His omnipotence (His infinite power). He had the Psalmist describe his power this way ... our formation in our mother's womb. It's as if God is saying:

"Hey, look at the stars in the night's skies. That's pretty incredible, but I can do something even better. In fact, while I spoke the stars into existence, there was a part of Creation where I actually got my hands dirty. Remember how I scooped up some dirt and personally crafted Adam? And, then I did surgery on Adam and personally created Eve? Well, my personal, powerful involvement in the creation of mankind didn't stop there. I continue to express My infinite power by actively being involved in the formation of every single baby in its mother's womb."

Psalm 139:13-18 (New Living Translation)

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it.

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

16 You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out

before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

18 I can’t even count them;

they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,

you are still with me!

And, then God sent His ultimate expression of power and love when Jesus died on the cross for us and rose again on the third day.

What should be our response to such power and love from our God? The most natural response is simply to love Him back.

Matthew 22:37-38 (New Living Translation)

"Jesus replied, 'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment."

When we think of how powerfully God has moved on our behalf from the moment we were formed in our mother's womb until today and when we come to a greater understanding of just how much He loves us, loving Him back is the most natural response imaginable.

Will that be your response today?

Reflections on my Murray Half Marathon Race

I approached this day much more relaxed than my previous two half marathons. I think it's just experience. I also think it has to do with the fact that I'm not trying to bust any records at this point. I'm still just enjoying the fact that I can compete in a 13.1 mile race and finish it in a respectable time.

I got about 5 1/2 hours sleep the night before the race. That was plenty. I woke up and downed a bagel and hydrated. In fact, I drank quite a bit of water the day before the race so I approached the beginning of the race properly hydrated.

There were about 12 adults and children from Westside Baptist that had gathered to run in one of the races that morning. From what I observed, each of them did incredibly well and had a fantastic time in their respective race.

There were 336 other half marathoners that began to gather near the Start Line at 6:50am. I began to get a little jittery. This was the moment I had been preparing for and anticipating for a few months. The race was about to begin. How would it play out? How would I do? Would I make wise choices on when to drink water and/or Gatorade at the water stops? (I didn't want to get waterlogged but also didn't want to get dehydrated which is easy to do on long runs.) Would I finally cross the Finish Line in less than 2 hours? All of those questions and more swirled through my mind.

There was no gun or horn (at least not that I heard) to begin the race. Yet, as all of our eyes were fixed on the runners up ahead near the Start Line, I noticed that the front of the pack began to move forward and then take off. The race had started!!! I slowly got into a jog and crossed the Start Line as I pushed the button on my watch to begin tracking my race.

The first few miles were remarkably easy. I kept my pace at a comfortable speed (I guessed around 9:45 a mile) and I was a little surprised at how effortless it was. I wasn't wearing my heart rate monitor but based upon my breathing, my body was ready for this race. 

Kim took this picture at mile 11.5

As I climbed the hill on Highway 641 and completed mile 4, I was beginning to feel a little winded. I expected this. My pace and breathing were still under control, though, so I maintained. However, I also started to feel like I needed to drop by one of the porta-potties (hey, runners talk about everything! lol). I stopped for a quick pitstop at mile 6 and only lost fractions of a minute.

Unfortunately, as I approached the halfway point, it began to hit me that I was running out of steam. I suspect that was due to: 1) mismanaging my hydration levels probably due to the heat and 2) not having enough long runs over 6 miles in my recent training.

As I approached the 7 1/2 mile mark, I found myself almost panicking. I was looking ahead and hoping/praying that there was a water stop. My mouth and lips were really getting dry. I wasn't feeling dizzy so I wasn't worried about any medical emergencies. I just knew that I was blowing my chance to finish in a sub-2 hour time. I suspected that my significant drop in energy was due to the fact that I wasn't getting enough liquid in my body to replace what I was losing in sweat.

I think I stopped to walk the first time as I was working on mile 8. My average pace had looked so good up to that point. But, I was watching my average pace slowly creep up the more I had to stop and walk. The hills on miles 8 and 9 weren't helping either!

For the remainder of the run, I stopped to walk quite a bit. I tried to walk a few seconds to no more than 30 seconds at a time. The crowds on the side of the road were growing and their cheers were really helping. I even smiled as I periodically recognized someone from Westside Baptist Church. Seeing my family and a group of church members around mile 11.5 was so refreshing. But, the frequent walking kept happening. Wwhen you've run out of gas ... well ... you've run out of gas.

I couldn't have been more pleased to see the Finish Line! I was toasted ... but when it was all said and done, I was still pleased with my overall time. Maybe I'll get a sub-2 hour finish time in my next half marathon.

Here are the numbers:

Time it took me to complete the race - 2:12.09 (2 hours, 12 minutes, 9 seconds)

My personal gps map created during the race.
Green signifies faster speeds.
Dark red shows where I walked.

Paces per mile:

Mile 1 - 9:17

Mile 2 - 9:31

Mile 3 - 9:34

Mile 4 - 9:12

Mile 5 - 9:05

Mile 6 - 9:50

Mile 7 - 9:39

Mile 8 - 10:10

Mile 9 - 10:30

Mile 10 - 10:47

Mile 11 - 11:09

Mile 12 - 10:43

Mile 13 - 11:23

Last .1 mile - 9'34"

337 = total half marathoners

162nd place = my ranking among all racers (161 runners in front of me; 175 behind me)

136 = total male runners

92th place = my ranking among male runners (91 male runners in front; 44 behind me)

20 = total male runners 40-44 years of age

13th place = my ranking among these runners (12 in front; 7 behind me)