Time to clean out your closets:: Part 4 of Passionate Love series

 

  “There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love. We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.”  (1 John 4:18)

 

Last week I wrote how love has the run of the house.  God desires us to feel His presence and passionate love in our homes and in our hearts.

In a home, there’s more than likely a closet.  Most probably wish we had more space in them!  There’s a few closets in our house that have all sorts of things thrown in there so when company comes over, they won’t see the clutter and mess.  Often when our kids are instructed to pick up and clean their room, stuff is pushed under the bed or thrown on the floor in their closet and the door quickly shut.  I confess.  I do that to the laundry room and hall closet.  Am I the only one? 

Simply because of the humans we are, there’s a good chance there’s a closet or two in our soul crammed with things we try to cover over or hide.  Our fears and failures.

We’ll stuff fears of rejection and the future, failures and deep regret into those closets that we keep tightly shut in the inside.  They’re thrown in there to either hide them or forget about them or both.  

But John says fear is crippling. We’re not fully formed in love when we fear. 

We’re drawn to love – love and to be loved. 

Passionately.

God’s love is so passionate, he sacrificed his Son on the cross for our sins.

Knowing and trusting that love-promise, open that door and start throwing out fear and get rid of all the junk that you’ve been hiding and keeping locked up inside. 

It’s spring cleaning time.  It’s time for new life.  It’s time to get rid of dead things and make room for life to enjoy.   Clean out your soul and get rid of fear and fill it with love because there’s no room in love for fear.

Then don’t open your door to allow fear to creep back in!  Believe that God’s love takes away ALL fears – fear of rejection, fear of the judgement from others and - fear of Judgement day and death. 

Instead have assurance, faith and trust that God’s love covers all.  When we invite Him into our lives, our home, our closets and every nook and cranny in our lives, Love will banish fear.

God’s love will banish fear.

Rest on that this week as we approach Holy Week next week…the climax of the greatest love story of all.

Today’s prayer

Let love have the run of the house Part 3 Passionate Love Series

In the kitchen it sounds like thunder up above me.  Not a spring thunderstorm outside, but the heavy pattering of kids feet running down the hall on the floor above me.  Back and forth and quick stops then I hear the stomping again.  What sounded like a dinosaur trampling room to room, I hear scream-squeals that somehow make me know they’re ones of joy from our younger daughter as big brother chases her with his Nerf gun in hand.

They don’t have a worry in their world and are simply loving the moment.  Even though they don’t realize it, they’re loving on each other in the security of the four walls around them.

That is what comes to my mind when I read from the Message 1 John 4:17-18 as I continue this series about God’s passionate love for us.

“God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and matures in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.”

How beautiful is the trust that GOD IS LOVE takes up permanent residence in your life.  God comes on in when you welcome Him and becomes part of your HOME.  It makes you want to run free and wild and in and out of every room, up and down the stairs with childlike glee. 

We’re free of worry and full of joy like our children do as they run crazy in their home with no fear.  The Holy Spirit is living proof that He wants us to live in Him and He in us.

I not only want that love and the Holy Spirit running through me, but also through our home.  In the four walls of each room and in each member of our family’s hearts.

“Love has the run of the house…”  that’s what I want in our house.  As a mom, I need to try to make our home a safe place where love is found in every nook and cranny along with the dust balls.  I desire for the love Jesus has for our kids instilled in every nook and cranny in their soul.  Put reminders of God’s promises on posters, scripture stickers on the mirrors, read it out loud at the dinner table.  Pray for them, over them, with them.  Tell them over and over how much they’re loved.  Love well.  Love with devotion.

And love on them as they mature so their “standing in this world is identical with Christ’s”.

Let love…like the passionate love God has for us…have run of your house, your home, your heart.

God.Loves.Deeply. Rely on Him.

It was love at first sight to see the bud of a flower after the winter we’ve had (although they’re calling for more snow tomorrow here in the South).  It was joy to see them stretch out their praise to their Creator this morning.

I’m continuing to mull over the words found in 1 John 4:13-22 as I continue this little series of posts about the passionate love God has for us.  The instructions John gives is to know and rely on God caught my attention.

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.”

1 John 4:16 

I looked that verse up in different translations and found this...God wants to make sure we know ‘how much he loves us’, ‘he loves us dearly’, ‘we know the love that God has for us, we’re to trust that love,’ and ‘rely on the love God has for us’.

Rely on His love.   

Deeply.

He loves relentlessly, recklessly, and wreckfully and by that He’s lately been turning my little world around and is messing up plans I had of my own.

When God’s Spirit is telling you to stop going the same way you’ve been going for a long time and turn a new direction, it’s rattling, unnerving, unpredictable.  Relying on God’s love is what gets you to turn and take that step down this new, narrow road. 

I must rely on His will, rely on His plan, rely on His promises, rely on His protection, rely on His forgiveness - when I let go of trust while turning my head back where I had been -wanting to run back. 

I must rely on the cross.  Who would ever want to rely on a cross?  Rely on planks of wood where hands and feet were nailed into?  Rely on the cross that held the man whose blood poured onto it?  Rely on the cross when Jesus, the love-forevermore and sinless man died on it?  Rely on that cross because it hung our Savior?

I must rely on Jesus whom the cross held.

Rely on Jesus.  Not myself.

There’s been plenty of times when I’ve relied on myself when I try to do life my way.  I say, “I’ve got things under control, God.  I’ll handle this one on my own.  Everything’s a smooth ride at the moment and life’s on cruise control, so I don’t need you right now.” 

Or how about when I’m stressed and make poor decisions out of reaction or choose to avoid pain or suffering by carrying someone else’s cross instead of being willing to carry someone’s burden like Jesus did?  The human that I am, I tried to do everything I can to avoid suffering.  I’m not proud of that.  For so long I’ve want my world to be peachy-keen and do everything possible to avoid anything that may cause me to suffer. 

Jesus wants me to trust in and rely on Him, not trust in and rely on myself. 

Whatever that may be.  Trust in suffering, trust in joy.  Rely on His promises, rely on Him.

I cannot hope to follow Christ and live life for Him if I’m trusting and relying on myself and if I’m not trusting in, and relying on Christ.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus relied on the cross to hold the massive weight of all of our sins he was carrying - mine included.  While on the cross, Jesus relied on his Father’s promise of being victorious by crushing satan.  Jesus trusted on the promise of eternal life at the right hand of His Father. 

Jesus relied on the passionate love of His Father.

Jesus wants us to rely on and trust in the passionate love he lavishes on us.

Relying on relishing on that promise…that God loves us deeply, passionately.

Un-expectantly Amushed: Part 2 of Passionate Love

As I mentioned last week, I’m going to do a little series to focus of the passionate love God has for us as Holy Week draws near.   While doing this, I’m personally going to try to dissect 1 John 4:13-21 over the next few weeks and you’re welcome to read, and even more, share your thoughts on these verses in the comments at the end.    

 ^“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.”   (1 John 4:13-15)

 

As a mom, I want to think of myself as a “know-it-all” when it comes to raising our kids…   or I confess I at least try to make myself appear that way to them. But honestly, I know for sure I’m not a ‘knower of all things’.  No way near.  They know I don’t know everything about numerical expressions or am able to have a conversation speaking fluently in Spanish with someone like they can and do, but it’s true I am older and hopefully a little wiser than our children when it comes to knowing some things about life.  I simply hope I can instill some of what I do know to be true in their hearts and minds. 

Speaking of knowing and wisdom, a few weeks ago I was reading and studying 1 John 4 coupled with the wisdom of those verse from Tim Keller.  One of the questions he asked was, “Why are personal knowledge and personal acknowledgement of God’s character essential to knowing him?”

I started thinking about that.  I got out my notebook and jotted down my answer: “Knowledge is the fact or state of knowing.  Acknowledge is to admit to be real or true.  We must know His Word which is the Truth and must admit we believe His Word is true.”

I then read Tim’s answer to his question: “Knowledge of God includes the acknowledgement of God: who He is and how we are to respond to Him.”   Well said.

Then, I closed my journal and went on my way to check things off my to do list.  When I got back home, I had a little time before my daughter got home from school and began writing a post for SMCW.   Somehow, the phrase “turn the blind eye” came to my mind but I honestly needed to look for the definition of it to make sure I was using it correctly (which I wasn’t, by the way.)  “Turn the blind eye” means “to knowingly refuse to acknowledge something which you know to be real.”

Wow.  Isn’t it so amazing how you can read something in the Bible in the morning and then later in the day, out of the middle of nowhere, something that relates to that verse un-expectantly ambushes you?  I was just reading about the difference between knowledge and acknowledge earlier that day and a few hours later, a phrase just “pops in my head” so I look it up and the definition of it includes both of those words! 

Then I stop in my tracks and think: When have I turned my blind eye in my life?  When have I chosen not to acknowledge God and His Word even though I know it’s real?  I was too embarrassed to speak my faith out loud.  I feared what other’s might think of me.  I took the praise from people of a personal accomplishment instead of giving credit to God.  I think “Oh, I know what’s best – I’m in control of my life” and ignore the Spirit that’s saying,  “Only God is the One who knows all things.  You knowingly refused to acknowledge Me even though you know I’m real.”

Passio.  Passion.  Christ suffered on the cross because of the times I’ve refused to acknowledge or ignore Him.  This I know.

I’ve learned there’s such a huge distinction between knowing and acknowledging. To acknowledge God and His Word is way different from knowing some stories in the Bible you’ve heard and read.  Acknowledging is admitting and proclaiming: God you are God. God, You gave me Your Spirit.  God, I testify that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. 

When we read, say and believe God’s Word and ask His Spirit to dwell in us, that is when God lives in us. 

As we’re approaching the week that leads up to Jesus’ crucifixion, I’m acknowledging that He selflessly and passionately sacrificed Himself for us - simply because he passionately loves us.  

He loves us with passion.

Acknowledge God for who He is; don’t just know about Him.  Daily take time to acknowledge and tell Him and others that He is Who He says He is and that He is good.

What’s your definition of passion? Part 1 of Passionate Love

I love the warmer temperatures quickly melted away all the ice that shut our town down for a few days.

I love that it’s basketball March Madness time!

I love that one of our cars is finally fixed because we’ve had to operate on one car for 2 weeks.

The words, “I love…” have become so common, almost ordinary.  But love is anything but ordinary because it can be both simple and complex.

So, what does love mean?  Love can be defined as a passionate affection for someone.  Yes, for someone.

Passionate.  I think that’s a pretty strong word.  It sounds expressive, even striking.  Maybe because it is.

When I think of the word passionate, I think it’s something, or someone, you strongly desire or an intense love for something that energizes you.

Except for the Linguistics class I took in college, I don’t normally look for the origin of words, even though I’ve always thought the history of words pretty fascinating.  But I looked up the origin of the word ‘passion’.  It’s a Latin word “passio” which means “Christ’s suffering on the cross.”

“Christ’s suffering on the cross” is the original definition of passion. 

Christ’s suffering on the cross is passionate love.  A passion like no other.

Over the past month, I’ve been studying the Bible with some other women as we’ve been dissecting the book of 1 John in the New Testament.  There’s been many parts in this book that have been jumping out to me and I’m feeling the need to write it out so I don’t forget it.  I think the Spirit has something to do with this especially because Holy Week and Jesus’ resurrection is drawing near. 

The words God, love, live, know, Jesus, to name a few keep showing up in those few verses. Woven throughout all of those sentences is the thread of the passion God has for us.   

And the beautiful thing I’m discovering is when we experience Jesus’ passionate love, it ignites the passions we have in ourselves.

Through the next month, I’m going to try unpacking what this passionate love is all about in 1 John 4:13-21 and you’re welcome to join me in this journey.  I’m planning to post on Mondays so keep a look out.

 

Until then, marinate these words…. 

^“This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us.  Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  And he has given us this command:Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.”   1 John 4:13-21 (NIV)

An icy surprise

Holding onto this promise as our area in NC is still recovering from our unexpected ice storm that took down many homes, trees, wire lines and left thousands without power…and still do not have power. 

Even though the ice caused many troubles, there was still beauty in the mess.  There was beauty God’s ice sculptures but also to see and be part of community joining together to clean up.  Neighbors who you hardly see crawl out of their homes with chainsaws, shovels, gloves, helping hands, feet and backs along with chuckles and conversations.  People opening their homes, sofas, kitchens and heat to those without it just around the corner.

We’re ever so grateful for all the people who work overtime and going out of their way to help the needs of those in our area.

 

Let us consider this icy surprise a trust opportunity that spring is right around the corner, cold days are going to melt away and we will have new life and exciting new beginnings!