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“Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it!” (Ephesians 5:10 The Message) It’s a life-altering directive and where living intentionally begins. Intentionality then occurs when you combine information and insight to compel you to action in each of the five essential areas of life: Faith, Family, Health, Finances and Work. Yet what should be the basis for your intentions? Better asked: What does God look at to judge that your intentions are right – and from Him? 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Think of a grill thermometer. The steak may look done on the outside, but the thermometer will reveal whether the meat is fully cooked inside. Our lives are the same way. Appearances are fine, but deep down are areas that are still not done to completion. So what is the mechanism the Lord uses to help you see inside yourself? “The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) The Bible is the thermometer. We look at Scripture as a guide and encouragement, and that’s good. But the Word of God will also, like the thermometer, pierce you; it’ll challenge you to place your life’s journey in alignment with God’s intentions. At this point, it’s one thing to say you’re going to use this insight to live intentionally. It’s quite another to actually move forward. In Part 2 we’ll tackle the nasty issue of procrastination and the good intentions it creates that stay unrealized and destructive. More Than Just a Good Intention 2: God’s Intentions are Best! Procrastination is progressive and it stifles your efforts to live an intentional life in Christ. Martin Luther had it right when he said, “How soon ‘Not now’ becomes ‘Never’.” In the Bible, Nicodemus with Jesus (John 3) and Felix before Paul (Acts 24) are both examples of people who had good intentions about knowing and following God, but they procrastinated – never following through on what Christ told them. You can easily do that as well. Psychologists have identified a myriad of reasons why we procrastinate: Complex projects seem daunting Projects are deemed unpleasant An inability to prioritize Fear of failure Distractions The old saying says, “The path to Hell is filled with good intentions.” These good intentions have a definite pattern that may seem all-too-familiar to you: 1. Good intentions recognize a need in your life that 2. Creates an interest where you want to know more, but then 3. Leads to an emotional response, usually fear, that holds you back from doing anything else. Other truths about good intentions: They are not decisions; they’re just illusions of good decisions. They release you from guilt, making you feel better. But you never take it further. They’re all about the future, but not connected to now. They’re not accountable to anyone else except yourself. They promise much, require little, but accomplish nothing. They are the facilitator of procrastination. So how do you go forward from having good intentions that do nothing to possessing God’s intentions that do something and can be life-changing? 3: God-given Passion A good intention alone is fed by procrastination and accomplishes nothing. But God’s intentions, when birthed in your life, will not only move you forward. They can accomplish the incredible for you, and dramatically impact the lives of others. What do I mean? Take the example of one of my favorite Bible personalities, Nehemiah. He discovered God’s intention for his life by using the process of having a good intention – then taking it to the next level. Nehemiah: Recognized a need (the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, and his people were in danger – Nehemiah 1:3), that then… Created an interest where he wanted to know more (Nehemiah sought God for insight – Nehemiah 1:4-11), which then… Led to an emotional response; not fear, but bold faith (Nehemiah went to the king and secured permission and resources to rebuild the walls – Nehemiah 2:1-8) The key was this: Nehemiah asked God, “What is your intention about this situation?” When he received the answer from the Lord, he immediately acted because he had a God-given passion about the need. I love that! Often, people with bad intentions have more motivation than those with good intentions because they, too, have a passion: to kill, to steal, to cheat. Yet when you break through to discover God’s intentions for you, you’ll do the right things based on His leading and direction, not yours. Now think. What are God’s intentions for you regarding your faith, family, health, finances and work? How can you employ your thinking, emotions and action to live intentionally? You start by finding the next right One Thing for each area of your life. You can live by Ephesians 5:10, “Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it!” (The Message) http://www.theintentionallife.com/onething/ Used by permission of the author.

An episode of ABC’s Modern Family captures the split in American opinions about porn. Claire Dunphy finds a dirty picture on one of their computers and assumes it was her 10-year-old son Luke who looked at it. Claire calls it unacceptable “smut.” Her husband Phil (the one who actually downloaded the picture) tries to chalk it up to sexual curiosity. Claire’s solution is to tell Luke every time he looks at porn God kills a puppy. Phil’s attitude: “It was hardly porn. It was a topless woman on a tractor. Do you know what they call that in Europe? A cereal commercial.”* Is porn all that bad for you? Many don’t think it is, even in the church. Yes, we know lust is wrong (Matthew 5:28), but why would using pornography be especially harmful? Why should we be concerned when our husband, wife, son, or daughter looks at pornography? 5 Ways Porn Warps the Mind There are at least 5 ways using pornography over and over damages our sexual beliefs: Harm #1: Watching Porn Decreases Our Sexual Satisfaction It trains us to desire the variety and “designer sex” of cybersex more than the familiar sexuality of marriage. Studies show the more people expose themselves even to softcore porn, the less satisfied they are with the physical appearance of their significant other. Harm #2: Watching Porn Disconnects Us from Real Relationships It trains us to detach emotional involvement from sexual experience. Studies show the more people turn to cyberspace for sexual satisfaction, the less they turn to committed relationships to experience true intimacy. Harm #3: Watching Porn Lowers Our View of Women It trains us to see women as sexual commodities, not people created in God’s image. The more men (and women) view porn, the more likely they are to buy the glossy lies pornography teaches: that women are only worth their sexual prowess and their ability to conform to the erotic euphoria of porn women. Harm #4:Watching Porn Desensitizes Us to Cruelty It numbs us to the seriousness of verbal and physical aggression. Most modern pornography portrays women as enjoying sexually abusive and degrading language and activity. It is toxic sexual mis-education. Harm #5: Watching Porn Makes Us Want to Watch More Porn It taps into the neuro-circuitry of our brains, making us desire the same rush of sexual energy again and again. Over 90% of therapists believe a person can literally become addicted to using pornography. And like other addictions, the more porn we use, the more we need to use to get the same high. The Way of Escape God promises that God is faithful in the midst of our temptations, and He will not let us be tempted beyond our ability, but with the temptation he will provide the way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Our e-book Your Brain on Porn: 5 Ways Pornography Warps Your Mind and 3 Biblical Ways to Renew It presents scientific research fully detailing these 5 harms. It also gives a solid biblical foundation to understand why porn is so harmful and the way God has provided to break free. * Modern Family, “Not in My House” Premiered on ABC on January 13, 2010

Loops are negative interactions between two people in which each reaction heightens the conflict. For example, if one person is demanding, the other person will often withhold. Or if one expresses an emotion, the other may be overly logical. If one pursues, the other will probably distance. Here’s what the bible says about loops: Don’t have them! Romans 12:17 says, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil.” Don’t respond to them! (in the expected negative way). Proverbs 17:19 says, “He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites destruction.” So don’t build a “high gate!” Remember: You don’t have to accept an invitation to every argument you’re invited to! Proverbs 15:1 says “a soft answer turns away wrath.” Don’t start them! Romans 4:15 says, “The law produces wrath.” Too many rules and regulations produce more bad reactions on the other person’s part. An atmosphere of “grace” (not rules) must prevail in any home. Christ was constantly invited into loops by the teachers of Jewish law. These teachers elevated meaningless rules above relationship with a loving God. They were threatened that Christ showed no regard for their man made rules, as when he healed a man on the Sabbath (which was forbidden by the “law”). Here’s an example of how the Jewish teachers tried to invite Christ into a “loop”: Christ was asked if people should pay taxes to Caesar. This question was designed to start a fight. Jesus asked to see a Roman coin and asked whose image was on the coin. Of course, the image was that of Caesar. Then Jesus said in Luke 20:25, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s.” Christ did not accept this invitation to a fight. Here are six good ways to break relationship loops: 1.) Always turn a complaint into a request (don’t demand). 2.) Be curious, not reactive (don’t withhold). 3.) Agree that no mind-reading is allowed in your relationship. 4.) Ask the other person what he/she meant by their statement, or ask what they thought you meant by your statement. The meaning that we attribute to the actions and words of others is usually the reason for conflict. 5.) Ask yourself, “How do I invite the behavior I hate?” Examine your own loop with God. If you are “looping” with someone, there is something amiss with your relationship with God, and He can tell you exactly what that is and how you are resisting Him. 6.) Temporarily disengage from the conversation. Whoever disengages takes responsibility for telling the other person when he/she will reengage, then must initiate the re-engagement. Even just slowing the conversation down may save the day! Here’s the best idea yet: Create POSITIVE loops. Foster good will. “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice” (Psalm 112:5). “Give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38). “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). There are many more loop busters. Loops are symptomatic of unmet intimacy needs such as affection and approval. This is one of the paradigms I look through in marriage counseling.

I am studying this week for a Mother’s Day Sermon I will be preaching. When I start the message prep process, I always begin with prayer and then find a text in the Bible that I will preach. Since I am preaching on Mother’s Day, I did a study on all the passages of scripture that I might want to preach for a sermon about mothers. The best sermon ideas come from scripture. So here are some Mothers Day sermon ideas for you. My hope is that this list will be helpful to save some of you the time of having to find the passages on your own. Mother’s Day Bible Verses Note: All scripture below is from the ESV translation. Jesus Takes Care Of His Mother John 19:25-27 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. Honor Your Mother Ephesians 6:1-3 6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” Exodus 20:12 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Deuteronomy 5:16 16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. Consequences For Disobeying Your Mother Deuteronomy 27:16 16 “‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ Proverbs 20:20 20 If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness. Proverbs 30:17 17 The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures. Characteristics Of A Great Wife And Mother Proverbs 31:10-31 10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.17 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. Let The Lord Build Your House Psalm 127 1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. Proverbs for Mothers Proverbs 1:8-9 8 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching,9 for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. Proverbs 6:20-21 20 My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching.21 Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. Proverbs 14:1 14 The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down. Proverbs 14:4 4 Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Proverbs 15:20 20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother. Proverbs 19:26-27 26 He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach.27 Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. Proverbs 22:6 6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 23:22-25 22 Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.23 Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.25 Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice. Proverbs 29:15 15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Proverbs 13:24 24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. A Mother’s (and Father’s) Responsibility For The Spiritual Instruction Of Children Deuteronomy 4:9-10 9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children— 10 how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ Deuteronomy 6:4-9 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Paul’s Surrogate Mother Romans 16:13 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Hannah Prays To Get Pregnant And Dedicates Her Son To God 1 Samuel 1 1 There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.3 Now this man used to go up year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord. 4 On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb. 6 And her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?”9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord. 10 She was deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, “Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, “Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”21 The man Elkanah and all his house went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord and dwell there forever.” 23 Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. Praise God Who Answers Prayers For Children Psalm 113 1 Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!2 Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!4 The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens!5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high,6 who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?7 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,8 to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.9 He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! No Mother Is Perfect, But Love Will Overcome Mistakes 1 Peter 4:8 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. How To Love Others 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Solomon Identifies The Real Mother 1 Kings 3:16-27 16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 The one woman said, “Oh, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. And we were alone. There was no one else with us in the house; only we two were in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. 20 And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant slept, and laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had borne.” 22 But the other woman said, “No, the living child is mine, and the dead child is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead child is yours, and the living child is mine.” Thus they spoke before the king.23 Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. 25 And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” 27 Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” This isn’t an exhaustive list of scripture for Mother’s Day, but I hope this helps you in your sermon preparation! Re-printed from www.pastors.com . Used by permission

Jesus said that the goal of every disciple is to bear much fruit. If we bear none, the vinedresser will remove us (John 15:2). If we bear some, He will prune us. The measure of our success as Jesus’ disciples lies in our fruitfulness. That is why being in a spiritual wilderness is so frustrating. Wildernesses are dry, barren, and bleak. Little grows there. It can seem the antithesis of fruitfulness. Yet it seems that everyone, at some point in their life, finds themselves in a spiritual desert. Some of the greatest leaders in the Bible spent prolonged periods in the wilderness. Elijah was there more than once (1 Kings 17:3; 19:3-4). Abraham yielded the lush plains to his nephew Lot while he dwelt in the desert (Genesis 13:10-13; 18). David, Moses, John the Baptist, and Jesus all spent significant periods of time in the wilderness. It would seem that in some way, the path to their greatness led straight through a wilderness. Elijah provides an interesting case study. The first time we meet him, he is boldly delivering a word from God to the evil king Ahab. No water would fall on Israel. This was devastating news to a king whose land depended on rainfall for its survival. But for the intervention of God, Elijah might never have escaped the royal palace with his life. In fact, God told His faithful servant to escape and hide by the Brook Cherith. Scholars are unsure exactly where that brook was. It may not have been in a desert, but it was in an isolated, barren place. The prophet’s only food was take out, delivered twice daily by ravens. Eventually the water from the brook dried up completely. It became a barren, uninhabitable land. But it was exactly where God told Elijah to be. That’s right. Elijah was perfectly faithful, yet God dispatched him to a wilderness. Sometimes we can be in the center of God’s will and be in a wilderness. Conversely, three years later, Elijah won his greatest victory when he prayed down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel and defeated 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah. But then things went south. Queen Jezebel uttered dire threats to the lone prophet of God and he was uncharacteristically struck by fear. He ran for his life into the wilderness. Elijah dismissed his servant and travelled for 40 days until he ensconced himself in a cave on Mount Sinai. It was there that God found him and asked the penetrating question: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” This time Elijah was in a wilderness of his own choosing. God had not called him to the desert. God’s last instruction was to stand atop a mountain and win a glorious victory. Elijah chose a desert out of a lack of faith in God. Elijah experienced two wilderness experiences in his life, one as a result of obeying God’s will, the other as a result of fleeing God’s will. In each case, God met him there and transformed his life. Elijah never left a wilderness the same way he entered it. A wilderness is a solitary place. It is often quiet there, with few, if any distractions. While it can be lonely, it also allows us to focus, and to pray. It gives us perspective. It can be a place to indulge in a pity party or it can be a venue that solidifies our soul. You may currently be residing in a spiritual wilderness. Perhaps God assigned that place to you, or maybe you are there out of your own failure of faith. Regardless, God is a master at using a wilderness to the greatest effect. It is an awesome thing to be alone with God. Use that time well. Listen for His still, small, voice. No one else may know where you are, but God does. What may seem like your worst moment may in actual fact be a watershed moment in your life when God does something that changes your life forever. Embrace the wilderness of your life. www.blakaby.net . Used by permission.

According to researchers, the vast majority–a whopping 75-98 percent–of the illnesses that plague us today are a direct result of our thought life. What we think about truly affects us both physically and emotionally. In fact, fear alone triggers more than 1,400 known physical and chemical responses in our bodies, activating more than thirty different hormones! Today our culture is undergoing an epidemic of toxic thoughts that, left unchecked, create ideal conditions for illnesses. Remove bad thoughts and wire in new ones (Lamentations 3:23). This is called neurogenesis. You have been designed for deep, intellectual thought (Psalm 139:4). You are wired for love, and fear is a learned and not a natural response. (2 Timothy 1:7). You have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). You are made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:27). All of this knowledge will help you realize these truths: Happiness comes from within and success follows-not the other way around. You can learn how to learn and deepen your intellect. You can overcome learning issues. You can get the chaos in your mind under control. You don’t have to walk around in guilt and condemnation. If you wired those toxic thoughts in, you can wire them out. You don’t have to get stuck in bad habits; you can change them. You can overcome feelings of rejection and hurt. Forgiveness is not the battle that you think it is. You don’t have to worry about things that are out of your control. You are not a victim of the things you shouldn’t be doing. You don’t have to fear that if a condition runs in your family that you are going to get it (for example, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, or depression). You can balance your over-thinking and over-analyzing mind. You can overcome and control depression and anxiety—some scientists re showing You can even control and overcome schizophrenia and OCD. You don’ have to keep digging into the past to get free from it. You can be happy and filled with peace regardless of your circumstances. Summary of: SWITCH ON YOUR BRAIN: THE KEY TO PEAK HAPPINESS, THINKING AND HEALTH. Order from Amazon today! Used by permission of the author.

Is she a collection of body parts? Is she made of plastic? Or is she a whole person with a soul, full of all the things that make a person human: strengths, weaknesses, quirks, fears, insecurities, anxieties, vulnerabilities, likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams? The answer is obvious, yet it escapes so many men lost in our sex-and-skin-saturated culture. Whether by conscious choice or by years of overexposure that has conditioned an addiction, many men view women as objects to be consumed. This trap is so easy to fall in to, most men don’t even realize they are doing it. I know for most of my life, I didn’t. If you allowed yourself to be raised on soft-core pornography the way I did, your mind and body define attractiveness as body parts. You give a woman her worth based on her body parts and not much else. This is just as true for woman you see on a page or a screen as it is for women you see in real life. It’s easy to stare at a photo or movie of a nude woman and create the perfect fantasy with her. You know nothing else about her! The reality is, she’d likely have zero interest in you in real life and you likely would be quite turned off by a variety of things about her as well. But it’s not real life. It’s fantasy. But where do you live? You live in real life, not in fantasy. We all live in real life. So what happens when the way we view women is completely formed in fantasy then we get up from the computer to interact with women in real life? Problems ensue, and ensue quickly. The Stakes If you’re married, these ensuing problems are obvious. If there’s one thing marriage does, it shows the full humanity of a woman and the full humanity of a man. There’s a reason our marriage vows say “for better or worse” in them: marriage is guaranteed to bring with it the best sides of a person, as well as the worst. There is no hiding in marriage—which is the exact opposite of pornography and lust. So as a man, you know all of your wife’s flaws, you smell her breath in the morning, and you see her when she’s tired, stressed out, and without makeup. You see none of these things in pornography—or in the attractive woman you think is flirting with you at the receptionist counter. Fantasy then takes over and you assume this woman has none of these human imperfections. As fantasy crashes headfirst into reality, logical thought goes out the window and obsession and longing ensue—a recipe for disaster in a marriage. But the stakes aren’t any less if you’re single. Many single guys feel they have a license to lust since they aren’t married, as it doesn’t seem like they are harming anyone else. The sobering remedy to this line of thought is simple: if you’re conditioned to view women as objects meant for your consumption, how do you view my wife when she walks in the room? How do you view my daughters? What thoughts go through your head? Where do your eyes go? Exactly. If you are single and you feel this gives you the license to lust, please stay far away from me and my family. This mindset makes you an incredibly unsafe person to be around. As Christians, we are called to be in trusting, dignity-giving community with one another. The only way to do this is to be serious about the damage our pattern of objectifying women does to everyone around us. The Solution The solution to a mindset of objectification is to allow God to rewire the way our brains process the women we interact with. We obviously need to completely cut off the pornography as the “professor” who wired us to turn women into pieces of meat like this in the first place. But beyond the elimination of this force, we need to allow God’s healing and corrective touch to rebuild the way we were designed to view women. Every woman you lust over is someone’s daughter. Would you want someone lusting over your daughter the way you lust over women? Obviously not—because you view your daughter as a whole person, not as a collection of body parts. All of us, men and women, are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). This is full humanity. God tells us that the very definition of sex is two of these full humans coming together as one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Anything less that the full merger of these two humans falls short of God’s design for sex. “Full” meaning all of someone: the good and the bad, and definitely not just their body parts. The reality is sex is not about body parts. It’s about trust, safety and commitment—things that are completely foreign to lust. God did not create women to be consumed, nor did he create you to consume them. So next time you see a cute girl, don’t dehumanize her by placing her sole value on her physical appearance. And don’t let lust dehumanize you by turning you into this kind of consuming monster. Sex and lust make lousy gods. Ask the only God with any real power to heal you and put you on the path to loving all of his image-bearing children the way he loves you, and the way he loves your daughters. www.covenanteyes.com . Guest author Noah Filipiak.

Church history shows us that in key periods of time, God gives specific assignments to His followers. In times past, when God’s church has been at its most prayerful, courageous, unified and culturally engaged, the Lord has used His people to: • Fight slavery • End segregation • Fight human trafficking • Fight child labor • Promote literacy • Oppose gladiatorial combat / death games (in ancient Rome) • Fight infanticide (throughout history) • Oppose child marriage (in 3rd world countries) • End temple prostitution (Rome) • Stand against child sexual abuse and child prostitution • Fight the view that wives are mere “property” • Fight for fair treatment of prisoners • Promote the equality of mankind • Build hospitals, create relief agencies, and invest for the betterment of the human condition …etc., etc. Clearly, when followers of Jesus link arms for cultural engagement, the trajectory of history is changed. As Christians we must ask, “What may I do in my lifetime that will count for eternity? How may my life and abilities be invested in Christ’s Great Commission?” For the following ten reasons, the conversion of Muslims must be a top priority for Christians in America. I also want to share with you HOW to win a Muslim to Christ. Reaching them with Jesus’ love is the only way to truly change the world. 1. Love of Truth Christians are called to love what is true (Philippians 4:8). The truth is: • Mohammed was not a true prophet, because he taught things that contradict Scripture; • Allah is a false god, because there is only one true God, the father of Jesus Christ; • The Quran is not a holy book, as Scripture clearly warns against adding anything to God’s Holy Word; • The message of Islam does not correspond to reality, as its ‘truth claims’ or doctrine are false. These include its interpretation of history, its views of the Jewish people, and its murderous perspective of non-Muslims. Christians must oppose Islam because it is demonstrably false. Because we are called to love what is true, as Christians, we should want to see Muslims come to know the truth as well. 2. Devotion to Jesus Christ One of the biggest differences between Islam and Christianity is the view on the nature and mission of Jesus. Muslims often show respect for faithful followers of Isa (Jesus). And in some places, Islam affirms Christ, called “Messiah,” the Word of God, Spirit of God, “born of the virgin Mary.” Muslims are to honor prophets, and Jesus is called a prophet, and the Koran even says that Jesus performed miracles, and raised someone from the dead. The prophet Mohammed is given none of these accolades in the Koran. However, no Christian can affirm Islam because of its clear denials and distortions about Jesus. Islam denies: • The deity of Jesus • The incarnation of Jesus • The Trinitarian understanding of Jesus • The crucifixion of Jesus • The atonement for sin by Jesus • Jesus’ physical resurrection from the grave Scripture provides a clear way to test whether a prophet is true or false. A true prophet will not deny the deity of Jesus Christ (Col. 2:8-9), and a true prophet will not deny the humanity of Jesus Christ (1 John 4:1-2). Because Islam denies Jesus’ deity, a Christian cannot consider Islam a true religion. 3. Commitment to Scripture 2 Timothy 3:16 clearly teaches that all Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by God, and as Christians, we are called to be not only hearers of the Word of God but also doers, lest we deceive ourselves (James 1:22). Adherence to God’s Word in its entirety is not optional for true believers in Christ. As a result, ‘watering down’ the truths proclaimed in Scripture and acceding that all religions are equal is clear disobedience to God’s Word. 4. Compassion for Lost Souls One of the most important reasons we must pray and work for the conversion of Muslims is that we should be heartbroken that 1.6 billion souls are lost and without hope. There is no other name but the name of Jesus by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). 5. Respect for Human Rights The abuse of women and children in Islamic culture is well-documented, as is the persecution of so-called ‘infidels.’ Forced marriage of young girls and the overt repression of woman is often not only accepted but welcomed. Islam upholds no intrinsic value of human life as created in the image of God, but values only those lives that bring ‘honor’ to the Prophet. There is supposed ‘honor,’ however, in killing those who dishonor him. In The Clash of Civilizations, Harvard University Professor and former Carter Administration cabinet member Samuel P. Huntington wrote: “Wherever one looks along the perimeter of Islam, Muslims have problems living peaceably with their neighbors. Muslims make up about one-fifth of the world’s population, but in the 1990’s, they have been far more involved in inter group violence than the people of any other civilization. The evidence is overwhelming…There were, in short, three times as many intercivilizational conflicts involving Muslims as there were conflicts between all non-Muslim civilizations. (Huntington, Samuel. The Clash of Civilizations. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1996. p. 256-258.) As Christians, we are called to esteem others more highly than ourselves (Philippians 2:3); therefore, we should be dedicated to urging Muslims to turn away from a belief system that abuses human rights. 6. Belief in God-Given Liberty Because America is the land of the free, our nation has been able to send missionaries worldwide to share the love of Jesus Christ, and here at home, we have been able to minister to the poor, help the downtrodden, and practice our faith freely. As Christians, if we believe in this God-given liberty and freedom of conscience, we must work to convert Muslims to faith in Jesus, or else, we stand to lose our liberty. Consider that there are 2.4 million Muslims in US today. Two-thirds of these are immigrants, having come here from 68 countries. According to a USA Today article from May 23, 2007, “The USA’s 2.4 million Muslims hold more moderate political views than Muslims elsewhere in the world.” However, “pockets of sympathy for Islamic extremism (exist in the US), especially among younger people.” Additionally, “47 percent of Muslims consider themselves Muslims first and Americans second.” Huntington also wrote: “It is hard to find statements by any Muslims, whether politicians, officials, academics, businesspersons, or journalists, praising Western values and institutions.” (Huntington. The Clash of Civilizations. p. 213.) 7. Patriotism toward America Our primary allegiance as Christians must always be to Christ alone; yet, as we have been given the blessing to live in a free nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles, we also have the responsibility to defend our freedoms, as they provide the best opportunity for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When Christopher Columbus wrote in his journal about his life purpose as well as his understanding of God’s hand in his actions, his words read that he was “devoted to the holy Christian faith and propagators thereof, and enemies of the sect of Mahomet (Mohammed) and of idolatries and heresies” and that his purpose in traveling to parts of India was “to see those princes and peoples and land and the character of them and of all else, and the manner which should be used to bring about their conversion to our holy faith…” Columbus also frequently quoted Matthew 28:19-20 (The Great Commission) and Acts 1:8 (“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” NIV) in relation to himself, and he believed God had a divine plan for the North American continent and that he was a part of it. And central to this plan was sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Contrast this with the belief of Islam regarding America. Listen to the words of extremist leaders: • “The real matter is the extinction of America, and God willing, it will fall to the ground.” Mullah Mohammed Omar, January, 2002 • “The White house will turn black with God’s help, and America, England, and Israel should be destroyed.” Jerusalem Mufti (the highest Islamic religious teacher in Jerusalem) • “Jihad is our path, let us damn America, let us damn Israel.” Sami Al-Arian, Kuwaiti native and University of South Florida professor • “Have no mercy on the Jews, where ever you are, kill those Jews and the Americans who are like them.” Sheik Ahmed Abu Halabiya, in a sermon broadcast on Palestinian Authority television Consider this: An October 2001 survey of over 500,000 people from so-called “Moderate” Islamic nations yielded more than one-half million responses affirming that Osama Bin Laden—the mastermind behind the 9/11 terror attacks on America— is viewed as “a folk hero, and a righteous Muslim.” If we love our nation, Christians must pray for the conversion of Muslims. 8. Concern for our Descendants Recent billboards in Cairo, Egypt read: “The Muslims are coming! We are going to change the face of the world by Islam, and rule by the Koran!” Dave Phillips is a campus minister to international students, and he works with many Muslim youth, both American and immigrant. In his words: “Muslim parents tend to pass down the good, and bypass the darker stories of the past. They never mention the Christian youths persecuted by Muslims and forced to convert and become the Janissaries, during the Ottoman Empire. They never mention the hundreds of thousands of Armenians killed in Turkey in 1915. Even today, they ignore the Sudanese government which imposes Sharia law on Christian black tribes… through starvation and military attacks.” (Taber. Muslims Next Door. p. 60.) The bloody legacy of Islam has already impacted our generation: • Pan Am Flight 103 • World Trade Center bombing, 1993 • US Military bombings, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia • American Embassy bombing, Africa • USS Cole bombing • World Trade Center Towers, 9-11-01 • Jihad killings of 3,000,000 in Sudan (at one point, 800,000 Christians were killed in under 90 days) Unless the advance of Islam is halted, this is the future our children will face. 9. Quest for Self-Preservation “It [Islam] is the only religion that was started in conscious opposition to Christianity.” (Hume, R.E. The World’s Living Religions. New York, New York: Charles Scribner & Sons. p. 213.) In his book, The World’s Living Religions, R.E. Hume, Ph.D. writes, “Mohammed was a domineering, warring, autocrat. He prescribed war, and advocated violence toward all non-Muslims.” (Hume 218). And perhaps even more sobering is Hume’s observation: “Nowhere in the world is there a notably successful self-governing national administration which has been started by Muslims.” Yet, today, we see Muslims not only refusing to assimilate into Western culture in terms of accepting Western law but also attempting to infiltrate Western culture with Sharia law. Islam has one goal: dominance. Yet, such dominance can exist only when self-government is obliterated. 10. Worship of God In all of this, our highest motive for wanting to see the conversion of Muslims is not so the world will be less violent. It’s not even so 1.6 billion people will avoid hell. For the Christian, our desire to see the conversion of Muslims is also motivated by our desire for there to be more worshippers of the living God! John Piper said that “…missions and evangelism exists, because worship of the true God does not currently exist among all peoples.” Conclusion A great spiritual battle is taking place in our nation, and it’s one that will not resolve on its own. We would do well to remember the worlds of Benjamin Franklin, spoken to the delegates working through a period of crisis during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia: “We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings, that ‘except the Lord Build the House they labor in vain that build it.’ (Psalm 127:1). I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall become a reproach and bye word down to future ages.”(Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Volume I. p. 451-452.) How Do We as Christians Respond to Islam? Certainly, there is a theological response to Islam. For example: • Jesus’ claims about salvation were confirmed by an unparalleled degree of proof. Christ physically rose from death, confirming who He was and what He taught. Mohammad’s teachings were not accompanied by supernatural confirmation, and the Muslim prophet himself said he did no miracles. • Compelling data affirm the trustworthiness of the Bible. Muslims believe the New Testament is not trustworthy because the original documents allegedly have been altered over the years. However, no one can point out the alleged “changes” or when they were supposedly made. The corruptions simply aren’t there. • John 3:16’s literal meaning matters. Whether a Bible translation reads that Jesus is God’s “only begotten Son” or “one and only Son,” this verse does not imply that God had physical relations with Mary, as Muslims believe. The original language asserts that Jesus is, literally, “of the same nature” or “essence” as the Father. • Christianity is unique in that Jesus is a loving and sinless Savior. The Koran’s suras 40:55 and 48:1-2 teach that Muhammad was a sinner. Because Jesus possessed both full divinity and sinless humanity, He was qualified to die sacrificially and capable of rising by His own power. • Christians have an intimate personal relationships with Jesus and great joy knowing they are secure in Christ (John 10:28-29). Where one stands with God is the most important issue of life—more important than culture, family background or social customs. There is also a practical response: • Pray! Prayer is indispensable. Indeed, Scripture teaches that God the Father is the One Who draws people to Jesus. • Be very kind to Muslims. • Be very humble, and avoid an air of superiority or cockiness at all costs. • Be patient, and be ready to re-explain certain things several times. • Quote the Bible freely. Muslims have a degree of reverence for the Bible. • Focus on Jesus Christ. • Emphasize that Christians have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (John 15:1-8, 1 John 1:3; 1 John 5:11-13; Revelation 3:20). • Emphasize that Christianity is unique among the world’s religions. • Share that Christians have great joy in knowing that they are SECURE in Christ. • Point out that where one stands with God is the most important issue of life. Oh – and did I mention, pray. “…That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” Romans 10:9-10

The stern warning to Ephesus is followed by an encouragement that is notoriously difficult to understand. It is this encouragement that provides us with a considerable amount of clarity about the matter of criticism itself. 6 But you do have this going for you: You hate what the Nicolaitans practice – practices I also hate. (Rev 2:6) The encouragement had to do with Christ’s affirmation that the believers in Ephesus do hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans. In order to understand what those deeds may have been we must see what John was asked to write to the congregation in another great Roman city in the Asia Minor – the City of Pergamum. We read in Rev. 2:13-15 “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is… I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” ( Rev 2:13-15 ) In these verses we see the evil deeds of Balaam in teaching Balak to entice Israel to sin. The treachery concerned two things 1) eating foods sacrificed to idols and 2) engaging in acts that are sexually immoral ( Num 22-24 ). T hese things are somehow connected with the evil teachings of the Nicolaitans. Incidentally, the decision of the Jerusalem council as expressed in their letter to the Gentile followers of Jesus, while exempting the non-Jews from all kinds of burdens of observance obligatory to Jews, set forth a concrete set of food-related prohibitions for Gentiles as well. We read in Acts 15:28-29 , “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.” It is not hard to notice that out of four behaviors forbidden to Gentiles two had do to with Nicolaitans and Balam/Balak issues (eating food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality). It is important to see that this combination of food and sex-related offenses was particularly important for the Jewish Apostles and elders to address in their letter to Gentile converts to the Jewish Christ. In other words, is it even conceivable that the Apostles would permit Gentile followers of Christ to commit murder, to steal or to be obsessed with the possessions of their neighbors?! The answer to this is of course not. This was not a comprehensive list. But these issues brought up at the Jerusalem Council (consuming food sacrificed to idols, blood, and illicit sex) seem to constitute central challenges that the Gentile followers of the Jewish Christ encountered in their daily lives in the Roman Empire. In the Roman world, the overwhelming majority of meat sold on the market was first offered/dedicated to one or another deity. The only exception to this was the Judean/Jewish isolation from the rest of the Roman population who had their own slaughter rules and privileges. Most Jews residing in the Roman Empire were a part of the network in which food was handled differently. The writings of the Apostle Paul to the nations (all the letters that Saul/Paul ever wrote that made into our New Testament) show clearly that these issues continued to plague the believers enough for him to address them in considerable detail (1 Cor.8-10). Judging from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (that we mistakenly call the first Letter to the Corinthians – 1 Cor.5:9) some Gentile Christ-followers felt that they could continue to purchase and consume meat that had been sacrificed to a pagan deity. The Apostle Paul while agreeing with them that these gods (idols) are nothing, sides with the Jerusalem council in forbidding all the Gentile Christ-followers from eating food associated with Greco-Roman worship rituals in any way (1 Cor.8:1-13). Having considered this important issue, let us return to the discussion of the Nicolaitans. Who were the Nicolaitans and what is the origin of this word that first comes up in Rev. 2:6and then is repeated in Rev. 2:15? The main traditional attempt to understand the etymology of the word is often tied to diaconal appointee Nicolas in Acts 6:5 – “The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.” Presumably at some later stage Nicolas began to teach what was eventually defined as evil deeds of the Nicolaitans and the matter is quite obscure. However, there is another, often overlooked option, suggested many years ago by great Jewish Christian Hebraist John Lightfoot. It allows one to continue reading the Book of Revelation as thoroughly Jewish anti-Roman document. He suggested that perhaps deacon Nicolas was a wrong trail to follow. Instead Nicolaitans was a Hebraism (in this case something originally said in Hebrew but spelled with Greek letters). What did he have in mind? In Hebrew in order to say “we will eat” verb ???? (nokhal) would have been used. We read in Is.4:1, “And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat (???????) our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach. If this Hebrew word ???? (nokhal) is transferred into Greek it can be used as a term describing the “we will eat” people. In a sense that this was their motto, their sentiment – “we will eat” the food that others think is forbidden (food offered to pagan deities). Thus ??? ?????????? (ton nikolaton) “the Nicolaitans” as a group or teaching can originate from Hebrew ???? (nokhal) “we will eat” making a cohesive connection to the context of Balaam and Balak and incident in the book of Numbers referred to in Rev. 2:13-15. 7 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, will permit him to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.’ (Rev 2:7) “The one who has an ear, let him hear” is also a Hebraism that is used also on a number of occasions in the Gospels by Jesus himself. For example, in parable of the seed falling on the good soil and producing various level of fruit (Mark 4:1-20). The basic meaning of this Hebraism is this: “if one is able to hear it, one must obey it.” In this case (Rev. 2:7) what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Christ-following congregations of the Asia Minor is so important that if one hears it, one must obey it. Besides the Hebraism there is a word play in Greek of this verse. The one who hears is “the one who overcomes” ?? ??????? (to nikoti) which is a form of the verb ????? (nikao) that means “to win, conquer, persevere and be victorious”. This suspiciously sounds very similar to the term we just encountered – ??????????? (nikolates) “a Nicolaitan”. If the motto of Nicolaitans is “we will eat” then as a pun this is exactly what God promises to the one who overcomes. If they forgo eating food sacrificed to idols they will eat of the Tree of Life and live. The writer of the Wisdom of Solomon compared the righteous people to the trees of life, as if each one of them is a tree. 1 Faithful is the Lord to them that love Him in truth, To them that endure His chastening, (2) To them that walk in the righteousness of His commandments, In the law which He commanded us that we might live. 2(5) The pious of the Lord shall live by it forever; The Paradise of the Lord, the trees of life, are His pious ones. 3(4) Their planting is rooted for ever. They shall not be plucked up all the days of heaven: (5) For the portion and the inheritance of God is Israel. ( Wisdom of Solomon 14:1-5 ) Almighty always keeps those he calls and chooses. He chastises them but always desires for them to prove themselves faithful, so that they may be with him forever, planted as the trees in the House of the Lord. This was a serious warning. www.eteacherbiblical.com . Used by permission.

Complacency is a potently tragic hallmark of our lives. We’ve certainly got bunches of it. In fact, as the old saying goes, we’ve got it “in spades.” Complacency is conceived in the bosom of familiarity , where something becomes so commonplace that we errantly render it as ‘common.’ We’ve yet to beat this terribly corrosive tendency we have to assume that the more we have of something, the less it’s inherent value. And held tight in the womb of such thinking, complacency is vigorously nurtured and eventually borne. With such a debilitating mentality, it often takes the absence of something to help us understand why the presence of that thing is so terribly vital. In fact, how vital something is might best be illustrated by removing it altogether. We are constantly surrounded by things that are absolutely vital to our existence, yet the regularity of their existence renders them ‘common.’ In time, ‘common’ becomes bland. And in time, bland becomes invisible. And over time, we walk in the company things wholly vital to our existence, but we feel ourselves to be walking alone. We become complacent. Diluting of Love One of the things that we become complacent about is love. We blithely toss around the idea of love in a manner that paints it as something of a magical storyline. It seems that far too often we’ve relegated it to the penmanship of misty-eyed novelists or the musings of our own minds, and in doing so we’ve seemed to have created some horribly diluted understanding of love. We’ve created sugary-sweet caricatures of love that we’ve woven into everything from t-shirts to holidays. We’ve penned its prose into a million cards, and we’ve inserted that self-same prose into tens of thousands of chapters that lay nestled between the covers of a thousand novels. We’ve created starry-eyed renditions of love that serve to put the cold realities of our existence at bay, and we’ve crafted innumerable romantic tales scripted to convince us that the shrunken life that we’re living is not all that there is to live. As is the case with far too many great things, we contort and editorialize them to suit our pithy notions and shallow needs. We can’t see great things as being great things unless we extort them and enslave them to some level of servitude. It seems that great things are great if they serve us. And so we take grandiose license with great things to mold and twist and shape them to make them great based on our needs or our schemas. And in doing so we gut them of everything that made them great, and we field dress them to their own death. We become complacent about great things. And it seems that we do that with love. Losing Love to Understand Love If we want to appreciate something in earnest, it seems that we must first lose it. The slumber of complacency is deep. There’s something at the basest core of our humanity that doesn’t awaken until it’s violently shaken. And often that violent ‘shaking’ is to lose the very thing that we need to be awakened to. Sadly, by the time that we’re finally ‘shaken’ awake from our dozing complacency, the thing that we needed to be awakened to is long gone. And out of the ensuing panic we desperately try to figure out how to get it back, or we determine that we can’t get it back so we either settle into denial or grieve our loss. Therefore, maybe the best way to understand love is to understand what life would be like without it. That’s probably not something that many of us think about or have thought about or would like to think about. But, what would our existence be like if this thing that we call ‘love’ simply didn’t existence? Additionally, what if any shred of any emotion that was even remotely similar to love simply did not exist. Take love out of our existence, and the chilling question would be “what’s left?” If we knew that, we might be less complacent. What’s Left Without Love Loss of Community Take away love and we have no reason to consider our fellowman nor join him in the partnership of life and living. The communal foundation forged strong by empathy, fired by sympathy, and cinched tight by respect is obliterated. The unbroken strength of that foundation as faithfully sustained by conscience and ethics would collapse and completely implode. In the collapse, we would become brutally rogue entities savagely committed to the sustenance of our own existence. Life would become wholly adversarial, helplessly falling into the smoldering ashes of anarchy. Without love our world would fall, and in the chaos of the descent it would tear itself apart to its own death. Loss of Self Take away love and our own individual existence would fall into abject irrelevance. The desire to sustain ourselves would devolve to a singularly primitive savagery that would be completely dependent upon the degree of savagery that we possess to sustain it. Hatred of self and for self born of the absence of love would cause us to viciously turn on ourselves, rendering us our own enemies. We would then become the very thing that we fear and the very object that we despise. And in such a pathetic conundrum, we would have no point of escape. The deep passion to expand ourselves, to expotentionally grow, to vigorously nurture the plethora of resources that we possess would simply not exist because we would not have the love for ourselves that would prompt us to such dynamic actions. In essence, to become loveless is to become non-existent. Loss of Life Take away love, and nothing would capture our imagination. We would find nothing compelling. We would never marvel or be held in the mesmerizing embrace of wonder. We would never be lifted to heights of ecstasy, nor would we know the depths to which one could fall. Passion, desire, dreams and hope are all borne of love and entirely sustained by it. And when they are gone because love is gone we become little more than mindless carbon-based life forms driven by a drive to exist that is no deeper than the drive to exist. Without love our humanity vanishes and with it everything that sets us apart from everything else. Rather, our lives would be lived out on a stale robotic continuum where life would have no flavor, no scent, no color, no melody and no texture. We would know nothing of vision and we would cease to be fascinated by ceaseless possibilities. We would lose the ability to visualize something greater than ourselves, and then believe that we have the ability to become that thing. Rather, we would become automatons, driven solely by the baser drive of instinct alone. Take away love and we take away meaning. Loss of Existence Finally, have we postulated that without love existence would never have existed in the first place? While we have done a bang-up job of banging up life, it is love that always puts it all back together again. And when love puts things back together, it always puts them back together better than they were before we messed them up. Love is the single thing that has called humanity up and out at times of monumental crisis. Love is the thing that pressed men forward at those pivotal moments in history when everything that was not love declared all as lost. Love is what pushed civilizations upward and onward when they teetered on the brink of oblivion. Love is what called people to moments of great sacrifice so that others might move on even if those sacrificing could not because of their sacrifice. It is on the winds of love that we have been raised up and thrust out. And so, I would be so bold as to say that if it weren’t for love, existence would have never existed in the first place. Getting Back to Love Love is far more than something that has arisen from the penmanship of misty-eyed novelists or the musings of our own minds. Love is far more than the sugary-sweet caricatures of love that we’ve woven into everything from t-shirts to holidays. It is infinitely greater than the prose that we’ve penned into a million cards, and it is unimaginably superior to the self-same prose that we’ve inserted into tens of thousands of chapters that lay nestled between the covers of a thousand novels. Imagine life without love and you will begin to touch the periphery of this incredible thing that we call ‘love.’ And in doing so, we can once again understand the wonderfully immense power of this thing called ‘love.’ © 2015 Craig Lounsbrough, M.Div., Licensed Professional Counselor

“After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke.” John 21-22 The very thought that someone from his most intimate circle of disciples could betray him gave Jesus what the Gospel calls “trouble in his spirit.” Judas Iscariot was so trusted hat no one looked his way. They looked around with bewilderment. One of the ways we know Judas was trusted by the twelve is because he was the one responsible for the disciple’s treasury. The money bag was guarded from thievery and bandits by Judas Iscariot, which may suggest that the word “Iscariot” was etymologically connected to the word sicarii. The sicarii was a Jewish ultra-zealot terrorist group operating in Judea that leveled blow after blow to the Roman occupation and their supporters. It is possible that Judas was a former sicarii. (They were largely men of principled convictions and excellent fighting skills. Judas was not entrusted with the money because he could count better than the other disciples. Had this been the case, Mathew, the former tax-collector, would have been chosen.) 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus’ side, In a world where tables were on the same level as the floor, the disciples partook of their food reclining (almost prostrate) around the area where food was served. One of the disciples was this mysterious person who is called “the beloved disciple.” There have been various theories put forth as to the identity of this disciple. (None fully convincing). He was most likely the author of this otherwise anonymous Gospel. 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. Notice the level of detail that the Gospel gives. It can best be explained by the author (in opposition to Luke’s account) being an eyewitness to the narrated events. He remembers the small points, like the beloved disciple motioning to Jesus to get his attention during the meal where no doubt the disciples were loudly talking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. We can almost feel the tension. Jesus speaks of his betrayal by one of the disciples. The beloved disciple asked him quietly to show him who would betray him. Jesus answered just as quietly: “I will show you now”. (It was customary to take a piece of bread and dip it in something tasty and give it directly to another person nearby.) It was the perfect way to tell the beloved disciple something in such a way that no one would guess what Jesus was really doing. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. As Jesus extended his hand to give the peace of bread to Judas Iscariot he told him out loud that he should hurry up. Jesus had routinely given Judas assignments, so it looked like nothing unusual had taken place. 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ It is intriguing that while we normally ascribe the term glorification to Jesus only after his resurrection, Jesus does so in advance of the events. It seems that Jesus viewed betrayal, death, resurrection and ascension as one package, so much so that at the time when the events that ultimately led to his death and resurrection began, he was already able to say: “Now is the Son of Man glorified”. 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This was intended for of all faithful Christ-followers everywhere and at all times (and rightly so) but originally it was in reference to the 12 apostles. How you may ask? If Jesus was appointing new heads of the tribes of Israel and as such was renewing Israel’s hope; when could we expect there to be some correlation with the narratives of the 12 heads of the tribes of Israel. One of the foundational stories of the sons of Jacob was the story of Joseph’s near-killing and eventual being sold into slavery in Egypt. One can hardly speak of anything more unloving than the heads of Israel’s key family attempted murder of their brother. In our text, here, at the foundation of the renewed Israel through the twelve new heads/apostles, Jesus begins by commanding them to love one another. This is indeed how their authority as true disciples of Christ would be recognized by those who are true Israel. 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. Peter’s commitment would soon be tested. Jesus told Peter that when the time would come, Peter would deny him. That time was rapidly approaching. One of the reasons Jesus said this was because he already knew Judas Iscariot was on his way to the Temple to betray Jesus’ location to the authorities for his immediate arrest.

Share 0 Leadership is a rare commodity. It’s almost impossible to imitate. Competitors can only imitate what you do, but they can’t imitate who you are. How do you define a successful leader? A great leader is someone who inspires others to greatness. This simple definition is all-encompassing. Leaders do not fit a single profile. Leaders are not like t-shirts: one size fits all. They are not robots. Different kinds of leaders can be effective. What competency do great leaders have? They know their main objective: the “one thing” that drives every decision, every methodology. What’s your “One Thing?” It is your passion, what makes life worth living for you. This one thing becomes your true north, your inner compass, your centerline. I call it having a clear “Life Philosophy”. Steve Jobs defined his vision: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. Most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” If we don’t have a clear life philosophy, we stop thinking, we stop asking questions and we don’t understand the “why” behind things. Having a clear life philosophy has two advantages. You need to know where you are going, or life will take you somewhere you don’t want to go. For example, living life is like navigating an old sailing ship on the high seas. If you drop the sails, have no compass or captain, you are driven by wind, currents and storms. You drift aimlessly. When you live purposefully, you follow the captain. You know your tools, and sail using a rudder, a compass, reading the stars. You can sail through storms, into the wind and overcome obstacles. People sense your authenticity and passion. They identify your purpose, inner conviction, honesty and transparency. Being a purposeful leader gives you freshness and joy. Such character is attractive and compelling. How do you develop your life philosophy? Think deeply. Know yourself and understand life’s principles. We often depend on others to think for us. We listen to media, politicians, preachers and friends to tell us what to think and how to determine right and wrong. Thinking deeply requires simplicity, silence and solitude. What can you eliminate in your life to slow down and focus? What habits clutter your thinking? How much media can you pare down? How much time do you devote to television, internet, social media, e-mails? Do you look at your iPhone 150 times per day? Silence requires us to quiet our minds, talk less and listen more. We need to listen to others, but also to our inner voice. We need to be spiritual people. Solitude is essential to thinking deeply. You spend time with the person you want to get to know. To know yourself, you must spend time with yourself, meditate and allow yourself to be comfortable with being alone. Peel back layers of pretense and self-delusion and learn who you truly are. By the time we are adults, we form a “protective shield.” Psychologists call it “confirmation bias.” Confirmation bias happens when we filter reality through our prejudices, ignoring evidence that challenges or refutes what we believe and eagerly accepting evidence that confirms what we believe. Confirmation bias becomes a form of “self-delusion” Author Adam Smith writes that self-delusion is the “source of half the disorders of human life,” creating multiple problems in human existence. President Lincoln struggled with the injustices in the South. He knew the Confederate leaders. How could so many reasonable, educated and godly men defend the atrocities of slavery and its injustice? Confirmation bias. They saw what they wanted to see, and disregarded the rest. Mentors, spouses, books, self-evaluation, and psychological testing all help us see the reflection of our “true selves.” Finally, we need to “feed the wolf” as leaders. We must understand the governing laws of life and learn how to utilize them to our advantage. There are laws of nature, economics, and spirituality. If we don’t clearly understand these laws, we will find ourselves fighting against them. Here is just one example: An old Cherokee told his grandson, “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies and ego. The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.” The boy thought about it and asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?” The old man quietly replied, “The one you feed.” What you feed is what will grow. You are either going to feed good or evil, virtue or vice. Be a focused leader. Think deeply. Know yourself. Practice virtue and integrity. Those who follow will bless you.