Category: LOVE

When Love Is The Way

I have to admit I’m just not a Royal Family fanatic. So, while my wife was all into the wedding last week, I could care less. However, as luck would have it (maybe with a touch of divine intervention!), I was on the treadmill at the gym when basically all that was on was the wedding. They were even spotting the wedding on ESPN! So, it was tough to ignore it. But what I did catch—THANKFULLY!!!—was Bishop Michael Curry’s amazing, unbelievable homily on the power of love. Just think about what he said…

When love is the way — unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive, when love is the way. Then no child would go to bed hungry in this world ever again. When love is the way we will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever flowing brook. When love is the way poverty will become history. When love is the way the earth will become a sanctuary. When love is the way we will lay down our swords and shields down by the riverside to study war no more. When love is the way there’s plenty good room, plenty good room for all of God’s children.

Turn off the junk TV and watch his homily on YouTube or read it here. Simply amazing!!!

As I always say, just imagine if we all walked in love, just like God commands. Just imagine what a different place this world would be!

There is nothing else I can say to touch Bishop Curry’s homily. Do yourself a favor and watch it or read it, even if you heard it already.

“There is power in love!”

Have a FANTASTIC day walking in love!!!

You Better Than This 4-Year-Old???

Watch this clip from CBS News the other night and tell me if you measure up to this 4-year-old, Austin Perine. Sadly, I certainly don’t!

Handing out food to the homeless with the message to “Show love!” Answering the question about why he does this and you get, “Because it’s the right thing to do!”

All I can say is WOW!!!

My urge now is to write about how he is following Jesus’ message to help those who need help and Jesus’ command to love. But, frankly, I feel pretty inferior to pontificate about anything. I’ve already communicated what needs communicating.

Feeling pretty inferior, and speechless, right now!

Talk is Cheap!

I think this should be the motto for many (most?) Christians (including myself!). You hear so much talk coming from Christians (including myself!) but so little action. What do I mean?

The very definition of being a “Christian” is following the “Christ”—Jesus Christ. And if there is one word that sums up Jesus, His very being, and what His entire life was about, it is (drum roll, please)—love. That simple little word that means so much but is so little put into practice. And why do I say that?

One out of every three people on this earth is a Christian. Very simply, if all those people (we; you, me, and every other Christian) followed Jesus’ command to us—This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12—the world would be a far different place. But it’s a world filled with strife, anger, and downright hatred. And I’m not talking about the world “out there,” I’m talking about the world right here. Your world. My world.

The apostle John said it best:

Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 1 John 3:18 

Translation: talk is cheap. You’re not a real Christian if you walk around in faith. You’re only a real Christian if you walk the talk—and the walk is LOVE.

There’s a reason I believe that LOVE is one of the Secrets to Life. At least life as a Christian.

Have a sensational week and try, just try, to walk more in love. And, PS, I’m telling myself that as much, or more, than I’m telling you!

Kindness (What’s That???)

What’s kindness? Good question. There’s little of it in the world today. People are more concerned about focusing on what separates us than what binds us. We may label ourselves black or white, conservative or liberal, or any other silly ways of saying how different we are. With differences basic kindness goes out the door.

Forget the “love” that God commands us to live by (“You shall love the stranger” Deuteronomy 10:19). We can’t even start with a little kindness. No, I’m not Debbie Downer. Just saying it like it is in today’s world.

Here are the facts. God commands us to love. Jesus’ one—as in ONE, 1, uno, un, ein, etc.—command to us on His death bed is LOVE (“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12). God loves us unconditionally. He loves me as much as He loves you. We are all children of God. Totally equal. Without any silly tags. We are all expected to love. If we can’t be kind to each other we certainly can’t love one another.

So, let’s take a baby step and just try to be a little kind (I’m not even saying “kinder”) to each other. Smile. Bite your tongue from saying something mean. Help someone with groceries at the supermarket. Buy someone behind you a cup of coffee. Stop from typing that mean tweet. Be kind.

Call yourself a “Christian?” Think you’re living in the Spirit of God? Here’s the acid test, including kindness.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness. Galatians 5:22 

Enjoy the weekend and… BE KIND!!!

Jesus is Shaking His Head in Disbelief and Sadness!

Another mass shooting. The worst since the killing of innocent little children in my neighboring town of Newtown, CT. Tragic. Shocking. Senseless. Horrific. Keep going. No words can adequately describe Newton or Parkland.

All Jesus can think is disbelief and sadness.

When faced with his own capture and death, Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) We keep drawing our swords and dying by them. We learn nothing. Disbelief and sadness.

I’m not a hunter or a shooting range marksman. I don’t want to force taking away anyone’s guns, although there is no place for automatic (semi or otherwise) rifles meant to do one thing and one thing only: kill people.

I just don’t understand why we can’t put our guns down. Jesus, and our Father, give us one command: love. How can we do that with a gun?

I’m sad, shocked, numb, and in disbelief. I can’t imagine how Jesus—who lived and died for us—is feeling right now.

Join me in praying, and hurting, for all those who lost a life or lost a child or brother or sister yesterday. And for all those who’s lives will never be the same.

Do You Look Outward or Inward?

There is no better question on how you live your life to ask yourself! I mean, seriously. Of course, 99.9999…% of us look outward. We look at the sex of a person, skin color, our version of “attractiveness,” etc, etc. All outside. But God told Samuel how we should be “looking:”

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

Of course, this makes sense if you stop and think about it for a minute. God created us “in His image” (Genesis 1:27). The “image” of God is not outward—He can’t look anymore like me than He does you or anyone else. God doesn’t have any kind of doppelgänger. God’s “image” is His heart and total, absolute, and unblemished unconditional love.

OK, I’ll stop the gobbledygook and abstractions and bring this down to earth and practical living.

You need to look past the outside of a person, no matter how hard that may be. You have to look “inside” a person, at their “heart.” We can only move closer to God when we start loving like God loves. And the only way to really LOVE a person is how God loves you, me, and every other person past, present, and future. Inside.

Look at the world today. Hatred, violence, abuse, etc. It’s not God(ly) because it’s all about what’s outside people, not what’s inside. The world would be a far, far different place if each one of us even made the attempt to look inside people.

Want to change the world? Start looking “inside” people. Look past the flesh. Like all of life, it’s that very simple. Remember—we complicate life. God intends it to be simple. Change starts one person at a time. Change. Look inside.

Have a GREAT rest of this weekend, wherever you are!!!

Battleground of Good and Evil

That’s our planet. Evil came out in full force in Manchester when children were very purposely fingered for death. That was evil on a very visible scale, with reporting around the globe. But evil is everywhere and its clash with good takes place every minute, everywhere on this planet.

Life has a fork in the road for all of us—actually, constant forks. One path is good and the other is evil. Most people scoff at the idea they are evil. That’s the thing about evil. It starts out as a tiny seed of doubt and/or dislike. If fed, it blooms into full blown evil.

There’s a reason God commanded us to love. And why Jesus was the message of love, both figuratively and literally. Only love keeps evil at bay. Walk in love and you keep evil at away.

Smile. Be mindful of others. Help someone in need. These may be tiny gestures but they keep you centered on the fork of love.

Whether you like it or not, or acknowledge it not, there’s a fight going on between good and evil. And you’re are part of it.

Love makes the world go round. Evil will destroy it. The choice is up to each one of us to choose.

Choose love! And have a wonderful day!

Politics & Airplanes

Hate is all around us. The politicians spew it just for the sake of it, regardless of the issue. I just watched yet another incident on an airplane where two passengers were literally duking it out in the aisle. It reminds me of the original Ghostbusters movie where the hate in New York City was feeding the ghosts. Unfortunately, this is real life and it’s not funny. We’re feeding the hate.

God gave us one commandment and that’s to love. Out of love for us, God gave His only Son. And Jesus left us with one simple command: love. It’s bad enough they hung Him on a cross. We continue the hanging every day as we just don’t love, but we actively hate.

I have said this so many times I can’t count, but change happens one person at a time. It starts with you and me. If we don’t start loving, hate will overrun us, as it is right now. You really wonder where all this hate leads.

LOVE!!! It’s not that hard. And it’s truly a key Secret to Life. I’ll try my best to do my part today. I hope you will join me in spreading some love.

Thanks for reading—and loving! 

God’s Way or the Highway

There are two ways in life: God’s way or the highway to nowhere. It’s that simple. God’s way is the easy way. Yes, it may not be perfect according to your definition of life. But it is to God. The other path is a way to endless wandering. It never feels right and leads to nowhere.

The Israelites wandered 40 years in the desert for a trek that was about 10-12 miles. They wandered aimlessly because they didn’t follow God’s way. They may have followed for a bit, but then they lost their way. There’s a real life message for all of us, especially those of us who want to find the Promised Land in our lives.

The Promised Land is God and you only find Him walking His way. And that way can be summed up by one very simple word: love. Walk in love and you are walking God’s way. Don’t walk in love and you are on the path to nowhere in life. Life is that simple but boy how we complicate it!

Walk God’s way today. Walk in love. And enjoy that beautiful walk!

How Do We Know What Love Is?

Don’t listen to me. Listen to the apostle John:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

WOW!!! Are you ready to lay down your life for a “brother and/or sister” like Jesus did? And, by the way, that’s not as in a “blood” brother or sister. That’s in a complete stranger who should be treated like a blood brother or sister—or, for some of us, how a blood brother or sister should be treated!

The problem is, forget about giving up a life. If we could only show some kindness and respect to others—our “brothers and sisters.” Jesus not only showed us the way to love but He commanded us to love. In fact, it is the one and only thing He commanded us to do, and is the root of everything He did and said on this earth.

Love all comes down to putting others before ourselves. It’s really as simple as that. I know, trust me—simple to talk and preach about but tough to do. But, then again, we have the model in earthly love in Jesus.

Try a little love today!