I was having ice tea with a friend (I know it’s hard to believe, but I have a few!) earlier this week. I was sharing with complete candor that I love my wife more today than I did almost 30 years ago when we first married.
How? I’ve learned to remove the distractions in my life. I’ve discovered that what I thought was important back then is not as important today; and thus, it can be eliminated from my thinking and life.
I believe this is true for all relationships. Want to draw closer to your friends, your spouse and/or Jesus? Choose to remove what’s between you (see James 4:8).
Holding onto things you don’t need, going to places you shouldn’t go, spending on items that soon fade in importance, thinking thoughts that only drag you down…choose to remove them.
Let the Spirit show you the distractions in your life. Then choose to eliminate them one by one with Spirit empowered faith. Your love will only grow. And let me tell you, more love sure feels grrreat!

Wanting doesn’t become reality without action. There’s a proverb that talks about a person being so lazy that they starved to death with their hand in a bowl of food. The person wanted the food, but never took the action to eat it.
We say we want Jesus, but we don’t actually get what He has for us until we act upon what He says to do. Words without actions are merely hot air.
If you really want what Jesus has for you, take a step of faith today by beginning to practice what He’s told you to do. He always puts actions to His words; therefore, you can trust Him.
Take in the fresh air. Turn your wanting of Jesus into reality through Spirit empowered faith.

Jesus tells the story of ten people who hung out together at church. They shared life together. They went to service together. They even listened to Bible studies together.
The only difference between them was that five transferred their trust from themselves to Jesus while the other five didn’t. They went to church, but they didn’t become part of the church. This is why Jesus called them foolish. They stayed god of their lives by trusting in themselves and not Him.
Thus, when Jesus surprised them by His night return, they were not ready. They missed the biggest party in the universe – the marriage of Jesus to His bride the church. They would be given a second chance to get it right, but would have to go through hell on earth to get it.
If only they had done what Peter said, “Make every effort to add to your faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.” One must first make the greatest exchange ever – relying upon yourself to do the right things to trusting in what Jesus did on the cross. Then it’s a daily transfer of trust to see the Spirit transform your life where the above named Jesus qualities come out in your life, all signs of a healthy faith.
Have a healthy faith and you will be ready for His return!

One last report from Israel. This one is about what the Lord taught me while I was here.
What you see pictured are the actual steps Jesus walked upon when He entered the Temple courts through the Hulda gates on the southern end of the Temple Mount. I can say I walked where Jesus’ feet actually touched!
These steps are cut out of the stones. And, if you notice, this stairway alternates between a narrow a step and a wider one. The purpose was to slow people down as they came into the Temple. This slower pace was to enable them to prepare their hearts and minds to worship the King of Kings – The God of the universe.
This is what the Lord was showing me. “Chris, slow down.” He spoke clearly through someone who said, “I get too busy that I can’t hear from Jesus.” This resonated so much with me. Actually, before I left for Israel, I told my wife that I was having a hard time slowing down. I was exhaling a lot, like I was out of breath.
Are you just like me, too busy to hear from Jesus? You can’t love Him without doing it! He said those who love Me will listen and follow/obey Me. Let’s pray for each other to slow down the pace of our lives – the stuff that occupies our minds – to hear from our God and King so we can better worship Him – become more like Him.

This is modern Shiloh with ancient Shiloh in the foreground. In Scripture, Shiloh was the place where the Tabernacle, God’s dwelling, rested after the Israelites entered the land under Joshua.
It was to here that God commanded every Jewish male to come three times a year: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Each visit, including traveling both ways, could take up to a month depending on where one lived. Thus, three months out of the year, every Jewish male was to be away from their homes and businesses.
Who protected them while they were gone? As they exercised their faith in God by choosing to be here with Him, He would protect the homes and businesses. Every time they came, they showed how much they loved their God and wanted to be in His presence,
Fast forward to today. When the Jewish people were kicked out of Israel by the Romans (who changed it’s name to Palestine) in 135 AD and started returning home in the late 1800’s, would they exercise their faith in God’s word and resettle Shiloh?
This piece of real estate is found in Samaria or what the world calls the West Bank. This city (on the hill to the left and the foreground) is located next to an Arab city (in the background to the right). It’s not a safe and secure place to raise a family and have a business. Yet, would they exercise their faith in the Word of God, which incurs risks, and return to Shiloh?
Remember, the ruins prove this land belonged to Israel. This is an indisputable fact. Yet, there were risks of world opinion against them. There was the hatred of those living next door who’d rather see them dead than living on land they want for their state. These Jewish men and women took the risk and returned to Shiloh.
Believers, we live in enemy territory where we all have strongholds in our lives put there by our enemy, our sin nature and our environment (2 Cor. 10:3-5). The world run by the evil one wants us to leave them alone. Our neighbors would love for us not to change, as it gives them a reason to stay the same.
The question for us then is, “How far will we go to be in God’s presence, where peace, joy, security and love reign?” God says He loves to reward faith, but faith is not faith unless it’s put into action. We say we love Jesus. If so, we will exercise the truths He gives us. Know this, others will not like it. So how bad do you want to experience the life Jesus came to give you?