WHAT YOU DO FOR LOVE AND WHY
February / 15 / 2017
WHAT WE DO FOR LOVE, AND WHY
So, I've been thinking about that old song by Marvin Hamlisch,  "What I did for love." Do you remember it? Somewhere in the refrain it says,  " Won't forget,  can't regret, what I did for love" So that got me thinking about all the actions done in the name of love, well ok, maybe lust, or at the very least, infatuation. 

There was Jacob at the well, who, with one glimpse of Rachel, singlehandedly threw off the stone covering the well head. And then, there was Samson, who for love (lust) defied his parents and destroyed property just to have "this woman." And then, Solomon, who for "love" married heathens if only for the purpose of wealth, fame, and momentary pleasure; all the while, losing the closeness he enjoyed with God. And then there is David, who for lust alone, defiled a man's wife, murdered her husband, and destroyed his own family-- yep, what he did for love. Yea, right.

Well, wait a minute, is there ever progress in our thinking? Do we ever grow up while we're growing older? It is possible that Solomon, later in life, began to finally understand the joys of married love and wrote about it in that seldom preached book, The Song. Think about it. The amazing relationship we can enjoy when we find the one true love that demands our attention, our focus, and our fascination. And yet one more, It was Ruth, who when facing isolation  and extinction as a result of the loss of her husband and family, and in deep despair, cried, " Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God" (Ruth 1:16-17). That's it, love that finds its future in sacrifice and devotion. 

If that wasn't enough... and its not, there is God, who for the joys of eternal fellowship with his Son, said goodbye to Jesus, and set Him on the path toward the greatest love story ever told. What I did for love is irrelevant when compared to what Jesus did for love. He died for me and you, that you might live for Him and love Him. 

So then, maybe this Valentine's season we might consider swapping out our lust for everything common and dying, for something Blessed and eternal. Just wondering...
MJC

What's Happening?
  When we read, we open our mind to the desires God has for us. tonight, we'll consider the value of the Spiritual Gifts. No mid-week small group would be complete if we didn't pray... and so we will, maybe for you, or the missionaries we love deeply.  On Friday, the men will converge on Cousins and continue to study the framework of our faith. There is a reason why the Apostle Paul, when facing his last days upon the earth asked for those things that mattered most: The Scriptures, good friends, and good books. In our quest to live, shouldn't we desire the same?
On The Lord's Day, We will worship and open the Scriptures to Genesis 30. And later in the evening, we'll play "Duck-Duck-Goose", and learn God's word in AWANA. 

Books you should read:
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi
More than a Carpener by Josh McDowell
Know What you believe, by Paul Little

Follow the link, and you can find them on Amazon

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Who we are
  Between the Ends is a weekly update from  Pastor Mark Congrove and Bethel Baptist Church. it stresses the days between Sunday and Sunday- between one weekend and the next, as a priority for the believer.

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