Extravagant love

Matthew 26:50

Friend, why have you come?

Already two weeks have passed this year and for me personally the year has started on a high. I considered the first Heart of Worship meeting with me as a youth leader a success and I just accepted my first full-time job after graduating university. Now that is what I call a good start!

The last couple of messages had love and meeting each other as a topic and I think this is an extension of those, or rather it is at the base of those messages. In our church the main focus for the start of the year is 'seeking first the kingdom' (Matthew 6:33), which is great. It is always good to reset the focus to Jesus at the start of a new year. In light of community and friendships, Jesus is the best focus and the best example there is.

One thing that is certain for the coming year, is that we will be offended at some point this year, to varying measures within our community. Maybe one of your best friends will say something that offends you or someone in your connect group does something that hurts you. In Matthew 18:22 Jesus answers Peter when he asks Jesus how many times he should forgive a brother that sins against him. Jesus answers with 'seventy times seven.' Jesus tells us to forgive every time somebody sins against us. It is okay to be angry, as Paul writes to the church in Ephesus in Ephesians 4:26, but don't stay angry. Forgiving someone is as much helpful to the person needing forgiveness as to the person needing to forgive.

As more often, Jesus leads by example. Jesus already knows that Judas will betray him, yet still accepts him. Moreover, Judas was there at the Last Supper. Judas was always welcome. Matthew 26:50 shows the full extent of the largeness of His love. Even at the moment of betrayal, Jesus calls Judas 'friend', and he does not judge Judas at this point. That is what I call extravagant love. That is setting the bar high for us in our relationships. Who do we call friends? Let this be a year where we worship passionately, forgive quickly and love extravagantly.

His love never fails.

A heart of worship

Psalm 132:7 "Let us go into His tabernacle, let us worship at His footstool." (AMP)

The last weeks we have been talking with our Heart of Worship band about our attitude in worship. There is so much power in worship. Why? Simply because God loves it. Being around the presence of God is powerful stuff. In Revelations 4 John describes how angels constantly sing "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord Almighty, Who was and Who is and Who is to come." There is a constant atmosphere of worship in heaven. You might describe that worship has the potential to bring the atmosphere of heaven to earth. In any way, it is incredibly powerful.

There are so many 'ingredients' to create an atmosphere of worship. In earlier posts I talked about God's unfailing love for us. I think that our worship has to be a response to His love. God will always love us, and our worship is a step towards God. A heart and attitude that is totally focussed on him is so important. There is no such thing as half worship or indecisive worship: worship is full-on.

In Matthew 28:17, it says that the eleven disciples went to the mountain as Jesus had told them and when they saw Him, some worshipped and some doubted. Now the Greek word for worship here is proskyneo, which means to worship or kneel down; total surrender. To enter in God's presence it is so important to lay down everything. Lay it all down at the cross. In Psalms it is described how David used to cry out to God. You don't cry out with half of your heart. Don't worship with half of your heart either. Next time your worshipping at home or in church, put aside what your going through and surrender. God knows what your going through. Surrender and give him your all.

His Love Never Fails

L