Here's an excerpt of what keeps rattling around in the old noggin (the blue text are Matt's words):
Out of joy, the church multiplies. If you start to think about this, think about the invitation Christ has just given us. Yes, there are probably things we need to stop doing. Yes, there are things we probably should start doing, but here's the invitation. Work on your joy. That's a crazy invitation. When you think Christianity, are you thinking in that box, the box of, "Hey, fill your life with things that stir your affections for Jesus"? That's the invitation. That's a crazy invitation. If you want to work on something ... It needs to be loving Jesus more deeply.
In his study of Philippians, Matt talks about finding what "stirs your affections for Christ" and "what hinders your affections for Christ." I know that taking pictures, for example, fills my soul and brings me closer to Christ ... the beauty of nature and capturing it through my camera moves me. And, when I see the photos, even years later, that were inspired by that affection for Jesus, it all comes flooding back to me. If you haven't already, it is well worth the time to consider what stirs/hinders your affections for Christ. What do you do that makes you want to raise your hands in the air and yell, "I love you, Jesus!" Valuable exercise.
Here's the next step. Matt suggests that to "multiply the church," we need to be filled with adoration for Christ in such a way that our love for him becomes contagious and obvious, and that that is the most important thing we can do to share the gospel and multiply the church.
If we are filled to the brim with the joy of loving the Lord, then that overflows into our actions and words ... they are filled with him. When someone comes to you all excited about something, say a new yummy candy bar, then don't you want to try it? Heck, I'd hop in the car and zip to the store! If I am just as excited about Jesus as I am about chocolate, then the folks I encounter each day will be touched by that enthusiasm. What is in our brains must inflame our hearts.
And so, how do we love Jesus more deeply?
For me, I need to purposefully go take pictures, spend time in nature, attend Bible studies, get all geeky about scripture ... whatever stirs my affections ... so that I can I can be constantly topping off the joy and love for Jesus that is in me. When I don't do those things, my love for the Lord doesn't go away, but the daily grind slowly drains it and, if I am totally honest, I forget it even exists sometimes.
I know this isn't a new "aha" for many. And yet, I also know it is something I need to be reminded about often. But to add some fuel to the fire, Matt points out that Jesus warns us about letting our level of joy recede by citing the letter to the church in Ephesus in Revelations:
Yet, I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. (Revelations 2:4-5a NIV)
A bit more convicting? Um, yes.
Do you get giddy when you think of Jesus? Do you make a joyful noise when you feel his amazing presence in you? Do you twirl around when you sing, "Jesus love me, this I know"?
How can you "love Jesus more deeply?" What stirs your affections for Christ?
In his study of Philippians, Matt talks about finding what "stirs your affections for Christ" and "what hinders your affections for Christ." I know that taking pictures, for example, fills my soul and brings me closer to Christ ... the beauty of nature and capturing it through my camera moves me. And, when I see the photos, even years later, that were inspired by that affection for Jesus, it all comes flooding back to me. If you haven't already, it is well worth the time to consider what stirs/hinders your affections for Christ. What do you do that makes you want to raise your hands in the air and yell, "I love you, Jesus!" Valuable exercise.
Here's the next step. Matt suggests that to "multiply the church," we need to be filled with adoration for Christ in such a way that our love for him becomes contagious and obvious, and that that is the most important thing we can do to share the gospel and multiply the church.
If we are filled to the brim with the joy of loving the Lord, then that overflows into our actions and words ... they are filled with him. When someone comes to you all excited about something, say a new yummy candy bar, then don't you want to try it? Heck, I'd hop in the car and zip to the store! If I am just as excited about Jesus as I am about chocolate, then the folks I encounter each day will be touched by that enthusiasm. What is in our brains must inflame our hearts.
And so, how do we love Jesus more deeply?
For me, I need to purposefully go take pictures, spend time in nature, attend Bible studies, get all geeky about scripture ... whatever stirs my affections ... so that I can I can be constantly topping off the joy and love for Jesus that is in me. When I don't do those things, my love for the Lord doesn't go away, but the daily grind slowly drains it and, if I am totally honest, I forget it even exists sometimes.
I know this isn't a new "aha" for many. And yet, I also know it is something I need to be reminded about often. But to add some fuel to the fire, Matt points out that Jesus warns us about letting our level of joy recede by citing the letter to the church in Ephesus in Revelations:
Yet, I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. (Revelations 2:4-5a NIV)
A bit more convicting? Um, yes.
Do you get giddy when you think of Jesus? Do you make a joyful noise when you feel his amazing presence in you? Do you twirl around when you sing, "Jesus love me, this I know"?
How can you "love Jesus more deeply?" What stirs your affections for Christ?
So right! I hear you.
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