Planned for God's Pleasure

You were planned for God’s pleasure. God enjoys watching you and being with you. You give Him pleasure! There is a word for giving God pleasure: It’s worship. Sometimes we have a pretty narrow definition of worship. But really, anything that gives God pleasure is worship! This message explores ways that we can worship continually.

This was the topic of this week's sermon message, part 3 of our "What on Earth Am I Here For?" series.  To check out the message, click here.

Why the tragedy of school shootings...

This morning in the news, I just read of the tragic shooting yesterday on the campus of Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. As it stands now, the death toll is at seven, with at least fifteen others shot and injured.

On the radio this morning, the DJ’s were trying to make some sense of the shooting. They suggested that when we teach that we are evolved from monkeys, barely a step removed from the rest of the animal kingdom, that life looses a little of its value.

They suggested that the violence on TV desensitizes us to violence in our lives. We see people shot every evening, why is such a big deal. We learn at a very early age of the violence in our streets (whether it’s really there or not!). They had some other comments that were similar in nature, and they all make at least some sense, though all very general in nature.

If we think about it at all, we have to realize that it’s not just this morning’s event. We are hearing about these more and more. On college campuses, high school campuses, shopping malls. Wherever people gather, we might hear of this kind of horror. And we hear about it more and more. We are still safe, but not as safe as we were years ago.

I have a slightly different theory on the shootings. This week I am preaching on 1 Corinthians 13, what is often called the “Love Chapter.” This chapter talk about what real love is – and isn’t. And I am reminded of 1 John 4:16, which tells us “God is love.”

As we reflect on this, it’s fairly obvious that the opposite of love is hate. But as I go further, it occurs to me that they’re not just opposites. It occurs to me that the very absence of love is hate. And while over 90% of the population claim to believe in some kind of God, they apparently don’t know very much about that God, as fewer than 20% actually go to church. So more and more we are seeing an absence of God. And, if the Bible is true, if God is love, we would expect to see more and more an absence of love.

So in a world where love is increasing absent, we would expect to see more and more hate. And the results of this kind of hate are very widespread, but one of the symptoms may very well be what we saw yesterday on the campus of Northern Illinois University.

The story of God...

Edwin Raphael McManus, in Soul Craving, talks about the story of God in a rather interesting way. He was talking to a group of Muslims in the Middle East. While trying to avoid a question, he was called on by the translator to answer a question that he was evading. Finally, he had to talk specifically about Jesus. Here is how he explained it:

I once met a named Kim, and I fell in love. I pursued her with my love and pursued her with my love until I felt my love had captured her heart. So I asked her to be my wife, and she said no.

I was unrelenting and asked her again, pursuing her with my love, and I pursued her with my love until she said yes.

I did not send my brother, nor did I send a friend. For in issues of love, you must go yourself.

This is the story of God: he pursues you with his love and pursues you with his love, and you have perhaps not said yes. And even if you reject his love, he pursues you ever still. It was not enough to send an angel or a prophet or any other, for in issues of love, you must go yourself. And so God has come.

This is the story of Jesus, that God has walked among us and he pursues us with his love. He is very familiar with rejection, but is undeterred. And he is here even now, still pursuing you with his love.

Whether you have accepted his love or not, his love for you is real. He loves you, and will continue pursuing you. Won’t you give yourself to him today?

Understanding God by understanding love...

I have started reading a new book called Soul Craving by Edwin Raphael McManus.

He has suggested that we don’t understand God because we don’t understand unconditional love. We can’t understand a God who is love, because we don’t understand love – especially the unconditional love that God extends to us.

Perhaps somewhat related is that we may search most of our lives for love, and still don’t get it right, all the while trying to avoid God. We can’t find real love, true love, without God, because God is love.

If I understand this, we can only find real love by finding God, and we can only understand God by understanding His unconditional love for us. He loves you. Unconditionally. It doesn’t matter what you have done, or what you do for Him now – He will never love you more than He does right now!

Now there’s a thought worth thinking on!