Fear is the root of nearly every problem you face.

Think about it.

I’m in a relationship where I’m constantly fearing that I won’t be pretty enough for him.  I worry that he’ll betray me for another woman.  I withdraw.  I question him constantly.  I make accusations based on my perceptions.  I become controlling.  I push him away.

Fear.  In some instances, the fear of betrayal (resulting in withdrawn love and control) may actually cause him to essentially betray me for someone whose love is not based on fear.

Tags: 1 John 4:18, afraid, fear, loss, love, rejection, relationships, root of every problem

When I came home from Cambodia, I wouldn’t have thought for one second that I was a Pharisee.  If anything, I was the one that had it together.  I’d been away for five months and not once during that time did I butt heads with someone.  I got along with people.  I liked people.  And they seemed to like me.  So if anyone was in the wrong, it had be my parents.  And I couldn’t wait for them to see it.  I couldn’t wait for them to start treating me like I deserved to be treated.

Tags: family, hard love, Jesus, loving when it hurts, Pharisees, real love, tough love, worthwhile

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. -Jesus’ words to the Pharisees, Matthew 23:27

Because the name “Pharisee” sounds so old and out-dated and old-fashioned, I never thought much about the prospect of such people being alive today.  Weren’t those the kind of people who wore long robes and tried to fulfill long lists of religious rules and regulations?  I didn’t personally know anyone like that.  Maybe those people existed in dusty old Catholic cathedrals, but I was charismatic.  I had to be the furthest thing from a Pharisee.  There was no tradition in my church.  No list of rules to fulfill.  We just loved Jesus and wanted to be like Him.  What was Pharisaical about that?

Tags: God, hyprocrite, Jesus, love, Matthew 23:27, Pharisee, real love, whitewashed tombs full of dead men's bones

I wonder what goes through God’s mind when He sees one of His kids mess up.

Tags: God, Jesus, learning to love, love, real love, sandbox

I’m on a journey back to Cambodia (mentally) and what I’m starting to realize is that my first reaction to seeing the poor children who stood before me at the border check station to beg for money was not love.  It was shock.  After I spent hours in line, trying to secure my visa and finally plopped on the curb to wipe the sweat from my face, they stood before me.  They were orphans.  They were dirty and they wore tattered shirts that draped over their bony shoulders.  They were looking at me.  And during all my months of training leading up to this point, my leaders had never prepared me for that moment.  The only thing they told me before crossing over the border was to keep a close eye on my bags.

Tags: AIDS, Cambodia, loving the poor, loving the rich, poor, rich