The s2s Project: Love

Showing posts with label Love. Show all posts

A Place to Call Home! (Ephesians 3)

Ephesians 3.17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love... [nkjv]

In June 2003, Cindy Kennedy was traveling on a bus in Nepal when she read a newspaper article about a 6-year old girl, Lalita, living in a prison with her father and his girlfriend. The two adults had murdered Lalita's mother. Kennedy had arrived in Nepal just 10 days earlier to begin the final stages of setting up Namaste House, an orphanage for Nepali children.

"I had sat here (in the United States) for years reading the internet news and not being able to do anything," says Kennedy. "So now that I was there, in Nepal, we had to go get this girl!"

Kennedy and a Nepali colleague got on another hot crowded bus the next day and travelled 13 hours to the prison where Lalita had been living for nine months. For five days Kennedy patiently tolerated what she calls "a lot of bureaucracy and hurry-up-and-wait." But Lalita was ultimately released. She became the first child to find a home at Namaste House.

Today 27 children, ages 3-12, live at Namaste House. Even though each has a unique story, they all have a common thread of hardship, abandonment and neglect. And despite the difficulties they have had to endure at such an early age, they now not only have a mother's love but also a permanent place to call home. They have been given a gift which will change them forever.

Paul's prayer is this verse is that "Christ would dwell in our heart." The word 'dwell' conveys the idea 'finding a permanent home.' Jesus is not looking for a holiday house where He can come and visit but rather He is wanting to set up permanent residency in our hearts.

If we truly understood the implications of this, just like the children at Namaste House, our lives will never be the same again.

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Seven Pounds (Ephesians 2)

Ephesians 2.4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) [nkjv]

I recently watched the movie Seven Pounds. Will Smith plays a mysterious man who calls himself Ben and who spends all his time looking for strangers who need help, people dealing with illnesses, or in financial troubles or caught in abusive relationships. As selfless as that sounds, he has a personal reason for helping these people (don't read on if you intend to see the movie!)

Ben is trying to atone for his past. One night, in a moment of distraction, he caused a car accident which took the lives of seven people, including his own fiancee. Burdened by the guilt of this night, he goes to great lengths to find seven deserving people and help them, even if it costs him everything.

This film could have had a very different ending had Ben read Ephesians. We have all sinned. If God hadn't intervened we would been doomed to carry the guilt of our failures with us all through life. Yet God, so rich in mercy, because of His great love for us, even when we were lost in sin, made a way for us through His Son Jesus.

God offers to all of us His gift of grace, but we need to accept it. Like Ben, so many of us acknowledge our failures, and even realise just how undeserving we are. But the real tragedy is that many stop there. Instead of surrendering to God and receiving His gift of grace by faith, many try in their own strength to deal with the guilt, the shame and the hurt.

Some, like Ben, try to earn their redemption through good deeds rather than receive it by faith. At the end of it all, the peace that we are so desperately looking for, is only found in Jesus.

If we are willing to accept it.

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A Cinderella Moment! (Ephesians 1)

Ephesians 1.5 Long before He laid down earth's foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. What pleasure He took in planning this! [msg]

After leading worship at Beijing International Christian Fellowship on Easter Sunday in April 2004, Steven Curtis Chapman left through the back door and ran into some missionaries who let him hold one of their Chinese babies. When Steven asked if she was theirs, they said no, but they were trying to find a home for her. He asked, "What is her name?" They said, "Maria". Immediately, a song Steven wrote years ago, called, "Who's Gonna Love Maria," started playing in his head. Steven couldn't believe the coincidence of her name, and was shaken to the core. When thinking about this, he broke down crying and called his wife, Mary Beth, explaining the strong connection he made with this little girl named Maria.

Steven couldn't get Maria of his mind, but he certainly had not planned to adopt another child. Because Maria was a special needs child and was already placed with an agency in a special needs program, Steven thought maybe they were just supposed to help her find a home. But when he returned to the states, Mary Beth already had the paperwork out and said, "I think we're supposed to go and get Maria."

The pieces fell into place, and a couple months after Steven first met Maria in Beijing, he once again returned to China to pick up Maria Sue Chapman. She had a heart condition which classified her as "special needs", but the Chapmans have a different idea regarding why she was special: she was theirs. Before they completed the adoption, she was re-diagnosed as being healthy, and her healthy heart began to constantly overflow into the hearts of those around her. As the youngest of the family, she was certainly a handful, but Steven and Mary Beth knew that their family would never have been complete without her.

For four years, the Chapmans grew together, through laughter and tears, joy and pain. Steven Curtis Chapman has sold more than 10 million albums, has had dozens of No. 1 Christian radio hits, and has won more than 50 Dove Awards, exceeding any other individual artist. Yet he would much rather talk about his family or his work with adoptions and orphans. In addition, they have seen the ministry they founded, Shaohannah's Hope, help over 1,600 waiting orphans find their forever families, raise awareness and champion adoption and orphan care in spheres throughout the secular and Christian arenas, and begin projects such as the home in Luoyang, China, that will care for special needs children.

Throughout it all, Maria has been the beloved youngest daughter in the Chapman clan. Quick to greet you with a big smile, and the first to throw up the "rock fingers" for a little bit of sass. She was also one of the two inspirations behind Steven's hit, "Cinderella". Boisterous and full of life, she loved flowers, ladybugs, birds, anything with wings, coloring, washing dishes, playing make-believe, the color pink, being "butt-naked", water, and her family. Her life was a picture of God's beauty; her adoption was a picture of God's love. Her family certainly loved her, and through the love of her family, she became beloved by the entire world.

On 21st May 2008, in what local authorities termed 'a horrible tragedy', Maria was accidently struck down by a car driven by one of her teenage brothers as he was backing out of the family driveway. She was rushed to hospital but passed away later that day. Over the last year the family have been healing but found great peace in the thought that Maria's eternal adoption was at last finalized on that day, as her Heavenly Father took her home to be with Him.

Just like the Chapmans opened their hearts and home to one poor little girl from China, God has also done the same for us. Through Jesus, we have been adopted into His family as one of His precious children.

According to Roman law, the person who had been adopted had all the same rights as a legitimate child in that family and lost all rights to their old family. All debts and obligations connected with their previous family were abolished as if they had never existed!

This is an amazing picture of what God has done for us through Jesus. He is now our Father and we are His children, free from all that previously held us captive. When the reality of this sinks in, our life will never be the same again.

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He Took My Place! (Galatians 1)

Galatians 1.4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father [nkjv]

Ted Bundy was a normal guy. He lived a normal life. He grew up in a loving Christian home with five siblings. But he carried a secret, one that would eventually destroy not only his life but the lives of many others.

Ted was addicted to pornography.

As a young boy he was introduced to this world through magazines found in garbage cans, but over the years that followed, to satisfy the insatiable cravings inside of him, his addiction grew into harder and more deviant forms of pornography. He eventually moved his fantasy world into reality, becoming one of Americas most notorious and feared serial killers.

At 7.06am on the 24th January 1989, after a prolonged court case, Ted Bundy was executed at Florida State Prison. Hundreds of people outside the prison cheered upon hearing the news of his death. In an interview with Dr James Dobson, 17 hours before he was due to be executed, Bundy told his story and shared his acceptance of Jesus Christ as His personal Lord and Saviour.

Many across America found this difficult to believe! How could God ever forgive such an evil man for the horrific crimes he had committed? The thought of Ted Bundy in heaven left many with questions about God. To many it just didn't seem right.

But regardless of what we think, the truth is clear - Jesus gave Himself for our sins. No matter how black. No matter what we have done, Jesus did the greatest thing anyone could ever do, He gave Himself.

He gave himself for our sins. The word 'for' used in this verse is one which carries the idea of substitution. He took my place. He did it for me.

Paul, the writer of the Book of Galatians, knew better than anyone the power of God's love to transform a sinner's life. He was a murderer of Christians yet he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and his life was forever changed.

We have all sinned. Even as Christians we sin. The devil is quick to accuse us. But we can take courage from the truth found in this verse that there is One who has paid the price for my sin and His name is Jesus. He took our place and paid the price of our sin so we can walk free!

Martin Luther once said, "Let us equip ourselves against the accusations of satan. If he says, ' Thou shalt be damned,' you tell him: 'No, for I fly to Christ who gave Himself for my sins...'

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Prison Break! (Esther 7)

Esther 7.10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided. [nkjv]

On the 19th December 1965, Ronald Joseph Ryan and Peter John Walker put a daring plan into action to escape from Pentridge Prison in Melbourne, Victoria. As prison officers were taking turns attending a staff Christmas party, the men scaled a five-metre prison wall with the aid of two wooden benches, a hook and blankets. They overpowered a prison warden and took his weapon. After a series of bungled attempts, they finally managed to open the outer prison gate and escape into the car park, and out onto Sydney Rd. By this time the alarm had sounded and prison guards were converging quickly on their location.

People abandoned their vehicles and ran for cover and trams banked up as these two armed men caused havoc at the busy intersection of Sydney Rd and O'Hea St. In the confusion that followed prison warder George Hodgson was shot and killed while trying to apprehend the escapees. He died on Sydney Rd.

Both men were eventually recaptured after 19 days on the run.

On the 3rd February 1967 Ronald Joseph Ryan entered the history books as the last person legally executed in Australia. He was found guilty of killing a prison officer during his escape from Pentridge Prison in 1965 and sentenced to death by hanging. With thousands of people protesting outside the prison and all calls for clemency denied, Ryan refused any sedatives and walked calmly to the gallows trapdoor. The hangman wasted no time and quickly pulled the lever. A nationwide three minute silence was observed at the exact time Ryan was hanged. His execution created massive public outrage and eventually lead to the abolition of the death penalty.

During ancient times, hanging was just as gruesome as it was in 1967 however back then it was usually done after the execution, not usually as a means of execution itself. Simply stringing someone up to a tree wasn't enough for the ancient Persians. The word 'gallows' mentioned here is a pointed stake set upright in the ground. In this case Haman had ordered it built 25 meters high. The intention was that Mordecai would be arrested, placed on the sharp point and then pulled down by his legs till the stake that went in passed up through his body, coming out through his neck. Haman would take great delight in the fact that Mordecai wouldn't die a quick death but would spend his last hours in excruciating agony.

This was the death planned for Mordecai but because of the love one woman had for her people, became Haman's ultimate fate. The guilty died in place of the innocent.

Fast forward a few hundred years into the future and we see history repeating itself. Satan had a plan to rid the world of the One who caused him so much humiliation. He stirred up the crowd, manipulated those in authority and falsely accused Jesus Christ, the Son of God of all manner of sin. They took Him and crucified Him to a tree, a gruesome form of capital punishment adapted by the Romans from the Persians.

This time around though it was the innocent who died for the guilty!

Because of my sin, I am the one who should have been punished, yet it was Jesus who took my place so I can walk free. During those excruciating hours, while hanging between heaven and earth, Jesus lifted up His head and said "Father forgive them for they know not what they do."

He did that so I can be free!

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Wide Awake! (Esther 6)

Esther 6.1 That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. [nkjv]

When she was 17 years old, Ila Manner discovered she was pregnant. It was Florida 1968 and her parents decided it was in the family's best interest to keep the pregnancy a secret. They admitted their daughter into the Florence Crittenton Home for unwed mothers. On the 9th August 1968, after two days of labour, Ila gave birth to a baby boy. Although she wasn't allowed to hold him, deep down she secretly hoped that someday she would find her son again.

Three weeks after his birth, Ben, as he was later named, was adopted by a loving family and moved 3,000 miles away to San Francisco. Ila went on to marry and had a daughter named Kari. They moved to New York and she established herself there as a successful jewelry designer.

It wasn't until many years later that Kari stumbled across the family secret and learned of the existence of her older brother. She began a search for her missing sibling, hiring investigators, researching adoption records but hitting legal roadblocks along the way. The same roadblocks Ben was finding in his search for his mother.

After 11 years of fruitless investigation, Kari called it quits and decided to follow in her mother's footsteps and pursue a career in the jewelry business. Although successful in New York, she felt the urge to move to San Francisco, despite the fact that she knew no one there. She found a roommate by the name of Erin Kehoe. Erin introduced Kari to a few of her friends. One night in July 2002, while out at a popular nightspot, Erin introduced Kari to one of her oldest friends, Ben Davis!

Without realising who he was, Kari struck up a friendship with Ben. A few weeks later over dinner, Kari shared with Ben her search for her brother and how unlucky she was. Ben weighed in, "I know what you mean, I have been trying to find my mother without any luck." When Kari mentioned her brother's birthday, Ben stared in disbelief and said, "that's my birthday!"

To cut a long story short, after DNA tests proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Ben was in fact Kari's brother, Ila flew from New York to San Fransico to meet the baby she gave up 34 years earlier. She later told reporters, "I walked up to him ever so slowly and I put out my hand. And I touched his face. And it was exquisite, to touch my baby."

I don't believe in coincidence!

Although God is not mentioned in the book of Esther, His fingerprints can be found all over the pages. It was not a coincidence that the king couldn't sleep, that he chose to read a specific book, that through reading this book learned of the lack of appreciation shown to Mordecai, at the exact same moment Hayman, a man hell bent on destroying the Jewish people, walked into the room.

All little incidents, which by themselves seem insignificant but together all point to one undeniable truth - God is in control!

This is sometimes difficult for us to understand, especially when bad things happen. But we must trust the total plan. No matter what we face, God is not taken by surprise. Scripture tells me that 'all things work together.' Any one event taken in isolation may seem to make no sense but when we see all things, good and bad, working together, we then see the ultimate wisdom of God's plan and love of our Heavenly Father.

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I Would Do Anything For Love But I Won't Do That! (Esther 2)

Esther 2.9 Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance...[nkjv]

All species of animals have a unique way of attracting a mate. Some use a special call, or a bright display of colours, or a display of strength, or a weird dance or even a display of affection (such as licking themselves). The male hippo uses his faeces to attract the attention of the ladies while Amazon river dolphins initiate courtship by gently nibbling the flippers of their female counterparts and then presenting with clumps of weeds like exquisite bouquets.

But no matter how diverse or bizarre the methods of attraction are in the animal kingdom, there is no species on earth quite like humans!

The things we do for love. Waxing. Plucking. Exfoliating. Bleaching. Tattooing. Piercing. We put ourselves through grueling and often painful beauty regimes all in the hope of attracting that special someone.

In the quest for beauty it seems that anything that is part of or comes out of an animal is fair game. Sheep placenta treatments are said to keep the Hollywood elite looking gorgeous and youthful while others use bull semen on their hair, or as Victoria Beckham discovered, nightingale droppings on your face make a great skin cream. Japanese women drink collagen derived from pigs, chickens and cows to help boost their skin from the inside out. While many Westerners think nothing of having paralytic toxins injected into their face during their lunch breaks.

Hollywood actress Demi Moore travelled to Austria to be sucked by leeches, to help detoxify her blood.

In the Karo tribe of southern Ethiopia, village elders make cuts on young girl's stomachs that heal into prominent scars, which are considered beautiful and will make them more attractive to men.

When it comes to pain, China ranks among the most masochistic. To add a few inches to their frames, some well off Chinese have both of their legs broken and steel pins inserted, just below the knees and above the ankles. Every day as the broken bones try to heal, the height seeking patient turns an adjustment knob to pull them apart, forcing a new bone to grow in the gap. The agonizing painful procedure takes six months, all for a typical gain of three inches.

The ancient Hebrew word for 'beauty preparations' comes from the root meaning “to scour, to polish.” Contrary to what you may think, Esther didn't spend a year of her life living it up in some Persian spa. Rather, she underwent grueling skin treatments, as every blemish was removed. Often through pain. So that she could one day stand before the king.

God is not evil. His plans for my life are good. But He sometimes requires of me to undergo these 'beauty preparations'. They are not pleasant or comfortable but they are necessary. And as much as I want to take the easy road, its often through the scouring and the polishing that I am refined.

So that one day, I can stand before my King spotless and without blemish.

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Jesus Still Changes Lives! (Mark 6)

Mark 6.3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. [nkjv]

Nicky Cruz wasn't even 4 years old when his heart turned to stone. As one of 18 children born to witchcraft-practicing parents from Puerto Rico, bloodshed and mayhem were common occurrences in his life. He suffered severe physical and mental abuse at their hands, at one time being declared the "Son of Satan" by his mother while she was in a spiritual trance.When he was 15, Nicky's father sent him to visit an older brother in New York. Nicky didn't stay with his brother long. Instead, full of anger and rage, he chose to make it on his own.

Tough, but lonely, by age 16 he became a member of the notorious Brooklyn street gang known as the Mau Maus (named after a bloodthirsty African tribe). Within six months he became their leader. Cruz fearlessly ruled the streets as warlord of one of the gangs most dreaded by rivals and police. Lost in the cycle of drugs, alcohol, and brutal violence, his life took a tragic turn for the worse after a friend and fellow gang member was horribly stabbed and beaten and died in Nicky's arms.

As Cruz' reputation grew, so did his haunting nightmares. Arrested countless times, a court-ordered psychiatrist pronounced Nicky's fate as "headed to prison, the electric chair, and hell."

No authority figure could reach Cruz - until he met a skinny street-preacher named David Wilkerson. He disarmed Nicky - showing him something he'd never known before: Relentless love. His interest in the young thug was persistent. Nicky beat him up, spit on him and, on one occasion, seriously threatened his life, yet the love of God remained - stronger than any adversary Nicky had ever encountered.

Finally, Wilkerson's presentation of the gospel message and the love of Jesus melted the thick walls of his heart. Nicky received the forgiveness, love and new life that can only come through Jesus. Since then, he has dedicated that life to helping others find the same freedom.

At church yesterday, our pastor preached an amazing message titled, 'Jesus still changes lives!'. This carpenter who lived 2000 years ago in a remote part of the world is still in the business of changing people's lives.

As a carpenter, Jesus would have learned a few things. He learned that there is potential hidden within an ordinary log. He would have learned that it takes work and time to draw out that potential and make something usable. And just like Nicky Cruz's story reminds us, He would have learned that the finest things are made from the hardest wood.

There are so many hurting people on this earth waiting for a carpenter, just like Jesus, to walk up to them and tell them that they are loved, there is hope and that Jesus can change their life.

Lord let me be that person for someone today!

Watch Nicky share his testimony. You can also check out the upcoming remake of 'Run Baby Run'

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It's Amazing Who You Meet in a Cemetery! (Mark 5)

^{Mark 5.2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. [nkjv]}

The shocking news is quickly making it's way around the globe - Michael Jackson is dead!

I must admit, when I first heard I had mixed feelings. I've never met him. I've never been to one of his concerts and I don't think I even currently own one of his albums yet he has been part of my life right from a young age. Every Saturday morning I'd watch the 'Jackson 5' strut their stuff on TV. When Michael performed 'Billy Jean' at the 1983 Motown 25 Concert, I remember the very next day wearing a single white glove to school to show my dedication as a fan and not to mention my extreme 'coolness'. Then there's the hours spent alone in my room practicing the 'moonwalk' and imagining that moment in time when I, the geekiest guy in school, get to show off my super cool dance moves while my fellow students look on in awe.

I did get to meet Michael's brother, Jermaine Jackson, about 20 years ago. We chatted for a little while while I cleaned his hotel room. But that's about it.

I think that there will be a lot said about Michael in the weeks ahead. Some good and some not so good. His life was riddled with controversy. People will have mixed reactions to his death. There is a church group in America claiming to represent God called Westboro Baptist Church. They released a press statement today saying that God was behind the heart attack which killed Jackson and 'praised God' that he was now in hell.

I visited their website and it made me ill. How can people who call themselves Christians represent God that way? Does He really hate people? The people at Westboro Church seem to think so. They target gays, those in the military, prostitutes, and even Joyce Meyer gets a mention! According to their beliefs, I'm sure God hates me as well for for even suggesting they might be misled.

But as I read through the Bible I see a very different picture of God.

Jesus got into a boat and sailed across the Sea of Galilee. He was exhausted. He travelled through a hurricane. He had to deal with disbelieving disciples. He arrived and met a demon possessed guy. Healed him. Then got back into the boat and sailed straight back to the other side.

Jesus went through all of that just for one man!

One man who society rejected. One man lost in a helpless situation. One man who He loved.

You can't tell me that God doesn't love people.

Regardless of the life he lived, the choices he made, Michael Jackson was someone dearly loved by Almighty God. No matter how much the people at Westboro Baptist Church protest, they can never change that.

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