God is love. However redundant and
overexposed this statement may be, the sense of immense
fulfillment and beauty of its true meaning is never lost on a
heart who hears with open ears for their first time.
Every so often there are
promises in the Word of God which pop out to us becoming reality. These past
few months this simple but profound fact of God being love has
been catching my attention. I always focus on faith, hope, and
obedience and how God’s purpose in our lives unfold through our
continued faith, obedience, and hope in Christ Jesus. As I was
attending a Bible study on 1, 2, & 3 John, which happen to be
books of the Bible focusing on God’s love and us allowing His
love to work through us. The whole aspect of the love of God
took on a whole new light. We can not live, work, or play
without allowing the meaning of God’s love worked out in our
lives.
The key to God’s love is how it plays a dramatic
role in not only changing our lives but how His love is revealed
through our lives. It seems as though He personalizes it just
for us by saying, ‘His love perfected in us drives out all
fear’. This is an explosive love. The barely visible ember
ignites in the darkness, sudden, quick, and surprisingly
blinding. A spark has caught onto something. Apparent
translucent light is given off from what looks like a small
flame. Without warning a noise like a million fireworks
goes off shaking you to your core. In the same moment you
realize blasts of orange, red, and yellow flames flicker and
consume everything completely. I wonder is this how God’s
powerful and explosively vibrant love drives out and consumes
all our fears, anxieties, and sins from our life? It may be
explosive and awesome and awe-inspiring when His Spirit first
starts working and changing our lives but I think there is a
little more to this…endurance. Yes, it is hard work allowing
godly love to continuously work itself out in and through our
lives. Never is anything easy but if we set our minds on the
goal of what is important in life…the
bigger picture, it may just be possible. I think on those days
when we really don’t want to get out of bed to do our work,
bother to help our coworker or friend, go the extra mile, show
decency and respect in our relationships that’s when only godly
love can work its best. It is also dependant on our willingness
to grow in our walk with the Lord to allow His love to shine
through.
Sometimes we have to go back to the basics my
friends, a football coach may start training with the simple
question; ‘do you know what a football is?’ So…Do you know what
godly love is? Do you know how to live a godly life? Who
are you living for…God or yourself? Do you remember what
Christianity is all about? Hint – ‘Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as
yourself.’ [Luke 10:27] The concept of love is the basis and
foundation of our whole faith. Without it we live a
self-centered, fearful, misguided life. With it we live in
redemption which colors our perspective in life. I want to live
looking at life and at others through ‘redemption colored’
glasses.
The simple
truth which reverberates throughout the books of John and the entire
Scripture is God’s love for humankind. This is His love reaching
down, sending His only Son to save us. It is His love guiding us
through our ups and downs. Always is His love washing away our
sin, shame, and past regrets. It is God’s gracious love healing
us. This is His love leading, directing and ordaining our every
step. It is His love shining through us. Forever is His
wonderful redeeming love changing us from the inside out.
New Interview - Akkara Kazhchakal Series
Part 1 of 3
A.
IPF is proud to present to you the first in our 3 week interview series with the
cast & crew of
Akkara
Kazhchakal, the 1.2+ million viewed Youtube series.
You
know him as George
Thekummottil,
and Deaf-enetaley!
Well his real name is
Josekutty Valiyakalumkall
and he's been interviewed right here! Much Love.
A.
Our 5th batch of clips from the 2008 BSC have been released, including the game
in which the all-time BSC scoring record was set by Strong Island. Much Love.
B
.Akkara Kazhchakal:
Next week, IPF is proud to present to you an in depth look at the Internet sensation,
Youtube series Akkara Kazhchakal, which parodies the lives of an immigrant
Malayalee family. We start a
3-part interview
with some of the cast and crew of this series next Monday. You don't want
to miss it, keep it locked!
If you haven't heard about this series, watch the
first episode below for a taste.
As I think about this year and what it
may bring. One thing is certain and that is that I want to grown in areas of my
life that need growth. Paul writes in
I Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think
like a child, reason like a child; but when I became a man, I did away with
childish things.”
Have you ever wanted to change the world around you and
only find that it is not always possible?
After realizing this truth one can
conclude that we should take a look within ourselves and ask God to change us
instead. But when does this realization actually begin? What happens is that a
lot of times we look at other’s faults and criticize them for their behavior.
Some of us tend to blame everything around us for our unhappiness. But if only
we dared take a closer look at ourselves we would find there is much work to be
done. Maybe we are unhappy because we choose to continue in the same lifestyle.
We become frustrated with situations that God has not called us to bear upon
our shoulders. I recall the moment when Jesus went to Mary and Martha’s
house. Martha was all worked up about the business and cares of this life.
Martha’s priorities were all
mixed up and this caused her frustration. Martha was worried about
everything except for the greatest thing in life, her relationship with her
Lord. How often do we find ourselves like Martha? Doing a million things and one
and feel as if we are getting nowhere? We realize our relationship with God is
distant and we find ourselves empty. At this moment we ask God what happened.
Why do we feel the way we feel? God’s response is found in Psalms 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
As someone once said we need to take time out to slow down our lives so that we
can stop playing games and begin leading an authentic Christian life. There is a
great lesson to be learned about the life of Mary and Martha in this story. Mary
chose the best choice; she chose to surrender herself at the feet of Jesus. Will
you take the time this year to reflect and make a choice to let go of that which
takes the priority of Jesus in your life?
I realize the Steelers won, but I have no intention
of discussing them. They didn't even seem that thrilled to have won it.
In any case..
Kurt Warner may
retire after this year's run, and if he does, then I think this run with the
Cardinals should cement his status as a future NFL Hall of Famer. The bird
on the side of that helmet has earned some respect
after this Super Bowl.
They were very, very close to pulling off the upset.
B. Youtube:
Every now and then, I'm going to be posting clips of relevance that I think you
will find educational and uplifting. So, we have Exhibit A: Scarlett
takes a tumble:
Moral of the story? When your about to step toward the edge....resist.
