Pursuing God and others with Active-Embodied Love

Today's breast last day of a sabbatical so we just came to weeks but he's rested some what he said Disneyland was exhausting and I said did you get rested and I was like trying to be reduced like spiritual you get rested and renewed and start in the morning to stop at night, but he had a lot of fun and I'm he's back and thanks to a couple people in our church. He was able to get into his driveway skid and get stuck the first day, but he was still digging yesterday when I called him and me being the wonderful spiritual Elder. I just said I'd pray for him to get a snow out.

Speaking of that. I was thinking of somebody Hardware. Can I read this in the bulletin a few weeks back and I thought I would read it to you cuz it was pretty cool. The most Century has more people over a hundred than anywhere else in the world percentage wise in Costa Rica. There was a 91 year-old that would sit on her stool in the middle of the dirt road and milk or cow's pretty cool. But I think the 73 year old that I read about from 1919 beats the lady on the stool. So she's 73 73 years old and the Highlight says basically the title of 73 age women does man's work and then some during stress of the war. Remember this is a sort of that towards the end of World War 1 Michigan boasts of being the home of the champion farmer Ed in the country and is ready to back her against all comers irrespective of age weight or newfangled agricultural schooling. Experience was her only tutor. She is. Mrs. Anna symington 73 years old owner of a large farm near here who jumped into overalls and got behind the plow when Farmhouse became scares. She is planning to work the farm this year again here is a table of her accomplishment accomplishments for the last season. She worked 20 acres of her Farm. shocked and hauled in 5 acres of corn 8 Acres of ride to acres of oats and cultivated a two-acre truck Garden she cared for an orchard and several Acres of berries, raise a hundred chickens made 8 lb of butter daily.

But I don't have butter or she had really had to work at offer that cholesterol. And besides did the repair work sewed cooked clean house and did all the other domestic work in farm chores. Now that lady deserve the farmer at of the country as a 73 year old and I was thinking if she could now somehow I'm like fascinated you're going to think I'm terrible, but I'm fascinated with anything to do with time machines. Okay. I Love Back to the Future is like my favorite movie and then there was one recently that it was called Timeless on TV. I don't think I saw it. I was so sad when it was taken off the air because I've always thought time travel to be the coolest thing in my science fiction think if you ever in that one, let me know. I'll be your experiment. I have nothing to lose at this ish. Anyway, what is she could time travel 100 years from 1919 to today and she were able to look at our world and how unphysical we become and how it's having embodied experience of physicality such a in our culture. We try to do everything we can to get away from that. No matter fact Alexa will order your toilet paper for you when it starts to run the groceries when I got back from Costa Rica. We had a new friend in the house and he's called iRobot. Now this little round thing there's some people that's why they had to shake it.

Are really good. Okay, I don't know but that thing is turned on not even with a push of the button and it's turned on automatically with her iPhone. And so we've come to that. I think if the the farm at could come and some rest and come and see what we have today and how actually the new Pursuit is to do everything we can to make life easier and not be physical. She would probably be ashamed of us. Yeah, but we're there certain things that have come sensor time that I'm sort of excited about like the toilet inside and and water and plumbing have isolated us. I was thinking I was talking to my wife this morning about them whether she thought it was cool that you could get your groceries curbside these days and she says I feel good that you can order your groceries in for new moms. They need to be able to just go there and just put it in their car. So don't be too hard on the congregation time, you know, so she she gives me that is perspective. But then my purse Back was except for weeks. Like this works. I see those kids don't get to go in and Shop with their parents anymore. They don't get to go in an experience hearing the word know about a hundred times right to get to experience having a fit at the checkout stand for those things that you put in the front of him and even having a choice. I was thinking of choices how it up that's changed. I mean, we would I think it's really important from early on to teach your kids to think ask them questions. I want to ask you a question. We're going to see actually Jesus this morning. He answers by asking another question back and I thought like it was really cool when I would say hi to the kids. Okay. Do you want sausage eggs or Mom wasn't around to get up hot dogs and they think through these things that would be a decision for them to make and I took me grow it going to the grocery store was an experience and if they were interacting with people today, that's an easy answer by the way. So you say do you want well that's real that's open it up. Do you want Henrietta and Henry's chicken? They are walked a hundred yards a day there free range. Let's see. Oh, they have a there grass-fed a Fescue Kentucky blue and ride mixture and it's all natural fertilizer or would you like Porky who is a he's actually walk 250 yards a day twice sometimes if it's warm and we'll get all the history of him or would you like hot dogs? And the kids are going to be like where you going with this Perry the things have really changed today, but I think it's really good to get the kids in the grocery store. Okay get him out. But I think everything even driving the car, you know what to say. Well look the cars been invented since they had some some old some new cars back in 1919, but even the car everything in my my car in my truck I push buttons to or I tell it what to do if I have a heated steering wheel this morning. I started it automatically from inside my house. My seats were heat there air condition if I want them to be if it's summer when I have power back sliding windows and I have Wi-Fi in there. And so, you know, even some of your Dodge owners are looking at me. I'm talking about

It's a Chevy. What can I say? So more and more? I think we're losing touch you to get to the scriptures more more more. I think we're losing touch. I doing physical everyday things and this morning I looked and if you want to turn their we're going to see the Good Samaritan was not afraid to get physically involved and see the needs of a man who had been beaten, store. Y'all heard and Sunday school if you grab the Sunday school, but I'm hoping will be challenged this morning to sacrifice physically in our daily lives and in our love for God and our love for others and that's where I'm going with all this. Okay. So we're going to read Luke 10 25 through 37 and I'll just read it here. I don't want occasion an expert in the lost it up to test Jesus teacher. He asked what must I do to inherit eternal life. What is written in the in the lobby replied? How do you read it? He answered love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. You have answered correctly. Jesus replied do this and you will live but he wanted to justify himself. So he asked Jesus and who is my neighbor reply. Jesus said A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes beat him and went away leaving him half-dead a priest happen to be going down the same road and when he saw the man he passed by on the other side, so to a levite when he came to the place and saw him pass by on the other side, but as Samaritan as he traveled, Chaim where the man was and when he saw him he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds pouring oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own. He took him to the end and took care of him the next day. He took out two silver coins and gave them to The Innkeeper look after him. He said and when I return I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have which of these three do you think was the neighbor to this man who fell into the hands of the robbers the expert in the law replied the one who had mercy on him. Jesus told him go and do likewise.

Look at some of the passage most of you probably remember this but do know that the Samaritan was the most hated person in the Jewish culture at this time. They were half-breeds and they were not loved at all. They were hate. It matter fact his answer when he says in verse 37 it when he said who do you think was his neighbor the expert in the law said the one who had more he didn't say the Samaritan. He said the one who had mercy did want to mention his name. So it's sort of starts out. I'm not going to go through. But it does start out in verse 25 realize the contacts her that this guy just tried to trick is an expert of the lawn. If you look at verse 25, he tries to trick he tries to test Jesus and he's in any of the questions you want. What do I need to do to inherit eternal life that Jesus was the master teacher if you want to teach ever. Do you want to learn how to teach I think most of you know, I was a teacher to principal for 13 years, but if you want to be a good teacher what is written in the law, how do you read it? And so he throws it right back on him again. She has never back down from a fight look through the gospels and never back down and he was always up for the challenge and I'm he was always teaching and so he has this guy respond in his own words rather than Jesus say I'm going to love the Lord your God and look at already the physicality of love you guys love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength. And with all your mind. Then love your neighbor as yourself. So sunburned say all your might let you know when it comes to loving God and loving others. It is an embodied physical experience, you know, it takes discipline and Jesus says to him says do this and you receive do as a verb. I think my teaching days are the Good Samaritan the things that he actually did that we're physical will see that loving God and loving neighbor. It is sorta inconvenienced. I've been thinking about this as I prepared for the sermon. I was in the back porch in band and I prepare for the sermon and I was just thinking about how we look for convenience is all the time and sort of the thing today. We don't physically get off our couch. We don't physically have people over all these things taxes and they caught that causes an inconvenience because we're in our routines and when I was done, I went across the street I was hungry. So I got a really healthy thing to eat in a deli which was a fried burrito and my wife says that if I put mustard on it and I got a loaf of bread and I started heading to the cashier to pay it out. I walked by the cashier. I looked at him there's two or three of them there and then I went to the you know, where I went. Where did I go? Yeah, I went to the same as I am scanning my to hide items there. It hit me so clear as day. I did not want to be inconvenienced by that teller did not want to spend the energy talking to that person for 30 or 45 seconds and tell him how my day was going. I'm not joking. I remember why did I come here? And I wanted to save maybe there was one person in line and everything about me personally as an American is bent towards

The easiest in the most convenient in the fastest way to do things rather than to to be thinking what I should have been doing. If I was in tune with this. I should have been asking that person how their day was letting the love of Jesus Shine. I really should have been but I was so selfish. I was looking for the easiest way out and so I can slide out of there and so I Automation in our convenience what it's really done is it's it's isolated us. We've become very isolated way before technology one of the things that I isolated the most of the garage door opener and if you live in a neighborhood garage door openers, you know what I'm talking about some of your country so that's not the doesn't apply to you. But if you're in the neighborhood, you know, it goes that you go in and goes down into go through your garage door and you don't have to say hi or anything. I said hi more than the last week than I have in a long time. Why because we're all out shoveling snow right now, but everything about this easy life and everything that's advertised iRobot. Aziz ansari's easiness up for more easier if I just get my groceries and go and not have to talk to anybody. They actually are isolating us more and more but look what they Samaritan does okay. I'm going to challenge you to a few if I don't know if we can put the verses up that were verses 33 or it says but as Samaritan as he traveled so verses 33 through 35, there is there you'll start seeing words of action, I guess like the first one would be the first action. You see I'm a teacher so not a preacher. So what's the first action you see that he did. What's the first verb there? He traveled today. He was out moving. He got up off his butt ever caught. I don't know. Bella hey, what did you do after that?

Yep, he saw someone he came he took pity. So those are all verbs and their matter fact. Why don't you just look through those and I'm actually going to be a teacher I going to give you about 60 seconds and it's almost like a test cuz I have sort of the answers that are going to come up when she look 33 through 35. You can do it by yourself or someone next to you. Look at the verb that action words that are there see how many can come up with and we can start to go through the screen if you don't have your Bible with you can go. Let's see. How many come up with a 30 60 seconds. Okay, before we put up the slides that sort of Show the answers to the test cuz I already know I miss you going to find something that I didn't how many found in at least 10 actions. These are the good English students 12:15. 1617 better than a teacher. It's not fair only right? Yeah. That's how my family words. I was the math guy. Yeah. So these are some things I wrote down and I know I'm sure I miss them so go ahead and turn up the first lie there. So he traveled verse 33 time. He came to where the man was. These are all physical actions. Okay, he saw him. Okay, the other two people, can you imagine tell me you have not done scroungy dog that looks hungry or something and you have walked on the other side. Like these guys are just sort of act like you really didn't see that thing. That was right there.

I almost did it this morning you guys except I'm preaching on this cuz I'm bent toward selfishness. I parked right there and I keep started to come through the door and I saw Louise coming with the donuts and I did not want to go back out there and get cold. I am selfish to the core inside then I remembered I was preaching on it went up there real right now, but I do this I don't even know how to say I might see him but I don't know how to pity is not my spiritual gift. Okay, I can totally cash out on this one. That is not I'm good at some other things but having pity on people is something I I cringe to go to the hospital if I have good motives, but I'll do it. I don't like doing it. It's not my thing. So I'm not a pastor. I'm not a shepherd and I'm not been that way but he saw him. I think the first thing is we have to see we have to ask guys got to have eyes to see people in need. I'm very comfortable uncomfortable no situation so I can Ask God to give me strength to actually at once I see people in need he went to him. Okay that took action that took his feet. Okay, and when he got there, he bandaged his wounds, right? He started showing sympathy that way he put the man on his donkey. Okay next side. He took him to the end. He took care of him there. Now. He took out stew silver coins, and we could stop there A lot of times too. So here's another thing that you can do if somebody and think you know in a tangible way. I probably should start to take out my checkbook or my wallet because I see a need here. I think I'll go home and pray about it, but you don't actually take it says and he gave them to The Innkeeper to do something for somebody but I'm Wheelock the follow-through and I would be guilty of that one too. I would say I'm a procrastinator. So this really rip on Perry sermon right now, but go all the way if you got to take it out give it to somebody to look after him. And then when I return he's going to return there's another verb, he's got to reimburse you for everything you have this guy when he got physically embodied became The Good Samaritan he took care of his his neighbor. He was a neighbor to this man.

So he was a neighbor. He was a neighbor to this man. And I feel that all these things in our society today would inconvenience us. Some of you are naturally bent this way or the opposite of you look for needs and you act on them and you are wonderful people we had snow angels in our church this week. So not the kind of snow angel that we go out there and put our hands back and forth. But we had we had a team of people and it wasn't organized it all we had two or three or four people that I know. I know we had way more but the ones I know of took 3 days and one of them is a teenager took 3 days and just went around and and Doug people out took the snow blower shovel them out and took care of people and they people offered him money to get what money they were just being nice to people with their snow shoveling snow blowers. It's a so many people are bent. I'm trying Do it to to be obedient to God and everything. It doesn't come natural. But I know and I do and I sure feel good about myself. I don't need to tell anybody about it cuz I just lost my reward right but I do feel good about it. So I believe you love with his actions and I think when you think about what that would look like in our society is just take the example of of saying we should have we should be more involved with people we shouldn't be so isolated. So you say. I think what I'd like to do is one thing I got to have somebody over for dinner and my wife and I try to work on this one a lot. She's got Hospitality gift. I don't and so we love to have a special young couples over for dinner. That's where you pastors and just always enjoy young people and talking about them with their kids and their families and stuff and listening to their story to have somebody over for dinner. These are the physical things you have to do. First of all, you have to clean your house. Secondly, you got a plan a meal. Third you got to go shopping for the meal unless you order pizza for if you got to prepare them in the prepare the meal. Then actually have to sit down and have a conversation and listen, which is taxing and takes time. It takes energy. Oh no, I forgot your husband to be on his best behavior in your kids to eat. So everybody's working right now. Yeah, we got really impress these people and they come over and then you got to clean up afterwards and when they leave you just like to look at your husband or you look at your wife and you like it's tiring and I'm we've had people ask us over and I know it's tiring. Let me tell you when we didn't have people asked us over. This is sort of an exhortation. When are when we had four children at home. We didn't get asked over to people's house a lot during those times. You know what I'm talking about when you do ask somebody over with a bunch of kids there. We have bread over once in a while and buy those like a best behaved kids ever. So we're not Heroes we pick the easy kids, but they're just like nobody has has over that often. We'd love that. They're not wine and they understand they got for kids. You know, it takes effort to be embodied in physical love I guess is what I'm saying. If that's not your hospitality gift. By the way. Do what I did yesterday took something out for lunch a cup of coffee with somebody got to listen to a story and got to listen to mine. That was really cool. You don't have to go all that way. There's ways to do it without you know going through all that, but I think it's important that we start connecting with people not being so isolated specially in the body and our neighbors sometimes

I find that God asks me to physically love the the hardest people to not just the easy ones. I'll tell you a story hopefully before we end if I have time about that about my neighbor birdboy. But anyway people some of you heard about bird boy before.

I think our culture totally rebelled against his physicality and I'm there was an article written by a lady by the name of Jen Pollock titled was about young people when she titles it move over sex and drugs. He's the new Vice and it's in Christianity Today in March and I sort of highlighted a couple things out of that article that I thought were really cool. She says according to recent research teams are starting their sex lives a lot later despite shifting cultural norms and new sexual freedoms our youngest and most viral and apparently are apparently having less sex. At least for now sociologist healthy social Society shift, but it's possible that the so-called sex recession offers evidence of a wide disturbing Trend that has nothing to do with sex one that is Particularly in an academic on our cultural moment at this time the trend Bears witness to the ways that we're increasingly finding the embodied life tiresome. And I don't know if you read much about the Japanese culture, but I'm actually have a word for for sex that young people do that mean that actually means tiresome and they're getting more and more away from sexual activity even in a marriage is because it's too tiresome and uses one really good example. She said one apparent fatigue with bodily living extends to other areas as well two years ago. I love this in response to declining cereal sales Market researchers went looking for the answer to why young people were opting out of the convenience food that had fed the parents and their grandparents according to the article researchers found this reason breakfast cereal with a whole bother of bowl and Spoon involved. Too much work. Almost 40% of the military almost 40% of the Millennials surveyed by men tell it surveyed said serial Was An Inconvenient breakfast choice because they had to clean up after eating it. So cereal that has declined. Yeah, no longer willing to bother who do we become and she uses the example of If your hair turns out, I think it's worth reading. Yeah, it says here's here then is the quandary were left with as we continue to reduce the physical burden. It takes to move through the world and the efforts of our lives are often only as effortful as starting our smartphones in the face. Why bother with the home button how will we galvanized the real life or love of God and love of neighbor? She says he's very two things that were our sermons about today. I'm increasingly conscious of the bother of physicality increasingly conscious that there is no way to love others without it my children have an unrelenting need for breakfast lunch and dinner and I am many days are at 8 and I should have to feed them something other than Ramen despite their happy clamor for it at the end of the day long. My husband interrupts my well-laid plans for reading in bed with his puppy eyes of desire to be left alone my aging, There is growing forgetful repeating tired stories over the phone when I'm under a deadline. She looks back we come again at Christmas more recently. A member of the extended family has chosen to die and attending the funeral all 7s will cost us significantly and time and money secretly. I wish for a substitute to serve as our presence Among The Grieving the last thing and Siri, I want to live in reality. I wanted to tax me less and it's a really good read and it goes on and she's a intellectual obviously by the way, she writes. But I think you read all this and we just see that there's the master example of it what it was to be to physically be invited into love and that that was the example of Jesus himself and I thought I would if you don't mind turning with you to Philippians 2 a lot of you know where I'm going already. Jesus gives the ultimate example

by leaving heaven 7/6 + Philippians 2 says starts. It says your attitude should be the same as that of Christ. Jesus who being the very nature God. I did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing taking the very form and nature of a servant being made in human likeliness and being found in appearance as a man the physical man. He humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross and then it goes on to say therefore God how God exalted him with everything to the highest but imagine Jesus. I think my lazy boys comfortable but it might be your couch or your special chair or whatever it is. I'm that we can tell Alexa to turn on our lives. Jesus was in heaven where there was no sin with his father spirit in the angels and everything being perfect and he because of the love of the father obediently came down in love. He came in form of a baby a vulnerable baby the became a child that was obedient to his pay was obedient to his parents are went through puberty that became a man and had crowds pressing him all the time that he would pray all night. He would be he was he was tired. He was hungry. He was totally physical and obviously the ultimate sacrifice going to Calvary. Jesus got my physical in his love for us and he's totally set the ultimate desire for us. So the question is, how do we apply this today? As we sorted wrap this up? I think

There's two parts to to Jesus answer and it was to love your God love the you know, what the question was. How do I get to heaven to love? The Lord your God with all your heart soul and mind there's a real movement among Christians and young Christians today. I don't know something older folks us older folks know that but when did I become that yesterday. There's a movement among young people today and Millennials, by the way, we can complement him to be back into the disciplines. Some of that's why I'm the hems have come back. I'm fasting and prayer memorizing scripture. That's actually starting to come back in the day in the lot of the church is more Liturgical Movement and I just think a lot of that is people want a genuine experience, you know, we've been through a lot of different swings and everything and right now I think when people come to church even they're not looking for a show there looking for a genuine experience. I think one of the things my son said a few years back was when the church or when Christians try to look. Like the world to be cool. We look really stupid. Have you ever had a person add don't nod your head, please. I've had this another one of my faults. Have you ever had a Christian? Non-Christian say to you you did something or said something and they say to you. I thought you were a Christian. That one's a killer. That one's a killer. Yeah, but they wanted Jen they want to see genuine Christianity. And so what does that actually look like? First of all the different disciplines of loving God. It's not legalistic to say that you needed a time of discipline prayer every day and that you need a time of studying the scripture daily with the Lord. That's a lot of ass ate all their you got your list of being a Christian to follow. That's not a list that that is a discipline a physical discipline of denying yourself Pleasures getting off your iPhone. It's so hard and actually concentrate. I find it as a technology has hit me in this world. I find it harder and harder to concentrate in prayer. Especially I can read my Bible and study really well, but I find my mind more distracted than it's ever been because Attention span is shrinking over the over the last decade especially anybody with me on that or I'm like, okay. Yeah, I really get distracted. Yeah, by the way, one technique that helps me as if I just have a piece of paper next to me when I'm praying something comes up and you said something about some about the day or something. I just write it down and I'll get it off my plane. I keep praying but it's harder and harder to focus and concentrate because things are so easy and demanding I'm what's it like to love your neighbor? Who is your neighbor? I think this starts at home. This is the application process anytime I can talk about family. I'm going to talk about family cuz that's sort of how I'm wired. Do you know that in a marriage actions produce feelings? And if you're saying to yourself, like people have said to me before we why don't we feel in love like we used to why don't we feel in love like winter day to where's the spark gone? If you're about 7 to 10 years and your marriage or right on schedule for that question. Where did it go? And what am I answers? I answer young couples a lot is all say actions produce feelings. Are you still doing the things you did when you dated you like all three kids one of those you know, what are you still driving love notes to spouse. Are you still doing creative dates? Are you still dating at all? And I one of the things that Sabine and I have done for 33 years as we've dated once a week. It's been a legalistic thing that we just will not stray from even with the kids. We had some times that date honestly was a babysitter and US walking around the block around a park for 30 minutes we had to get back cuz we didn't really trust the babysitter but that was a date for us, but it was time together holding hands and talking and it was time together for each other what's going on in each other's life and we would come back. You guys know what I'm talking about when the kids are gone. You come back. So in love in this park is reunited, hopefully 99% of the time but you know, those are good times. We also did something once a year. We got away just had a weekend together, but it was camping cuz we're broke or was it was Hawaii because we were doing well and we always got and I'm not doing this to guilt anybody. I'm just telling you that when actions produce feelings you want the feelings you had of a of a great marriage than romance each other like you did when you were dating and it is realistic to do it'll be look different and everybody's marriage and how about At home by 11 I was doing the math cuz I told him I was doing the pyramid the other day and I look to Jesus and said well the way Jesus did it was he disciple to few in those few multiplied to others who X others. Do, you know, we don't have to lose America when it comes to loving our neighbor and being a witness. We don't have to become like Europe. We don't have to die as a church man. Let's not give up and just say that's where we're going to watch Fox news is that the end is coming we don't have to die as a country as far as Christianity. If Christians would just disciple our own encourage our wives and our spouses. Disciple the children that God's given you if you have them for me, it's cool. I got four. If you hadn't done then we're even remember average Americans to and to write so I had four and for us guess what I dated those kids. Also. I dated them when they were two years old back when there was balls in the McDonald's Playland and I go in those gross things that had everything on them that you could ever imagine and I would roll in those things that crawl up that side of my bad knee even back then and go down and just talk and have a cheeseburger or sometimes only a kitty come but we would spend time together and you know, what they were sometimes very early on is a what is a six-month-old note about going on a special date with Dad. I just want to do that for me to start investing in that child. I wasn't as good as my last two. I will tell you that but I was great with the first two and it really showed as they became teenagers teenagers. You know, I gave him that talked at all. You guys should by the way in about when they're about 11 and they say, you know, Dad's like you know, how you think Dad's cool right now and they're like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Dad, and there's going to come a day pretty soon or you don't think Dad's not cool anymore.

Don't know trust me. There's going to come a day when I'm not so cool. And I said and you're going to do things that you probably shouldn't have done and I just like just come tell me don't let me hear about it when that happens. And I'm going to tell you something when you're 20, dad's going to be cool again, but you might go a timer. I'm not so cool. But in reality both my kids that really didn't happen much worth cuz we had that relationship and one time I was this is a cervical store. We bought a business in Hawaiian Kona and my son and I were there to check out the business and we bought it from a couple in the man was an Englishman and he said to me he took me out for breakfast after spending the weekend with him. Just me and him and he said Perry had a 13 year old that goes I noticed you and Trevor Pals is an English guy goes your pals and he said Me and my boys were not pals because what do I do to make a power like him because I wanted to be my pal 2 and it was hard for me to answer that question. Cuz the boy was 13 if you guys know what I'm talking about. I said honestly it happens in years 1 through 7. I am convinced the Communists when we had the Communist regimes used to one of their models was give me a child until he 7 a.m. For life and so much of your power is going to be when it comes to Lovin on your children, cuz they are your neighbor discipling them happens in those first seven years and that relationship and that friendship bills and same with our grandchildren to so I just would encourage you guys who have kids in here that your neighbors are right in your home. I guess that's the point of this love them disciple spend time with them. We can multiply guess what I'm at the point now where I have grandchildren and I'm watching my son take his daughter on special dates and it's so cool that he sent me an Instagram the other day that have You shouldn't her bow and arrow, you know, she's for right and I just think this is cool stuff to see you know, you want to cry when you see it happened to your grandchildren. I'm already praying for my grandchildren's children that they would walk with God change our world for Christ to sum it up. I guess it would be lasted. I told you I'd get back to bird blind because I think it's our neighbors in the people. We work with obvious lie to and those that we see a need but I find last and intend to finish this up sometime. I told you God calls us to love those that are hardest and I think cuz the work he wants to do in my life. Superboy's my neighbor and hate that's a terrible nickname. It's totally carnal for me to call Amber Boyd. Okay, but we moved into our house two years ago and this guy loves to feed birds and he's got massive feeders. I am his best friends are mallard ducks and they come from everywhere and mallard ducks have to get rid of everything they eat and they they had chosen to my house hadn't sold for my my house in Mike's driveway on our sidewalk was their favorite place to poop OK and so I obviously started running them away little did I know that these were his like his kids he loves these things so and so instantly obviously I said, can you please change your bird feeder to the other side of your property and he gave me the lecture that he on the lot before me build the he sold off the land. This was his property. He said these ducks or 15 years. He's not going to quit feed them now to get to feed him right where he's going to feed him. Okay, great. So I started having a bad attitude with him right away would guess what? I'm a duck hunter and a pheasant. I have a black lab. Okay, and he's from a hunting breed on the best Labs iPad. He loves to hunt Ducks. So I start letting Pete out in the front yard when the Ducks would come and GMOs got a few of them and I was getting scary and so I had to train him just did not make bird happy, but I had to trade him to just shoot the Ducks away. So they quit coming on my property and I actually might lab know the difference between a city duck and a duck out in the wilderness and he will chase them. Right in our property lines of bird boy doesn't scream at him. The last time my grandkids were over. My son is with his grandma might with my granddaughter my four-year-old and Sage wet and Chase the Ducks and screamed out of

Add Dad's call me to love bird boy and I start shoveling snow and doing some other stuff and guess what? He is now plowed my snow the other day and we're starting to actually build a Play friendship and I know of just threw my past it's not just bird white. I have a strong personality and I wish I can drive people crazy people can drive me crazy. And every time God is called me to love one of those people. I have been blessed because of it way more. Yeah, I know he'll do that. So who is your neighbor? I guess we you need to answer that question. What would you do? What would your Action Plan B this morning? He's got touched your heart about physically being involved in getting off the couch or doing something a little bit extra doesn't have to be a lot of it could be just going to having coffee with somebody but I think that's the challenge there at the last verse as a and I think you got it right there. It says little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth 1st, John 3:18, let's pray. Lord I Thank you so much for your word. I thank you for the story of the Good Samaritan in God. I pray that we would love you with all our mind all our strength and everything that we have would be disciplined in our personal devotional Life by the enemy and the distractions in our world God that we can focus on just ended intimately loving you more than I could pray because of that love not to get you to love us but because of the love we have for you it would cause our feet to move in action that we would have action verbs of love when it comes to the people you surround us with I just ask this in Jesus name. Amen.