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Written by Tim Collins
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Thursday, 08 January 2009 |
Ok, read Ephesians 5:25-33. No really. I need you to read it before you read the rest of this post. Go ahead I’ll wait, ……are you done yet? ……No! Really read it first. Done? Ok I’ll trust you. Lets go on.
So here is the set up. It’s Sunday afternoon and the Bears game is about ready to start. You got the chips, the dip and your favorite drink. The remote is at your side, your feet have just gone up and you are set till half time.
All of sudden your wife walks into the room, comes over to you and says, “ I know you are ready to watch the game and you may, but would you please go shoe shopping with me?” You look at her in astonishment not knowing what to say. The question plays through your mind, “should I watch the Bears game or go shoe shopping with my wife”? Now there is a question that I bet most of us guys would never debate.
Ok, you told me you read Ephesians five, right? So lets look at verse 28 & 29, husbands love your wife as you love your body. Now if you are a guy I know you love yourself, so that’s a given. The scene I just set up proves it and it is certainly not unusual on a Sunday afternoon. In Chicago we like to watch the Bears. But what if we really did love our wives as Christ loves His church and gave up His very life for her. Can we love our wives that much? Would we be willing to lay down our wants and desires for her. Could we really love her as much as we love our own body and care and nurture her? Would we really put down the remote, put our drink in a to-go mug for her? I think with the Holy Spirits help we could. Could I do it on my own strength? No, I doubt it. Shoe shopping is not anywhere close to what I want to do anytime, but with God’s help I could live verse 28-29 and so could you.
You know Jesus is our example and He did it for us. Think about it. Here is Jesus in heaven, everything is perfect, He is in his heavenly recliner and the time comes for him to get up go to the earth, live for a while in all of the dirt and then do the thing that, for God, would be worse than us going shoe shopping. He chose to die for us in a horrible way on the cross with all of our sins on him. But He did that for his bride the church, verses 26-27 tells us why He did it. He wanted a perfect bride, without spot or wrinkle.
Men now is the time to ask God for strength and turn off the TV and choose your bride all over again and go shoe shopping with her if that is what she wants. I know it will kill you, but it will be life for her and you know what, she is worth it. So treat her as you would treat your own body. You will also be making her into something beautiful for you. But it starts with dying to our own desires and living for her.
Ok, so you had better go back and reread Ephesians again. You know what, I am going to do that. Then I am going to pray for help!
Tim
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Written by Tim Collins
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Friday, 19 December 2008 |
“but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” (Exodus 33:11)
I find myself longing for God more and more. When I come near to Him I want to linger as long as life’s pressures and responsibilities allow me. So I like the story of how Joshua waited at the presence of God. This young man would not depart out of the tent of meeting. When Moses would enter, God would talk to Moses as a friend, face to face. Moses had that unique relationship with God at that time on the earth. Psalm 103 verse 7 says Israel only knew the acts of God but Moses actually knew the ways of God.
It would seem to me, that Joshua would have to be able to hear the conversations that God would have with Moses. Joshua would be there when the cloud would come down and cover the entrance to the tent. He was in the tent while the conversation went on then the presence of God would lift and Moses would leave but Joshua would not. He was hungry for God. He wanted to know God better so he waited. In that presence of God his faith would grow. He would think about the words he heard and they sank into his heart and those words became real to him. So when he was chosen to spy out the promised land his heart did not doubt that God could deliver it into their hands. (Numbers 14:8-9) Years later the heart that desired to be with God lead him to be the next leader of Israel.
So let’s think about our hearts. Do we have that hunger for the presence of God and the desire to talk to Him face to face? Do we wait in the presence of God wanting more and more?
We have a promise of a relationship that is far better than the Israelites did. Jesus said I call you friends if you do what I command you. (John15:14) Then He prays for us. He prays that you and I would have the same kind of relationship with the Father that Jesus had with the Father. That we would be one with God just like Jesus was one with God. (John 17:20-23) That is so incredible. We don’t have to go to a special place, or offer some kind of sacrifice. We don’t even have to act better to get to talk to our heavenly Dad. He said that we can come boldly into His presence anytime we want with whatever need we have. (Hebrews 4:16) The only question is this, are we coming to talk with Him and are we getting to know God’s ways? Everything is open to us. All is ready. Will we put forth the effort that Joshua did to be near God? Will we set aside time to be with the one who loves us as Jesus was loved by the Father?
Psalm 91 talks about dwelling with Him and loving Him. In some versions of the Bible, verse14 says, “to set our love on Him”. Are we setting our love on Him or have we set our love on something or some one else? When we do seek God, the blessings are awesome.
Take time today. Make time today! Let this relationship grow and flourish. We will be blessed and we will bless our Father who loves us so much.
Tim |
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Written by Tim Collins
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Tuesday, 16 October 2007 |
For dinner tonight we had a great spinach pie that Lynn made. We also ate the chicken that I burned on the bar-b-q grill. Well the redeeming thing was the conversation... |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 29 February 2008 )
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Written by Tim Collins
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Tuesday, 28 August 2007 |
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Shift: the definition, 1. to exchange for or replace by another 2. to change the place, position, or direction of 3. to make a change in place 4. to change place or position, to change direction, to change gears 5. to go through a change, to change one's clothes To change place or position; this defintion speaks to me of what Jesus did for us. I have been searching for a scripture that captures the essence of shift church. I like this one; Colossians chapter 1: 13 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Another version says it this way; “For he has rescued us out of the darkness and gloom of Satan’s kingdom and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 September 2008 )
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