The best way to get rid of something is to starve it. Because what you feed is what will grow. And the best way to starve the "bad" stuff is to focus only on the good stuff. Look at Luke 3:10-11, "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." I really think its this simple: See a need and meet it. That's how we set our affection on things above, and not on the earth. We set our affection on each other. Being Christ-centered is being people-centered. And it is the opposite of being self-centered. When you're so focused on yourself you tend to take the smallest thing and blow it out of proportion. We tend to make mountains out of molehills. We tend to feed WHATEVER is in our lives be it good, bad, or ugly. So, instead, look around. Feed others. God is love. And that love is a love feast. Feasts are to be shared. If someone's hungry... give them something to eat. Simple. But you can't give what you don't have. You have to let God feed you with His love--with Himself--before you can feed anybody else. And if all you think you have is that bad stuff that you're so concerned with... that's all you'll be able to give. You can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. Hurt people hurt people. But loved people love people. So we can starve the stuff we don't want in our lives simply by not engaging with it. Simply by feeding the stuff we DO want in our lives. Simply by feeding each other. And while that can, and often does, refer to actual food... it goes a lot deeper than that. Man shall not live on bread alone. We need relationships. We need each other! Philippians 2:4 says, "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." If I'm looking out for you, and you're looking out for me... neither one of us has to worry about ourselves. And the less self-centered you are, the more Christ-centered you can be. The more you feed the things in your life that you WANT to grow, the more the rest of it will starve, and wither, and die. Naturally. You don't have to fight the darkness. All you have to do is let the line shine. Because when God arises, His enemies scatter. When the light shines, the darkness flees. And dark cannot overcome light. If you're in a dark room, and you turn the light on... you aren't in a dark room anymore. When you're feeding the things in your life that you want to nurture and grow... the rest of it will take care of itself. I get so sick and tired of people who are always on a sin hunt. People who are always looking for things to condemn. Looking for things to attack. I think, in a lot of ways, we ought to live and let live. We ought to let people be who they are, and love them right where they're at. Of course there are some things that we shouldn't stand for. But I think its more important to focus on the things we DO stand for--grace, mercy, love. Those good things that we are to think on. Dwell on. Live on, and in. We choose what we give our three T's (time, talent, and treasure) to. Anything we deny those things to will starve. And the best way to do that is to give our three T's to the things that deserve them--each other!

What you feed is what grows. That's my theme for this Rant series. And the best way to get rid of the stuff in your life that you don't want in your life... is to starve it. And the best way to starve the "bad" stuff is by feeding the "good" stuff. Setting your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Thinking about the good things in life. The GOD things in life. Thinking about... love. Love is, well, let me quote a memory verse. "For our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:29). So, follow me on this one, if God is love... and God is a consuming fire... that means love is a consuming fire. A Holy Ghost wildfire that feeds on itself (HIMSELF) and consumes everything else. Look at Matthew 19:28 in the Amplified Bible, "Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, in the new age [the messianic rebirth of the world], when the Son of Man shall sit down on the throne of His glory, you who have [become My disciples, sided with My party and] followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel." Now, all I really wanted from that verse, for tonight, is the phrase, "messianic rebirth of the world." That's what happened on the cross. Jesus--who is life, right? Love is life? Jesus, God, is love? Jesus defeated death and remade the world completely in His image. Love consumed everything not named love! And that, friends, is why it is possible for us to focus on love instead of anything else. God gave us His Spirit. The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Truth that leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that God is love and He loves you. When you have that love issue settled... everything else flows. When you know the good things you have in your life, you can nurture those good things. I'm a big believer in nature AND nurture. When we know our new (true) nature of love we can nurture that love. We can help it grow. We can experience the abundant life that Jesus came for us to have by giving it away. By sharing it. If the greatest expression of love that you can have is to lay your life down for your friends... then I think the best way to do that is to share your life with your friends. Help THEM grow. See a need and meet it. Give what you've got. You all know my personal definition of love is giving everything you have and everything you are without worrying about anything. Because sometimes it DOES seem like the more you love people the less they love you. But that's ok. I don't like, "Don't cross an ocean for people that wouldn't cross a puddle for you." I say, do it anyway. Love them anyway. Love is about giving what you've got, by knowing what you've got. That attitude of gratitude. Focusing on how loved you are and letting that love flow out of you. Naturally. Love isn't about getting anything--not even a reaction. Love is about giving. Love IS giving. When you give your time and attention to the wrong things, you feed them. When you give your time and attention to the right things... you starve the wrong things. You don't have to fight them, or overcome them. You simply leave them behind as you move on to bigger and better things. Upward and Godward!

The best way to get rid of things in your life that you don't want in your life... is to starve them. And the best way to starve those things is to feed the other things. Because what you feed is what will grow. Let me say it like this, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Philippians 4:8). That's it, man. Think on these things. The best way to distract yourself from the "bad" stuff... is thinking about the good stuff. Setting your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Its the attitude of gratitude. Its almost like, "Don't tell your God how big the storm is... tell the storm how big your God is!" But, even better, like Jesus did, just sleep (rest) in the boat because you're not concerned with the storm at all. And I'm not saying you stick your head in the sand and ignore the realities of a situation. I'm saying, when you know that Jesus (LOVE) is holding you up... nothing can drag you down. When you're so focused on the things that are true, and honest, and just, and pure... the things that are lovely, of good report... virtuous things, praiseworthy things... those are the things to be grateful for. Those are the things to fill your mind with. Those are the things to feed, and to feed ON. Because you are what you eat. When God is described as love in 1 John 4:8... hold on, let me back up and get 1 John 4:7-8, "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." That word love is number 25 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "love, that is affection or benevolence; specifically a love feast." God's love is a feast. And a feast is meant to be shared. We feast on God's love. And we feast on it by giving it away. Because love IS giving. If you're like me (or my son Logan) and you've eaten a large pizza more or less by yourself... you know that stuffing yourself makes you feel good for like a minute... but then gross. On the flip side, when you share a large pizza with someone... you share more than just food. You share an experience. You share a laugh, maybe. Or even a more somber conversation, sometimes. Point being: you share it. That's how you experience the gift of God that you've been given. You share it. You give it away. And I'm telling you, when your focus is on love--which, again, is giving--when you're focus is on other people... you really don't have time to worry about yourself. When you're busy feeding all of the good stuff in your life... the bad stuff (and I use the terms "good" and "bad" kind of loosely) in your life will starve. You don't have to fight it. You can just let it natraully wither up and die. What you feed is what will grow. So stop feeding things and they will starve. Think on the good, and don't worry about the bad. Do your best, and forget the rest. Let love fill your mind and you won't have room for anything else!

Here's the straight fact: What you feed is what will grow. What you magnify in your life is what manifests in your life. If you're always stressing out about worse case scenarios... not only are you going to wear yourself slap out... but you are, in a sense, going to bring those doom and gloom prophecies to pass. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. If all you have is doom and gloom... that's what you're going to add to the proceedings. But if you're heart is full and your mind is clear... if you're bursting at the seams with God's love... THAT'S what you'll add to the proceedings. You know those people that just light up every room that they enter? Those people that you're just drawn to? That you want to be around no matter what kind of day you're having? That's light shining from within. LOVE shining from within! But I called this Rant series "starve it" because I want to write something practical. Something helpful. And I feel like a lot of us (me included, sometimes) struggle with "How do I get rid of the things in my life that I don't want in my life?" We think we need to battle them. Conquer them. Overcome them. Vanquish them. I can't tell you how much I've heard, over and over again, about "Spiritual warfare." Taking down everything from demons to rated R movies. Religious folk seem to want to fight every thing and every body. But let me, for the next few days, try to offer a different viewpoint. A different idea. In my opinion, a more excellent way. And basically, in a nutshell, its Colossians 3:2, "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." I truly believe that the best way to get rid of the things in your life that you don't want in your life is to starve them. Because, like I said, what you feed is what will grow. If you stop feeding those things--and even when you're "fighting" them you can still be feeding them... because sometimes all those things want is your attention, be it positive OR negative--they will shrivel up and die. I remember a conversation I had with a friend years ago. They said something about needing to be distracted. And I said, "I think focusing on the right thing is more important than just distracting yourself from the wrong thing." And it WILL serve pretty much the same purpose. If all you're doing is focusing on, dwelling on, brooding on the wrong thing... you're feeding it. Making mountains out of molehills, in some cases. Some people thrive on that confrontation. Its all they want. So if you just disengage, you aren't giving them what they want. You're giving YOURSELF what you need. Don't always focus on the problem. Focus on the solution. SET your affection on things above. There's another passage that I think I'm going to quote, maybe tomorrow, about thinking on only good things. Its in Philippians chapter four if you can't wait. But that's where I'm at. Set your affection on the good things. Think about those. And don't engage in the bad things. Don't fight evil, but overcome evil with good. Feed and nurture the things you want in your life. And starve the things you don't want in your life. Let them shrivel up and die all on their own while you're busy living your best life. The abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God. HIS life of love!

There was a time when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Before the cross. But that time has passed. We have been brought out of death and into life. Now let me say that another way. "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound" (Romans 5:20). And I've ONLY ever heard this verse preached as a stop gap against bad behavior. "We all sin, but when grace abounds we can stop!" That sort of thing. But there's another verse in the Bible that says, "Whoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9). When we stop seeing sin as whatever society deems "bad behavior," and start seeing it as unbelief... that's when we can understand that a believer cannot sin. By definition. We can stop trying to act a certain way--which will never be anything more than an act--and we can start being who we really are. You can't be who you really are unless you know who you really are. How could you? So where sin (unbelief) abounded... before the cross... grace did much more abound... on and through the cross. Where death ruled and reigned (in a sense)... before the cross... life showed up and defeated death... on and through the cross! Look at Ephesians 2:5, "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace year are saved)." Grace saved us when we were dead. LIFE saved us. When Jesus died on the cross WE died on the cross. It was the second death, the death OF death. And from that death came life. One more verse, "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die" (1 Corinthians 15:36). The seed goes into the ground and dies, and from that death comes forth life. Jesus is that seed. And we are that seed. Whoever is born of God doth not commit sin... for His seed remaineth in him! When Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew all men into Himself. And He planted Himself in all men. He died on the cross... so that He--and we in Him--could live. And not just live, but experience the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God. The life of love! Love is the difference between life and death. No love, no life. Know love, know life! The greatest expression of love that a man can have is to lay his life down for his friends. That's what Jesus did for us, and as us. He died so that we could die. Rose again to life so that we could live. So that we could experience His life as He lives it Himself in us, and through us, and as us. We have been quickened in Him. By Him. Through Him. Because of love. When we were dead in sins--before the cross--He quickened us. Brought us out of death and into life. HIS life. Because He loves us. Because He wanted us to have His life. God wanted the best for us--what father wouldn't?--so He gave the best to us. He gave us His only begotten Son so that we would have something (someONE, love) to believe in. Love is the difference between life and death. Period. You can't live without love because life IS love. To live is to love and to love is to live!

I can't honestly go too long without quoting this memory verse because it (along with most of the rest of them) is one of my favorites. Deuteronomy 30:19, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." Now let's look at this in the context of what we've been talking about. How we WERE dead in our trespasses and sins... but have been quickened together with Jesus through the cross and are NOW alive in Him (even as He lives in us). So while it is, in a sense, a choice... life or death, blessing or cursing... in reality the choice was made for us on the cross. We were given life. Abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. We HAVE been quickened. Death died on the cross. It doesn't have to be an issue anymore. So we ought not make it an issue anymore. We ought to choose to experience the gift we've been given. Experience the life we've been given by letting Jesus live it Himself in us, and through us, and as us. Listen: Nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. The harder we try to "be" Him, or walk in His foot steps, the more frustrated we'll get. We'll mess up. And we'll think that disqualifies us. We'll think we're not doing enough. We'll think we haven't earned it. Guys. We CAN'T earn it. You can't earn a gift. If you have to earn it... its not a gift. And the eternal life of God--knowing the one true God, and the One that He sent... knowing God as heavenly Father and ourselves as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased--that's the gift of God. Can't be earned. And has already been given to us. Must be received. Must be received AND released. Because releasing that gift is HOW we receive it. Love IS giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. We share what we have, and in that way we experience it. We share what we have, and in that way we "choose" it. Which, by the way, is what God said after putting the choice in front of us. He said, "Choose life." We have been given life... we ought not squander it. We have been given a gift. We ought to enjoy it. And, like I said the other day, we tend to act like we're dying a lot of the time. In a sense CHOOSING death. Maybe because we're afraid to live? Because we're so "comfortable" with where we are? We've settled. Taken what life gives us and said, "Yeah I guess this is it." But that's not it. There is so much more available to us. There is LOVE available to us. Love is the difference between life and death. That's as simply, and as strongly, as I can put it. No love, no life. Know love, know life! God quickened us because He loved us. He put the choice before us because He wanted us to be able to make a choice. God's not a control freak. Love doesn't demand its (HIS) own way. As my grandpa says, you can do anything you want... as long as you're willing to pay the consequences. We can choose to continue on in death, as the walking dead... but I wouldn't recommend it. Choose life. Choose love. Let God love you, and love Him back by loving the people that you come into contact with!

Here's where we get into trouble, "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25). We think its all about what WE do. About EARNING it. And, ironically, this lawyer was talking about what he had to do to INHERIT eternal life. Ironic because inheriting is about who you are, not what you do. You can't do something in order to inherit something. That's the lie that the serpent hissed in Eve's ear way back in the misty garden of Eden: You have to DO in order to BE. When, in truth, we do BECAUSE we be. We can't earn a gift, and that's what eternal life is. Eternal life is the gift of God. Given from Father to Son. Inheritance. Because eternal life is not just any life. It is literally the life of God. The life of love that comes from knowing and believing that we are loved. Remember, the difference between life and death is love. We know that we have passed from death--before the cross we were dead in our trespasses and sins--into life because we love each other. So the lawyer asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life. A question that seems to be on our minds even two thousand years ago after the gift was given. And Jesus answered and, "He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?" (Luke 10:26). Meeting the lawyer right where he was out. You're a lawyer, what does the law say? "And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself" (Luke 10:27). Somehow, even this head knowledge lawyer got the right answer. He "knew" it, but he didn't KNOW it. "And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live" (Luke 10:28). The question: What do I have to do to inherit eternal life? The answer: Love God and love people. Love God BY loving people. Love God by letting Him love you and loving Him back by loving whoever you come into contact with. So if the gift of God is His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life... we "inherit" the gift by giving it away. By receiving and releasing the love of God. To live is to love and to love is to live. We can't do one without doing the other because they are the same thing. I've heard it said you can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. So now that we have been quickened... now that we can BE quickened in an instant, in a moment of need, we can--in a very real way--quicken each other. God brought us back to life. And now we can bring each other to life. We can connect with each other on a deeper level. Not the blind leading the blind, wherein everybody ends up in a ditch, but being led by the Spirit and being called (identified as) the Son(s) of God. People will know we are disciples of God when they see the love we have. The love we GIVE. That's what people are desperate for. And when they see it... they'll run TO God instead of running AWAY from Him. When they see love they'll be drawn to it. And that love brings us to life. That love is how we experience and enjoy the gift we've already been given. We give it away, and then others can experience it too!

Yesterday I took kind of the long view. The eternal view. How, before the cross, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. And then, through the cross, how we were quickened--brought back to life. And not just any life, but Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. I think that's so important. Understanding the difference between life and death. How we WERE dead, but are now alive. And how the difference between life and death is love. No love, no life. Know love, know life. But today I want to come at this truth from a different angle. Look at Psalm 119:50, "This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me." And let me say it like this: So many "religious folk" out there see "hell" as a place. A destination. And they almost ignore the fact that people go through hell every single day. They forget that we need comfort in our affliction. We don't need condemnation. We don't need to be kicked when we're down. We need help. "I'm dying here." And only the Word of God (which is Jesus, which is love) can save us from that death. I said yesterday that before the cross we were the walking dead. But, in fact and in truth, so many of us still shuffle around like zombies. Going through the motions. Stuck in a rut--which is just a grave with the ends kicked out. Or, worse yet, running around like chickens with their heads cut off looking for love in all the wrong places. Spending--wasting--our three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) trying to earn something that can't be earned. Chasing something that we already have, and robbing ourselves from experiencing it. Because all we have to do is receive it and release it. All we have to do is listen to that Word that (again) HATH quickened us. We need to stop waiting for God to do something and get on board with what He did. Let me quote my other memory verse for tonight. "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). And while so many "religious folk" out there take this to mean if you don't say Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you're going straight to that destination of hell... I see it differently. I think we need to be saved oftentimes from our circumstances. And by "saved" I mean "carried through." We need comfort in our affliction. We need help. We need... love. Which is what the Word is. Which is what the name of the Lord is. Jesus is God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. So calling on the name of the Lord means calling on love. Receiving and releasing the love of God. Letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing that its in there. The Word hath quickened us. Calling on the name of the Lord saves us. In that moment when we need it (HIM) most. Love will save us. Its the only thing that can. The difference between life and death is love. Knowing that we are loved is what equips and empowers us to live. Its what gets us through the day. Its the comfort in our affliction. Its just what we need, right when we need it. God's love carries us through!

I think we need to get to the place where we really understand the difference between life and death. And not just life... but HIS life. Because that's the key. Look at Ephesians 2:1, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." I think that's kind of the whole thing right there. We WERE dead in our trespasses and sins. Before the cross. God said, "But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). And then Adam ate of it... and lived (in the natural) to be some nine hundred years old. So either God mispoke, or He was speaking of something else. Spiritual death. Being dead in our trespasses and sins. Being the walking dead, if I can say it that way. And you all know that my personal definition of sin is unbelief. So we were dead in our unbelief before the cross. Because it wasn't until the cross that we had something to believe in. SomeONE to believe in. Jesus. Love. Jesus said the greatest expression of love that a man can have is to lay his life down for his friends. And then He went to the cross and did that very thing. He didn't just say it. He put His money where His mouth was. He did it. He sacrificed Himself. For us. So that we could stop being dead. So that we could--well, He died so that we could die. I've Ranted on that at length. The second death. The death OF death. And then He rose again so that we could live. And not just live any life, but live HIS life. Experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life as He lives it Himself in us, and through us, and as us. I think that's so key. So important. Because nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. We are not trying to live His life. We are not trying to follow in His foot steps. We're simply resting in Him and letting Him make His own foot steps in our feet. Its His life. We're just enjoying it as He lives it Himself in us, and through us, and as us. See, on the cross, when Jesus laid His life down for His friends... He didn't just give His life FOR us. He gave His life TO us. And He did that simply because He wanted us to have it. To experience it. Now let me use my other main memory verse for this Rant series. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14). That's it that there. The difference between life and death... is love. No love, no life. Know love, know life. To live is to love and to love is to live. They aren't just connected, they're the same thing. God gave us His only begotten Son so that we might not perish, but live. Jesus is God in the flesh. Love in body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. God gave us the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of truth, the love receptor--so that we might know His love. He quickened us so we wouldn't have to keep "living" in a dead state. He brought us back to life. HIS life. He gave it to us. We have it. He HATH quickened us. So we can stop acting like we're dead men (and women) walking. We can start to live. Truly live. By letting God love us and loving Him back by loving each other. We were dead. Now we are alive!

I've kind of been hinting at the truth, kind of trying to seed it in this whole series, that self condemnation is the worst kind. Nobody knows you better than you do. Nobody knows all the worst things you've done but you. Because you were literally, physically, right there doing them. And unless you're a psychopath or a sociopath your conscience is usually pretty guilty. We're sensitive about things we've done, even if we aren't the ones currently doing them. But let me say two things about it and end this Rant series. Here's number one: "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things" (1 John 3:20). God--in the form of Jesus--didn't come to condemn us. He came to save us. And He didn't come to save us from HIM. He came to save us from ourselves. Its not something WE have to do... we don't have to save ourselves. God saves us FROM ourselves. He is greater than our condemning heart. He is greater than our guilty conscience. Which leads me to my other memory verse. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22). Remember David? The man after God's own heart? Which meant he was AFTER it. He wanted it. Well, now we have it. That true heart. God's heart beating with love in our chests. That's why--and how--we can draw near to Him. That's why--and how--we can run TO Him instead of running FROM Him. We know He's not going to condemn us. He's not going to kick us when we're down. He's going to stoop down and raise us up. He's going to equip and empower us to go and sin no more. God and unbelieve no more. Go and believe forevermore! Our evil (guilty, condemned) conscience has been sprinkled. With the blood of the Lamb. Just like in the Old Testament. And that blood is more than just a covering. That blood is our very DNA (the Divine Nature of the Almighty). Its the blood of God--the LOVE of God--flowing through our veins. Released with every breath we take and every move we make. Charity. Love in action. That's how we live free. That's how we prove (to ourselves) that there is no condemnation for those in Christ. For those in love. And I don't necessarily mean "in love" in a romantic way. I mean those who are dwelling in love. Those who don't disqualify themselves from being loved by God... those who let Him love the hell out of them by loving the hell out of each other! See, the best way to operate in an atmosphere of not being condemned... is to not condemn others. Let me say it like my pastor says it: If you know it, throw it. Give what you've got. God has washed away all of that "stuff" that we cling to in order to condemn ourselves. He is greater than our condemning heart. Greater than our evil conscience. His love lifts us up. So that we can rise above the things that have, for so long, dragged us down. There is no condemnation from God. So there ought to be no condemnation from us. To each other... or to ourselves!