Growing Closer to the Lord

I've been talking with Christine recently about ways of bringing people closer to the Lord through the Sweetbird website. This is a new experience for us and we certainly do not have all the answers (nor do we expect to). We have done a few things to date, including:

1. Tried to make it easy to access all the music the Lord has given us.

2. Have offered to give away the music for free.

(For those who cannot afford to pay for the music but would like to listen, we have offered to send along a free copy of "Shine" - see message at bottom right corner of the home page).

3. Started a blog to help facilitate an understanding of the songs the Lord gives us.

(We have noticed that people like to "go inside" the songs and know more about them and we use the blog to explain the message in our songs. The blog also serves a dual purpose of discussing our journey down the narrow path. We sincerely hope and pray that a discussion of our journey helps people with their own journey. Both Christine and I have benefited significantly from the spiritual writings of others.)

We are interested in knowing what others think we can we do to bring people closer to the Lord through the Sweetbird website. If you have any ideas, we'd love to hear them. Please send your thoughts and suggestions along me at this address:

steve@sweetbirdmusic.com

May His heart reign supreme your heart.

Agape,

Steve

The Right Heart

Last week I posted a blog that discussed what the heart and mind are from a spiritual perspective (see: 'The Heart and the Mind: What Are They?'). The definitions of heart and mind are from Watchman Nee's book, 'The Renewing of the Mind.'

Just to review briefly, Nee defines the heart as 'the conscience in man's spirit plus the mind in his soul.' The spirit, says Nee, is the organ for communicating with God, for being intimate with God, for understanding the will of God, and for knowing God. The heart is the administrator of the spirit; it expresses everything that is in the spirit. Everything the spirit has is expressed by our heart.

Nee goes on to say that the heart is the point of mutual interaction for the spirit and the soul, the contiguous place and the place of intersection. It is like the central exchange of the telephone company where all the lines intersect and all the calls pass through. Anything that wants to enter the spirit must pass through the heart before it can enter. Anything that is expressed from the spirit must also come out through the heart, because the heart is the place of mutual interaction, the point of contact, and the place of mutual reception. The spirit reaches the soul through the heart.

It is clear that the heart has great importance in our relationship with the Lord.

Toward the end of his book, Nee points out that most of our troubles and illness originate in the heart. It is difficult to overemphasize this truth. If the heart is not right, our relationship with God will not be right. It is as simple as that.

Here is how Nee puts it in his book:

'Brothers and sisters, the cause of all diseases lies in the heart. I have often told the co-workers that it is not the head of a person that is improper, but the heart that is improper. People always think that man's head is improper, but I say no, it is the heart that is improper. If a man wants to be proper in his conduct, his heart must first be proper. '

Psalm 14:1 says: 'The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.'

Nee points out that you cannot reach an atheist and convince him/her that God exists by way of rational argument. They will not believe, says Nee, because they have said in their heart that there is no God. Their hearts are wrong.

Nee observes that we can give some people who do not believe in God many reasons for the existence of God. They may respond by saying that this sounds very reasonable. We can then tell them the reason that the Lord is the Savior. Again, they respond by saying that this sounds very reasonable. But this is not enough, says Nee, to make them believe.

Paul told the Romans:

'If you...believe in your heart...you will be saved' (Rom. 10:9).

And Jesus said:

'Whoever...does not doubt in his heart....believe that you have received them, and you will have them' (Mark 11:23-24).

As Nee points out in his book, the head is not the problem; it is not the issue. The heart is all that is needed to believe. The heart is our true "I," our person. This is why the Bible speaks of "an evil heart of unbelief" (Heb. 3:12), instead of "an evil head of unbelief." The heart, not the head, has been corrupted. This is why men will not believe and be saved. The heart has become improper.

I have grown fond over the years of telling my friends that everything starts with a change of heart. Until the heart changes, no amount of good works or talk will amount to anything with the Lord. The Lord requires that our hearts are right. It is impossible to walk the narrow path with Him until our hearts are right.

Look inside your heart. Take out a piece of paper and write down what you see in your heart. A heart of Christ is filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control, and faithfulness. The heart of the Lord is the heart of God. They are one and the same.

True spiritual enlightenment is having the heart of God. Jesus had it. He showed us the way. Love is the key. Love is not an emotion - it is a condition of the heart. A loving heart is filled with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self-control and faithfulness. Love (1 Corinthians 13) and Spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23) go hand in hand.

Getting right with God requires straightening out our hearts. We must do whatever it takes to get our hearts right with the Lord. If going to church does that for you, great! If being around children or doing some other activity (e.g., being alone with God everyday) transforms your heart, wonderful! Do whatever it takes to get your heart right with God.

When God spoke through the prophets, the main message could always be boiled down to one simple sentence:

People of Israel - your heart is not right!

Jesus judges people by the condition of their hearts, not by how many times they go to church or how many good works they do or whether they are doing this thing or that thing. The Pharisees did many things, but the Lord told them their hearts were not right. The religious leaders of the day were so focused on keeping the law that they allowed their hearts to fill with darkness. And in the process, they disconnected from God and could not see Him.

Jesus wants to see a heart filled with God's love and Spiritual fruit and nothing more. We should all pray mightily to be reduced to love and Spiritual fruit.

Our treasure, said the Lord, lies in our hearts. A heart filled with God's love and Spiritual fruit is a heart that is right with God.

May your heart be right with God.

Agape,

Steve

Equations of Love - Follow Up

I came across a quote from Einstein this morning that resonated with the blog I posted yesterday (Equations of Love):

"Yes, we have to divide up our time like that, between our politics and our equations. But to me our equations are far more important, for politics are only a matter of present concern. A mathematical equation stands forever."

I thought the last sentence was very interesting in light of yesterday's discussion. Scientists place enormous importance on mathematical equations - they stand forever, as Einstein says.

Yet when it comes to love - the most powerful force in the universe - they have no equations.

Fascinating, isn't it?

If there are no equations of love, is it reasonable to assume that there will always be a disconnect between science and God? Mathematics are powerful and clearly important, but there is more to life than what can be described by equations.

Love is best understood by the heart, not the mind. The heart doesn't need any mathematical equations to know the power of love. As Blaise Pascal, a brilliant scientist who was later in life touched by the Spirit, once said:

"The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing. It is the heart which perceives God and not the reason. This is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not by the reason."

It is hard to say it any better than that.

May His loving heart reign supreme in your heart.

Agape,

Steve

Equations of Love

The opening track of the first Sweetbird record, "Free Spirit Reflection," is a composition I wrote called "Equations of Love" that was inspired by the movie "A Beautiful Mind." I vividly remember being struck watching John Nash at the podium in Stockholm after accepting the Nobel Prize in economics - tears streaming down his face - telling the audience there were no equations that could explain the love his wife gave him that allowed him to prevail through all the darkness he endured during his career. He owed everything to that love, including his life.

The song I wrote ends with this refrain:

There are no equations of love...

Scientists are fond of using equations to prove the existence of some physical phenomena observed in the universe. Einstein's "E=mc2" is probably the most famous scientific formula, and certainly one the one that most people are familiar. Energy (E) = matter (m) multiplied by the speed of light (c) squared.

Since composing and recording "Equations of Love" and embarking on a journey along the narrow path with the Lord, I have frequently asked my scientific friends this question:

Are there mathematical equations that describe love?

As of today, I have not received any answers back from anybody. I'm fascinated with their lack of response, but I cannot say I'm surprised.

Many scientists I know do not believe in God. They are atheists. And yet, when I ask them if they believe that love exists, nearly all of them say yes. I find this curious because we know in our hearts that God is love (1 John 4:8).

It's clear to me that otherwise very intelligent scientists are very confused when it comes to God and love.

One of the biggest problems is that most scientists do not study love. God is the domain of religion, not science. This is truly unfortunate. There is also another wee problem, and that is the relationship between the man-made church and science.

Throughout history, the men who have run churches (including the Vatican), have stymied the pursuit of scientific knowledge. Scientists do not like to be told, nor do they believe, that everything they need to know is in the Bible. They want to be free to explore the universe and purse their quest for knowledge. It goes without saying that the resistance Galileo and others have met from the men professionally associated with God is still fresh in the minds of many scientists today.

As I was coming to the office today, I was wondering how people could believe in love and yet not believe in God. It boggles my mind.

Love is the most powerful force in the universe. It can do incredible things. Spiritually regenerated people understand that the most powerful kind of love in the universe comes from God and His heart.

How powerful is God's love? The apostle Paul said if we could know all the mysteries and have all knowledge (which is the pursuit of science), but did not have love, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2).

We are nothing without love. That's how powerful it is!

The problem with many scientists today, in my humble opinion, is that they have elevated solving mysteries and the pursuit of knowledge above love. There is a fundamental problem with their hearts. A surrendered heart knows that love trumps everything else. When the religious leaders in Israel were quizzing Jesus about God's word, they asked Him what the most important commandment was among all the Scriptures. And what did Jesus say?

"Love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Of these, said Jesus, depend the whole Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:37-4)

The Lord makes it very clear that love is central. In John 13:35, Jesus says:

"By this all men will now that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Paul echoes Jesus in his letter to the Romans:

Love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)

Paul makes it very clear that love is central.

Love is central in the universe, but scientists have no equations that describe it.

Fascinating, isn't it?

Mathematical equations and science go hand in hand. If there isn't a mathematical foundation for something scientists are trying to explain, many of them will not take the subject seriously.

Just for the record, the view I share with my science friends is that love is far more dynamic than any mathematical equation could ever capture. The origin of love is found, I believe, in another dimension beyond the Einsteinian "space-time" continuum. It's a spiritual dimension that, like many things at the quantum level, we cannot detect with our human eyes. My view is grounded in what Jesus told us: "My kingdom is not of this realm" (John 18:36).

I also believe that hearts can become entangled through love with the Spirit (that's what spiritual regeneration is - a heart becoming entangled with God's loving heart through the Spirit). The entanglement of hearts is similar to the phenomenon scientists call "quantum entanglement" - a phenomenon that Einstein did not believe was real, but has been proven since to be real. That said, scientists have great difficulty explaining quantum entanglement and have only a limited understand of the phenomenon.

Religion should not dictate the study of God and His love. It's far too important a topic to be left to religion. There is no good reason that I can see why scientists should not explore the spiritual realm. After all, love is a matter of eternal light and life versus nothingness (death). As Jesus said, God is Spirit and truth.

Religion has often impeded (or at least tried to impede) the advancement of scientific knowledge. I believe that God wants us to know His heart. No religion is ever going to stand in the way of us truly knowing God's heart. The Spirit knows no bounds. It cannot be contained by religion or its keepers. Jesus was an enemy of religion (see Matthew 23). The Pharisees tried to defend its religious power against God's love and failed miserably. Love always trumps religion. As Paul told the Corinthians:

Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

My sincere prayer is that scientists move beyond religion into the spiritual realm where love exists and can be examined. If anybody out there has come up with equations that describe love, please send them along. I stand ready to be proven wrong, and would be more than happy to delete the last line from "Equations of Love."

May your heart be filled with His eternal love, joy and peace.

Agape,

Steve

What Paul Meant

I just finished reading Garry Wills' book "What Paul Meant." I was looking forward to reading this book and I must say I enjoyed it immensely. The basic thesis of the book - that Paul is a light for Christ and not, as many scholars have argued in the past, a dark force - is right on the money in my humble opinion.

Wills' really shines in the Afterword of his book. He saves the best for last. In the Afterword, he writes (I've added bold italics for emphasis):

"Religion took over the legacy of Paul as it did that of Jesus - because they both opposed it. They said that the worship of God is a matter of interior love, not based on external observances, on temples or churches, on hierarchies or priesthoods. Both were at odds with those who impose the burdens of "religion" and punish those who try to escape them. They were radical egalitarians, though in ways that delved below and soared above conventional politics. They were on the side of the poor, and saw through the rich. They saw only two basic moral duties, love of God of love of the neighbor. Both were liberators, not imprisoners - so they were imprisoned. So they were killed. Paul meant what Jesus meant, that love is the only law."

I have not come across many people, including people that call themselves Christians, that understand the truth Wills illuminates in his book. Jesus and Paul both opposed religion. Paul's heart illuminated the heart of Christ - a heart that knows that love is the only law.

It boggles my mind why so many people on this planet have difficulty seeing the truth and understanding the centrality of love and God's heart in the universe. Apparently, they either do not want to see the truth or they are not interested in the truth.

Love is what Paul meant. Wills hits the nail right on the head in his book.

May love reign supreme in your heart always and forever.

Agape,

Steve

The Mind and the Heart - What Are They?

I have been reading Watchman Nee's book, 'The Renewing of the Mind,' and came across definitions of the mind and the heart that are illuminating. I will start with Nee's definition of the mind and end with his definition of the heart. Please note that I have bolded parts for added emphasis.

The Mind

In the Bible there are two ways of translating the word mind: in some places it is translated "mind," and in other places it is translated "understanding." But in Greek it is the word nous. This word nous is used twenty-four times in the New Testament. Believers must have a renewed nous. Only then can they progress before God; only then can they progress in their spiritual walk.

Man is composed of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. The Bible shows us that man not only has a spirit, but a body also; he not only has a spirit and a body, but a soul as well. Why must man have a soul even though he has a spirit and a body? The soul lies between the spirit and the body and serves as a medium between the spirit and the body. The soul is the part which interposes. Everything that God wants to make known to us, He makes known through the intuition of the spirit. The spirit gives us God-consciousness; it enables us to have communication with God and sense God. The body is given to us by God to communicate with the world; through the body we can feel everything in the world. God has also given us a soul, which gives us self-consciousness and by which we can sense ourselves. Human beings are not like angels who have only a spirit without a body. Human beings have a spirit and a body. Our soul, the buffer zone, is between the spirit and the body. Everything of our spirit and body is expressed through our soul.

The Heart

What we usually call the heart, according to the Bible, is the conscience in man's spirit plus the mind in his soul. This is the heart. The spirit is the organ for communicating with God, for being intimate with God, for understanding the will of God, and for knowing God. The heart is the administrator of the spirit; it expresses everything that is in the spirit. Everything the spirit has is expressed by our heart. The heart is composed of man's conscience plus his mind. The whole Bible speaks about the heart in this way. Therefore, the heart is the point of mutual interaction for the spirit and the soul, the contiguous place and the place of intersection. It is like the central exchange of the telephone company where all the lines intersect and all the calls pass through. Anything that wants to enter the spirit must pass through the heart before it can enter. Anything that is expressed from the spirit must also come out through the heart, because the heart is the place of mutual interaction, the point of contact, and the place of mutual reception. The spirit reaches the soul through the heart. The soul, including what it feels from the outside, reaches the heart, and from the heart passes through to the spirit. This is where our personality lies; it is our true self and the real "I." The heart is the connecting point of the spirit and the soul. Therefore, the heart is the "I."

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May you never lose site of His heart.

Agape,

Steve

A Journey of a Heart - What I've Learned So Far

I've been thinking about what I've learned on the spiritual journey I've been on since December 7, 2002, the day I received the Spirit (see my previous post, "I Am Love," for an explanation of that incredible experience). I'm not sure I can adequately list everything I've learned since late 2002, but there are a few clear lessons.

So with that short preface, here's a summary of the Top 10 things I've learned so far:

1. Jesus is a Person, not a religion; following Christ is not the same thing as being religious - they are two totally different things; don't confuse a follower of Christ with a religious person; T. Austin-Sparks has elucidated this better than anybody I've encountered)

2. Jesus is the fulfillment of Judaic law. He is all we need (many Christians believe they must follow the laws of the Old Testament and Jesus, just as the Galatians did; read and meditate Paul's letter to the Galatians to see why this is misguided)

3. God is love (read 1 John 4 - this fundamental truth is there for all to see)

4. The Lord wants us to have a heart aligned with God's heart - a heart full of love (God moves us along as our hearts evolve towards His heart)

5. A journey with Jesus along the narrow path begins with a change of heart (it's His heart that matters - not ours)

6. Understanding the Bible and having a close, intimate relationship with Jesus requires brokenness and receiving the Spirit (a person can go to church regularly, read the Bible everyday, and call themselves a Christian, and still not know Jesus or have an intimate relationship with Him; Paul had a revelation of Christ that freed him from the law, but until that glorious day, he was disconnected from the heart of God even though he was a Pharisee)

7. Don't tithe - Give! (the Jews do not even tithe anymore; if you want to give away money to a church or anybody else, do it from the bottom of your heart, with love)

8. You cannot serve two masters - love trumps money, always!

9. God and His love can fundamentally transform your life; the key to walking with Jesus is having faith in Him and trusting Him

10. God exists (atheism may be in vogue today, but my heart and life are living proof that Jesus is as alive today as He was when he was walking on Earth over 2000 years ago)

There are many other important lessons I have learned since my spiritual rebirth, but these are my Top 10 thus far. I hope to be posting more lessons learned in the weeks ahead.

May your heart be filled with God's love.

Agape,

Steve

Christianity is a Person, Not a Religion

This is a follow up to the blog I posted a week ago titled, "What a Christian is Not." The material in these two blogs are based on a short book by T. Austin-Sparks titled, "What is a Christian."

Below is the second chapter of Sparks' book. He presents the clearest explanation of what Christianity is that I have ever come across. Read on and see for yourself. I've added bold to the parts of the article I thought were extremely insightful.

Chapter 2
Christianity - Not a Religion, but a Person

"Why persecutest thou me?" asked the glorified Christ. What an idea! Here was a man just going 'all out' in religious devotion. So far as his reason was concerned (even if his heart had some lurking and bothering question), he was convinced that he ought to do this thing in the interests of religion. He was really a divided man inside, but in his zeal for traditional religion, and, as he would have argued, for God's sake, he was suppressing every question and relentlessly forcing himself on. And yet, all the time, he was working against God, against God's Son, and against Heaven! What a state of confusion!

Much could be said about this: as to the difference between being religious and being a genuine Christian; as to how it is possible for people to be passionately devout and devoted to what they believe to be of God - or for God - and yet to be rather obstructing His real interests by that very devotion. But we must resolve it all into one inclusive issue.

A Christian is not a person who is religious, either more or less. A Christian is not a person who has taken on a lot of 'dos' and 'do nots'. God is not going to deal with us on these grounds. Neither is He going to judge men on the basis of the number or nature of their sins. He has one basis of judgment, than which any other basis would be unfair, because everyone, by his or her birth, upbringing, advantages, temperament, and so on, would be either favoured or otherwise. That one basis of judgment is, and will be: What are we doing with God's Son, Jesus Christ?

God sent His Son, and by Him we are all brought to a common position. He is presented as God's appointed Lord and Saviour for all men. God will never say in the judgment, 'How many sins did you commit?' 'What kind of sins did you commit?' - but, 'What did you do with My Son?' It is not necessary to be violent in our rejection, or actively and vehemently to fight against Christ, as did Saul. We can - with exactly the same eternal loss - just reject Him; say 'No' and close ourselves to Him; or simply ignore Him. We are lost just the same. There is no need to dash to the ground the saving medicine in order to perish. It is only necessary to leave it where it is and not take it. But it is a terrible responsibility to have known that it was there, and to have just failed to take it.

We see, then, that all questions of life and death, sin and righteousness, Heaven and Hell, time and eternity, are bound up - not with 'religion', 'church', 'creed' - but with a living relationship to the Son of God; and a Christian is one who has himself come into such a living relationship, and has found all these questions answered in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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All I can say after reading this chapter of Sparks' book is, "Amen."

May you come into a living relationship with the Person and work of the Lord.

Agape,

Steve

Abounding in Love

I came across another illuminating piece by T. Austin-Sparks on a subject near and dear to my surrendered heart: love. It's a rather long essay, so what I thought I would do is cull what I thought were the most important parts of the article and post them here for further meditation.

There are several points Sparks makes in his article, "Abounding in Love," that I have been seeking the Spirit's counsel on over the past several months. The Lord, as always, has been listening to my prayers and waiting for the appropriate time to reveal the truth to me. I love how He works. It's always on His time schedule - not mine. Of course, that is the way it should always be.

In the opening paragraphs of Sparks' essay, we find this passage:

"But with the Lord's coming in view, what is to be the thing which characterizes the Lord's people more than anything else? What is the culmination of the whole process and progress of spiritual things? What is the issue of 'Romans,' 'Corinthians,' 'Galatians,' 'Ephesians,' 'Philippians', and 'Colossians'? What is it all to amount to? You notice in both places where the last things and the last times are most in view - 'Thessalonians' and 'John' - the emphasis is upon love. That is the impressive thing here."

More than anything else, says Sparks, what characterizes the Lord's people is the emphasis upon love. Paul told the Corinthians that without love we are nothing. He told the Galatians that the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Spark's continues:

Now this matter of love is the most practical thing that ever we can have to do with. It raises more problems than anything else. But let us look at it firstly in the light of the Lord's coming. If the Lord is coming, what will He come to? I do not think He will come because there are people who have a lot of truth and a lot of exactness in their technique and all that sort of thing. Do not let us disregard the great value and importance of light and truth, of being right according to the Lord's laws and principles; but all that will never satisfy His heart. What He will come to will be that in which He finds His heart satisfaction because of love. Paul, in the first letter to the Thessalonians, prays that their love for one another and for all men may increase. In the second letter he does not pray any longer that it may be so, he gives thanks that it is so; their love to one another does abound exceedingly. And in that context he opens up the matter of the Lord's coming. I do not think we are straining our interpretation here. The Holy Spirit is so consistent in His thoughts."

Once again, Sparks' tells us that what the Lord is after is a heart full of His love. That's the purpose of life - to fill our hearts with God's love and then share that love with others on this planet and in this magnificent universe. It is oh so easy to stay from the narrow path, but we must focus on filling our hearts with His love. We do this via the Cross through Jesus. The Lord leads us directly into the heart of God and His awesome love.

In the next several passages, Sparks' illuminates a few simple truths I have been struggling with for several months. I've bolded the parts below that hit me straight between the eyes of my heart. Sparks says:

"Abound in love one toward another." Love for those of our own company may not be so difficult. But the Word adds "and toward all men." That goes deeper. I have of late felt more deeply and strongly than ever before the force of very familiar words - "Knowledge puffeth up, but love buildeth up" (1 Cor. 8:1), and other words such as "maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love" (Eph. 4:16). If we are going to be affected by that which is present in other people, all those features in Christians and in Christian work and activity which are repugnant to us, we are going to close up and withdraw in heart and nothing is going to be done in the way of mutual helpfulness and edification.

Again and again the very practical question arises - because of this or that which we meet in another can anything be done, is anything possible? And very often, in the acute consciousness of so much that appears on the surface, we have revolted against it; and then, going to the Lord about it and facing it out with Him, we have been enabled to go on, and something has happened and the Lord has wrought, and we have been surprised, and rebuked for our original offendedness. We have to look through all that to the heart, and be reminded every time that the Lord looks on the heart. We are looking on all this which is largely the result of ignorance, lack of proper teaching and so on, and this can offend us. But the Lord looks on the heart; He sees if there is something deep down under all these preponderances, if there is a real heart love for Himself, and He knows if this is really the endeavour to express that love. There may be misapprehension, there may be ignorance, there may be other causes, but this which offends us is, on the part of those concerned, their way of showing their love for the Lord, and we must not be turned aside - we must get close to them and find what possibilities there are for the Lord. He is going on, He is not giving up; He is making all He possibly can of the least bit of heart love for Himself and for all men. The challenge of this is very practical and very searching for us.

If we are affected by what we meet, by what we see and hear, by that whole world of sense - I am speaking in the realm of Christians now - we shall be put off, give up and decide that nothing is possible. "Love buildeth up"; you find there is something possible, there is some building up possible, more often than you would really believe or imagine, if only you take the love line - not the reserved line of criticism and judgment, but the love line. If there is any possibility at all for the Lord, that is the only way to find it, and you have to do a good deal of digging down, and apply yourself to it with real purpose, to discover whether, after all, there is any genuine, pure heart devotion to the Lord behind all the rest and wrapped up in it. And that 'all' covers a great deal which I will not attempt to detail. If you find that true heart love, you have found your ground of possibility; and for us, dear friends, this is our business, a business to be diligently pursued. It is not a sentimental matter at all, but intensely real spiritual business."

Can you see the power in what Sparks' is saying? Everything of importance in Christ revolves around love and the heart. So many people, including yours truly, get distracted by things that prevent us from focusing on what the Lord is focused on: A heart full of God's love.

Last spring, the Lord brought me in touch with a women who was searching to get back into Oneness with Jesus. The love I had for this women was off the charts and I didn't even know her. I couldn't not explain what my heart felt for her, but it was very real and overpowering at times. All I knew is that the Lord hooked us up for a purpose, and I obeyed His instruction.

After a few friendly "getting to know you better" conversations, I asked her to take out a piece of paper and write down all the things that described her heart. I had her examine her own heart and tell me what she saw. She did that and returned a day or two later with a list of over 30 things that described her heart. When we went over that list together, it was abundantly clear that her heart was disconnected from God's heart. There was little if any Spiritual fruit in her heart. Once she saw the problem with her spiritual condition, she knew what she had to do. She needed to have a spiritual heart transplant. She need to go to the Cross and have the Lord transplant His love into her surrendered heart. It was only through this process that she would find her way back home and become one with God's heart. The Cross is the real spiritual place where our hearts and our love become one with His heart and His love. We must open the door and walk through the door of death via the Cross to enter into full rest (peace) with the Lord. The Cross is the gateway to the heart of God. Jesus is living proof of this fundamental truth.

I apologize for the short detour, but I felt the Spirit moving me to illuminate Sparks' essay through a recent experience. Let's continue with the article. Sparks goes on to say:

"Love - not the presence of a lot of understanding and teaching and truth, and not the absence of all sorts of things - is the governing matter with the Lord. It is not that He Himself in His heart accepts the wrong things, but He sees through them, He sees differently from ourselves. There are two statements about David made in the Scriptures - made from two different standpoints. Speaking of David, the Lord said to Samuel, "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). That meant that the Lord's look upon David's heart was one which was favourable. But when David went to take bread to his brethren in the army his eldest brother looked at him and said, "Why art thou come down? ...I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart..." (1 Sam. 17:28). Here we have God's look and man's look. We have to be very careful concerning the standpoint from which we are looking upon people before we judge them by the outward signs."

The governing matter with the Lord is love - not the presence of a lot of understanding and teaching and truth, and not the absence of all sorts of things.

Sparks' continues:

"You can see there is no hope of building up unless there is love - and love for all men. You and I ought to be greatly concerned with this matter of building up. Oh, God only knows how much of spiritual increase and building is needed! It is a paralysing situation that faces us if we look at our own limitations. I am sure nothing is going to be done unless we have a very large heart to look over and in and through and beyond, refusing to be held by the thing that is glaring at us, striking us and hurting us, and reaching through to that which is true in the heart."

There is no hope of building up unless there is love for all all men. Love your enemies, the Lord said, and love your neighbors. But first and most importantly, love God. Everything flows from loving God.

Sparks' concludes his illuminating essay with this passage:

"In the light of the Lord's coming, it is very important to be well instructed and to have all the light that the Lord can give us, but never let us think for one moment that light and truth and teaching are inevitably the building factors, for there are many people with a vast amount of truth and light who are not very large spiritually; they are very small, shrunken and closed up. It is love that builds. Moreover, it makes differences in those who exercise it, it brings them into rest. Truth alone may bring a strained look into the face and eyes. Love ought to bring into the countenance some suggestion of quiet strength and restful confidence. Look again at those closing verses of Romans 8 - "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors." Look at the things in question - the ultimate things so far as our lives are concerned. No, none of these things can separate us from the love of God. Well, let us sit down in the armchair of His love and be at rest, and then get to work. You cannot work unless you have a background rest, and rest does not spring firstly from truth. It comes from love, God's love. Whatever else He gives us and adds to us, may the Lord make us a people who are characterized supremely by this love for one another and for all men."

If you find it difficult to process all that Sparks is saying in this essay, please don't get discouraged. Ask the Lord to illuminate the truth to you. In His time, He will.

May your heart be increasingly filled with God's love.

Agape,

Steve

(Note: For those readers interested in reading the entire piece, click on the article title in the first sentence of the second paragraph above.)

What a Christian Is Not

I came across an incredible book written by T. Austin-Sparks this morning that has a wonderful description of what Christianity is and is not. There is far too much fine information in the book to post in one blog, so I plan on blogging in stages. Today's blog contains the first point from Sparks' book on what a Christian is not.

Taking the negative side and describing what a thing isn't is often a very illuminating exercise, and Sparks comes out of the blocks hitting extremely hard indeed, as you will see!

Below is an excerpt from the opening chapter of Sparks' book "What is a Christian." The material resonates strongly with many blogs I have written over the past several months, which affirms the working of the Spirit. Please note that I have taken the liberty to highlight in bold a few sentences for added emphasis.

What is a Christian?
by T. Austin-Sparks

Chapter 1

"And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian" (Acts 26:28).

Let us say at the outset that we are using the word "Christian" strictly according to what is found in the New Testament, and it is assumed that this will be accepted. Our enquiry will take the form firstly of a process of elimination, and we shall observe

What a Christian is Not

(1) To become a Christian is not to become 'religious', or to adopt a new 'religion'.

Among non-Christian peoples, a turning to Christ is often referred to as 'accepting Christianity', and in what are called Christian countries conversion is frequently referred to as 'becoming religious'. Such expressions, with their associated ideas, are altogether inadequate and indeed fundamentally false. There was no more religious man on the earth, in his time, than Saul of Tarsus. Read what he says of himself in Acts 22 and 26, and Philippians 3. Here was a man who was just aflame with religious zeal and passion.

No argument is necessary, with history before us, to prove how wide of the mark religion can be.

And that is true of 'Christianity', when it is merely a matter of religion. To be a true Christian is not to accept a creed or statement of doctrine, to observe certain rites and ordinances, attend certain services and functions, and conform more or less diligently to a prescribed manner of life. All this may be carried very far, with very many good works; but those concerned may still be outside the true New Testament category of 'Christian'. Herein lies the danger of an assumed acceptance with God, which may bring that bitter disillusionment foretold by our Lord Himself in those startling words: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not... by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me (Matt. 7:23,24).

No, religion is not Christianity, either more or less; it may be only a deception. So that when we seek that people should become Christians, we are not asking them to change their religion, nor are we asking them to become religious. Religion, as such, has never made this world happier or better.

(2) To become a Christian is not to join an institution called 'The Church'.

If the truth were known, there is no such thing as 'joining' the Christian Church. We never took any steps, either of word or deed, in order to get our limbs to become members of our bodies. There is no distinction between our members and our bodies - our members comprise our bodies; but they do so, not by organization, invitation, examination, interrogation or catechism, but simply by life. So, in the Church of Christ, provided that a true life-relationship exists, a 'membership' in the technical sense is a superfluity, and may be a menace. If there is not that relationship, then no 'membership' can constitute the Church of Christ.

There are multitudes, we fear, who have 'membership' in what is called the 'Church', who are not able to stand up to the test which will be presented when we come to speak of what a Christian is. But let us say here that when we appeal to people to become Christians we are not asking them to 'join the Church'. And it must be realized that Christianity is not just one more institution or society. You may go to many places called 'churches', and never really meet Christ, or find satisfaction.

Of course, that is negative. We must realize, however, that when we become Christians we share one new life in Christ with all other born-again believers, and thus we become one in Christ. That really is the Church. It is for us, then, to cherish that relationship and jealously watch over its sacredness. There are immense values in it.

(3) To become a Christian is not to become a part of a new movement.

It is true that there is a sense in which Christianity is a movement, a Divine movement from Heaven. But there are very many who conceive of Christianity in terms of a great enterprise for world betterment or even evangelization. The appeal is so often made that people will come and associate themselves with this great 'work'. There is that in most people which makes a response to such an appeal, and would like to be in a great movement. But such a way of approach is to court trouble, or at least to be found sooner or later in a false position. Moses got the 'movement' idea in Egypt - and then had forty years' inaction in the desert.

There is that which comes before the 'movement', and the movement is with God, not with us. The greatest value in movement, when God's time comes for it, often is that we have learned not to move without Him.

We do not appeal to you to join a movement. We do not invite youth, saying, 'Here is something into which you can throw all your natural powers and youthful enthusiasm!' We would say: 'God has a purpose: you are of concern to Him in relation to that purpose. But - you cannot even know or enter into that purpose until something has happened in you which has made you another person. In that purpose you will need much more than natural powers and youthful enthusiasm.'

***********************

May your heart be filled with His love always.

Agape,

Steve

Music from the heart for the heart

I feel compelled to blog today about a topic that is near and dear to my surrendered heart. That topic is this:

What musical genre best describes Sweetbird's music?

Christine and I have spent a lot of time discussing this over the past several years. Our hearts are both surrendered to Jesus, and that comes through loud and clear on our latest record "Shine." This naturally leads many people to conclude that we play "Christian" music. While that may seem natural, it is not correct. A much better description of Sweetbird's music is "Inspirational."

Why inspirational? We prefer the label because it is the Holy Spirit that inspires the music we write and play. To be truthful, we don't really view ourselves as writing the music. It is more accurate to say we receive the music. The music we write and play is a gift from the Lord. It is not us, but Him. Christine and I both feel incredibly blessed to play His music together.

Recently we came up with a little tag line we think captures the essence of what Sweetbird's music is all about:

Music from the heart for the heart

Anybody that has a close, personal relationship with Jesus knows the heart is central. The Lord told us that our treasure lies in our hearts. The whole Bible is an incredible story about the centrality of a loving heart - God's heart. God's heart is a heart filled with ever-lasting and unfailing love.

Oh, what a heart! God wants us to have His heart. Jesus showed us the way to God's heart.

Imagine a world today of surrenderred hearts filled with God's love. Talk about mind boggling!

It is our sincere hope and prayer that Sweetbird's music inspires you to grow closer to God's loving and unfailing heart. If Sweetbird's music inspires you to seek out God's awesome heart, then Christine and I will know for sure that His will is being done. And, in the final analysis, that's what it is all about. His will, not ours.

May His heart reign supreme in your heart.

Agape,

Steve

Postscript to The Kingdom of Love

I came across this quote today, which resonated strongly with my last blog posting (The Kingdom of Love).


God has no religion.
- Mahatma Gandhi

The truth is out there. Jesus showed us the way. The key to seeing it and Him is keeping the eyes of your heart wide open.

May the eyes of your heart be open always.

Agape,

Steve

The Kingdom of Love

Blogging has been light over the past several weeks due to the fact that I've been mediating deeply on a few spiritual books and articles I've read recently. One of the things that is becoming clearer as I continue walking the narrow path is how meaningless religion is in comparison with love.

I have been struggling with religion for a long time. Over the weekend, it dawned on me that Jesus did not come to start a new religion called Christanity. Rather, He came, as N.T. Wright observed in his book, "What St. Paul Really Said," to show us the way to the kingdom of love.

The kingdom of love. What an absolutely magnificent and magestic place Jesus has prepared for us! He wants us to join Him. He wants us to have a relationship with Him based on love. Tragically, many people appear to have gotten distracted by religion and religious things and have lost their way.

Many people seem to believe that Jesus came to start a new religion called "Christianity." But I believe this is mistaken. Man invented Christianity - not Jesus. Jesus didn't come to establish a new religion - He came to fulfill all of the prophesies and laws of Judaism. As Paul told the Romans:

Love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10)

Jesus is the fulfillment of all Judaic law. He is all we need.

There has always been something profoundly disturbing about religion. It struck me not long ago that the reason I don't find religion to be of any value is precisely because it is often devoid of love. And yet love is the very essence of life itself. It is who God is!

God isn't religion. God is love. (1 John 4:8)

Jesus came to show us a path to the kingdom of love. And what did the religious people of the day do? They proceeded to persecute Him, spit in His face, and turn him over to the authorities (the Romans) to have him killed! Which just goes to show you that a religious heart is not the same thing as a loving heart.

I know plenty of religious people. Many of them call themselves Christians. They have lots of things and activities in their lives all based around Jesus. But, sadly, very few of them have hearts full of Christ's love. The fact of the matter is that you can't follow Christ unless you surrender your heart to Him. The only thing that matters, said Paul to the law-abiding Galatians, is faith expressing itself through love.

The truth is that a religious heart will never know Christ. Paul did not know Jesus until after he saw Christ and his heart was transformed by His love. The only heart that is truly entangled with Jesus is heart filled with God's love or what the ancient Greeks called agape.

As I have come to understand since being blessed with the Spirit, being a Christian and following Christ are two totally different things. I have no desire to be a Christian. I only desire Christ in my heart.

Paul told the Romans that love is the fulfillment of the law. He wasn't interested in starting a new religion. His sole aim was to illuminate the Messiah and place Him and His love at the rightful center of the universe.

If you want to a perfect description of who Jesus is, read 1 Corinthians 13. You will not find a better description of the Lord than what Paul wrote in that letter anywhere on this planet.

God is love. Jesus is the way to the kingdom of love.

May your heart be increasingly filled with God's love - a love that never fails.

Agape,

Steve