I kind of like the Law of First Mention. You know, how in the Bible where the first time a word or concept is used, it sets the tone for how it will be used thereafter. So, with that in mind, the first time the King James Version of the Bible uses the word "truth" is Genesis 24:27, "And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren." And there's a lot here, but without going too far into it, this was when Abraham's servent went to find a bride for Abraham's son, Jacob. He found Rebekah, just like the Lord wanted him to. But here's what I want to talk about today: The Lord God has not left us destitute of his mercy and truth. If we have those two things, I think we'll be ok. Especially with the understanding that love is the truth. The ultimate truth of the universe--that God is love and He loves you. And here's the really cool part: What God has given us is what we can give each other. In fact, that's the New Commandment. Love one another as Jesus loves you. Receive and release the love of God. So if He won't leave us destitute of His mercy and truth... at the very least that means we ought to be merciful and truthful. Those are two things we can hang our hat on. Being honest, and being full of mercy. But let's look at what those words mean. "Mercy" is number 2617 in Strong's Hebrew Concordance and it means, "kindness." While "truth" is number 571 in Strong's Hebrew Concordance and it means, "stability; figuratively certainty, truth, trustworthiness." Let me say it another way, "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:15). And that doesn't mean telling people what they want to hear. That doesn't help anybody. Especially when what they want to hear isn't the truth. And that doesn't mean slamming someone with "tough love." It means being kind, but standing firm. Not imposing your will or your beliefs on other people--letting people be who they are--but making sure to be who YOU are. Like, I don't drink... but I'm not going around telling people they shouldn't. I don't necessarily think anything good comes from it, but I don't think its my job to be a Spiritual Cop either. What you do is between you and the Lord. If the Holy Spirit can't convict you, what am I going to do. But at the same time, I'll be kind... but I'm not going to go out for a drink with you. I'll tell you the truth in love. "You do you, but its not for me." Mercy and truth. Kindness and honesty. And, yes, if you call me because you're drunk and don't want to drive, I probably will go pick you up. Because loving someone and agreeing with them doesn't always have to go hand in hand. You just have to find the balance between helping and enabling. But that's another Rant for another day. Today we're talking about mercy and truth. And about God filling us with HIS mercy and truth. And never letting us go empty. Filling us to overflowing with Himself. He IS mercy and truth. He IS love. And He lives in us!

The truth is the truth. Always has been, always will be. The truth is immutable. Nothing can change it. And that truth is, "God is love and He loves you." God has always been love. And He has always loved you. He always has and He always will. Like Logan and I say every night before bed, "One more thing... I love you and I can't stop loving you." That's what love does. That's what love IS. That's what God does. That's who God IS. But there's something else at least as important as the truth being the truth. And that's KNOWING the truth. Look at John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Did you catch that? You shall know the truth. Because while the truth is the truth--always has been and always will be--if you don't know the truth it doesn't do much for you. If you're out there believing the lie--that says you have to do in order to be--you'll miss out on what's available to you. You'll waste your three T's (time, talent, treasure) trying to earn something that can't be earned. Something that has already been freely given to you. Something you simply need to receive and release. Receive BY releasing. Release by receiving. Because the best way to prove (to yourself) the love of God... is by loving Him back by loving people. But you can't do that until you know that He loves you. We love, because He first loved us. We can't give what we don't have. So we have to let God love us before we can even think about loving Him (by loving each other). Receiving comes first. Learning to love by learning how we are loved. Filling ourselves to overflowing by knowing and believing that God has already filled us up with Himself. With His love. He presented the truth to us so that we might be able to know it and believe it. Jesus said the greatest love a man can have is to lay his life down for his friends. And then He went to the cross and laid His life down for us. He gave His life for us, but He also gave His life TO us. Simply because He wanted us to have it. Simply because He loves us. When you love someone you want the best for them. God wanted the best for us, so He gave the best to us. He gave us His only begotten Son. So that we might not perish but have everlasting life. So that we might experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love by living it in us, and through us, and as us. That's the truth--Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. But knowing the truth is what makes the truth true... for you. If you don't know that you are Jesus--again, God in the flesh, love in a body--you'll spend your three T's trying to be someone you're not. But when you do know the truth you can be who you are. Who you really are. Which is who you are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in you. Christ in you the hope of glory. Love in you overflowing out of you. That's what freedom looks like. It looks like someone who is loved... loving people. Freedom FROM sin... Freedom TO love. That's what the truth made us. But its in knowing the truth that we can be what we are. Love. Who we are. God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Jesus!

God is love and He loves you. That's it, man. That's what I've endeavoured to build my whole ministry on. My whole LIFE. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. A life of love is the only life worth living. Living is the only way to truly live. And I say "truly live" because knowing the truth is HOW we live. Knowing that God is love and He loves you (the ultimate truth of the universe) is what equips and empowers us to love. Receiving and releasing God's love. That's the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God. And we experience that life by letting Him live His own life in us, and through us, and as us. Because no one can live Jesus' life except Jesus. We can't follow in His foot steps. That's a religious trap. Trying to act a certain way. Do a certain thing. That's not liberty. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Look at John 14:12, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." Now, listen, I have a beard and my hair is getting pretty long. I prefer sandals. Even when there's snow on the ground. But I'm not trying to recreate Jesus' earthly works. I'm not trying to turn water into wine. I don't even drink. I think in this case we need to understand what Jesus' works were. And, in reality, they were acts of kindness. They were charity--which is love in action. Jesus showed us the Father. God is love. Jesus showed us what God looks like. By loving us. And I'm not trying to compare what I've done with what the earthly Jesus did--and I'm not trying to toot my own horn--but I've done some things in my life that have rocked peoples' worlds. In a good way. In a GOD way. In a love way. Giving someone something that they thought they could never have and watching them literally shake with joy and gratitude. Does that compare to bringing someone back from the dead? Probably not. But while its not our job to change the world, loving someone WILL change THEIR world. So its not about recreating anything. Its about giving what you've got to the people in your path. Even Paul, who walked past someone and healed them with his shadow. To me that's a picture of just loving the people you come into contact with. He didn't search that guy out, and that guy didn't search him out. They met, almost randomly, and what was inside Paul came out, and love rocked that guy's world. But you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So you have to know what you do have. In knowing, in believing, we can give what we've got. We can let the love that's inside come out. The ultimate truth of the universe is that God is love and He loves you. And because of that love we can love Him back by loving each other. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. That's it, man. That's what its all about. Knowing the truth. Believing the truth. And letting the truth (that has already set you free and made you free) set you free and make you free!

I was perusing the Bible today, as I often do, thinking about what I was going to Rant about. Because sometimes when I finish a Rant series it rolls into the next one, and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I need to be still and know that He is God. Let HIM say what He wants to say. And sometimes it goes in unexpected directions. I don't really plan it out, in other words. Anyway, what I came across was 2 John 1:1-2, "The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever." And what struck me was "Whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth." The truth--the ultimate truth of the universe--as simply as I can put it, is "God is love and He loves you." That's the standard. The foundation. That's the Rock on which we stand and the block on which we build. So saying, "whom I love in the truth" is almost redundant. Whom I love in the love. But its not redundant. Its so necessary. So vitally important. Because we can't give what we don't have. And we can only give what we do have. Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. Which is Jesus. Which is love. We love because God first loved us. He gave us what we needed. That's the New Commandment--love one another AS Jesus loves us. So it flows from the Father. He is the source. We love in the truth... because love IS the truth. God is love, right? And Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, right? So LOVE is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. To live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. And that life of love is the truth. Jesus is the Way to the Father, the Truth about the Father, and the Life of the Father. Jesus is the Way to love, the Truth about love, and the Life of love! When you know the truth you can't help BUT love. Because the truth IS love. Not only I, but also all they that have known the truth. The truth sets you free and makes you free. Free FROM sin, yes. But also free TO love. Sin shoouldn't be the focus. We shouldn't be on a sin hunt. Sin is unbelief, and Jesus is the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world. He took away the unbelief of the world. The belief that we have to earn God's love. Jesus took that away by giving us something (someONE, Himself, love) to believe in. He gave us faith by telling us He loves us. By SHOWING us He loves us. By laying His life down for us. By showing us the Father. Jesus told Phillip, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." Which, of course, begs the question, "What did Phillip see?" He saw Jesus. A man who loved people. That's who Jesus is: God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. That's the truth of who God is, and that's the truth of who we are. When He appears (to us, and in us, and through us, and as us) we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. And seeing is believing. When we see love... we be love. When we know the truth we can't help but love in the truth. Because, one more time, love IS the truth!

To end this Rant series I want to talk about Luke 6:40, "The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master." And, listen, I don't want to get stuck on the first part. But I will address it. Being a disciple is NOT about elevating yourself. Because its a disciple of Jesus. A student of love. And the greatest expression of love that a man can have is laying His life DOWN for His friends. Its not a "the student has become the master" type of thing. Because God's love is unfathomable. The deeper we go into His love, the deeper we find that we can go. Its a love without end. A never-ending life-long journey into the heart of the matter. Which is the heart. God's heart beating with love in our chests. But that's all I want to say about the first part, for today. Because I want to focus on the second part. The "every one that is perfect shall be as his master" part. And, right off the bat, that's NOT about "perfection" as in, "I never make a mistake." Everybody makes mistakes. If you don't make mistakes you can't learn from your mistakes. Learning and growing. A STUDENT of love. Learning how to love by learning how we are loved. Perfect in the Bible means mature. And the more mature we become--in love--the more we are like Him. The more we are our true selves. Look at 1 John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." Seeing is believing. When we see Him--when He appears to us, and in us, and through us, and as us--that's when we know what WE look like. That's when we know what LOVE looks like. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. Learning to be who we truly are by learning who God truly is. The heavenly Father who loves His Son unconditionally. God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That's the dynamic. That's what we need to learn. We need to learn that Daddy loves us no matter what. Not because of what we do, but because of who we are. Because of who HE is. God IS love. And I think that's actually a hard concept to wrap our heads around. Because we see Him as a distant, angry, taskmaster who is just out to get us. Guys. On the cross, God got us. He drew us all into Himself. Planted Himself in all of us. The reason we can even BE a student of love is because He gave us His love. Filled us up with it. So all we have to do to be "perfect" is fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. Let what's inside come out by knowing and believing--by LEARNING--that its in there. When He appears we shall be like Him. When LOVE appears... its us!

I think this goes along with what I've been Ranting about as far as not denying yourself, but embracing yourself. Being who you really are by finding out who you really are. Learning how to love by learning how God loves you. "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33). And, as usual, I think there's this religious idea of "I can't have anything, I can't be anything, I'm a worm" type of Christianity that springs right to mind. But I want to point out that all throughout Scripture God made people rich. Like... wealthy. Which is to say, I don't think God has a problem with us having stuff. I think the problem comes when stuff has us. When we have something that we're not willing to forsake. Which, by the way, is number 657 in Strong's Greek Concordance and means, "literally to say adieu (by departing or dismissing); figuratively to renounce:- bid farewell, forsake, take leave, send away." Basically, if you have something that you're not willing to part with... your priorites are messed up. The Message Bible says it like this, "Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple." Sounds harsh, I know, but think about it like this: Being a disciple of God is being a student of love. And if there's something out there that's more important to you than love... you've kind of missed the point. Its all about love. God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. Look at Genesis 12:2, "And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing." Blessed... to be a blessing. Again, its not having stuff. Its stuff having you. You can't give what you don't have, right? So if God wants you to bless people it would follow that He has to first bless you. Give you something to give. "I will bless thee... and thou shalt be a blessing." That's what living out of your abundance is all about. That's why when, in Luke chapter 3 verse 10, the people asked what should we do? "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 3:11). The problem isn't in having a coat. Or two coats. Or a hundred coats. The problem is if you see someone that doesn't have one and you don't give them one of yours. And, its not about freezing to death because you gave up your one and only coat. Its giving out of your abundance. Its being willing to give what you've got. To see a need and meet it. If stuff is more important than people... you cannot be a disciple. Because being a disciple--Jesus said people would know His disciples by the love they showed. And I'm not talking about loving stuff. Jesus said loving each other. People are what's important. Not stuff. You can have stuff... but don't forget about taking care of people. That's the point. That's what being a disciple is all about. Because its all about love. And love is all about people!

Here's what we seem to think--especially in "religious" circles--we seem to think Matthew 16:24 is the secret recipe to being a disciple. "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." But if you notice, Jesus said that TO His disciples. In reality, Jesus pointed at a (seemingly) random person and said, "Come with me." And if they came with Him... boom. Disciple. Because being a disciple is NOT about denying yourself. Being a disciple is about BEING yourself. Learning who you are by learning who Christ is in you. Learning how to love by learning how you are loved. And, for the record, "your" cross... is His cross. We were crucified with Christ. 2,000 years ago. We don't need to deny ourselves, stop being who we are, try to fit into a religious box, and carry a cross. All we need to do is let God love us and love each other with that same love. That's what this abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love is all about. Its receiving and releasing the gift of God. Period. Not trying (and failing) to earn it. Simply letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that its in there. Its not about being like anything or anybody... except Jesus. You know, our true identity. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. We don't try to be like Him. We simply let Him be Himself in us, and through us, and as us. We simply let the love that's inside come out by filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. We simply experience Jesus' life by laying it down for our friends. And understanding that we destroy our enemies by MAKING them our friends. By laying our lives down for them. When someone loves you--really loves you with that unselfish, uncondtional, sacrifical, agape love of God--its really hard to NOT like them. That kind of love melts even the hardest hearts. But until we know that that's how God loves us... until we KNOW it with a knowlege that passes knowledge... with heart knowledge instead of just head knowledge... until we know that's how God loves us, we can't love like that. How could we? We can't give what we don't have. And we can only give what we do have. That's why the New Commandment, for the New Man, is to love one another AS Jesus loves us. Again, receiving it and releasing it. Letting God love us and then loving Him back by loving each other. Living a life WORTH living by living a life of love. That's the only life worth living. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected. They are the same thing. So if you want... I saw this the other day... if you want more kindness in the world--put it there. If you want to feel love... love someone. Its better to give than to receive. We have what people need. And we need to give it to them. So stop trying to be someone you're not and learn who you really are. A disciple is a student of love. Learning how to love by learning how we are loved. Learning to accept, and be, who we are by learning who we are. Not denying ourselves (and each other) but celebrating ourselves, and each other! Loving ourselves. And each other!

Being a disciple of Christ is being a student of love. Learning how to love as we learn how we are loved. And, really, as simply as I can put it is 1 John 4:18-19, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us." I know there's a lot there. Let's unwrap some of it. Starting with there not being any fear in love. I think that's important. Because I think most of us ARE afraid to love. Or, worse yet, afraid OF love. Because we've been in situations where we thought someone loved us, and it turned out to be something else. Or we loved someone, but they didn't feel the same way. Didn't receive what we were releasing. But that's the thing: Expectations are the best and easiest way to set yourself up for disappointment. Because very rarely do people react exactly the way we want them to. People are gonna do what they're gonna do. People are gonna be who they are--who they believe they are--no matter what you say or do. I know we've probably all been in a situation where we have the answer... and we give the answer... and it falls on deaf ears. Sometimes the only way to learn is through experience. And that's hard to watch. Because we could save the people in our lives a lot of hardship and heartache if they would just listen to us. So we build walls. We don't want to get hurt again, or watch someone else get hurt again. We become afraid of love, and we become afraid to love. But what that really means is that we are not yet made perfect in love. Being perfect, or mature, in love is understanding that it doesn't matter if people pick up what we're laying down or not. Our part in this play is to simply give what we've got. Love God--by loving each other--because He first loved us. Receive and release HIS love. Pick up what HE'S laying down. And what He laid down, 2,000 years ago on the cross, is His life. We pick that up and we experience His life by letting Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. We pick that up and then we have something to give. Something that everybody needs. Whether they know it or not. And guess what: If you love someone, but they don't receive it, that's ok. You've planted a seed. Shown them a more excellent way. And whether or not they're ready, willing, and able to accept it right now... they'll remember it. Someone else will come by and water that seed. And then God, of course, will get the increase. The harvest. The fruit. Which is the fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. When love is planted, love grows. But we can't be afraid to give what we've got. We can't be afraid to let what's inside come out. We can't be afraid to guard our hearts by keeping them open. By filling ourselves to overflowing with what God has already filled us with. Loving people because we know that we are loved. Because we know that we are love! And its ok if we're not expert lovers right out of the gate. Like anything, practice makes perfect. As long as we're loving people, our heart is in the right place. And as long as our heart is in the right place we can't fail. Because love never fails!

I touched on this yesterday, but I want to really dig into it for the next few days. What does it mean to be a disciple? Well, we kind of need to start with answering the question, "A disciple of what?" Or who? So let's make it plain. "A new commandment I give unto you, That yelove one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love on to another" (John 13:34-35). So we're talking about being a disciple of Jesus (at least in this Rant). We're talking about being a disciple of love. People will know that we are disciples of Jesus, disciples of love, by the love that they see from us. That's where the rubber meets the road. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say. But here's the thing--as we saw yesterday, "disciples" is number 3101 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "a learner, that is pupil:- disciple." To be a disciple of love is to be a student of love. Being a disciple doesn't mean we never make a mistake. It doesn't mean we are "perfect" in the pro wrestler Mr. Perfect sense. It means we are learning to love. And the only way we can learn how TO love is by learning how we ARE loved. And the only way we can learn how we are loved is by letting God love us. I think one of the most important disctinctions in the Bible is between Adam, God's son (Luke 3:38), and Jesus, the beloved Son of God (Mark 1:11). Which, of course, is not to say that God didn't love Adam. Of course He did. God IS love. That's not just what He does, that's who He is. The difference is that Jesus KNEW He was loved. Jesus let Himself BE loved. While Adam was trying to earn the love of God through his actions, Jesus simply receieved it and released it. He let the love of His Father equip and empower Him. And in that same way... guys... that's what the New Commandment is! Let Jesus love you and then love Him back by loving each other with that same love. But first things first is the "let Jesus love you" part. And that comes from keeping your heart open. "Guarding" your heart by making sure you keep it open to love. That's what the heart is for. And that, by the way, is where God lives. Its HIS heart beating with love in our chests. What we need to learn is to listen to that still, small voice deep inside. To let ourselves be loved. So see ourselves the way God sees us. And here's how He sees us: When God looks at us He sees Jesus. When God looks at Jesus He sees us. Jesus is our true identity. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. So this learning... it comes from within. What is within coming out as we know and believe that its in there. As we learn that its in there. As we learn what it means for it to be in there. That's what this life is all about: Its not about finding something we don't have. Its about finding out what we do have. Its not about becoming someone we're not. Its about understanding, and accepting, who we are. Who we REALLY are. Its about being a disciple of love. A learner of love. Learning how to love as we learn how we are loved!

To know, and to be known. That's what this life is all about. To know that we are loved, and to be known of love. To be known BY our love. That's literally what Jesus says in John 13:35, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Because, let's be honest, people judge by appearance. Jesus says we shouldn't, that we should judge not by appearance, but by righteous judgment, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck most people will call it a duck. What we do matters, is what I think I'm trying to say. Because that's how people know us. The people in my life call on me for help because they know I'll help them. Because I always have. "I've got your back" isn't just something I say. Its who I am. And people know that. Because its what I do. We don't do in order to be... we do BECAUSE we be. What's inside always comes out--what you believe is inside always comes out. Because that's what belief, or faith, is. Its the rubber meeting the road. Faith without works is dead, right? We show our faith by what we do. If we love one another, people will know that we are disciples of Jesus. Of God. Of love. And check this out real quick: "Disciples" in John 13:35 is number 3129 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "a learner, that is, pupil: - disciple." So if you're a disciple of Jesus, you're a student of love. Learning how to love by learning how we are loved. Letting God love us and loving Him back by loving each other! And, much like my mom, we are life-long students. So if you think about it--we have been given an eternal life. We are never-ending life long students of love! There's too much to learn about it. We'll never figure it all out. My passage of Scripture that I love about testing the height, and length, and depth, and breadth of His love. So good. And we test it... by using it. By giving it away. We prove God's love--to ourselves--by obeying the New Commandment, which is to love others as Jesus loves us. To know and believe His love, and to give away what we've got. To share it. To let other people--and ourselves--experience it by letting what's inside come out. Not by forcing it out--or "faking it 'til we make it"--but simply by knowing and believing that its in there. What you believe, either the lie of the world or the truth of God, is what manifests in your life. Either trying to earn something that can't be earned... or receiving and releasing something that has already been given to you. That's the choice. That's what available to us. A life of trying to earn something that can't be earned... or experiencing the gift we've been given. People will know us by our love. So we have to know our love. We have to know that we are loved. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. In knowing that we are loved... we can love. In knowing what's inside... it comes out. Naturally. And that's the point. Our new (true) nature. The love nature. Love isn't just what God does. Its who God is. Love isn't just what WE do. Its who WE are. Know it. Believe it. Live it. Love it!