Hill Thread

–From the book ‘Crazy Love:

“The Good News – the best news in the world – is that you can have a close, intimate, personal relationship with God Himself. Do you believe that God is the greatest thing you can experience in the whole world? Do you believe that the Good News of the Gospel is not merely about forgiveness, but that you also have access to a loving God?

Some of the best things in life are the gifts from the One who steadfastly loves us. But an important question to ask ourselves is this . . . Are we in love with God, or just His stuff?

Imagine how awful it would feel to have your child say to you, ‘I don’t really love you or want your love, but I WOULD like my allowance please.’

Our love for Him always comes out of His love for us. Do you love this God who is everything, or do you just love everything He gives you? Do you really believe that God loves you, individually, personally, and intimately? ”

Related Text:
1 John 4:19
“We love because he first loved us.”

Psalm 27:4
“One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.”

Galatians 3:25-26
“But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe—Christ’s life, the fulfillment of God’s original promise.”

Not enough time in your day? Join the club. Time has become our most precious commodity and it usually goes to the highest bidder.

Did you know that in 1965 experts predicted that withing 20 years we would be working 22-hour weeks and retire by the age of 40? They predicted this believing that computers would make everything so much easier and streamlined. Well, it’s the 21-st century – computers are doing their thing, we’re constantly connected to work by email, smartphones, and home offices. Since 1965, our leisure time has actually decreased by 37% and the average work week has increased to 47 hours. (And some of us wish our week was as short as 47 hours)

What did the experts overlook in 1965? Our appetite! The more we have, the more we want; and the more we want, the more we will sacrifice to get it. Family time,God time, church time, vacation time, prayer time, relaxing time. We’ve become machines with one goal – get more.

To build a relationship with God, we must “add on a small room upstairs.” (2 Kings 4:10) – “Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.” Then, we can have a place to meet God every day. But we can’t make unrealistic expectations like “I’m going to start getting up at 4:30 and pray for an hour.” More than likely, by the third day we’re exhausted.

Carve out tome time that will allow you to continue meeting with God. A relationship must be worked on every day. Start each day with a prayer, then punctuate it with a praise. Find something you are thankful for and let God know.

If we have time for coffee breaks, there is surely time for a prayer break. We just need to want God as much as we want a caffeine boost!

Psalm 119:164
“Seven times each day I stop and shout praises
for the way you keep everything running right.”

Romans 12:6
“So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.”

Confront your defects of character to maximize your walk with the Lord. Call them what they are – hindrances to a productive life in the Spirit – and begin to work through them one by one.

Here are 6 common ones, some I even know too personally:

1. Pride – Spiritual pride, social pride, racial pride. God opposes pride. ” . . . in humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) don’t let pride be your downfall.

2. Insecurity – Insecure people are generally unwilling to take risks. But faith in God is reckless, it isn’t safe. The key to overcoming insecurity is to truly believe and live knowing that God is wit us.

3. Moodiness – Moody people are like the wind; unstable. They tend to be undependable. Moodiness is hard to overcome because being defensive about it often arises when it’s being dealt with. Confession to God and prayer helps.

4. Perfectionism – This is the obsessive need to always be flawless in everything. Imagine trying to be a perfectionist while serving on a mission trip. If you’ve ever been on a mission trip, you know that being flexible is key to all of the hiccups that happen. A perfectionist would probably bring things to a hault. They can’t affirm themselves, and when things don’t go as they planned, they tend to shut down or shut out. We need to learn that God loves us “warts and all” and He can use us even though we’re nowhere near perfect.

5. Overly Sensitive – These people are constantly licking their wounds and turning inward. They are often unaware of others pains and struggles and needs because the focus is on them and their wounds and who wounded them. Increase your sensitivity to others by turning your focus from inward to outward.

6. Being Negative – Negative people are depressing to be around. Their personality says no to life in general. Being negative is rooted in fear, and the antidote to fear is unwaivering faith in God.

Related Text:
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” – Hebrews 3:13

Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

The power to forgive is the only power we have over anyone who hurts us. And I would argue that our refusal to forgive allows anger to have control over us.

When we say, “I no longer hold it against you,” both sides are set free from the negative bond that existed between us. But there’s more: we also free ourselves from the burden of being the offended one. As long as we refuse to forgive those who offended us, we carry them like lead weights around our necks. The grudge we hold onto infects all parts of our lives, and if not treated, like any infection it will eventually bring us down. The great temptation is to hang on to the anger we have towards our enemies. Forgiveness not only liberates the offenders, but it liberates us as well. It’s the only way to freedom from anger.

Unfortunately, forgiving doesn’t necessarily mean forgetting. Though we forgive someone, the offense isn’t always easily forgettable. Here’s the deal though, forgiveness changes how we remember. It converts the curse into a blessing. Forgiveness means we no longer have to suffer as victims when the memory returns to us.

Today, release the power you may be holding over someone. Prayerfully ask God to give you the love and the strength to forgive.

Related Text:
Colossians 3:12-15
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

1 John 3:1
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

The most amazing thing about God’s love is that is is unconditional.

God doesn’t say, “I love you if . . . ” There are no “ifs” in God heart. His love for us doesn’t depend on what we say or do, on our looks or intelligence, on our success or popularity, or even our performances. His love for us existed before we were born, and it will exist through all of our mistakes. His love exists from eternity to eternity, and is not bound by time or circumstances.

Jesus showed exactly how much He loves us this way, while we were still living in sin apart from Him, He died on a cross for us. (Romans 5:8)

Now, unconditional love doesn’t mean that og doesn’t care what we say or do. No Way! Love without condition isn’t love without concern. Unconditional love isn’t unconditional approval. God doesn’t approve of our disobedience.

Loving unconditionally means that God loves us even when we blow it. God waits for us with love and anticipation the way the father waited for the prodigal son to return. We must rest in the assurance that, even through we sin, God’s love never fails, He never gives up on loving us. We need to know that, because sin has a way of making us think that no one can love us after all the bad stuff we’ve done.

Even though God doesn’t approve of our mistakes, He still loves us so very much! God’s love is the magnet that draws us back to Him.

Related Text:
Romans 5

Matthew 25:25
“I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.”

If you weren’t afraid of failing, what would you attempt today?

In Matthew 25:14-30, a wealthy businessman entrusted his entire estate to 3 key workers. He gave the first worker 5 talents, the second worker 2 talents, and the third worker 1 talent.

A talent is believed to be worth about 1 year’s salary. Knowing that helps us understand exactly how marvelous of an opportunity this was for the workers. It was a defining moment in their lives that gave them the chance to:
1. test their skills
2. practice good judgement
3. profit from their investment

Two of the workers accomplished all three of these things, but the third was afraid of failing his master. In his fear, he decided t play it safe and bury the money he was given. Playing it safe got him called wicked and lazy. (Matthew 25:26)

Fear of failure always makes us play it safe. Without the courage to start, we are already finished. Everyone will either overcome their fears or give into them.

Refuse to let fear stop you from making God a return on His investment. His investment is YOU. How we use the gifts that Go has given us is a matter of utmost importance. We all could use a little reckless faith.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“You are not your own; you were bought at a price.”

1 John 3:16-20
16This 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. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

John 15:9-15
9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

True love requires sacrifice. It’s true. To truly give of your love, you must be willing to sacrifice for it. According to the dictionary, the word sacrifice means “destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else”. In Other words, to give up something.

Sacrifice, that’s kind of a hard word for most of us. Really, it’s a word we don’t like to use all that often. We don’t want to sacrifice much, not money, not time, not our possessions, and not our lives. To truly understand what sacrifice is, and what it would look like in our lives, we have to consider what God sacrificed for us. Stop and think for a moment. Stop and just thank Jesus for being the ultimate sacrifice for us. Without Christ, we are nothing (John 15:6). He paid it all so we could be free. Take time right now to praise and worship Him for His most excellent sacrifice.

One of my favorite songs from Third Day is Offering. Here are a couple lyrics that penetrate my heart:

“Who am I that You should suffer
Your very life to set me free
The only thing that I can give You
Is the life You gave to me

This is my offering, dear Lord
This is my offering to You, God
And I will give You my life
For it’s all I have to give
Because You gave Your life for me”

Have you sacrificed your life and they way the world tells you to live? Have you declared to God that you will live your life in obedience to Him who died for you?

Related Text:
2 Corinthians 5:15
“And Jesus died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

Philippians 3:20
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Imagine for a moment that you are standing in a room with about 10 of your closest friends. You have shared good times and escaped death with these companions. You have spent the last three years with these people on a journey of learning, teaching, and service. But the person whom you have been following during this time was just arrested and put to death. You’re terrified that soldiers will knock down the door at any moment and arrest and kill you as well.

Then, all of a sudden, Jesus is standing before you, wounds and all. He tells you that He must leave you to be with God in heaven, but will return for you. You begin thinking about all that He taught you, all that He instructed you to do. You remember all of His instructions about love and forgiveness and obedience. You see Him ascend into heaven, and you begin counting the days, waiting for Him to return. You’re excited about His return, and you travel to the ends of the earth living your life to tell others about Him. Nothing else matters except spreading this news!

I know that we are hundreds and hundreds of years removed from the time when Jesus walked on this earth with His disciples. But what if we lived our lives truly believing that He could return at any moment.

Jesus describes it this way in Mark 13. He says it is like a master leaving his household for a journey, and leaving his servants in charge with certain instructions. The servants do not know when the master will return, but they will stay on alert and continue to be obedient, fulfilling the master’s instructions until the day of his return.

If we took Jesus at His word and lived our lives 100% believing He could return at any moment, how would our lives be different? Would we be concerned with a better job or a better car, or a bigger house? Sure, we can always find reasons to be concerned about stuff like that and convince ourselves that it’s very important. But when was the last time you were concerned about being obedient to God? When was the last time you were more concerned about your neighbor who doesn’t know Jesus than about getting the new slimmer LED tv and upgrading to HD? Don’t get defensive, but please humbly realize that stuff has a way of taking our focus away form Jesus.

So many of us have lost our intensity to live for God. Or, maybe we never had any intensity. Maybe the reason we’re lost our passion is because we’re so far removed from the time Jesus walked on this earth.I beg you to take inventory of your life. Recognize why you do what you do. Are you living in obedience to God? Live like children of God, live as though you are a citizen of heaven and heirs to God’s promise with Christ! Return to God, and live your life for Him who died for you. (2 Corinthians 5:15)

Related Text:
Philippians 3 (entire chapter, it’s great!!)

2 Chronicles 20:12
“We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”

I don’t have a twelve step program, but here’s seven steps that have often helped me when seeking God’s guidance:

1. Clear the channel. Repent and receive forgiveness. Sin hinders communication with God. Confession and repentance show our willingness to set aside our selfishness and be open to God.

2. Be patient. “Don’t be impatient. Wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27: 14) “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.” (Psalm 25:3) Don’t give in to self-generated urgency. Wait for God to open doors and direct your path.

3. Be aware of and beware of external pressures. These usually result from our present circumstances, or from those who are trying to impose their agendas on us. Sift all advice through God’s Word.

4. Watch out for internal pressures. These can be triggered by fear or loss or exaggerated expectations. Don’t try to manifest God’s direction on your own.

5. Persist in prayer. “Pray all the time.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) God’s goal is to mold us into His Son’s likeness, and prayer is one of His tools. Prayer is not for God’s benefit, it is for our benefit, development, and maturity. He already knows what we should do; and as we persevere in prayer, He will reveal it to us at just the right moment.

6. Search the scriptures. Read, study, and digest God’s Word. It is and will always be an unfailing source of guidance and wisdom. It cuts through the clutter in your life and helps you to filter out what is not of God.

7. Wait for peace. “Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other.” (Colossians 3:15) Peace is the deciding factor after going through the other steps. Peace is the verification that we are making the right decision, don’t proceed without it and don’t lie to yourself about it. You’ll know when you have it.

Related Text:
Acts 17:11

Genesis 9:16
“Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

When Noah preached about the coming rain, it was a symbol of blessings.

After the flood, God said, ” . . . and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth. Then God said to Noah, ‘Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.’” Genesis 9:15-17

When God turns something that should have destroyed you into a blessing, you’ll be able to look back and say, “The suffering, even though it was horrible, did me some good. It taught me to pay attention to God.”

Without suffering, we would never discover:
1. that isolation creates determination and makes us lay hold of God
2. the power of prayer
3. what God can accomplish in the face of adversity
4. that God alone brings us through suffering

Suffering will come, but after the rain comes the rainbow! God has a way of turning suffering into blessing.

Related Text:
Psalm 119:71
“My suffering was good for me,
for it taught me to pay attention to your decrees.”