Looking for Love?

If you are over forty, you probably read the title and wanted to break out into song. “Looking for love…in all the wrong places…looking for love…” This Willie Nelson song is well known by most. And the title reflects the reality of our lost world and the culture in which we as Christ followers live. What’s unfortunate, however, is those who are outside the church have often looked to the church for love only to walk away feeling dejected, perhaps even rejected, and empty because they couldn’t find the real love they were searching for. Even when I type out that statement, my heart is saddened. I hope your heart is as well. If not, then, please keep reading because I hope this book will help you begin to realize why we as the Church are part of the problem when it comes to our world b

eing transformed.

The reason I am saddened is because people who are outside the kingdom of God have no happy ending if we truly believe the Scriptures. Their eternal destiny is not in a place of hope or refuge or eternal happiness and joy. The Bible teaches us that the destiny of unbelievers is a place called Hell. The reason hell is bad is not because of the heat and the little red demons we have popularized and reduced hell to be; hell is bad because God isn’t there. The absence of the presence of God. No protection. No provision. No power. No God.

As I am writing this, we are in the midst of another election cycle, and the whole world is in “freak-out” mode about whom the next President will be. Wars are breaking out around the world, terrorism is on the rise, opinions are being thrown out into the social media landscape, and in many American cities there is civil unrest. Some people are even asking, “Where is God?”

God is here. His presence is in His people. Let that sink in. God is present in you through the Holy Spirit. He is present in other believers through the power of the Holy Spirit. Can you imagine what the world would be like if the presence of the Holy Spirit was not in us? If God’s Spirit in the world was gone? Talk about chaos! The world would be much worse than it is right now!

But then the flip side of that idea should make you and I ask, “If the Holy Spirit is in me, and in other believers, what kind of impact could we make?” The key, if you will, to changing or transforming our culture is Jesus on display through us where we live, work, and play everyday. That’s the only way we will see a move of God in our neighborhood or in our nation. Christ in me, the hope of glory, right?
According to Paul’s letter to the Church at Colosse, that’s the way to see a movement of God. I love how the New Living Translation states it: For God wanted them to know the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.

How awesome that CHRIST IN YOU can transform the world! How have you seen God use you?

Share with me in the comments below please.

Follow Jack on Twitter @jackeason

What is Real Fellowship anyway?

Growing up in the South, I thought fellowship was a noun, a thing. I always used to hear “there’s going to be a fellowship.” And of course, in the South, it always revolved around food. In fact, to make it alliterative, we always talked about food, fun, and fellowship. The three could not happen independent of one another and when fellowship happened, it was understood that food and fun would be accompanying it. What really is real biblical fellowship?

The real companionship or communion that describes real fellowship is found in...

Acts 2.

 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
The text says that one of the proofs of fellowship is that all of the believers were of “one heart and one mind.” I love that! Don’t be confused here. It’s not saying they all agreed. It’s not saying they all liked the same things. They each had their own personality and maintained their own individuality, but they were of ONE heart and ONE mind. How is that possible? I believe, in part, it’s possible because they had the bigger picture in mind. Have we lost the big picture in North America? Our churches sometimes act as clubs to which we are members and when we don’t get what we won’t, we complain or move on to another ‘club.’ Is that the picture of the New Testament fellowship we see here? I don’t think so.

The people in John and Peter’s day saw the big picture. And they were able to see the big picture because their focus was on the right person: Jesus. Notice they prayed and worshipped, and as a result of their focus, fellowship happened. They had ONE heart and ONE mind. Does that describe your church? Is there ONE heart and ONE mind? For that to happen, each individual mind and heart must be focused on the WHO of Christ. And for that to happen, it means self-denial. Not a common word you hear anymore, especially in our churches. We think self-denial is a bad thing, but it’s obvious that without it, there is no way a group can be of ONE heart and ONE mind.  Are you wiling to deny your self for the wishes of someone else? Do you have to always get your way? Are you the one always being served?

I must be honest. I am still working on this. But I think I have come a long way. What really begin to change my heart were long-term mission trips out of the country. I have had the honor of seeing God at work in many countries like the Dominican, Haiti, Bolivia, Brazil, and Africa. In each of those overseas trips, God always took us by surprise. Schedules changed, transportation was not dependable, we were unable to meet at regular meal times, the amenities of indoor plumbing and/or heat and air-conditioning were not always available. In a sense, God used these experiences to break me and humble me. I began to realize the things I thought I needed to survive were not really needs, they were “wants.” I remember standing in a shower in Salvador Brazil looking up at the sky one morning. Yes, it was no inside shower. A showerhead sticking out of the side of a falling concrete wall and semi-warm water, that was it.  I was there leading worship for a M.K. (Missionary Kids) Camp. Standing under that showerhead that morning, I thought to myself, “If I can handle this, I can handle anything.”  I realized that week (and am reminded every time I go overseas) that most of the stuff I get agitated about when it comes to material possessions really doesn’t matter that much. I wonder if that was how the people in Peter and John’s day felt. It had to be. We are told from the text that they shared everything they had. When someone had a need, the group met it. Do you belong to a church like that? Are there people in your church who have a need that is going unmet? Have you seen your church provide for people in your midst in a phenomenal God-like way?

Follow Jack on Twitter @jackeason