Profile of the obsessed

I was moved to write about a topic that has been continually on my mind lately. That is the purposeful pursuit of holiness and knowing the Creator in a personal and intimate way. I am writing these things because I am heartbroken to the state of Christians today. I am not in any way leaving myself out of this statement. I am guilty of not revering God they way he should be.

The following describes what Christians should be, but mostly are not. The following is something I strive for and need God's help and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to accomplish. I pray it motivates you to become obsessed for the One who created you, loves you, died for you and now is your advocate in this life and beyond.

Adapted from the book 'Crazy Love,' by Francis Chan.

Obsessed: To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic.

People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure. Obsessed people love those who hate them and who can never love them back.

People who are obsessed with Jesus aren't consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God's kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.

People who are obsessed with Jesus live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another. Obsessed people believe that Jesus talked about money and that poor so often because it was really important to him. (1 John 2:4-6; Matthew 16:24-26).

Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected or fulfilling the status quo. A person who is obsessed with Jesus will do things that don't always make sense in terms of success or wealth on this earth. As Martin Luther put it, "There are two days on my calendar: this day and that day" (Luke 14:25-35; Matthew 7:13-23; 8:18-22; Revelation 3:1-6).

A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle. Obsessed people know that you can never be "humble enough," and so they seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known (Matthew 5:16).

People who are obsessed with Jesus do not consider service a burden. Obsessed people take joy in loving God by loving his people (Matthew 13:44; John 15:8).

People who are obsessed with God are known as givers, not takers. Obsessed people genuinely think that others matter as much as they do, and they are particularly aware of those who are poor around the world (James 2:14-26).

A person who is obsessed thinks about heaven frequently. Obsessed people orient their lives around eternity; they are not fixed only on what is here in front of them.

A person who is obsessed is characterized by committed, settled, passionate love for God, above and before every other thing and every other being.

People who are obsessed are raw with God; they do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures. Obsessed people don't put it on for God; he is their safe place, where they can be at peace.

People who are obsessed with God have an intimate relationship with him. They are nourished by God's Word throughout the day because they know that forty minutes on Sunday is not enough to sustain them for a whole week, especially when they will encounter so many distractions and alternative messages.

A person who is obsessed with Jesus is more concerned with his or her character than comfort. Obsessed people know that true joy doesn't depend on circumstances or environment; it is a gift that must be chosen and cultivated, a gift that ultimately comes from God (James 1:2-4).

A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the best thing he can do is be faithful to his Savior in every aspect of his life, continually saying "Thank You!" to God. An obsessed person knows there can never be intimacy if he is always trying to pay God back or work hard enough to be worthy. He revels in his role as child and friend of God.

Praise to the Creator

It's dark outside... woke up at 5:45 am this morning wide awake. I typically get up around 6:30 to be with the Lord in prayer and in the Word, but this morning was different. I felt a strong urging to get out of bed. I opened the Word to Psalms and began reading. I have read Psalms many times over, but this morning every word jumped off the page. I feel the Lord is telling me to write down what I am reading so that He can receive praise and glory for WHO HE IS. I cannot express in my finite mind the glory of God, so I will repeat what those wrote many, many years ago about the One who created all things, who is not created, but IS. I feel led to write these Psalms as my heart's prayer to the Lord.

The following are verses I am pulling from all throughout the Psalms, in no particular order, but as the Lord directs me: (all NIV)

I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.
We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness.
I seek you with all of my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
I will not neglect your word.
I am a stranger on earth.
Teach me your decrees!
Let me understand the teaching of your precepts.
I will speak of your statutes before kings,
and will not be put to shame.
You are my portion, O Lord;
I have promised to obey your words.
I have sought your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.
Teach me your decrees!
I keep your precepts with all my heart.
Your word, O Lord, is eternal;
it stands firm... Your faithfulness continues through all generations.
Save me, for I am yours.
Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth.
My zeal wears me out!
I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I have put my hope in your word.
Salvation is far from the wicked.
Give me understanding according to your word.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

The Least of These - Part 2

On the last day, Jesus will say to those on His right hand, "Come, enter the Kingdom. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was sick and you visited me." Then Jesus will turn to those on His left hand and say, "Depart from me because I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not give me to drink, I was sick and you did not visit me." These will ask Him, "When did we see You hungry, or thirsty or sick and did not come to Your help?" And Jesus will answer them, "Whatever you neglected to do unto one of these least of these, you neglected to do unto Me!" (Matthew 25:31-45)

Jesus died for you and for me, and for the leper and for that man dying of hunger and that naked person lying in the street... Jesus insisted that we love one another as He loves each one of us. Jesus gave His life to love us and He tells us that we also have to give whatever it takes to do good to one another. And in the Gospel Jesus says very clearly: "Love as I have loved you."

Jesus died on the Cross because that is what it took for Him to do good to us - to save us from our selfishness in sin. He gave up everything to do the Father's will - to show us that we too must be willing to give up everything to do God's will - to love one another as He loves each of us. If we are not willing to give whatever it takes to do good to one another, sin is still in us. That is why we too must give to each other until it hurts.

It is not enough for us to say: "I love God," but I also have to love my neighbor. St. John says that you are a liar if you say you love God and you don't love your neighbor. How can you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live? And so it is very important for us to realize that love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is not true love in me and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.

It hurt Jesus to love us. We have been created in His image for greater things, to love and to be loved. We must "put on Christ" as Scripture tells us. And so, we have been created to love as He loves us. Jesus makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the unwanted one, and He says, "You did it to Me." On the last day He will say to those on His right, "whatever you did to the least of these, you did to Me, and He will also say to those on His left, whatever you neglected to do for the least of these, you neglected to do it for Me."

When He was dying on the Cross, Jesus said, "I thirst." Jesus is thirsting for our love, and this is the thirst of everyone, poor and rich alike. We all thirst for the love of others, that they go out of their way to avoid harming us and to do good to us. This is the meaning of true love, to give until it hurts.

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The above is an excerpt from a speech given by Mother Teresa in February, 1994, at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. It plainly states that we, as believers in Christ Jesus, must treat one another, our neighbors who are those all around us including the homeless, the overlooked and the oppressed, with the same love that Christ showed us by dying on the cross. Are you living your life as one who is convinced that you are doing all you can to show the love of Christ to your neighbors?

I have been bombarded lately with a burden for those people who do not know who Jesus is. When walking by people I wonder, "Do they know Jesus? And him? And her?" Because if they don't and if I don't do all I can to share the hope that I have found in Jesus with them, will anyone ever?

It's not only the fact that putting faith in Jesus will secure a place in Heaven when they leave this earth (God does not know sin and you cannot enter His presence with the guilt of sin - Jesus is the answer for our sin and he bore it on the cross and enables us to be in God's presence). It's the fact that living here on earth without Jesus creates hopelessness. It creates a false sense of security in the things that our world says is security - money, possessions, sex, success, etc. And why live life with a blindfold on when you can live it with a renewed view of the world? In this world we live in today, I cannot in my lifetime remember a time when the world has needed more hope. Markets are failing, money is worthless, jobs are scarce...

What have you done to those who have nothing? If you have a job in the U.S. you are among the richest 2% of the worlds population. So don't whine about not having anything or not having the perfect job, or best car, or nicest neighborhood to live in. You are blessed. But why? To bless others!

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I am your:
brother
sister
father
son
mother
daughter
friend
neighbor

I AM

Culture vs. Spiritual Oppression

Why do you want to change their culture?

This is a question that I have been running across lately while exploring how missionaries have gone out into the world to share Christ with those who not have heard. Why do I want to change their culture by sharing Christ with them? What most people in this world do not understand is that, in most cases, "culture" is the special packaging that the world-centered view puts on spiritual oppression. Hinduism is a prime example of this. India's religion is mostly Hindu. And do you think it is a cooincidence that India has the largest number of people groups in the world who have never heard of Jesus? Not only that, but the fact that the Hindu religion have over 3 million gods? The rules and regulations that are in place for those gods, not even mentioning the oppression of society that comes from it, are enough to send an entire nation into spiritual darkness forever.

So why do I hear this question? Ignorance? Most likely. Most people in the world (i.e. the United States as that is our mindset as Americans) do not have a clue as to what Hinduism and other world religions do to a society of people.

A simple analogy: I live in the Pacific Northwest and there is a lot of moss and mildew here. Why? Because there is a lot of cold rain and darkness. If there was less rain there would be less darkness because of lack of clouds. Where the sun is, mildew and moss cannot survive. The same can be said of world religions. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through the me." -Jesus (John 14:6). Without the son darkness prevails and oppression flourishes. Are the people at fault for denying Jesus? Maybe, maybe not. I would say that most have never even heard his name, and of those who have they do not know the significance of his existence.

Bottom line is I love people. "Hate the sin, love the sinner" as it's been said. I have looked into the eyes and faces of many, many Hindu people. How can I walk by them without sharing the hope and love that I KNOW in my heart of hearts will change their lives for eternity? I cannot. In my eyes, to do so would be to condemn them to hell. Maybe someone else may tell them... but I can't take that chance. I want to share my hope with as many people as I can because I know that hope is real.

The Message in Art

Kind of going off track of where I normally go with my posts, I wanted to put up some artwork that I think speaks volumes to our culture today and some to our past. Some of the images below may speak differently to you than to me. I'd like to hear your comments on them so please leave me a message if you feel moved to do so.

"White Crucifixion" by Marc Chagall 1938, Art Institute of Chicago
Chagall is a Jewish artist - he painted this in response to anti-senisism and the plight of the Jewish people. Little did he know that his painting would have a much different meaning to those who follow Jesus, prominently centered in a beam of light and anchoring the chaos around him.

"Dream of Solomon" by Luca Giordano ca. 1693, Museo del Prado, Madrid
Take close note of the images and icons around Solomon and the image of God.


"Tower of Babel" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Take a close look at the focal point, the tower. Notice the crumbling foundation, yet the top is new and still being built. There is a slight to the tower to the left - notice the city in that direction. Also notice the group of people in the lower left that appear to be following a figure in a white robe, bowing to him and holding spears.


"The Calling of Saint Matthew" by San Luigi dei Francesi, ca. 1599, Rome
This painting has an obvious message in it. Jesus (extreme right) calls upon Matthew (behind the table in the middle) to join him. Matthew, then Levi, is a publican, collecting taxes for the Romans, by no means a popular profession. Everyone is astonished. There is light on Levi's face. Jesus' finger is reminiscent of Michelangelo's spark of life for Adam in the Sistine Chapel. On the right, in front of Jesus – Peter.

And now to more modern day icons:

Mural of Statue of Liberty with a skull face in front of an American flag, former US Embassy, Tehran, Iran. Photo speaks for itself. This is typical anti-American propaganda initiated by Muslim extremists. This photo does not show it, but the red stripes turn into barbed wire down the wall.

Notice in this version the small cross on the upper lip of the face (click to enlarge).






And just for fun (but not very funny):
The 2018 White House lawn...


The hidden meaning to this post? To show that throughout history man has been called to serve God and that Jesus has been the center of this calling, from the tower of Babylon to the missionaries of today. Who is a missionary? You are! Every Christian man and woman IS a missionary. We are ALL commissioned to "go into all the world" and "make disciples."

More importantly, Jesus came to offer forgiveness to the world, including those who are raised from birth to learn hatred as a way of life (Jihads), by living a sinless life and dying on the cross. Did you know Jesus fullfilled all Bible prophecy in the Old Testament to the coming Messiah (over 400)? A Muslims' search for God (or any person for that matter) can be found in Jesus Christ. Once realization has been made that although God serves different functions through the trinity, He is one and only God. This is what is so hard to grasp for Muslims and Jews alike.

I pray that the God of peace and justice will soften the hearts of those who hate him so much.