Archive for May, 2007|Monthly archive page
More Blogs Please…
Comments (6)I need some more blogs (or some good RSS feeds from other websites) to read. The worst feeling is going to google reader and not seeing any new updates. So please… give me some of your favorite blogs or websites you read often.
Affirming the truth
“The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.”
This Sunday I had the chance to be a part of something I thought was really special. Our small group threw a surprise party for our Pastor and his wife just to show them a little love and appreciation for what they’ve done and what they’re doing in our church and in our lives.
We had a lot of fun…shared some food…laughs…and yes tears (in spite of the no crying rule). It was pretty awesome.
At one point we went around the room giving everyone the opportunity to tell a story or say something in the way of thanks or appreciation. Love permeated the room. It was thick as fog. I was in awe, listening to the stories of my friends recognizing and affirming the truth and reality of Jesus in the lives of our Pastor and his wife. More then celebrate them…we celebrated their faithfulness in letting Jesus shine so brightly through their lives.
In the middle of it all it dawned on me…This is what being the church is all about… this is what community is all about…this is the difference between doing church and being the church…affirming the Truth of Jesus in others, affirming the truth wherever we see it.
I don’t know where our Pastor or his wife are at personally/emotionally right now. Maybe they needed to hear that…maybe they didn’t. Maybe it was enjoyable, maybe it was painful (Maybe a little of both). Maybe it was inspiring, I’m sure it was humbling. Regardless…I think it was good and necessary for both them and for us.
I think we need to do more of that and in a feeble attempt to move in that direction let me affirm some truth I see in the handful of friends and family that periodically check out this blog. (Don’t feel bad if you’re left out I just assumed you never read – Jesee/Ronni, I told you on Sunday)
Andrea (My wife) - I love your gentle strength. You truly have a servants heart. You are a beacon that always leads me home whenever I lose my way. You are a rock, a refuge. You are becoming an awesome radical for Jesus.
Haylie (My daughter) – I am in awe of your love, tenderness and compassion. When I look at you I see the face of God in all his innocence and purity. You teach me way more then I can ever teach you. You inspire me to love and to give more of myself then I’m often willing.
Conner (My Son) – You have so much excitement and energy for life. You remind me what it’s like to be wild, live dangerously and recklessly, to have fun and experience joy. You teach me so much about our father (God’s) love. More then anyone in this world you make me feel valued, important and needed.
Mom – You are the perfect example of unconditional unfailing love. Your faithfulness in things both large and small astounds me. I wouldn’t know what faith looks like, acts like, talks like, and lives like had I not known you.
Dad – You made it easy for me to believe in and place my hope and trust in a heavenly father that loves me like you. You inspired me to make myself a better man and you showed me it was possible to do. Through you I understand what it means to “Seek first the Kingdom”.
Mark – You’ve taught me the value of brotherhood and friendship and of sharing the day to day stuff of life with someone. You’ve made me realize the importance of a dream and the daring and bravery it takes to pursue them. You challenge me to see things differently and to listen.
Marit – You have a huge heart. Meak is the word that comes to my mind when I think about you – Meak as in reserved strength. You put others first, truly a servant and you don’t shy away from sacrifice.
Phil – You are the epitome of the gentle giant. You have an awesome tenderness about you. You are truly one of the good guys. But at the same time you have a fire and passion that burns deep in your heart. Just being around you is an encouragement. You’ve added a lot of joy and humor to my life. In you I see the value and need for friendship.
Amy – I love your honesty and openness. How you’re not afraid to discuss how you struggle and wrestle with God and the wonderful nuances that make you, You. You have an awesome heart for God and living your life in a way that pleases Him. I think we are Kindred Spirits. You remind me I’m not alone, not the only one who thinks or feels the way I do.
I am Obi-Wan
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You scored as Obi-Wan Kenobi, One of the last jedi knights. People find you to be a bit aloof, but you know you travel the honorable path and that is all that matters. Now if only you could get your padawans to listen to you.
Which Star Wars character would you be? (pics) |
A God that Heals
I was reading a little bit about healing today that got me thinking of my own attitude towards healing. While I believe we serve a God that heals – how does my attitude and actions reflect what I believe?
Do I pray for healing? Absolutely. What types of healing do I pray for? I think mainly for the easy kind…the kind that don’t really need a decisive action or supernatural intervention on God’s part. Prayers like…God take my headache away, God be with the Smith family through this situation, God help Susie to come through her surgery. Not to minimize these little request because they are all important and God wants us to come to him with all our cares and God can positively work in these matters.
What about the big things though? The requests that make us uncomfortable. The requests that put us and our God “on the spot”. We’ve all been in that situation where something happens. I remember one time playing basketball with someone that had a heart problem. They nearly passed out in the middle of the game. They were in pain, struggling to breathe… an ambulance was called. The individual and their friends were fearful…even for life. So I did the “Christian” thing. I asked them if I could pray, to which they were more then happy to oblige. But there was this moment of fear and anxiety on my part. Once I prayed something (or nothing) would happen and God and I would both be on the spot. What if God did nothing? What does that say about this God I believe in? What does that say about me? Sometimes it’s just easier to take the safe route. But is that right? I prayed…I don’t know what happened. I never went back to that Gym again.
My son was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes at age four. At first we would pray each night for healing. Whenever we prayed I always felt like I needed to offer my son an explanation why God doesn’t always heal. I think it was for my benefit more then his. I didn’t want to get his or my hopes up and I didn’t want to give the wrong impression of God. My son and I both have the understanding that God can and wants to heal everything and everyone. One day my son’s diabetes and every other disease will be healed, but for now…we just pray…and wait. He seems ok with that…I’m ok with that.
We haven’t prayed like that for a while. It’s safer that way. We can just wait.
But…Today I’m reminded we do serve a God that heals. He has defeated the devil and the all the powers of this world: sin, disease and sickness. News of his victory is still spreading through our world, it hasn’t reached all of our enemies yet. Some to them are still hiding out, holed up in their bunkers and trenches…still scheming and still fighting. But one day Jesus will return…return to destroy the resistance, those remaining holdouts of the old regime, that evil empire.
Till then we must pray for healing. I only ask that I will have the faith to pray bravely and boldly. Pray for sick, the hurting, the diseased. Pray for the miraculous and supernatural. Pray for those unmistakable divine and decisive interruptions by God into our ordinary lives. I can’t and don’t need to answer for God and even if I tried it would be completely and utterly insufficient.
Not only can I pray. But I can also play a role in this healing business. I don’t have to wait. I can work with God today healing broken relationships and broken lives, healing poverty, injustice, oppression etc… Wherever there’s a need, wherever there’s a hurt, I can help bring God’s healing power.
So that’s my thought, prayer and confession for today 
Who Is The Real Enemy
I came across this verse in Philippians 4.
Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
I was reminded about something I heard earlier in the week. When talking about our enemy as Christians this guy said, “If they have flesh, they’re not your enemy”. So often we treat people as our enemies, because they do not believe as we do or live their lives by the same morals or principals we do. People are not our enemies. Our enemy is the “The Powers” that rule this world. Sin, darkness, ignorance, poverty, injustice, etc… (See Ephes 6)
We need to remember that…we need to understand that… as people we are ALL on same side. We’re all struggling in our fight with “The Powers”. And we need to work together to overcome the effects “The Powers” have caused on our planet and in our lives. Choosing sides, choosing who’s right who’s wrong, who’s in and who’s out doesn’t accomplish much. Were all in this together, we’re all on the same team.
The Office…
Here’s a picture of my cubicle which I spend most of my life.
Notice the fairly clean desk and empty inbox on my computer screen. (I’m not super busy as you can tell) You can also see my Ipod which is a savior for long days at work when I’m tired of reading blogs or blogging myself. It’s hooked up to a little speaker I got for $10 at Radio shack. If you look closely you can see my Gollum action figure in the background.
Where do you start?
I’ve been reading and listening to some great teachers lately. Today I was feeling a little convicted (some would say guilty – but convicted sounds so much more spiritual) about what I’m doing (or not doing) for God and for the Kingdom. One said teacher was talking about how the dominant movement in the bible is word(s) becoming flesh. Which got me thinking, are my thoughts and beliefs taking on action? Is there evidence of this in my life (another spiritual word here- Fruit).
I am a person of extremes, so my first reaction was to try and figure out where I could go and what I could do to…do something. There’s people in Africa, there’s global warming, there’s homeless people on the off & on ramp where I get on and off the expressway for home. Where can I start? Then something that happened this morning came to mind.
I was taking my kids to daycare on my way to work. I was nearly on empty so I stopped to get gas. While I was pumping gas all Hell broke lose in the car. My kids were screaming and throwing things at each other. I got in the car…did a little yelling and screaming myself and then we rode in utter silence the 10 minutes to the daycare. Before they left we said a quick prayer as we usually do, but this day’s prayer was a little different. Instead of thanking God for the day and asking him to keep us safe. I begged for God’s forgiveness and help…because we (I include me in this) couldn’t even show love to one another today. If we can’t love and practice love to one another in our own family we have no hope of showing love to others.
So before I make plans to save the world and end poverty and global warming I need to really focus on some simple things first. I need to start at home. I need to learn how to practice showing the love of God to my own family. The words and thoughts of love, grace, mercy, serving need to take on flesh in me and my wife and kids need to hear it, see it and feel it. I’ll never master it I know… But if I can learn how to start with them then maybe I can step out into my neighborhood, then maybe into my community, then maybe my state, then region, then country, then world.
A Flourishing Finish…
I was reading Philippians today and came across this verse:
There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
What image do we have in our minds of our Christian life? Do we feel tired, worn out, gasping for breath, barely holding on, clinging to Jesus? (I’ll admit…I often do). Are we waiting like a middle aged prize fighter for that final bell to ring. So we can say, “We made it…We went the distance” then take our rest. Are we like the worn out marathon runner, limping toward the finish line to collapse in a heap once it’s crossed. I want to finish strong, finish fast. I want to go down swinging, with a flourish. I want my Christian life to build momentum, pick up speed, gain energy. I want to be at my best when Jesus comes – I’ve got to be ready – because when he comes we aren’t going to rest – there’s still work to be done.
Blah, blah, blah
Haven’t felt like blogging much lately. But I wanted to get something in today anyway.
First – I went to church yesterday at my parents. Had a good time. Enjoyed being around my family again: hearing my mom play the piano and sing and listen to my dad preach. Though the church I attend now is way different, it still felt like home. A funny thing happened during worship, I was reading all the copyright info on the bottom of the slides and noticed that 4 of the 5 or 6 songs they did were from Vineyard (Though some of them were like10-20 years old). What irony!
P.S. – On Mothers day it’s not a good idea to forget to get your wife a card.
I just finished reading NT Wright’s “Simply Christian”. Good book. It was a little dry for me though in the beginning and end (I may just be tired though) middle was great.
I’m enjoying the study on Revelations at gen2rev.com (Mom – if you read this call me I liked to talk with you about it). I wish it went a little faster though, week to week is to slow for me. This weeks lesson did an awesome job of explaining where the belief of the Rapture and dispensationalism originated from.
Been listening to several new CD’s. Hillsong United -All of the above, Vicky Beeching – Painting the invisible, Charlie Hall – Flying into Daybreak, Tim Hughes – Holding Nothing Back. Tim Hughes is my favorite, followed by Charlie Hall, Vicky Beeching, then Hillsong United. I never would’ve guessed United coming in last. Good songs, but only one or two that really grab you. Maybe it just needs more time to grow on me.
Favorite songs – God of Justic – Tim Hughes, Highest & Greatest – Tim Hughes, Marvellous Light – Charlie Hall
