Sunday Sermon

A friend of mine asked me how God's been working in my life recently, and last night I finally replied to the e-mail.  I won't put my actual response up, as after I read it again at a time other that the middle of the night when I wrote it, it actually made very little sense.  Sidenote: I really need to learn that e-mailing people at midnight before I go to bed is generally a bad idea.:o)  Anyway...the gist of what I said revolved around God's faithful reminders in my life that loving Him and loving those around me should be a central priority in my life.  I saw firsthand my own sinfulness and selfish nature last week when I worked two twelve hour shifts, and God opened my eyes to thoughts and heart attitudes which were far from glorifying Him.  By His grace (and only by His grace) I didn't verbalize any of what I was thinking to those around me, but my heart was sinful.  Unfortunately, my failure to be continually in prayer during those shifts was a major factor in my failings, and my prideful arrogance which motivated me to believe I could get through those days by my own strength was my downfall.  However, our great and gracious God allowed me to fail miserably and have a couple of really terrible days, and as a result He convicted me and showed me that in those shifts I loved myself more than I loved my patients, co-workers, and most importantly, more than I loved my Savior.  This lesson is one which I often think, "I should have learned that by now!"  And then I remember.  I am a sinner, saved by grace.  Until I die I will never fully learn lessons or achieve perfection in any area of my life, much as I may want to.  So all of that leads me to today.  Rick Holland preached the message this morning, and when I walked in I looked at the bulletin to see the title of his message.  Can you guess what  passage he was preaching on?  Yes.  Matthew 22:34-40.  Verses 37 through 40 say:

"'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.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Hmmmm...so that means I need to love those people in my life who love me, as much as I love myself.   I suppose that's doable.  But does it mean I need to love the doctor who swore at me and the nurse who pointed out my errors?  Yes.  Especially them.  What an incredible challenge.  Can I do it on my own?  Absolutely not.  Can I do it by God's grace and through His strength and power?  Absolutely.  I am without excuse.  So there you have it.  The God of the universe loves me enough to let me fail miserably so that I may be reminded of my inadequacies and sin, and of His perfection and power.  What a great God we serve.

If you're interested, I can highly recommend this morning's message.  It's not up quite yet, but I believe they'll post it here in the next couple of days. I start my last week of class for the summer quarter tomorrow, and then on to finals next week and two weeks of vacation!

Kate and I went to Santa Monica this weekend to celebrate her 19th birthday.  She wanted funnel cake.:o)