Loving God

    Jesus said, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’  Matthew 22:37 (MSG)

I have often thought that if I only spoke with my husband once a week, if our conversations were one sided and I didn't listen to him, if everything I said to him was written by someone else and if I didn't put any extra effort into spending time with him, would that make him happy?  Would we have a relationship or would I just be his wife in name only? 

That's about my relationship with my husband...but what about Jesus?  Several times in scripture, the church is referenced as the Bride of Christ, so have you ever wondered what loving God and being the Bride of Christ really means practically?  Or have you thought that its a nice idea in theory, but in real life the hour we spend in church each week should be enough to keep him happy?

This week, I am sharing a quote by author Francis Chan, which really speaks to me about my part in maintaining my relationship with God.

    “When you are truly in love, you go to great lengths to be with the one you love. You’ll drive for hours to be together, even if it’s only for a short while. You don’t mind staying up late to talk. Walking in the rain is romantic, not annoying. You’ll willingly spend a small fortune on the one you’re crazy about. When you are apart from each other, it’s painful, even miserable. He or she is all you think about; you jump at any chance to be together. We need to be like this with God.”

May our ears be ready to hear God's voice, may our hearts be open to his heart, and may we fall in love with Jesus a little more every day.

No Ordinary Sunday

Around the world, next Sunday is just an ordinary Sunday but In the Christian Church calendar, next Sunday is Pentecost. 

Pentecost celebrates the occasion of the Holy Spirit first descending upon Christ’s disciples. It is also the last day of the Easter season—meaning it falls on the fiftieth day after Easter. Pentecost is also proclaimed as the birth of the church. 

I believe church isn’t just the thing we do for an hour and a bit on Sunday but something we are every day of the week. We, the Church, are the bride of Christ and we represent him in our families, our communities and our workplaces.  

I also reckon we need to keep meeting together because that is the time when we hear the word of God explained to us, we get to thank Jesus for being with us in the past week, and we have the opportunity to encourage each other as we walk with Jesus in the coming week.  And when we walk with Jesus, we have his power and wisdom as we take his love to those who are hurting, those who need forgiveness and to those who are without hope.

But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.  Acts 1:8