Love is the tie that binds us together. It (HE) is really the only thing that can truly connect us. Especially when it seems like we are so intent on building walls and separating from each other. Look at Romans 13:8, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." And I just want to point out, once again, as always, that when Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love God and love people... guys. We love God BY loving people. Loving PEOPLE with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength is HOW you love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength. Whatever you do unto the least of them, you do unto God. Because God lives in us. Even the least of us. In a sense, ESPECIALLY the least of us. Because those of us who think we are the least are usually the ones who are willing to do the most for others. So that's the law. That's the New Commandment. Love one another as Jesus loves you. Receive and release that gift of God. Receive it BY releasing it. And in that way, experience it. Let God love you, and fill yourself to overflowing with that love by loving people. That's what it's all about. That's how you truly live the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God. And since there is nothing that can separate us from God's love... and since it is God's love that connects us to each other... there is nothing that can separate us from each other. And all of the silly, petty things that we put between ourselves and others... I'm trying to say we don't have to do all that. And, also once again, as always, I'm NOT saying you should stay in a bad situation. I believe that if you give something everything you've got its either enough, or its not. And either way you don't have to worry about it. Because if its enough... good. And if its not... shrug your shoulders and move on. But just because you don't stay in a bad situation doesn't mean you stop loving. Sometimes getting out of a bad situation is the only way to KEEP loving. Because if its bad for you, its probably bad for them too. But I digress. What I'm trying to say is: when it comes to relationships (and I don't necessarily mean romantic relationships) we don't have to let things separate us. We don't have to sweat the small stuff. There ARE things we shouldn't stand for. But there are also things we maybe ought to just grin and bear. That's one of the most powerful things about love. Love doesn't demand His own way. Love endures. Love lets people be who they are, and loves them anyway. Sometimes from a distance, sure, but love never fails. Because love never stops. Nothing can separate us from God's love. So nothing has to separate us from each other (within reason). I hope I'm making sense. Its like this: I read somewhere the boys look for reasons to be friends, and girls look for reasons to be enemies. I don't think that's 100% true 100% of the time. But I think if we understand just how loved and accepted we are by our heavenly Father... we would all be able to love and accept each other much more readily. We would connect instead of separating. We would BE ABLE to connect instead of separating. There IS no separation. So we can live without it!

I think yesterday I was trying and trying and trying to say, "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below--indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39 NLT). Everything was made BY love, FOR love. And nothing can separate us FROM love. And here's the two key points I want to focus on today: 1. "Neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow." 2. "Revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." So. First things first. There is no fear in love. Love is fearless. Love doesn't care what's going to happen next. He WANTS the best for us, but if we don't receive the gift He's given He doesn't force it on us either. Remember that part about if you aren't received then just shrug your shoulders and move on? Love doesn't give in order to get. Love gives because He wants you to have. Love gives HIMSELF because He wants you to experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. What am I saying? Love isn't afraid to give everything He has and everything He is, even though (to some degree) He may be rejected. He isn't worried about what comes next, or what MIGHT happen. He just does what He does because its in His heart to do it. Love made me do it. That's one of my mottos. So the biggest reason we cannot be separated from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord... is because God doesn't want us to be separated from it. From HIM. When we ran away, He drew us back to Himself. When we hid from His presence, He shined the light of the world. And that's the second key for today. God's love is revealed in His Son. In the SACRIFICE of His Son. God showed us His love by giving His only begotten Son to us. By literally dying for us (and as us) on the cross. He basically said, "I would rather die than be without you." And think about that--WE ran from Him. He gave up His life to bring us back. He didn't hold our sins and trespasses against us. He did what needed to be done to bring us back into unity. So that we could understand what Jesus meant when He said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). So that we could live His life by letting Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. So that OUR misguided idea of separation--the lie that says you have to do in order to be--could be obliterated by the truth--that we already are, and that we do BECAUSE we be! That's the power of love. That's the power of being in sync with our true identity. God's love was revealed in the person of Jesus. Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. And that is what we are capable of; loving each other with the love that we are loved with. Living a fearless life without separation from God... or each other. A life of love. Like I said yesterday, and this is where I think I'm going to end this Rant series tomorrow, love is the tie that binds us together!

In reality, this whole idea that we could ever be separated from God (from LOVE) is pretty absurd. Look at John 1:3 (NLT), "God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him." Speaking of Jesus, right? The Word of God. Love. The King James puts it like this, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." Nothing that was made was made without love. Least of all... you. You are God's special posession. His greatest creation. You are why God does what He does. Why God did what He did. On the cross God proved that He would rather die than live without you. And now watch this, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8). Did you catch that? MAN hid from the presence of God. Because WE thought God was mad at us. He swore He would never leave us nor forsake us. And He never has, and He never will. So if there was ever any separation... it didn't come from God. It came from us. We disobeyed Him and then ran and hid because we didn't want Him to punish us. When, really, God never said He would punish man for eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He said if we ate from the tree of death we would surely die. And what else could we expect? A tree can only produce after its own kind. The tree of death could only produce death. So on that day, when the natural consequences of man's action was death, we twisted it around to somehow get the idea that God was mad at us and wanted to get us. Guys... God got us on the cross. Got us when we were dead in our trespasses and sins and brought us straight into His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life! He wasn't out to give us a death sentence. He was out to give us a LIFE sentence! Let me put it another way: "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). So, again, God never put any separation between Himself and us. We did that. And even still He gave the ultimate sacrifice to reconcile us to Himself. He chose to NOT hold our sins or impute our trespasses against us. Jesus cried out on the cross for His Father to forgive us, because we didn't know what we were doing. He shined His light on us when we were stumbling around in the dark. When we were doing the best we could with what we had... but were trying to get whatever we could because we didn't think we had anything! That's when God gave us everything. He literally gave His life for us, and to us. Simply because He wanted us to have it. He didn't want there to be any separation on any side. He didn't want us to think He had put it there, and He wanted to obliterate it even though WE put it there. We ran away, and He drew us back to Himself. He made sure things were the way they were supposed to be, no matter what else was going on. Everything He made was made with love. Everything He did was done out of love. Love doesn't separate. It is the tie that binds!

There is no separation between God and man. How could there be when God lives IN man? Which means there is no separation between LOVE and man. The very thing we are so desperate to find is the very thing that we have. The very thing that we ARE. Because make no mistake, we are not just loved. We are LOVE. Just as love isn't just what God does, but love is who God is... love isn't just what we are capable of, love is who we are. Love is our new (true) nature. And when we begin to understand that we ARE loved, that's when we CAN love. That's when our new (true) nature begins to flow out of us. When we stop chasing (something that we've already got) and start resting. When we stop trying to get and simply start giving what we've got. And that's when life stops being such a struggle. Now listen, I'm not saying you won't go through things when you understand this truth. Jesus said, ""I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world"" (John 16:33 NLT). We go through stuff. That's part and parcel to life. But the key is, when we know who we are, and what we've got, stuff doesn't have to go through us. We don't have to get knocked around by every wind of doctrine. We don't have to wear ourselves out trying to get something we've already got by being someone we're not. Let me say it like this: When you know the truth you can ignore the lie. When you know who you really are--and when you know that you're exactly who you're supposed to be--you can embrace who you are. When we understand that there is no separation between us and that love that we so desperately desire we can begin to simply fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. And when we know our heavenly Father has our backs, we can be of good cheer no matter what's going on. Because the fire inside you is ALWAYS hotter than the fire you're in. Remember when the three Hebrew boys were thrown into the fiery furnace? The only thing that burned were the ropes they were bound with. They came out smelling like roses. They had to go through it, but they didn't let it go through them. And, like I always say, I think we go through things for one of two (or possibly both) reaasons. 1. To learn and grow. 2. To help others through the same thing. Because we do all go through the same things. And we have a high priest that already went through all of it. So He can help us through it. LOVE can help us through whatever we're going through. And watch this: Sometimes love helps us through because someone loves us. And sometimes love helps us through because WE HELP OTHERS. Love is giving. Not getting. If you want to feel love... love somebody. If you want to get through what you're going through, help someone else get through what THEY'RE going through. And then you'll find that not only is there no separation between God and you... but there's also no separation between ME and you. We're all connected. All in this together. And we can only get through it together. Its not good for man to be alone. Love can only be experienced when its shared. We're no good separate. But together we are amazing!

If you read the title you might be able to guess what this Rant series is about. But you might be completely wrong. Because its about the LACK of separation between God and man. As seen most clearly in the person of Jesus. And applied to us because as He is, so are we in this world. So basically I just want to focus on John 10:30, "I and my Father are one." And I want us to hopefully come to a place where we stop seeing God as distant and see Him for who He really is. You know, our true identity. God is the love that lives within us, and is bursting at the seams to come out of us. Because that's what happened when Jesus wrapped Himself in human flesh and dwelt among us--the Word became flesh. And the Word is love. Love became flesh. Not just an idea to aspire to, but literal, physical ACTS. Charity, right? Love in action. And, like I always say, you can't give what you don't have. So although you might have heard the old adage, "You have to spend money to make money," it doesn't work that way in the Spirit. You don't give love in order to get love. You CAN only give love once you know and believe that you have love. You can't give what you don't have, and you can only give what you do have. So if you're operating under the false idea of separation--of trying to earn something through your behavior... of trying to do in order to be--then you will never be able live that abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life that we talked about in the last Rant series. If you're always chasing something... under the Old Covenant there was always one thing you lacked. If you're always chasing something... you'll never be able to enjoy it. And, worse yet, you won't be able to enjoy what you've got. You'll be robbing yourself of the gift you've been given by trying to earn something that can't be earned. Its like this: We run around like chickens with our heads cut off, looking for love in all the wrong places because we think its external. We think it comes from somewhere else. We think there's separation. We don't understand that all we have to do is look inside. Where else could love live but the heart? The heart doesn't know anything else. Only love, love, love. That's why we ought to follow our hearts. Why we ought to let love guide the way. Stop looking in all the wrong places and just go straight to the source. Now watch this, because I think (I hope) its really encouraging. "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Its available to us. Right there for the taking. And think about it, where else could we find grace to help in time of need other than the throne of grace? We need to just start going right to the source. And understanding that WE are the source. If you want grace... be graceful. If you want to be forgiven... forgive. Stop looking for things outside yourself and embrace the things that are inside you. If Jesus said, "I and my Father are one," and we are as He is, that means WE and the Father are one. We are one... with love. We aren't JUST loved. We can't JUST love. We ARE love!

Living out of your abundance is living from a posture of rest. Not chasing things you haven't got, but sharing the thing (love) that you have got. And in sharing it... experiencing it. That's how you truly live. That's how you enjoy the gift you've been given. I've mentioned this quote before but I want to use it again here: "The past is history. The future is a mystery. All we have is right now, and that's why its called the present." Its a gift. The gift of God. Eternal life. Knowing the one true God (love) and the One whom He sent (Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body). Experiencing that relationship between Father and Son. Knowing God as loving heavenly Father. Knowing yourself as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Because until you know who you are--by knowing who God is--you'll always try to be someone you're not. Until you know what you've got--your heavenly Father's love--you'll always try to get what you think you haven't got. Because either way Christ's love controls us. Either we do everything we do in order to get it... or we do everything we do in order to share it. One is Old Covenant. The lie that says you have to do in order to be. The other is the New Testament. The very blood of Christ running through our veins. The DNA (Divine Nature of the Almighty) of our Father. God's heart beating with love in our chests. No longer doing in order to be... but doing BECAUSE we be. Doing because its in our hearts to do it. LOVING because its in our hearts to do it. Laying our lives down for our friends. Giving everything we have and everything we are and not worrying about whether it's received or not. The key is for US to receive it. Receive it and release it. Receive it BY releasing it. And to me its really kind of simple. As always, I say "simple" not "easy." Because all you have to do is see a need and meet it. If you have two coats and someone doesn't have a coat... give them one of yours. Don't overextend yourself and freeze to death because now YOU don't have a coat, but live out of your abundance. Do what you can do. And don't worry if it seems like a small things. Because the small things are the big things. It might not mean much to you--giving away the cookie you've been looking forward to eating all day--but it might mean the world to someone who doesn't have anything at all to eat. So just do what you can do. Be you. Stay in your lane and walk according to your calling. Don't try to be someone you're not. Don't try to get something you think you haven't got. Know and believe that you are who you're supposed to be. Know and believe that you have everything you need. Because God the Father gave it to you. Because He wanted you to have it. And now that you have it... use it! Let the mind of Christ (that's already in you) BE in you. Let God love you, and love others with that same love. Like I said: Simple. And when you know who you are and when you know what you've got... it becomes effortless. Natural. Because love IS our new (TRUE) nature. So stop trying so hard and just be still and know that He is God. Be still and know that God is love. Be still and let what's inside come out. Fill yourself to overflowing with what you've been filled with and WATCH it come out!

Its all about living life to the fullest. That's why Jesus came--so that we might have life, and that more abundantly. That's why Jesus gave His life for us, and as us--so that we could experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life as He lives it in us, and through us, and as us. And He didn't do it--this is the part we need to really grasp--so that He could get anything from us. I quoted this verse not too long ago, but I'll use it again here. "If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof" (Psalm 50:12). God has never, and will never, need anything from us. But what He wants is to give everything and do everything FOR us. He wanted the best FOR us, so He gave the best TO us. He gave us His only begotten Son so that we could know that we ARE His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. So we could stop living like a slave and start living like a Son. The abundant life that Jesus came for us to have is HIS life. A life of love. Knowing and believing that we ARE loved, so that we CAN love. That's what life is all about. That's what life IS. To live is to love and to love is to live. You can't have one without the other because they are the same thing. Rich people without relationships can have all the stuff in the world and still be miserable. Poor people with love in their lives have everything they need. I say it all the time, there are only two important things--truly important things--in the world: God and people. Love God and love people. Love God by loving people. And we can only do that when we let God love us. That's why the Holy Spirit--the power that works in us that equips and empowers us to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think--is so important. He is the Spirit of Truth that leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that God is love and He loves you. The ultimate truth of the universe that says, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand" (John 3:35). And the truth that WE are the Son that He loves and has given all things to. We are the kings and priests that are to rule and reign on this earth. Ruling and reigning... through love. Not controlling people, but letting love control us. Doing what we do because its in our hearts to do it. "Love made me do it" should be our answer. But that comes with the remider that love doesn't demand His own way. Love does for others. Look at Philippians 2:4, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." And here's the most beautiful part: If I look after you, and you look after me, neither one of us has to worry about ourselves. Because we're covered. God, your heavenly Father, has your back. The world is His, and the fulness thereof. And He gave it all to you. Passed down from Father to Son. Our inheritance. The gift of God. Not something that can be earned (thank God), but something that was freely given and must simply be received. And released. You have to share it in order to experience it. Again: That's life. Sharing your life with others. Giving everything you have and everything you are. Laying your life down for your friends. Giving everything you've got. That's how you live life to the fullest. Not by what you get, but by what you give. Love is what makes the abundant life abundant. Love is what is all about!

One of the most important parts of living out of your abundance... is knowing what you have. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. If you think you haven't got anything, you sure can't share it. And you'll spend your Three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) trying to get it. Remember our key verse for this Rant series? John 10:10, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Well, watch this: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" (John 10:1). We seem to think the thief is the devil, or some such, but really the thief... is us. When we try to get something we've already got we rob ourselves from experiencing it. When we try to earn something that can't be earned--something that has already been given to us, and must be received--we rob ourselves. And each other. Because if you're trying to be someone you're not (in order to get something you think you haven't got) then you're not being YOU. God created you to be YOU. He created you the way you are. On purpose, for purpose, and by purpose. You are the way you are because you're supposed to be that way. You're in contact with the people you're in contact with for a reason. There are some people you can't reach. That's kind of what I was saying yesterday. So stay in your lane. Be YOU. But there are some people that ONLY you can reach. So if you're running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, trying to earn the gift of God... believing the lie that says you have to do in order to be... then not only are you robbing yourself, but you're robbing those people in your life who need you to be you. The thief comes not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. There's a song I really like called, "Hardwired." And the tagline is that we, as humans, are hardwired to self destruct. Like, even when we have the best of intentions we often end up hurting more than helping. Because we're not living out of our abundance. We're not operating from a place of rest. We're trying to get, instead of giving what we've got. We're trying to get into the sheepfold some other way than the door. Jesus is the door. And in Revelation 3:20 we see this: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." So the door is standing at the door. Again, Jesus is the door. The heart is the door. Love is knocking on our hearts, practically begging us to guard our hearts--by keeping them open--and let love in. Love is what makes the abundant life abundant. Living a life of love is how we live life to the fullest. Not trying to get anything, but knowing that because we are loved... we have everything! And then giving what we've got. Sharing it. And in that way experiencing it. Enjoying the gift we've been given. Receiving it and releasing it. Receiving it BY releasing it. Knowing and believing the love of Christ, and then BEING that love to everybody we come into contact with. That's the kind of life that matters. That's the kind of life that's worth living. And it comes from Jesus giving His life for us, and to us. It comes from Jesus living His own abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection life in us, and through us, and as us!

Living life to the fullest is about living out of your abundance. I think this is important because, what's that old saying? "We spend money we don't have on things we don't need to impress people that don't matter." Something like that. And you know I think people are about the only thing that does matter, but that's not the point. The point is. sometimes it seems like we think what we're doing isn't enough. So we try to over reach, and end up over extending ourselves. And that's a problem. Let me try to say it another way: "And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise" (Luke 3:10-11). And I always liken this to the idea that when you're on an airplane and something happens, they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first, right? Because you can't help anybody if you're laying on the ground unconscious. Its no good to give up your only coat and then freeze to death. Give away your last bite of food and then starve. And, listen, there is a story in the Bible where the Elijah asked for the last of a woman's food (1 Kings chapter 17) but that was in order to perform a miracle for her. A test of faith, if I can say it that way. But what I'm talking about today is how to live that full and satisfying life that is the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Jesus. HIS life of love. And the way we do that is not by chasing something, and not by doing more than we can. If you're getting to the place of fulness... you don't need to go past that. Ephesians 4:1 in the English Standard Version says, "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." Now, link that up with what we saw yesterday about how the power working in us equips and empowers us to GIVE and to DO exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think. I'm not saying you should limit yourself. I think if we did all of the things we were capable of doing we would astonish ourselves. And each other. I'm saying don't try to be someone you're not. Don't try to do something you weren't called to do. Be YOU to the very best of your ability. But don't try to be anybody else. Walk worthy of YOUR calling. Not somebody else's. Don't worry if people can do things you can't. Because you can do things they can't. And both what they can do AND what you can do are necessary. So live out of YOUR abundance. Give what YOU'VE got. Don't wreck yourself trying to give too much, or do too much, but realize that you can do what you were put here to do. And, in a Word, what you were put here to do is... love. You can reach people in a unique way. You can't--and don't need to--reach everybody. But some people are in YOUR path for a reason. So be who you are. Love without discrimination or condition. Don't worry about what you haven't got. Share what you have got. Don't worry about what you can't do. Do what you can do. Be who you are. All the way. Do what you do because its in your heart to do it. Because love made you do it. Love others, and in that way experience the love that makes this life abundant!

The thing we seem to miss out on when we focus so much on the afterlife is that Jesus came to give us LIFE. Look at John 10:10, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." And notice that its not just life... its abundant life. The kind of life described in Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Because the power that worketh in us, the power that has equipped and empowered us to live this life that Jesus came to give us... is love. What makes the abundant life abundant... is love. And look at John 10:10 in the NLT, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." Living life to the fullest. And I'm sure you've heard the phrase (or the song), "Live like you were dying." I'm ok with that. Don't put things off. Do what you were put here to do. But I like this one even better, "Live like you were going to live forever." Build things that last. And by that I mean build RELATIONSHIPS that last. Because at the end of the day its not good for man to be alone. Its not good to have stuff but nobody to share it with. Because, like I always say, love IS giving. You can give without loving, right? But you can't love without giving. So you need someone to share it with. To share your life with. And I'm not necessarily talking about a romantic partner. There's a lot that goes with that, and when its right it can be really really right. But I'm talking about the connections we make with all of the people we come across. Even those people that seem really hard to love. Because, I'm telling you, those people need love the most. Because they aren't getting it anywhere else. And I'm telling you, when you love THOSE people... well, if the best way to feel love is to love someone, then there's not much better than loving the "unloveable." That kind of sacrificial love where you lay your life down--where you give everything you have and everything you are without exception or expectation--that kind of love will blow somebody's doors off. That kind of love will change somebody's world. Especially when they see love around them but aren't getting any themselves. And to me, sharing that kind of love is a life worth living. That sounds like a rich and satisfying life. So when we think about Epshesians 3:20, maybe we don't think about GETTING more than we could ask or think. Mabye we think about GIVING more than we could ask or think. DOING more than we could ask or think. Maybe instead of being self-centered we start to become Christ-centered, or people-centered. We start to understand that we already have it all, and we start giving instead of trying to get. We start to live abundantly, out of our abundance. Giving what we've got. Giving it away. Sharing it, and in that way truly experiencing it!