Dislocated Thoughts

Be Still

2011-12-11T19:43:00.004-06:00

YHWH will make war for you, and you-be still!

Exodus 14:14

Purpose

2011-11-25T15:14:00.019-06:00

Question. What is my purpose?

10[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [[b]which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death, [in the hope]

11That if possible I may attain to the [[c]spiritual and moral] resurrection [that lifts me] out from among the dead [even while in the body].

Philippians 3:10-11
Amplified Bible

Question. How can we know God?

3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone obeys his word, God’s loveb is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

1 John 2:3-6
NIV

Question. What are the commandments of God?

34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’b 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Mathew 22:34-40
NIV

Question. How do we love God with all our hearts?

24Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the LORD. 25Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

2 Kings 23:24-25
NIV

Question. Isn't that Old Testament?

10All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”c 11Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”d 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”e 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”f 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Galations 3:10-14
NIV

Question. So, how does this work in the New Testament?

16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

Question. How do you live by the Spirit?

5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Romans 8:5
NIV

Question. What are the things the Spirit desires?

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galations 5:22-23
NIV

Question. How do we love our neighbor?

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two silver coinse and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10:29-37
NIV

Question. So what exactly is my purpose?

My determined purpose is to love God by setting my mind on love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control and to love my neighbor by helping those I find in need.

From My Professor

2011-09-02T20:13:00.002-05:00

"That you are willing and able to donate your time is a great blessing. Time is the one asset we cannot store away somewhere. We also do not know how much time we will have on this earth. So, to give your time is to give your most precious and precarious asset. It is said that we show our love most by giving our time to a dear one."

-Tina Fields
Bellevue University

"Let me challenge a thought that keeps appearing in our writings about the free market philosophy. That thought is that selfishness and greed are the basis of the free market, and that those are human flaws that simply must be accommodated in any successful economic scheme. Is it truly selfish to do the best one can for oneself? Or, is that the first duty we have to our fellow citizens, our neighbors? I submit that taking care of ourselves so as not to become a burden on others is one of the most important ways we can serve one another."

-Tina Fields
Bellevue University

What If?

2010-10-29T21:56:00.006-05:00

Somebody asked me once why my blogs are always repeating the same themes. I might have a new story, but it seems like it’s always the same topic. Basically, this person was asking why there is never any growth in my life. Why am I so stagnant?

I was thinking about my latest blogs and I laughed because I realized she was right. My life does reflect very little growth and I do struggle with the same things over and over again. Actually, I never disagreed with her to begin with; I just didn’t have any answers for the question.

It hit me a few weeks back that one reason I stagnate is because I’m afraid. I’m afraid of God. I’m afraid that He hates me, that He’s not who I think He is, that I’m never good enough for Him, that everybody is a better Christian than I am no matter what I do, and that if I make one false move He’s going to be mad at me. So, I stagnate because whatever I do it’s never good enough so why do anything?

Now, of course everybody who reads this is going to misinterpret it because you all love clinging to your Sunday school theology instead really looking inside your hearts. I'm talking about hidden motives, values, and subconscious thought processes here. This is not a theological stance I'm making. I want to get beyond the surface for a second.

I believe that love exists. I believe that you can sacrifice for others and put others above yourself. I believe in compromise, tolerance, understanding, forgiveness, and giving others the benefit of the doubt. I believe in these things because that’s how I try to live my life (I know I continually fail at it though). I don’t believe in love because I feel that people show me these virtues. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I subconsciously believe I’m unlovable because people seem to treat me the way I would treat others only if hated them. I always feel I’m the one who has to be loving because nobody else cares to (It’s stupid; I know. Really, it’s just all perspective).

A girl at work told me recently that I am a rude, mean, impatient, perfectionist, bully. I didn’t respond to her because, like I said, I try to give others the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she’s right and I need to change something. The next day she comes over and asks me for help with something. I asked her why she constantly asks me for help if I’m such a bully. Her response was that nobody else will take the time to help her. I’m the only person in the whole office who doesn’t get upset about dropping what I’m doing to help others.

You can only imagine my frustration with trying to understand how I can be a bully while at the same time be the only person kind enough to help others whenever I can. She couldn’t answer the question and just begged me to help her because she was in a bind. So, being my bully self, I dropped what I was doing and helped out this jerk of a person who thinks I’m a kind and helpful bully. In my mind, this girl is the mean person who accuses me of things and then abuses my kindness when it’s beneficial to her. But, once again, I find myself praying for God to put kindness and forgiveness in my heart for this person, while she continues on in her life without a second thought for what just happened.

I’m afraid God is like this. I’m afraid that I will go out of my to serve Him only to find out it doesn’t matter to Him, that He can’t see how hard I try, that He won’t understand that even though I fail I’m doing the best I can, and that we are stuck misinterpreting one another.

I was talking on the phone to a friend a few weeks back and she was saying some of these same things. In a sudden moment of sanity, I blurted out, “What if God really is good?”

In perfect Baptist fashion she responded with something to the effect of, “Of course He’s good. It’s in the Bible.”

“No, no. But what if we really believed it to the point of acting out on it? What if it wasn’t just our theological stance but was what we actually clung to in our hearts?”

She couldn’t get what I was saying and asked me if I was going to kill myself. I said no and we hung up. But ever since then I’ve been asking myself “What if?”

What if God is happy with me? What if He saw how hard I try? What if He understood that my humanity made me weak? What if He wasn’t constantly misinterpreting me and accusing me of things? What if He was the one who did all the loving? What if He wasn’t mad at me? What if He really did guard my steps and watch over me while I slept? What if He really did provide for me? What if I didn't have to figure everything out because my Father had it all figured out for me? What if I really could rest in the freedom of God’s overwhelming love for me? What if all that was more than theology to me?

Well, that would change EVERYTHING.

Psalms 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you make the Most High your dwelling— even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation

The Life You Have Always Wanted

2010-10-24T17:13:00.027-05:00

In an odd course of events, I found myself YouTubing Joyce Meyer the other day (Yes, a televangelist. What can I say? It is what it is.)

The message was so different than what I’m use to hearing. It was practical. It made sense. It wasn’t some theological abstraction that has no applicable use. It spoke to me. It haunted my soul not becuase it was deep but because it wasn't. I was so riveted that I watched all six YouTube videos again the next day and took notes: something that is extremely out of the ordinary for me. Here are the notes I took:

https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=11zIbU4hARzWCmIGM0UJLZWK2YpcXN5i-I3pfPTAbbmc&hl=en&authkey=CPym2ccD

Avarice

2010-10-19T21:29:00.008-05:00

AVARICE - excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain.

I've been studying the stock market again lately. I have a tendency to do that every once in a while with the hopes of striking it rich one day. As I was driving home from work today, I started imagining all the things I could do if I got rich. I could help the homeless, help orphans, and help my mom. Then the thought hit me "What can I do to help the homeless, orphans, and my mom right now?" That frightened me, so I turned the volume up on the radio and tried to ignore the question.

Avarice is supposedly the chief sin of the enneagram type 5. But the type 5 is usually not greedy for money. Instead they are greedy for their time and energy. I realized today that I don't have any problem giving anybody I can money if they need it. But I really struggle to give anybody five minutes of my time; even God.

The obvious conclusion is that I need to freely give to God and those in need everything I have right now: time, knowledge, energy, and money. But that might cost me the thing I love the most: myself.

Math 10:39 "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

The Work of Love

2010-10-01T20:58:00.003-05:00

I can't stop thinking about this quote I read on a blog called Mystery and Manners. My head is spinning trying to grasp the full extent of its meaning. What implications does this have on how I live my life and how I interpret the teachings of Christ?

"It is also good to love: because love is difficult. For one person to love another person: that is perhaps the most difficult task that is given to us, the ultimate task, the last test and proof, the work for which all other work is only preparation."

--Ranier Maria Rilke (whoever that is?)

Far Away

2010-08-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

Humiliating Dependence

2010-08-04T22:59:00.002-05:00

"Stagnation in spiritual life comes when we say we will bear the whole thing ourselves. We cannot. We are so involved in the universal purposes of God that immediately we obey God, others are affected. Are we going to remain loyal in our obedience to God and go through the humiliation of refusing to be independent, or are we going to take the other line and say - I will not cost other people suffering? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all consequences with Him."

-Oswald Chambers,My Utmost for His Highest (January 11)

Do You Believe in the Bible?

2010-05-16T11:11:00.005-05:00

It’s a weird question; do you believe in the Bible? I mean, it’s just a history book, right? Nobody asks that question about any other history book. Did anybody ever ask you if you believed in your eighth grade history textbook? Or do you believe the Federalist Papers?

Are you being asked if you believe that the actual book exists? Or are you being asked if you believe the concepts in the book? I assume it’s the concepts. So, yes, I believe in love, kindness, helping those in need, loving my neighbor as myself, forgiveness, and that it is better to give than it is to receive. So, we’re all good here, right?

But the problem is that most everybody believes those things. Even if you’re not kind, you usually believe that you ought to be. Maybe what people are really asking is, “do you believe there is really only one way to heaven?” Or, “Do you believe in hell?” Or something a bit more controversial like, “Do you believe abortion and homosexuality are a wrong?”

Nobody cares if you believe in the things that all humans universally agree upon. It’s the sticky subjects that people are after. They want to know if you’re dumb enough to believe some ancient book written thousands of years ago.

Of course, we Christians are all a little embarrassed about certain sections of the Bible, so we say we can’t interpret those parts. We can interpret the parts about love, compassion, and kindness, but we’re not quite sure what hell is, or if Muslims and Buddhists still get to go to heaven. We have no idea if abortion or homosexuality is wrong. We only know that love and kindness are good things and that our lives should reflect such virtues.

But if all we can interpret are the parts that everybody in the world needs no interpretation on, then the question takes on a strikingly new complexity. Do I believe in the Bible, or do I simply believe the universal truths that all mankind believes?

Perhaps, this is a good question after all. Of course, an onslaught of questions are likely to follow. Whose interpretation is correct? What about the fact that we all interpret things differently? How can we say that we know truth when it relative to experience? We can only interpret the Bible based upon our environments and limited perspective, so how can we say our perspective is truer or better than anyone else’s?

Personally, I don’t have a problem with asking these questions. In fact, I think it’s important that we do ask them. What bothers me is the hypocrisy and contradictions. Why do we only ask these questions of certain subjects? Why don’t we apply the questions to how we interpret love, kindness, and giving?

Maybe Jesus doesn’t love us. Maybe I shouldn’t be kind. Maybe I should stockpile my own resources for wealth preservation instead of giving. I mean, who are you to tell me my interpretation is wrong? You’re only speaking from your limited perspective. Your interpretation is no better than mine.

Now, here come all the people telling me that it's dumb to say such things. Yes, it is dumb. That's the point.

1 Cor. 1:19 "For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.'"

The Rules of Grace

2010-03-29T20:38:00.010-05:00

“I use to get really ticked about preachers who talked too much about grace, because they tempted me to not be disciplined. I figured what people needed was a kick in the butt, and if I failed at godliness it was because those around me weren’t trying hard enough. I believed if word got out about grace, the whole church was going to turn into a brothel.”

Donald Miller
Blue Like Jazz

There was this girl who was about 15 years old when she got pregnant. She was a foster child. I never knew what happened to her parents, but I did know she always had sad eyes. I was in charge of the youth services she attended. Some of the pastors and parents of the “good kids” thought we needed to kick her out of the youth group because she might corrupt the other kids.

The people at this church were really good at keeping rules. We had a rule for everything. The people that were really spiritual didn’t even have TVs. They were so committed to God that they didn’t want to fill their souls with worldly nonsense. They read the bible nonstop, went witnessing once a week, prayed every day, didn’t use cuss words, didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, and they kicked foster kids out of youth group if they acted up.

Sometimes, I wonder why that church couldn’t love that girl with the sad eyes. I think it’s because following rules stifles love. Rules are all about our own will power and what we can accomplish in our own strength. That’s God’s old covenant. His new one is all about desire; new desires that come from Him alone. What if we had been full of God’s grace instead of our own self righteousness? Perhaps we could have covered that girl’s sins with love until God changed her desires. But we didn’t like God’s timing. We couldn’t wait on God to change her. Since we thought it was up to us to change ourselves, we figured it was up to her to change herself. We were like those “foolish Galatians” who thought that human effort was how our spirituality worked (Gal. 3:3).

Somebody recently asked me how much I read the Bible and go to church. What’s weird is that they didn’t ask me if I have been transformed enough by the grace of God to look past the sin of a foster kid. But, sarcasm aside, why would they? It’s not a typical question Christians ask one another. I wonder which question Christ is asking me though.

For a second, I almost forgot how active God is in my life, and I started thinking about all the negative areas in my spiritual life. I don’t pray enough, read the Bible enough, or participate in church enough. But I forgot about the lady I gave a brand new bed to because she didn’t have one. I forgot about that homeless man I helped out the other day. And I forgot how much I’ve helped out my family lately. I forgot because nobody cares if God is filling your heart with love for other people. It’s not as impressive as following lots of rules.

Phillipians 3:9 ...and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

Miller Time

2010-03-13T17:29:00.004-06:00

“...last year I was sitting in a café in Boston when a man came in with his wife and their two children. One of the children was a boy who looked to be three, and the other was an infant dressed in pink. I went back to reading, but after a time the infant began to cry in a shrill I would normally find annoying. But it didn’t affect me the same way this time. I watched the mother lift the baby into her lap and comfort her until the child’s sobbing turned to gasping. As the mother brought the child to her shoulder and rocked her until gasping turned back to breathing. It hit me then that while I had spent my twenties daydreaming and avoiding the reality of crying children, this man I didn’t know had met a woman and started a real family with real children who were not literary inventions, but actual characters who cried in coffee shops. This sort of life once sounded boring to me. It was too real, too unromantic, I suppose. But there in Boston it occurred to me that his story was better than mine for the simple fact that his story was actually happening. He was doing real things with real people while I’d been typing words into a computer.”

Donald Miller
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

A Quote I Like

2009-12-23T19:53:00.004-06:00

I read this on another blog, and I didn't want to forget it in case I ever teach again.

"Set love as the criterion of all that you say, and whatever you teach, teach in such a way that the person to whom you speak, by hearing may believe, by believing hope, and by hoping love."

-Saint Augustine, The Instruction of Beginners 8

My Narcissistic Offerings To God

2009-02-08T15:54:00.014-06:00

I guess it’s as old as the cavemen asking the gods to pour down rain on their crop or to win a battle for them. Now days it takes the form of athletes asking God to let them win a game or a fighter pilot asking God to guide his missiles. And in a personal way, it finds itself in me as I ask God for wisdom concerning a job offer I just got yet forgetting to pray for those hurting all around me. It seems like all I have are narcissistic offerings to God.

I was watching Along Came Polly the other day and there was a scene that convicted me to look beyond my own personal needs. There are other things outside of my life that need my prayer and faith, and I hope that this will not be one of those amazing moments in my life where God speaks to me and then I forget about it the next day.

1Sa 12:23 "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

Close-Minded Christians

2008-11-19T19:56:00.030-06:00

“If you insist that no one can determine which beliefs are right and wrong, why should we believe what you are saying?”

Timothy Keller

One thing that nobody wants to be called is closed-minded. We’re all so afraid of it. So, we become open-minded republicans who clearly see that liberals don’t know anything about economics. Or we become open-minded democrats that know conservatives only care about themselves and hate the poor. We may even become religious and claim that once we opened ourselves to God we found the truth. And quite possibly, we may even open our minds past what our narrow-minded Sunday school teachers taught us and become atheists.

The put downs go on and on without anybody ever noticing that despite how much we try not to be, we are all extremely biased. If we’re open to religion, we’re closed to atheism. If we’re open to republicans, we’re closed to democrats. And you know the rest. The list just keeps going.

But as Americans, this just will not do. It is incomprehensible that somehow we have been trained or manipulated into having our beliefs. It just can't be true, and we can prove it!

First of all, to prove our open-mindedness towards religion, we will consider them to all be equally true. So this means that Jesus was God, wasn’t God, rose from the dead, didn’t rise from the dead, and that he did and didn’t do miracles. It also means that Muhammad and Joseph Smith were both God’s last true prophets, and that both weren’t. Interestingly, it also means that God both does and does not exist. And it even means that when you die you are reincarnated which doesn’t happen, go to heaven which doesn’t exist, go to purgatory which also doesn’t exist, have 70 virgins waiting for you which is a lie, or go to hell which does not exist. There is also only one God, millions of Gods, and no God. And if you don’t believe this you are an ignorant, closed-minded person who only believes what your parents taught you.

Secondly, we will subject every belief to science except, of course, our belief that we should subject every belief to science. No justification is needed for that one. It’s just true. Open your minds you fools!

And lastly, everyone should live like us because our improvable beliefs are better than your improvable beliefs. Why isn't that clear?

Rom 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

Plowed Up

2008-11-05T19:07:00.003-06:00

“The almost impossibly hard thing is to hand over your whole self to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is remain what we call ‘ourselves’ - our personal happiness centered on money or pleasure or ambition – and hoping, despite this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly. And that is exactly what Christ warned us you cannot do. If I am a grass field – all the cutting will keep the grass less but won’t produce wheat. If I want wheat… I must be plowed up and re-sown.”

C.S. Lewis

Gal 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Was Jesus Rich, Poor, or Middle Class

2008-09-27T10:40:00.018-05:00

It’s funny to learn about how different Christians have extremely different ideas about how much wealth Jesus had. The differences are polar opposites. You have a variety of Charismatic type Christians who teach that Jesus was rich and that poverty is a curse. Then you have other Protestants, Catholics, and the new emerging church types who are convince that Jesus was poor and that poverty is a blessing. I haven’t yet heard the argument that he was middle class, but he was a carpenter, which seems to me like a middle class profession. But then again, I am no expert on where carpenter salaries stood compared to other salaries during the times of Jesus. I am really just making a silly point here because what I really think is that we don’t have much evidence to determine just how much money Jesus either had or did not have.

If you think that Jesus was poor, there’s going to be a few verses that you will you use. The most common one is found in both Mathew and Luke’s gospels where Jesus said “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air has nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” I just finished reading a book where the guy was so convinced that this verse means Jesus was homeless that he actually used that as his defense in a court case where he was being tried for some protest he was a part of. Apparently, he actually won with that argument. But it seems a little too presumptuous to say Jesus was homeless because of one verse. In the very next verse, a guy asks Jesus to let him go bury his father before he follows Jesus, and Jesus tells him to go let “the dead to bury their own dead.” So, following the logic of the author of this book, to properly follow Jesus, not only do you have to become homeless, but you’re not allowed to bury your dad when he dies. In the gospel of John it says that Jesus actually took some people and showed them where he was staying (John 1:38-39). So, at some point in his life, whether bought or rented, he obviously had a place big enough to entertain guests.

But the most obvious fallacy with using the fox and bird verse is one that common sense reveals. It’s simply the fact that at this point in Jesus’s life he was a traveling preacher. I live in Friendswood TX where I have a place to lay my head every night. But if I traveled to California tomorrow, I would have no place to lay my head. So, when people ask me where I’m staying, I might have to say that I have nowhere to sleep even though I actually do have an apartment.

The Word and Faith movement taught us the exact opposite. They taught us the Jesus was rich. I went to a church once where the guest speaker was a billionaire from Australia. He had actually paid for a research team to prove Jesus was rich by calculating what the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh Jesus received at his birth would be worth today. I can’t remember the exact figure, but it was Bill Gates kind of money. Jesus was given gold at his birth, but exactly how much of it I think is a lot more difficult to say than these researchers thought. Why was Jesus’s father a carpenter if they were all of the sudden so rich? In fact, Jesus is referred to as “the carpenter’s son”, and people were astonished to find out that Jesus had such wisdom and miraculous power when they realized what family he came from. Would it have been this big of a deal if it would have been Bill Gate's son? Not likely.

There’s plenty more arguments on both sides, but I think we’re missing the point. Just for fun, let’s assume that Jesus was homeless. Even if we say that he was actually that poor, we still have a difficult time comparing him to the homeless man on the corner. What homeless man has the resources to feed thousands of people on two different occasions? What homeless man provides wine for an entire wedding? What homeless man makes gold appear in order to pay taxes? The problem we have in saying that we all should become poor like Jesus is that Jesus wasn’t poor in the way we think of poverty. We think of poverty as a lack of money and resources. Well even if Jesus didn’t have any money, he sure did have resources.

See, the problem with this is that Jesus didn’t operate within a human economic system. In human economies, a person's labor earns them a wage. But Jesus said his kingdom was not of this world, which I would also take to mean that the economy of his kingdom was also not of this world. Within his economy, it was more important to be rich towards God than to have the physical riches that a market economy might provide. Even if one did not have physical riches, one’s richness towards God would actually provide for his earthly needs, as was the case with Jesus.

Why am I bringing all this up? Well, because I believe that Christ called us to help the poor. No Christian would deny that, but they might do it in different ways based on different beliefs. I’m reading a book that almost makes it a sin to live in the suburbs, which is where I live. If God blesses poverty, then I am not blessed. I’m certainly not rich by any means, but neither am I extremely poor. This book says that the poor are blessed because that is what the Bible says (are we sure?). But I’ve seen poverty and it doesn’t look like a blessing to me.

So here are some questions I’m asking:

• Is it wrong, as a Christian, to live in a nice house?
• Does Jesus call us to be poor?
• How should we help the poor?
• Do we strive to lift people out of poverty or simply provide handouts?
• Is poverty a curse or a blessing?

I don’t have any answers to these questions, but before we answer them, let’s be sure we’re properly looking at how Jesus lived and what the scriptures actually say or do not say?

Luk 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
Luk 12:33 "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
Luk 12:34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Nobodies

2008-09-07T21:06:00.009-05:00

I love people in the Bible who are nobodies. I keep being told all kinds of different things about how a Christian should live and act. Some people say if you don’t witness to at least one person a day you’re not doing your Christian duty. A friend of mine (you know who you are) keeps making me read all these books by hippie Christians whose sole purpose in life is to live in community. I heard another guy say that God didn’t call anyone in the Bible to be a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. He said we are all called into ministry and he seemed to imply vocational ministry. I think I am probably the worst Christian in the world because I don’t witness to one person a day, I can’t stand hippie Christianity, and I work in a secular occupation. I’m hoping the whole Jesus forgives sin thing works out for me.

I’ve read about other Christians like me in the Bible though. That gives me a little bit of hope. There’s a guy name Daniel who was a Jewish slave. The only thing he ever did was have integrity and pray. For that alone, God blessed him with a secular occupation that made him rich. He must have been a bad Christian like me too. But I especially like the nobodies in the New Testament because you rarely hear about them in church. For instance, in Acts 9 there is a nobody named Tabitha who was really nice and loving. That earned her being brought back to life when she died. Then in Acts 10 there is a guy named Cornelius, and all he did was help people out and pray. The hippie Christians I read about would hate him because he was actually like a captain in an army or something like that. Hippie Christians think anyone involved with war isn’t following Jesus. But God used this man to go talk to Peter, who was a big time leader in the church.

My favorite person to read about this subject is Oswald Chambers. He says that “We do not need the grace of God to stand crises, human nature and pride are sufficient, we can face the strain magnificently; but it does require the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus.” My favorite part of that is word drudgery. I find that to be the perfect way of describing my life right now.

But I am learning that drudgery is beautiful because I find that drudgery is God’s tool for refining me. Drudgery is all about ignoring your feelings and what you want, and it’s all about just going through the motions. Just going through the motions is one of the best evidences of a life hidden with Christ. There is a time when it is joy to serve Christ, but, at least for me, there is a time when it is not so joyful. It’s during this time I find that prayer, integrity, and loving my neighbor are the hardest. Why? BECAUSE I DON’T FEEL LIKE DOING THOSE THINGS!!!!!

But this is how true love for God is born. So, I find myself not seeking to be an evangelist, to live in a hippie community, or to find a ministry. I find myself simply struggling to get up and pray, to manage my money as God would have me to, and forgiving the idiots that have wronged me. This is Christianity. Jesus did this for 30 years before he ever preached a sermon. Today, we would say he was wasting his life away not starting an orphanage or a homeless shelter. The most beautiful ministry in unconscious ministry when you are so taken up with the things of God that you minister all the time without realizing it.

I know that some people will say that I am wrong, and that the one thing we need to do is get to work. But so much of our work is about us. We minister so we can boast of all the ministry we've done. It's easier to feel like a good Christian when you are on a mission trip in Africa than it is when you are in a cubicle in Houston. I am convinced that the most important thing we Christians need to do is to deny ourselves, pick up our crosses, and follow Christ daily. Surely, there is more to Christianity than being a charity organization. There are plenty of non-Christian charities. The message of Christ is not just about witnessing or feeding the poor. It's also about dying to yourself. That's the one part we want to leave out of Christianity, but it is really the central message of Christ.

There is no applause for the person who prays, forgives, is pure, kind, and gives to whoever they see in need without telling everyone about it, but I find my true worth to Christ when nobody is applauding. If I can go through the motions of holiness becuase I love Christ, them maybe he can begin to work though me instead of me trying to do His work in my own strength for my own glory.

Luk 2:40 The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

The Joy of Unintellectualism

2008-08-02T19:54:00.010-05:00

I have a friend who once told me that my blog was too serious. That’s probably never been truer than recently. I’ve been reading the blogs of these really smart guys, and they’ve got me thinking about things I haven’t thought about in a long time. I've enjoyed all of it, but, honestly, I'd rather spend my life chasing faith, hope, and love instead of reason. Reason has a place in our lives, but I personally gave it too big of a place in much of my life

One of my friends, who I like to call J-Bone, personifies this balance I'm talking about. He definitely has examined his life and beliefs, but on the other hand, he doesn’t take life too seriously. He makes these crazy videos in his spare time. There’s no rhyme or reason, no point, and definitely not any intellectualism. For all those reasons, I love them. So here’s to the joy of unintellectualism.

Ecc 12:12 But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.

Why I believe in God and Science

2008-07-26T19:56:00.010-05:00

“Any physical theory is always provisional, in the sense that it is only a hypothesis: you can never prove it.”

Stephen Hawking

So many of us have this deep longing for a foundation of knowledge that cannot be doubted. We like to believe that we can live without faith or trust; that we can know the truth. Personally, I have found that all of life is a risk, and that no matter how hard I try not to, I must depend on others. I am a fairly independent person. I have a decent job that pays my bills, and although I am not wealthy, I am comfortable. Despite that, I am dependent upon my employer. Without him, I have no job. If he is negligent with his responsibilities, I might not have a steady source of income anymore. I depend on him. Some people are self-employed, but they depend on loyal customers and a steady economy. If the economy goes down, their business goes down. If the U.S. economy goes down, it affects the world economy. Our lives are all connected, and as much as we hate to, we must rely on each other.

I believe that E = MC². To be honest, I don’t really understand how energy can be equal to mass times the speed of light squared. The concepts are a bit out of my grasp because I am not really a serious student of science. I’ve read a little and I took some science courses in school, but I am not even close to being a true scientist. I don’t have the training nor do I have the intellect to be an Einstein kind of guy who can dream this stuff up. Nevertheless, I find myself believing in things that I don’t really understand. If you asked me to expound on this equation or explain some practical use of it, I would be at a loss for words. Yet I believe it. Why? I can’t prove it. I can’t explain it, and the only reason I believe it is because that’s what my teachers told me, and I read it in a book.

If I were to say that I believe in God because of the men who went before me and explained Him and the teachers who taught Him to me, I would get ridiculed by a lot of people. They would say that that is not a good enough reason to believe in Him. Or maybe they would say that I have been deceived by religious dogma. They might even say that I need some scientific experiment to prove His existence.

How come my teachers in school never showed me a scientific experiment that proved Einstein’s special theory of relativity? Why was I just suppose to believe them based on the traditions of science and the authority of the teacher? Why was there so much reliance on authority involved?

The knowledge of science comes from a tradition. If Newton hadn’t become part of that tradition when he explained gravity, we wouldn’t even have the term gravity today. We wouldn’t even have been thinking about it. Einstein wouldn’t have expanded on the concept with his theory. Gravity was never something that was provable. It was a theory; a theory that was later shown to have some flaws. Nevertheless, people believed it based on what Newton said and what they were taught by others. That is the only pathway to knowledge.

At my job we create intallation drawings, and on the notes we write, we sometimes don’t use correct grammar on purpose. There are times when the note is simpler if we use fragments or don’t use commas properly. We can break the rules only because we understand them. We understand the rules because we trusted what our elementary school teachers taught us. If we had never trusted them, we couldn’t control the clarity of the notes now. If you don’t trust your second grade math teacher, you’ll never understand calculus. The point of initially trusting some authority is so that you will one day understand on your own. But all knowledge initially begins with a trust in a tradition and authority. That is true for science and also for religion.

Some people ask me why I believe in God. I ask them why they believe in science.

Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ

Working the Works of God

2008-07-13T02:21:00.004-05:00

If you read about Jesus, you’ll find that He’s always going around telling people to believe He is the Son of God. One time in John 6, somebody asked Jesus what must be done to continually work the works of God. Jesus simply says that he must believe in the One God sent. At the end of John 3, it says that those who believe will have everlasting life and those who don’t will be condemned.

What’s up with all this believing stuff? Why does God count belief as such a big deal? In fact, it is apparently such a big deal that, according to Him, it is a deciding factor in getting everlasting life or being condemned.

Have you ever noticed that people don’t look at information in an unbiased manner and then make a conclusion? Democrats a lot of times believe that government is good and should be used as tool to improve life. Republicans look at government as a necessary evil that should only build bridges and fight wars. They start with different beliefs and then use their reason to create policy according to their beliefs. That’s why they can’t ever agree. It’s not a difference in reasoning ability. It’s a difference in beliefs. That’s why environmentalists and oil executives disagree. Environmentalists believe the most important thing we should do is protect the environment. Oil executives believe the most important thing we should do is make money and provide cheap oil. Who’s right? Well, it depends on what you believe and what perspective you’re using.

Think about it like this: A scientist will tell you that love doesn’t exist. To the scientist, love is just a chemical reaction in the brain. Others believe that love is the ultimate force in the universe. It’s a hideous thought to them to think that love should be analyzed in a scientific way. They don’t want it to be rational. They want it to sweep them off their feet and carry them away.

All of these beliefs originate in the heart of a person, and not the head. You can tell a scientist from childhood. You can also tell a poet from childhood. Before they work their thoughts out, they start with beliefs. These beliefs are the product of our minds and personalities, and they form in a person as early as childhood. Have you ever noticed that most scientific types are introverts? Have you ever noticed that salesman are usually extroverts and aren’t interested in metaphysics? Have you ever noticed that most mechanics have laid back personalities and their favorite toy to play with was legos when they were kids? We are designed to form beliefs in our hearts and then work those beliefs out with our heads. The beliefs of a person are their very core, and despite what many think, they are more a product of personality than they are reason.

Jesus also taught another interesting thing about belief. He taught that for a person to be open to belief in Him, that person’s heart must be in the right condition (Parable of the Sower; Matthew 13). The condition of the scientist’s heart is not in the right place to experience love in the same way as the poet. Also, the condition of the poet’s heart is not in the right place to analyze love in a rational way. They can’t get past the beliefs in their hearts. In the same way, the scientist will look at God in a rational way while the poet will simply want to be swept off their feet in a supernatural experience. To believe in Jesus, we must sometimes get past certain things we carry in our hearts.

But there is one condition of the heart that the apostle Paul talks about Ephesians 2that is the ultimate reason people can’t believe in Jesus. It is pride. Paul tells us that we are saved by faith, or belief, so that no one can boast. In other words, if the scientist is too prideful to believe in something that is not rational, he will miss Jesus. If the poet is too prideful to bring himself down to an unromantic understanding of sin, he will also miss Jesus. When coming to God, a person must admit the He alone is God. Our reason is not God, and our desire for ecstasy instead of our sinful reality is not God either. A person CAN rationally analyze belief in God and a person CAN experience God, but first they must submit to Him.

There is no other way.

Luk 16:31 "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Back to Prayer

2008-07-02T12:01:00.005-05:00

“pray without ceasing”

The Apostle Paul

When a person loves without ceasing, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that person continually does loving acts without stopping to do anything else. Sometimes a person who loves without ceasing goes to work or takes a shower. Sometimes they may even stop their continual cycle of love and go to the bathroom.

When we say that a person loves continually, what we mean is that in every situation they find themselves in that requires a choice between loving and not loving, they choose love. Instead of being bitter or resentful, they forgive. Instead of tearing people down, they build people up. Whenever a situation is presented to them in which they must choose between loving and hating, they choose love. Not every situation requires such a decision.

Not every situation requires prayer. Choosing between McDonald’s and Burger King might be one of those situations. I don’t think the idea of praying without ceasing means that we literally pray 24 hours a day. It is simply a constant reliance upon God. People that love without ceasing aren’t always consciously aware that they’re choosing love over hate. It’s just their lifestyle. In the same way, people that pray without ceasing aren’t always aware that they are choosing to pray versus not choosing to pray. It’s just a lifestyle of faith. These kinds of people pray when they’re thankful because they have faith that the good in their lives comes from God, when they’re worshipful because they believe God deserves their affection, and when they see others in need because they believe that God intervenes in our affairs.

To pray without ceasing, as is everything in Christianity, is a proper motivation before it works its way out into actions.

Jam 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.
Jam 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
Jam 5:15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
Jam 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Numb

2008-06-18T12:35:00.002-05:00

Remember when we were young
and we use to feel things?
We use to really love and hate
and not waste all our time calculating.

Remember how it felt to be ignorant
And to just follow our hearts?
We didn’t care about the cost
Or what would happen if all just fell apart.

Now we’re all so numb
And too busy to stop bleeding.
Sure, we still love and hate
But just so we can say we’re loving and hating.

It’d be cool if we could love like we use to
But I’d settle for just the hate.
Just to care enough to feel it.
Just a beautiful heartbreak.

Ecc 7:10 Do not say, "Why is it that the former days were better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.

Finding God

2008-05-17T20:59:00.012-05:00

How does a person find God? There are so many different belief systems. How can a person rationally find out who the true God is? There are a lot of books you can read that show evidences of the existence God, but there are also a lot of books that show evidences against the existence of God. There are people who convincingly portray Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and atheism as the truth. Who’s right?

If we were to be honest we would have to conclude that there is no possible way to know whether God exist or not. Even if we could, there would still be no way to prove which God he was. All we can do is either believe what someone says or believe something we ourselves somehow conclude.

But who should we believe? Muhammad? The apostle Paul? Gautama Buddha? Confucius? Joseph Smith? Richard Dawkins? Jesus? Ourselves?

While all this seems very complicated, the answer lies in the fact that we can't find God. God must find us. That is our only hope. Look at the list above. Which one claimed he was god?

Notice that it is not even important to prove whether Jesus did miracles and resurrected from the dead. What's important is that if this story is not true, then God did not find us.

The story of Jesus is the only story that portrays God trying to personally show himself to us. Even if it's untrue, it’s our only hope of either being found by God or knowing that He cannot be found.

http://www.helium.com/items/1047018-salvation-jesus-found-formulas

Joh 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Hell

2008-05-10T17:51:00.013-05:00

The biggest gamble a person can make is to believe that there is no hell. Nobody can prove whether hell exists or not. Neither Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, nor scientist can prove that there is or is not a hell. Every person must rely on their beliefs.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out if those beliefs are correct is to die. Of course, by then it's too late to change one's beliefs. It's alot like playing the lottery. You don't know what the winning numbers are until it's too late to change your ticket.

Mat 5:29 "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Culpster's Dictionary

2008-04-14T19:30:00.008-05:00

Faith - peace and joy despite unanswered questions, a lack of direction, and an abundance of problems that seem to have no solutions.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

The Maniac

2008-04-12T22:34:00.003-05:00

“…it is not enough that the unhappy man should desire truth; he must desire health. Nothing can save him but a blind hunger for normality, like that of a beast. A man cannot think himself out of mental evil; for it is actually the organ of thought that has become diseased, ungovernable, and, as it were, independent. He can only be saved by will or faith.”

G.K. Chesterton

1Co 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

Anne with an e

2008-03-30T19:07:00.003-05:00

When I was a kid it seemed like the only movie my mom would put in the VCR was Anne of Green Gables. I must have watched that movie like 700 times. There is a scene in that movie that I keep thinking about because it seems to encompass my misguided views on prayer. I am little embarrassed to admit this because Anne's discourse on prayer is quite unusual. To think my own crazy theology somehow lines up with hers is a bit comical.

Anyways, in this scene Anne is struggling with saying her bedtime prayers because she thinks her method is unromantic or something. She describes the perfect prayer as standing in a field and being so captivate that she can just "feel a prayer". That's funny because every time I pray I think I am suppose to feel something. I'm not quite sure what I should be feeling, but like Anne, somehow I think I should be overcome with emotion.

The fact that when I pray I hear nothing, see nothing, and feel nothing poses a threat to my desire to want to pray. I want to be taken up to the third heaven like Paul or something. Sitting there with a list of things to pray for is so boring.

Anyways, prayer, I don't think, is an emotional experience. It's not a method of trying to hear an audible voice or to see an angelic vision. Not that those things never happen, but they are not the reason for prayer.

Everyday I get up I brush my teeth. Why? It's a discipline I've implemented in my life because I want to align myself with clean teeth and fresh breadth. When I pray it is a way of everyday hallowing God's name, asking that His will be done, asking Him to supply my daily bread, and asking Him to keep me from temptation. If I don't hallow God's name, I can't pray. If I don't want His will in my life but instead have my own agenda, I can't pray. If I have my own plan to provide myself and trust my job instead of God, I can't pray. If I am using my own will power instead of trusting in God to keep me from falling into sin, I can't pray.

Prayer is the method of living a godly life, getting my financial needs met, ushering in God's kingdom, seeing others saved, and so forth.

But this method requires faith. Take, for instance, praying for God to give me my daily bread. I would rather work hard than pray. I would rather master the stock market, than trust God. I'd rather start a business and supply my own needs, than to ask God to meet my needs. What it comes down to is that I trust myself more than God. This is the whole point of prayer. It's shifting responsibility from myself to God. It's trusting in Him. I've used finances as an example, but this can be applied to any area.

The evidence I'm not properly praying is worry. We're suppose to "believe we receive" when we pray. If we did we wouldn't worry.

Herein lies the whole problem of prayer. Prayer is not just saying words. It is shifting my whole outlook of relying on myself to relying of God. When I do that, prayer becomes easy. It's easier to pray than it is to try to figure out how to provide for myself. Prayer is only a burden when I try to mix it with worry. When I walk by faith everything becomes simple and prayer becomes a joy. It's a joy to know my needs are taken care of and I don't have to worry about them.

It's this mixture of prayer and worry that is burdensome. Prayer and faith is the easiest and most delightful thing on the planet.

Oh me of little faith.

Mat 21:22 "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

Lessons From Gringo's Managment

2008-02-17T19:55:00.037-06:00

"Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD."
King David

I hate to wait. Last night I went to a restaurant and waited in about a 20 minute line. As I sat there, I realized that it had been a really long time since I have waited to be seated at a restaurant. I have spent way too much time analyzing different restaurants and particular times of days so that anytime I go to a restaurant I never have to wait. There are certain restaurants I refuse to go to on a Friday or Saturday night, and there are others that I go to where the food isn't spectacular, but I know I won't have to wait. I never realized just how much calculation I put into all this until I found myself waiting in line at Gringos last night. To be honest, the wait wasn't really that bad, and I found myself questioning why I've worked so hard trying to avoid something that really isn't a big deal.

Waiting is supposed to be this great equalizer. No matter who you are, you have to wait your turn. At least most of the time. Sometimes, we don't mind others going to the front. For instance, if the president was at Gringo's and they sat him ahead of everyone, I don't think many would get too upset. Why? Because we aren't equal with him (in a secular American kind of way). He's an extremely important person.

I have a sneaky suspicion that there alot of people who hate to wait. How do I know this? Because everyone is trying to be somebody that doesn't have to wait in line. Some try to become actors, singers, or CEO's. Others want to be politicians or preachers. Some just want to be associated with these important people. The president's associates don't have to wait either.

I have finally realized that the only thing God wants from me is the same thing that Gringo's management wants from me; to wait. In doing so, I become a person who is not important enough to cut in front of everyone. I don't mean in God's eyes, for there we are all equal, but in my own.

I feel like I have been waiting on God for so long that I don't even know what I'm waiting for. I'm waiting to find out why I'm waiting. But what we all know is this: there's a good way to wait and a bad way to wait. Patient and disciplined or impatient and undisciplined.

What's cool about Gringo's is that they don't really care what you do while you wait. You can sit outside or inside. You can listen to headphones or bring a game boy. You can talk on you phone, read a book, or talk to your friends. All they ask is that you wear a shirt and shoes, be courteous, and be patient. In that same way, it seems that God isn't really that concerned about what we do while we wait as long as we love him with our hearts. Struggling with finding God's will is like struggling at Gringo's to decide whether you should play your game boy or read a book while you wait. It doesn't matter all that much. Do what you want. What's important is the waiting, and not really what you do while you're waiting.

I think God is really only asking one thing of me, and that is that I wait well. I had hoped for something that would make me important enough to go to the front of the line. But if I can let Christ go to the front and wait well, without anger, bitterness, and unfaithfulness, then perhaps peace and joy can finally be mine.

Psa 25:5 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.

Three Pastors and Jesus

2007-10-10T12:03:00.000-05:00

Jesus: So guys, what do you think church is?

emerging church pastor: I think church is simply a community of believers seeking beauty and truth together. It's not about arguing over doctrine. It's about looking past our differences over a good meal.

traditional church pastor: The problem with that is that you lose the truth when you don't guard it. We have to maintain our doctrinal correctness. We, as the church, have to know truth or how else can we share it?

contemporary church pastor: Guys, I hear what you are saying, but I think what we need to do is to maximise the positive and minimize the negative. Living for Christ is the most optimal way to live. Let's try to create the best situation for us to all walk away the winners that Christ has made us to be.

emerging church pastor: There's a bar down the street. Let's finish this conversation over a drink.

traditional church pastor: That's outrageous! I don't drink, and I know Jesus doesn't either.

emerging church pastor: Is that why He turned water into wine?

contemporary church pastor: Guys, guys! Let's stop a minute. We're not efficiently applying our energies towards the purposes of God. The most gratifying choice would be to be filled with the Holy Spirit instead of wine. I tell you what. Let's go to a restaurant and order virgin margaritas. This is a win win solution. Now, that's what church is suppose to be. Am I right, Jesus?

emerging church pastor: Hey where did Jesus go.

traditional church pastor: I don't know, but I'm leaving before I get corrupted.

contemporary church pastor: Yeah, I better go as well. I've got to go write a new vision statement for the new level of increase God is preparing me for.

emerging church pastor: I'm going to the bar.

Joh 17:22 "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
Joh 17:23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

McJesus

2007-10-09T17:37:00.007-05:00

worker: Can I take your order please?

customer: Umm.. yes. I'd like to try the McJesus.

worker: What two side orders?

customer: Uhhhhhhh...what are the options?

worker: We're currently out of faith, hope, and love. All we have are
miracles, health, debt cancellation, Holy Ghost tingles, and fried grace.

customer: What exactly is the fried grace?

worker: It's grace lightly battered in deception and deep fried in lies.

customer: Mmmmmm! Yeah, let me get that and the debt cancellation. I'm horrible with money. I could sure use a side of that.

worker: Do you want a drink with that?

customer: I've heard ya'll serve blood?

worker: No, that's just a crazy rumor going around town . The only thing we have to drink is water from a broken cistern.

customer: Sounds good.

worker: Ok that brings your cost to the Truth and a love offering of twenty dollars or more.

(later that afternoon)

friend: How was church?

customer: Great!! They serve the McJesus just the way I like it.

Jer 2:13 "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, To hew for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns That can hold no water.

Washing Feet and Cleaning Upchuck

2007-10-07T10:22:00.000-05:00

"I wish I was either a famous preacher, a filthy rich philanthropist, or a brave missionary. Then I could do great things for God."
Culpster

The other day my nephew and grandfather ended up in the hospital on the same day. My nephew had violently thrown up all over my mom's house. My brother-in-law and sister rushed to the hospital with my nephew, and my mom was in the hospital with my grandfather. I was asked to babysit my niece in the midst of all this chaos. I took her to my mom's house, and there we were greeted by the stench of upchuck. This was the disgusting, chunky kind. I didn't even know how to begin to clean it, so I left it for like an hour. The smell got so gross that even I couldn't take it. Besides that, I knew my mom wouldn't want clean it up after the day she had. So I figured the kind thing to do, being that I'm such a great follower of Christ, was to clean it up.

I took some rags, cleaning supplies, and a bucket filled with cleaning solution and started to clean not only the vomit, but most of the house. Sitting there with some rags and a bucket, I was struck with the image of Jesus with a towel and a basin.

Now I'm not positive, but I don't think that passage is in the Bible so that we can have a feet washing ceremony at church. I know that I personally have somehow been unable to truly apply what Christ was trying to communicate. I think it's mainly because of cultural differences. I've never invited guests over and had someone wash their feet. So, the story has become like poetry to me. Just something beautiful to read and think about. But also it's probably because I'm not really that interested in discovering it's meaning. I'm too busy helping at church, trying to be a good witness, praising, giving, and sacrificing to try to come to grips with the idea of doing meaningless things . Especially, things that are ugly. And even more especially, things for just my family.

But lately I keep finding Jesus in the midst of ugly things. The ugliest so far was the upchuck. But the great thing is that the ugliness was made beautiful. I finally felt at peace. I had joy. I think it was because I was no longer trying to use Jesus for my own benefit. I was doing something just because I was suppose to. It wasn't about gaining. It was about losing. There was no reward except the freedom of being set free by the truth.

I don't think anyone ever thanked me for the clean up job. Obviously, everyone was so consumed with the situations going on that they weren't even paying attention. It was ok though. I needed no thanks. I had received more than they had. Truly it is more blessed to give than to recieve.

That experience was ugly. But it was beautifully ugly.

Joh 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God,
Joh 13:4 got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself.
Joh 13:5 Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.