The other day I was playing with my buddy, Drew, when his mother told us to play quieter because the baby was asleep. So, being the four year old that he is, he turned to me and shooshed at the top of his lungs. Then he turned back around and began to "tip toe" across the kitchen floor. I put the action in quotes because he wasn't really tip toeing. He was violently stomping- on his toes- completely defeating the purpose of tip toeing.
It was adorable, but it also got me thinking about myself and other Christians. We constantly do stuff because we are "supposed to," but the way we do them makes more racket than if we had just walked.
I believe in doing rituals and carrying on traditions. They work. But we shouldn't be doing things because "that's just what we do." When we act this way, we run the risk of stomping when we are supposed to be tip toeing because we don't truly understand the value tip toeing. Granted, Drew knows that he needs to be quiet, and he has very little practice doing so. Just as I know that I need to not think about myself when I'm preaching and have very little practice doing so. This is not an attack on style or skill.
This is an attack on knowing what tool "so and so" would use, but having no idea how or why.
Let's do these things, but let's know why we are doing them. It'd be a shame if communion became something that wasn't world changing. It'd be a shame if the Lord's prayer became an anthem rambled by many and sung by few. It'd be a shame if baptism had more to do with water or age than death and life. It'd be a shame if crosses became beautiful for any reason other than the fact that one led to life for the world. I'd hate to see people slander their brothers because of their style of tip toeing, stepping, dancing, sliding, or rolling across the kitchen floor.
Since when was it about traditions? I thought it was about joining Jesus Christ in loving the world.
Since when was it even about tip toeing? I thought it was about not waking up a baby.
We have mixed up our "hows" and "whys."
Monday, November 15, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Vomit.
Today I threw up a lot. A whole lot.
Around 4 am I woke up and puked for the first time and continued to do so every thirty minutes until 5 this evening. It was a bummer, but I am never going to be the same.
I could share a lot of what I got out of it, but instead I'll just talk about one part. This part is less personal and more universal.
Every time I threw up, I immediately went to the fridge and drank some water so I would have something else to throw up in thirty minutes. I think I threw up about 95% of the water I drank, but retained enough to keep living. My stomach must have known that water is good. It has been receiving it for its whole life. I don't think that the water was sent back up because it was bad. It was sent up because that was the program my stomach was running.
I must have water to live. But my body was in a mode in which even water was vomited back up.
I must have Truth to live. But my soul is in a mode in which even Truth is vomited back up.
I am blessed to have a Lord who is patient enough to keep pouring it into me, all the while knowing that most of it won't even be used. To Him, life is worth the time it takes. To Him, life is worth the smell of something good being heaved out of something bad.
Our sickness is what keeps the water from our tummies. Not the water. Let's be patient with each other and keep pouring love into hearts- Especially the dehydrated ones.
Around 4 am I woke up and puked for the first time and continued to do so every thirty minutes until 5 this evening. It was a bummer, but I am never going to be the same.
I could share a lot of what I got out of it, but instead I'll just talk about one part. This part is less personal and more universal.
Every time I threw up, I immediately went to the fridge and drank some water so I would have something else to throw up in thirty minutes. I think I threw up about 95% of the water I drank, but retained enough to keep living. My stomach must have known that water is good. It has been receiving it for its whole life. I don't think that the water was sent back up because it was bad. It was sent up because that was the program my stomach was running.
I must have water to live. But my body was in a mode in which even water was vomited back up.
I must have Truth to live. But my soul is in a mode in which even Truth is vomited back up.
I am blessed to have a Lord who is patient enough to keep pouring it into me, all the while knowing that most of it won't even be used. To Him, life is worth the time it takes. To Him, life is worth the smell of something good being heaved out of something bad.
Our sickness is what keeps the water from our tummies. Not the water. Let's be patient with each other and keep pouring love into hearts- Especially the dehydrated ones.
Monday, October 18, 2010
"The Heathens Need us because we are not them," is a false attitude: We don't build a well to get water that isn't already there!
(In a shouting voice)
I am sick of people (Myself included) saying, "I need to just be Jesus to them."
As if Jesus isn't being Jesus to them! Our job is to a part of His body, not for us to think that He is a part of ours!
And who are we to act like we are the ones He died for because we have joined Him? He died for us when we were sinners, not when we accepted Him!
He tells us very clearly in Matthew 25 that when we feed the hungry, we feed Him. When we clothe the naked, we clothe Him. When we serve the broken we are serving Him! Him! He is them, not exclusively us!
When one builds a well, he doesn't build it to create new water. He builds it to bring out the water that is already there. The water that has been there for years-long before the builder of the well was conceived.
The Spirit is in these people and we are to stimulate it, to tap into the underground river that violently awaits. Not talk to them out of a superiority as if we have something they don't.
Yes we are salt and yes we are light. But not in and of ourselves. We are because He is, and He is in them.
Let us not forget that we are in desperate need of a savior! I am judgmental. I avoid people who need me to love them. I run away from the Lord when he tries to comfort and confront me. I am addicted and afflicted. I sow hatred as well as love. I am a whore who constantly sells my God created beauty in attempt to fit in or be wanted by those who are doing exactly the same. It is clearly not me that does the illuminating! It is Christ in me!!!
I am blessed because I am the poor in spirit. I am blessed because I am thirsty for righteousness. I am blessed because I am in need of a savior and He knows that better than I do. I am blessed because He went to extreme measures- NOT ME! I am not blessed because I am disciplined or smart or a middle class American. I am not blessed because I go to a Christian College or because people think I'm something special. I am not blessed because I haven't starved before. I am blessed because the Lord of the universe has seen me flailing around in my own blood and he hurt for me and plucked me out of this pit!
We must see ourselves in the broken, for we are the broken. He is in them. Let's see that Jesus tells the truth. Let's see that they are Jesus to us! If Jesus is in the broken and we do not love the broken, we do not love Jesus or ourselves. Rules and culture can no longer separate people who love. We are Christ to them and they to us.
The United States of America is not the light of the world. We must stop thinking with this mentality. Jesus Christ and his followers are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Some of the followers live in this place and many live in the other places. Let us not forget.
I am sick of people (Myself included) saying, "I need to just be Jesus to them."
As if Jesus isn't being Jesus to them! Our job is to a part of His body, not for us to think that He is a part of ours!
And who are we to act like we are the ones He died for because we have joined Him? He died for us when we were sinners, not when we accepted Him!
He tells us very clearly in Matthew 25 that when we feed the hungry, we feed Him. When we clothe the naked, we clothe Him. When we serve the broken we are serving Him! Him! He is them, not exclusively us!
When one builds a well, he doesn't build it to create new water. He builds it to bring out the water that is already there. The water that has been there for years-long before the builder of the well was conceived.
The Spirit is in these people and we are to stimulate it, to tap into the underground river that violently awaits. Not talk to them out of a superiority as if we have something they don't.
Yes we are salt and yes we are light. But not in and of ourselves. We are because He is, and He is in them.
Let us not forget that we are in desperate need of a savior! I am judgmental. I avoid people who need me to love them. I run away from the Lord when he tries to comfort and confront me. I am addicted and afflicted. I sow hatred as well as love. I am a whore who constantly sells my God created beauty in attempt to fit in or be wanted by those who are doing exactly the same. It is clearly not me that does the illuminating! It is Christ in me!!!
I am blessed because I am the poor in spirit. I am blessed because I am thirsty for righteousness. I am blessed because I am in need of a savior and He knows that better than I do. I am blessed because He went to extreme measures- NOT ME! I am not blessed because I am disciplined or smart or a middle class American. I am not blessed because I go to a Christian College or because people think I'm something special. I am not blessed because I haven't starved before. I am blessed because the Lord of the universe has seen me flailing around in my own blood and he hurt for me and plucked me out of this pit!
We must see ourselves in the broken, for we are the broken. He is in them. Let's see that Jesus tells the truth. Let's see that they are Jesus to us! If Jesus is in the broken and we do not love the broken, we do not love Jesus or ourselves. Rules and culture can no longer separate people who love. We are Christ to them and they to us.
The United States of America is not the light of the world. We must stop thinking with this mentality. Jesus Christ and his followers are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Some of the followers live in this place and many live in the other places. Let us not forget.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Little black fingers
Something that is really refreshing about truth is that each and every time we meet, it's as if we had never met before.
Tonight was monumental for me. My brother, Desean, was sitting in my lap and it took everything I had to cowboy up and not cry. He is about two, talking, but not with words yet. He is one of the most joyful human beings I know and I'm completely in love with him. We played for about forty minutes, but what moved me took about five seconds. He was putting his tiny fingers in my ring and playing with my bracelets when he opened his hand completely and grabbed onto my pointer finger. Time stood still as I studied all of the tiny joints and bones that gripped mine. His black hand squeezed my white finger like mine had done to many when I was his age. I felt the biological sameness and saw it more clearer than ever. Our hearts were completely connected and I lost it. My heart got hot and I felt water rush into position in my tear ducts. The intimacy was worth dying for.
There's no way I could put this experience into words. I'm trying, but as I reread this I see that it's just words. I know you know that we are equal. That's not what this is about. Equality has absolutely nothing to do with this. It used to, but now it can't. This isn't a "Well God loves them too." kind of issue. In the kingdom we are past that. We are not separate and equal, we are one and loved.
I will be completely honest and tell you that I don't believe in my self enough. My confidence as a songwriter is about as low as it could be. I throw away my poetry.(That rhymed) But I need to post this poem. I'm not seeking anything from you- finally, I'm free from that! This poem is from my heart. No matter how basic, how bad, how cheesy, how whatever it is, this is what it is and I'm satisfied. This paragraph is more for me than you, unless you can relate. If you can, just be who you freaking are. If your anything but that and accepted, wake up, it's not even you they are accepting. I'd rather be me and persecuted than fake and fit in. That's enough. The message of this poem is the one we need to hear.
Little Black Fingers
Little black fingers wrap around mine
gripping tight, like a desperate vine
Little wet eyes innocent shine
Look strait past mine.
Through my mind, into my heart
past the places that have fallen apart
past all of the muck, all the grime
all this racist bullshit built up over time.
Whoa to my ignorant past
when self preservation was my only task
my life set to wither and burn like a field of grass
now my brother is first, I'm last.
This boy has found with his youth
this thing in my heart, this undeniable truth
deep inside he had to dive
to find this light I can no longer hide.
Our fingers one, like our soul and mind
the supernatural bond defying all space and time
all my life I'll leave behind
to hold this boy, just one more time.
A man is a man, a boy a boy.
A breath is a breath, life yields joy.
A mind is a mind, a heart a heart.
We can no longer be split apart!
These walls are GONE! Can't you see?!
His heart is with mine, his heart is part of me.
This boy is my brother, quite literally.
We're the resurrected body, this I believe.
Tonight was monumental for me. My brother, Desean, was sitting in my lap and it took everything I had to cowboy up and not cry. He is about two, talking, but not with words yet. He is one of the most joyful human beings I know and I'm completely in love with him. We played for about forty minutes, but what moved me took about five seconds. He was putting his tiny fingers in my ring and playing with my bracelets when he opened his hand completely and grabbed onto my pointer finger. Time stood still as I studied all of the tiny joints and bones that gripped mine. His black hand squeezed my white finger like mine had done to many when I was his age. I felt the biological sameness and saw it more clearer than ever. Our hearts were completely connected and I lost it. My heart got hot and I felt water rush into position in my tear ducts. The intimacy was worth dying for.
There's no way I could put this experience into words. I'm trying, but as I reread this I see that it's just words. I know you know that we are equal. That's not what this is about. Equality has absolutely nothing to do with this. It used to, but now it can't. This isn't a "Well God loves them too." kind of issue. In the kingdom we are past that. We are not separate and equal, we are one and loved.
I will be completely honest and tell you that I don't believe in my self enough. My confidence as a songwriter is about as low as it could be. I throw away my poetry.(That rhymed) But I need to post this poem. I'm not seeking anything from you- finally, I'm free from that! This poem is from my heart. No matter how basic, how bad, how cheesy, how whatever it is, this is what it is and I'm satisfied. This paragraph is more for me than you, unless you can relate. If you can, just be who you freaking are. If your anything but that and accepted, wake up, it's not even you they are accepting. I'd rather be me and persecuted than fake and fit in. That's enough. The message of this poem is the one we need to hear.
Little Black Fingers
Little black fingers wrap around mine
gripping tight, like a desperate vine
Little wet eyes innocent shine
Look strait past mine.
Through my mind, into my heart
past the places that have fallen apart
past all of the muck, all the grime
all this racist bullshit built up over time.
Whoa to my ignorant past
when self preservation was my only task
my life set to wither and burn like a field of grass
now my brother is first, I'm last.
This boy has found with his youth
this thing in my heart, this undeniable truth
deep inside he had to dive
to find this light I can no longer hide.
Our fingers one, like our soul and mind
the supernatural bond defying all space and time
all my life I'll leave behind
to hold this boy, just one more time.
A man is a man, a boy a boy.
A breath is a breath, life yields joy.
A mind is a mind, a heart a heart.
We can no longer be split apart!
These walls are GONE! Can't you see?!
His heart is with mine, his heart is part of me.
This boy is my brother, quite literally.
We're the resurrected body, this I believe.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Open your eyes.
I can give nothing that I have not first received.
It is in prayer that we receive what the Lord has to give us. He has everything to give us, even Himself. If we receive His Spirit, which we have if we claim to be a Christ follower, we have the very presence of the God who created all things living within us. This truth leaves very little room for limits of any sort.
In receiving, we are enabling ourselves to give. In giving, we are enabling ourselves and others to know what love is. Through Christ and through Him alone I am able to love. I am able to give my life to other people, that He would be known.
When we lay hands on each other in prayer, is it different than when we don't? If not, then why do we do it? I am learning that when one lays hands on me, if I choose to receive what the Lord is giving me through them, I will receive. I think that's one reason that Jesus always says, "Your faith has healed you..." For how could one be healed if they weren't willing to be?
Faith for me is the trust that enables me to fully open myself, to be completely willing to change, and it is completely dependent on and rooted in the truth that there is no threat and no condemnation, no limit of power, nothing but grace, love and mercy that this God is offering.
Without this trust, I can not fully open up. If I can't fully open up, I can not receive.
When I pray, I should have a heart who is open to receive what the Lord has to give me. It is much like Eyes. When they are open, they are able to receive the light that is shining in our world. It is this reception that enables our brain to recreate and make sense of the world around us.
If we open the eyes of our hearts, we are positioning our hearts for reception of the light. Jesus Christ is this light and it is only through Him that we are able to see what is true.
Seeing and receiving are one in the same.
Let us pray with an intent to receive that is rooted in our trust that what He has to give is worth the risk of being open and vulnerable. He has given us no reason to doubt that He is good. Not one. If you have one, please let me know so I can ask Him about it. I find that when I think He's doing bad to me, I am actually just looking at His work with my eyes closed. (Everyone remembers the slimy spaghetti noodles in a box at halloween time that were labeled "Brains." Of course they are brains when you can't see them!)
Prayer and receiving is seeing. Seeing the Lord work, and yes, I mean healing by touch and all that stuff, is living. Let us live.
Let us let Him open our eyes to see His love working.
It is in prayer that we receive what the Lord has to give us. He has everything to give us, even Himself. If we receive His Spirit, which we have if we claim to be a Christ follower, we have the very presence of the God who created all things living within us. This truth leaves very little room for limits of any sort.
In receiving, we are enabling ourselves to give. In giving, we are enabling ourselves and others to know what love is. Through Christ and through Him alone I am able to love. I am able to give my life to other people, that He would be known.
When we lay hands on each other in prayer, is it different than when we don't? If not, then why do we do it? I am learning that when one lays hands on me, if I choose to receive what the Lord is giving me through them, I will receive. I think that's one reason that Jesus always says, "Your faith has healed you..." For how could one be healed if they weren't willing to be?
Faith for me is the trust that enables me to fully open myself, to be completely willing to change, and it is completely dependent on and rooted in the truth that there is no threat and no condemnation, no limit of power, nothing but grace, love and mercy that this God is offering.
Without this trust, I can not fully open up. If I can't fully open up, I can not receive.
When I pray, I should have a heart who is open to receive what the Lord has to give me. It is much like Eyes. When they are open, they are able to receive the light that is shining in our world. It is this reception that enables our brain to recreate and make sense of the world around us.
If we open the eyes of our hearts, we are positioning our hearts for reception of the light. Jesus Christ is this light and it is only through Him that we are able to see what is true.
Seeing and receiving are one in the same.
Let us pray with an intent to receive that is rooted in our trust that what He has to give is worth the risk of being open and vulnerable. He has given us no reason to doubt that He is good. Not one. If you have one, please let me know so I can ask Him about it. I find that when I think He's doing bad to me, I am actually just looking at His work with my eyes closed. (Everyone remembers the slimy spaghetti noodles in a box at halloween time that were labeled "Brains." Of course they are brains when you can't see them!)
Prayer and receiving is seeing. Seeing the Lord work, and yes, I mean healing by touch and all that stuff, is living. Let us live.
Let us let Him open our eyes to see His love working.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Music comes from a musician, not a piece of paper.
This morning I stood in chapel with many people who love the Lord. We were singing a beautiful song that everyone knew very well and things were great. Then we sang a line that made me want to curl up in a ball and hide from all of the people who would ever recognize me if they saw me in heaven.
"And we, the redeemed, shall be strong,
In purpose and unity;"
These were the words. Not so bad when you read them. They are so good and filled with truth. But when I sang them as if I believed them, I almost felt the Lord look at me with eyes that left me knowing one thing: I don't know what am talking about.
As I sang this verse, I quickly realized that within the ten minutes I had been in this room that was full of Christians, I had judged each and every one, harshly. I had done all I could to separate myself from them- even the ones I know and deeply love as family. I had destroyed them without even giving them a chance. They had no chance and I murdered them all.
I've been wrestling with my hypocrisy all day long and have been furious with myself. I constantly work to rebel against my father, leaving nothing but broken lives behind me. This event was seemingly out of my control. It wasn't like when I slip up and look at a girl the wrong way, that's, (to a certain extent), something I can fight. But the very nature of my heart! How can I fight such a monster?! It was like a violent flood from underground compared to the sprinkling rain of my lust. I would have lost even if it had occurred to me that fighting it was a possibility.
I can't fight my sinful heart. Well, I guess I can, but I will always lose. Christ fights my sin ,when I let Him, and He always wins. If this wasn't true, His whole shebang would have been a complete waste of life, wood, and nails.
What I am realizing is that a heart issue is a heart issue. For me to use my mouth and brain to inhale and exhale truth is great, but incredibly limited and the intimacy is severely stunted. I have been living this stuff out and seeing true growth and life, but my heart is still corrupt- So corrupt that as my mind and lips testify to the truth, it perfectly retaliates with a much stronger blow. The movements of the heart are far superior to those of any other part of this human. If this weren't true, then being adulterous for looking at a woman lustfully would sound like a joke. It is a joke to those of us who don't give our hearts to the Lord.
We must give it to Him. All of it. I have "given Him all of it," with my mouth and my mind, but my heart has not stopped to listen. My mind and lips have spoken, but it is not until my heart can listen to the words of The God, that it will truly speak.
My heart is not changed by asking for it. It is changed by listening to Him. He speaks perfect words to it and it must begin to let them seep deep into the cracks before any life is lived. His truth is like a seed that must be planted beneath the surface before it could ever grow into something relevant to anyone or thing above the ground.
The truth that He has been speaking to me is the best news ever thought. I am set free from this. I have life when I let Him.
My heart is like an instrument and my mind is mere sheet music. You can write notes on a page all day long, but it's nothing until the musician picks up an instrument. The best musicians don't even use the sheet music anyway, and society thinks they're jazz music is crazy until they finally realize that John Coltrane was a genius!
The musician is waiting very, very patiently.
He's not patient because the issue is not urgent in his eyes. He is patient because He knows music is in the space between the notes more than in the notes themselves. He is patient because He knows very well that redemption is worth every, single moment, breath, word, and life it takes.
"And we, the redeemed, shall be strong,
In purpose and unity;"
These were the words. Not so bad when you read them. They are so good and filled with truth. But when I sang them as if I believed them, I almost felt the Lord look at me with eyes that left me knowing one thing: I don't know what am talking about.
As I sang this verse, I quickly realized that within the ten minutes I had been in this room that was full of Christians, I had judged each and every one, harshly. I had done all I could to separate myself from them- even the ones I know and deeply love as family. I had destroyed them without even giving them a chance. They had no chance and I murdered them all.
I've been wrestling with my hypocrisy all day long and have been furious with myself. I constantly work to rebel against my father, leaving nothing but broken lives behind me. This event was seemingly out of my control. It wasn't like when I slip up and look at a girl the wrong way, that's, (to a certain extent), something I can fight. But the very nature of my heart! How can I fight such a monster?! It was like a violent flood from underground compared to the sprinkling rain of my lust. I would have lost even if it had occurred to me that fighting it was a possibility.
I can't fight my sinful heart. Well, I guess I can, but I will always lose. Christ fights my sin ,when I let Him, and He always wins. If this wasn't true, His whole shebang would have been a complete waste of life, wood, and nails.
What I am realizing is that a heart issue is a heart issue. For me to use my mouth and brain to inhale and exhale truth is great, but incredibly limited and the intimacy is severely stunted. I have been living this stuff out and seeing true growth and life, but my heart is still corrupt- So corrupt that as my mind and lips testify to the truth, it perfectly retaliates with a much stronger blow. The movements of the heart are far superior to those of any other part of this human. If this weren't true, then being adulterous for looking at a woman lustfully would sound like a joke. It is a joke to those of us who don't give our hearts to the Lord.
We must give it to Him. All of it. I have "given Him all of it," with my mouth and my mind, but my heart has not stopped to listen. My mind and lips have spoken, but it is not until my heart can listen to the words of The God, that it will truly speak.
My heart is not changed by asking for it. It is changed by listening to Him. He speaks perfect words to it and it must begin to let them seep deep into the cracks before any life is lived. His truth is like a seed that must be planted beneath the surface before it could ever grow into something relevant to anyone or thing above the ground.
The truth that He has been speaking to me is the best news ever thought. I am set free from this. I have life when I let Him.
My heart is like an instrument and my mind is mere sheet music. You can write notes on a page all day long, but it's nothing until the musician picks up an instrument. The best musicians don't even use the sheet music anyway, and society thinks they're jazz music is crazy until they finally realize that John Coltrane was a genius!
The musician is waiting very, very patiently.
He's not patient because the issue is not urgent in his eyes. He is patient because He knows music is in the space between the notes more than in the notes themselves. He is patient because He knows very well that redemption is worth every, single moment, breath, word, and life it takes.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Stop.
After you read this, stop.
Don't go back to facebook or anything else.
Find a small place and sit. Alone.
Be quiet and let the silence make you uncomfortable.
Let the silence draw your worries from your heart and mind. Let the silence facilitate your iniquity like water does a drop of red dye.
Let yourself be exposed and quiet for just one minute.
Find the Lord in silence. Be real with yourself and be real with Him and let Him be real with you.
We have forgotten that water is not a product of a water bottle, cup, spigot, etc. Let's enjoy the water at the source.
Be still and know that He is God.(Psalm 46.10)
Don't go back to facebook or anything else.
Find a small place and sit. Alone.
Be quiet and let the silence make you uncomfortable.
Let the silence draw your worries from your heart and mind. Let the silence facilitate your iniquity like water does a drop of red dye.
Let yourself be exposed and quiet for just one minute.
Find the Lord in silence. Be real with yourself and be real with Him and let Him be real with you.
We have forgotten that water is not a product of a water bottle, cup, spigot, etc. Let's enjoy the water at the source.
Be still and know that He is God.(Psalm 46.10)
Friday, July 30, 2010
Ughhh...
Watch this video before you read any more.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/07/29/ricks.burn.koran.cnn?iref=allsearch
I could go on and on about the things that bother me in this video, but I will choose to abstain. Most of my rant would do more damage than good, so I will touch on one thing, as it seems to be a hill for me to die on.
We as Christians are not here to "rid the world of evil." We are not here to hate people who we think are wrong and we are not here to fight people who appear to not like us. (When we do things like this on or off TV , I don't think anyone likes us.)
We are here to love the world, not to condemn it.
The world sees this preacher and thinks that we are all just like him as this preacher sees a few activists and thinks a whole religion is like them. If there's a place in Christ's message that says to burn the other guys' book because it's wrong and ours isn't, please point it out. If there's a place that says to love those who don't think like us, or "enemies," please point it out. I know that the latter shows up often enough that it makes me uncomfortable.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/07/29/ricks.burn.koran.cnn?iref=allsearch
I could go on and on about the things that bother me in this video, but I will choose to abstain. Most of my rant would do more damage than good, so I will touch on one thing, as it seems to be a hill for me to die on.
We as Christians are not here to "rid the world of evil." We are not here to hate people who we think are wrong and we are not here to fight people who appear to not like us. (When we do things like this on or off TV , I don't think anyone likes us.)
We are here to love the world, not to condemn it.
The world sees this preacher and thinks that we are all just like him as this preacher sees a few activists and thinks a whole religion is like them. If there's a place in Christ's message that says to burn the other guys' book because it's wrong and ours isn't, please point it out. If there's a place that says to love those who don't think like us, or "enemies," please point it out. I know that the latter shows up often enough that it makes me uncomfortable.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
What are we supposed to be doing?
Sometimes when everyone is running in the same direction, a few should stop and look around to see where they are. People move in packs and it's good for the leaders to be looking at the terrain.
I've been watching church people and the rest of the world quite closely. The two groups look very similar and it concerns me. The church has begun to persecute the world, when Christ said the other would be true.
We have let church become about moral code. It is very focussed on following rules and this is not an inviting way to be. We have gotten very good at building walls between ourselves and the world that do nothing but exclude them from our lives. We have decided that they are bad, and therefore must be kept away from us. It only makes sence that we act the way we do, for the culture in which we live has taught us to be this way. We are more influenced by the world we are trying to push away than we are by the love we should be pursuing.
As a culture, we run away from things instead of to them. What I mean is that when we realize that fast food makes us fat, instead of stopping with the fast food, we paint the signs green and change the names of the crap we like to eat. Instead of solving a problem, we mask it. We should instead learn to eat well. The pursuit of a solution not only defeats the enemy of the situation, but brings us into the shelter of the solution.
Instead of running away from the darkness, we should run to the light. If we run to light, darkness will be lost. But if we run from darkness, we will have our eyes behind us and therefore will never find the light. We usually just run in circles if we have no light to look at. When we are caught in rain, we spend very little time running from the rain. We spend all of our time running to a place of cover(Hmm... There's an idea). Luckily, the cover has run to us.
For us to make it about the rules we do or do not follow is for us to take the control into our own hands. Yes, rules are good, but good Lord, so are parents if they do their job right! But look at the damage of bad parenting! We have made Christianity all about being right instead of about knowing Christ. We have made it about converting the world to our system and when they don't conform, we work to prove that they should be killed or at least persecuted and ridiculed. This is not what Christ was like! He spent very little time with the people who had all the rules down.(Pharisees)
When we make our lives about what rules we do or don't follow, we teach ourselves to seek life in our own efforts. This mocks the life that Christ offers us. It is not about what we can do, but about what HE has done and is doing. What if God was actually viewed as infinite? What if we actually acted like we were never going to be able to comprehend Him? I think it'd be easier to let go of ourselves and grab onto Him.
When we come before the throne and are humble because of how great HE is, instead of because it's what we are supposed to do, we will grow. When we can realize that we are not great and that it is literally impossible to achieve true, life by way of our own efforts, we will grow. When we see that life is a gift and not a paycheck, we will grow.
Life is given to those who follow Jesus Christ. It only makes since that this would be true because HE is headed to a place that only HE knows how to get to. If you're with Him, you'll end up there, if not, I hope you find light in your dark circles.
When you realize that your life is not about what you do, but about who you belong to, you will find yourself in such a state of pure joy that can only be found in eternal liberation, that human walls will be forgotten. You will find that what you do is no longer what you are. While it is true that I am a white, American, college kid who plays guitar, these are mere pebbles to the planet of my identity as God's child. We must find ourselves and each other in Him before anything else. For us to define ourselves or others by any other thing is for us to make a pebble into a planet.
He has offered it to all of us, separating Himself from no one, even when I work to separate myself from Him. I am called to do the same.
I am a child of God by His grace and mercy, not by my own efforts or understanding. I believe that it is the same for you. If you disagree, prove it.
Let's love everyone as if we believed that HE does.
I've been watching church people and the rest of the world quite closely. The two groups look very similar and it concerns me. The church has begun to persecute the world, when Christ said the other would be true.
We have let church become about moral code. It is very focussed on following rules and this is not an inviting way to be. We have gotten very good at building walls between ourselves and the world that do nothing but exclude them from our lives. We have decided that they are bad, and therefore must be kept away from us. It only makes sence that we act the way we do, for the culture in which we live has taught us to be this way. We are more influenced by the world we are trying to push away than we are by the love we should be pursuing.
As a culture, we run away from things instead of to them. What I mean is that when we realize that fast food makes us fat, instead of stopping with the fast food, we paint the signs green and change the names of the crap we like to eat. Instead of solving a problem, we mask it. We should instead learn to eat well. The pursuit of a solution not only defeats the enemy of the situation, but brings us into the shelter of the solution.
Instead of running away from the darkness, we should run to the light. If we run to light, darkness will be lost. But if we run from darkness, we will have our eyes behind us and therefore will never find the light. We usually just run in circles if we have no light to look at. When we are caught in rain, we spend very little time running from the rain. We spend all of our time running to a place of cover(Hmm... There's an idea). Luckily, the cover has run to us.
For us to make it about the rules we do or do not follow is for us to take the control into our own hands. Yes, rules are good, but good Lord, so are parents if they do their job right! But look at the damage of bad parenting! We have made Christianity all about being right instead of about knowing Christ. We have made it about converting the world to our system and when they don't conform, we work to prove that they should be killed or at least persecuted and ridiculed. This is not what Christ was like! He spent very little time with the people who had all the rules down.(Pharisees)
When we make our lives about what rules we do or don't follow, we teach ourselves to seek life in our own efforts. This mocks the life that Christ offers us. It is not about what we can do, but about what HE has done and is doing. What if God was actually viewed as infinite? What if we actually acted like we were never going to be able to comprehend Him? I think it'd be easier to let go of ourselves and grab onto Him.
When we come before the throne and are humble because of how great HE is, instead of because it's what we are supposed to do, we will grow. When we can realize that we are not great and that it is literally impossible to achieve true, life by way of our own efforts, we will grow. When we see that life is a gift and not a paycheck, we will grow.
Life is given to those who follow Jesus Christ. It only makes since that this would be true because HE is headed to a place that only HE knows how to get to. If you're with Him, you'll end up there, if not, I hope you find light in your dark circles.
When you realize that your life is not about what you do, but about who you belong to, you will find yourself in such a state of pure joy that can only be found in eternal liberation, that human walls will be forgotten. You will find that what you do is no longer what you are. While it is true that I am a white, American, college kid who plays guitar, these are mere pebbles to the planet of my identity as God's child. We must find ourselves and each other in Him before anything else. For us to define ourselves or others by any other thing is for us to make a pebble into a planet.
He has offered it to all of us, separating Himself from no one, even when I work to separate myself from Him. I am called to do the same.
I am a child of God by His grace and mercy, not by my own efforts or understanding. I believe that it is the same for you. If you disagree, prove it.
Let's love everyone as if we believed that HE does.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Erosion.
I've been to dry places that have lines that show that water has been there before.
I've sat in a seat that had dents in it that perfectly fit the butt of the person who used it for many years before me.
My brother's slip ons that are just like my slip ons, don't fit my feet; they are shaped to his.
There are people who smile so often and so genuinely that when they're not smiling, they have cracks by their eyes that tell you, "smiles happen here often."
One of my mentors worships so often that his body has tuned into a temple where lots of worship clearly happens. His eyes look like they spend a lot of time seeking. His voice sounds like it spends a lot of time thanking. His back looks like it spends a lot of time bowing. His mind thinks like it spends a lot of time receiving. His heart beats like it is an instrument. His arms look like they spend a lot of time in the air.
We will become worshipping beings when we worship so much that it becomes who we are, even when it's who we're not.
We are Christ's.
Do we look like it yet?
If the river in the grand canyon went away, we'd still clearly see that it single handedly created the canyon itself. The coolest part is that the river who is carving me will never, ever, dry up. That's the nature of living water. It erodes the flesh of the earth to create an absence of earthly matter that is, in itself, the object of beauty and the living proof of the true and responsible, living organism.
I've sat in a seat that had dents in it that perfectly fit the butt of the person who used it for many years before me.
My brother's slip ons that are just like my slip ons, don't fit my feet; they are shaped to his.
There are people who smile so often and so genuinely that when they're not smiling, they have cracks by their eyes that tell you, "smiles happen here often."
One of my mentors worships so often that his body has tuned into a temple where lots of worship clearly happens. His eyes look like they spend a lot of time seeking. His voice sounds like it spends a lot of time thanking. His back looks like it spends a lot of time bowing. His mind thinks like it spends a lot of time receiving. His heart beats like it is an instrument. His arms look like they spend a lot of time in the air.
We will become worshipping beings when we worship so much that it becomes who we are, even when it's who we're not.
We are Christ's.
Do we look like it yet?
If the river in the grand canyon went away, we'd still clearly see that it single handedly created the canyon itself. The coolest part is that the river who is carving me will never, ever, dry up. That's the nature of living water. It erodes the flesh of the earth to create an absence of earthly matter that is, in itself, the object of beauty and the living proof of the true and responsible, living organism.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Family.
My heart is broken.
It's really good though.
Something about the absolute presence of my Savior in the midst of a storm is far greater than any presence on a sunny day.
We don't deserve this love,
but oh man,
let's grab onto it.
Life is worth sharing.
It's really good though.
Something about the absolute presence of my Savior in the midst of a storm is far greater than any presence on a sunny day.
We don't deserve this love,
but oh man,
let's grab onto it.
Life is worth sharing.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
He loved us first.
Have you ever been the first lover?
What I mean is, have you ever loved someone completely before they loved you?
If you are a parent, you can probably say yes.
I am learning about loving someone first and experiencing the tenderness that comes with it.
It's remarkably painful, but does not destroy hope and life as most pain does. Pain is often the foreshadow to, or symptom of, something worse than the pain itself. For example, when I have a masquito bite, it itches because there is a substance that has been injected into my skin and my body knows that it needs to be removed. My body urgently responds with fingernails to try and uncover the alien substance.
But the pain I am talking of is good pain. It is the kind that I think God feels often. I just sat in my room alone for a while because I didn't want to be around anyone. I was feeling a pain in my chest because there's a person who I know feels less for me than I do for them.
The good thing that this pain has taught me is that my love is for the other person more than it is for me. Most of the people I have deeply fallen in love with had been showing me that they loved me more than I loved them. It's easy to love those who clearly love you, but to love those who don't, calls for supernatural assistance.
As I prayed and thought about things, I began to remember the scriptures about how Love is not that we loved God, but that he loved us. This now makes more since than ever before.
When we love first, we are risking all that we have. We are putting our entire heart out there and hoping that it is met with the same kind of offering. But often, humans respond to our offering with things that look nothing like hearts and they pierce ours. But God will never do this. God has offered all that he is- FIRST- and we responded with nails. We jammed nails into the deepest cavities of God's heart and his blood was spilled. He has forgiven us for the things we do to his heart, all that we may give him ours.
I am learning to give him what I have, and I am so glad that he is able to take the bad stuff. When I offer my heart to him, he receives something covered in shrapnel and filled with poison. He is able to clean out the things that will not mix with his heart and make my heart one with his. It's like when I have a big ball of clean play dough and my buddy, Drew has a small one with rocks and dirt mixed into it. I have learned to clean out the dirt before pressing the mush together to form one ball. I don't make Drew clean it before returning it to me. But I do help him understand how to keep dirt from ever entering it.
If we learn to offer our hearts only to God, we will then see our hearts offered to others. This is because God is a God who loves his people and loves to give himself to them. When we are a part of his heart, and he gives his heart to others, we are given to others. We will certainly still be pierced, maybe even more than before, but at least we get to be pierced with God instead of away from him. We are told to take up our cross. Let's not be surprised when we see what it is used for.
When we meet with Jesus, we love. When we love, we give. When we give, we risk pain, that an other may be delivered from their own. When I nail a nail into Christ's heart, I no longer have the nail.
God is waiting in his room
for his people to realize
that He is in love with them.
Let's go together to become one with him and therefore each other.
Let's respond to His holy offering with our broken one.
Psalm 51.17
(Read all of Psalm 51, it's ridiculously good.)
What I mean is, have you ever loved someone completely before they loved you?
If you are a parent, you can probably say yes.
I am learning about loving someone first and experiencing the tenderness that comes with it.
It's remarkably painful, but does not destroy hope and life as most pain does. Pain is often the foreshadow to, or symptom of, something worse than the pain itself. For example, when I have a masquito bite, it itches because there is a substance that has been injected into my skin and my body knows that it needs to be removed. My body urgently responds with fingernails to try and uncover the alien substance.
But the pain I am talking of is good pain. It is the kind that I think God feels often. I just sat in my room alone for a while because I didn't want to be around anyone. I was feeling a pain in my chest because there's a person who I know feels less for me than I do for them.
The good thing that this pain has taught me is that my love is for the other person more than it is for me. Most of the people I have deeply fallen in love with had been showing me that they loved me more than I loved them. It's easy to love those who clearly love you, but to love those who don't, calls for supernatural assistance.
As I prayed and thought about things, I began to remember the scriptures about how Love is not that we loved God, but that he loved us. This now makes more since than ever before.
When we love first, we are risking all that we have. We are putting our entire heart out there and hoping that it is met with the same kind of offering. But often, humans respond to our offering with things that look nothing like hearts and they pierce ours. But God will never do this. God has offered all that he is- FIRST- and we responded with nails. We jammed nails into the deepest cavities of God's heart and his blood was spilled. He has forgiven us for the things we do to his heart, all that we may give him ours.
I am learning to give him what I have, and I am so glad that he is able to take the bad stuff. When I offer my heart to him, he receives something covered in shrapnel and filled with poison. He is able to clean out the things that will not mix with his heart and make my heart one with his. It's like when I have a big ball of clean play dough and my buddy, Drew has a small one with rocks and dirt mixed into it. I have learned to clean out the dirt before pressing the mush together to form one ball. I don't make Drew clean it before returning it to me. But I do help him understand how to keep dirt from ever entering it.
If we learn to offer our hearts only to God, we will then see our hearts offered to others. This is because God is a God who loves his people and loves to give himself to them. When we are a part of his heart, and he gives his heart to others, we are given to others. We will certainly still be pierced, maybe even more than before, but at least we get to be pierced with God instead of away from him. We are told to take up our cross. Let's not be surprised when we see what it is used for.
When we meet with Jesus, we love. When we love, we give. When we give, we risk pain, that an other may be delivered from their own. When I nail a nail into Christ's heart, I no longer have the nail.
God is waiting in his room
for his people to realize
that He is in love with them.
Let's go together to become one with him and therefore each other.
Let's respond to His holy offering with our broken one.
Psalm 51.17
(Read all of Psalm 51, it's ridiculously good.)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Sobriety
I am not going to write a blog post about how prohibition will fix all of our problems. If anything, I think that prohibition will create much bigger problems than we are currently facing. I am not a prohibitionist. The study of history has led me far from the prohibitionist stance.
I find sobriety to be a precious thing. When we are sober, we have control over our mind. When we have control over our mind, we are able to submit the control we have to an other. When we pray, we are essentially submitting control to a greater being than ourselves.
If we have no control, we can give no control.
If we can give no control, we can't submit to the will of an other. If we can't submit to the will of an other, we are selfishly living out our own will instead of that of the Father.
I am not saying that alcohol or drugs are wrong. I am not saying that being drunk or high is wrong. I am simply saying that when we are drunk or high, it is harder to effectively pray. When we are drunk or high, our thoughts and actions are not in our own control. When we are controlled by something else, we are not the ones who decide where the power goes.
Maybe we like to be intoxicated because we like to be controlled by an outside source.
What if we could channel this desire to be controlled in a better way?
Please be careful about what controls you. Money, drugs, girls, guys, alcohol, fame, credit, looks, and authority are all bummers when they are made more important than we are.
I find sobriety to be a precious thing. When we are sober, we have control over our mind. When we have control over our mind, we are able to submit the control we have to an other. When we pray, we are essentially submitting control to a greater being than ourselves.
If we have no control, we can give no control.
If we can give no control, we can't submit to the will of an other. If we can't submit to the will of an other, we are selfishly living out our own will instead of that of the Father.
I am not saying that alcohol or drugs are wrong. I am not saying that being drunk or high is wrong. I am simply saying that when we are drunk or high, it is harder to effectively pray. When we are drunk or high, our thoughts and actions are not in our own control. When we are controlled by something else, we are not the ones who decide where the power goes.
Maybe we like to be intoxicated because we like to be controlled by an outside source.
What if we could channel this desire to be controlled in a better way?
Please be careful about what controls you. Money, drugs, girls, guys, alcohol, fame, credit, looks, and authority are all bummers when they are made more important than we are.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Birth Marks
Today I was playing with one of my best friends. His name is Drew and he is four years old. He thinks that I am way cooler than I actually am and frankly, I enjoy the self esteem boost. When I hang out with him I get to pretend(Publicly) that I am in space and exploring jungles and being eaten by chairs and pillows. I love hanging out with Drew.
We were playing just like we would any other day and drew picked up a toy and held it to his leg. No matter what I did he would make sure to keep his leg covered by the toy. I finally asked him what the deal was and he shrugged and said that he was hiding something from me.(Kids are honest, and when they're not, it's very obvious.) After much debate, I convinced him to uncover the secret. As he moved the toy from his leg, a small brown circle appeared. He had a birthmark and he was embarrassed about it. I tried to convince him that it was not a problem, but he was sure that he was defected. It was at this point that I remembered that he thought I was awesome and I figured it would be a great chance to show him my own "defect."
So I rolled up the pant leg on my left side to reveal my birth mark. I have a mark that I was embarrassed about for years. I used to put band aids on it and tell people that snakes bit me just to try and make them not pay attention to it. In hind sight, I guess snake bites were not the most effective repellent for curiosity. Anyway, he saw mine and ran his fingers across it. It blew his mind that someone of my stature would have such a mark. He found comfort in himself. (I now know why Thomas stuck his fingers in the wounds.)
It's funny the way that we are uncomfortable about the way we are made. I think it is one thing to try and cover sin with our toys and talents, but to try and cover our characteristics that are God given is just wrong. I want to address the issues together even though they really aren't the same. I am constantly trying to cover up the things I do that people would look down upon and I am also constantly trying to keep people from finding out that I am actually not that good at this or actually not that good at that. What a waste of time and energy!(I'm really ripping off Derek Webb with this last paragraph.)
What if we actually loved each other to the point that we could trust each other enough to be real with each other?
If we were able to be real, we'd be able to pray about real issues. If we were able to be real, we wouldn't be fake. If we were able to be real, we wouldn't try and find ourselves in other people or in other created things.
I want you to find at least one person who you can be real with. I don't mean for you to call them up and confess all your sins and be done. I want you to meet with them regularly and let them in always. Make your life theirs and theirs yours. Your hearts should be so in sync with each other that when one is struggling, the other is very aware.
I have a friend who I am attempting to be this way with. It was really hard at first, and kind of awkward, but it has proven to be worth it. He knows that I struggle with self worth issues and that I try to be smarter than I am. He knows that I am insecure about my "talents" and that I look for easy ways out of social situations because I am scared of what people might think of me. He knows about things I have done that almost no other human is aware of. He knows that I have been a slave to sin and that I am daily being liberated from this weak but pleasure filled hold. He knows my deepest struggles and he loves me deeper than any friend has. I know about his deep sins and about his insecurities as well and I pray for him regularly. We have let the Spirit break down the walls that we put up to block out judgement and love has stormed the city! We love each other in a way that I didn't know strait guys could. I will die for him if the opportunity arises.
I am learning that it is not until we can share in pain that we can share in joy. We can always share in happiness, but unconditional love that delivers an enslaved being evokes a power far greater than that of happiness. I am calling us to chase after joy and love because this is what the Lord has given us. Let's stop settling for happiness.
One can not be resurrected until he is dead! One can not be freed from something that has not enslaved him. If you are saved, you have been saved from something. By denying the sin, we are denying the redemption. By creating a lie, we are eliminating truth.
Life is in raw relationships. We must learn to forgive each other. What is is for you to love your brothers? Even the evil men of this world do that! Love is working when we can forgive the unforgivable. If He can forgive me and love me, so can you. For my sin is against God, and God alone; not you. Love will make this kind of living possible.
The truth is that at the end of the day, we all have our birth marks. Why hide them? Sometimes it is the only way we can relate to those who seem to be greater than us and in essence it is in these moments that we realize that no one is greater except for He who had no sin.
I believe that Jesus is holy and that in his death and resurrection he gave us his Spirit. I believe that if his Spirit is in me and in you, we will become one.
Read 1 John 1:5-10
Better yet, read 1 John. It's short.
We were playing just like we would any other day and drew picked up a toy and held it to his leg. No matter what I did he would make sure to keep his leg covered by the toy. I finally asked him what the deal was and he shrugged and said that he was hiding something from me.(Kids are honest, and when they're not, it's very obvious.) After much debate, I convinced him to uncover the secret. As he moved the toy from his leg, a small brown circle appeared. He had a birthmark and he was embarrassed about it. I tried to convince him that it was not a problem, but he was sure that he was defected. It was at this point that I remembered that he thought I was awesome and I figured it would be a great chance to show him my own "defect."
So I rolled up the pant leg on my left side to reveal my birth mark. I have a mark that I was embarrassed about for years. I used to put band aids on it and tell people that snakes bit me just to try and make them not pay attention to it. In hind sight, I guess snake bites were not the most effective repellent for curiosity. Anyway, he saw mine and ran his fingers across it. It blew his mind that someone of my stature would have such a mark. He found comfort in himself. (I now know why Thomas stuck his fingers in the wounds.)
It's funny the way that we are uncomfortable about the way we are made. I think it is one thing to try and cover sin with our toys and talents, but to try and cover our characteristics that are God given is just wrong. I want to address the issues together even though they really aren't the same. I am constantly trying to cover up the things I do that people would look down upon and I am also constantly trying to keep people from finding out that I am actually not that good at this or actually not that good at that. What a waste of time and energy!(I'm really ripping off Derek Webb with this last paragraph.)
What if we actually loved each other to the point that we could trust each other enough to be real with each other?
If we were able to be real, we'd be able to pray about real issues. If we were able to be real, we wouldn't be fake. If we were able to be real, we wouldn't try and find ourselves in other people or in other created things.
I want you to find at least one person who you can be real with. I don't mean for you to call them up and confess all your sins and be done. I want you to meet with them regularly and let them in always. Make your life theirs and theirs yours. Your hearts should be so in sync with each other that when one is struggling, the other is very aware.
I have a friend who I am attempting to be this way with. It was really hard at first, and kind of awkward, but it has proven to be worth it. He knows that I struggle with self worth issues and that I try to be smarter than I am. He knows that I am insecure about my "talents" and that I look for easy ways out of social situations because I am scared of what people might think of me. He knows about things I have done that almost no other human is aware of. He knows that I have been a slave to sin and that I am daily being liberated from this weak but pleasure filled hold. He knows my deepest struggles and he loves me deeper than any friend has. I know about his deep sins and about his insecurities as well and I pray for him regularly. We have let the Spirit break down the walls that we put up to block out judgement and love has stormed the city! We love each other in a way that I didn't know strait guys could. I will die for him if the opportunity arises.
I am learning that it is not until we can share in pain that we can share in joy. We can always share in happiness, but unconditional love that delivers an enslaved being evokes a power far greater than that of happiness. I am calling us to chase after joy and love because this is what the Lord has given us. Let's stop settling for happiness.
One can not be resurrected until he is dead! One can not be freed from something that has not enslaved him. If you are saved, you have been saved from something. By denying the sin, we are denying the redemption. By creating a lie, we are eliminating truth.
Life is in raw relationships. We must learn to forgive each other. What is is for you to love your brothers? Even the evil men of this world do that! Love is working when we can forgive the unforgivable. If He can forgive me and love me, so can you. For my sin is against God, and God alone; not you. Love will make this kind of living possible.
The truth is that at the end of the day, we all have our birth marks. Why hide them? Sometimes it is the only way we can relate to those who seem to be greater than us and in essence it is in these moments that we realize that no one is greater except for He who had no sin.
I believe that Jesus is holy and that in his death and resurrection he gave us his Spirit. I believe that if his Spirit is in me and in you, we will become one.
Read 1 John 1:5-10
Better yet, read 1 John. It's short.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Basketball wasn't Free.
Earlier today I was walking through the garage at my parents house. It is filled with all kinds of things that none of us need. I stood in the corner and scanned the abyss in search of a weed eater. I didn't find it, but I did find an old beat up basketball. It was white and orange and said "The University of Texas" on it. My mind immediately flashed back to seventh grade when I went to a UT basketball camp with my friend. He had sweat bands and I didn't, so I just modified some tube socks to make myself equal. In hind sight, I must have looked like an idiot. Anyway, I saw this basketball and immediately remembered that I had gotten it for free when I completed the week of camp. When I got the ball, I was extremely excited and used it until it was smooth like a watermelon. It was the ball that I used the most and it was the one ball that made me better at what I loved to do. I had a great court ball that never touched the street, but I didn't care about its perfection anymore. The white and orange one was special and It was FREE!!!
Now that I am older I know that my parents paid for the ball when they paid for the camp. The ball isn't as cool now. It was the type of ball that no one would ever buy, but in the event that it was free, it would be cool. (Kind of like AOL CDs.) The thing is, I spent lots of time with that ball. It was my favorite even though it wasn't my best.
God bought me this life and it's about time I stop acting like it was free. It isn't something that I get at the end of camp because my father paid enough money. It is something that my father offered and that I accepted. I have access to it NOW. It is a present blessing and a future reality.
My life is far from perfect. It isn't thick with leather and it hasn't only been used on a shiny court. It is beat up and smooth and shaped like a watermelon because cars have run over it. But dad gummit, this life was bought for me and I want to start treating it this way.
Let's stop thinking that life was free. Life has been invented, stolen, bought back and given to us.
Do us all a favor and USE YOURS.
Now that I am older I know that my parents paid for the ball when they paid for the camp. The ball isn't as cool now. It was the type of ball that no one would ever buy, but in the event that it was free, it would be cool. (Kind of like AOL CDs.) The thing is, I spent lots of time with that ball. It was my favorite even though it wasn't my best.
God bought me this life and it's about time I stop acting like it was free. It isn't something that I get at the end of camp because my father paid enough money. It is something that my father offered and that I accepted. I have access to it NOW. It is a present blessing and a future reality.
My life is far from perfect. It isn't thick with leather and it hasn't only been used on a shiny court. It is beat up and smooth and shaped like a watermelon because cars have run over it. But dad gummit, this life was bought for me and I want to start treating it this way.
Let's stop thinking that life was free. Life has been invented, stolen, bought back and given to us.
Do us all a favor and USE YOURS.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Turn the other Cheek? But that hurts!
"If your God makes war,
then he's no God I know.
Because Christ
would not send boys to die."
-A.A. Bondy (American Hearts)
While I love this song and I love this album, I have to confess that I don't agree with Bondy's logic. I do agree that God does not make war, but I don't agree with the second part of the statement. I would say that Christ would not send boys to kill. For me to say that Christ would never send boys to die would be for me to deny the line of martyrs who have kept this movement going. It would be for me to deny Christ's act of mercy.
I believe that Christ died. I believe that he had the ability not to, and that he didn't really want to. He asked the father to pass the cup from him. I believe that a strong message in the gospel is the one of submission. Christ's death was the ultimate example of submission. Many people died much more painful deaths than the one Christ did. So if your faith is rooted in the message of The Passion of the Christ, I would encourage you to rethink things a bit. To me, a god- The God, stepping down to a level far below his, and then letting the inhabitants of this level kill him, is much more powerful of a statement than the blood and guts that were spilled in the process. Don't misunderstand me here, I don't mean to say that the cross style of death should be treated as insignificant. I am simply saying that the fact that He died means more to me than the way that He died.
Christ set an example for us.
He trusted that the father had things under control.(?)
He chose not to exercise his power over the people as an act of love for them.(?)
I think it is safe to say that we don't trust and that we do exercise power because if we do trust and don't exercise power, we will certainly die. We are living a life rooted in fear. When people say things like "well you just have to take up your cross." in response to a stressful social issue, I am enraged. I don't think they realize what this means. This is a call to die. This isn't saying that when ever life gets hard, we are to label it as persecution and let it be our cross. Life is hard for everyone- Christians too. The difference is that Christians have a hope in death. My buddy Ben said to me once, "You're not defined by the ways you fall, but by the ways you get back up."
Taking up your cross means to submit your will and life to an other. (This means that their life is now more important than your own. If we live like this, how can we possibly kill?!) I have heard a story about a guy who is no longer an active BLOOD member, but is still technically in the gang. We will call him Steve. He has recently found Christ and is walking closely with some college Christians in this. He recently presented a concern to his new friends. He told them that when a BLOOD member joins a religion or an other gang, his former members will track him down and beat him with bats and chains. He is very scared for his life. One of his friends, we'll call him Fred, has told this ex-gang member that he will walk with him at all times. Fred has committed to being a part of the beating when it happens. He might die a the hands of hate filled men, all for something that he didn't even do. But what an act of love to my boy Steve! This is what Christ does for us.
Christ had every right to fight back. The men who killed him were doing so with hate in their eyes and it was unjust. Imagine what it would be like if we chose to submit as Christ did! The world wouldn't know what to do with us!
To take up your cross is to walk into danger for the sake of an other. (Many will back up being a soldier with this. I won't.)
To take up your cross is not to fear other men so much that you will fly across the ocean and kill them before they can kill you.
Let's stop acting like it is our job to know and enforce things. If you claim to understand God, you don't. The God of the universe will never be understood by a man, and therefore any man who thinks that he understands him is a man understanding a god other than that of the universe. I can't stand the fact that we think that we are so right that we have split up with each other. When I drive around the city and see church after church, doing their own thing in their own bubble, I get this feeling like something is wrong. The gospel of Jesus Christ is one of unity. This means that we can be different and that we can disagree, but we will still get along. This is what makes us different from the world. Our love should make people wonder what we are up to.
We shall be known by our love for each other, not our hate for the world. From the outside looking in, we look like a group of rule followers who can't stand our own kind and who advocate the hate of the other kinds.
Let's love one an other. The Spirit of God, through Jesus Christ, is the only way. It is the only way. Let's start by submitting to one an other. It will be hard. Submitting could mean that even when your idea is better, you go with an other one. I promise you that if you prayerfully submit to one an other, you will find life and fulfillment in the process. My mom gave up a whole life to have kids. My life became more important to her than her own and in the process she had to watch me do some really stupid stuff that she knew was unnecessary. That is true submission. Ask her and I bet she'll tell you that she would do it all over again. When we submit, we love, and when we love, we submit.
If you disagree, make it known to me. I said all of these things because I believe them to be true, but realize that my belief is completely incomplete without yours included. I don't claim for this to be the only way or only idea and I don't want to fight. I am seeking peace among believers and as a result, peace in the world. I am a ligament in a body that has much greater parts. Please bring yourself to the table in a realistic manner. Real love will not be experienced unless we are real people. Let's love each other. I'm praying that we would learn to love each other.
"If a writer is so cautious that he never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he will never write anything worth reading. If you want to help other people you have got to make up your mind to write things that some men will condemn,"
-Thomas Merton.
Thank you for reading. I love you.
then he's no God I know.
Because Christ
would not send boys to die."
-A.A. Bondy (American Hearts)
While I love this song and I love this album, I have to confess that I don't agree with Bondy's logic. I do agree that God does not make war, but I don't agree with the second part of the statement. I would say that Christ would not send boys to kill. For me to say that Christ would never send boys to die would be for me to deny the line of martyrs who have kept this movement going. It would be for me to deny Christ's act of mercy.
I believe that Christ died. I believe that he had the ability not to, and that he didn't really want to. He asked the father to pass the cup from him. I believe that a strong message in the gospel is the one of submission. Christ's death was the ultimate example of submission. Many people died much more painful deaths than the one Christ did. So if your faith is rooted in the message of The Passion of the Christ, I would encourage you to rethink things a bit. To me, a god- The God, stepping down to a level far below his, and then letting the inhabitants of this level kill him, is much more powerful of a statement than the blood and guts that were spilled in the process. Don't misunderstand me here, I don't mean to say that the cross style of death should be treated as insignificant. I am simply saying that the fact that He died means more to me than the way that He died.
Christ set an example for us.
He trusted that the father had things under control.(?)
He chose not to exercise his power over the people as an act of love for them.(?)
I think it is safe to say that we don't trust and that we do exercise power because if we do trust and don't exercise power, we will certainly die. We are living a life rooted in fear. When people say things like "well you just have to take up your cross." in response to a stressful social issue, I am enraged. I don't think they realize what this means. This is a call to die. This isn't saying that when ever life gets hard, we are to label it as persecution and let it be our cross. Life is hard for everyone- Christians too. The difference is that Christians have a hope in death. My buddy Ben said to me once, "You're not defined by the ways you fall, but by the ways you get back up."
Taking up your cross means to submit your will and life to an other. (This means that their life is now more important than your own. If we live like this, how can we possibly kill?!) I have heard a story about a guy who is no longer an active BLOOD member, but is still technically in the gang. We will call him Steve. He has recently found Christ and is walking closely with some college Christians in this. He recently presented a concern to his new friends. He told them that when a BLOOD member joins a religion or an other gang, his former members will track him down and beat him with bats and chains. He is very scared for his life. One of his friends, we'll call him Fred, has told this ex-gang member that he will walk with him at all times. Fred has committed to being a part of the beating when it happens. He might die a the hands of hate filled men, all for something that he didn't even do. But what an act of love to my boy Steve! This is what Christ does for us.
Christ had every right to fight back. The men who killed him were doing so with hate in their eyes and it was unjust. Imagine what it would be like if we chose to submit as Christ did! The world wouldn't know what to do with us!
To take up your cross is to walk into danger for the sake of an other. (Many will back up being a soldier with this. I won't.)
To take up your cross is not to fear other men so much that you will fly across the ocean and kill them before they can kill you.
Let's stop acting like it is our job to know and enforce things. If you claim to understand God, you don't. The God of the universe will never be understood by a man, and therefore any man who thinks that he understands him is a man understanding a god other than that of the universe. I can't stand the fact that we think that we are so right that we have split up with each other. When I drive around the city and see church after church, doing their own thing in their own bubble, I get this feeling like something is wrong. The gospel of Jesus Christ is one of unity. This means that we can be different and that we can disagree, but we will still get along. This is what makes us different from the world. Our love should make people wonder what we are up to.
We shall be known by our love for each other, not our hate for the world. From the outside looking in, we look like a group of rule followers who can't stand our own kind and who advocate the hate of the other kinds.
Let's love one an other. The Spirit of God, through Jesus Christ, is the only way. It is the only way. Let's start by submitting to one an other. It will be hard. Submitting could mean that even when your idea is better, you go with an other one. I promise you that if you prayerfully submit to one an other, you will find life and fulfillment in the process. My mom gave up a whole life to have kids. My life became more important to her than her own and in the process she had to watch me do some really stupid stuff that she knew was unnecessary. That is true submission. Ask her and I bet she'll tell you that she would do it all over again. When we submit, we love, and when we love, we submit.
If you disagree, make it known to me. I said all of these things because I believe them to be true, but realize that my belief is completely incomplete without yours included. I don't claim for this to be the only way or only idea and I don't want to fight. I am seeking peace among believers and as a result, peace in the world. I am a ligament in a body that has much greater parts. Please bring yourself to the table in a realistic manner. Real love will not be experienced unless we are real people. Let's love each other. I'm praying that we would learn to love each other.
"If a writer is so cautious that he never writes anything that cannot be criticized, he will never write anything worth reading. If you want to help other people you have got to make up your mind to write things that some men will condemn,"
-Thomas Merton.
Thank you for reading. I love you.
Monday, May 3, 2010
It's Naked Time.
I am not surprised that Adam and Eve put clothes on when they noticed that they were naked.
While being naked is amazing and liberating, it is also scary. Very scary. It's who we are.
But if we never get naked, we'll never make babies.
Therefore, we must get naked and be naked to each other. I am sitting next to my friend, Wes, and we just told each other a whole lot about ourselves. We uncovered sins that have been hidden since they happened, and it was scary, but liberating.
In a sense- a very real sense, we became naked. We shed all of the crap that we have wrapped ourselves in and as a result, our true selves, that we ourselves have never seen, were exposed. It was amazing.
True love is experienced when you are looking at someone else with such intensity and fascination that you can't even think about yourself.
What I mean is this: When you have a penis, a vagina is incredibly fascinating. The opposite it also true(so I hear). When a naked man is standing before a naked woman, they both completely stop thinking about their own nakedness and focus on the naked beauty of the other. This is why we must not taint our minds and hearts with pornography. If we constantly focus our eyes on pornography, we get used to the opposite gender. When we get used to it, it is nothing special to us. When it is nothing special to us, we have to look into our own minds to find new ideas to feed our fix. It is at this point that we have become self-centered people who are owned by our own desires. Not to mention, porn is unrealistic!
While this whole sexual thing is true, I want to address a social thing instead. Back to Wes and I. As we stripped ourselves down, we began to see things in each other that we have never found within ourselves. It was incredible to see how beautifully this guy was made! I was so in love with who he was that I began to have no fear of revealing who I am to him. Like biological reproduction, two parties carried unique things to the table, and mixed to create an ultimate product. Our relationship is the child that is created when we are connected by the Holy Spirit living in us. This child is its own being with its own characteristics that are completely unique to this conception. It grows on its own but is constantly cultivated by the two of us. It mingles with the other children and effects them completely. As we grow, so does it and it begins to amaze us with its beauty.
Please seek purity in your hearts. The pure hearted are the ones who get to see God. God wants us to see him, why else would he have showed up here in a man-suit?! Not only is he capable of purifying our hearts, he is willing! He desires for us to strip away the mortal clothes and live as immortal beings who are not afraid of the grave. As long as we wear mortal clothes, we will judge mortal clothes. If we want to make this work, we must trust each other enough to be who we are around each other. We must be able to drop our rocks that the other person deserves to get thrown at them and trust that they will drop the rocks that should be thrown at us.
Be real with each other. It is really cool. What is love if it is limited to good things? What is a pond if it is limited to what you can see from the land? Of course we love the good things, so do the tax collectors, but what if we were able to love the quirks about a person? What if we were able to love the people nailing us to a cross?! We can through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord who cared enough to die. I have seen small glimpses of this love and they have been the best glimpses of anything I have ever seen.
One thing I know for sure is that we can't do this alone. I am only able to truly love when that special girl is standing before me with such perfection that I have forgotten all personal desires except for the one to let her know how amazingly she is built. While marriage is the easy example, we must find this passion for every other human being. We are all made by God and therefore we are all hiding things that will blow each others' minds when we let Him uncover them.
Let's get naked.
(Please know that I am aware of my ignorance. I am simply wondering.)
While being naked is amazing and liberating, it is also scary. Very scary. It's who we are.
But if we never get naked, we'll never make babies.
Therefore, we must get naked and be naked to each other. I am sitting next to my friend, Wes, and we just told each other a whole lot about ourselves. We uncovered sins that have been hidden since they happened, and it was scary, but liberating.
In a sense- a very real sense, we became naked. We shed all of the crap that we have wrapped ourselves in and as a result, our true selves, that we ourselves have never seen, were exposed. It was amazing.
True love is experienced when you are looking at someone else with such intensity and fascination that you can't even think about yourself.
What I mean is this: When you have a penis, a vagina is incredibly fascinating. The opposite it also true(so I hear). When a naked man is standing before a naked woman, they both completely stop thinking about their own nakedness and focus on the naked beauty of the other. This is why we must not taint our minds and hearts with pornography. If we constantly focus our eyes on pornography, we get used to the opposite gender. When we get used to it, it is nothing special to us. When it is nothing special to us, we have to look into our own minds to find new ideas to feed our fix. It is at this point that we have become self-centered people who are owned by our own desires. Not to mention, porn is unrealistic!
While this whole sexual thing is true, I want to address a social thing instead. Back to Wes and I. As we stripped ourselves down, we began to see things in each other that we have never found within ourselves. It was incredible to see how beautifully this guy was made! I was so in love with who he was that I began to have no fear of revealing who I am to him. Like biological reproduction, two parties carried unique things to the table, and mixed to create an ultimate product. Our relationship is the child that is created when we are connected by the Holy Spirit living in us. This child is its own being with its own characteristics that are completely unique to this conception. It grows on its own but is constantly cultivated by the two of us. It mingles with the other children and effects them completely. As we grow, so does it and it begins to amaze us with its beauty.
Please seek purity in your hearts. The pure hearted are the ones who get to see God. God wants us to see him, why else would he have showed up here in a man-suit?! Not only is he capable of purifying our hearts, he is willing! He desires for us to strip away the mortal clothes and live as immortal beings who are not afraid of the grave. As long as we wear mortal clothes, we will judge mortal clothes. If we want to make this work, we must trust each other enough to be who we are around each other. We must be able to drop our rocks that the other person deserves to get thrown at them and trust that they will drop the rocks that should be thrown at us.
Be real with each other. It is really cool. What is love if it is limited to good things? What is a pond if it is limited to what you can see from the land? Of course we love the good things, so do the tax collectors, but what if we were able to love the quirks about a person? What if we were able to love the people nailing us to a cross?! We can through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord who cared enough to die. I have seen small glimpses of this love and they have been the best glimpses of anything I have ever seen.
One thing I know for sure is that we can't do this alone. I am only able to truly love when that special girl is standing before me with such perfection that I have forgotten all personal desires except for the one to let her know how amazingly she is built. While marriage is the easy example, we must find this passion for every other human being. We are all made by God and therefore we are all hiding things that will blow each others' minds when we let Him uncover them.
Let's get naked.
(Please know that I am aware of my ignorance. I am simply wondering.)
Saturday, April 24, 2010
A Parable.
There was a room and inside it was a painting. It was more beautiful than any other painting and had many things in it. Among them, there was a sandy beach, forrest, sky, and an ocean. Four people were brought into the room and were sat down in front of the painting. They were each given a pencil and a paper and were asked to write down the five most important words about the painting.
Person A wrote the words:
1. Sandy
2. Tan
3. Beach
4. Warm
5. Peaceful
Person B wrote the words:
1. Green
2. Lush
3. Tropical
4. Alive
5. Forest
Person C wrote the words:
1. Infinite
2. Clouds
3. Big
4. Blue
5. Sky
Person D wrote the words:
1. Vast
2. Deep
3. Sea
4. Wet
5. Salty
When they were done writing their words, they all shared with each other what they had written. As person A read her list, the others began to scoff at her because they felt she was wrong. The same thing happened as each read their own list to the group. None of the lists had the same words and so each of the people felt as if all the others were wrong. Angry, and stuffed with pride, they all left the room and the painting behind, and went to ineffectively tell people about the painting, using only the words they had written themselves.
Person A had five words.
Person B had five words.
Person C had five words.
Person D had five words.
Just think, together they'd have twenty words- and a room with a painting.
Person A wrote the words:
1. Sandy
2. Tan
3. Beach
4. Warm
5. Peaceful
Person B wrote the words:
1. Green
2. Lush
3. Tropical
4. Alive
5. Forest
Person C wrote the words:
1. Infinite
2. Clouds
3. Big
4. Blue
5. Sky
Person D wrote the words:
1. Vast
2. Deep
3. Sea
4. Wet
5. Salty
When they were done writing their words, they all shared with each other what they had written. As person A read her list, the others began to scoff at her because they felt she was wrong. The same thing happened as each read their own list to the group. None of the lists had the same words and so each of the people felt as if all the others were wrong. Angry, and stuffed with pride, they all left the room and the painting behind, and went to ineffectively tell people about the painting, using only the words they had written themselves.
Person A had five words.
Person B had five words.
Person C had five words.
Person D had five words.
Just think, together they'd have twenty words- and a room with a painting.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Salt Water.
I freaking hate salt water.
It tastes nasty, burns my eyes, burns in my cuts and makes my skin itchy. It is that bad kind of itchy that scratching doesn't help.
I love fresh water.
It tastes good, agrees with my eyes, leaves my cuts alone, and doesn't make my skin itchy.(Unless, of course, it is the water from my shower in Austin, which dries my skin out like jerky.)
I have two glasses of water, one salt, and the other fresh. If I lift the fresh water and pour a small amount of it into the salt water glass, the salt water is still salt water. But if I pour a small amount of the salt water into the fresh water, I now have two glasses of salt water. Concentration of salt is irrelevant, for there is salt in both and that is final.
James says that our mouths flow both blessing and cursing; fresh and salt water. I have always assumed that the curses were salt water because they burn and itch, and the blessings were fresh water because they are pure. I want to challenge this notion. If we read the bible through the lense of the sermon of the mount, salt will trigger a flag. We are the salt of the earth.
How can we be the salt of the earth and not produce water with salt in it?
Salt burns because it cleans. When it gets in a cut, it cleanses. When it gets in your eyes, it sucks. But I do know that my eyes are evil and disobedient, so I'd hope that they would react to cleansing. Everyone who has used Listerine knows that it only works if it hurts!
The words we speak are the overflow of our heart. So if we ever speak truth then there is salt water coming up, even if it is extremely diluted by the fresh water. The cool thing about the salt is that by its very nature, it is what defines the solution around it. If I have one tablespoon of salt in my friend's swimming pool, it is technically salt water.
Currently, my pool is mostly fresh water, with a small spoon of salt in it. While it is mostly curses, blessing is present and dominant. Imagine what life would be found if I was pumping water with a higher concentration of salt and a smaller concentration of suck. When the water in my heart is drank, the small amount of salt I gave is mixed with the water in the listener's heart.
This is where it gets serious. This means that speech is not the issue. This means that the heart is the issue. My friend, Wes, told me that there is no use in trying to tame the tongue. We should instead just pursue the purity of the heart so our tongue becomes a life bringing tool. In other words, don't arrest the drug dealers, burn the field of opium and plant a field of potatoes.(Everyone loves potatoes, except Travis Chapman... Sorry, man.)
Pray for the purity of your heart. Spend more time on this spiritual matter and less time on the social treadmill of taming the tongue. James and Wes agree on the fact that the tongue can't be tamed. Plus, why limit something that brings blessing?
It is my prayer that this water has enough salt to burn our wounds. Please excuse the weak, diluted, solution that it is. I assure you, any salt is from the Lord and is much more definite than the fresh water is has graciously mixed with. My goal is to be like the dead sea; so thick with salt that people can walk on it.
It tastes nasty, burns my eyes, burns in my cuts and makes my skin itchy. It is that bad kind of itchy that scratching doesn't help.
I love fresh water.
It tastes good, agrees with my eyes, leaves my cuts alone, and doesn't make my skin itchy.(Unless, of course, it is the water from my shower in Austin, which dries my skin out like jerky.)
I have two glasses of water, one salt, and the other fresh. If I lift the fresh water and pour a small amount of it into the salt water glass, the salt water is still salt water. But if I pour a small amount of the salt water into the fresh water, I now have two glasses of salt water. Concentration of salt is irrelevant, for there is salt in both and that is final.
James says that our mouths flow both blessing and cursing; fresh and salt water. I have always assumed that the curses were salt water because they burn and itch, and the blessings were fresh water because they are pure. I want to challenge this notion. If we read the bible through the lense of the sermon of the mount, salt will trigger a flag. We are the salt of the earth.
How can we be the salt of the earth and not produce water with salt in it?
Salt burns because it cleans. When it gets in a cut, it cleanses. When it gets in your eyes, it sucks. But I do know that my eyes are evil and disobedient, so I'd hope that they would react to cleansing. Everyone who has used Listerine knows that it only works if it hurts!
The words we speak are the overflow of our heart. So if we ever speak truth then there is salt water coming up, even if it is extremely diluted by the fresh water. The cool thing about the salt is that by its very nature, it is what defines the solution around it. If I have one tablespoon of salt in my friend's swimming pool, it is technically salt water.
Currently, my pool is mostly fresh water, with a small spoon of salt in it. While it is mostly curses, blessing is present and dominant. Imagine what life would be found if I was pumping water with a higher concentration of salt and a smaller concentration of suck. When the water in my heart is drank, the small amount of salt I gave is mixed with the water in the listener's heart.
This is where it gets serious. This means that speech is not the issue. This means that the heart is the issue. My friend, Wes, told me that there is no use in trying to tame the tongue. We should instead just pursue the purity of the heart so our tongue becomes a life bringing tool. In other words, don't arrest the drug dealers, burn the field of opium and plant a field of potatoes.(Everyone loves potatoes, except Travis Chapman... Sorry, man.)
Pray for the purity of your heart. Spend more time on this spiritual matter and less time on the social treadmill of taming the tongue. James and Wes agree on the fact that the tongue can't be tamed. Plus, why limit something that brings blessing?
It is my prayer that this water has enough salt to burn our wounds. Please excuse the weak, diluted, solution that it is. I assure you, any salt is from the Lord and is much more definite than the fresh water is has graciously mixed with. My goal is to be like the dead sea; so thick with salt that people can walk on it.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Feast
I just got back from taking lunch to my friend. He has been begging me to bring him whataburger for the last few weeks and today I finally did it. It was really strange, but fun, to step back into a middle school cafeteria. It was just the way I left it- Full of children. As I made my way in, I immediately noticed the divisions. There were perfectly organized long tables and people were only sitting with people that looked like themselves. I finally found my friend, spotting his teeth before anything else.(What a smile that kid's got!) As I walked to his table, every eyeball in the room moved with me. People whispered and some laughed. I had three kids ask me if I was Jesus because I have long hair, leather sandals, a smile, and compared to their clothes, was wearing rags. I sat down and my friend was so excited he couldn't breath right. He immediately introduced me to the guys around him, who apparently knew more about me than I do, and we began to eat. A few kids from the neighborhood, whom I know, but rarely see, came up to me and talked as if we were best friends. They reminisced on the christmas gifts I had given them and talked about how fun football was that one time. They were clearly just coming to make it clear to everyone in the room that we had met before. The secret handshakes I had to take part in made it clear that they just needed some sort of outward sign that we were friends or something.
It was weird.
They all seemed to know me so well that the rest of the cafeteria thought they were saints.
But I don't know them. They never hang out with me.
We had plenty of food and I was able to share it with the guys sitting around us. My table had a blast and they all want me to come back. I think I will. I will bring a burger to whoever asks me for one.
After eating, we had about fifteen minutes to sit around. Kids immediately started telling me about each kid at each other table. They gossiped about how the other kids did things or how bad they smelled, or about the fact that they tuck their shirt into their whitie tighties. The girls would make orgasm noises to make the guys giggle. That one kid mixed all his food together and ate it so I would look at him. They talked to me about how much of a freak the girl at the end of the table was. It was disgusting. What was bad wasn't the words or actions, but the lack of worth in them. It wasn't that these kids were braking moral rules, but that they had no respect for each other or for themselves. It was in this lack of respect that they resorted to abusive rule breaking. These kids were tearing each other down for things that clearly didn't matter to me at all! These kids were splitting themselves apart for things that don't matter at all!
There were tons of other things that went on, each holding rich metaphorical value, but I think this breif description should be sufficient.
Do you know Christ, or do you play football with him and give him credit for the gifts he gave you?
Do you split yourselves apart over things that don't even matter a little bit?
Do you have a secret handshake with Christ, or do you let him hold you close?
Are you asking him to show up with food?
It was weird.
They all seemed to know me so well that the rest of the cafeteria thought they were saints.
But I don't know them. They never hang out with me.
We had plenty of food and I was able to share it with the guys sitting around us. My table had a blast and they all want me to come back. I think I will. I will bring a burger to whoever asks me for one.
After eating, we had about fifteen minutes to sit around. Kids immediately started telling me about each kid at each other table. They gossiped about how the other kids did things or how bad they smelled, or about the fact that they tuck their shirt into their whitie tighties. The girls would make orgasm noises to make the guys giggle. That one kid mixed all his food together and ate it so I would look at him. They talked to me about how much of a freak the girl at the end of the table was. It was disgusting. What was bad wasn't the words or actions, but the lack of worth in them. It wasn't that these kids were braking moral rules, but that they had no respect for each other or for themselves. It was in this lack of respect that they resorted to abusive rule breaking. These kids were tearing each other down for things that clearly didn't matter to me at all! These kids were splitting themselves apart for things that don't matter at all!
There were tons of other things that went on, each holding rich metaphorical value, but I think this breif description should be sufficient.
Do you know Christ, or do you play football with him and give him credit for the gifts he gave you?
Do you split yourselves apart over things that don't even matter a little bit?
Do you have a secret handshake with Christ, or do you let him hold you close?
Are you asking him to show up with food?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Antsy, Antsy, Antsy.(Not to be confused with insects.)
If you read the last post, you will have read about a good friend of mine. A few weeks ago he lost his bus privileges, so now I drive him to school in the mornings and pick him up in the afternoons. Since we started this daily ritual, I have yet to fail him. I show up on time. Always. What's funny about the mornings is that he is more worried about me getting there on time than he is about me dropping him off on time. We spend the drive singing songs and talking about what he wants out of his day. It is a wonderful way for me to start my day and I imagine it is the same for him. I show up at his house at 7:18 to pick him up at 7:20. I usually wake up at 7:00 and head on over.
This morning, I woke to my phone ringing. It was 6:59. When I looked to see who the perpetrator was, I saw that it was my friend.(The one I ride with.) Annoyed, I crawled, prematurely, out of bed just in time to hear my alarm start. After turning it off, I looked to my phone to see that he was calling again. I knew it wasn't an emergency. He has this thing that he does where he worries about little things that he has no reason to worry about, so I naturally assumed that this was just one of those moments. Eighteen minutes, and seven calls later, I pulled into his driveway. After two minutes, he came trotting out to my car with a smile that would wake any sleeping college kid. Best drive yet.
What I found in this made me feel like a child.
God has never, ever, given me any reason to doubt his faithfulness. He has always showed up. Every time. But I still spend most of my prayer time worrying about his presence in my life.
It's those times that I am worried about something that my prayers increase in number. It is also, more often than not, in these times that I feel like he's ignoring me. I am beginning to see why.
"Do not worry about your life... Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?"
-Jesus(Matt Ch. 6)
This morning, I woke to my phone ringing. It was 6:59. When I looked to see who the perpetrator was, I saw that it was my friend.(The one I ride with.) Annoyed, I crawled, prematurely, out of bed just in time to hear my alarm start. After turning it off, I looked to my phone to see that he was calling again. I knew it wasn't an emergency. He has this thing that he does where he worries about little things that he has no reason to worry about, so I naturally assumed that this was just one of those moments. Eighteen minutes, and seven calls later, I pulled into his driveway. After two minutes, he came trotting out to my car with a smile that would wake any sleeping college kid. Best drive yet.
What I found in this made me feel like a child.
God has never, ever, given me any reason to doubt his faithfulness. He has always showed up. Every time. But I still spend most of my prayer time worrying about his presence in my life.
It's those times that I am worried about something that my prayers increase in number. It is also, more often than not, in these times that I feel like he's ignoring me. I am beginning to see why.
"Do not worry about your life... Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?"
-Jesus(Matt Ch. 6)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Will
Sometimes I act as if God's will is exclusively about action. (It is God's will for me to: go here, do this, be that, marry her, bomb them.) Lately I have been learning that sometimes it seems to be about inaction as much as it is about action. Kind of like how a song is as much about the spaces between the notes as the notes themselves.
I can think of many examples, but one stands with prominence in my mind. Yesterday I was driving to church with one of my best friends, and we drove past a nasty road kill. It was the nastiest one I have ever seen. There was a huge, mutilated deer in the road with a one hundred yard trail of blood and guts leading up to it. It was fresh. My friend, who is squeamish, nearly threw up. On the way home I had forgotten about the deer and happened to see it before my friend did. As we approached it, I pointed out his window, towards the sky, and in an excited voice told him to "Look at that!" We passed the deer, and he turned to me disappointed because his eyes were not able to locate the object of my excitement. He also didn't see the deer.
It only makes since to me that God the father would protect us. This must mean that sometimes he has to distract us from what is going to make us "sick." I am guilty of looking for meaning in everything I see, so this kind of sucks for me sometimes. I get sent somewhere and am constantly looking for my purpose there.
What if my purpose for being here is not being there?
I don't want to meet and fall in love with my wife yet. I'm not ready for that.
I won't ever understand God's will. I won't ever understand some of the things he leads me to do or to not do. But that's why it's God's will and not mine. I take comfort in the fact that his plan is bigger than my understanding. The best I can do is to trust that he has a pretty good reason for pointing out the window. I trust him enough to daily ask him to do the pointing.
I can think of many examples, but one stands with prominence in my mind. Yesterday I was driving to church with one of my best friends, and we drove past a nasty road kill. It was the nastiest one I have ever seen. There was a huge, mutilated deer in the road with a one hundred yard trail of blood and guts leading up to it. It was fresh. My friend, who is squeamish, nearly threw up. On the way home I had forgotten about the deer and happened to see it before my friend did. As we approached it, I pointed out his window, towards the sky, and in an excited voice told him to "Look at that!" We passed the deer, and he turned to me disappointed because his eyes were not able to locate the object of my excitement. He also didn't see the deer.
It only makes since to me that God the father would protect us. This must mean that sometimes he has to distract us from what is going to make us "sick." I am guilty of looking for meaning in everything I see, so this kind of sucks for me sometimes. I get sent somewhere and am constantly looking for my purpose there.
What if my purpose for being here is not being there?
I don't want to meet and fall in love with my wife yet. I'm not ready for that.
I won't ever understand God's will. I won't ever understand some of the things he leads me to do or to not do. But that's why it's God's will and not mine. I take comfort in the fact that his plan is bigger than my understanding. The best I can do is to trust that he has a pretty good reason for pointing out the window. I trust him enough to daily ask him to do the pointing.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Why do You do it?
Why do you do it? Why are you a Christian?
I don't mow the yard because my dad tells me to. Don't get me wrong, he does usually have to tell me, but it isn't because of this that I do it. I do it because he is pointing something out that needs to be done. In other words: I don't mow the lawn to mow the lawn. I mow the lawn because the grass needs to be cut!
I don't follow Jesus because the bible tells me so.
I don't preach to and love on people in poor areas because the bible tells me so.
For me to do things because the bible tells me so is for me to idolize it over the one who came up with it.
Please don't misunderstand me. People do on this topic, and the most recent case led the injury of a sweet girl's heart who didn't deserve it. I believe that the bible is a holy book. It has led me to the one who is the giver of life. I am simply pointing out that the bible is a tool that he loves to use. Not the other way around. The bible helps us find life. Life is in it, but life isn't it.
For us to just obey is so far from what I believe God really desires. He has rules and guidelines and things like this for a reason. They are very important in protecting us from things in the dark. As a child I was not aloud to watch certain shows that ALL of my friends were aloud to watch. I obeyed, but I hated it and often found myself pointing( an act my mom tried to break me of. It's rude to point- everyone knows that) at my mom when she was looking the other way. It wasn't until recently that I looked back and saw very clearly that my mother made these rules for good reason. Now, I do believe that I and you must obey the writings with an attitude like a child; that is trusting that the deity is doing more than excersizing power by protecting us from what we have not seen.
Jesus is light. Living in the dark is hard, for monsters lurk and we don't even know it. We hear them breathing and every now and then we see them eat our friends up, but then they quickly vanish back into the abyss. When Jesus showed up, this changed. He is the light and we are the lanterns. Light exposes what was once unseen.
It is through the exposure to people who are full grown and were aloud to watch certain programs as a kid that I saw why I was not aloud to. This has made my intimacy for my mother increase. Not that we have a conditional relationship, but that the conditions that I have built are slowly eroding as truth, light, and reason, manifesting themselves in love, pour down like water to melt away the hopeless stacks of clay.
It is through obedience that I have found love. It is through love that I will now obey.
What I am saying is this: Obedience for the sake of obedience is like dry humping. It kind of feels good, or something, but really it doesn't accomplish anything, and when it's over, both parties realize that they want more than they did in the first place.
God wants us to know him. Does your ministry lead you to him or does your relationship with him lead you into minisisty?! I used to hug people and smile at them because I knew that Christians should be happy or something. I do think that God used this, but it was so empty. Now I am much closer, but still far from, having a sexual ministry instead of all this foolish dry humping.
I used to preach the word because I was excited about it and because I liked to hear myself talk. I'm not going to act like these two things don't still play a part, but at least I'm working on it! Now I preach because I know this God who I don't deserve to know. When I spend time around him I can't help but want to die if it means that more people could meet him. I want to give up what ever it takes for you to get to know him.
The bible tells me to do this, but if I do this because the bible says so, where's the intimacy? The bible is a mere arrow, pointing at the God who we worship. For us to look at the arrow and study its features instead of the object it is pointing at is defeating the purpose of the arrow. I should obey and then be brought to light and in this look back on my obedience and see why it is I was obeying. The laws are written so we might know him. Jesus died with relationship in mind. He died that we may live with him. For us to mow the yard just to mow the yard is for us to obey the bible that we may be better than those who don't. There's so much more to it than that!
In the last year of living at home my dad never told me to mow the lawn.[Citation needed] I got it done every time. [Citation Needed] It wasn't because I realized that once a week the lawn should be mowed. This played a part in it, but the production that this truth was acting in was far greater than the minor role it played. I learned to clearly see what it was that needed to be done. It was through my father's love and teaching that I was able to see what it was he desired. It was when I could see what he desired that I was most effective in fulfilling his desires. It was because of my love for him that I tried to meet these desires. Jesus said that we are his friends and not his servants. The difference is that friends know of their master's affairs, servants blindly obey in ignorance.(I twisted it a bit, please go read the other interpretation that is different from the original.)
John 15:9-17
In the first year of being away from home I have gotten to hold the poor in these arms that are not my own. My tears have mixed with the tears of a woman who is in a darker place than I knew existed. I have watched as a boy destined for slavery grabbed onto life and freedom through the love of Jesus Christ. I have looked deeper into people's eyes than anyone should ever get to look. I haven't gotten to do these things because I felt like I should. I have gotten to do these things because the God that I am desperately trying to obey has revealed himself to me and through this made it very clear to me that these rules lead to relationships. He has made it very clear to me that loving people goes way deeper than the rules do. I am privileged and blessed by this God and I can't help but offer him all that I have, for all I have to offer is what he has given me.
Please try and know God. This is the purpose of life. The purpose of life isn't success and it isn't being the the best at following the rules. The pharisees did that and what Jesus thinks about it is pretty clear. Relationship with the father leads us into relationship with his people. Ministry should be an other word for relationship. But it has become something far from it.
I don't mow the yard because my dad tells me to. Don't get me wrong, he does usually have to tell me, but it isn't because of this that I do it. I do it because he is pointing something out that needs to be done. In other words: I don't mow the lawn to mow the lawn. I mow the lawn because the grass needs to be cut!
I don't follow Jesus because the bible tells me so.
I don't preach to and love on people in poor areas because the bible tells me so.
For me to do things because the bible tells me so is for me to idolize it over the one who came up with it.
Please don't misunderstand me. People do on this topic, and the most recent case led the injury of a sweet girl's heart who didn't deserve it. I believe that the bible is a holy book. It has led me to the one who is the giver of life. I am simply pointing out that the bible is a tool that he loves to use. Not the other way around. The bible helps us find life. Life is in it, but life isn't it.
For us to just obey is so far from what I believe God really desires. He has rules and guidelines and things like this for a reason. They are very important in protecting us from things in the dark. As a child I was not aloud to watch certain shows that ALL of my friends were aloud to watch. I obeyed, but I hated it and often found myself pointing( an act my mom tried to break me of. It's rude to point- everyone knows that) at my mom when she was looking the other way. It wasn't until recently that I looked back and saw very clearly that my mother made these rules for good reason. Now, I do believe that I and you must obey the writings with an attitude like a child; that is trusting that the deity is doing more than excersizing power by protecting us from what we have not seen.
Jesus is light. Living in the dark is hard, for monsters lurk and we don't even know it. We hear them breathing and every now and then we see them eat our friends up, but then they quickly vanish back into the abyss. When Jesus showed up, this changed. He is the light and we are the lanterns. Light exposes what was once unseen.
It is through the exposure to people who are full grown and were aloud to watch certain programs as a kid that I saw why I was not aloud to. This has made my intimacy for my mother increase. Not that we have a conditional relationship, but that the conditions that I have built are slowly eroding as truth, light, and reason, manifesting themselves in love, pour down like water to melt away the hopeless stacks of clay.
It is through obedience that I have found love. It is through love that I will now obey.
What I am saying is this: Obedience for the sake of obedience is like dry humping. It kind of feels good, or something, but really it doesn't accomplish anything, and when it's over, both parties realize that they want more than they did in the first place.
God wants us to know him. Does your ministry lead you to him or does your relationship with him lead you into minisisty?! I used to hug people and smile at them because I knew that Christians should be happy or something. I do think that God used this, but it was so empty. Now I am much closer, but still far from, having a sexual ministry instead of all this foolish dry humping.
I used to preach the word because I was excited about it and because I liked to hear myself talk. I'm not going to act like these two things don't still play a part, but at least I'm working on it! Now I preach because I know this God who I don't deserve to know. When I spend time around him I can't help but want to die if it means that more people could meet him. I want to give up what ever it takes for you to get to know him.
The bible tells me to do this, but if I do this because the bible says so, where's the intimacy? The bible is a mere arrow, pointing at the God who we worship. For us to look at the arrow and study its features instead of the object it is pointing at is defeating the purpose of the arrow. I should obey and then be brought to light and in this look back on my obedience and see why it is I was obeying. The laws are written so we might know him. Jesus died with relationship in mind. He died that we may live with him. For us to mow the yard just to mow the yard is for us to obey the bible that we may be better than those who don't. There's so much more to it than that!
In the last year of living at home my dad never told me to mow the lawn.[Citation needed] I got it done every time. [Citation Needed] It wasn't because I realized that once a week the lawn should be mowed. This played a part in it, but the production that this truth was acting in was far greater than the minor role it played. I learned to clearly see what it was that needed to be done. It was through my father's love and teaching that I was able to see what it was he desired. It was when I could see what he desired that I was most effective in fulfilling his desires. It was because of my love for him that I tried to meet these desires. Jesus said that we are his friends and not his servants. The difference is that friends know of their master's affairs, servants blindly obey in ignorance.(I twisted it a bit, please go read the other interpretation that is different from the original.)
John 15:9-17
In the first year of being away from home I have gotten to hold the poor in these arms that are not my own. My tears have mixed with the tears of a woman who is in a darker place than I knew existed. I have watched as a boy destined for slavery grabbed onto life and freedom through the love of Jesus Christ. I have looked deeper into people's eyes than anyone should ever get to look. I haven't gotten to do these things because I felt like I should. I have gotten to do these things because the God that I am desperately trying to obey has revealed himself to me and through this made it very clear to me that these rules lead to relationships. He has made it very clear to me that loving people goes way deeper than the rules do. I am privileged and blessed by this God and I can't help but offer him all that I have, for all I have to offer is what he has given me.
Please try and know God. This is the purpose of life. The purpose of life isn't success and it isn't being the the best at following the rules. The pharisees did that and what Jesus thinks about it is pretty clear. Relationship with the father leads us into relationship with his people. Ministry should be an other word for relationship. But it has become something far from it.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
We Are One.
As you read this, please remember that I don't think that I am right in everything. I believe that the true gospel of Jesus is all that I can be sure of. So please tell me if you disagree on anything else and I will do my best to humbly accept and consider your thoughts.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Guilty?
Me too.
I wonder what the church would be like if we changed. I wonder what the world would be like if we changed? If you read Paul's letters and read Acts you will quickly see that Paul would be furious with us. He spoke of unity and love and sacrifice. Paul didn't speak of division and arguments and persecution! He did not tell us to kill abortion doctors and build electric fences to keep the gays out!
In Acts we have multiple examples of Paul sacrificing his morality and doing something he knew wasn't the truth, all for the sake of preaching what is truth. He went through the Jewish procedures to enter the temple and paid for meat to be sacrificed, even though it was not his way of living. He did what ever he had to to preach the gospel to a group different from himself. I am not saying that we should all abandon morality and forget about our rituals. I am saying that we should be willing to let go of everything but the true gospel, for the sake of the true gospel. We should be able to become who we are here to love. We should be willing to drop all that we think we are that we may help someone see who He is.
Everything.
I believe that if we actually loved each other and we actually loved the people who haven't been saved, we would be doing everything in our power to live life with each other. Paul said constantly that the church was to house all peoples. Some would say, "Well, it does. We have all kinds of churches." Whoopty freakin do! Paul didn't want us to split up in order to make it work. That is divorce! He wanted us to let go of our differences and conform accordingly to each other's needs in order to live out what really matters.
If the only thing that matters is the only thing that we agree on, that is perfectly fine, because if nothing else matters, we should be able to let go off all the rest. If we can't, then we are making the truth equal with the rest. We are to grab hold of the gospel of Jesus Christ and let that be what bonds us. We are not to grab onto our idea of what is okay in a church and let go of those who disagree! What I find funny is that our decisions for who is aloud are so selfishly made. They are often rooted in what we struggle the least with. I mean, seriously, it's easy for a strait guy to condemn a gay guy. And it's easy for a sober man to condemn the drunkard. But what about the gossiping american suburban mothers?! What about the Lustful porn addicts?! What about the one who thinks he is worthy of something?! We are all guilty!!! Who are we to decide who is aloud in our church?! Last time I checked, sinners were aloud. If that has changed, we might as well make them into skateparks or something, because no one is going to be there. Well, maybe some pharisees being thankful that they don't ever mess up...
We must start loving each other. If we were all as wise as the tax collector, we would all know that whether we are right or wrong is irrelevant in this. We would see that we are arguing about the controversial call that the ref just made so much that we aren't able to play the game.
The only thing that I know is absolutely true is that Jesus Christ is the Lord and that he died that I may live! He came down to earth, a demotion from his original dwelling place. He left a perfect place and came to a place of filth and injustice, a place where he was mistreated and murdered, a place where he didn't agree with anything that was going on. He came here just to love us. He knew we were wrong, but he chose to love and serve instead of leave us to die. He came to invite us in instead of to tell us that we messed up so much that we're no longer welcome.
We must go to the place of conflict, the place of disagreement, not to make it right or to be dominate, but to love the people who are desperately needing it.(Everyone)
The American church, as a whole, is not acting like Jesus in this respect. We are spending way too much time "fixing" our kinks and not enough time loving each other. What if we dropped the kinks? What if we actually lived out the gospel?
The world would never be the same. We must join together for this. I have things you don't. You have things I don't. It is this way for a reason. It is this way so that we can't make it alone. It is this way because when we join as one with God, we will be complete. A body has many parts.
The body has one Spirit.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Guilty?
Me too.
I wonder what the church would be like if we changed. I wonder what the world would be like if we changed? If you read Paul's letters and read Acts you will quickly see that Paul would be furious with us. He spoke of unity and love and sacrifice. Paul didn't speak of division and arguments and persecution! He did not tell us to kill abortion doctors and build electric fences to keep the gays out!
In Acts we have multiple examples of Paul sacrificing his morality and doing something he knew wasn't the truth, all for the sake of preaching what is truth. He went through the Jewish procedures to enter the temple and paid for meat to be sacrificed, even though it was not his way of living. He did what ever he had to to preach the gospel to a group different from himself. I am not saying that we should all abandon morality and forget about our rituals. I am saying that we should be willing to let go of everything but the true gospel, for the sake of the true gospel. We should be able to become who we are here to love. We should be willing to drop all that we think we are that we may help someone see who He is.
Everything.
I believe that if we actually loved each other and we actually loved the people who haven't been saved, we would be doing everything in our power to live life with each other. Paul said constantly that the church was to house all peoples. Some would say, "Well, it does. We have all kinds of churches." Whoopty freakin do! Paul didn't want us to split up in order to make it work. That is divorce! He wanted us to let go of our differences and conform accordingly to each other's needs in order to live out what really matters.
If the only thing that matters is the only thing that we agree on, that is perfectly fine, because if nothing else matters, we should be able to let go off all the rest. If we can't, then we are making the truth equal with the rest. We are to grab hold of the gospel of Jesus Christ and let that be what bonds us. We are not to grab onto our idea of what is okay in a church and let go of those who disagree! What I find funny is that our decisions for who is aloud are so selfishly made. They are often rooted in what we struggle the least with. I mean, seriously, it's easy for a strait guy to condemn a gay guy. And it's easy for a sober man to condemn the drunkard. But what about the gossiping american suburban mothers?! What about the Lustful porn addicts?! What about the one who thinks he is worthy of something?! We are all guilty!!! Who are we to decide who is aloud in our church?! Last time I checked, sinners were aloud. If that has changed, we might as well make them into skateparks or something, because no one is going to be there. Well, maybe some pharisees being thankful that they don't ever mess up...
We must start loving each other. If we were all as wise as the tax collector, we would all know that whether we are right or wrong is irrelevant in this. We would see that we are arguing about the controversial call that the ref just made so much that we aren't able to play the game.
The only thing that I know is absolutely true is that Jesus Christ is the Lord and that he died that I may live! He came down to earth, a demotion from his original dwelling place. He left a perfect place and came to a place of filth and injustice, a place where he was mistreated and murdered, a place where he didn't agree with anything that was going on. He came here just to love us. He knew we were wrong, but he chose to love and serve instead of leave us to die. He came to invite us in instead of to tell us that we messed up so much that we're no longer welcome.
We must go to the place of conflict, the place of disagreement, not to make it right or to be dominate, but to love the people who are desperately needing it.(Everyone)
The American church, as a whole, is not acting like Jesus in this respect. We are spending way too much time "fixing" our kinks and not enough time loving each other. What if we dropped the kinks? What if we actually lived out the gospel?
The world would never be the same. We must join together for this. I have things you don't. You have things I don't. It is this way for a reason. It is this way so that we can't make it alone. It is this way because when we join as one with God, we will be complete. A body has many parts.
The body has one Spirit.
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