What is Love?

What exactly is Love?

This whole love thing has been working on me for a while now. Basically all of my life. The simple concept of love has left me speechless time and time again. As funny as it sounds, it's the most extreme and real thing a person can be a part of in this world. Hate never got us anywhere, but anytime love begins to rise up from the ashes of the broken the whole world seems to hold their breath and watch. I'm a hopeless romantic. My future wife is going to be that girl that has to put up with all kinds of encouragement,  love letters, flowers, etc. I also do my best to be the kind of man that loves all of those around me. It's difficult. There is nothing more challenging to the human race than the pursuit of a lifestyle of love. 

Love will make you do some crazy things. 

My Grandfather lost his sanity in one of the worst wars our country has ever seen. Vietnam cost my Grandfather everything. Papa had even been a very devout follower of Jesus before he went to war and left the faith shortly after his return to the states. When he came home he beat my Mom quite often because of his PTSD. My Mother is one of the greatest examples of Love that I have ever seen because of the way she handled my Grandfather. Later in life after she got married and moved out he became deathly ill and weak because of Parkinson's Disease. He lived the last 13 years of his life totally dependent on others. My Mother hated the thought of him in a nursing home so we kept him in our home off and on for quite a while. All Mom did was show him love through the actions of dressing him, feeding him, and making sure that he had a safe place to sleep.

The last time he came to stay with us, he stayed 5 days and then passed away. It was totally unexpected. He died peacefully over the course of that sunny Wednesday. My Mother was the only one by his side the whole time. We laid him to rest in Panama City and later that week, when my Mother was going through the one suitcase he had to his name, she found this letter from him to his family:

Dear Kim and Karen (his daughters),

I love you very equally.

I know that I have been a burden on you.

Remember the good old days and be brave.

I believe in Jesus as my Redeemer, Savior, and that his blood covers my sins.

Love,

Al

My Grandfather is now in Heaven with his Lord and Savior. Because of an example set by his daughter he came to know the one who is Love in the last days of his life. My Mother was well within her worldly rights to let my Grandfather die lonely in a hospital bed because of the things he had done to her. Instead she picked up the cross and the lifestyle of Love that she knew was right and he received the ultimate gift because of it.

In Matthew chapter 25, verses 31 through 46 we read about the separating of the faithful and the unfaithful on judgement day. What's interesting to me about this passage is that Jesus never asks those being judged about which rules they followed or didn't. All He tells them is that the faithful loved Him through the way they loved others and the unfaithful didn't. Our faith isn't about following a bunch of rules. At it's core it is about loving God and loving people. Listen to the words of Jesus in this next passage and you'll understand what I mean:

Matthew chapter 22, verses 36 through 40 says this: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Everything hangs on those two commandments. At it's core, this is what it means to be a Christ-follower.

Love is action and lifestyle. My Mother understood that. She didn't lean on the worlds understanding of Love when it came to deciding the way my Grandfather would live his last years. She understood that real love meant action and taking in the sick, homeless, hurting, hungry old man that was her Father, despite everything that had happened between them.

So I've got a question for you. If we all started loving like that, even when it goes against all human reasoning, what kind of an impact would it have on the world around us? I can promise you this... It would be different.

D.L.

The point at which we step out of our comfort zone in obedience to God is the point that He begins to shine through us and impact those around us.

I always wondered why the Bible was full of crazy people. People that would march their only sons up a mountain and sacrifice them. People that would get rid of all but 300 men in their army and then go up against a force that should have stomped the original amount of troops. People that would give up their lives to follow a hobo that was teaching a seemingly ridiculous doctrine. People that would give up their lives for a God they couldn't see.

Christians are pretty extreme people. At least... we should be.

The sentence at the beginning of this post was a thought that occurred to me in a Bible study a couple nights ago. My comfort zone is a nice place but I'm beginning to understand that if I want to be of much real use to God and His kingdom, it's a place I'm going to have to abandon for the most part.

A couple years ago I had a knock down drag out with my best friend. I had been done wrong and I forgave and moved on, but I didn't ever want to talk to him again. As a matter of fact I didn't talk to him for 3 months. The thing is, I forgave him in my heart and mind but I never said the words to him and I didn't feel "comfortable" doing so. Through a dream God told me to approach this friend and forgive him in person. I wasn't too up on the idea, but the next day I contacted him and we met at one of our old favorite hangout spots; Johnney O'Quigleys Ale House and Bar. We sat down at the bar and through a nice long conversation we forgave and forgot and it was all good. A year and a half later I led that friend to Christ in my basement... To this day he is my most loyal and trusted friend. All of this because of stepping out of the comfort zone.

Obedience goes a long way. Obedience will often call you out of your comfort zone, but the outcome of your obedience will be more than worth it for you and the Kingdom of God. Have faith and take the step.

D.L.

Sorry this took so long to write y'all. I hope you get something out of it. The thought hit me about a month ago and I've had the mountains on my mind. Keep going in your walk with God. 
-D.L.


Take a look at the terrain of your life.

I stood in the low valley somewhere in Western Montana. I looked at the mountain before me. It was big, no doubt; and it's size and potential to kill me if I slipped the wrong way scared me a little bit. I put the fear out. I had long ago heard that courage isn't the absence of fear, but rather your control over it, and I made that quote a part of my daily life and walk with God. I controlled it as I took the first step. It wasn't a shear face that I was climbing, but rather an extremely steep slope. In spots it was pretty much a shear face but that was rare. I was wearing combat boots, fatigue pants, long johns, a hoodie and a jacket, and on my back was a heavy barrel Armalite AR-15 and a backpack loaded with ammo and gatorade. On my hip was a knife, a Taurus 9mm 24/7 OSS pistol, and 3 mags of 9mm ammo. The weight combined with the slope had my legs burning halfway up and I kept going, stopping at intervals to catch my breath. Finally I made it to the top and sat down on a rock that stabbed me in the butt. I sat down in the grass and looked out over the valley I had been in, thanking God for it and the climb I had conquered. Then, after a long rest, I turned to see the valley that I was headed towards and started the downhill climb.

   --One of my Montana mountains(Didn't climb this particular one).

Life is a lot like the terrain of Montana. It has wide, beautiful valleys and steep intimidating mounds of rock and earth that we call mountains. Valleys are where everything is awesome and life seems like it's never been better and getting better all the time. The valley is flat, and even though you know the mountain is coming sooner or later you enjoy the less tiring walk. It seems like it'll go on forever until one day you hit the steep slope and begin the hardest climb of your life.

The mountain is hard to conquer because it is ten times more physically wearing. The weight of your day to day life (the necessities) hang on you and pull down on you. Every now and then you stop just for a weekend to escape reality and catch your breath, then you dig in and keep climbing. It goes on forever until you reach the top and you realize that all that work and hurt was for this... The most beautiful view a man or woman could ever have. You understand things about the mountain and the previous valley that you never could have understood before, because now clarity comes and it all clicks together.

Then you head down... to the next valley and the next mountain that looms miles and miles away.

Reading the gospels, I get the feeling that Jesus liked mountains; probably more than I do. Jesus encountered one mountain in particular. It was the one he climbed when He was in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by the devil. The whole time we see Jesus fighting back with the Word of God. Take into consideration that He WAS human and He needed food. This wasn't an easy thing for Him. Matthew 4:8(NIV) tells us: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus told the devil to hit the road (in no uncertain terms) and the climb was over. The Bible goes on to tell us that Angels came and attended him.

Jesus encountered mountains too. He set an example for us in hard times to stay with His word and keep climbing. As Christians we are supposed to live up to that example.

Obedience. What a powerful word. The ramifications of not obeying can be devastating. Do you remember when you were a little kid and you disobeyed your parents and got a spanking for it. That's a devastating thing for a little kid. It was for me at least. Especially when my Dad had to spank me. When I disobeyed and my Dad would spank me I knew I had failed my hero and greatest role-model; I had failed the one that I wanted to be when I grew up. It was the absolute worst thing I could have done for him and myself. Eventually I grew up and learned not to disobey him. The worst thing I do these days is forget to record my oil changes and run off with his tools, which reminds me; Dad, if you're reading this I put your 4 screwdrivers back in the toolbox.

So what about when you did obey as a kid? Do you remember getting the pat on the back, in whatever form it may have come? For me, I'm a verbal person and an auditory learner, which means I like to hear it. If it's bad, ugly, good, or great I have to hear it to learn it best. Just my Dad's voice telling me "You've done good, goober." was all I needed to hear to get that I was on the right track. When you're on the right track you get those signs along the way that let you know to keep going the way you're going.

It works the same way in life with God. I have two stories about obeying God and and I'll make them short and sweet. First, I had just been, for lack of a better word, betrayed by two of the closest people to me. Over the next 3 months God began to whisper to me about forgiving them. Not just forgiving them in my own mind and heart but confronting them and forgiving them face-to-face. I obeyed God's voice and one of those people has come to know Christ as Lord and Savior partially because of my and my family's influence. The second story goes like this: I have always had two dreams. One is to be a youth pastor and missionary. The other was to be a Green Beret in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. The second dream was one that I came up with myself, and after years and years of running from God's plan of ministry, and chasing after being a soldier, I got some bad news. Because of health issues the Army would not accept me. So I finally gave up and obeyed God. Because I finally obeyed Him my life has not been the same since. I have never been so peaceful and sure of the path before me, and though I can't see it all, I know I'm on the right track.

You see, when I get to the end of my life I don't want to get a swat on the back and be shown what I could have done if i had just obeyed the voice of God. I don't want to ever think that I could have done better in a situation or that I could have influenced more people toward Christ if I had just listened. I want to get to the end of my life and hear "Well done my good and faithful servant." Or, as my Dad puts it, "You've done good, Goober."

Trust me, having faith and obeying God is the way to go. God is persistent when he speaks. You can't mistake his voice. When you think you hear Him speaking pray about it and meditate on it and talk to older, smarter people about it and read the Bible. After you've given it time and done all these things; when you're certain it's God's voice, take the step. When you do, it benefits you as much as it benefits the kingdom of God. Even in the storms you'll have a peace that even you won't understand. Walk the path. Obey.

The Sobering Realization

So a couple days ago I was sitting in the church conference room, alone, just typing up stuff on my computer and going about my business when a sudden realization hit me like a ton of bricks. This was it: "You're not even supposed to be here." It made me a bit emotional. I could feel the Holy Spirit's presence. And the voice in my head was right. I wasn't supposed to be there. I am not supposed to be where I am today.

The sudden realization of all that God has blessed me with is sobering. When I was eight I was diagnosed with a disease that was supposed to leave me both blind and deaf.  So this is my literal train of thought, sitting there in this conference room: Now... If God had not worked a miracle in my life and healed me of that incurable disease, then I would be blind and deaf right now. I would not be sitting in this church room, working; I would not have an associates degree; I would not have met this amazing girl; I wouldn't be able to hear the voices of the ones I love or see their faces; I wouldn't be able to drive; I wouldn't be able to minister to so many people the way I have; I would not be able to be independent, but would rely solely on others for my day-to-day needs, and on, and on, and on...

Needless to say, it was a freakishly sobering moment in which I saw everything that would have never been, but for the fact that God blessed me. 

My question to you is... What blessings has God given you? Evaluate them and try to think what would have been, or what would have never been but for the fact that God blessed you.

This was just a thought that I wanted to share with all of you. Think about it.

     So, I remember about three years ago, me and my old man attempted a camping trip. It went great, honestly, in my mind it couldn't have gone better. Yeah, it was freezing, and the night was long, but I learned a lot of things. I always learn a lot when I hang out with my Dad. We stayed up and talked about life, and school, and church, and a lot of things. We talked about his life and the lessons he had learned. In this conversation I carried two things away. Two life lessons that I will never forget. Leadership, and Love.


     My Dad is a great leader. He'd probably laugh at you if you told him this(He's probably reading this and laughing or at least smiling right now), but that's one of the things that makes him so great at it. He's never sought leadership, and doesn't necessarily like it when he has it, but when it has been put on him and given to him he does it well, and is always ready to give it up or pass it on. 


     Abraham Lincoln said, "The true test of a man is power."(Or something along those lines.) George Washington was another man of leadership and power. At the end of his Presidency people were beginning to toy with the idea of just making him the King. As a matter of fact, word got across the big pond to the King of England. The King of England is quoted as saying "If he gives up this power, he will be the greatest man on Earth." You see, great men and women who are great leaders don't care about their position or the amount of power they possess. They just walk in and get stuff done.


     Love is the second thing I remember from that cold night. For one, he loved me enough that halfway through the night I woke up and all but one of the blankets was on me. That was probably my bad... Anyway. My Dad has always loved my Mom. From the teenage years all the way till' now. Through the good, and the bad. Through the hard times and through the wonderful times. The bad times were bad. My Dad taught me through his example and through his stories that Love is not an emotion. I had always considered love as just a feeling. It's not. Love goes so far beyond feelings. Feelings may accompany it, but they can't sustain it or hold it up. Love means standing with someone or in a situation when nothing is going right. Whether it's with a friend, in marriage, in your job, or anywhere. 


     It's pretty cool the things you can learn when you take the time to hang out with your parents or grandparents. It goes the same with God. You can learn some awesome, crazy things when you hang out and listen to God. Just like I listen to my Earthly Father and Mother, I listen to my Heavenly Father. You can learn a lot from both. Take the time.

The Truth

     I have to tell you all before hand. What I'm about to say doesn't just go out to those who aren't Christians. I hope a few do read it and it stays with them, but this is just as much, if not more so, for believers in Christ. I've considered myself a Christian all of my life and what I'm about to cover didn't hit me until recently. So here we go...


     The truth. I hate not knowing it. Not knowing the truth is suspenseful, harsh, and therefore, can bring out the worst in me. I'm sure it's that way for many of you as well. The suspense of not knowing what the doctor will say, not knowing your test grade, or not knowing what that potential boyfriend or girlfriend's answer will be. 


     No matter how extreme the issue, it sucks to not know the truth. 


     I have always considered myself a Christ follower. Since my earliest recollection I've done my best to make God the center of my life, and His Word, the determining factor in my everyday decisions. My teenage years were a roller-coaster ride in my spiritual life, not because I wavered in my belief in Jesus as my Saviour, but because I failed to make God the head of my life in every arena. There were many times that I let my personal desire for sinful things overtake my desire to say yes to God. I've realized that I can't waver like this. The road is narrow, and I've got to stay on it. You'd be surprised how clearly you hear God's voice when you begin to have the self-control to say yes to God and no to sin. Does that mean I should never screw up? No. I screw up everyday. I'm just at the place now that I'm doing all I can to follow Christ and stay away from sin. 

     With that being said, the good news isn't that Christ came, died, and rose again so that I can live life the way I want to and not go to hell. The good news is that: I don't have to live life under the bondage of sin. 


     You see? Sin prohibits us from seeing the truth. And if we ever did our honest to God best to stay away from it, then we could see things the prophets longed to see but never did. Matthew 13:10-11 says this:


¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
 ¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.


     Now, Jesus is speaking to the disciples here. The disciples "genuinely followed Christ." This doesn't mean that they didn't screw up. They were genuine followers of Christ though, that did everything within their power to live right and this opened them to truths and mysteries of the kingdom that were beyond their wildest dreams. 


     For a long time in my life, during those teenage years, I heard all the stories of the Bible and I heard the teaching of some good, Christ-following men. But I never understood anything of depth. Sure, I understood the ten commandments and stuff like that, but there was no getting to the deep stuff because I had let sin take a hold in my life and I let addictions take over. My inability to let go of sin and genuinely follow Christ prohibited me from seeing the meat of the Word of God. A perfect passage to explain what I'm trying to get across can be read in Matthew 13:14-15:



¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
   “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
   they hardly hear with their ears,
   and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
   hear with their ears,
   understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.


     In conclusion, I think we all hate not knowing the truth. It set me free when I finally realized the only thing keeping from it was myself and my inability to say no to sin and yes to God. Again, the good news is not that I can live the way I want because of the sacrifice of Christ, but rather that because of the sacrifice He made, I don't have to live life under a bondage of sin. I've seen the truth and it's indescribable. That's how awesome it is. Don't choose to go on with meaningless worldly pleasures. Choose to say yes to Christ and a life layed down for Him.