Motive

The subheading over 1 Corinthians 13 in my Bible says, "The Way of Love". That's a good description of the way Jesus lived, and the way we hope to live, but often get caught up in the how and what of life, forgetting the why.


1 Corithians 13:1-3 says,

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing."


Motive is everything. If I do not love others, I have missed the point completely.
That changes everything...

If you busy yourself with serving, ministry, giving, and even become a martyr, but have no love for those you are doing it for-it is really worthless. That is what Paul is saying. You should ask yourself why you are doing it. Make sure that your motives are centered around your love for the individual or group you are serving. If not love, what?

Paul listed some characteristics of love in verses 4-7, that will give you a clue to where your motives lie.

1 Corithians 13:4-7,

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

After viewing that I saw that I needed to reflect and make some changes. Maybe you feel the same. A few thoughts to consider:

*Begin to rethink your activities. Stop those that are not motivated by pure love, or if possible, change your motivation.

*Ask God to help you to love others as He does; love for what you are doing;love for Him.

*Begin something new that is fueled solely by your love. It doesn't have to be big, but it does have to be personal to you.

"We are shaped and fashioned by what we love." -Johann Wolfgang

Outside of God's Holiness, I do not think anything comes closer to God's heart than pure love...

Top 10 Hunger Stories in the Bible

Top 10 “Hunger” Stories in the Bible


For each of these 10 stories, discuss the following questions in one large group, ponder them in quiet conversations in small groups, or allow individuals to mull over them silently. (Of course, not every question will always apply to every Bible passage.)

• What exactly was the hungry person hungering for?
• How did the hungry person respond to his hunger?
• Did anyone else respond to the needy person’s hunger?
• Whom did the hungry person ask for nourishment?
• What was the upshot of the hungry person finally getting fed?
• Was there a “point” to the story—or was the fact that a hungry child of God simply got enough food for a change point enough?


10 Esau’s birthright: Esau sells his birthright because he is hungry. (Genesis 25:29-34)

One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home exhausted and hungry from a hunt. Esau said to Jacob, "I'm starved! Give me some of that red stew you've made." (This was how Esau got his other name, Edom—"Red.")
Jacob replied, "All right, but trade me your birthright for it."
"Look, I'm dying of starvation!" said Esau. "What good is my birthright to me now?"
So Jacob insisted, "Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine." So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brother.
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright.


9 Israel in Egypt: Famine and hunger in Canaan drive Joseph’s brothers to Egypt—where they end up staying for 400 years. (Genesis 41:53 to 42:7; and 46:1-6)


8 Manna and quail: Israelites get more food in the desert than they bargain for. (Exodus 16 and Numbers 11)


7 David and the consecrated bread: He actually ate the holy bread! (1 Samuel 21:1-6 and Mark 2:23-27)

David went to the city of Nob to see Ahimelech the priest. Ahimelech trembled when he saw him. "Why are you alone?" he asked. "Why is no one with you?"
"The king has sent me on a private matter," David said. "He told me not to tell anyone why I am here. I have told my men where to meet me later. Now, what is there to eat? Give me five loaves of bread or anything else you have."
"We don't have any regular bread," the priest replied. "But there is the holy bread, which I guess you can have if your young men have not slept with any women recently."
"Don't worry," David replied. "I never allow my men to be with women when they are on a campaign. And since they stay clean even on ordinary trips, how much more on this one!"
So, since there was no other food available, the priest gave him the holy bread—the Bread of the Presence that was placed before the Lord in the Tabernacle. It had just been replaced that day with fresh bread.


One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of wheat. But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “They shouldn't be doing that! It's against the law to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.”
But Jesus replied, "Haven't you ever read in the Scriptures what King David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest), ate the special bread reserved for the priests alone, and then gave some to his companions. That was breaking the law, too." Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath.


6 Elijah and the widow: What we all wish would happen in our kitchens. (1 Kings 17:7-16)

But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
Then the Lord said to Elijah, "Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. There is a widow there who will feed you. I have given her my instructions."
So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, "Would you please bring me a cup of water?" As she was going to get it, he called to her, "Bring me a bite of bread, too."
But she said, "I swear by the Lord your God that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die."
But Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid! Go ahead and cook that ‘last meal,’ but bake me a little loaf of bread first. Afterward there will still be enough food for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!"
So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil for many days. For no matter how much they used, there was always enough left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.


5 Jesus in the desert: The devil tried to get to him through his (empty) stomach. (Matthew 4:1-4)

Then Jesus was led out into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. For forty days and forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry. Then the Devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread."
But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, ‘People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.’”


4 The miraculous feeding of thousands: On two occasions Jesus fed a whole lot of hungry people with only a few loaves and a handful of fish: Matthew 14:13-21 and Matthew 15:29-39. Here’s the latter story:

Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. A vast crowd brought him the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with physical difficulties, and they laid them before Jesus. And he healed them all. The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking around, and those who had been blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the road.”
The disciples replied, “And where would we get enough food out here in the wilderness for all of them to eat?”
Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They replied, “Seven, and a few small fish.” So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
They all ate until they were full, and when the scraps were picked up, there were seven large baskets of food left over! There were four thousand men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.


3 Lazarus and the rich man: Sooner or later, the tables turn. (Luke 16:19-25)

There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed and who lived each day in luxury. At his door lay a diseased beggar named Lazarus. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. Finally, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham.
The rich man shouted, “Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.”
But Abraham said to him, “Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.”


2 James’ definition of true faith: Not exactly a story, this teaching nonetheless lays out in stark terms what your attitude and actions toward the poor and the hungry tell you and others about yourself. (James 2:14-17)

Dear brothers and sisters, what’s the use of saying you have faith if you don’t prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can’t save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well”-—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless.


. . . and the number-one “hunger” story in the Bible:

1 Feeding Jesus: You never know who that hungry person you’re feeding may be. (Matthew 25:35-45)
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“For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”
Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?” And the King will tell them, “I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”
Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, “Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.”
Then they will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?” And he will answer, “I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.”


-What exactly was the hungry person hungering for?
• How did the hungry person respond to his hunger?
-Did I respond to the needy person’s hunger?
• Whom did the hungry person ask for nourishment?
-What was the catalyst of the hungry person finally getting fed?
• Was there a “point” to the story—or was the fact that a hungry child of God simply got enough food for a change point enough?

(provided by World Vision using The Holy Bible, New Living Translation)

Keep the Bells Ringing

Aaron took me to a few churches. I sat in a pew or chair at church and felt nothing as I watched him attempt to sing. I couldn’t see what was so great about singing songs to an invisible God that I did not know. I had seen a lot of bad things in churches as I grew up, and I wasn’t about to be a part of one. At first I figured Aaron’s enthusiasm was because he liked the music-until it changed. Then I thought that he was just “those people”. Woohoo!!!!

You know-the ones who sing louder than everyone else (and can’t hold a note), and put their hands in the air.

But after a while I felt like I was missing something…maybe something important. I couldn’t figure it out. Aaron made it sound so easy; I didn’t take him at his word at first. I worried that I would never have that kind of joy in my life.
Then I saw how Aaron lived his faith by being involved in the lives of several high school and jr high students as a camp counselor. He was exciting and took life for what it was. He simply believed that God was with him. He never had to tell people that he was a Christian. They knew by the way he led. When I saw his wholehearted trust in God, I believed in Jesus as my Savior.

Then I became one of “those people”. Woohooo!!!!!
I started to praise God everyway I knew how, and few ways I didn’t! I still remember spending time alone with God in the beginning. It was like Christmas, but as time went by, my enthusiasm and faith started to fade. It wasn’t that I did not want to worship God. Rather than living life, I started surviving. When you go into that mode it is hard to think of anything else.

Do you have a hard time figuring out how people can be so overjoyed at the Christian life? They worship like no one is watching, pray like the world is ending, and love like it is all that truly matters. Why don’t I get into worship like they do?

You can blame it on the music, you can blame it on the preaching, you can blame it on the circumstances in your life, or you can start living the life you were meant to live.

There is a scene in the movie, "The Polar Express" where a boy sees Santa but can't hear the bells on his sleigh because he made the choice that he was not going to believe in Santa Claus. Then he makes the choice and follows it up with saying, "I believe, I believe!!!". The clip illustrates how you can claim to be a believer and yet not truly believe. You may not have any joy in your heart about Christ saving you, and do not get excited about the things of God-simply because you have made the choice not to just BELIEVE.

It is hard to grasp the concept of a jolly, benevolent fat man who gives us gifts each year because he loves to give gifts. It is difficult to think of a team of 12, 400 pound arctic deer pulling a ½ ton sled through the night sky too, but we have this desire in the corners of our being to believe in someone who not only cares about us, but has the power to make a difference; to change our lives.

That’s what Santa did in the movie, The Polar Express. He changed his life by the gift he gave him, and the words he spoke. Jesus did the same for us when he set us free and gave us spiritual gifts.
“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore He says:
"When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."(Ephesians 4:7-8, NKJ)

If you want to hear the bells on the sleigh, you too must believe. The first gift of Christmas in the movie was a bell from Santa's sleigh to a little boy who had trouble believing. The true first gift of Christmas was the gift of Life through Christ that God gave to the world to save us from our sin. God will give you that gift if you will do as he boy did in the movie. Though he did not understand how it was all possible, he simply made the choice to BELIEVE. After wards Santa told him that believing is seeing. It isn't the other way around.

Keeping the Bells Ringing
I. To hear the bells you need to accept the gift God is holding out to you-new life in Christ. It is then you become part of God's timeless family from all nations. As in the movie, the bells ring the loudest when you first hear them. The bells will echo with deafening joy as an innumerable host of angels celebrates your new life!
Isaiah had a vision of God’s throne room. When he saw God, he was afraid because he knew that he should not have been there because of who he was and how sinful he was.
And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (Isaiah 6:3-5, NIV)

But once God removed his sin, he heard Him.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:8, NIV)

Once God has removed our sin through Jesus Christ, we will begin to hear God. We will begin to experience the joy that we had longed for in our relationship with Jesus.
That relationship begins when you believe in Jesus Christ and receive the gift of life that he offers. Remember it is free. You cannot earn it, you just accept it.

II. To continue to hear the bells as time wears on meditate on God's Word daily, and put it into practice.
When Moses died, Joshua took the lead of Israel. As he assumed command, God told him to be courageous, and
"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:7-8,NIV)
Meditating on God's word will echo with the bells that you heard when you first believed. You will begin to hear the bells on a regular basis and your joy will be deeply rooted in something other than external circumstances. It will be rooted in knowing God personally and His word.
God's word was written for a purpose, and when you read it and apply it, you fulfill that purpose.
Isaiah 55:10-11
"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

When you read God's word with the intent of putting it to use in your own life, it will draw you closer to its Author. He is the source of the joy and boldness you seek.
III. To hear the bells ringing all year retell the “old old story”. We must teach it to our children, and grandchildren.
In Deuteronomy 11:18-20 God says,
"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,"
Make the most of every opportunity that God gives you to remember and retell His word. When you are at work remember Him, when you are in class remember Him. Tell Bible Stories to your kids, grand kids, nieces and nephews, Sunday Schools, Youth Groups, Churches, and ANYONE else who will listen.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,” (Colossians 3:23, NIV)

You can do these things to continue hearing the bells throughout the year. You can meditate on what God says.. You can retell bible stories and the Gospel to others. These are all very necessary in keeping the joy of Christmas, and the boldness to love others with you.

But if you do not simply believe, then all of these will never give you the fulfillment you are looking for. Only Jesus can give you that, and it starts with simply BELIEVING.

IV. The most important thing in hearing the bells and retaining the Christmas joy is simply BELIEVING like a child that Jesus loves you and will take care of you. That's Scriptural.

The economy is faltering, my health is failing, I am getting older, my children are in trouble, I am in trouble, I am losing my hair…
There are so many things you can worry about if you want to. But your Dad is watching over you, and will not let anything happen that you cannot handle. You have His word on that. 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Do you remember being a child and being held by your mom or dad and feeling safe? Knowing that they would take care of you? You didn’t know how they would, but you trusted that they could and would.
As a little boy, when I sat on my grandpa's lap on the old farm, I felt safe and secure no matter what was going on around me. During our games, his lap was safety. When my parents were fighting his house was safety. The world could be destroyed and we would not have known because I was safe in grandpa's lap.
When I was tired at grandpa's house as a little boy, I would climb up on him in his big chair and lay my head on his shoulder and fall asleep in his big farmer arms. I always slept best in grandpa's arms.
When was the last time that you rested in your Father's arms and felt safe? You can you know. He's got you and no one can take you from His big arms.
Matthew 10:15-16
"Truly, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them."

In the end of the movie the boy's parents could not hear the bell, and after a while his friends couldn't either. As he grew up he was the only one who could still hear the bell-because he simply...
BELIEVES…

Make the choice to believe in Jesus Christ, and what He has done for you. Please respond to this post if you have done that or would like to talk with us

Peace be with You...

When I am bogged down with “stuff” and the Christian life is not looking like what I had envisioned it, I tend to get a little discouraged. I ask questions like, “Am I doing what God asked of me? Or “Did I do something wrong to have this happen?”
It is in those times that God brings His encouragement and peace, and points me again towards His mission.
In John Chapter 20, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, The Disciples, and then again to Thomas. The chapter starts with Mary at the tomb, searching frantically for the body of her dead savior. Jesus asks her what she is doing and she fails to see that it is Him. The Disciples hear from Mary that Jesus is alive, and they fail to believe her. Thomas hears from the Disciples and refuses to believe unless he has proof.
In each of these Jesus appears and addresses the disbelief of each person. The first thing He says is,
“Peace be with you.”
When we truly encounter Christ, he brings His peace into our situation. He wants us to know that He has everything under His control, and ease our hearts. It is only then that we can hear what He has to say. Jesus said what each person needed to hear. Each situation was specific. Mary needed to hear her Savior call her by name once again. The Disciples needed reassurance and guidance as they followed His directives, and Thomas needed some amount of calculated proof that Jesus was truly alive again.
I received a call for a visit to a woman with terminal cancer. The woman had been given a few weeks to live. I knew that I should go, but was afraid that I would be ineffectual at comforting her or answering her questions about life and death. John wrote and lived for the express purpose of making Jesus known. As I hung up the phone and finished reading chapter 20 in the book of John, the last verse rung out the meaning of Jesus’ encouragement.
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31
In those moments Jesus said to me, “Peace be with you.” He was doing for me what he did for Mary, His Disciples, and yes, even Thomas. All that they did and all that we do must amount to this one last verse.
When uncertain struggles challenge our faith and paralyze us with fear, we must remember that Jesus will sustain us. He calms us by His presence and lets us see things through His eyes. When He does, it shows to our family and friends, glorifying Him. It is then that we realize that the purpose of our lives is,
“That you may believe…”