A Little Prince

He stood alone. The little prince was lost in a world so full of wonderful, beautiful things. He saw bright colors, red, yellow, blue, green. All of the beauty he had imagined was here. He tasted sweet foods. They filled his mouth with flavors that could only be joy. All of it was so wonderful, and yet as he was swept up in the flow of beauty he realized that here he stood alone. All of these amazing things, and yet the most amazing thing of all was missing. The King was not there. The prince was alone here, and without the king all of the colors were just gray, and all of the foods were bitter sand. Without the King the world of amazing beauty fell as ash. There was nothing here, so the prince left. He would find the King, for there there would be beauty. Not the fading beauty that the prince had just seen, but the true lasting beauty of the King.

Where the little prince went next was just as ugly, and just as beautiful. People with twisted faces offered him things he wished he could have. Some offered fruits that looked like they would burst in the princes mouth, some offered statues, that looked alive. Still others offered other things, some happiness, some peace, and some offered life. The prince saw these things, and he tasted the fruits. He asked about the happiness that they offered. They said that it was pure ecstasy, but the prince heard a whisper in his ear. This is not Me. He turned away and left. The hungry merchants shouting at him as he walked away. This also was not the King, and only the King could offer true joy, and true peace. Only the King’s fruits were truly good.

The prince continued his journey, and soon he came to the hills of rolling gold. Now he knew that the king was close. He had kept moving through the dark places, and now he had come to the light where the King was. The prince started to run. He would wait no longer. He came over a hill, and there was the king in all of his true beauty. The king turned to the prince and ran toward him. The two met and the king held the prince in his arms. “You have done well, my prince.” said the King. The prince freed himself, and fell down. “You do not know what you are saying my king, I was lost. I thought the world was beauty, and I nearly stayed!” The King lifted the prince off of the ground, “I know, my prince, but when the time came you saw the truth, you heard my voice, and left. That is why I said you have done well.”

Don’t Miss Love

Psalm 86:15 — “But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”

In my opinion one of the most important parts of who God is is love. It is so important! There are whole books of the Bible about love (If you don’t believe me read Hosea), and much of the New Testament is about this great command: to love. It is not only part of who God is, but it is also one of our duties as Christians, no, it should be part of our lifestyle.

The sad thing is that many Christians seem to miss this important message. We are called to love all people, even those who are standing in the gates of Hell. We are also called to be loved by God.

Zephaniah 3:17 — “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Loving, and walking in love have benefits for the believer, and I think the powerful Christian life isn’t possible without it. Colossians says that “love ties everything together perfectly,” and I John says that if you love you know God. Love also empowers us: “perfect love drives out fear.”

1 Corinthians 13:13 — “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Love is so important don’t miss it by getting caught up in fear, hate, or pain.

The Tragedy of Hate

The church is supposed to represent Jesus here on earth, and it does a very good job of that, but ,being made of humans, it is not perfect. One of the most painful scars that affects the church is hate. At all times hate is wrong. It affects everyone, the hated, and the hater.

1 John 2:9 — Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.

I have had multiple people tell me how they have been hurt by someone hating them, and we have all heard the stories about people leaving the church because they were hurt, or shunned. This has to stop. We are the body of Christ, hate isn’t in our DNA. We are supposed to love all people. Anyone can love some and hate others. Jesus puts it this way:

Matthew 5:43-48 — You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Here’s what I’m trying to say: Love everyone. Don’t hate anybody. I don’t care who they are, or what they’ve done. This is easier said than done. Could you love a murderer? Your called to. Politics have been crazy recently. Love all the politicians. Love the atheists. Love the LGBTQ people. Love the crazy conspiracy theorists. Stop hating.

Proverbs 10:12 — Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

A Message In a Bottle

You are not alone

Even when you’re so far from home

Even in the dead of night

When all around you are weapons

If you stand in the silence

Afraid to even whisper

Know that you are not alone

In the darkness let it be known

That there are those who stand

Whether beside you or behind you

Standing with you, standing for you

And let it be known here and there

That there is one who stands

And has conquered the evil of our lands

Sons and Daughters of the King

Romans 8:16 — The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.

Jesus died to let us once again enter a loving relationship with our God. Part of this relationship is being a child of God. We are called Children of God so many times that it is undeniable. One of the most famous parables (the prodigal son) talks about this father child relationship. This relationship is so close. Let me explain.

Luke 11:11-13 — “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus compared our relationship with that of natural fathers and sons. All of the loving things (even common sense things) that fallible, human fathers do are less than what God does to show his love. I recently read a story about a man who had disowned his father (like the prodigal son) and was living a horrible life in order to avoid him. The man said that almost every day his father would come looking for him. Every time the son would ignore his father and leave the door unanswered. It wasn’t until the son overdosed on LSD that they were brought together. The son was in a semi-comatose state for days while his father sat by him repeatedly saying how he loved him. This is the picture of a human father that showed unrelenting love. If this father, though he was evil, knew how to love his son relentlessly, how much more will God love relentlessly. imagine how much greater God’s love is!

God loves us in a way that only He can. His love for His children is unrelenting, unashamed, amazing love!

Galatians 4:6 — Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Fear

I know that the title of this is fear, but first I need to explain love. God loves you. Cliche, I know, but its true. God has this deep, amazing love for you. John goes so far as to say that God is love. This idea is huge. If there is one thing I can tell you it is probably that. God loves you with a fierce love that is always chasing you, and always surrounding you, and always washing over you. His love is nothing like human love because it is perfect. It doesn’t rely on acts or even attitude.

Okay, now that that’s over with I can talk about fear. Fear is what holds many people back. It keeps us from sharing the good news with our friends, or stepping out in faith or changing our lives. Fear is something horrible, but there is good news. Fear can’t hold onto you. John says that perfect love casts out fear. Jesus’ love is perfect and it is surrounding you. That love can drive out all fear. God is the only thing that matters, so don’t worry about whether or not others love you. Only believe that God loves you.

The New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:17 — Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

Being a new creation has huge implications.The first thing God did during creation was say “Let there be light!” Jesus is, according to john, the light. We receive light, and as John 1:5 says “the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.) God then separated the light and dark. He does the same in us, separating death, and life, or sin and righteousness.

God called dry ground up from the deep waters. He gives us solid ground to stand on, Jesus (the cornerstone), other believers, and the Bible.

God created the lights in the skies to mark time and events. He gives us symbols of His love (personal messages, beautiful sights, human love) and He creates events that are important to us (salvation, baptism, marriage).

Song of Songs 4:1 — How How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead.

God then brought life to the world, life that he told to be fruitful and multiply. The new creation is blessed with “life” (e.g. blessings, gifts, opportunities, miracles). This life will both be fruitful (providing more “life”), and multiply (becoming more and more beneficial).

Philippians 4:19 — And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.

The last thing God did was create mankind. God recreates us. He gives us new identities and changed lives.

Genesis 1:31 — God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.

A Question of Reality

Titus 1:16 — They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

That is a strong thing to say, but it speaks very clearly. People who claim to know God, but don’t really are bad people. This is called practical atheism. Practical atheists are people who are Christian in name, but act as if they don’t know God. They may act kind, and be nice in public, but deep down they only do it for themselves and other humans.

So, what does a Christian life look like? A Christian life is one that is changed because God is there. Not just changed superficially, but really changed. Think of it this way: If God were suddenly to stop existing a practical atheist life wouldn’t change, but a Christian life would be drastically changed.

A Christian life should be changed by God, but what does that look like? It looks like a true love for others (not just a give and take love), and a true love for God. It can also look like miracles, and revelations from God. True sacrifice and fully giving oneself to God are also signs of a Christian life. If none of these are present then how is God present. If church is just a social club how is it different than basketball?

Let me finish by asking a question:

If God didn’t exist would your life change?

Diamonds in the Fields of God

Matthew 13:44 — The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

This is a beautiful illustration of God’s love for us. Let me rephrase it. We are like a diamond that a man found in the middle of an empty lot. He hid it again so that he could rightfully get it. Then, because he was so exited, he went and sold everything he owned so that he could get the lot and the diamond in it.

God didn’t just pick up the diamond and put it in his pocket, but he thought it was so precious that he should buy the entire lot. We are the diamonds that God goes above and beyond to find. He sold everything! The parable doesn’t just say that the man took half a second to admire the treasure and then moved on, no! The man stopped and then re-hid the treasure so that he could sell everything and get the treasure for himself.

The man bought the entire field. That is how much he wanted the treasure. He made sure that the treasure was rightfully his. If the man simply picked up the treasure it would be his, but the owner of the field could come find him and lay claim to the treasure. By buying the whole field the man guarantees that the treasure is his only. God buys the whole field. By doing this he makes it so that the devil, and the world can’t come and say “see that right there? It’s mine.” God “bought” all of us, not just the good part. He also took the bad part. Most of the field was dirt, but the man bought it anyway.

Matthew 13:47-48 — Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.

This New Generation.

Matthew 11:16a — To what shall I compare this generation?

I took a personality test today. It was kind of a cool experience because the results really were what I wanted to be (INFJ). It asked a bunch of questions about what I am like, and what I do, but there was one question that made me think. The test asked “Do you think that everyone’s views should be respected whether they are supported by facts or not?” The test was asking about respecting another person’s views, which we should do. It would be rude to go out onto the street, and find some helpless atheist and then start yelling to everyone “His views are wrong! He’s an idiot!” We are supposed to respect one another, even if we disagree. Disrespect, and disagreement are very different.

To disrespect someone is to not show them any love at all, and in fact show the opposite. To disagree is to think that someone is wrong. When we disrespect someone we hurt them, but when we disagree with someone we either respect them and leave it at that, or we try and have a rational argument with someone in order to build them up.

Okay, I’ve got that part done. At this point you may be thinking: I get the difference now, so what? The “so what” is the fact that the new generation (the teens) in America doesn’t seem to get that. For over 150 years the US has been striving toward a goal of complete human equality, meaning that all humans get the same amount of respect. We are closer than ever to completing this goal, but I think that we have taken this idea too far. We have gone beyond respecting and tolerating our differences, and started to ignore them.

This has been worse in certain areas of equality than others. There is immense value in our differences, they are what make us strong. We should be able to use some of our differences to build each other up. The biggest part way in which I have seen tolerance turn to ignorance is in religion. Many teens that I know don’t seem to respond when I talk about the gospel. They say something along the lines of “that’s cool.” This is the problem: we have stopped discussing our beliefs in order to find out who is right and, in the name of tolerance, started to completely disregard each other’s views.

What should we do about this? How do you argue with somebody who isn’t listening? You can’t. This is where some major verses can come into play. 1 John 3:18 says “let us not love with words or tongue” (eg reasoning, and traditional evangelism) “but with actions and in truth.” John is saying that sometimes words, and speech aren’t enough to get through to a person, we have to love them. When we love people we show them God because “God is love.”

What else can we do? If people aren’t listening to our words then the only other thing that can show them the truth is God moving. This is where healings, and powerful encounters with God come into play. We can show others who God is in even more direct ways than love. We can pray over them.