God's Passion For Oneness

God's Passion For Oneness
by Jon Walker

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

(John 14:15 HCSB)

When Jesus speaks of love, he allows no room for sentimental fantasy or momentary emotion. He sees love through the eyes of the Father, and from this point of view he deeply understands that true, eternal, godly love is bold and strong, but also painful, messy, and sacrificial.

A love of this strength and magnitude can only take root in the soil of abandonment. We abandon our rights, our thoughts, and our schemes. It was this total and uncompromising abandonment to God that led Jesus to say and do only what the Father told him to do. (John 14:10) It was this uncompromising abandonment that led him to the cross.

If we are to become just like Christ, then we also must be abandoned to the Father. We must line up with the thoughts and plans of God so closely that we appear to be "at one" with him, just as a married couple, deeply abandoned to each other, appear to live as one. Through abandonment, we walk so closely with God that, when people see us, they see the Father at work.

Jesus is teaching this abandonment when he says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." In other words, he's not demanding that you be obedient; rather, he's telling you that love for him should compel you to embrace his purposes.

The Jesus way is that you obey God's commands because you love God, not because you must obey God. By actively pursuing the purposes of God, you worship your Creator.

This also gives you a Christ-like perspective on the daily details of your life, turning every decision into a moment of adoration for God. When you let someone else take the parking space, when you stand behind a promise that proves more costly than you imagined, when you extend hospitality to the cranky neighbor next door – these are moments of worship to God because you are choosing to be obedient to his purposes, rather than doing things your own way. Even choosing not to sin becomes an act of worship, as it brings you into closer alignment with God's commands.

What does this mean?

· As you face decisions today, ask God to show you which path will be an act of worship to him. Then (I know this is easier said than done), move where he tells you to move.

· As you take this step, keep your eyes sensitive to God's grace and presence in the moment. Do this throughout the day, keeping a log so you can track your movement toward oneness with God and his purposes.

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - Hallelujah

I’ve heard there was
A secret chord
That David played, and
It pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care
For music, do you?
It goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king
Composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was strong
But you needed proof
You saw her bathing
On the roof
Her beauty and the
Moonlight overthrew you
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne
And she cut your hair
And from your lips
She drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe I’ve been here before
I know this room
I’ve walked this floor
I used to live alone
Before I knew you
I’ve seen your flag
On the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It’s a cold and
It’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There was a time
You let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show
It to me, do you?
I remember when
I moved in, you
Your holy dark
Was moving too
And every breath we drew
Was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Maybe there’s a God above
And all I ever
Learned from love
Was how to shoot
At someone
Who outdrew you
It’s not a cry
You can hear at night
It’s not somebody
Who’s seen the light
It’s a cold and
It’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Mother Teresa Quotes

• Love is doing small things with great love.

• Do not wait for leaders. Do it alone, person to person.

• Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

• We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.

• There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives--the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them.

• There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.

• The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.

• In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta. (Commonweal, Dec 19, 1997)

• It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.

• The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.

• I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?

• I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.

• The silence is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear. The tongue moves in prayer but does not speak. [letter, 1979]

• Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

• If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

The Most Unique Person

The Most Unique Person

Jesus Christ is often compared to other prophets and teachers, but He is the most unique person to ever live. Everything from His birth to after His death was miraculous and set Him apart from everyone else. Jesus was born by a virgin -- a natural impossibility. Before His mother Mary was married, she was told by an angel she would give birth to the Son of God. When she asked him how this could be, he answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." Just as promised, the virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, the most incredible person to ever have lived.

An Amazing Life

Jesus' life was just as amazing as His birth. At 30 years old, He went out into the cities of Israel and began teaching and healing people. The Bible records that He was different from other preachers, for "the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Likewise, there was no disease too great for His power. It says, "They brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments. and He healed them." Threatened by His fame and authority, the political and religious authorities conspired to kill Him.

A Sudden Death

His death had been predicted over a thousand years before. The prophet Isaiah wrote of Jesus, "He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed." Jesus would pay the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven and have eternal life. Just as had been predicted, Jesus was given the most brutal death sentence of that day for maintaining that He was the Son of God. While hanging on a wooden cross with spikes through His hands and feet, He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Jesus had power to come down from the cross, but He chose to sacrifice His life for others.

The Promise is for You

Just as promised, God raised His Son Jesus back to life -- eternal life -- on the third day after His burial. He was seen by His closest friends and over 500 of His followers before He went up into heaven before their very eyes. After His resurrection, his close friend Peter told a great crowd to repent from their sins and believe in Jesus Christ to be saved, "for the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call." This promise is for you! There are many religions and prophets, but no one but Jesus Christ offers complete forgiveness from your sins and eternal life with God. He has already died for your sins; now you must put your faith in Him. "For 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." If you believe in Jesus, you can pray a prayer like this right now and receive the gift of eternal life.

Receive Him Now

"Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Thank you for coming to Earth and dying so that I could have eternal life. Please forgive all my sins. I am going to follow You with my life now. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and direct my steps. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Did you pray this prayer?

4 Steps to GOD

1. God Loves You!

The Bible says, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life"

The problem is that . . .

2. All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God.

The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says “The wages of sin is death.”

The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago,

3. God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. “God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life -- of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me."

God reaches out in love to you and wants you to be His child. "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe on His name." You can choose to ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and come in to your life as your Lord and Savior.

4. If you want to accept Christ as Savior and turn from your sins, you can ask Him to be your Savior and Lord by praying a prayer like this:

"Lord Jesus, I believe you are the Son of God. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Please forgive my sins and give me the gift of eternal life. I ask you in to my life and heart to be my Lord and Savior. I want to serve you always."

Did you pray this prayer?