this is today

I had a friend in school whose name was Damien Wilkins. But he couldn’t throw it down like that!

As disciples of Jesus there are many goals for us to aim for in our spiritual walk. Studying the Word, developing our spiritual gifts, serving in the local body, stretching out into ministry and a multitude of other things.

But there is one overarching purpose to our faith that we must never lose sight of. And that is to passionate, wholeheartedly love God.

Mark 12:28-30

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Jesus tells us this is the first and greatest command He has for us; Love our God with everything we have! Loving Jesus is our greatest command and our highest call.

I believe our world is crying out for people who are passionate about their God. People all around us are seeking the real deal. Not hollow religiousity, not gentle platitudes, not two-faced living, not luke-warm spirituality. But whole-hearted, passionate people truly in LOVE with their God.

Because this is so critical, we need to continually gauge our passion and love for Jesus and we can do this according to Mark Chapter 12:

• Heart: Where do your deepest affections lie? What moves your heart? What matters to you, thrills you or angers you?
• Soul: Our soul will follow either the flesh or the Spirit. So are you walking according to the Spirit or flesh? Which captures your attention throughout each day?
• Mind: What does your thought life reflect about you? Are you becoming more like Jesus through the renewing of your mind?
• Strength: What does your life outwardly say about what you love? What does the way you spend your life’s resources (time, talents, finances, relationships etc) say about your love for Jesus?

2 Timothy 4:10

Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica

There a fine line between enjoying the pleasures of the world God gave to us, and forsaking the higher calling of God BECAUSE of the pleasures of the world he gave us.

One of the great things about living where I do, near the expanses of Indian Ocean, is the awesome lifestyle and options we are blessed with. For many this present world in which we live can be very attractive. Weekends away, afternoons at the beach, the good times with friends and food, enjoying your favourite TV show, supporting your favourite team; none of it is bad, so long as it doesn’t seduce you.

Demas was a young leader in the church, travelling with the apostle Paul. In all likelihood he did many great things for the kingdom of God alongside Paul. But at some point the pleasures of life became greater than the pleasure of God. And it ended up costing him his call.

We are citizens of heaven, this present world is just a temporary posting along the way. We should enjoy the life God has blessed us with, but never at the expense of our calling and the higher purposes of God.

I love twitter. It is fast, quick and instant (fast is good in my book!)

Twitter is not only instant it is an excellent way to connect and, I think most importantly, cuts through a lot of the noise and clutter of the net, allowing you to get access to the information you want, when you want. This is me on twitter here.

Anyway, I can’t help but notice twitter’s brand is looking a bit old, a bit stale and to be honest, a bit awkward.

Here’s some incredible alternatives that I think are a massive upgrade on the current look.

Whaddya reckon tweets?

I love the word ‘radical’. In my life I don’t want to live a conventional or standard life. I want to be radical in faith and radical in life for Jesus.

To understand what it is to be radical we need to understand the essence of the word, which is to be “related to or proceeding from the root” (*). A person of radical faith is one who understands and lives by the root of their faith.

At this time of year we celebrate Christmas – the birth of Jesus. I love this time of year for many reasons; the celebrations, the holidays, the family time, the summer and all its sights and sounds. But above all of that Christmas brings to mind the undeniable fact that Jesus came to us, born as a child but with the incredible purpose of redeeming humanity through his death, burial and resurrection.

To be a ‘radical’ may have some different connotations for some, but I believe its actually to recall and re-embrace the foundation of Christmas – the root of the season which is Jesus.

If nothing else Christmas reminds us about Christ. To be radical in our faith and in our life is to live in relationship with the Jesus of Christmas; to believe in Him and His word and to live in the power of His Spirit. Go radical!

Note: Image Courtesy of Camberley FAS

The Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay put on a clinic with some monster through downs against the Miami Heat. Check it out!