I think I've Ranted about this before, but every time I hear someone say it, it grinds my gears. You might have heard it too. It goes like this, "Believing in God, or some higher power, is just a crutch for people who are too weak to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps!" Drives me crazy. Because guess what: Nobody is strong enough to do it by themselves! We all need help. And knowing the truth behind that statement... ASKING for the help we need... that's not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of wisdom. But before we get too far into this I want to quote my Bible passage for today. Jude 1:24-25, "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." And the key part of my key passage is, "...able to keep you from falling..." God IS a crutch. Of course He is. If your son stumbled, wouldn't you catch him? Of course you would. What parent wouldn't? And my real question, the reason I think I get so fired up when people accuse God of being who He is, is this: What's worse... needing a crutch and not having one, or having one and not needing one? I think the former is worse. And I think those that accuse God of being a crutch KNOW they need one and are angry that they don't have one. Because we all stumble. We all make mistakes. The problem isn't making a mistake. The problem is when you refuse to learn from your mistakes. My dad always talks about how when he was a kid he got in trouble a lot... but never for the same thing twice. You live and you learn. You learn and you grow. And I believe that's what Isaiah 30:21 is talking about. "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." I don't believe in this angry God just waiting for us to mess up so He can "get us." Punish us. Whatever. I believe in a loving heavenly Father who has been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. He knows the way to go--the more excellent way of love--and He walks behind us, whispering in a still, small voice, "This is the way... walk in it." He doesn't stop us from going our own way. We can turn to the left or the right. But He's always there to SHOW us the way. To correct us. To keep us from falling. If we'll let Him. If we'll accept that we can't do it ourselves. That we don't always know the way to go. If we stop trying to do it ourselves and follow the words of wisdom in Psalm 37:5 (NLT), "Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you." Trust in Him... and He will help you. Because He doesn't want you to fall. He wants to hold you up. Like a crutch.

We are absolutely full of it. Filled to overflowing with the love of God. The love that IS God. But the trick seems to be getting what's inside to come out. Because we don't always act like we love each other. So let me make it as simple as I can (and notice I say SIMPLE, not "easy.") John 7:38 in the English Standard Version says, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" Did you catch the catch? We ARE filled to overflowing. That's the truth of the matter. But BELIEVING what is true is what makes it true... for you. Remember how we started this Rant series? I said, "What's inside comes out. Or rather, what you BELIEVE is inside comes out." Love is in there. Make no mistake. But until you know it and believe it you'll always feel like you don't have it, and you'll always try to get it. And if you're trying to get something you've already got, what you're really doing is robbing yourself from experiencing and enjoying it. When Jesus said, "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), He was talking about US robbing OURSELVES of the gift we've been given by trying to earn it through human effort! He was talking about us missing out on what we've already been given. Freely given. Filled to overflowing with. Remember the picture of the light? A light doesn't try really hard to shine. It shines because it's connected to a power source. God is the source and we are connected to His unlimited supply because we live in Him and He lives in us! He is the vine and we are the branches. What He produces--love--flows into us and out of us. Out of our hearts, a river of living water FLOWS... when we believe. Not when we earn it. Not when we behave in a certain way. (Even though what we believe DOES dictate our behavior.) Everything you do and everything you are flows from what you believe. When you know and believe the love of Christ... that's when what's inside comes out. Naturally. That's when you can stop trying to enter the sheepfold any other way and you can enter through the door. Jesus is the door. The heart is the door. And look at Revelation 3:20 (NLT), ""Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Look how simple Jesus makes it. He wants our hearts to be open to love... so He stands at the door of our heart and knocks! He told us about love and then He showed us love. He gave His life for us and He gave His life TO us. Love is an open door, as the movie says. And an open door lets what's inside flow out. With no restrictions. No limits. We have been filled to overflowing and what's inside is too good to keep to ourselves. It's a love that you just want to give away. To share. It's a love that we've been filled with. And now that we're full of it, we can walk in newness of life. We can truly live, by being loved... and loving one another!

When you know and believe that you are loved--when you are full of it--you can love. That's why Jesus said, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other" (John 13:34 NLT). And that's why 1 John 4:19 (NLT) says, "We love each other because he loved us first." You have to receive before you can release. But you receive SO THAT you can release. Filled... to overflowing. And think about this: Loving each other as Jesus loved us puts all of the emphasis on Jesus. Not what we do, but what HE did. And what HE does in us, and through us, and as us. We don't love in order to be loved. We love because we are loved. Because we are LOVE. That's not just what God does, that's who God is. And as He is, so are we in this world. So that's not just what we do... it's who we are. That's our nature. Not the selfish, self-centered beast nature of the old man, but the love nature of the New Man. We don't release in order to receive. That's backwards. We don't love because we're trying to get something. We have everything we need. We have been blessed with all Spiritual blessings. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. Jesus did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all. In abundance. More than we could even ask or think. More than we could ever contain, even if we tried. And out of this abundance of love comes life. Because to live is to love. To love is to live. Light, life, love, Spirit, consuming fire... it's all the same thing. It's God. It's HIS Divine Nature that allows us to live HIS life as HE lives it--I'll say it again--in us, and through us, and as us. He filled us up to overflowing with Himself. So that we could experience Him. The unconditional love relationship between a heavenly Father and His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. So that we could experience LOVE. And the only REAL way to experience love is to give it away. To fill ourselves with what we have been filled with and let it overflow naturally. To love one another as we are loved. We love... because He first loved us. He filled us up and gave us something to share. Something to share with EVERYBODY because it is the one universal thing that EVERYBODY needs. And when you really know just how full of it you are, it happens effortlessly. Remember Peter? His shadow crossed over somebody and healed them. He didn't try really hard to do something. He was just so full of it that it happened naturally. It wasn't Peter forcing his light to shine. It was Peter knowing that his light was shining, and because of that he illuminated everything and everyone around him. It overflowed out of him. Naturally. He loved... without even trying to do it... because he knew he was loved!

What's inside comes out. Or rather, what you BELIEVE is inside comes out. That's why it's so vitally important to know and believe the love of God. The love of the Father. The love that IS God. That's why it's so vitally important to fill yourselves with the fulness of what you've been filled with. To look within, instead of without. And that cool turn of phrase works in two ways. 1. We don't look at outside forces to define our reality. What do they say? Don't tell God how big the storm is, tell the storm how big God is. Be a thermostat, not a thermometer. SET the temperature instead of just reading it. And 2. We don't go around trying to get something we think we don't have. We don't act like we're going without, and we don't settle for anything less than abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. Because we're full of it. Bursting at the seams. There's a light inside of us. And, "No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house" (Luke 11:33 NLT). The very thing that allows us to see things clearly... is us! We don't just HAVE a light, we ARE the light of the world. Even as Jesus is the light of the world. As He is, so are we in this world. It's the same light. The same life. Because, remember, His LIFE is the light of men! And when that light is shining, and we can clearly see who God is (because we can clearly see who we are... He is our loving heavenly Father and we are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased), that's when everybody else sees the light too. And catch this: Light's don't shine because we try really hard to make them shine. It's not about human effort. It's not about trying to be someone you're not, or get something you haven't got. Light's shine because they are connected to a power source, and because they've been turned on. God is that power source. An unlimited supply of love. He is the vine--He produces the fruit of the Spirit (which is love)--and we are the branches--we bear, or carry, that love to those who need it. And since EVERYBODY needs it, we simply share it with whoever we come into contact with. Because we're full of it. Filled to overflowing with love. We couldn't keep it in if we tried. Because it's too big, and too good. It's not too good to be true, but it's SO good that it MUST be true! That's what Jesus meant when He said He is the way, the truth, and the life. The difference between life and death is love. If you love your brother you know you have passed from death unto life. But if you don't love... you abide in death. Always trying to get something. Always trying to be someone you're not. That's no way to live. To live is to love, and to love is to live. Life, and love, and light are all the same thing. So when we know it's inside, when we believe it's in there, it comes out. Naturally. And that's when we partake of the Divine Nature. That's when we live Jesus' life by letting Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. That's when we love... because we know that we ARE loved!

We are absolutely full of it. Filled to overflowing with the love of God. The love that IS God. And here's the best part--when you're that full of something, you don't have to TRY to let it out. Or force it out. Because it's too big to contain. It comes out naturally. Because love isn't just what we do, love is who we are. Before the cross there was an old man with a selfish beast nature. But now, on this side of the cross, we are a New Man with a new nature. The love nature. A circumcision took place. The flesh of human effort was cut away from our hearts, revealing God's hear beating with love in our chests! We don't have to try to finish the work. Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 11:12, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." UNTIL NOW. What was significant about John the Baptist's ministry is that when he baptized Jesus he handed over the reins of ministry. From the old order of the priests of Levi... to the eternal order of the priesthood of Melchizedek. There was a shift. An end of the old and a beginning of the new. We were filled with something. And that something (the Holy Spirit, our love receptor) made the love of God evident. Before the cross we tried to earn His love. But you can't earn a gift. A gift is freely given. But it must be recieved. So get this straight: The cross did NOT change us into something God could love. He always has and always will love us. He IS love. The cross changed us into something capable of receiving (and releasing) God's love! The cross changed us into something capable of obeying the New Commandment. A New Commandment for a New Man, right? Walking in newness of life. Abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. And what makes abundant life abundant? What is the difference between life and death? LOVE. We CAN love because we know and believe that we ARE loved. We love Him (by loving each other) because He first loved us. He filled us with His Spirit. Making His love REAL to us. (Again, it was always real, but before the cross it seemed too good to be true. Now, through the Spirit, we know that it is so good it MUST be true.) And when something is real, and it is literally the best thing ever, that's something you can't keep to yourself. That's something you've experienced, and have to witness about. That's something you have to give away. Or share. Something that flows out of you as you fill yourself with the fulness that you've been filled with! And this part is pretty amazing too: The more you use it--give it away, and share it--the more you have. Because love feeds on love. It is a consuming fire that consumes everything EXCEPT itself. It is a Holy Ghost wildfire that just grows and grows, buring away everything else and purifying itself... in you. And in me. Until that's all that's left. Just Jesus. Just love. We're full of it, so we don't have to worry about losing it. We can give it away. We can love fearlessly. We can love.

I know I preach and Rant about some stuff that seems "out there." Non-traditional. Non-conformist. And I know some people think I'm full of it. But that's the cool part. I AM full of it! And so are you! Filled to overflowing with the only "it" that matters! Filled to overflowing with the love of God. Filled to overflowing with the God who is love! Look at Colossians 2:9 in the NLT, "For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body." Think about that. All the fulness of God. You can't get any more than ALL of the FULNESS. In the Old Testament, in the book of Job, Job describes the wonderful works of God and then he writes, "And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?” (Job 26:14 NIV). In the Old Testament we only saw the outer fringes of His work. His ways were mysterious to us. Because while the Holy Spirit would come on people in power so that they might accomplish a task, at that time the Holy Spirit didn't LIVE in people. Not until Jesus. In HIM lives all the fulness. And He lives in US. So now, on this side of the cross, because of the finished work, because God poured His Spirit out on all flesh, in US lives all of the fulness of God. We're full of it. Full of HIM. We have every single thing we could or will ever need. We have been blessed with all Spiritual blessings. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. Jesus did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all! The "all" that Jesus did was the cross. He poured Himself out for us, and He poured Himself out INTO us. And that "all" that we have is the Holy Spirit. The very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. The love receptor. Because that is the difference between death and life. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love each other. Love is what makes abundant life abundant. Love is what makes life worth living, and love is what makes it POSSIBLE to truly live. Because to live is to love. To love is to live. You can't have one without the other because they are the same thing. So when we say we're full of it--full of love--that means we are full of life! John 1:4 tells us that, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." All of these pictures of God--love, light, Spirit, a consuming fire--they are all pictures of life. His life is the light that shows us the way. His life is the light that brought (and brings) us out of darkness so that we can be in the light as He is in the light. So we can be who we are instead of trying to be someone we're not. So we can know what we have. Know what we're full of. So we can stop trying to get something we think we don't have. So that we can stop trying to finish a work that's already finished and we can rest. Rest in His loving arms, and love others with that same love. Enjoy the fruit of HIS labor, which is the fruit of the Spirit, which is love! That's who we are. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. Filled to overflowing with light, and life, and love!

Connection and timing. Those two things, more than anything else (except maybe communication, but we'll get to that), define our relationships. And thanks to the timing of the cross we have been equipped and empowered to connect with each other. On the only REAL level that matters. Not surface stuff. Not the insignificant stuff that we use to build walls. Not petty disagreements. Sometimes it seems like we look for reasons to NOT have relationships instead of looking for reasons TO have relationships. And I understand. You get burned, and then you don't want to touch the fire. Even though the fire is what keeps you warm. The fire is what consumes everything but itself. The fire is what purifies us. (And, by the way, that has always been one of my biggest problems with the idea of "hell" as a fiery prison to torment people for eternity. GOD is the consuming fire. And God is not hell. God is love. The fire burns away the chaff, leaving what's good and pure and holy. But I digress.) Let me say it like this, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone..." (Genesis 2:18). We are, by nature, social creatures. Some more than others, for sure. Some people are social butterflies, and some people feel more comfortable in the coocoon. But it's there for everybody. That desire, that NEED, for real human connection. The problem most people seem to get into is that they look for love in all the wrong places. They try to jump through hoops to earn what they yearn for. And that will never work. Because eternal life--knowing the Father in the context of being His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased--is the GIFT of God. And you can't earn a gift. You earn wages. And according to Romans 6:23, "...the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Jesus came at the appointed time. And He connected us to the source of what we were looking for. He reconciled us back to God. Back to love. By giving His life FOR us, and giving His life TO us. By taking away the sin of the world (unbelief), and giving us something (someONE, Himself, LOVE) to believe in. When we know and believe that we are loved... we CAN love. And that's the level that real relationships are built on. The deep calling out to the deep. Remember the song lyric? What you got if you ain't got love? The kind that you just want to give away... If you ain't got love, you ain't got nothing. And you can't "get" it, because you already have it. You simply have to recieve it. Receive it and release it. Receive it BY releasing it. I taught Logan something very simple, but very powerful, about relationships: If you want to HAVE a friend, you have to BE a friend. You can't wait for someone to give you what you think you need. You have to look inside and see that you already have what you need. Then YOU can give it away. You can share it. You can initiate relationships. You can be all things to all men. You can get past the surface stuff, and stop building walls to isolate yourself. You can start building bridges. You can start building connections. You can love without fear of what might happen. You can BE a friend to anyone you come into contact with. You can be a lighthouse, and shine your light wherever you go. You don't have to wait. Timing. And you don't have to agree on everything (or anything). Connection. You can just... love.

Jesus came to show us the Father. The FATHER. Because He wanted us to experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. And the definition of that life is found in John 17:3, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Knowing the Father and the Son. Knowing the Father because you know that you ARE His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Knowing the Father's love for you through the Holy Spirit. Right? Those who are led by the Spirit are the Son(s) of God. Because that's where the Spirit leads. He is the Spirit of truth that leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that we are unconditionally loved. The truth that we are Jesus--God in the flesh, love in a body. And that relationship between God and man... God IN man... is what equips and empowers us to have relationships with each other. We don't have to be afraid of giving what we've got because we know that we are connected to the unlimited source. He is the vine and we are the branches. He produces the fruit of the Spirit (which is love) and we carry it to those who need it. It's all about timing and connection. At the appointed time of the cross, Jesus brought us all together. God was in Christ reconciling us to Himself. He was lifted up from the earth and drew all men into Himself. Now we know the FATHER because we identify ourselves completely as (and with) the Son. We don't live FOR God, in the sense that He's our boss and we better do what He says or else. That's not a relationship built on love. We live BY God. We live IN God. Because He lives IN us. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. That means we have everything we need. We can be all things to all people. We can connect on the most important level--Spirit to Spirit, holy to holy--and instead of letting all the details separate us, we can let love bind us together. You don't have to agree with somebody to be kind to them. To love them. You simply have to be so full of love that it overflows naturally. And that's where we are. That's that relationship between Father and Son. That's what happens when you stop trying to earn Daddy's love and just let Him love the hell out of you. That's what happens when you test the height, and depth, and length, and breath of God's love for you by loving others bigger than you ever thought you could. And that's the power working in you to do more than you could ask or even think. That's when being vulnerable isn't scary anymore. Because perfect love casts out fear. You can build walls if you want to, but that doesn't really protect you. It really just cuts you off from what you want most. Or you can build bridges. You can follow your heart and let love be your guide. You can have real relationships when you stop being afraid of what might (or might not) happen. When you let what's inside you come out, simply by knowing and believing that it (Jesus, LOVE) is in there!

There's no greater bond than that of a Father and His Son. There's a song lyric that says, "Daddy's don't just love their children every now and then. It's a love without end. Amen." And that's what Jesus came to show us. That's the revelation of Jesus. A Father loving His Son. And that's why it's so vitally important that we identify ourselves AS Jesus. Jesus is God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. As He is, so are we in this world. He lives in us and we live in Him. There is no difference, and no separation. That's why when Jesus said, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6), He didn't say, "No man comes to GOD but by me." Religion had pretty well figured out the way to God. Obey the rules. Keep the Law of Moses. Or, in practical terms, make others look worse so you look better by comparison. But God never wanted us to be boxed in by religion. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Right? He didn't want religion, He wanted relationship. And relationship is all about connection and timing. So at the appointed time He made the connection. He gave His only begotten Son so that we could be conformed into the image of His beloved Son! See, we were already CREATED in His image. But we didn't know what that image was. So we wandered around in the dark trying to make ourselves into what we thought it should look like. That's why so many relgions preach their culture. It's what seems to fit. But it's never really comfortable. Because it's always just out of reach. You try to grab the carrot, and the stick moves. There's always one thing you lack. And if that goes on long enough, you get discouraged and give up. Because even though it SHOULD be, religion is not based on love. Religion is based on performance. Jumping through hoops. Relationship, on the other hand, can ONLY be based on love. That connection. But that's where it can get tricky. Because to REALLY have a connection with people you have to go past the surface. Paul wrote, "...I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). Meeting people where they're at. Giving what you've got instead of trying to get something. Being open and vulnerable. That's the only way--the ONLY WAY--to have real relationships. And that can be scary. Because what if you open yourself up and get burned? What if you show someone something and they laugh at it? Or reject it? Terrifying. It's seems like it's so much safer to build walls and hide behind them. Conform. Fit in. Don't give anybody anything to condemn. But guess what: That's not really living. Certainly that's not abundant life. That's "acquaintances" as best. Surface stuff. Even though the deep is calling out to the deep. Even though we long for something real. And that's why perfect love casts out fear. Because if you're too afraid to connect with someone, too afraid to be vulnerable, you'll never have that relationship. And that's why Jesus brought us to the FATHER. To His unconditional, unstoppable love. When you are filled to overflowing with that love... it comes out naturally. You don't even think about it. You just DO it, because you ARE it. You love, because you are loved, and because you are LOVE!

I think the biggest relationship killer in the world is when we try to get someone to be who we want them to be, instead of letting them be who they are. Instead of LOVING them FOR who they are. I think disappointment always follows this kind of unrealistic expectation. We want someone to be someone they aren't. That's a receipe for disaster. Doomed to fail. Because, at the end of the day, we are who we are. Or, I should say, we are who we believe we are. That's why what Jesus did is so important. Jesus--the light of the world--shined the light of the world on us and showed us who we REALLY are. And who we really are... is the light of the world. As He is, so are we in this world. See, Jesus is not a window showing us who we can be if we try really hard and straighten up and fly right. Jesus is the mirror who shows us who we really are. And when we know who we really are, we can stop trying to be someone we're not. We can stop expecting other people to know who THEY aren't. When we know that we are unconditionally loved by our heavenly Father... we can love others unconditionally. We can have relationships with people without expecting things from them. Without needing things from them. There's a saying from a movie that I like. It goes like this, "It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything." I like that because it points to the truth that when there's nothing holding you back you can fly as high as the eagle. But it's not 100% accurate. Because the truth of the matter is, "It's only after you realize that you have everything, that you'll stop trying to get anything." And that's the ultimate truth of the universe. The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. He did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all. We have been blessed with all Spiritual blessings. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have been filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. The love receptor. The Spirit of truth that leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that we ARE loved. And, when we know and believe that truth... remember, we are who we believe we are. When we believe we are loved... we are love. We CAN love. And that's the only way to be in a real relationship with someone. Relationship comes down to connection and timing. And the only thing that can connect on us the level that we need to connect... is love. It's all about love. But love isn't about getting. It's about giving--or sharing--what we've got. If you're in a relationship because of what you think (or hope) you can get out of it, then you've missed the entire point. But if you're in a relationship in order to share what you've got, with no expectations, that's when things get real. That's when you can experience real intimacy. When you can go deeper than the surface stuff, and get into that real connection. That real bond. And, listen, I know that can be scary. Opening yourself up and being vulnerable. But that's what we're going to talk about tomorrow.