Happy Birthday, Squatty Wisdom!

Today, the ol' blog turns 1. What a great first year! Thanks for reading. Sorry, no cake.

Happy Birthday, Gooooooogle!

Everybody's favorite search engine turned 8 today! I hope there is some cake left...

Genuine Love, pt. 4

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)

The call to genuine love is also a call to involvement in other people's lives (corporate living). First, genuine love at its core demands that interaction take place. Obviously, we could not express the aspects of genuine love that have been discussed in previous posts without interacting with someone. However, genuine love also demands more than simple interaction. Corporate living requires participation in the lives of others. Interactions do not require participation. I can interact with someone without participating in their life, yet I cannot be involved without participating in their life. Therefore, I cannot genuinely love my brothers and sisters without participating in their lives. (Whether you are convicted at this point or not, I know that I sure am!)

Corporate living (or living with active participation) helps us in not being self-sufficient, in increasing humility, in decreasing selfishness, in adding strength to pursuits, and in living lives worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27). This is God's design for His people. I believe this to be a context that He uses to work in our lives, not that we are each other's source for the previous statements.

Application:

1. Do you actively and intentionally encourage?
I know that at times I wait until someone is put on my heart for me to encourage them. Yet, I would say that we should be always considering encouraging one another, and I have seen the fruit of that. I recommend using a planner and writing down names on certain days, perhaps one a week to start. "But I don't know what to say." Step out in faith that the Holy Spirit will direct your speech. God is faithful to corporate living because He is actively involved in our lives and calls us to active participation as well.

2. Do you stir?
In other words, are you a source for moving your brothers and sisters to love and do good works? What this means is that you are actively involved in spurring others on to live lives worthy of the gospel, to apply works to the faith they claim, and to correct as necessary. I submit the following analogy (if it so works):

Our fellow brothers and sisters are water in a pitcher. Love and good works are kool-aid. We are called to be spoons, to stir up love and good works in our brothers and sisters as kool-aid is stirred up in water. Yet, the spoon does not stir without a Stirrer (God) nor does the water or the spoon add the kool-aid, meaning God is our source of love and good works. We do not love or do any good works on our own.

Genuine Love, pt. 3

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

1 John 3:16 (ESV)

The repeating principle of genuine love is that God first showed love to us by laying down the life of His Son, Jesus Christ, and in light of that, we are called to count others as more important than ourselves--to lay down our own lives for each other, even unto death if necessary.

The theme behind a lack of love is, "I do not want to be the least of all." Christians know not to desire to be first, with the mentality: I want everyone serving me. We understand that we are to serve, but we do not desire to be the least. Our sinful nature and pride make sure that we "get ours." So even when we serve, we may look for some sort of repayment, something to "relieve" the "burden" of dying to ourself. Yet, I would say that we are to ever press on in service and love to the point of exhaustion and death, never once concerning ourselves with ourselves. The cost of following Christ and His example of love is exhaustion, even death. If we are to be exhausted, where is strength? In Christ! If we are to die, where is life? In Christ! With such a source, we should run with joy and passion towards exhausting all that we are to serve and love one another.

I know that I do not desire to exhaust myself in loving. I do not want to look like someone who has traveled in the desert for days, in that I am tired beyond tired, barely moving on hands and knees with tattered clothes, yearning for one drop of water, a moments relief. Yet, Christ did it for me. He did not and could not trade laying down His life for simple rest and comfort. Through it all, He was not unhappy. Love was His motivation. Likewise, because of His love, love shall be our motivation, and we will be joyful in the exhaustion. Scripture promises that Christ will be our strength, our source of rest, and our source of water (water that we need more than life and will make us to never be thirsty forever).

Yet again I say (from the song Audience of One), how can I not pledge all my love [and service] in light of all that He has done? There is no fear, no loss. Only hope and gain! I can be comforted because I cannot be more "least of all" than Christ. He perfectly served and loved in every way, never being selfish. He can support and be the perfect rock and foundation to all that I do. Therefore, I ought to lay down my life for the brothers and sisters.

Happy Labor Day

In order to break up my "Paul Steele-ish" posts as of late, I have decided to inject humor and wish everyone a happy Labor Day.

Enjoy these fine odes to Labor Day:

Labor Day

Labor Dabor
Click on Puppet Stuff
Click on Labor Dabor

Hidden Stuff for Labor Day:
-Click on Chrispy's name to see the .
-Click on the cooler when the King of Town comes by and mentions the cooler.
-Click on the "Labor Dabor" sign to hear Homestar sing "Everybody Knows It."
-Click on Strong Bad's Diamond to see a Schenectady Crispies cereal commercial.

Hidden Stuff for Labor Dabor:
-Click on the upper third left-most popcorn (it's completely unobstructed) to see a "STRIKE" animation.
-Click on the mostly unobstructed popcorn directly beneath the "N" to see a "SPLIT" animation.
-Click on the huge popcorn piece beneath "DE" to see a "SPARE" animation.
-Click on the mostly unobstructed popcorn piece that is directly right of the large piece and underneath the "D." to see a "DOUBLE GUTTER" animation.
-Click on the lower second right-most popcorn (it's mostly unobstructed) to see an "IT'S STILL YOUR TURN!!!" animation.