United on Purpose

Pulling together is much more than general agreement. When unity is from the heart many blessings follow. Read these words from Paul, who incidentally has his share of credibility.

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Philippians 2:1-2 (NLT)

Wow!

So agreement and unity come from an overflow of knowing Jesus loves us and having Christ Followers for friends. Oh, and along the way put a check on your hearts to see if they are still soft toward one another.

Paul then says — kind of like a father would — MAKE MY DAY!

If you want to make a difference and to make him proud, do this Christian life (lifestyle) TOGETHER in love. And work very hard — like it’s your very own special project. What kind of “work”? LOVE and UNITY and MOTIVATED. Don’t be lazy (idle, inactive, remiss, negligent) about these things!

New School vs. Old School — Same Goal

Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter, and like about 100 others. All social networks, and people by the MILLIONS are embracing them.

Just as interesting is how fickle people can be. Earlier this year, Twitter was having technical difficulties. As a result, several other “micro-blogs” popped up all over the internet. In a way, that’s how we are today. Democrats vs. Republicans vs. Vice President choices. It’s a maddening race for popularity.

Facebook Graphic

Of course, for most of us it comes down to VALUES — what do people and social networks stand for — and where do I fit into their scheme? As a Follower of Christ, I am influenced by a standard, God’s Word, the Bible. It has and continues to shape me. That message does not change or move.

I love it’s anchor. In a world where there are no moral absolutes, where rules change, and where networks of people move around so much, I need that. I have also attempted to live by those standards.

Oh, no, I am not perfect, that’s for sure. However, when I get off course I can look forward and strive toward a finish line that DID NOT move.

It can be confusing to follow the commands on the Bible. In fact there were like 1,630 of them listed. When Jesus was asked which was the most important He brought it down to a level we can all not only understand, but we can RELATE to it.

Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Now THOSE SOCIAL NETWORKS ROCK!

How to Survive the Loss of a Love

Sometimes we don’t really know what to do when someone we loves leaves us. I found this list of help that may be useful to you or me in the future. It’s at eHow.com. Hope it brings help to someone.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

True Love — Happy Valentine’s Day!

This is one of the most prolific and poetic ways to say love. God’s Word expresses it so well that it has stood the test of time for some 2000 years.

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Have a wonderful time with those special people you love. Make the day count!1 Corinthians 13 (THE MESSAGE)

The Way of Love

(1) If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. (2) If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. (3-7) If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end. 8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

(11) When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

(12) We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

(13) But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.