darin

Four-Letter Words

12/21/2019 darin

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

In other words, love God and love others; everything else will fall into place.

You run into trouble when the everything else becomes more important than the love. You’re communicating the message, that to Jesus, the everything else is more important than the love.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

You’re not winning anyone to Jesus talking about the everything else; you’re winning people to Jesus when you love.

I'm so happy to be here!

Sometimes When You Work for the Lord …

12/20/201903/13/2026 darin

My first trip to Russia–or as we said, then, into the former Soviet Union–introduced me to Pastor Nikolai. I learned many lessons from him; stories for another time, perhaps.

In those years immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union, the only cars you saw on Russian roads were these ugly, earth-toned, power-deprived, squared-off, clown-car-sized Russian vehicles called Ladas. Nikolai drove a sleek, starburst-blue, Mitsubishi sports car outfitted with chrome wheels, raised-white-lettered tires, with a fin on the back.

I asked why he didn’t drive a Lada like everyone else.

“Sometimes Darin, when you work for the Lord, you have to go very fast.”

True that.