"Because He is Love"

"Serve the LORD with gladness; come before his presence with singing." (Psalms 100:2)
There really is nothing that compares with this relationship with the Creator of heaven and earth, that we are able to fellowship with as we do. I am so looking forward to that day when I am standing in His presence and can completely be surrounded by His glorious light. There are some serious things taking place all over the world, and we really do need to start getting prepared for Jesus to come back for His church. Whether you are one who believes it or not, you had better be ready; as far as I am concerned, being ready means that we are looking for His return, with open arms! Yesterday, as I listened to bits and pieces of messages throughout the day, I heard a lot of different teachings that dealt with the human heart, as in the way that we can put down one another. It was really rather odd, but it was as if the whole entire day was geared towards looking in a mirror to see what little regard we really can have for one another. Over the last thirty years, I have seen several families that have been devastated by the church; probably more than I should have seen, and surely more than I care to remember. But the thing that gets me, is how easy it is to become offended. It really does not need to happen the way that it does, not if we are keeping our eyes on the Lord and not on ourselves. That really seems to be our biggest problem, in that we continue to put our needs first, instead of the needs of one another. Jesus came to show us how to love one another. If you are looking for an example of how to love, then there is your Captain, follow Him! It's not that we don't know how, it's that we get derailed by the selfishness of our hearts; we can never love one another in our own strength, not the way that we should, not the way that God would have us love. If Jesus demonstrated anything more than love, it was His ability to be weak; even though He had the power to overcome anything and everything, He remained in character and stayed humble, all the way to the very end. That had to take a whole lot of strength, to remain as humble as He did, to remain weak and still be unafraid, unashamed, and uncompromised. Talk about love, there really is no greater example of what it takes...
"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." (Philippians 2:5-8) NLT