Up and down and side to side

Matthew 22:37 reminds us that we are to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind.  And we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.  I have been recently teaching my students about the various relationships we have in our lives. 

This passage which is comparable to passages in other gospel accounts as well as in Deuteronomy 6 and  is essentially telling us a couple of things.  The first thing is our relationship with Christ.  This is our vertical relationship.  Picture the upright of a cross.  As Christians we are called to be in right relationship with Jesus, our savior.  This requires effort on our part.  Relationships take time, effort, willingness, devotion, trust, transparency, intimacy.  Sometimes we forget that Jesus is a living savior.  He longs to be with us.  He desires that closeness with us.  I would not have been able to stay married to Ame for 18 years if we did not spend time investing in our relationship.  This vertical relationship must be intact in order for the other relationships in our lives to be healthy.

Those other relationships are our horizontal relationships.  Picture the horizontal rail on a cross.  See in our passage we are admonished to love our neighbors.  The implication is that we are to love each other, period.  We will disappoint each other, hurt each other yet we must love each other.  Guess how to do that?  Have your vertical relationship intact.  That is why Jesus said this was the greatest commandment, if we get this right, our relationship with Him... Other things in life have a way of coming together. 

Are you trusting Him with your life?  Are you trusting Him with your eternity?  Tomorrow marks the day that He was marched to a place called The Skull and was nailed on a cross to atone for the sins of  mankind.  I would love an opportunity to share more about this with you if you have questions.  Just know this, Jesus loves us so much, He died for us. 

God, help us to continue to be mindful of the pain you suffered on our behalf.  Help us to celebrate your resurrection as we keep in mind the death that had to occur first.  Help us to love you with our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbors.  We can only accomplish these things because of your great love for us.  In your name... Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

2 days left

On Friday we will remember what Jesus did for us on the cross.  Can you imagine what His last few days were like? Joy from knowing He was fulfilling the will of His Father?  Fear from knowing how He would die?  Sadness in knowing He was leaving behind those He loved?  Hurt in knowing he He was betrayed?  How do we feel knowing that He did all of that out of His great love for us?  And of course it is the sin in our lives that perpetuated a need for a savior in the first place.  See, it was us that crucified Him.  He endured that pain and suffering on our behalf, so we did not have to.  How awesome is that?  There is nobody on the face of this planet that would endure what He did for us. 

How will we spend the next 2 days?  This is a great time of celebration with family and friends.  Sunday will be one of the highest attendance days in churches everywhere.  Families will come together, food will be cooked, we will all wear our new Easter best and take pictures, and worship and sing to the King.  We will celebrate the risen Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Let's not forget that before He rose, He willingly died, hanging on a cross, with us on His mind.

Jesus, thank you for the cross.  Thank you for loving us.  Help us to be ever mindful of your sacrificial love for us as is evidenced by your suffering.  Help us to tell others today so that all may know. Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

Behold He comes, riding on a mule!

As I am praying this morning and reading in Matthew I have mixed feelings while thinking about Jesus riding in on a donkey.  My first thought is, why is the king of the universe forced to ride on a mule, (sorry donkey, you are kind of a beast of burden creature)  It seems that He should be on some huge powerful steed befitting the power and might of a KING.  Then I am reminded about what we read in Matthew 20 about the first being last.  What an amazing God we serve!  I am glad that He is in charge.  How do you see Him today?

As we continue to celebrate through this Holy Week, where does the Risen King of the Universe fit into your life?  Have you taken time to consider what He did for us on the cross?  See, He once rode in on a donkey but when He returns He will return on that white horse. Revelation 19:11 tells us that the one sitting on that white horse is called "faithful and true".  Are you ready? 

God as we celebrate Easter this week, help us to understand the magnitude of your suffering on our behalf.  Help us Jesus to be mindful of the life promised to us because of that suffering.  Would you give us the opportunity and the courage to tell others of this great love and invite them to worship with us on Sunday as we celebrate the Risen Savior.  Thank you for the cross.  Thank you for loving us even when we don't deserve it.  Amen.

Waiting on Him,

ML

He is Risen!

As we continue through this Holy Week, people in general are arguably the most open to spiritual things than any other time during the year.  As followers of Christ we have an incredible opportunity (and responsibility) to introduce people to the gospel of Jesus Christ and what His work on the cross means in eternity. 

Our service to Jesus is our obedience in how we live our lives.  We learn in Matthew 20:28 that "even the Son of Man did not come not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many"  You and I are part of that "many".  Because of His payment for our sin on the cross, we celebrate Easter this week.  Will you join me in praying about who God will have us invite to church this Easter Sunday?  If we are faithful in asking, He will be faithful in answering. 

Jesus, thank you for Easter and what that means for us today and what it means in eternity.  Will you lead us to people and lead people to us this week that need a relationship with you?  Will you help us live lives that point to You so that people may ask, "why are you different?" and we may respond by proclaiming your name as our life changer!  Help us Lord to fill seats in church not so we can boast about numbers, but so that we can boast about how awesome you are, and so others may hear the true Easter story, about our RISEN SAVIOR!  Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

Sold!

What if we were to do an inventory of all material possessions that we own?  This would have to include big items, small items, bank accounts...everything.  First of all it would take a while and likely change pretty regularly.  But let's just imagine for a moment.  Now, let's separate our list into three columns.  Column A would include the things we own that have no impact (neutral) on our relationship with Christ.  The next column will contain a list of things that enhance or perpetuate spending time pursuing our relationship with Christ.  And finally, (you know where this is gong!) the last column is the list of things that we allow to prevent us from spending time investing in our relationship with our savior.

Now, what kinds of things are on your lists?  In Matthew 19:21 Jesus told a man to sell his possessions and to follow Him.  The implication here is that this man loved his wealth and his "stuff" more than he loved God.  Do you find that at times you have the same problem?  I sure do.  The idea is not to have a liquidation sale of everything on column C.  We just need to learn how to put Him first, always.  It is OK to have nice, fun, exciting, expensive, entertaining, cool stuff.  We just have to remember where it came from and where our hearts should be, in HIM.  So cancel the yard sale, remove your listings from Craig's List and end your auctions on E-Bay.  Keep your stuff, (All three columns) and glorify God.  Matthew 6:33 reminds us to Seek first the kingdom of God and the rest of these things will be given to us. (Mike's paraphrase)
God, help us to know that every good and perfect gift comes from you.  Help us to be fully surrendered to you so that you can use us to bring honor and glory to yourself and that others might see You live through us.  Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML

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Michael P. Lane
Livewire GCC Youth Ministry
Grace Community Church
912.661.0548

For Better and For Worse

You know when God created man in the and woman in the Garden and determined that the two should be together, He knew what He was doing. (DUH!)  There were some very clear instructions given as well something along the lines of leaving their home and becoming one flesh.  There is some discussion about what God has joined together, let nobody tear apart.  God intended marriage to be for real.  With a divorce rate that is nearly 50%, it seems that we as a society missed some of that.  Now, I do not intend to sound as if I am condemning those who are divorced, I am a product of divorced parents.  What I would like to do is encourage others to begin praying today for your marriage.  If you are married, pray for your spouse, that there will be a hedge of protection placed around it.  Eliminate the words divorce and separation from your vocabulary.  If you maintain the mindset that your marriage is a forever marriage, you will be hard pressed to work it out!  If you are not married, pray for the one who you will marry.  God has the perfect mate for you if you are willing to wait on Him.  And finally, if you are a parent, pray for the one your kids will marry.  God already knows who that will be.  It is never to soon to begin praying for that relationship.

See, God wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives.  He wants us to be fully dependent on Him... For everything.  Marriage and all that comes with it is a gift, let us embrace it and reap the intended benefits. The key to a successful marriage relationship is to have a successful relationship with Jesus.  When the vertical relationship is intact the horizontal relationships are as well.

God, I pray for the marriages represented here.  Would you put your hedge of protection around them.  Would you remind us that you created us and you created our mate and you allowed us to be together as one.  Help us to love each other the way you love us. Help our marriage relationships be a reflection of our relationship with You.  Amen.

Waiting on Him,
ML