Cup of Love

I love you...i LOVE you...I love YOU...This seems to be a pretty common saying in our society, any where from a drunk college guy-"I love you man!" To a 14 year old girl-"I love him mom and hes gonna be my babies daddy!"(daytime t.v. is out of control). Its apparent that we as a culture have lost the true translation of the affirmation of "Love".
What does it really mean to be "In Love" or "To Love"? Can you be in love with someone and then fall out of love with someone? The world defines Love in so many ways- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/love I have a hard time agreeing with any of these definitions. Why? Well, our society has done a horrible job portraying and living out what love truly is. Statistics show that almost 1 out of every 2 marriages end in divorce. Doesn't our marriage vows say "till death do us part"? Why do we have such a hard time truly loving each other? I think it because we have such a hard time loving our selves! Why do we have such a hard time loving ourselves? Because we don't know what "LOVE" is! 1 John 4:8 "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." This is our foundation, then we go into the true definition of "LOVE"- 1 Cor. 13:⁴-7 "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
In my opinion, if the world got a hold of this it would change everything. Is it gonna be easy? Absolutely not! Pastor Mark has been teaching on "If it were easy" and it really brings out that its not easy, but you know whats not easy? Divorce, growing up in a single parent home, depression, abuse, being unloved and neglected! The list goes on and on but this is what happens when people settle for temporary happiness. I have experienced this and so much more first hand that i know nobody should have to experience it.
The first step-Fall head over heals for Jesus Christ! I know that i am gonna be happy, my future wife is gonna more than happy, my kids are gonna be more than happy because i am not taking the easy way. I can say i can "LOVE" unconditionally because i "LOVE" God unconditionally! He is first, if your not happy without something, its not gonna make you happy having it. One thing God spoke to me in the last couple months-"the more uncomfortable you make yourself now, the more comfortable i will make you in the future". It might not be easy right now, but the more you push forth and put God first, the more he is gonna bless you in the future and you know what, it will be easier than if you take the easy way. God Loves you more than anything, it only makes sense we Love him more than anything!

"Jesus & coffee" OR "Coffee & jesus"

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...we all have heard that noise an hour before we actually want to get out of bed. Mine is actually "more than a feeling" by Boston! but still its that dreaded alarm clock. If your like me, you set the coffee pot to go off 10 minutes before your alarm so the house is filled with that ever-so wonderful aroma of the most wonderful bean in the world! In such an instant your day is determined, today do i long for that first cup of Sumatra and hope the rest of the day falls into place? Or today do i "Mathew ^6:33 seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." and know in my heart that "²⁴ This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
In our modern society were the world never stops turning with our "Crackberry's", "Twitter" and the "Energizer Bunny". We get so caught up in how am I going to get everything done, be every where and please every one. We try so hard to do it on our own and forget the one thing. To "SEEK FIRST the kingdom of GOD" When we think about that first cup of coffee in the morning and put Christ on the back burner what are we really doing? We are enabling him to do his promise. It doesnt say seek all these things and all these things will be added unto you! NO! it says "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." I am not saying to not have that cup of coffee in the morning cause sometimes if i dont have my cup of BLACK goodness i am ready to go rounds with someone. But prioritize your life to set yourself up for success.
God has given you the desires in your life, he has given me a love for coffee(as well as the rest of my church) and he wants us to enjoy those pleasures, but the second we rise in the morning and our focus has shifting from God to self-pleasure we have picked up an idol in our life "Exodus 4: ⁴ “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea." You start cracking into the "TOP TEN" then you are really screwing yourself.
If you want to start seeing a change in your life, in your family and in your generation, we need to start with the basics. JESUS. Thats it, everything else will fall into place.

Decaf faith

Faith(dictionary)-Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.

Faith(Hebrews 11:1)-^1-2The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see.

I have been stuck on FAITH for quite awhile now and am pondering what FAITH truly is. Working with a lot of atheist i see how confused the secular world really is. In a country where our money says "In God we Trust" but people are harassed and even killed for believing in our only absolute Truth. Countless times i have heard the word FAITH come out of a non-believers mouth stating a trust in things not known or seen in a truth not tested and tried. That kinda seems to be the re-occurring argument with God that "why would i have FAITH in something that is not known or seen. "

Beginning over a year ago i wandered into this life called "CHRISTIANITY", not really knowing what i was getting into but knowing that i needed to find purpose...Isn't that what anybody really wants in life? Purpose? It took a simple mindset to find out my true purpose...a Child-like mindset if you would. (Math. 11^:25 At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.) People try so hard to learn everything and educate themselves by the ways of the world, but the truth is your not gonna find the truth and any textbook. I'm not saying you cant be educated, please be educated, go to college and further yourselves. I am saying don't go trying to find purpose and absolute truth in textbooks and college professors.

So what does this all come down to? FAITH-defined only by biblical truth. So many people claim to have FAITH, but what they have is a false hope in what might be. FAITH is TRUST in God that no matter what, he is our provider and will take care of any need. (Math:^25-26"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.)

Have you ever wondered what "TRUTH" is? Maybe you need to find out what "FAITH" is! To find out what your real purpose in life is its gonna take some FAITH, a childlike faith. You give FAITH a month, and you will wake up transformed a year later, and realize that you didn't wander into this life...YOU WERE CALLED!!! I didn't wander into this life...I WAS CALLED!!!