Do you love me?

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”\He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep."      John 21:15-17

Initial reading of that text makes us think Jesus wants to know if Peter loves him, and how much Peter loves him.  More than that, Jesus wants Peter to know he loves Jesus and how much he loves Jesus. 

We consider the point in the earthly ministry of Jesus, when this event was taking place, and perhaps we can better understand the reason for Jesus questioning Peter.  Time was growing short for Jesus and with the lurking shadow of the cross in his immediate future, Peter himself needed to do some serious thinking about the rest of his own personal journey with the Lord.  

Love is an important quality in the relationship Jesus shared with his followers. That kind of love is key in building our lives into a relationship with God the Father, as well as building relationships with other people .

Genesis 29 tells the story of how Jacob loved Rachel, and was willing to serve seven years in return for her hand in marriage. The Bible says, "they seemed to him like only a few days, because of the love he had for her."

Ruth 4 tells of the love Ruth had for her mother-in-law, Naomi.

1 Samuel tells how much Jonathan loved David, even giving him his own robe and sword and bow.

In Peter's case, his love for Jesus was affirmed time and again, even noting that Peter was offended that Jesus questioned that love for the third time.  Love like Peter had for the Lord can be seen in the work of Peter as a gospel preacher and an Apostle, but also in the way he lived and the way he died for the Lord. 

Do you love Jesus?  Would you be willing to be devoted to the Savior, like Peter?  Love is easy to say, but sometimes hard to do.  Please do not forget that our love for Jesus is tested by our obedience to his teaching, and by our complete surrender to his will. 

Near the end of the New Testament, John wrote, "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."   1 John 3:18

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The Extra Spark

From time to time I hear Christians make statements like, "I try to get involved and stay involved, I pray, I attend worship, and I am a daily Bible reader, yet I keep searching for that 'extra spark' that I see in the lives of other Christians.  They are the ones who seem more dedicated, more determined, and very often more successful in living their lives as true children of God."

For the most part, I want to tell people with these feelings there are a lot of us still in a maturing process, and we must understand there are others that may be more advanced in their Christian walk.  One message we all must understand is that God doesn't make "cookie cutter" Christians, meaning we aren't all just alike. 

All that being said, I confess to you I often share the sentiments of those in the first paragraph.  Above all,  I want to be more and more like Jesus, but there is a part of me that still seeks what they call the "extra spark."  I am depending on the suggestions of several blog writers to come up with the following list of things which should be beneficial to all of us who desire to keep growing in the Lord.  Perhaps there is something here that can help you and me.

1.  Spend some quality time with God regularly. This includes some intimate prayer time, but much more than that. It's a time when you can do some looking deep inside to find things that call for repentance and change. A time when you are so close to God you are comfortable sharing everything with him. 

2.  Develop a more intense love for people.  You already know some people are easy to love, some are not.  Biblical instruction is for us to love them all, even our enemies. Reaching even further than that, are you comfortable with the love you have for the homeless, or those of another race, or even those who may come to your country as a terrorist?  When you love those people, you will pray for them, and allow them to see your servant attitude, and share with them your story involving salvation from Jesus. 

3.  Become completely involved in worship.  No that doesn't mean you have to be a worship leader. It means that worship is the place where you as a Christian know you can meet God and share in fellowship with him.  Make those moments special.  Give yourself completely to singing the songs of praise, wrap in the truth of God's message, communicate your love for Jesus as you commune with the body of Christ.  These are special moments and it is important that you receive and give of yourself as you worship.

These are only three areas which can provide the extra spark. Maybe we will look at more in a later blog, but please, give these three a try.  In addition, think of things that may be lacking in your life, and visualize how much more enriched your Christian life would be if they became a reality for you. More than anything else, devote yourself to be a growing and maturing child of the King.  He died for you to be all that you can be. 

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Prayers to pray

"Prayers to pray for specific occasions" 

When you are sick:

Fill my heart, Lord, with love for you and love for others;

               And while I am sick and my body is weak, let me know of your presence.

Your concern for your people is made known in all you do for us;

               Today I need to recognize it is only through you that I can know peace and healing.

Deliver me from my pain as I gracefully make room for the strength you bring;

               And let me be your instrument to share with others, that you are always near.

Through Jesus, my Lord.  Amen

When you need sleep:

Lord, you give refreshing sleep for your children and rest when we have worked until we can work no longer.  My sleeplessness may be caused by worry and I accept the gift of your peace to help me relax. It may be from struggles with broken relationships and I plead for a proper attitude of love for others. Perhaps it is because of my concern for my family and I pray that I may learn to be more forgiving and supportive for those I love. Whatever reason is causing this sleepless night, fill me with the awareness of your shepherding nearness, and I thank you for allowing me to be one of your sheep. Amen

When you awaken in the morning:

Today is a new day!  It comes as a blessing from you, Lord.  It is filled with opportunity, with activity, with responsibility, and maybe lots of other things, but help me to know it is filled with you.  There may be moments today when I am so busy I don't remember it is by your grace that I have the blessing of working to support my family. There will be moments when I am tempted to solve problems or make decisions based on my own intelligence and ability. I will have moments today that are high, and some when I sink low.  I pray every moment today, Lord, you will fill me with your Spirit, as I, with  hope and assurance, know that you take every step with me.  Amen

When you pray for a friend:

Thank you for friends, Lord.  I couldn't make it through life without friends. Today I have a special request of you in my dealings with one friend.   He is a good guy, Lord, but he doesn't know you. He and I have talked about you on numerous occasions, but up to this point he chooses to be on his own.  I am trying to be a good example for him.  He knows I am praying for him. I invite him to worship services, but so far......nothing.  My heart is heavy for him, as you know Lord.  So I pray that I may be a better example, that I may demonstrate to him through my life the love of Jesus, and that I may impress on him the joys of eternal life.  I want him to know you, Lord, not to put a star in my crown, but because he needs to meet Jesus at the foot of the cross, and join the rest of your children around the throne. Soften his heart. Let him know you desire to live inside him. Bring him to newness of life. Amen

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Useful Instruments

I read an interesting story about the renowned musical instruments made by, Antonio Stradivari.  Five of the instruments created by the work of his hands, were given to the Library of Congress. There are three violins, one violin-cello and a viola.  The really interesting part is seen in the conditions by which these instruments were donated. Stradivari gave these special instruments with orders for them to be played at some annual concerts through the years.

Contrast that with another similar story.  A man by the name of Paganini left his famous violin to the Italian city of Genoa. Over the years, that violin has been safely kept inside a glass display case for all to see.  Since the donation and display of that instrument, it has not been touched by human hands.  Therefore, after a number of years, it was discovered the violin had deteriorated.  Because of the lack of use, the once famous and valuable violin, became useless and without value.  It wasn't used, and it deteriorated. 

Everyone now understands the conditions by which Stradivari donated his musical instruments. He was smart in ordering them to be taken from their place of safety and put into the hands of gifted musicians from time to time, and they are still useful, quality musical instruments to this day. 

There is a lesson here for those of us in the Lord's church.  Paul teaches in Romans 12 the usefulness of every member of the body of Christ.  Look at verses 3-6:  " For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us."

As members of the body of Christ, we are all given gifts of the Spirit. These gifts enable us to function in our own gifted areas for the benefit of the whole church. All are important, all are useful, all are necessary for the church to function well.  The importance of each doing his/her part is seen in the teaching that a failure of one or some to do their part leads to the diminished value of the whole body. 

Likewise, when we consider the collective members of the church, functioning properly, the real effectiveness  and success comes only when we are obedient to the commands which instruct us to take the gospel to the entire world. Read Matthew 28:19-20.  The very nature of the gospel, and the commandments for us to share it with the world, demonstrate the need for us to be continually active to make the message known.  A failure on our part to tell others about Jesus will bring the same results as Paganini's violin, sealed up in a display case until it became useless. 

The beauty of the message occurs when God's people, by grace, equipped with his gifts, share the story which brings eternal life. 

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Back to Church

If you follow any religious news stories you already know that lots of churches are throwing their support into a program which has been named "National Back to Church Sunday."  I have read the letters of intent from several churches and articles from others which are using the date of September 15 for their congregations to join in an effort to get previous church goers to reactivate their attendance at a local church. 

Some of this is aligned with the back to school season, as some folks have utilized their summer time for vacations, camps, summer sports, or other activities that put participation in church on the back burner. Deeper intent and meaning is seen in those who are reaching out to those who have neglected church things all together for years. 

In an article this week by ChurchLeaders.com, there are a couple of examples given to help us get the idea of this thrust of outreach to bring people back to church. Here are those examples:

A group in McKinney, Texas is hosting a multi-church, multi-denominational outreach event for Back to Church Sunday in a local park, welcoming everyone in the city looking for a church home. The informal picnic is designed to allow attendees to mingle with others, enjoy special speakers and live music and connect with churches that suit their needs. Event co-chair Rolanda Greer told the local area that she wants the people of McKinney to know that they "care not only about their physical well-being and their mental well-being, but we also care about their spiritual well-being."

"In Champaign County in Illinois, nearly 20 churches are joining forces to promote Back to Church Sunday in the city of Urbana. Mike Stewart, pastor of Urbana First Christian Church, and Jim Lillibridge, pastor of Urbana United Methodist, agreed that the event is not merely an attendance drive, but is intended to show the community that different congregations can work together to promote the common goal of the Christian church: spreading the gospel of Jesus."

I commend these groups for their effort, their togetherness, and above all their willingness to once again reach out for those who, for whatever reason, have left the church.  The part that really started me to thinking is when I wondered about the methods, plans, or people from my church that might be involved in such an outreach, and why haven't we been openly active in a program like this before now?

My point is this....most churches do not have a plan or intentions in place to minister to those people who are suddenly missing from our fellowship.  We assume it's the preacher's job to keep up with all that, or perhaps elders should be the only ones involved since they are shepherds of the flock.  I am saying the National Back to Church campaign on September 15 is something in which we can participate, or, if we so choose, we can and should individually reach out to people who need to be led back to the church family and to the Lord. 

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