Category Archives: Love

What Size of Glass?

Some friends were at my house the other day. I asked them if they’d like some lemonade, and they said they would. When I opened the fridge, I saw there wasn’t going to be any lemonade left if I poured each of us a big glass. For a moment, my hands reached for three small glasses in the cabinet. Then it hit me. These are my friends. I grabbed three big glasses, and poured each of us a large glass of lemonade. I was going to give less than the most. And sure it was just lemonade, but how is that mirror to my life? When I handed them the big glasses, I felt a joy inside for giving them more instead of less.

We always have the option to give people the small glass. But I want to hand my friends a great refreshing glass of real friendship every time we are together. I want to surprise them with the best. So what is it about giving a glass of lemonade that resonates with our hearts?

I believe it really has everything to do with who we want to be. In life, you’re either giving or taking. We’re living selflessly or selfishly. When we give less to others than our best, we are changed on the inside by this kind of giving. Giving our best though changes something within us. Something as small as glass of lemonade when given with love does something inside of our hearts. In time, giving out of love transforms us. I think that is why Jesus wants us to give. Not because we have to give someone the large glass of lemonade, but because we want to.

I admire the heart of King David after he had sinned against the Lord in 2 Samuel 24. David knew what he had done was wrong, and he cried out and told God that he would rather be punished than his nation face the Lord’s judgment. When the Lord acted mercifully towards David, he wanted to respond to God by offering thanks to him. David went to buy a threshing floor belonging to a man named, Araunah, to offer the Lord a burnt offering. When Araunah met David, he responded to him in this way.

22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.23 Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May theLord your God accept you.”

24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

David knew the importance of giving something that costs you something. David had the opportunity to make a sacrifice that would almost be free. Instead, David insisted that he buy the threshing floor. His reason was this.

“I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

As David chose to sacrifice something costly, he was being transformed more into the Lord’s image. Giving sacrificially from a God-pleasing desire unlocks a new relationship with others.

What do you have to give someone today? Your attention? Your time? A hand written note? What size of glass will you give to others today?

This Life Matters

Some things I want to share tonight. Yes, it is late, but I feel like this is worth sharing with you.

* Life isn’t a game. It can be enjoyed with lots of laughter, joy, and passion…but this thing called life isn’t a game, it isn’t a joke. The Author of Life gives us all a certain number of days to live. At the end, we give an account for what we’ve done in our time here. I have made a lot of really bad decisions in my life, but I want to make less as time goes on. Jesus is the only one who can save me on the day of judgment, but I want to live a life that God would say is full of love, selflessness, pure and blameless. Not so I can be forgiven, but because I appreciate the forgiveness and more importantly, because I love the Lord. If you feel like your life and choices don’t matter, then fast forward a few years to your funeral and ask yourself what kind of legacy do you want to pass on. I hope my legacy is love, faith, courage, authentic, and passionate. Jesus is worth it. So are the people He’a connected me to.

* You have an enemy. You may not feel like you love yourself, but Satan hates you and wants to destroy you, your family, and all those you love. Satan is stronger than you and I, but Jesus who is greater and lives inside the Christian is stronger than Satan. Don’t talk trash to or bout the Devil. Read the book of Jude.Submit to God, and let Him fight the battle for you against Satan. Your enemy, the Devil, wants to kill, steal, and destroy but Jesus has come that you and I have life to the full.

* God loves you relentlessly. For His glory. For your redemption. For the world. Jesus wants all of every single one of us.

* Ever person who asks Jesus to heal or save them gets healed of saved in the gospels. Call out to your Savior.

* God created you beautiful. Powerful. On purpose. With love. Because He likes you. With joy. Complex and simple. For Himself.

* This life matters. The cross is real. The tomb is empty. There is hope all every one of us.

Tonight’s Recap: Why I LOVE 20 Park

Tonight, we started the new series, ENTOURAGE at The Well. I am so excited right now I can’t sleep. So I’m going to write about how blessed I am. I want to look back and remember this in the days to come. I want to let people know that being real is possible, and that God really is faithful.

So here we go. Tonight, I preached on Friendship. (That’s what your entourage is.) Who you roll with. “Who is in? Who is out? You only go as far as they’ll go with you.”

Jesus tells us in John 15:9, “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now, remain in my love.”

Why is it so important to remain? The biggest reason I could find is that I will not bear the fruit of love in my life while I am living only from my own amount of love. When I live in God’s love, His love overflows into my life, and I am loving people from a deeper well, from a truer place, from a love that is not conditioned based. I need to remain in the love of Christ, because if I don’t, then I will live out of what I have or don’t have, instead of claiming and giving out of what Jesus has given me.

“Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint.” Proverbs 29:18

How important is the vision of your life? What is restraint? Is it the ability to choose wisely with friends? Is it the ability to say no to other’s? I would say, “Where there is no vision, the people settle for mediocre friendships. They expect so little from themselves, and believe they deserve very little from a friend.

That’s not the life I want. I want a great life. That means I need courage. “Be strong and courageous and do not be afraid.” Joshua 1 (the whole chapter has that phrase on repeat). It takes true courage to go to the place of vulnerability, where you reveal who you are to another and invite them into your life. It takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable. However, for the friendship to go further, someone has to risk. Otherwise, there is little hope of change.

Well, I gave some strong challenges to all in the room on going to the next level in friendships. Here is the amazing thing. People started going there with each other after the message: They sat down and shared their hearts. It feels so special to be a part of a group that takes the Word of God seriously enough to do what it says.

So let me praise 20 Park (the college ministry of Park Plaza).

*They are teachable. They come hungry for the Word of God.

*They are real. Quite possibly the most real group be ever known.

*They love to serve others.

They love to be challenged, and they respond to the challenges.

*They are creative. They are fun. They laugh. ALOT.

I’m blessed! Thank you God for an amazing night