Chris Little

Life is a journey and along that journey we need pit-stops. These pit-stops are for rest, refreshment, refreshing your GPS, and more. These are pit-stops that we have planned or at least want. However, there are pit-stops in life that are not planned: death, health issues, loss of job, kids’ issues.

This is where we find Jonah. He had been on a self-imposed pit-stop at the beginning of Jonah (1:1) and now he is on an unplanned, God directed pit-stop. Jonah was running from God, had gotten on a boat and a storm came up and freaked out the sailors because they thought they were going to die. Jonah was crashed out below because running from God is a tiresome exercise. Jonah has been running as fast he can from God and he has not produced the results he has wanted . . . God is still pursuing him!

While we try to get away and do everything we can to numb our souls from God’s call on our lives, he is still there with us. You cannot out-run, out-wait, out-maneuver, or out-sin God. God’s grace does whatever it takes for Him to come and get us (Luke 15:4-9). Jonah’s life was literally flashing before him. He life was in the pits  (Jonah 2:5-6) to the point that he saw the “roots of the mountains”. God’s grace may be confrontational, disruptive, frightening, or demanding, but it will save your life.

What was God’s grace in this moment? He had the crew throw Jonah overboard and make him believe that he was going to drown (Jonah 1:15). God’s grace in this moment is that he showing Jonah that even in his deepest moments of despair and when there seems to be no way out, He is there. Jonah is swallowed up by a whale at just the right time to save his life. A whale? A nasty, stinky old whale?

My natural inclination as a parent would be to hold my child closer. My grace is too naturally to rescue my kids and to provide protection for them so that they “don’t get hurt”. However, there are times that the best thing I can do for my child is to push them out of the boat into the trusting care of the Father.

So, when your life is in the pits remember that:

1) God is in control – he allowed the storms and provided the fish.

2) God is in good even when your life is in the pits – he did provide the fish!

3) God is running with you – you cannot out-run, out-wit, out-maneuver, or out-sin God.

4) God still has a plan for you – in Jonah 3:1-2, we see God repeat his call to Jonah after he was vomited back onto dry land. Jesus did the same for Peter in John 21:15-19. Peter had denied Jesus three times and now Jesus asked him three times if Peter loved him. Of course, Peter said yes all three times and then Jesus said to him what he said to him the first time he called him to be his disciple, “Follow me.”

Imagine with me for a moment that you really want someone to create a sculpture of you to stand for eternity. I know it sounds very narcissistic, but just pretend. Who would you choose? You have all the great master sculptors throughout history at your disposal. Who would want to be the one to “interpret” you and create the image of you that others would see and get their perspective of who you were from that one piece of art?
In case you did not know, you are already a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Ephesians 2:10 describes you as a unique poem – one that has never been before or will ever be written again – you are a masterpiece of the Creator of all art. The One who inspires all art.
However, many times we are too embarrassed by the original art work that we are, and decide to allow other artists to shape and mold us. We allow these other artists to shape and mold us because we want to be liked by the masses, we want to fit in, we do not want to be too original. Who are these other “artists”? Our culture – the voices of the day.
Who would dare walk up to “The Mona Lisa” and attempt to make it better? Only fools . . .

As a Christ follower, you have been made into a new creation by the Master Artist. You are unique. Why do you allow other “artists” to dictate to you what you are to be? Why do you allow them to chisel away at what is already been completed and determined to be a masterpiece? It is because you have chosen to listen to the wrong critics. You desire the applause from the masses, instead of the one who knows you best.
Take a moment a remind yourself – you are a one-of-a-kind, cherished, priceless creation of the Master Artist. Ask yourself, “Whose applause am I pursuing?”

God’s love for His people never withers away. It is always spring time. His love for us is like a 24/7, 365 days a year for the rest of our lifetime honeymoon! Who would not sign up for that?
God is love (1 John 4:16). It is his character, his makeup, his nature. If you were to squeeze God like a sponge – love would ooze out. If you were to squeeze some of us – “stuff” other than love would ooze out. How do I know that God is love (1 John 4:7-10)? I know because I have experienced his love. My words are inadequate to describe it – you just have to experience it for yourself.
God’s love motivated him to offer us a gift, a great sacrifice on his part, himself. He literally gave his life so that I could be bought from the marketplace of slavery (Rom. 3:23-25). Real love always leads to sacrifice at some level (1 John 3:16a).
His love and sacrifice has guaranteed us the greatest life. It’s actually a pretty easy life too – love God with every part of your being and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself (Matt. 22:37-39). I got the loving God down most of the time. I am also really good at loving myself – I will go to no amount of expense or inconvenience to show myself love. My neighbor? God, do you know them? Then, it hit me. God is in the same marketplace where he “bought” me ready to buy them too.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) because the people did not understand how much he loved them. Jesus counted the cost (his love persevered) and he still gave his life for mine. God wants me to love others like he has loved me. When was the last time I wept over my neighbors? My kids’ school? The people at the grocery store?
I want to love my neighbor…God, grant me the heart that weeps over them!

Or does it not fail all the time? It seems that way. As I was reading through the 1 Corinthians 13 passage these three words, “Love never fails,” are stuck right in the middle. At first I thought, “Aw! That’s neat.” Then I began to let that settle on me a little bit and thought, “Well, that’s not always true.” I know I’ve failed at loving well and I know others who have experienced the same type of failure. None of us are perfect right? Then I tried to put myself in the shoes of others and it hit me. Anyone who says “Love never fails” is naive and seriously mistaken.
So, how in the world does Paul say “Love never fails?” He says it in full view of the cross. There is no other way to say it and understand it. Love does fail – we have all experienced the pain of love gone bad. Does that make us give up on love? I hope not.
In view of the cross love never fails. Will I ever love anyone like that? Maybe. Can I ever love anyone like that? In view of the cross, yes.

I was listening to someone speak the other day and it was painfully obvious to me that they were thirsty, or at least in need of something to solve the dry mouth issue. It was obvious because I have been in that same spot – dry mouth and no water. As I was listening to the speaker I began thinking about water and I made a little note to do some research on water. Well, I did, and I was reminded of how fortunate that I am to have water available when I am thirsty. That there are plenty of people around the world who go without water or who do not have clean water to drink. I looked at the statistics of water from around the world and was astonished.
Here are a few:
* 3.6 million deaths from water-related disease.
* 84% of those deaths are children (0-14 years.)
* 1 in 8 do not have safe water to drink.
* An American taking a 5 minute shower uses more water than the average person in a developing country does all day.*
Wow! Those are some sobering statistics. We have become so accustomed to clean water in the U.S. that it does not always cross our minds how fortunate we are.
As I was thinking about those stats my spirit kept tugging at me. It kept leading me back to John 7:37-39. It is where Jesus says to the Temple goers, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
Jesus’ audience would have been watching someone carry water from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple as a symbolic reminder of Moses striking the rock in the desert to provide water for the Israelites in the desert. The Israelites were thirsty.
I have been thirsty too. I remember “all-a-days” football practices in South Texas (100 degrees & 100% humidity). It was hot and you got thirsty. I remember standing over the water trough thinking I was never going to get enough to drink. Have you ever felt that thirsty?
Have ever been really thirsty and got something to drink and something was wrong with it and you spit it out or it just did not satisfy your thirst? Once, on a trip to Latvia, we had been running around and gotten hot and thirsty. We had these huge water bottles that we had bought for just this occasion. We hadn’t paid close attention to them when we bought them (cause we didn’t know we had to) and when we took a drink expecting satisfying water and we got mineral water…we spewed in unison! Nasty!
(The next time we went to the store to buy water we studied the bottles to ensure that we bought the right water.)
Jesus tells us that he will satisfy our thirst. I have run after other drinks over the years hoping that they will satisfy – they have promised me better taste, that I would look cooler, or quick, big returns – but they didn’t ever fulfill on their promise. I went back to the “boring” water of Jesus…it satisfies.
So, what you been drinking? Is it satisfying your thirst or leaving you wanting more? Do yourself a favor…drink some water.
*(www.water.org)

Love is not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs. The root idea behind that word angered is “dynamite.” Paul is telling his readers that love is not easily angered because anger, when unleashed, is like dynamite exploding. I have seen some of the devastation that dynamite can do when they use it to blow up buildings. It carries a “whallop!” Anger spewed from our hearts and mouths carries the same type of impact. If a fuse goes off too soon in a stick of dynamite, people get hurt. The same is true with our anger. If our fuse is too short and we explode in anger, people get hurt. Unfortunately, it is usually those we love. May you have an anger that is slow to burn down the fuse. May your fuse burn out before you explode on others.
Paul also speaks of love as an accountant who does not keep record of the wrongs. His account book is weighted in our favor. (Sounds like a good accountant to me!) This word is used to describe God’s transactions with our sin throughout the New Testament. Our sins are as far as the East is from the West…that’s pretty far in case you’re trying to calculate that in your head. In other words, love doesn’t try to keep score and base its love on your worth or merit. If that were the case, none of us would merit God’s love.
So, keep your fuse extra long and your account book closed…and you will begin to love better…

Love is patient. Well, that cuts me out of the “love”. Patience is a virtue that is, and has been, difficult for me to perfect. I want to move on already! It does not help that the culture we live in applauds “instant.” We have instant everything – potatoes, popcorn, news, movies, money. You name it and I bet someone has come up with a way to make it instant! (That reminds me. I LOVE coffee! Which probably does not help with my patience. However, instant coffee is NOT as a good as real brewed coffee. It’s not. Yes, I’ve tried Starbucks’ Via(r) coffee. It’s good for instant, it’s not as good as the brewed. Just a side note…to the young man at Starbucks who tried to convince me it was the same. I appreciate your passion – but, you’re wrong.)
Anyway, a way to assist in being patient is to ask yourself, “Do I have a tendency to be a thermometer or a thermostat?” A thermometer reacts to the temperature. It responds to the heat that is generated and gives a reading accordingly. You know your kid has a temp by checking it with a thermometer. Many times in life, our impatience is due to our living life as a thermometer. We react to the “heat” of life – the situations, circumstances, relationships, etc. – that cause us to get stirred up inside. Then, in a split moment, we spew the stuff inside of us on the “lucky ones” who were present when we couldn’t handle the heat anymore. Unfortunately, too many times it is the ones we love the most – family and friends. They get it because they are “safe”. They can handle the “love” we are giving them.
However, to be a thermostat is a better way to “love” those around us. When we sense life “heating up” we choose to change the temperature. We manipulate the climate by cooling off. How do you cool off? I workout. When I go workout, it relieves stress and allows me to work through life and spew my frustrations on the weights or treadmill. I can tell when I’ve missed a day or two because I start becoming more like a thermometer than a thermostat.
In Proverbs 30: 32-33 it says, “If you have played the fool and exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clap your hand over your mouth! For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting a nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.” In other words, before you spew on the ones you love…cover your mouth. You can’t get those words back.
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:1,4) This is what it looks like to be a thermostat – to cover your mouth, change the temperature, and then speak words that are life-giving. We all know the phrase “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is a bunch of crock. How do we know that? We know it, because we have been recipients of words from those that love us the most that were not life-giving…and the searing pain they have caused. If only our loved ones had covered their mouth?!?
Love is… being a thermostat more than a thermometer. What’s the temperature at your house?

Have you noticed how funny a word “love” is? I mean, what does “love” really mean? I love burritos, sports, traveling, my family, and God. Surely, the way I love my family and burritos is not the same…is it? Do you remember doing the ‘ol flower deal? You know, taking the a flower and saying, “She loves me, she loves me not” and making sure that the flower petals work out to where “she loves me” in the last one. Ah, the good old days before eharmony.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4 we see Paul describe “love”. The word has a sacrificial tone. If you were to look up the word love in a dictionary and a picture was next to it to depict what love is it would be of Jesus on the cross. Self sacrifice to the extreme.
When I think about sacrificial love several things come to mind. However, I am drawn back to the movie The March of the Penguins and what sacrifices the mother and father penguin made for their egg. They traveled 70 miles in -80 degree weather, do a dance, and then the dad stays behind and protects the egg from the extreme cold and wind. By the time the new egg is hatched, several dads have died in their quest to protect their young and all of them have gone about 2 months without food. Sacrifice! Love!
Love is a verb…love is a sacrifice…love is…