Interconnected thoughts

Mark 3:33-35 (HCSB)

He replied to them, "Who are My mother and My brothers?"  And looking about at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother."

These verses really motivates us to seek out God's will and do what He's already to us to do ... and not just study and hear His word.  Of course, as we do what He says and constantly commune with Him, we draw closer and know what He wants in a better way.

James 1:22 (HCSB)

But be doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Along the same lines, to be a friend of Jesus', we have to obey His commands.

John 15:14 (HCSB)

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Which (I'm not backing this up with Bible, but I think it's fairly logical.  Feel free to argue if you see something wrong.) I would take to mean that being familiar (like family) with God is more than just following rules, and more of just loving Him and other people.

Matthew 22:37, 39 (HCSB)

He said to him, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Which of course means:

Luke 6:31 (HCSB)

Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.

And we would follow Jesus' example of loving ... and living really.  Otherwise, He wouldn't give us this command:

Matthew 5:48 (HCSB)

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Cuz... you know... all those rules... They're not there so we can get on the "good side" of God.  They're for our own good.  For example the Sabbath:

Mark 2:27 (HCSB)

Then He told them, "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath."

God loved His people so much, He literally commanded them to take a break, so their bodies wouldn't break down.
All He wants is to love us with His unlimited and unconditional love and that we would love Him back.  And you can't very well love someone if you don't obey Him.

Anyways... just some thoughts from Bible reading...

Mizzoria~

Canine Love

Hey - it's Friday, which means you all can spend 15 minutes to watch a touching Youtube video on a couple canines, several felines, an ursine, leporidine, and phasianidine, right?  Yeah, I made up those last 2 words but they relate to the taxonomy of rabbits and pheasants...



And that is why I like dogs better than I do cats...

Anybody else get annoyed that the mother/father (I can't tell) didn't so much as nod her/his head at Benji as a sign of gratitude!?  Frustrating and saddening that Benji had made so many sacrifices for those kits and then had to just leave like that.  I'm positive one of those little guys started tearing up when that happened.

Mizzoria~

loooooooooooooooooooooooong emails

Long emails are the best ... and long snail mail, too... you know the ones, where someone takes the time to babble on and reply to every point you made in your previous email and goes on for pages and pages?  Yeah, those are awesome and I always appreciate and love my friends for doing that... and it's always so much fun to look back at old correspondence and remember the ridiculous inside jokes going on in the past.  You amazing people know who you are.

Hoorah for long emails and long-email-writer-friends!!

Mizzoria~

Define "friend"

An Outside-of-Facebook Friend Blog Post [Link]

I had a bunch of thoughts about friends, like:

-- how I'm not very social, so I don't have many. (lame excuse)

-- online interaction is just not the same as in-person communication.  Yes, it can be an enhancement but not a total replacement.

-- relationships are all about giving.  When you're thinking about how lonely you are, it's because you're not investing in any people and it's all your fault.  No way around it.  Yes, people should be nice to new people, but the same goes for you.  When you're in a new place, everybody is new to you, so you should go and be nice to them.

-- and a few other things that I haven't completely conceptualized, but need construction.

What's your definition of a friend?

Am I the only one to wonder what's the difference between the levels of loving and giving for a(n)
- Acquaintance
- Friend
- Sibling
- Spouse
???

Mizzoria~