“Don’t Get Stuck!”

March is often our snowiest month of the Minnesota winter. This can be a snowy month because spring is close at hand. With spring, warmer moist air moves in to the upper Midwest. But with that air comes the potential for lots of snow. One of the fears we all have is driving in a snow storm and getting stuck. Especially if it’s in a out-of-the-way location where help may not be readily available. This is the main reason 4WD vehicles are so popular in Minnesota. Where a 2WD vehicle could be hopelessly stuck, a vehicle equipped with 4WD can easily track right through deep snow.
Thinking about the possibility of getting stuck brought my attention to a passage in the Old Testament. Genesis 11:31-32 reads “Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot and left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But they stopped instead at the village of Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still at Haran.” (NLT) Abraham’s father Terah took his family on a journey to the Promised Land of Canaan. They left their home, their livelihoods, their comforts, all because God had revealed to them an awesome gift - the Promised Land. Along the way to Canaan, they stopped at Haran and got stuck. They settled there and Terah ended up dying Haran. Later we know Abraham made it to Canaan but what a sad ending for Terah!
God has called each of us to join Him on a journey to the Kingdom of God. He has equipped us with the Holy Spirit who gives us inner peace, joy, spiritual gifts and an abundant life. But sometimes we get stuck on the way. We settle for less than what God had in store for us. We will inevitably get stopped along the way in our journey but there is a difference between getting stopped and getting stuck. When we get stuck, we need to ask for God’s help in shifting gears and getting back on our journey. God didn’t call us to get stuck and die in Haran. He has called us to shift into 4WD and get back on track toward Canaan, the Promised Land. Are you stuck in your journey with God? Are you tempted to settle for less than God’s best for you? Did you set out for a Christ-like life but settle for one plagued with sin and guilt? Did you set out for a great marriage with God in the center but settle for just co-existing? Did you set out to devote your gifts and talents to serving God but settle for devotion to your career? Did you set out to impact your community and world for Jesus Christ but settle for just sitting in the pew (chairs in our case)? If you answered yes to any of these questions, don’t be like Terah. Go to God in prayer and ask Him to get you unstuck. The Holy Spirit is way more powerful than a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Allow the Spirit to get you back on track on your journey with God!

“All We Need is Love!”
When people think of February, one day usually sticks out - Valentine’s Day. Now I know many people like to disparage this day saying it is just a Hallmark holiday. It’s a day created by the greeting card, chocolate and florist industry to sell their merchandise to those who have a romantic love in their lives. They guilt people into thinking if we don’t lavish these sort of gifts on our Loved Ones on Valentine’s Day, then we are somehow lacking in romance.
This got me reflecting a bit more deeply on the topic of love. In the Book of First Corinthians is perhaps the most beautiful chapter in the entire Bible. Chapter thirteen is often referred to as the “love chapter.” It’s familiar to many of us because we hear it frequently recited at weddings. Paul says, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. There are three things that will endure - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love.” (vs. 4-7, 13 NLT).
In these words of Paul is a beautiful description of what true godly love is all about. “Agape” is the Greek word for love that is used in this chapter. It is the same type of love God has for us. It is unconditional, unfaltering, and unselfish - always putting the other person first. It is also the type of love we are to display to others as Christians.
What type of love do we see portrayed in our culture and media? In movies, TV, music, magazines, etc., we see a romantic love (“Eros” in Greek) that is based on instant gratification, selfishness, eroticism and infatuation (“Love does not demand its own way”?). 50% of marriages end in divorce today (“Love never gives up”?). Families and friendships are often splintered because of long held grudges and unforgiveness (“it keeps no record of when it has been wronged”?). And our culture has largely turned away from God (“love...never loses faith”?). This is the opposite of the agape-type love that is to characterize us Christians.
Paul’s words in First Corinthians 13 speak loudly to us this Valentine’s Day. It’s not the love of warm fuzzies with hearts and Cupid and his arrows. It is a love that deeply challenges us as Christians to live our lives loving others in the same manner the God loves us. God the Father sent his only Son Jesus to earth to die a death He did not deserve. We deserve death because of our sin but He died in our place, as our substitute, so that we might have the gift of eternal life. This is the ultimate example of agape love. Take some time to really read First Corinthians 13 and ask God to show you some practical steps you can take today to love the people in your life sacrificially with true agape love. Whether it be your spouse, family member, a F.R.A.N. (Friend, Relative, Associate at work, Neighbor), or someone you just met, this Valentine’s Day and every other day for that matter, love them as God loves us (Matthew 22:39).