Just got off the phone with Nate as we coordinate ministry matters today. Nate did another awesome job at youth group last night as God has called together a great core group of kids. Nate and I then got to talk for a bit and share ministry joys and concerns as well as continuing to stay in touch as far as the forward direction we see God taking us in as a church.

I so enjoy my relationship with Nate as well as with the men on the Board of Deacons. It is so vital to work at and maintain love relationships between Christians.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. (1 Peter 1:22 NIV)

I love this verse because there is so much in it. You have the basis of the love: obeying the truth, God's Word. I meet people who talk a lot about God's word, mention God a lot, love to praise Him, but then ignore so much of what the Bible really says, instead making Jesus into their own image. This can look very spiritual but is actually what the Bible calls "having a form of Godliness but denying its power." When we are really obeying the truth; reconciliation, forgiveness, humility, repentance, then we are ready for the next step in that verse; sincere love for your brothers (which would mean sisters too). Then that sincere love goes to another step, loving deeply.

The first love mentioned is philadelphia or brotherly love, the second love is agape or unconditional love. So, as we are purified by the truth, we are first warm and loving to our brothers and then we build on that to a deep and unconditional love.

There are two final elements I want to mention from this verse. First, the brotherly love is described as sincere. The greek word means, without faking it. This can be tough. Sometimes you see people who are very nice to you when they have to speak to you, but are just putting on a polite or "christian" act. Once you are away from them, that love they expressed will not be in evidence. Sincere means that we push ourselves to actually treat our brothers with love, not just when they are in front of us. It must be sincere. The second element is the phrase attached to agape love, "from the heart." This is the deepening of "sincere." The greek word, "kardia" referred to the center or middle of thought and emotion. That is hard too. It is not a grudging, "I should be nice to them." It is a decision, pointed at the center of your being, to really care, to put them first.

As I said at the beginning, I am so thankful for my relationship with Nate and the rest of the Board. No matter what, we work to have a sincere, from the heart, love for each other. I am encouraged and strengthened by their love and support back to me. It makes the good times that much sweeter and it makes the hard times that much easier. May I always keep my heart focused on the truth and push myself to make sure my love is sincere, deep, and from the heart.

Sarah and I took our daughter in to the doctor's this morning after a night of listening to her cough and hearing her wheeze. One Albuterol treatment later and she is doing much better. We knew she had my allergies and now it turns out she also has my asthma. Her's is categorized as intermittent which is better than the severe that I had as a kid. Still, I found myself in tears on the way home. Just me being emotional, but I hate to see this passed on to my daughter.

We don't always get to control what we pass on to our kids. Not only do genetics sometimes pass on things we don't want, but even our own habits and actions. We have our weak spots and weak moments, our character flaws and sin issues which are impossible to hide from our children since they live with us and see us at our best and worst. It is only as we humble ourselves before our children, and yield to the power of the Holy Spirit, that we can "treat" these things that we pass on so that they do not infect/affect our children too much. I will do whatever I can and whatever it takes to help my daughter treat and overcome her issues with asthma and allergies. May I also bring that kind of focus and resolve to the spiritual realm as father and leader of our family, to do whatever I need to to give her a healthy spiritual environment that will overcome the curse of sin that lives in me and that I have already passed on to her.

It was a great weekend with Nate doing a fantastic job on Sunday morning. I think this has been an important series as we explore the Biblical concepts of the local church and how we are to function. Late Sunday night I headed up to Sebec Lake to close up the camp, draining the water and putting the shutters on the doors and windows, etc. It was a long day on Monday getting it all done but it felt good to do it. I have been enjoying the increased duties of working on the shed and outside stuff here as well as the work up at the lake. On Monday I jacked up one side of the camp to make it sturdier for snow this winter. Last week I crawled up on the shed roof here to work on finishing the shingles. I am learning a lot of new things and enjoying the manual labor. It is good for me. This week ahead is going to be a very busy one. I have Sunday to prepare for as well as the Camp Berea fall banquet and retreat on Friday night and Saturday. Saturday afternoon is Jake & Hailey's wedding. Before that there is prayer meeting, youth group, and several people to get together with, plus more outside work getting ready for winter. I am going to work to get a couple of good blog posts in this week as well, so keep your eye out. Thought today would just be a personal update on what has been going on. If you go to Bean's Corner, make sure you fill out your ministry survey this week. Remember as you go through your busy week to spend time each day connecting to God. He wants to share life with you.

It has been a full week, but a good one and the weekend also looks quite busy. Had a great youth group last night. Nate had a really great lesson and we had a fun time both with the singing and the game. A good group out too. Then we had a great time at young adult fellowship after with some faces we hadn't seen in a long time. Just a fun night of eating and hanging out. Tomorrow features men's breakfast and then in the afternoon we will be heading up to Big Adventure for fun with Laser Tag, Rock Climbing and other activities. Looking forward to a good time with everyone there. Nate will be continuing our series this Sunday and then in the evening we will be continuing our Peacemaker/church workshops. Tonight I am looking forward to a quiet night at home to catch up with my wife and children. The last couple of days have been particularly busy with speaking at IV on Wednesday (which was so much fun) and youth group and supper last night. It will be nice to have a night home to really relax and spend time together. Don't tell her, but I'm thinking early supper for kids and bedtime and then romantic dinner for two. Maybe a movie. We'll see. For all you family types out there, I don't know what kind of week you have had, but make sure you capture plenty of time to just focus on those closest to you. It is your best ministry.

How do I get closer to my wife and my children? How do I grow in my love for them? Well that's easy, by spending time with them. As I had a busy day in the office today, my daughter came up at one point to show me something. I gathered her onto my lap and spent some time talking with her; listening and sharing. We cuddled and talked. It was a good time. It was only a few minutes. That by itself was not enough, but it was good time.

The other day I took her on a date. We ran a quick errand which she helped me with and then we went out to lunch and had good face to face time talking. The other day I sat with my oldest son at the kitchen table and we talked and talked, with him doing most of the talking. Most of the last few evenings have featured Sarah and I sitting down and just talking and talking. See my point?

To get closer, to grow in love and connection, I must spend time with those I love. Some men think that growing in love and connection involves doing things for those they love. While doing things "for" can demonstrate love, it can't do much to build love and connection. This fallacy leads some men to utter those words, "After all the things I've done for you???" Doing "for" is good, doing "with" is better.

The same goes for God. Many people see growing closer to God or stronger in God a matter of doing God's work, of doing things for God. Reacting to God's love by doing is good, but that cannot build love and instead usually leads to a work based religion closely resembling but not actually being Biblical Christianity. Growing in God is a matter of abiding, of living with, of spending time "with", not just "for". Are you more focused on doing rather than being "with"? Are you so busy doing things, whether for God or for your family, that you have little time to actually be with them? If so it is time to refocus.