Finding Freedom Following Forgiveness

I don't know exactly how long this blog will be as I start to write, but I can only guess it may take minute. Those of you who follow me on a regular basis will have noticed that I haven't posted a blog since September 5, two months ago to the day. It's not because I had nothing to write about, but I'm a processor when it comes to lessons that I'm learning in life. Ask me for advice? I'll normally give it to you at the drop of a hat. Need help with leadership, music, or photography questions? I'm ready on a dime and I'll pay it. But I've learned in my 43 years that when God starts to teach you something, listen carefully and don't rush it. What follows is such a lesson.

My blogs are me living my life out loud in writing. I don't want to tell you that this is the way that you should believe if God is teaching you or leading you in other directions. This is the result of my time with God about me and what I have read and interpreted scripture to mean and say. If you disagree with me, that's ok. You won't hurt my feelings.

In 2006, I was in the process of interviewing at several different churches. I ended up accepting a position at the First Christian Church in Decatur, IL. There had been some very blatant sin in my life and at the time, I felt the need to be open and honest with the pastor and associate pastor about those issues. I remember telling my accountability partner at the time about my honesty with the staff. His response was, "Kevin, I hope that works out for you. I don't know that I would've been so forthright and magnanimous about it, but I hope that works out for you."

At the time, I didn't know why I'd been so up front either. There was no Biblical reason that I could place my finger on, it just seemed the right thing to do. I followed suit when I moved to Newnan, GA in 2009. I wish I could say that being open about my past kept me from repeating it, but it didn't. But this blog isn't an expose about my life. i recently wrote a book that I'm now editing where I once again state in the intro a very brief list of my failures. Though the book isn't about my failures, rather what God has taught me as a result of them carrying a message of hope to the world, I felt it necessary to briefly state the wrong choices I've made without detail. And I'll be the FIRST to admit that seeing my sin in writing, knowing that the world would too some day soon, was a very jolting experience.

So in light of all of this, the question I'm asked most by others and the question I've even asked myself in times past is, "Why tell it?" I was told not long ago by someone I highly respect and admire that his view was that telling what I'd done gives power to the sin rather than to the blood of Jesus that covers it. That statement to me jolted me almost as much as seeing my sin in black and white letters on a page. I was told that back in September of this year. I needed to ponder that a while. Giving power to sin is not a business in which I want to find myself. I've done that too much through poor choices to start doing that again through good intentions in a blog of all things.

This brought about some "sit back and listen" time between me and God. I desperately wanted to know how I needed to respond, and especially act, in light of this wise counsel. I've also learned that sometimes God gives us convictions that are different based on our relationship with Him and our life experiences. Mind you, these would not be things that are black and white in scripture! He would never tell you that there's more than one way to heaven or that Jesus may have just been a prophet. But for instance, my personal conviction is the Bible does not teach total abstinence from alcohol. I know there are some of you that strongly disagree with that. That's ok. But for those who have had addiction problems with alcohol in the past, no matter what I would believe scripture doesn't condemn, it would not be ok for former addicts to have a drink under any circumstance! That action may send them right back to a former bondage they don't want to revisit. It's tempting the devil. So this transparency issue may be a similar one.

Let's first tackle transparency with God. Can we all agree that we can hide nothing from God? If you didn't know that, well...you can't. He sees all, knows all, hears all, and is over all. There's no way to get around our Heavenly Father. When we confess our sins to Him, we are simply agreeing with Him that we have done what He already knows we've done. So why is it necessary if He already knows? It's not necessary for Him. It's necessary for US. It's opening up ourselves to His love, holiness, forgiveness, and mercy. Scripture equates sin to darkness many times throughout. In contrast, it equates God, holiness, and righteousness to light. When light, even a small flicker, is introduced into darkness, darkness cannot hide from light. Darkness is forced to reveal its secrets.

But the revelation of secrets can be a scary thing, can't it? We don't like other people, especially someone in authority, like GOD, knowing all our junk. After all, we're programmed from the time we are kids that "good" is rewarded and "bad" is punished. We're told that Santa Claus only come to "good" boys and girls. So we'd better watch out and not cry or pout. The first thing that's asked of a baby sitter or someone watching kids for a time by parents on their return is, "Were they good?" When kids ask for candy, ice cream, toys, etc. when parents are running errands or our shopping, the general answer is something like, "If you're good while we're out, I'll get you ______." And all of that is programmed into our minds during the most formative years.

So no wonder as adults, even though we may never be under authority where someone would use those phrases to describe us, the devil has a field day with well intended lessons we learned as children. He continues and feeds the idea that we will be rewarded if we're good and punished if we're bad. So more than anything, we want to be "good" people! We don't want others to know how bad we are behind closed doors. We don't want them to find out what we watched on our computers, or the few deposits we left off our taxes, or the true intent of our hearts when we gossip in the name of a prayer request. We magnify the bad deeds of others, why? Because it makes us look "good." So why upset that apple cart?

Besides that, it's only between you and God, right? And God is the only one who can forgive sin anyway. Verses like 1 John 1:9 that says, "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." (NLT) That is indeed 100% correct. Only God can forgive the eternal consequence of sin through the work of Jesus on the cross. And He is faithful to do so. But what about the next time you're faced with that choice? See, sin normally isn't done in light where everybody else can see what we're doing. Those things from your computer, the taxes. the heart's intent, those things are all hidden from prying eyes. And the fact that they are hidden creates an environment rich in temptation.

Luke 4:19, Jesus says, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." But let's be honest. freed prisoners sometimes find their way back to captivity. Before we know it, we can find ourselves back under the weight of oppression. Sin that we thought was in our past comes to surface again. There is indeed freedom to be had, otherwise Jesus would be a liar. So if there indeed is freedom, how do we experience it? Here is where God has started teaching me new things. Bear with me and let's chat a minute, because you might not understand or comprehend unless we wrap it all together and you finish with me. There are certain parts of our salvation that are "one time only" and others that are a process.

1 Peter 3:18, Romans 6:10, Hebrews 9:27-28, Hebrews 10:12, and Hebrews 7:27, we are told Jesus died "once" for all (click on the verses to read them). His death was good enough to cover the sin of the world past, present, and future. Romans 8:35-39 reminds us that nothing in the natural or supernatural can separate us from the love of God. Our salvation is secure. But in Philippians 2:12, it tells us to "work out our salvation." Is that contradictory? Not at all.

Everything about scripture is uniquely linked as only God could orchestrate it. Sometimes in our reading of scripture, we can tend to jump from "linked" to "equated," however. When we think about love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness, because it took all of them for our salvation, we tend to treat them as all pretty much the same thing. They indeed are linked, but are not equal in definition nor should we treat them as such. Love is the foundation. It started the whole relationship process. God first loved us and therefore we can love Him. And as we read earlier, nothing can separate us from His love. But love wasn't enough without the cross. Love required action for sin to be defeated. An action that Jesus even prayed could be bypassed. But it couldn't. Mercy won out. Jesus paid our debt. And Lamentations 3:22-23 say that His mercies are new every morning. Why do they even need to be? Because we have a sin nature and we will continue to sin post-salvation. But then there's grace. Grace is the key to salvation in Jesus. It's what His blood paid for. (Ephesians 2:8) Our faith in who Jesus is and what He did leads us to His grace which is the miraculous result of the cross. It is the conduit through which flows forgiveness from the Father.

I've said it this way:
     Love holds on to us.
     We hold on to grace.
     Mercy holds grace within reach.

Stay with me for just a little longer because I'm about to put it all together for you into this wonderful lesson that I've learned over the last two months or so.

I think that most of us can hang with these general truths. Confession is required for salvation. God's love for us is foundational to every aspect of our relationship with Him. Forgiveness comes through grace which is recognized through our faith because of our belief in the work that Jesus did for us on the cross.

And then I read 2 Peter 3:18 where it says, "...you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ..." Grow in grace? What does that mean? It was here that the lights started popping as God revealed things to me. The youth pastor at my church did a devotion with us as a worship team a week and a half ago and this verse was his text. In that devotion time I learned that there are two Greek words that translate to the English word knowledge that is used in the New Testament. One is "gnosis." Gnosis is gaining knowledge through the study of a subject. Gnosis is what we get from school. It is what produces degrees and diplomas. The second word is "epignosis." Epignosis is what is used in 2 Peter. And epignosis is knowledge that is gains through having an intimate relationship with someone. Peter is telling us that the growth of grace comes through getting to know Jesus more as a person through an intimate relationship with Him.

Remember us talking about light and dark? Holiness and sin? The desire to be good from childhood? We want to be good so badly that we view our own sin as "not being that bad." We tell "little white lies" and are quick to "just follow our hearts" even though scripture warns that the heart is "deceitfully wicked." (Jeremiah 17:9) We have gotten so busy in the pursuit of being good that we have neglected the pursuit to be holy. Holiness is what we're called to, not goodness. And they are two very different things.

Through time the devil has made us fearful of holiness because it is light, and light will illumine what we try so desperately to hide and will reveal to the world that we are not near as "good" as we say we are. But God says that's a GOOD thing! Here's why. When we draw close to God, His holiness shines its light into our lives and, yes, illumines the hidden places. But light kills the POWER of the hidden sin! Growing in grace ONLY happens when we realize the true wretchedness of our own sin. That happens when we draw close to Christ. Our "little white lies" take on a much different and horrifying look in the pure light of holiness. Holiness from Jesus removes the veil and allows us to surround ourselves with others who care and can help us "work out our salvation." Huh? Others? YES!

Now PLEASE click on this link from James that is coming! I don't want you to miss this. It is central to what I have learned and want to share with you. Click here: James 5:13-16. Did you see that? When we ask forgiveness of God for sin, even when others pray over us and we agree, we receive forgiveness from God. But HEALING (which I believe to be primarily spiritual, but also can be the physical) come from CONFESSING TO EACH OTHER!!! There is power in Jesus, to forgive, yes, but HE set up the Church and we are His bride. Because He instituted us and we are soon to be joined with Him, He has empowered us through His Holy Spirit. The freedom from oppression that He spoke about in Luke, freedom from sin that has seemed so elusive to the Church for so long, is found when we confess sins one to another!

Now does this mean we need to broadcast it and be reckless with how we tell it and to whom? NO! But our small group is the Church. Our Christian friends are the Church. Our prayer groups, worship teams, volunteer groups, Sunday School classes, Christian golfing buddies, they're ALL the Church. The intent was to not tackle sin ALONE because we can't. Our fellowship with Christ brings forgiveness, but our fellowship with each other brings healing because that's what Jesus has empowered us to bring to each other! I'm about to shout people!!!

The Church has been trying to help God along thinking that His plan wasn't complete enough or maybe even to harsh. We've wanted to protect the innocent and even protect ourselves from people who would gossip about us if they knew our hidden secrets. But when we bring the hidden to light, we negate the power that what was hidden had over us! Sin becomes POWERLESS in confession just as darkness is powerless in light.

So WHO and WHAT do we tell? Glad you asked. WHAT would you be worried that others would find out? That's what you tell. WHO would you be most worried about telling? That's WHO you tell. Am I crazy? Nope. But worry is a tool of the enemy, is it not? It wears on our mental state, our physical health, and can extend to our families as well. If we get the darkness into the light, we remove the cloud of worry that would otherwise hang over our heads. We invite accountability into ur lives to assist in bringing freedom from the chains that held us. Our stories of hope through sin and failure become faith building tools to the Church at large.

People sit in church pews EVERY WEEK and are in bondage to some kind of secret sin because they think they are alone and that their sin is worse than what others go through because everybody else is "good." Oh, they've heard the testimonies from others who have been in "sin," but they didn't ever name it. They think to themselves, "So surely it MUST'VE been just something like lying or running a stop sign. After all, they would never be guilty of something as bad as _________ like me." And they play along all the while living in deceit that they are the only ones. That is a tool of the enemy, my friends! We are to worship "in spirit and in truth!" Hiding our sin or making appear to be better than what it was is not truth and it does not glorify the hope we have in Jesus through His mercy, grace and forgiveness.

I know this is different from the way most Church is done today. But think about if this were the norm in your church ethos. Gossip would all but disappear because it would be powerless. Compassion would increase as those who had walked a mile would put the arms of others around their necks who are going through something similar. True forgiveness would be easier because we would realize we have no reason to hold a grudge. Stress would decrease due to reduced worry. Needs would be met because people could talk about their financial problems. Health would increase because sin, stress, and worry wouldn't weigh on the heart and mind. Seriously, do you see a down side? Of course not. Because I believe with all my heart that this is what Jesus had in mind when He instituted and empowered the Church.

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THANK YOU for stopping by!  Till next time...

Phil Robertson & WWJS

The reason that people have their panties in a wad over this Phil Robertson thing is simply because the majority of humanity can accept the idea of a heaven where good people go who have lived good lives, but also lean toward rejecting the thought of an "eternal torment" place called hell.  I happen to believe fully in both because the Bible teaches this truth.  But for those who do believe in a hell, the begging question is how to avoid it.

Because of our laws, our views on karma, our reward systems, and every other part of culture, the logical accepted way to get into heaven is to be a "good person."  If we've done enough right, and it outweighs our list of wrongs, then we must be going to heaven.  Only "bad people" go to hell.  But if THAT'S true, then the question begs, "How good is good ENOUGH?"  "Good" to one may not be "good" to another.  Hitler was someone's son. They may not have viewed him as evil, though the rest of us probably would.

So is it then a majority vote?  If so, who casts the ballots?  In the eyes of gay & lesbian groups, they have viewed Phil Robertson's quote as a "ballot" cast against them.  Many gays & lesbians believe in heaven, God, and a moral code and attend churches weekly.  So they are wondering how DARE someone cast that ballot against their ability to get into heaven?!?

But here's the truth that I know...that Phil Robertson knows, I believe.  There isn't ONE of us worthy to cast a ballot, nor make a determination on what must be right and wrong, or dub someone "good enough" for heaven.  THAT responsibility is God's and His alone!  So if we don't determine who is or isn't good, and God does, then how does this standard leave His mouth to reach our ears so that we're not just left guessing?  That would be the Bible. But the problem there is that NOBODY is good enough to live up to the standard set by this book!  God knew that too.  He didn't send a list of right and wrongs that He knew we couldn't uphold to simply laugh at us and scoff because of our failure at righteousness, tho.  There was a plan.  One that would pay the death sentence that is the ONLY payment for sin and satisfy the law that He, Himself, instituted.  And that's why He sent Jesus.  What we deserve, hell: eternal death and punishment, because of all the things HE listed as wrong in scripture (yes, homosexuality is one of those things along with lying, cheating, murder, adultery, coveting, putting anyone or anything as a priority in our lives over God, etc., etc.) was trumped by God's love for humanity in the death of Jesus Christ and is granted to ALL through an acceptance of this gift.  It goes against everything we trust in in our merit based sociological systems, I know.  But that's grace.

Phil didn't just come up with what he said. God did. Robertson may have stated it a little harshly, maybe. But it doesn't negate the truth of it. Nor the grace, love, and mercy God offers those who are caught up in ANY of the "sins" listed in scripture. I've not been a participant in that particular one (homosexuality), but there are certainly others that I have been.  And what I deserve is no different whatsoever from anyone else.  NONE of us are perfect!  We are all sinners saved only by God's grace.  We (including Phil) are ALL deserving of hell.  None "good enough" to make it into heaven on the merit of our own spiritual report cards. Those of us who are assured that heaven will be our eternal home are only confident of that hope because we have accepted the gift of Jesus' death on the cross.  We have no room for pointing fingers.  Grace just changed everything.

So, WWJ...um...S: What Would Jesus Say?  Let me be very clear, do NOT lump me in the crowd that looks at the Robertson issue with A&E and yells, "Christians need to stand up for what's right!"  If we talk double standards, yes, I believe there is one in this nation on free speech when it comes to Christian beliefs and morals. But I don't believe that it is a battle won in the media, Facebook, pulpits, or especially the White House! This may shock some of you, but I don't think that's what's needed here!!! I don't think that would be advised by our Savior either.

I can here the collective, "HUH?!?" What would Jesus say?  Well, let's see.  I believe He's already said it. Fellow believers, people who choose not to follow Christ will not act as though they are Bible thumping believers and neither should they be EXPECTED to!!!  Jesus said it on the cross, remember?  "Father, forgive them. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING!" (emphasis mine)  (Click here to read it for yourself.)  How dare we argue something with the very people to whom we are trying to extend hope?!? That makes NO sense! Phil was asked a question.  He answered it.  Do I think he's being treated fairly?  No.  But he is not the first and will not be the last.  So do we sit by and do nothing?!?  Absolutely not.  "Then what do we do?" you ask.  I'm so glad you did.  But let's start with what NOT to do from the words of scripture, the same source from which Phil drew his deductions shared with GQ.

Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them. 2 Timothy 2:14 (NLT)

A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. Proverbs 15:1 (NLT)

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19 (NLT)

Let's stop acting like spoiled brats and saying we gotta stand up for Jesus!  Jesus can handle His own!  He's waiting on us to stand up for the broken, the sick, the hurting, the needy, the hungry, the tired, the confused, the addicted, THAT'S who we need to stand up for!  THAT'S who Jesus gave His life for!!!  You can't make the change you want when you do it top down. Jesus knew that.  That's why He never instructed us to "love thy President, Mayor, Governor, Congressman, King, Pastor, Elder or otherwise."  He said, "love thy neighbor."  Right before Jesus' ascension, He gave the instructions to start with those closest to them geographically and work outward from there!  Click on this scripture reference and read Acts 1:8 (NLT).  This was God's plan all along!  Christians have been acting like we can save God time by forgetting our neighbor and trying for the big fish!  That's never worked!  So what can we do that WILL make a difference?

“The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31 (NLT)

You know that guy standing on the exit ramp begging for a dollar?  Stop, get out, and give him $5 and pray for him while you're there.  "But he might be running a scam!"  Click on the scripture reference and look back at Romans 12:19.  That's not your call or your problem.  You know the single Mom who checks you out at the grocery store or serves you in your favorite restaurant?  Cook her a meal to feed her family because when she gets home, she's probably too tired and would enjoy a night to concentrate on her kids.  You know the college students in your town that may be staying over Christmas because they can't afford to go home?  Buy one of them a gift and invite them to your home to spend it with your family.  Give your sales clerk a friendly smile and understand that they are just as stressed as you and that their day would be better if they could make yours better as well.  Pay for the person's coffee behind you at Starbucks just because.  Give toys to a family in your community who you know needs them.  Act like you're a child of God and that you believe what you claim!  Watch your attitude.  If you know Jesus, all of the fruit of the Spirit (click the underlined part to read the list) are in you and at your disposal.  LIVE IT!!!  Be hope.  Be grace.  Be mercy.  Be the Church.  Be Jesus.  Err on the side of grace.  Love the unloveable.  Forgive the unforgivable.  Don't think you can do that?  That's exactly what Jesus did for you!  Who do we blame for the mess the world is in?  Go look in the mirror!  No, you didn't do it alone.  Neither did I.  At some point the collective Church forgot her mission and her call to obedience.  We devised our own plan and thought we could do better.  We didn't.  We can't.  Get back to basics.  Love because your are loved.  Serve because you have been served.  Give because you have been given to.  And one by one by one by one, we will see the change we seek in our communities, our nation, and our world.

I welcome your comments!  PLEASE click on the words "No Comment" or "Comment" (whichever is listed just to the right of the posting time directly below this paragraph) and post a comment of your own.  You must also choose a profile from the drop down list, or just choose "anonymous" from the list and type your name at the end of your comment in the actual comment box.  Clicking the PUBLISH button posts your comment and you're good to go!  Use the social media links there to share to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts directly.  THANK YOU for stopping by!  Till next time...

Discouragement

One of my pastors at Oasis Church of Nashville, Adonis Lenzy, spoke this past Sunday on being stretched in times of discouragement. I, myself, have found that I have been on polar ends of the courage spectrum in recent days, and all depending on the day. 

God has taken me to this verse. "So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!" (Psalms 31:24 NLT) This verse lets me know that my God is a God of courage!!! He is a God that WANTS me FILLED with courage!!!

I've come to recognize the power of discouragement. I've faced it's power over a recent season of my life. I've made choices I've wished I had not made. I've been rejected, abandoned, and had my "wilderness" (for those of you Bible peeps who know what I'm talking about!). I can't measure what I've been through, neither do I want to! I'll only say that I've faced enough to know I don't want to face it at a deeper level. 

Look here: "Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love." (1 Corinthians 16:13, 14 NLT) These verses are not exhaustive in scripture. They are just a couple of examples. But how many of you know that God will not ask of you that which He will not empower you to do?!? So when you face a moment or a season which causes your head to bow, your shoulders to slump, your eyes to droop, your pace to slow, or your morale to dip, KNOW that it is NOT of God!!!

Will God allow moments or seasons that are hard to go through? Absolutely. Sometimes discipline is necessary. So is "stretching," to use a term from Pastor Adonis. Our faith, our resolve, our TESTIMONY can not strengthen without first being tested. "Testing" means it is being exercised, worked out. Ever lift weights? When you do it the first time, or the first time in a long time, what happens the next day? You're SORE!!! It hurts to wash your hair!!! You try to think of more than one reason to put one foot in front of the other because it hurts to even IMAGINE it!!! But, what happens when we work out on a regular regimen?the resistance is still there, but not the every moment soreness. So it is with our lives in Christ. 

Our faith must be exercised. God knows this. He is our "coach," if you will. A good coach not only sees your talent, but your potential. And he or she will push you to help you see it in yourself! God does this in our Spiritual lives. And when He does have to discipline us, as mentioned earlier, He has even given us encouragement through those times as well!!! "For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” (Hebrews 12:6 NLT) You are LOVED!!! You are HIS CHILD!!! Be ENCOURAGED!!! What a coach!!!

Have an awesome day today!!!

BIBLE: Love Is A Choice

First, read Luke 10:25-37.

As a Worship Pastor, I have sat down with many of the artists I've had the privilege of pastoring, and I've heard them say something like this, "You can't help who you love."  Or, "It just happened!  I didn't WANT to love that person!"  If you're like me, you've probably even said something like that YOURSELF!  It's on television, in the movies, printed in books and magazines, and all across social media.  We're told that we need to find our own truth.  That our purpose depends on what is best for us.

I will agree that each of us are made as individuals.  We are made uniquely with diversity in mind.  That was always the intent.  We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" according to Luke 139:13-14.  We have a purpose and a calling that we are each supposed to fulfill.  BUT!  There is a commonality that binds us all.  There is a foundation on which our diversity and uniqueness is to be built.  Isaiah 64:6 tells us that any purpose, and calling, any "righteousness" is like a filthy rag without Christ.  So in order for anything we do, our works, to make any difference at all to God, there must first be the common foundation of a relationship with Christ.

In the scripture I asked you to read, the expert in religious law asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life.  Look again here at verse 27 as the expert recounts what we now call the Old Testament law.  And he was right, according to Jesus!  In order for everything to make sense, for all our works to be counted, we must FIRST love God, then love others!!!

But now let's stop right there!  How is that possible?  If we are to find our own truth, according to the media and what's popular, and if we can't help who we love, then how can we CHOOSE to love God and love others?!?  AND, that last part actually says to love neighbors as MYSELF, so I have to love ME too!!!

Michelle and I were watching a Podcast of Bishop TD Jakes tonight on TV.  He said something that just HIT me!!!  He said, "Love is controllable.  God could not be considered to be a just God were He to command us to do something we can not do."  Oh WOW!!!  Bishop Jakes woke up a whole new thing within me as God used him to speak into my own heart.  Do you understand what God is implying here by His command to us to love?!?  He is saying that we CHOOSE who we love!!!  If we choose to love Him, we choose to love others.  We choose who our mates will be.  We choose our friends.  Love is a CHOICE!!!

And did you see how cool Jesus answers the question in our main scripture passage?  When the expert recounted to love God and love our neighbor, the lawyer wanted to know who was classified as our "neighbor?"  That's when Jesus delivers the story of the Good Samaritan.  Samaritans and Jews didn't talk to each other!  Ancestors of the Hatfields and McCoy's, these two nations!!!  Yet Jesus showed a CHOICE by the Samaritan to have compassion on this hurt Jew and care for him.  This was the kind of choice on whose shoulders could ride the reconciliation of two peoples.  Remember at the end of ROCKY IV when Rocky was being interviewed by the Russian announcer after just knocking out Ivan Drago?  He said, "If I can change, and you can change, then maybe we ALL can change!"  It's a choice.

And the part that I only touched on earlier isn't by any means the lesser of the lessons here.  We are to choose to love ourselves.  According to this scripture, we can't love others until we love ourselves first! Otherwise, who are we going to love our neighbors AS?  Just to get you thinking.

I'm reminded of ol' Joshua in the Old Testament telling his people to choose that day who they would serve, but, he said, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  So who you gonna love today?  Choose now.  :-)