The Battle at Christmas
The great, eternal battle was won on the Cross at Calvary. In that moment, the final “outcome” of Earth and Mankind was determined. Death holds no power over any of us who believe and trust in Jesus. But before Calvary, the initial strategic assault was dealt to Satan with the arrival of Jesus as a newborn infant. I like to think of Jesus as the Great Liberator who came into the battle field, fought and liberated those trapped in prisons by the enemy. He parachuted in on Christmas day.
Jesus’ arrival was epic and strategic and it shook the enemy. Be it no surprise to you that Satan likes to show back up this time of year to wreak a little havoc on your life. Sort of like a terrorist attack on the 4th of July – when better to rattle your cage than the week of Christmas?
A pastor once told me, “There is no hard ball like family hard ball”. Christmas brings out the best in us and the worst. The in-laws show up. Our wives go into a complete frenzy cooking, cleaning, shopping and wrapping. Crazy uncles appear and so do rambunctious nephews. Our homes can turn into war zones. Money…oh money…it moves to front and center. Stress levels rise. Noise. Chaos. Confusion. Deep-seated angers can emerge. We are slap worn out. Our defenses are down and we are being assaulted on all sides. You’ve been there. You know.
So this message is focused on being alert to what is going on around you and in your homes. We celebrate the arrival of the Great Liberator this Friday but be forewarned, the enemy is probably going to show up sometime (multiple times?) this week. Be alert.
Pray for your wife. She probably has done or does 90% of the work of Christmas. The burden mostly falls on her. She is beaten down and very vulnerable right now. Pray for her right now – lift her up, do something nice for her. Take the kids out of the house for a few hours. Give her some peace and quiet. You can probably best show her Christ’s love by stepping up right now and taking some of the burden off of her. As an aside, I firmly believe that our wives are very vulnerable. Satan – to get to Adam – went after Eve first. They are under constant assault – to always be “on”, to be skinny, to have good friends, cute clothes, nice things, being a Mom, being a wife – and they need our constant prayers of protection.
Pray for your home. Pray and call down the Angels of Heaven to guard all four corners of your home. Pray for your own heart as you welcome in family. Pray that God would keep you focused on Him and the glorious wonder of what He did two thousand years ago. Pray for your children that they would not get caught up in the “gimme” of worldly Christmas but somehow, in all of this chaos, that they could see Jesus.
Just be alert. You are going into battle in a season that is supposed to be one of great, immeasurable joy.
May God’s grace and mercy be upon each of you.
Soar!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
Going outside
The loud voice intrigued me. It was a booming, hearty voice. Both happy and strong. He was laughing and talking and carrying on a good conversation with someone. I couldn't hear another voice so I decided to venture out of the cabin to see who this mysterious voice belonged to.
I stepped out onto the porch of this wonderful cabin and into the majesty of this farm. It was a cool morning with a gentle breeze and a crystal clear blue sky. It felt like an October morning back home in Georgia but it also had a feeling of spring. I couldn't quite put my finger on it as it seemed like it was the best of both seasons in that one moment. As I had said, the cabin was surrounded by a manicured garden framed by a massive pecan grove. I had only seen it through the windows of the cabin but once I stepped outside into the garden, I was amazed at the depth and breadth of its beauty. I could have spent an entire day right here on this hilltop in this garden. As I was taking in the beauty of this place, the man whose voice I must have heard came around the corner of cabin.
"Mornin'. How'd you sleep?" He was a big black man. He looked a bit like James Earl Jones in the face. He must have been in his 60's but he also had a very youthful face. He was fit and muscular - much more so than most any man I'd ever seen this age. His smile covered his entire face and he walked up and gave me a big hug. "I must have startled you with all my talking and laughing out here. I was talking with God and just enjoying him this morning. I hope I didn't wake you." My mind - for some reason - wasn't full of hundreds of questions which struck me as curious. I didn't need to ask anything of this man rather I was just content to be in this moment. All of this was very surreal to me. The place was perfect, this complete stranger felt like a life-long friend, I had no fear, no hesitation, no doubts...I just was in the moment and was perfectly content to go wherever this story took me.
"Come 'round the corner with me. Let's sit and enjoy the majesty of his day." I followed him around the corner and on the side porch we both slid into big rocking chairs to soak in the west side of the farm. From this side of the cabin, you looked down a hill towards a big lake. The lake was 30-40 acres in size and was framed by some small hills on the other side. I would guess the cabin sat a couple of hundred feet above the lake. Once you got beyond the edge of the pecan grove, there was a huge pasture leading down to the lake. A few hundred feet from the edge of the lake sat a pristine old wooden chapel. The white wood seemed to glow in the morning sun light like a lighthouse beacon guiding the lost home. The pasture was bordered on one side by a huge field of wildflowers and on the other by a tree-lined dirt road leading from the cabin, down past the lake and around the foothills on the other side of the lake. The trees that lined the road were huge, stately maples that canopied the road. I can only imagine the colors they would display in the fall.
"Pretty stunning isn't it?" my new friend said with a hearty laugh and a shake of his head. "This is one of my favorite places around these parts" he continued. "Lots of folks have worked mighty hard to make this place what it is and everyone that works here is ministered to by this land. This is holy ground to all of us. You will be blessed to spend your time here."
He went on to talk to me about the farm. It was a huge place spanning thousands of acres. He couldn't really tell me just how big and that actual size didn't seem to matter to him. It was a working farm with cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat. It also had several small farms within it dedicated to vegetables. "The sisters from town work those vegetable gardens" he explained. "There are a series of vegetable gardens all along these farms surrounding the town. The sisters tend to these gardens as a service to the community. Everything in this community is share and share alike. They'll come out just about every day to tend to your gardens and when it is time for the harvest, the men from round these parts will come help them take in the bounty. There's a farmers market in town and during the harvest, everyone loads up the bounty and wagons it into town to the market. Everyone pitches in to help and usually takes a good many days to get all the crops in, clean them up, get them to market and store up the rest for the off season. It is an amazing them to watch happen and you're going to love seeing it come to pass. It is incredible what folks can do together when they don't care who gets the credit and when they's all servin' and takin' care rather than thinkin' of themselves. Its a hoot. You're going to love it."
He kept on describing the farm to me. I was captivated by him and his words. It was like I was with my father or grandfather and they were telling me this great story from their childhood. I was hanging on every word. "That fish you had for breakfast came out of that pond down there. The farm has a half-dozen of those ponds spread all across it. Streams come down out of the hills to feed the ponds or else they are spring fed. You and the other men will harvest out an amazing crop of fish from those ponds and that is part of the process too. Every few weeks, they harvest up fish and take them into market. Everyone pitches in to help and they clean them up and get them ready to eat or ready to be stored up. The same process works with the deer and turkey around these parts...with the cheese you had for breakfast, with the wine you'll enjoy with dinner tonight. God gave us the land to work and nuture and enjoy. He gives us the incredible bounty and when we all work together and no one is selfish the bounty grows exponentially. Every single soul in these parts are fed by these series of farms that circle the town. No one wants for anything. Everyone works to meet everyone else's needs. You'll be building a barn for a neighbor one week, hanging a fence for a friend the next, shooting quail in the afternoons or a turkey in the morning and whatever you harvest, goes into the community at large. It is amazing how it works and you will blessed in ways you've never experienced."
more to come....(Soar!)
The loud voice intrigued me. It was a booming, hearty voice. Both happy and strong. He was laughing and talking and carrying on a good conversation with someone. I couldn't hear another voice so I decided to venture out of the cabin to see who this mysterious voice belonged to.
I stepped out onto the porch of this wonderful cabin and into the majesty of this farm. It was a cool morning with a gentle breeze and a crystal clear blue sky. It felt like an October morning back home in Georgia but it also had a feeling of spring. I couldn't quite put my finger on it as it seemed like it was the best of both seasons in that one moment. As I had said, the cabin was surrounded by a manicured garden framed by a massive pecan grove. I had only seen it through the windows of the cabin but once I stepped outside into the garden, I was amazed at the depth and breadth of its beauty. I could have spent an entire day right here on this hilltop in this garden. As I was taking in the beauty of this place, the man whose voice I must have heard came around the corner of cabin.
"Mornin'. How'd you sleep?" He was a big black man. He looked a bit like James Earl Jones in the face. He must have been in his 60's but he also had a very youthful face. He was fit and muscular - much more so than most any man I'd ever seen this age. His smile covered his entire face and he walked up and gave me a big hug. "I must have startled you with all my talking and laughing out here. I was talking with God and just enjoying him this morning. I hope I didn't wake you." My mind - for some reason - wasn't full of hundreds of questions which struck me as curious. I didn't need to ask anything of this man rather I was just content to be in this moment. All of this was very surreal to me. The place was perfect, this complete stranger felt like a life-long friend, I had no fear, no hesitation, no doubts...I just was in the moment and was perfectly content to go wherever this story took me.
"Come 'round the corner with me. Let's sit and enjoy the majesty of his day." I followed him around the corner and on the side porch we both slid into big rocking chairs to soak in the west side of the farm. From this side of the cabin, you looked down a hill towards a big lake. The lake was 30-40 acres in size and was framed by some small hills on the other side. I would guess the cabin sat a couple of hundred feet above the lake. Once you got beyond the edge of the pecan grove, there was a huge pasture leading down to the lake. A few hundred feet from the edge of the lake sat a pristine old wooden chapel. The white wood seemed to glow in the morning sun light like a lighthouse beacon guiding the lost home. The pasture was bordered on one side by a huge field of wildflowers and on the other by a tree-lined dirt road leading from the cabin, down past the lake and around the foothills on the other side of the lake. The trees that lined the road were huge, stately maples that canopied the road. I can only imagine the colors they would display in the fall.
"Pretty stunning isn't it?" my new friend said with a hearty laugh and a shake of his head. "This is one of my favorite places around these parts" he continued. "Lots of folks have worked mighty hard to make this place what it is and everyone that works here is ministered to by this land. This is holy ground to all of us. You will be blessed to spend your time here."
He went on to talk to me about the farm. It was a huge place spanning thousands of acres. He couldn't really tell me just how big and that actual size didn't seem to matter to him. It was a working farm with cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat. It also had several small farms within it dedicated to vegetables. "The sisters from town work those vegetable gardens" he explained. "There are a series of vegetable gardens all along these farms surrounding the town. The sisters tend to these gardens as a service to the community. Everything in this community is share and share alike. They'll come out just about every day to tend to your gardens and when it is time for the harvest, the men from round these parts will come help them take in the bounty. There's a farmers market in town and during the harvest, everyone loads up the bounty and wagons it into town to the market. Everyone pitches in to help and usually takes a good many days to get all the crops in, clean them up, get them to market and store up the rest for the off season. It is an amazing them to watch happen and you're going to love seeing it come to pass. It is incredible what folks can do together when they don't care who gets the credit and when they's all servin' and takin' care rather than thinkin' of themselves. Its a hoot. You're going to love it."
He kept on describing the farm to me. I was captivated by him and his words. It was like I was with my father or grandfather and they were telling me this great story from their childhood. I was hanging on every word. "That fish you had for breakfast came out of that pond down there. The farm has a half-dozen of those ponds spread all across it. Streams come down out of the hills to feed the ponds or else they are spring fed. You and the other men will harvest out an amazing crop of fish from those ponds and that is part of the process too. Every few weeks, they harvest up fish and take them into market. Everyone pitches in to help and they clean them up and get them ready to eat or ready to be stored up. The same process works with the deer and turkey around these parts...with the cheese you had for breakfast, with the wine you'll enjoy with dinner tonight. God gave us the land to work and nuture and enjoy. He gives us the incredible bounty and when we all work together and no one is selfish the bounty grows exponentially. Every single soul in these parts are fed by these series of farms that circle the town. No one wants for anything. Everyone works to meet everyone else's needs. You'll be building a barn for a neighbor one week, hanging a fence for a friend the next, shooting quail in the afternoons or a turkey in the morning and whatever you harvest, goes into the community at large. It is amazing how it works and you will blessed in ways you've never experienced."
more to come....(Soar!)
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Chapter 1
I heard a voice call my name. It sounded like my wife. She wasn't in a panic but she clearly called out to me. But my mind was distracted from her voice for some reason. A calm came over me. I was still asleep but it the most peaceful, deep, relaxing, calming sleep I'd ever experienced. My mind bounced back to my wife wondering if it really was her and if it was, why I wasn't worried. At other times, if she called me out of a deep sleep, there would be something to worry about - a sick child, a fire or a raging thunderstorm. But this time was different and as perplexed as I was about it, I also was drifting off to another realm. I started to wonder if I was in surgery and under the effects of the anesthesia as my mind drifted from the reality of her voice to the call of the path I was on.
For some reason, I felt no worry, I felt no pain rather I had this strong sense of adventure. I wasn't sure what was happening but it was captivating. It was a ride of sorts and the anticipation of the next step was compelling. A short while later, I awoke. I wasn't at home and thankfully wasn't in a hospital room either. I was totally rested and relaxed and found myself in a very nice cabin. The bedroom was simple with wood walls, ceiling and floors. The bed was the most comfortable bed I'd ever slept in. I stretched and sat up on the edge of the bed and looked outside. It was the prettiest day I'd ever experienced. The sky was crystal blue like on a cold fall morning when the sky is dominated by high pressure but the blues were the strongest I'd ever seen. The air was mixed with brilliant white clouds that looked like whisks of an artist's brush. My eyes shifted their focus out onto the landscape surrounding this cabin. The grounds were immaculate but also very simple, very modest.
The cabin was on a hill surrounded by a pecan grove. The trees were huge and spread out like mighty warriors guarding the cabin. In the area immediately surrounding the cabin was a lush garden fenced in with a picket fence that ran about 100 yards from the cabin. My mind raced to measure the size of the garden and I figured it to be 200 feet long by 200 feet wide with the cabin as it's centerpiece atop this lush hill of over sized pecan trees. Out my window was an alley of crepe myrtle trees that ran from the side porch out to the gate of the picket fence. These trees were 30-40 feet tall and had bright pink and white blooms dancing against the bright blue sky. To the right of the alley was a perfect English garden ringed by boxwood's and centered with a perfect green lawn. Four full shade trees defined the garden and benches underneath provided spots to enjoy the garden under the cool of the shade. Overflowing flower beds lined gravel paths that chris-crossed the garden. The garden called out to me as a place to come and rest in its beauty.
To the left of the crepe myrtle walkway lay a huge vegetable garden full of ripe tomatoes, corn, melons, cucumbers, okra and squash. Huge blueberry trees lined the back wall of the vegetable garden and I could tell whoever tended this garden reaped great rewards from all their hard work. It was obvious whoever owned this cabin had created a very special place and by this point, I hadn't even left the bedroom.
I ventured out into the main room and like the bedroom, it was simple and rustic. The cabin had a two story main room with a large stack stoned fire place on one wall. Comfortable leather chairs and sofa formed a seating area around the fireplace. To the right was a simple kitchen and to the left, a seating area with a large window overlooking the English garden. Like the bedroom, the walls, ceiling and floor were made of old heart pine. The tables and lamps were simple but extremely well made. Large bucks hung on the walls. In one corner there was a gun cabinet with some pristine, antique rifles and in the other corner were some hand made fly fishing rods. The cabin had a warm worn feel to it. It was a very simple, very modest, very welcoming home. I was stuck by how such a simple place could feel so complete. Everything I would need for life was inside this cabin and it made me consider some of the choices I had made back home.
I found some fresh bread in the kitchen and I sliced a peach and some strawberries to eat with my bread. There was a box that was like a refrigerator but more simple. It wasn't cold per se when you opened it but it was cooler than the outside air. It didn't have a light or make noise and I wondered how it worked but quickly shifted my thinking to the fresh squeezed orange juice and plate of cheese I found. I drank a big glass of orange juice and ate a slice of cheese. Like the cabin, the food was simple, healthy and complete. The food satisfied me fully without making me feel full. I went back into the bedroom and found a simple bathroom off to the side. There was a pump over the sink and I pushed down on it a few times and the sink bowl filled up with cool well water. I washed my face and ran the crystal clear water over my head. The water felt so good and so refreshing, I pumped the handle some more and filled up a glass and drank it quickly. The water was the best tasting water I'd ever had. I went back into the room and found some clothes in a pine chest of drawers. They fit me perfectly - tan work pants and a simple shirt. I found some sandals in the corner that were leather and worn and extremely comfortable. I was called to head out and explore the rest of the grounds when I heard a loud voice.
more to come.....
Soar!
I heard a voice call my name. It sounded like my wife. She wasn't in a panic but she clearly called out to me. But my mind was distracted from her voice for some reason. A calm came over me. I was still asleep but it the most peaceful, deep, relaxing, calming sleep I'd ever experienced. My mind bounced back to my wife wondering if it really was her and if it was, why I wasn't worried. At other times, if she called me out of a deep sleep, there would be something to worry about - a sick child, a fire or a raging thunderstorm. But this time was different and as perplexed as I was about it, I also was drifting off to another realm. I started to wonder if I was in surgery and under the effects of the anesthesia as my mind drifted from the reality of her voice to the call of the path I was on.
For some reason, I felt no worry, I felt no pain rather I had this strong sense of adventure. I wasn't sure what was happening but it was captivating. It was a ride of sorts and the anticipation of the next step was compelling. A short while later, I awoke. I wasn't at home and thankfully wasn't in a hospital room either. I was totally rested and relaxed and found myself in a very nice cabin. The bedroom was simple with wood walls, ceiling and floors. The bed was the most comfortable bed I'd ever slept in. I stretched and sat up on the edge of the bed and looked outside. It was the prettiest day I'd ever experienced. The sky was crystal blue like on a cold fall morning when the sky is dominated by high pressure but the blues were the strongest I'd ever seen. The air was mixed with brilliant white clouds that looked like whisks of an artist's brush. My eyes shifted their focus out onto the landscape surrounding this cabin. The grounds were immaculate but also very simple, very modest.
The cabin was on a hill surrounded by a pecan grove. The trees were huge and spread out like mighty warriors guarding the cabin. In the area immediately surrounding the cabin was a lush garden fenced in with a picket fence that ran about 100 yards from the cabin. My mind raced to measure the size of the garden and I figured it to be 200 feet long by 200 feet wide with the cabin as it's centerpiece atop this lush hill of over sized pecan trees. Out my window was an alley of crepe myrtle trees that ran from the side porch out to the gate of the picket fence. These trees were 30-40 feet tall and had bright pink and white blooms dancing against the bright blue sky. To the right of the alley was a perfect English garden ringed by boxwood's and centered with a perfect green lawn. Four full shade trees defined the garden and benches underneath provided spots to enjoy the garden under the cool of the shade. Overflowing flower beds lined gravel paths that chris-crossed the garden. The garden called out to me as a place to come and rest in its beauty.
To the left of the crepe myrtle walkway lay a huge vegetable garden full of ripe tomatoes, corn, melons, cucumbers, okra and squash. Huge blueberry trees lined the back wall of the vegetable garden and I could tell whoever tended this garden reaped great rewards from all their hard work. It was obvious whoever owned this cabin had created a very special place and by this point, I hadn't even left the bedroom.
I ventured out into the main room and like the bedroom, it was simple and rustic. The cabin had a two story main room with a large stack stoned fire place on one wall. Comfortable leather chairs and sofa formed a seating area around the fireplace. To the right was a simple kitchen and to the left, a seating area with a large window overlooking the English garden. Like the bedroom, the walls, ceiling and floor were made of old heart pine. The tables and lamps were simple but extremely well made. Large bucks hung on the walls. In one corner there was a gun cabinet with some pristine, antique rifles and in the other corner were some hand made fly fishing rods. The cabin had a warm worn feel to it. It was a very simple, very modest, very welcoming home. I was stuck by how such a simple place could feel so complete. Everything I would need for life was inside this cabin and it made me consider some of the choices I had made back home.
I found some fresh bread in the kitchen and I sliced a peach and some strawberries to eat with my bread. There was a box that was like a refrigerator but more simple. It wasn't cold per se when you opened it but it was cooler than the outside air. It didn't have a light or make noise and I wondered how it worked but quickly shifted my thinking to the fresh squeezed orange juice and plate of cheese I found. I drank a big glass of orange juice and ate a slice of cheese. Like the cabin, the food was simple, healthy and complete. The food satisfied me fully without making me feel full. I went back into the bedroom and found a simple bathroom off to the side. There was a pump over the sink and I pushed down on it a few times and the sink bowl filled up with cool well water. I washed my face and ran the crystal clear water over my head. The water felt so good and so refreshing, I pumped the handle some more and filled up a glass and drank it quickly. The water was the best tasting water I'd ever had. I went back into the room and found some clothes in a pine chest of drawers. They fit me perfectly - tan work pants and a simple shirt. I found some sandals in the corner that were leather and worn and extremely comfortable. I was called to head out and explore the rest of the grounds when I heard a loud voice.
more to come.....
Soar!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Alone with God
Last week, we decided to sit on the far side wall of the church facing the side of the audience. During the praise songs, we were singing this song...
You are holy
You are mighty
You are worthy
Worthy of praise
I will follow
I will love you
All of my days...
As we sang this sound, I looked out over the audience and watched people worship God. It was powerful and I had a revelation. God spoke to me watching these people worship. Many had both of their hands stretched up like a baby wanting to be picked up by their Daddy. Others had their eyes closed as they sang. A few smiled brightly with their eyes closed. A few others were crying.
I focused on a friend on the front row. Her husband was beside her, her young son and daughter on the other side. I know this girl very well - we grew up together. She and her husband have a totally souled out relationship with God. They are not "pretty" people. They don't play society's games. They are intently focused on their walk with God.
But in this moment, I focused on Nancy. A wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend to many, in that 3-4 minutes, she was totally alone with God. Eyes closed, arms stretched upward and focused on every word she sang to the Lord....
You are holy
You are mighty
You are worthy
Worthy of praise
I will follow
I will love you
All of my days...
Nothing else mattered in that moment for Nancy. She and God were millions of miles away from her earthly responsibilities. She wasn't a Mama, she wasn't a wife - she was totally alone with her Father. And there, in that moment, I was stuck with a word from God - my walk with God is ALL that matters. Compared to God, my wife and daughters don't "matter". To say they also matter greatly diminishes the enormity of God. One day all will be stripped away. My job won't matter. Taxes won't matter. Investments won't matter. Houses will be torn down. Our spouses and kids won't have the role they have on this earth. In that final and eternal moment, it will be me and God. It will all be about God and my walk with Him. It is God and God alone.
Now, I am not saying literally that nothing on this earth matters - that I should just focus on God and no one else. God gave me a wife and kids and a job and areas of service and He expects me to provide and care for those entrusted to my care.
But that worship experience drove home the real point - that ultimately and in the final analysis...what matters is God in the sense that to compare him to my wife or my daughters or my career is to just so greatly diminish who God is. He is worthy of no comparison.
And yet, I have find myself compartmentalizing God. I pull Him off the shelf for a short while and quickly put Him back away when I am done needing him. What God showed me was He craves full-time relationship with me. God doesn't want a part-time relationship with us. He desires constant, loving fathering of His children. Constant communication, constant asking "What about this Lord?", constant seeking... "Who is it You want me to reach out to?", constant studying "Lord, what does Your Word want to show me today?" and constant thanksgiving for the marvel of His grace and love.
I was liberated (here again, the Great Liberator has yet again opened another jail cell and set a part of me free...) last Sunday. God showed me. I get it!
Soar!
Last week, we decided to sit on the far side wall of the church facing the side of the audience. During the praise songs, we were singing this song...
You are holy
You are mighty
You are worthy
Worthy of praise
I will follow
I will love you
All of my days...
As we sang this sound, I looked out over the audience and watched people worship God. It was powerful and I had a revelation. God spoke to me watching these people worship. Many had both of their hands stretched up like a baby wanting to be picked up by their Daddy. Others had their eyes closed as they sang. A few smiled brightly with their eyes closed. A few others were crying.
I focused on a friend on the front row. Her husband was beside her, her young son and daughter on the other side. I know this girl very well - we grew up together. She and her husband have a totally souled out relationship with God. They are not "pretty" people. They don't play society's games. They are intently focused on their walk with God.
But in this moment, I focused on Nancy. A wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend to many, in that 3-4 minutes, she was totally alone with God. Eyes closed, arms stretched upward and focused on every word she sang to the Lord....
You are holy
You are mighty
You are worthy
Worthy of praise
I will follow
I will love you
All of my days...
Nothing else mattered in that moment for Nancy. She and God were millions of miles away from her earthly responsibilities. She wasn't a Mama, she wasn't a wife - she was totally alone with her Father. And there, in that moment, I was stuck with a word from God - my walk with God is ALL that matters. Compared to God, my wife and daughters don't "matter". To say they also matter greatly diminishes the enormity of God. One day all will be stripped away. My job won't matter. Taxes won't matter. Investments won't matter. Houses will be torn down. Our spouses and kids won't have the role they have on this earth. In that final and eternal moment, it will be me and God. It will all be about God and my walk with Him. It is God and God alone.
Now, I am not saying literally that nothing on this earth matters - that I should just focus on God and no one else. God gave me a wife and kids and a job and areas of service and He expects me to provide and care for those entrusted to my care.
But that worship experience drove home the real point - that ultimately and in the final analysis...what matters is God in the sense that to compare him to my wife or my daughters or my career is to just so greatly diminish who God is. He is worthy of no comparison.
And yet, I have find myself compartmentalizing God. I pull Him off the shelf for a short while and quickly put Him back away when I am done needing him. What God showed me was He craves full-time relationship with me. God doesn't want a part-time relationship with us. He desires constant, loving fathering of His children. Constant communication, constant asking "What about this Lord?", constant seeking... "Who is it You want me to reach out to?", constant studying "Lord, what does Your Word want to show me today?" and constant thanksgiving for the marvel of His grace and love.
I was liberated (here again, the Great Liberator has yet again opened another jail cell and set a part of me free...) last Sunday. God showed me. I get it!
Soar!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Social observations...
Just a few social observations. Be aware of what goes on around you. This age we live in is very dangerous.
Oakland California is opening to debate a measure to legalize marijuana because the city is broke and needs the tax revenues. California is an interesting observation in and of itself. It is a pretty liberal place and always has been on the cutting edge of evolutionary thinking. It is an incredibly rich state - Stanford University, Silicon Valley, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel, vast lush farm fields, huge offshore oil reserves and yet the state is also teetering on bankruptcy. Miles of farmland is restricted from farming to protect a small animal that isn't even on the endangered species list - it seems the environmentalists crave the protection of this small animal over the jobs and tax revenues the farms would produce. They have huge oil reserves but the environmentalists won't touch it. And yet the state is going broke. Vast social programs to help the less fortunate have outstripped the vast revenues from the huge industries operating there. And now, they toy with legalizing pot to help balance the budget. What of the unintended consequences of this action? What of the oppressed that the very liberal seemed focused on protecting who already struggle with poverty and drug addiction? What will come for this group if pot is legalized? How easy will it be for the unemployed to get a job if their boss knows they can smoke pot on their break? What will happen to crime rates? It is shaky ground they sit on...quite literally.
Here is another observation -- The Rev. Katherine Ragsdale has been elected the President of Episcopal Divinity School - a major seminary near Harvard founded in 1974 after the merger of two divinity schools founded in the 1850's. She is an openly gay woman and has decided to take an aggressive stance on abortion. For her (and her teachings and the students coming through her Divinity school), it is not enough to be pro-choice but rather to be fanatically pro-abortion. She says abortion is a "blessing". (A blessing!) She goes on to say, "When a woman becomes pregnant within a loving and supportive relationship she has every option open to her. If she decides not to bear a child and has access to a safe abortion - there is not a tragedy in sight - only blessing. (a blessing!) The ability to enjoy God's good gift of sexuality without compromising one's education, life's work, or ability to put to use God's gifts and call is simply a blessing."
She goes to say that the workers who make abortions possible should be thanked --- now get this -- because they "are doing holy work."
In 2003, she said the Resurrection may never have happened. That the suffering and death of Jesus is "an interesting theory, but not one I find compelling."
This woman is running a school of Divinity. She is responsible for the education of future Episcopalian's who seek to enter to field of ministry.
So not only is our nation now running away from God but so are some of the leaders of our denominations. She hits the nail on the head that which plagues our nation - the ability to do whatever we want without having to compromise. No responsibilities - just being able to do what we want with no consequences.
It is a very dangerous age we live in. As we go about our daily lives, we ignore the creeping cancer that is eating our nation's soul. It is eating into our major denominations. Preachers are routinely embracing gay rights, abortion and saying you cannot believe the Bible literally.
God warns us that the days are dangerous. We have to be on alert because our enemy prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. I'm afraid America is the next meal.
Where do we go with this? Where is the hope? The hope is in Christ. The final battle is already won. We know how this story ends - it ends in Christ's return as a mighty warrior who will destroy the foul one and send him to his death. We may be living in the worst of days. We'll see terrible things continue to happen. Let us be light in this very dark world. There is a battle being waged. We are troops serving a mighty General.
Soar!
Just a few social observations. Be aware of what goes on around you. This age we live in is very dangerous.
Oakland California is opening to debate a measure to legalize marijuana because the city is broke and needs the tax revenues. California is an interesting observation in and of itself. It is a pretty liberal place and always has been on the cutting edge of evolutionary thinking. It is an incredibly rich state - Stanford University, Silicon Valley, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel, vast lush farm fields, huge offshore oil reserves and yet the state is also teetering on bankruptcy. Miles of farmland is restricted from farming to protect a small animal that isn't even on the endangered species list - it seems the environmentalists crave the protection of this small animal over the jobs and tax revenues the farms would produce. They have huge oil reserves but the environmentalists won't touch it. And yet the state is going broke. Vast social programs to help the less fortunate have outstripped the vast revenues from the huge industries operating there. And now, they toy with legalizing pot to help balance the budget. What of the unintended consequences of this action? What of the oppressed that the very liberal seemed focused on protecting who already struggle with poverty and drug addiction? What will come for this group if pot is legalized? How easy will it be for the unemployed to get a job if their boss knows they can smoke pot on their break? What will happen to crime rates? It is shaky ground they sit on...quite literally.
Here is another observation -- The Rev. Katherine Ragsdale has been elected the President of Episcopal Divinity School - a major seminary near Harvard founded in 1974 after the merger of two divinity schools founded in the 1850's. She is an openly gay woman and has decided to take an aggressive stance on abortion. For her (and her teachings and the students coming through her Divinity school), it is not enough to be pro-choice but rather to be fanatically pro-abortion. She says abortion is a "blessing". (A blessing!) She goes on to say, "When a woman becomes pregnant within a loving and supportive relationship she has every option open to her. If she decides not to bear a child and has access to a safe abortion - there is not a tragedy in sight - only blessing. (a blessing!) The ability to enjoy God's good gift of sexuality without compromising one's education, life's work, or ability to put to use God's gifts and call is simply a blessing."
She goes to say that the workers who make abortions possible should be thanked --- now get this -- because they "are doing holy work."
In 2003, she said the Resurrection may never have happened. That the suffering and death of Jesus is "an interesting theory, but not one I find compelling."
This woman is running a school of Divinity. She is responsible for the education of future Episcopalian's who seek to enter to field of ministry.
So not only is our nation now running away from God but so are some of the leaders of our denominations. She hits the nail on the head that which plagues our nation - the ability to do whatever we want without having to compromise. No responsibilities - just being able to do what we want with no consequences.
It is a very dangerous age we live in. As we go about our daily lives, we ignore the creeping cancer that is eating our nation's soul. It is eating into our major denominations. Preachers are routinely embracing gay rights, abortion and saying you cannot believe the Bible literally.
God warns us that the days are dangerous. We have to be on alert because our enemy prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. I'm afraid America is the next meal.
Where do we go with this? Where is the hope? The hope is in Christ. The final battle is already won. We know how this story ends - it ends in Christ's return as a mighty warrior who will destroy the foul one and send him to his death. We may be living in the worst of days. We'll see terrible things continue to happen. Let us be light in this very dark world. There is a battle being waged. We are troops serving a mighty General.
Soar!
Monday, April 20, 2009
God's plans
John Eldredge was in town this weekend and gave a great talk on God's Fathering. So often when hard times hit us, we think "God, why have you abandoned me?" when in reality, it is God fathering us. We cannot get stronger and learn how to cope unless we are tested by some fire along the way. So when hard times hit, ask God, "Lord, what are your plans for me in this? What is it that you want me to learn?" It will radically change the way you cope with the hard times when you take your focus off of "me" and onto what our father is trying to teach us. Good stuff.
That brings me to this that a friend had put on his blog that is perfect for this...
Dreams I dream for you
You taste the tears
You're lost in sorrow
You see your yesterdays
I see tomorrow
You see the darkness
I see the spark
You know the failures
But I know your heart
The dreams I dream for you
Are deeper than the ones you're clinging to
More precious than the finest things you knew
And truer than the treasures you pursue
You see your shame
But I see your glory
You've read one page
I know the whole story
I hold a vision
Of what you'll become
As you grow into the truth
As you learn to walk in love
Let the old dreams die
Like stars that fade from view
Then take the cup I offer
And drink deeply of
The dreams I have for you
By Avalon
God dreams great dreams for us. He has a wondeful path laid out. We just need to let go of ours so we can...
Soar!
John Eldredge was in town this weekend and gave a great talk on God's Fathering. So often when hard times hit us, we think "God, why have you abandoned me?" when in reality, it is God fathering us. We cannot get stronger and learn how to cope unless we are tested by some fire along the way. So when hard times hit, ask God, "Lord, what are your plans for me in this? What is it that you want me to learn?" It will radically change the way you cope with the hard times when you take your focus off of "me" and onto what our father is trying to teach us. Good stuff.
That brings me to this that a friend had put on his blog that is perfect for this...
Dreams I dream for you
You taste the tears
You're lost in sorrow
You see your yesterdays
I see tomorrow
You see the darkness
I see the spark
You know the failures
But I know your heart
The dreams I dream for you
Are deeper than the ones you're clinging to
More precious than the finest things you knew
And truer than the treasures you pursue
You see your shame
But I see your glory
You've read one page
I know the whole story
I hold a vision
Of what you'll become
As you grow into the truth
As you learn to walk in love
Let the old dreams die
Like stars that fade from view
Then take the cup I offer
And drink deeply of
The dreams I have for you
By Avalon
God dreams great dreams for us. He has a wondeful path laid out. We just need to let go of ours so we can...
Soar!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The importance of failure
I read an interesting commentary in an investment magazine that is incredibly applicable to faith, our life, raising kids and our nation.
"So I just it's incredibly important to note that when you don't allow failure, you get more failure. When you take away the price of personal risk in your personal decisions, you get much more risk taking. So we are harvesting what we've sown."
I have had a series of conversations with folks about this issue with kids. From a school standpoint - allowing reckless behavior on school grounds - drinking on campus, cheating on tests, etc. If the punishment is a slap on the wrist, kids will be emboldened to push the limits even farther. Children push limits for a reason. They want to know there are some. They might protest but the protecting limits provides them with a subtle level of comfort they deep down crave. They instinctively are scared of the wide-open range - they know they cannot handle life with no rules, no boundaries and their instincts are right. They'll never thank us but you can almost see it in their eyes once they understand the rules.
I didn't drink in high school because my Dad made it perfectly clear - if you drink and I catch you, I will sell your car and you'll not drive again. I had saved my money to buy a portion of my car so this was a real threat. He also made it clear to not fool myself into thinking he didn't mean it. I knew he meant it. I knew there were boundaries and to this day, I am so grateful for his loving boundaries. He made me fully understand that there was a price to my decisions and understanding that, I didn't take the risks. Without the risk of loss, I would have tested the limits.
Oftentimes schools will fall back on honor codes as preventive measures to stop this kind of behavior. While I understand why we have honor codes -- that doesn't mean the teachers/administrators/parents shouldn't watch kids like hawks. We have speed limits in America and we are supposed to follow the honor code and not speed but we also have a police force to make sure we don't...to protect us from our own nature.
The Bible is full of God's loving boundaries on man. God knows. He knows our nature and he knows the enemy. He knows we will push the boundaries to see what we can get away with and in so doing, we ignore the possible cost.
Proverbs 7. If you haven't read this passage - I suggest you do. It is a powerful passage.
A wise man looks out his window down on the street below. He sees a younger man walking down the street and farther down the street, he sees a woman waiting on him. The lamb headed for the slaughter. The young man is walking down the street and sees the seductive woman looking at him, waiting for him. He thinks, 'Man, she digs me'. In his head he is hearing the song "Born to be wild". In the wise man's head watching all this transpire, he is hearing the soundtrack to "Jaws" playing.
The wise man knows what is about to happen. The young man, blind to his lust and ego, just sees the bounty -- he doesn't see the cost or the consequences of what is about to transpire. The woman seduces him and says "my husband is away for a long journey and I have prepared my bed. We can make love all night long and enjoy ourselves." All of this plays to the young man's sense of self - this is all about "me", she wants "me", "I'm" the only one, she'll cheat on her husband just to be with "me".
This young man was headed down the wrong path. Death and destruction lay in wait for him along this path. The wise man, having seen this over and over shouts "go the other way, avoid her at all cost!" The lamb is led to the slaughter. Read the passage.
God allows us to have failures for a reason - they show us our weakness, we learn valuable lessons and we see our utter dependence on Him. With no "cost" to our sin, we would be emboldened to reach for even more and in so doing, pull ourselves even farther from God. Thankfully, God knows us intimately. He knows the sin we are prone to fall into and if we seek His guidance and direction, He will steer us on a path away from the lusts of our heart.
This will make no sense until you have tried it...there is freedom - great magnificent freedom - in obedience to God. Thankfully He has rescued the slaves and set us free.
Soar!
I read an interesting commentary in an investment magazine that is incredibly applicable to faith, our life, raising kids and our nation.
"So I just it's incredibly important to note that when you don't allow failure, you get more failure. When you take away the price of personal risk in your personal decisions, you get much more risk taking. So we are harvesting what we've sown."
I have had a series of conversations with folks about this issue with kids. From a school standpoint - allowing reckless behavior on school grounds - drinking on campus, cheating on tests, etc. If the punishment is a slap on the wrist, kids will be emboldened to push the limits even farther. Children push limits for a reason. They want to know there are some. They might protest but the protecting limits provides them with a subtle level of comfort they deep down crave. They instinctively are scared of the wide-open range - they know they cannot handle life with no rules, no boundaries and their instincts are right. They'll never thank us but you can almost see it in their eyes once they understand the rules.
I didn't drink in high school because my Dad made it perfectly clear - if you drink and I catch you, I will sell your car and you'll not drive again. I had saved my money to buy a portion of my car so this was a real threat. He also made it clear to not fool myself into thinking he didn't mean it. I knew he meant it. I knew there were boundaries and to this day, I am so grateful for his loving boundaries. He made me fully understand that there was a price to my decisions and understanding that, I didn't take the risks. Without the risk of loss, I would have tested the limits.
Oftentimes schools will fall back on honor codes as preventive measures to stop this kind of behavior. While I understand why we have honor codes -- that doesn't mean the teachers/administrators/parents shouldn't watch kids like hawks. We have speed limits in America and we are supposed to follow the honor code and not speed but we also have a police force to make sure we don't...to protect us from our own nature.
The Bible is full of God's loving boundaries on man. God knows. He knows our nature and he knows the enemy. He knows we will push the boundaries to see what we can get away with and in so doing, we ignore the possible cost.
Proverbs 7. If you haven't read this passage - I suggest you do. It is a powerful passage.
A wise man looks out his window down on the street below. He sees a younger man walking down the street and farther down the street, he sees a woman waiting on him. The lamb headed for the slaughter. The young man is walking down the street and sees the seductive woman looking at him, waiting for him. He thinks, 'Man, she digs me'. In his head he is hearing the song "Born to be wild". In the wise man's head watching all this transpire, he is hearing the soundtrack to "Jaws" playing.
The wise man knows what is about to happen. The young man, blind to his lust and ego, just sees the bounty -- he doesn't see the cost or the consequences of what is about to transpire. The woman seduces him and says "my husband is away for a long journey and I have prepared my bed. We can make love all night long and enjoy ourselves." All of this plays to the young man's sense of self - this is all about "me", she wants "me", "I'm" the only one, she'll cheat on her husband just to be with "me".
This young man was headed down the wrong path. Death and destruction lay in wait for him along this path. The wise man, having seen this over and over shouts "go the other way, avoid her at all cost!" The lamb is led to the slaughter. Read the passage.
God allows us to have failures for a reason - they show us our weakness, we learn valuable lessons and we see our utter dependence on Him. With no "cost" to our sin, we would be emboldened to reach for even more and in so doing, pull ourselves even farther from God. Thankfully, God knows us intimately. He knows the sin we are prone to fall into and if we seek His guidance and direction, He will steer us on a path away from the lusts of our heart.
This will make no sense until you have tried it...there is freedom - great magnificent freedom - in obedience to God. Thankfully He has rescued the slaves and set us free.
Soar!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Ignore that noise over there in the tall brush...
One of Satan's most devious tricks is to convince us he isn't lurking around. He isn't here. He isn't a threat...go on, live your life the way "you" want...there are no consequences, there are no traps.
We see this in nature. The ONLY reason a lion captures a gazelle is stealth. If the lion stayed out in the open, he'd never eat. The reason he eats is that he hides. He stays in the tall grass waiting...just waiting for one gazelle to get lazy, one gazelle to ignore his instincts, one gazelle to get just a little too close to the tall grass.
The Message has a great summary of Ephesians 5:14-16 - "So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are dangerous times!"
In 1 Peter, Satan is compared to a lion - "Be on guard, you enemy - Satan - prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour."
We are at war. And yet, so many of us go about our daily lives ignoring the enemy. We send our kids off to school and simply ignore the warfare they face. There was a story last week about kids in England being faced with "education" on alternative lifestyles. They had a gay/lesbian week and read stories and watched videos on alternative lifestyles. These were young kids. Some parents were rightly concerned and took their kids out of school. The school system penalized the kids and even said they would seek to prosecute parents for taking their kids out of school. One report even said the parents could face jail time. Jail time for guarding their kids from material the parents found offensive!
We are at war. There is an enemy and he is coming after our kids very hard, very fast. It is a full-out assault and we are seemingly numb to it.
I talk to parents a lot about kids and the problems the kids face and it just amazes me how easily we dismiss behavior with, "Well, we all did that kind of stuff back when we were kids..." Don't get me wrong, I say/think that too. But then I also think, "What a minute, just because I screwed up when I was young...is that the life I want for my kids? Does it make it right?" I fear we just too easily rationalize it without the context of an enemy and warfare.
We send our kids off to hell every day in schools. That is dramatic but think about it - they go into hostile environments - teachers with agendas, curriculum that pushes themes far removed from God's word, sex, drugs, drinking, peer pressure, back-biting "friends", cliques, pressures to conform. Our kids face an all-out assault every single day. Even the little ones.
John Eldredge said in Waking the Dead - "Christianity isn't a religion about going to Sunday school, potluck suppers, being nice, holding car washes, sending our second-hand clothes off to Mexico. This is a world at war. Something large and immensely dangerous is unfolding all around us, we are caught up in it and we have been given a key role to play."
I read this today on a blog. I don't know this person or where they are spiritually but I have some hunches. It appears they are talking about walking away from a relationship and perhaps even a commitment. I share this not to beat on this person but to use it as an example of how far off the path we have traveled.
"Sometimes we need to part from this to have a fresh start. Sometimes we need to separate from the past so we can grow, transform and bloom into our highest expression of self in this lifetime. Sometimes we need to re-create an entire new life. Sometimes we have to say goodbye when things no longer fulfill a need, or make us unhappy. Life is short, why should we waste it on anything but happiness?"
Is that what life is about...my transformation into the highest expression of "self"? I was made in "self's" image not God's? Life for many of us has become simply the pursuit of happiness. "God loves me because I am happy." This person is saying sometimes it is necessary to just walk away from relationships/commitments if they no longer fulfill us or make us happy. They hauntingly end it with "Why should we waste life on anything but happiness?"
The pursuit of happiness would be just fine if there was no enemy. In Eden, happiness was freely abounding. But in this life, there is an enemy and we are at war. A pursuit of finding/doing whatever makes us happy will lead us into a trap. If the gazelle just pursued what made it happy, it would eat whatever grass looked appealing. It would stray from the pack. It wouldn't fear the tall grass - that grass would look tasty. And the gazelle would quickly become someone else's lunch.
We cannot ignore the presence of the enemy and just simply pursue the happy life. It is incredibly naive and very dangerous. To do so gives Satan open field to take us out.
God doesn't want us leading lives of misery - I'm not saying that. He came and liberated us so that we might have abundant life. God gets the last word. We know how the battle will end. God will be victorious. He defeated death at Calvary. "It IS finished"...the battle is won. My pleading is that we pay attention to the war going on around us. Pray for your children. Wrap them in prayer as they go off to school. Pay attention to what they are doing. Watch the cell phones, texting and email. Kids can so easily fall prey to the predator -- we need to be on guard.
Thankfully and gracefully however the war HAS been won!
Soar!
One of Satan's most devious tricks is to convince us he isn't lurking around. He isn't here. He isn't a threat...go on, live your life the way "you" want...there are no consequences, there are no traps.
We see this in nature. The ONLY reason a lion captures a gazelle is stealth. If the lion stayed out in the open, he'd never eat. The reason he eats is that he hides. He stays in the tall grass waiting...just waiting for one gazelle to get lazy, one gazelle to ignore his instincts, one gazelle to get just a little too close to the tall grass.
The Message has a great summary of Ephesians 5:14-16 - "So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are dangerous times!"
In 1 Peter, Satan is compared to a lion - "Be on guard, you enemy - Satan - prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour."
We are at war. And yet, so many of us go about our daily lives ignoring the enemy. We send our kids off to school and simply ignore the warfare they face. There was a story last week about kids in England being faced with "education" on alternative lifestyles. They had a gay/lesbian week and read stories and watched videos on alternative lifestyles. These were young kids. Some parents were rightly concerned and took their kids out of school. The school system penalized the kids and even said they would seek to prosecute parents for taking their kids out of school. One report even said the parents could face jail time. Jail time for guarding their kids from material the parents found offensive!
We are at war. There is an enemy and he is coming after our kids very hard, very fast. It is a full-out assault and we are seemingly numb to it.
I talk to parents a lot about kids and the problems the kids face and it just amazes me how easily we dismiss behavior with, "Well, we all did that kind of stuff back when we were kids..." Don't get me wrong, I say/think that too. But then I also think, "What a minute, just because I screwed up when I was young...is that the life I want for my kids? Does it make it right?" I fear we just too easily rationalize it without the context of an enemy and warfare.
We send our kids off to hell every day in schools. That is dramatic but think about it - they go into hostile environments - teachers with agendas, curriculum that pushes themes far removed from God's word, sex, drugs, drinking, peer pressure, back-biting "friends", cliques, pressures to conform. Our kids face an all-out assault every single day. Even the little ones.
John Eldredge said in Waking the Dead - "Christianity isn't a religion about going to Sunday school, potluck suppers, being nice, holding car washes, sending our second-hand clothes off to Mexico. This is a world at war. Something large and immensely dangerous is unfolding all around us, we are caught up in it and we have been given a key role to play."
I read this today on a blog. I don't know this person or where they are spiritually but I have some hunches. It appears they are talking about walking away from a relationship and perhaps even a commitment. I share this not to beat on this person but to use it as an example of how far off the path we have traveled.
"Sometimes we need to part from this to have a fresh start. Sometimes we need to separate from the past so we can grow, transform and bloom into our highest expression of self in this lifetime. Sometimes we need to re-create an entire new life. Sometimes we have to say goodbye when things no longer fulfill a need, or make us unhappy. Life is short, why should we waste it on anything but happiness?"
Is that what life is about...my transformation into the highest expression of "self"? I was made in "self's" image not God's? Life for many of us has become simply the pursuit of happiness. "God loves me because I am happy." This person is saying sometimes it is necessary to just walk away from relationships/commitments if they no longer fulfill us or make us happy. They hauntingly end it with "Why should we waste life on anything but happiness?"
The pursuit of happiness would be just fine if there was no enemy. In Eden, happiness was freely abounding. But in this life, there is an enemy and we are at war. A pursuit of finding/doing whatever makes us happy will lead us into a trap. If the gazelle just pursued what made it happy, it would eat whatever grass looked appealing. It would stray from the pack. It wouldn't fear the tall grass - that grass would look tasty. And the gazelle would quickly become someone else's lunch.
We cannot ignore the presence of the enemy and just simply pursue the happy life. It is incredibly naive and very dangerous. To do so gives Satan open field to take us out.
God doesn't want us leading lives of misery - I'm not saying that. He came and liberated us so that we might have abundant life. God gets the last word. We know how the battle will end. God will be victorious. He defeated death at Calvary. "It IS finished"...the battle is won. My pleading is that we pay attention to the war going on around us. Pray for your children. Wrap them in prayer as they go off to school. Pay attention to what they are doing. Watch the cell phones, texting and email. Kids can so easily fall prey to the predator -- we need to be on guard.
Thankfully and gracefully however the war HAS been won!
Soar!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Who can explain?
My debates with old friends continue around the theme of "can you really believe the Bible?" I have not shied away - I have pressed boldly into the void.
But something pretty simple struck me today - "who can explain"...
Who can explain exactly how "life" works?
Who can explain the beauty of spring?
Who can explain the majesty of the mountains?
Who can explain the warmth of the spring sun and just how good that makes you feel?
Who can explain the perfect v-formation of a flock of geese?
Who can explain the miracle of a young child's giggle?
Who can explain why the earth is in exactly the right place, so the temperature is exactly right to sustain life?
Who can explain why our planet stays in its perfect rotation?
Who can explain why there is just enough of a balance of warmth/cold, spring/fall, sun/darkness, light/rain, wind/humidity, deserts/ice and how all that stays in place?
Who can explain the seasons - the youth of spring, the maturity of summer, the harvest of fall and death of winter and how that exactly mimmics human life?
Who can explain why love feels so good and can hurt so bad?
Who can explain why we even have emotions? I mean if we "evolved", why do we have emotions? Surely, emotions would have been "evolved" out by now. What scientific good do they serve?
Who can explain why humans have the emotional need for a mate, for the completeness of sex (beyond the act itself), for family? Animals simply reproduce - they aren't driven by the need for relationship, completeness that comes from family. Why does man have these desires?
Who can explain why the sunsets are so pretty?
Who can explain why spring is so magical - lush green lawns, daylillies, azaleas, etc?
Who can explain and why does man obsess with trying?
Ronald Reagan said of his atheist son, "There was one thing he had long yearned to do for his atheist son. He wanted to serve his son the perfect gourmet dinner, to have him enjoy the meal, and then to ask him if he believed there was a cook."
Why do we so enjoy this world and all its blessings - our intelligence, our looks, our family, the miracle of children and all that is listed above...and insist on giving the credit to something other than the Creator?
There is a cook and He has prepared a glorious meal for all who will accept.
Soar!
My debates with old friends continue around the theme of "can you really believe the Bible?" I have not shied away - I have pressed boldly into the void.
But something pretty simple struck me today - "who can explain"...
Who can explain exactly how "life" works?
Who can explain the beauty of spring?
Who can explain the majesty of the mountains?
Who can explain the warmth of the spring sun and just how good that makes you feel?
Who can explain the perfect v-formation of a flock of geese?
Who can explain the miracle of a young child's giggle?
Who can explain why the earth is in exactly the right place, so the temperature is exactly right to sustain life?
Who can explain why our planet stays in its perfect rotation?
Who can explain why there is just enough of a balance of warmth/cold, spring/fall, sun/darkness, light/rain, wind/humidity, deserts/ice and how all that stays in place?
Who can explain the seasons - the youth of spring, the maturity of summer, the harvest of fall and death of winter and how that exactly mimmics human life?
Who can explain why love feels so good and can hurt so bad?
Who can explain why we even have emotions? I mean if we "evolved", why do we have emotions? Surely, emotions would have been "evolved" out by now. What scientific good do they serve?
Who can explain why humans have the emotional need for a mate, for the completeness of sex (beyond the act itself), for family? Animals simply reproduce - they aren't driven by the need for relationship, completeness that comes from family. Why does man have these desires?
Who can explain why the sunsets are so pretty?
Who can explain why spring is so magical - lush green lawns, daylillies, azaleas, etc?
Who can explain and why does man obsess with trying?
Ronald Reagan said of his atheist son, "There was one thing he had long yearned to do for his atheist son. He wanted to serve his son the perfect gourmet dinner, to have him enjoy the meal, and then to ask him if he believed there was a cook."
Why do we so enjoy this world and all its blessings - our intelligence, our looks, our family, the miracle of children and all that is listed above...and insist on giving the credit to something other than the Creator?
There is a cook and He has prepared a glorious meal for all who will accept.
Soar!
Monday, February 09, 2009
Anna and the teenagers
We just came back from a weekend camp at YoungLife's Sharptop Cove in North Georgia. It is an incredible place. YoungLife does camp the right way - the facilities, activities and food are world class. It is a great get away for teenagers where they are waited on and served by volunteer staff and the Gospel is presented to them in a powerful way. There is tons of fun and goofy skits to get the kids laughing and to get them to lower their walls.
A lot of families from Columbus were up there to witness the camp. YL has a family dorm where the families with small kids can stay. It was packed with Columbus folks and about two dozen kids under 10. Thankfully, we stayed at the adult guest lodge on the other side of the camp!
But I love kids - especially small ones - so it was fun for me to engage with these kids during the weekend. One family had three beautiful daughters ages 4-7. The middle child, Anna was especially captivating. I know both sets of grandparents and she has the eyes of one of her grandmothers. She has a sparkling personality and a great smile. I had fun goofing around with Anna during the meals and later ran into her in the YL store. She smiled at me and said "Hey, what are you doing here?" I think she thought I only existed in the dining hall! I told her I was looking for stuff and she said, "I am getting a harmonica" and she showed me her blue harmonica. "Wow" I exclaimed, "That is the coolest harmonica ever" and she smiled and went on her merry little way.
That harmonica never left Anna's side the rest of the weekend. She was always playing it, always smiling. At dinner Saturday night, she was sitting at the table with all the chaos of a YoungLife dinner (300 kids in one very loud room), minding her own business, playing her harmonica. I looked over at her and she saw me, smiled (she always smiles) and kept on playing. I told her that she was so good at the harmonica and she said, "I know my Mommy and Daddy think I should take lessons" and she kept right on playing. The next day at breakfast she was doing the same thing. Her Dad told me that she spent all day Saturday playing the harmonica and that the teenagers were always circled around her. As Anna played, the teenagers followed. When I was talking to her Sunday, I again commented on her harmonica and again told her that she was very good and she replied, "Some people think it is my talent". Big smile followed.
So here is Anna - beautiful, sweet, happy and very much in love with life and her harmonica. Anna is extraordinary. Anna knows she has a "talent" and she is looking for it. Anna knows she has something special to contribute to the world. Contrasting that are the lives of 300 teenagers. They too are extraordinary but very few of them believe it any more. They very much now believe they are just ordinary. Life comes at the teenagers very hard these days - MUCH harder than I think many of us even realize.
There very much is a battle underway for the souls of our children. Anna, at this point is safe and happy but we know what is coming - we can see it in these teenagers. Don't get me wrong - I love teenagers too but you can very visibly see the scars of battle on them already. Many of these kids have already lost their sexual purity. The vast majority has already started drinking and it is shocking how many are already using drugs. Many of them have bought the world's lies. Religion is simply whatever is relevant to them at that moment - "God just wants me to be happy" or "God is seen through my boyfriend or my friends - and I have a lot of friends so God is happy with me". They live their lives in the pursuit of happiness and for many of them, it has taken them into some very dark places.
It was striking to witness the vast gulf between Anna and many of these teenage girls. Anna is free. They are in bondage. Anna pursues happiness in her own little world and it is innocent...as innocent as happiness found in her harmonica. Anna doesn't understand peer pressure. Anna is happy in her own skin. Teenagers pursue happiness by trying to fit in and by doing whatever the crowd tells them is "right". We witnessed a dozen or so girls all showing up on Saturday morning all dressed just alike. It was freezing cold but they all had on shorts and Ugg boots. Someone in that group decided this is what they were going to wear and like robots, the rest followed. Teenagers have very little tolerance for extraordinary. They crave ordinary. They want to all look alike, act alike, dress alike so they can all blend in and numb the pain that can come from standing apart from the crowd. Many will seemingly sell their soul just to fit in - just to be a part of the "in" crowd. And so...they all become ordinary...just like all the rest of the group. When the group starts having sex, you have sex. When the group moves beyond beer to pot, you start smoking pot. You conform or you are cast-out.
The lie is that if you become ordinary that you will fit in. What you find as you become ordinary is that you have stripped away all that God made you to be. You have given up what an Extraordinary Creator used to make you unique so that the other ordinaries will find you pleasing.
I don't write this to judge any of them. I understand. I was there not long ago. But I write this because it stands in such stark contrast to Anna. She is happy being Anna. She thinks she can play the harmonica and she plays her heart out. She doesn't obsess over dressing like her friends or wearing too much make-up or straightening her hair like "everyone else" does. She has no concept of text messaging, cell phones or Facebook. She is just Anna. She is just one very happy kid. It simply breaks your heart to see the damage the world does when it strips the kid out of a young person and makes them look like every other ordinary young person.
Christ came that we might have life and have it to the full (abundantly). He wants us to be extraordinary not ordinary. He wants us to stand apart from the crowd and to be independent of the world. He wants us leaning on Him. He offers us freedom - great freedom - in the extraordinary life while it is just so obvious the bondage - the terrible bondage - of the ordinary life.
Anna and her harmonica have life to the full. It is no wonder Christ said we must come to him as a child. Eyes wide open, trusting, dependent, every day another great adventure to live, a new audience for our harmonica, another day to...
Soar!
We just came back from a weekend camp at YoungLife's Sharptop Cove in North Georgia. It is an incredible place. YoungLife does camp the right way - the facilities, activities and food are world class. It is a great get away for teenagers where they are waited on and served by volunteer staff and the Gospel is presented to them in a powerful way. There is tons of fun and goofy skits to get the kids laughing and to get them to lower their walls.
A lot of families from Columbus were up there to witness the camp. YL has a family dorm where the families with small kids can stay. It was packed with Columbus folks and about two dozen kids under 10. Thankfully, we stayed at the adult guest lodge on the other side of the camp!
But I love kids - especially small ones - so it was fun for me to engage with these kids during the weekend. One family had three beautiful daughters ages 4-7. The middle child, Anna was especially captivating. I know both sets of grandparents and she has the eyes of one of her grandmothers. She has a sparkling personality and a great smile. I had fun goofing around with Anna during the meals and later ran into her in the YL store. She smiled at me and said "Hey, what are you doing here?" I think she thought I only existed in the dining hall! I told her I was looking for stuff and she said, "I am getting a harmonica" and she showed me her blue harmonica. "Wow" I exclaimed, "That is the coolest harmonica ever" and she smiled and went on her merry little way.
That harmonica never left Anna's side the rest of the weekend. She was always playing it, always smiling. At dinner Saturday night, she was sitting at the table with all the chaos of a YoungLife dinner (300 kids in one very loud room), minding her own business, playing her harmonica. I looked over at her and she saw me, smiled (she always smiles) and kept on playing. I told her that she was so good at the harmonica and she said, "I know my Mommy and Daddy think I should take lessons" and she kept right on playing. The next day at breakfast she was doing the same thing. Her Dad told me that she spent all day Saturday playing the harmonica and that the teenagers were always circled around her. As Anna played, the teenagers followed. When I was talking to her Sunday, I again commented on her harmonica and again told her that she was very good and she replied, "Some people think it is my talent". Big smile followed.
So here is Anna - beautiful, sweet, happy and very much in love with life and her harmonica. Anna is extraordinary. Anna knows she has a "talent" and she is looking for it. Anna knows she has something special to contribute to the world. Contrasting that are the lives of 300 teenagers. They too are extraordinary but very few of them believe it any more. They very much now believe they are just ordinary. Life comes at the teenagers very hard these days - MUCH harder than I think many of us even realize.
There very much is a battle underway for the souls of our children. Anna, at this point is safe and happy but we know what is coming - we can see it in these teenagers. Don't get me wrong - I love teenagers too but you can very visibly see the scars of battle on them already. Many of these kids have already lost their sexual purity. The vast majority has already started drinking and it is shocking how many are already using drugs. Many of them have bought the world's lies. Religion is simply whatever is relevant to them at that moment - "God just wants me to be happy" or "God is seen through my boyfriend or my friends - and I have a lot of friends so God is happy with me". They live their lives in the pursuit of happiness and for many of them, it has taken them into some very dark places.
It was striking to witness the vast gulf between Anna and many of these teenage girls. Anna is free. They are in bondage. Anna pursues happiness in her own little world and it is innocent...as innocent as happiness found in her harmonica. Anna doesn't understand peer pressure. Anna is happy in her own skin. Teenagers pursue happiness by trying to fit in and by doing whatever the crowd tells them is "right". We witnessed a dozen or so girls all showing up on Saturday morning all dressed just alike. It was freezing cold but they all had on shorts and Ugg boots. Someone in that group decided this is what they were going to wear and like robots, the rest followed. Teenagers have very little tolerance for extraordinary. They crave ordinary. They want to all look alike, act alike, dress alike so they can all blend in and numb the pain that can come from standing apart from the crowd. Many will seemingly sell their soul just to fit in - just to be a part of the "in" crowd. And so...they all become ordinary...just like all the rest of the group. When the group starts having sex, you have sex. When the group moves beyond beer to pot, you start smoking pot. You conform or you are cast-out.
The lie is that if you become ordinary that you will fit in. What you find as you become ordinary is that you have stripped away all that God made you to be. You have given up what an Extraordinary Creator used to make you unique so that the other ordinaries will find you pleasing.
I don't write this to judge any of them. I understand. I was there not long ago. But I write this because it stands in such stark contrast to Anna. She is happy being Anna. She thinks she can play the harmonica and she plays her heart out. She doesn't obsess over dressing like her friends or wearing too much make-up or straightening her hair like "everyone else" does. She has no concept of text messaging, cell phones or Facebook. She is just Anna. She is just one very happy kid. It simply breaks your heart to see the damage the world does when it strips the kid out of a young person and makes them look like every other ordinary young person.
Christ came that we might have life and have it to the full (abundantly). He wants us to be extraordinary not ordinary. He wants us to stand apart from the crowd and to be independent of the world. He wants us leaning on Him. He offers us freedom - great freedom - in the extraordinary life while it is just so obvious the bondage - the terrible bondage - of the ordinary life.
Anna and her harmonica have life to the full. It is no wonder Christ said we must come to him as a child. Eyes wide open, trusting, dependent, every day another great adventure to live, a new audience for our harmonica, another day to...
Soar!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Abortion
I've written on this before and referenced Peggy Noonan's great summary of the bottom line on "choice" -- that those who crave choice in abortion fail to realize that their "choice" was made in the back seat of the car. Personal liberty was choosing who they'd sleep with - not in the murder of the "mistake". The mistake was sex outside of marriage...not the fetus. As Noonan says, "Anyone who has gone to drugstore on Friday night to buy condoms knows when life begins - it begins at conception..."
John Piper has a great talk on his website on abortion www.desiringgod.org. It is very strong especially towards Barack Obama. He says in the talk, "On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Obama said, “We are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.”
NO Mr President. You aren't "protecting" women. He is authorizing the destruction of 500,000 little women every year. He isn't protecting "reproductive freedom", he is authorizing the destruction of freedom for more than 1 million babies in the US every year. Killing our children is killing our children no matter how many times you say over and over that this is "a private family matter"...it isn't a private family matter. It is murder. It is ugly. It is painful.
Obama said on the campaign trail that if one of his daughters got pregnant - he "would not them punished because of an unwanted pregnancy". Piper drives home hard at this point.
That isn't really what Obama wants. He doesn't really want his daughters having "reproductive freedom". He wants them chaste, holy, married, healthy, bearing children not carrying around with condoms in their purse. He doesn't really want them to be sexually free.
Be courageous Mr. Obama. You don't have to be the lap-dog of those around you. You can stand for your daughters. You can fight for them. God can change your heart.
Let us as believers commit to prayer for a change of heart in Mr. Obama. His daughters are beautiful, bright, optimistic children. They are safe...at this point. But if Daddy equips them with condoms and sets them out the door at 15 to find their sexual freedom, you and I know what will happen - they will reap what they sow.
Sexual freedom is a lie. IT IS A LIE. Satan lures us down that path to chase what feels good, explore our sexuality, etc. but we know that this path is chock full of destruction and pain. 1 million babies are aborted in the US every year. 50 million have been aborted since Roe v. Wade was passed. That is 50 million babies gone but even more painful is the untold price that act has on the millions of mothers. They never escape the pain of abortion. The act stays with them as a curse for life.
The path of life is narrow but obeying God and walking with God down the path of life will protect us. John 10:10 - The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that they may have LIFE and have it abundantly.
LIFE. LIFE. Not abortion. Not death but LIFE. The path of this world is death and destruction. But the path of the Great Liberator is freedom. Freedom.
Soar!
I've written on this before and referenced Peggy Noonan's great summary of the bottom line on "choice" -- that those who crave choice in abortion fail to realize that their "choice" was made in the back seat of the car. Personal liberty was choosing who they'd sleep with - not in the murder of the "mistake". The mistake was sex outside of marriage...not the fetus. As Noonan says, "Anyone who has gone to drugstore on Friday night to buy condoms knows when life begins - it begins at conception..."
John Piper has a great talk on his website on abortion www.desiringgod.org. It is very strong especially towards Barack Obama. He says in the talk, "On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Obama said, “We are reminded that this decision not only protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.”
NO Mr President. You aren't "protecting" women. He is authorizing the destruction of 500,000 little women every year. He isn't protecting "reproductive freedom", he is authorizing the destruction of freedom for more than 1 million babies in the US every year. Killing our children is killing our children no matter how many times you say over and over that this is "a private family matter"...it isn't a private family matter. It is murder. It is ugly. It is painful.
Obama said on the campaign trail that if one of his daughters got pregnant - he "would not them punished because of an unwanted pregnancy". Piper drives home hard at this point.
That isn't really what Obama wants. He doesn't really want his daughters having "reproductive freedom". He wants them chaste, holy, married, healthy, bearing children not carrying around with condoms in their purse. He doesn't really want them to be sexually free.
Be courageous Mr. Obama. You don't have to be the lap-dog of those around you. You can stand for your daughters. You can fight for them. God can change your heart.
Let us as believers commit to prayer for a change of heart in Mr. Obama. His daughters are beautiful, bright, optimistic children. They are safe...at this point. But if Daddy equips them with condoms and sets them out the door at 15 to find their sexual freedom, you and I know what will happen - they will reap what they sow.
Sexual freedom is a lie. IT IS A LIE. Satan lures us down that path to chase what feels good, explore our sexuality, etc. but we know that this path is chock full of destruction and pain. 1 million babies are aborted in the US every year. 50 million have been aborted since Roe v. Wade was passed. That is 50 million babies gone but even more painful is the untold price that act has on the millions of mothers. They never escape the pain of abortion. The act stays with them as a curse for life.
The path of life is narrow but obeying God and walking with God down the path of life will protect us. John 10:10 - The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that they may have LIFE and have it abundantly.
LIFE. LIFE. Not abortion. Not death but LIFE. The path of this world is death and destruction. But the path of the Great Liberator is freedom. Freedom.
Soar!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Believe
I have had a series of debates recently with folks with a common theme - whether or not we can believe the Bible as a word-for-word, literal message from God. In the past few months, I have had a number of passionate debates with people from all walks of life around this topic. It is interesting that so many people believe so strongly that you cannot believe the Bible. Why is that?
The folks I have debated this issue with tend to focus on the Old Testament and some of the practices and beliefs that were practiced thousands of years ago..."How could God who is love condone the stoning of a woman who is divorced" (from an old college friend that, as it turns out, went through a bitter and painful divorce)..."How is it that God could condemn homosexuals?" asked another old college friend. He went on to say that Jesus was simply all about loving one another...He later told me that he respected my beliefs because while I was completely intolerant, I was at least consistent.
I had a debate a few years ago with a former co-worker. He is bright and well-educated. He is "evolved". He was captivated by The DaVinci Code and even taught a Sunday night class at his church on the book. That's right - a "bible" study on the DaVinci Code. He told me one time that "You cannot possibly believe the Bible word for word as a literal translation. You cannot ignore the writings of DaVinci...he was brilliant. You cannot be so closed minded." And yet, he believed the writings of DaVinci over the Word of God. I told him that he was playing with fire and that when the end of time comes, I'd rather not sit down with God and explain to Him on High that I found DaVinci captivating and brilliant.
For thousands of years, man has taken the Word of God and twisted it to make it fit his needs. It started with Adam & Eve - take what God says and justify doing what you want to do. For thousands of years learned, evolved, brilliant people have tried to justify their beliefs in opposition to the Word of God. Scientists have tried to disprove many of the events of the Bible from Noah's Ark to the parting of the Red Sea and even to the crucifixion of our Lord. As far as I know, they've come up empty.
If man takes the Bible apart and accepts portions of it but rejects other parts because they are too offensive or not agreeable -- Man becomes God. Man is saying he knows best. Our sin nature pulls away from the Truth. We simply cannot accept the Word. We have to rationalize it, tweak it, delete parts of it, etc. We'll peel it down to the few sections that we can make agree with our choices and call ourselves religious.
This mindset is everywhere in the modern church and it is extremely dangerous. Be careful. Trust the Word of God. Believe.
Soar!
I have had a series of debates recently with folks with a common theme - whether or not we can believe the Bible as a word-for-word, literal message from God. In the past few months, I have had a number of passionate debates with people from all walks of life around this topic. It is interesting that so many people believe so strongly that you cannot believe the Bible. Why is that?
The folks I have debated this issue with tend to focus on the Old Testament and some of the practices and beliefs that were practiced thousands of years ago..."How could God who is love condone the stoning of a woman who is divorced" (from an old college friend that, as it turns out, went through a bitter and painful divorce)..."How is it that God could condemn homosexuals?" asked another old college friend. He went on to say that Jesus was simply all about loving one another...He later told me that he respected my beliefs because while I was completely intolerant, I was at least consistent.
I had a debate a few years ago with a former co-worker. He is bright and well-educated. He is "evolved". He was captivated by The DaVinci Code and even taught a Sunday night class at his church on the book. That's right - a "bible" study on the DaVinci Code. He told me one time that "You cannot possibly believe the Bible word for word as a literal translation. You cannot ignore the writings of DaVinci...he was brilliant. You cannot be so closed minded." And yet, he believed the writings of DaVinci over the Word of God. I told him that he was playing with fire and that when the end of time comes, I'd rather not sit down with God and explain to Him on High that I found DaVinci captivating and brilliant.
For thousands of years, man has taken the Word of God and twisted it to make it fit his needs. It started with Adam & Eve - take what God says and justify doing what you want to do. For thousands of years learned, evolved, brilliant people have tried to justify their beliefs in opposition to the Word of God. Scientists have tried to disprove many of the events of the Bible from Noah's Ark to the parting of the Red Sea and even to the crucifixion of our Lord. As far as I know, they've come up empty.
If man takes the Bible apart and accepts portions of it but rejects other parts because they are too offensive or not agreeable -- Man becomes God. Man is saying he knows best. Our sin nature pulls away from the Truth. We simply cannot accept the Word. We have to rationalize it, tweak it, delete parts of it, etc. We'll peel it down to the few sections that we can make agree with our choices and call ourselves religious.
This mindset is everywhere in the modern church and it is extremely dangerous. Be careful. Trust the Word of God. Believe.
Soar!
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