Christianity is a lifestyle of self-denial and discipline: one of total surrender and obedience to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Some view this as a constraining, boring, and old fashioned way of life. But we only have one life to live. We can seek to find our own way of life, or we can give our life back to God and discover true abundance.

“Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget not all His benefits”  — Psalm 103:2

These words were spoken by King David of Israel. He knew God and followed after the heart of God. He was a frail, flawed human like all of us, but because he kept God first on the throne of his heart, he experienced a life full of God’s presence and intervention. I would like to mention several of the benefits of living the Christian life in an effort to persuade some and challenge others:

God gives me lasting peace in a tumultuous world. It guards my heart and mind from fear, worry and anxiety. It is not fragile and fleeting, but beyond my understanding and stronger than life’s storms and uncertainties. He gives rest for the weary soul.

His joy is my strength – not just physical strength, but the part of me which will outlast this aging body. Jesus delivers from depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. He renews my mind, which can be so easily polluted with all the things I see and hear. He gives a sound mind that is not tormented with suicidal thoughts.

God gives wonderful counsel free of charge in His Word. When I apply it to my life, the result is that I live a more abundant life. I have great help in my relationships, such as marriage, children, parents, co-workers, friends, and yes, even enemies. That’s what life is really made up of – relationships – and having a personal one with Jesus makes all earthly ones even better. His office is always open, and He is never on vacation.

Jesus is ready, willing, and able to give all types of healing – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I don’t need a psychic, medium, or holistic therapist to overcharge me for their services. I can activate my God-given faith and access His healing power.

God has knowledge of and provides for all of my needs. He supplies them from His great resources and riches. Most of the time I am unaware of how He is constantly doing this, and often I have to trade my worries in for a whole-hearted trust in Him.

I choose to indulge in good, clean fun. There may be many other self-indulging options available that offer unrestrained but temporary pleasures, but God lets me choose – and when I choose, I also live with the consequences. Consequently, I’ve chosen to live a life free of regrets, guilt, hurt relationships, or punishment. When I also confess and turn from wickedness, I will be given an escape from God’s judgment against sin.

I experience pure love from its very source, which is God. Love that never fails and is so deep, so wide, and so forgiving that it’s difficult to understand, because there is nothing like it anywhere else in life. I know God as my heavenly father, which makes me one of His sons. Even if your father was abusive, neglectful or absent from the home, God is a kind and everlasting Father whose family is always growing because He keeps adopting more children.

Jesus has empowered me to live a lifestyle free from self-destructive addictions like smoking, alcohol, drugs, pornography, gossip, and complaining. I reap the benefits of a moral lifestyle with no regrets. God has cleaned the proverbial skeletons out of the closet of my life. And when new ones die and want to make their grave in my heart, Jesus comes with resurrection power over past hurts, pain, guilt, and shame.

There are many more examples, but perhaps this sampling will give you an idea of why I am convinced that being a Christian, not just claiming the title, is the best life possible!

Late! If there is one thing that I can’t stand, it’s being late. I usually leave early so that doesn’t happen. But then I worry I am too early, and whoever I am meeting won’t be ready for me. Isn’t that as rude as being late? Well, that’s not a concern today. No sir, today I am good and late. I try to subdue the panic rising in me as I drive. “What if I get in trouble? I’ll say that I was… oh! I’ll say I was helping an old lady cross the road. Yeah, can’t get in trouble if I’m late because of that! That is awful, though, shame on me for planning to lie like that.” I finally convince my other eye to open and equipped with two bloodshot eyes I realize my socks don’t match. “Great! Just great.” I save everyone else the trouble and yell at myself as I sit at a red light. “Come on, Amanda! Why can’t you get your act together?” I drum my palms against the steering wheel; I feel a little shaky as panic starts to get the best of me.

Wait! Life has a tendency to put us through the wringer. Yet in the midst of my panic in the car, I realized God doesn’t ask us to beat ourselves up for our mistakes. Our God is a God of peace, trust, and perfect love. I don’t propose being totally still in the presence of God when you are supposed to be driving. But we have the option to calm our spirits in His presence and remember that He is God. He has control of our lives and He knows what is going on. It’s a bit like a boat ride that Jesus and his disciples took. While Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat, a storm arose of such severe degree that even the experienced fishermen were sure they were going to die. Their boat was full of water, so they woke Jesus up:

“And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”  –Mark 4:38-40

It may seem to us like our ship is sinking and God is sleeping on the job. But we don’t need to be afraid! We can have perfect peace, even in the midst of all the troubles that life can throw at us. With just a word from His mouth or a touch of His hand, Jesus can restore the peace in your heart. No matter what storms may rage around us, Jesus has the power to calm the turmoil, inside and out.

But what is really ours? Our bodies aren’t our bodies: they are the temple of God.  Our lives are not our lives: they have been bought with a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19 – 20)  God had a plan for your life before you were even born. (Jeremiah 1:5) Just like a rented apartment, these things are ours to use for a time, but someday we will have to answer to the owner.

Though we may behave like spoiled children, snatching control of what’s ours from the hands of a loving parent, God does not respond in kind. Our all knowing and yet all loving Heavenly Father does not force us to submit to His plans for our life. But by surrendering to His plans, God offers us an eternity in paradise, in His presence, and freedom from the punishment that we deserve. And not only does He promise us Heaven after this life, He promises that when we love Him and commit “our” lives to Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. (Psalms 37:4-5) What a loving God! He rejoices in our obedience. He loves us. We are his children.

It reminds me of a scene from the musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof. Tevye, the main character is introducing his five daughters to a guest.  He embraces one after another proclaiming, “This one’s mine! And this one’s mine!” Just like Tevye, or any other caring parent, God loves his children!  When we surrender our will to His, to what is best for us, we reap the benefits.  God loves to give good gifts to His children. He wants to embrace us and exclaim, “This one’s mine!”

Being human, we pick up ways that we should act from the way other people act. It’s human nature. A little boy watches his dad as his dad treats his wife with compassion and love, and later he shows the same commitment to his own wife. The problem is that the world we are grabbing stuff from has tainted commitment. No longer does one man marry one woman and stay with her the rest of his life. He cheats on her, sleeps around and ends up divorcing her. Commitment only lasts a night. Jesus never intended this. Jesus doesn’t want us to have this kind of mindset. He wants us to be commited to other people, and more importantly, He wants us to be committed to Him.

Job is someone in the Bible who shows true commitment. He was committed to God even when the devil came along and took everything he had. He was committed to God even when his wife came and cursed him for not cursing God. He was committed to God in everything, and in the end he was rewarded for it. That’s the true meaning of commitment. That’s the kind of commitment I dream for. Not just with a lovely young lady someday but also with my heavenly father — the one who died on the cross to save me, the one that was whipped, beaten and bruised for me. He loved us so much and was so committed to us that he bled and died for us.

Just as I would gladly give my life for the person God gives me, I want to be so committed to God that even if I am threatened with death I’ll stand and say, “I am committed to Jesus and nothing you say can sway me from the love I have for him.” To some people this may seem impossible, but to me this is reality. It’s time to learn the true meaning of commitment. No more games. God is looking for true, loving, honest people to be completely one hundred percent sold out for him.

Lastly, God wants us to be committed to the harvest with the same mindset and the same exuberance as we would with that significant other. We need to be sold out for this. Because the harvest is large but the labourers are few. We need to stand up and be the men and women God has made us to be. We need to have the passion and drive to be committed to this no matter what.

Committed for life. That’s what I want.

For the past month I’ve been pondering what to write about. Usually I know well in advance, and my thoughts have clear direction. However, this entire month I struggled with what God wanted me to say—what He was trying to teach me. I would land on a subject only to change my mind soon after. Spiritually, I felt pulled in a thousand different directions, which was probably because my heart has been heavy. It wasn’t until last night that I received my breakthrough.

One ten in the morning. I decide to take the emotional plunge and wade through what’s been ailing my heart—what’s been keeping me from the joy I find in Jesus everyday. I think about the last couple of weeks. Though I had been showered with amazing preaching, though I was fed the word of God and wrapped in praise and worship, I still ended up at the altar, crying my eyes out. And though I should have been rejoicing, I found myself heavy and couldn’t understand why. Ah, the ever-present question of why. Why? Why, God? But instead of asking why, I decide to think about what. What? The memories come flooding to me. Tears fill my eyes, as the weight in my heart grows.

I ask God, when I am able to speak, “Lord, what do I do? I realize now it’s been me all along carrying this weight. I’m letting it go. I’m giving it to you. I’m letting you take control again. But, Jesus, what do I do? What happens when I try and try, but no matter what I do, nothing changes? What do I do when I’ve tried to maintain relationships with people but they fall apart? What do I do when someone hurts me by hurting You? What do I do when differences can’t be reconciled? I know You’re in control, and I trust You. I won’t worry, but is there anything humanly possible that I can do? Search my heart, Lord, is there something that I missed? Is there something I need to say? Is there something I should do? What do I do?”

I feel the Lord’s arms wrap around me as He warmly tells me, “You love them.”

“That’s it?”

“You love them.”

“Really?”

“Really. Love each and every one like I do. And remember how much I love you. You might find the weight lighter. Never did I say that I expected you to be perfect. That’s My job.”

God’s Love. Could it really be that simple? I wipe the tears from my eyes. I think about every situation that weighs on me. I add God’s love to the equation. Suddenly, every issue fades to gray. My heart begins to feel lighter. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.”

If any of you are like me, we all go through times when everything in our lives seems to fall apart. We all go through rumble strips—periods where God will bring you through a trial to teach you. Note that I said bring you. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in all of our problems that we forget that God will bring us through. We get so busy that we forget that He is always with us; we are never alone. In the meantime, what can we do? We can love. Even when we feel that we’ve been wronged and that people should love us, we can still love others. In Matthew 7:12 Jesus clearly states, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” Similarly Luke 10:27 says, “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” And again this concept is stated in Luke 6:31.

Never should we find an excuse not to love our neighbors. It sounds so simple, but it’s something we forget to do sometimes. The important thing is, it’s not about us—it’s about Jesus. It’s about His sacrifice, His love, His commandments. God truly loves us, so what reason do we have not to love others? Do you have enemies? Love them. Do you have friends? Love them. Do you have co-workers? Love them. We are commanded by God to love. The more you let God take control, the more you love, and the more you do unto others as you would have them do unto you—the more true, God-given joy you will feel.

So it’s simple: how many people have you loved today?

One man had been watching the entire ordeal. He ran down the street the opposite way of Jesus. As he ran He thought, “if this Jesus can heal others, why couldn’t he heal my friend back home?” He grabbed one of his friends who was heading toward Jesus. “Come help me get my friend so we can bring him to Jesus as well!” As they dashed down the road together, more and more people were arriving. How would they get to Jesus now!? As they ran inside their friend looked at them like crazy people. “What are you two doing?” You see, this man was lame and bed ridden for the rest of his life. His friends didn’t care about this, however. They grabbed his bed and ran out the door as fast as their feet could carry them. As they neared the house where Jesus was speaking they were obviously getting very weary, but there was also a need to push through the crowd. They just couldn’t make it through. Then they saw stairs leading to the roof.

As they scraped away at the roof tiles, blood flowing from their hands, all they could think about was getting their friend to Jesus. When they were finally finished they lowered him slowly, landing right in front of Jesus. I can just imagine the man’s reaction to this — I would have been terrified! But Jesus, in all His love, looked down at him and said “thy sins are forgiven thee… Arise, take up thy bed, and go your way to your house.”

This story always seemed to amaze me, but this time as I read it something struck home. So many times I’ve heard that we have to be the ones to push through to Jesus — which is completely true — but sometimes we have to be carried. Sometimes our brother or sister or friend has to be the one to lift us up and lower us down in front of Jesus when we are “spiritually paralyzed.” Our friends can be the ones to lift us up in prayer. They can stand in the gap, or intercede, on our behalf. If I am too weak, I know I’d love for one of my friends to come along and bring me to Jesus. When I am strong enough, I’ll push through on my own. But if I’m not, then I know that I need a friend to carry me to Jesus. It’s just like the song says, “I will carry you to Jesus.”

So I challenge you: if one of your friends is spiritually paralyzed, don’t be afraid to carry them to Jesus. You might be the one who keeps them from becoming spiritually dead.

Psalm 147:4 says “He counts the stars and calls them all by name.” The human eye cannot perceive or even begin to fathom the intensity and magnitude of the universe. It is a wonder that God knows exactly the number of stars in the universe, but that’s not all — He also knows them by name. As scripture illuminates the characteristics and attributes of God, we find that He cares about everything He created. He named the uncountable multitude of stars, and it makes me stand in awe to think that He cares even more meticulously for us.

A verse earlier the psalmist states that God will heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds. A phrase fills my mind as I read those two verses together: He cares. It’s so easy to forget that God, our infinite creator, cares about what we care about. What hurts us, breaks us, and concerns us… concerns Him. I think we put God in a box sometimes. We limit Him on what He really can do or what He’s really like, because we don’t think He applies to us or is meant for us. The truth is: God is meant for us and He cares about us very much.

His love is deeper than the deepest ocean or the depths of the earth. He knows every one of us by name, He created us, and all He desires is for us to cast everything on Him and trust Him with our very lives — to trust Him with our hurts and with our joy. For Him to be the center of everything we live for. He wants to be the core of our lives. When all else fails or we feel alone, He is always there. That’s another attribute of His: He is patient. He lets us do what we want, but when we want Him we don’t have to search to the ends of the earth. He’s already there, waiting for us to choose Him. He cares about the very workings of our minds, He cares about every aspect of our life. We can run to God because God is the only one who will fulfill our longing. His love surpasses anything we can find. Do not put God in a box, do not limit Him on how much He can be a part of your life. He created the whole universe — the stars, galaxies, and moons — and yet He cares about us.

“Yes, I do.”
“Seriously? Wow, that’s a lot.”
“Hey man, I love it. I love every second of it.”
“Every Sunday, wow…”

The love and passion that I hold for my church and my relationship with God left my friend awestruck. However, love is only half of the story. While my love for God and the church is important, there is another driving factor in my walk with God: Commitment. Without both, our walk with God will not succeed. As we journey down the straight and narrow, the devil is trying to pull us off our holy path. He doesn’t particularly care which side he pulls us off of. Cold hearted commitment which lacks the energy of love is just as dangerous as passionate love with no commitment. God is desirous of a holy Bride who is both stubbornly committed and feverishly in love.

Was my statistics friend correct? Is going to church every Sunday a lot? Is that too big of a commitment? As I divulged earlier, I am a stats student. So let’s do a simple math equation. Say that your church has a two-hour service. Say that it takes you a half hour to get to church and a half hour to drive home. That brings us to a total of three hours. The average American watches four hours of TV a day. Personally, I do not watch much TV at all. However, there are plenty of things I do for three hours a day, and on Sundays, church is one of them.

Three hours a week is certainly not ridiculous, but our greatest example, Jesus, gave much more than that small fraction of his life. Jesus was “daily with you in the temple teaching.” Jesus wasn’t just a Sabbath saint. He was passionate about church. Today He is still “daily in the temple” teaching us, but are we there to hear Him? Maybe church isn’t available every day. But, when someone comes to meet God, you can count on Him being there. He is a church junky. He loves it. On the other hand, He is committed to it. I cannot remember the last church or house service where God has not blessed me. That alone is more than enough reason to both love and commit to it.

Our sacrifices are often not as demanding as we think. Our small offering of time does not compare with the price paid by many who gave their lives for His kingdom. As one preacher says, “In the day of judgment you will stand next to people whose life’s blood ran down the streets of their cities.” Commitment will lead you to do these things for God. Love will lead you to do them with Him. You must have both to be a part of the Bride fit for The King.

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Unity is a successive step, an extension of the Mosaic Law. Jesus stated both simply: the law of Moses teaches us to (1) love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and (2) love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37,39). He stated the principle of unity as ‘one-ness’ with each other. He implies identification, communication, and mutual support with these phrases. If God’s laws can be distilled to principles of love, then unity must be a side effect, for it displays the effects of an atmosphere of brotherly love.

If the above argument has not convinced you that unity is an important part of being an effective Christ-follower, I encourage you to search out every Biblical mention of unity’s opposite: division. You will find that there is no place in the house of God for divisive attitudes or actions. There is plenty of room for discussion and even disagreements without being divisive about it. Without unity a group of people will scatter to the wind; with unity that same group can remain when all else has fallen. We will revisit the effects of unity in later articles.

The New Free Thinkers also think that unity is important to a successful spiritual life — so much so that we are sponsoring a series of prayer meetings in the Northeast United States to encourage church youth groups (and others) to get in unity with each other. This project, called Unitiative, will endeavor connect groups of Christian young people to God and to other young people who share their desire to live for God. To find a meeting near you, or to volunteer to host a meeting, visit:

JoinTheUnitiative.com

He taught about the love that God has for us, and how John had this revelation. That is why the apostle John was called “John the Beloved”. John, unlike any of the other disciples, saw Jesus all the way to the cross and saw his friend — his master, his God — die for him. It was a gruesome death unfit for any human, let alone the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Through the agony and suffering he watched his savior endure, John learned how much Jesus loved him. He would be forever changed by the knowledge that Jesus loved him enough to endure it all for him, to pay the ultimate price, to be the sacrifice to end all others. Jesus bled and died to relinquish the hold that sin had upon our lives: He gave His all that I might be free!

As I stand back and consider the impact that this unprecedented act has upon my life, it reminds me how insignificant my petty arguments are with my brothers and sisters. If Jesus could have held every sin against me and yet chose to forgive, how much more should I forgive my brothers? As it says in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Then Jesus said in Matt 22:39, “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”  From these scriptures we see that we cannot love God if we do not love our neighbor — but we cannot love our neighbor if we don’t love ourselves.

Bro. Urshan said it this way: “We cannot love God if we don’t love others, and we cannot love others if we don’t love ourself”, so we must love ourselves, but not with a selfish love. We must not allow what we see in ourselves, our faults, failures and shortcomings to mitigate what God wants to do through us.

We can find encouragement in the fact that Jesus loves us despite our failures, and He knows us better than we know ourselves anyway. Personally, I am going to let God heal me of the things which prevent me from loving myself, and learn how to love myself unselfishly in the process that He has for me. I challenge you to do the same! Remember, He loves you!

He loves you. He loves you!

Apply this idea to your life. What changes when you know and are convinced that God loves you?