Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. …
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

• Hebrews 11:1-3, 17-19

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

• Philippians 2:6-11

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

• 1 John 3:16-20

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

• 2 Corinthians 8:13-15

For day after day they seek me out;
    they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
    and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
    and seem eager for God to come near them.
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
    ‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
    and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
    and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
    and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
    and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the Lord,
    and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land
    and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

• Isaiah 58:2-14

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

• 1 John 2:28

“There has to be more to our faith than friendliness, politeness, and even kindness. …
“True faith is loving a person after he has hurt you.  True love makes you stand out. …
“People who are obsessed with Jesus give freely and openly, without censure.  Obsessed people love those who hate them and who can never love them back. …
“People who are obsessed with Jesus aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else.  Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress. …
“People who are obsessed with Jesus live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another.  Obsessed people believe that Jesus talked about money and the poor so often because it was really important to Him.”

• Francis Chan, crazy love

Rev. Francis Chan covers a variety of ways that we can be obsessed.

When we look at a romantic relationship, we are often obsessed.  The series of posts that I have tagged as “Old Songs” often look at love songs that can and maybe should describe our relationship with God.  I had forty-eight wonderful years with my wife, but after the first million or more years with Jesus, those forty-eight years will seem like nothing.  Yet, we rarely see the enthusiasm when loving God.  Could we become obsessed?

Do we take risks in our lives?  For what treasure or prize are you willing to take the greatest risk?  Is the love of Jesus worth taking risks?  Could we become obsessed?

Can we make friendships with people who have nothing other than love to give in return?  The poor, the handicapped, the ill cannot return in kind the love that we can show to them.  Showing generosity and love to those who will and can show reciprocity is shallow at best.  Greed might be more like it, hoping a sentimental gift in one direction gets a greater monetary gift in return.  Not always, but we must be honest with ourselves.

And can we be humble?  Can we obsessively love others and God without attention drawing to ourselves.  And with that in mind, can we show love for God by loving one another, and that love shown in service?

And can we let it all hang out, as the old saying goes?  Can we lay it all on the line?  Can we be willing to do anything to further God’s kingdom?

Can we become obsessed?

Lord, fill me with Your love.  Thank You for loving me.  We should love You with the greatest of intensity.  We should love You in an obsessed way.  Whenever we do not do that, we take our eyes off Jesus and bad things happen.  We should, but we fall short.  Forgive us, Lord.  In Your name I pray.  Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.