The Peculiar Pilot

Transformed by Jesus

2012-02-03T11:13:00.000-06:00

This week I am preaching on Paul and his conversion. Now Paul is the last guy you would expect to become a Christian, but it's pretty important that God did take this guy who was killing his people and make him into his child. God transformed someone who was clearly his enemy and made him a vessel to bring the message to many others who were far from Jesus.

So part of my message this week is about God's power to transform. God transforms people who are far from him and makes them into his children, his beloved children.

That's what God does, but its hard for us to really believe this.

When we think about who we want to invite to our church, who we think will accept Jesus as Lord and Savior we think of our nice neighbors who seem to have their stuff together. They are so much like us, except for the Jesus and church part that we think they are so close to seeing God and knowing his grace. To be sure, God calls these people, but this week I've been reading testimonies. Most testimonies that have impacted me, and impacted, deeply impacted people far from Christ are testimonies of people far from Jesus whom he draws near.

This week I listened to Ravi Zacharias testimony and Lee Strobels. Then this morning I was listening to the national prayer breakfast and heard a little bit of Eric Metaxas Testimony

These are people who were far from God. God took people who didn't look like Christians already. God found people who were hopeless, some losers, some antagonists but all lost. He rescued them from where their plans and hopes and direction had failed them. God is good, and God is powerful. He is mighty to save.

Russell Moore had some thoughts on this recently

Russell Moore recounts a memorable conversation with the evangelical theologian Carl F. H. Henry. As Moore and some of his friends were lamenting the miserable shape of the church, they asked Dr. Henry if he saw any hope in the coming generation of evangelicals.

Dr. Henry replied:

Of course, there is hope for the next generation of evangelicals. But the leaders of the next generation might not be coming from the current evangelical establishment. They are probably still pagans. Who knew that Saul of Tarsus was to be the great apostle to the Gentiles? Who knew that God would raise up a C. S. Lewis or a Charles Colson? They were unbelievers who, once saved by the grace of God, were mighty warriors for the faith.

Russell Moore added:

The next Jonathan Edwards might be the man driving in front of you with the Darwin Fish bumper decal. The next Charles Wesley might be a misogynist, profanity-spewing hip-hop artist right now. The next Billy Graham might be passed out drunk in a fraternity house right now. The next Charles Spurgeon might be making posters for a Gay Pride March right now. The next Mother Teresa might be managing an abortion clinic right now.

So when we pray, let's not only pray for people we like, and people who are like us. People who, if they walked into our churches, would fit right in. Let's also pray for people who are far from God. Let's pray for God to work in powerful ways and show that he is the redeemer. Let's pray that God changes people far from him and be glorified because he has worked in ways that we didn't see or expect. Let's pray that God continues to show that he is the way, the truth, and the life to a perishing world

Advent

2011-12-20T13:41:00.001-06:00

Ok, I have been preaching through the Psalms for Christmas and the big theme of weeks 1-3 in Psalm 80, 85 and 126 was "wait on God and he will come through. Wait on his goodness because he is faithful, wait for him to fulfill the promise. (Like he did at the Incarnation and will again at the second coming or as I preach all the time the second Christmas)

Wait with hope, Wait with peace, wait with joy.

Then we looked at Love in Psalm 89.

And I didn't plan this, since I just used the lectionary readings for this year, but as I looked at it and read Psalm 89 It starts off like this

I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever;
   with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
   through all generations.
² I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
   that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.

And that hit me. I've been telling our church to wait, to long for God and expect him to work and stick with him even when you are ready to give up...but the reality is that God is the faithful one. He's the one who sticks with us, even after we give up. His love is faithful forever, from generation to generation it stands firm. This Psalm recognizes God's love in the past (v 1-37) but then asks God, "Where are you now?" from 38-51. Kind of like us. We see God's work, we know it in ways big and small. But there are times when we feel dissappointment and face defeat and we are ready to give up. And sadly, sometimes we do.

But in it all God is faithful.

Faithfulness is the mark of God's love. It's the mark of true love, right? Love never fails. That's why marriage and covenant are such essential elements of Biblical teaching and Theology. These things teach us the nature of true love.
God's love, his promises are forever, and because of His character we should hope, not stress, and live with joy. He asks us to be more like Him as he says wait, as he has us learn faithfulness, as he teaches us how to love. And when we fail, he is there always ready to take us back, always ready to truly love.

Advent Illustrations

2011-12-20T13:40:00.002-06:00

Hope Advent Illustrations

In his book, Simply Christian, N. T. Wright begins his chapter entitled "Putting the World to Rights" with the following personal story:

I had a dream the other night, a powerful and interesting dream. And the really frustrating thing is that I can't remember what it was about. I had a flash of it as I woke up, enough to make me think how extraordinary and meaningful it was; and then it was gone … . Our passion for justice often seems like that. We dream the dream of justice. We glimpse, for a moment, a world at one, a world put to rights, a world where things work out, where societies function fairly and efficiently … . and then we wake up and come back to reality.

According to Wright, our longing for justice "comes with the kit of being human." Unfortunately, although we all strive for justice, we often fail to achieve it. As Wright says,

You fall off your bicycle and break your leg. You go to the hospital and they fix it. You stagger around on crutches for awhile. Then, rather gingerly, you start to walk normally again … . There is such a thing as putting something to rights, as in fixing it, as getting it back on track. You can fix a broken leg, a broken toy, a broken television. So why can't we fix injustice. It isn't for lack of trying.

And yet, in spite of failures to fix injustice, we keep dreaming that one day all broken things will be set right. Wright contends, "Christians believe this is so because all humans have heard, deep within themselves, the echo of a voice which calls us to live [with a dream for justice]. And [followers of Christ] believe that in Jesus that voice became human and did what had to be done to bring it about."

My wife's aunt Gladys has always had a little apple orchard at her home. But this year when we paid her a visit, I couldn't help but notice the huge harvest of apples. The branches hung heavy, and some were cracking with the weight of abundance. Never, in many years, had anyone seen such a harvest.

When I asked her why, she told me that last year there was a late frost in the spring, and all the buds froze. When that happens, Gladys said, an apple tree does a miraculous thing: It stores up its energy in thousands of small bumps, or nodules, called scions (pronounced "see-ons"). All that energy pulsates through that network of scions until the spring of the following year, and then, BAM! You have an exploding riot of buds, as an apple tree unleashes all that stored up energy.

Gladys' description made me think about our spiritual lives. Sometimes the harsh frosts of this life—cancer, divorce, bankruptcy, trauma, grief, depression—cause our hearts to freeze. But at the core of the Christian faith we also live with an incredible promise: in and through Christ, there will be an abundant harvest in our lives. God's power is pulsating under the gnarly bark of this world and even our bodies. In Christ, we are being formed into a small nodule of living hope. During certain seasons of our life we feel our hearts waiting, longing, and even aching for those frozen places to burst into life. Our living hope is that one day, all of this stored up glory will be unleashed in a joyful riot of splendor.

Keith Mannes, Highland Church, McBain, Michigan

Peace Advent Illustrations

In a sermon entitled The Beauty of Biblical Justice, pastor Timothy Keller defines the biblical concept of shalom as universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight. Keller states, "God created the world to be a fabric, for everything to be woven together and interdependent."

Keller illustrates his point with the following picture of biblical shalom: "If I threw a thousand threads onto the table, they wouldn't be a fabric. They'd just be threads lying on top of each other. Threads become a fabric when each one has been woven over, under, around, and through every other one. The more interdependent they are, the more beautiful they are. The more interwoven they are, the stronger and warmer they are. God made the world with billions of entities, but he didn't make them to be an aggregation. Rather, he made them to be in a beautiful, harmonious, knitted, webbed, interdependent relationship with one another."

Then he offers a concrete example for the need to practice the Bible's call to shalom. In large cities around the world, children are growing up as functional illiterates—largely due to school and family situations. By the time they become teenagers, they can't read or write. According to Keller, at that point, they're often locked into poverty for the rest of their lives. Some people pin this problem on unjust social structures; others blame the breakdown of the family. But nobody says it's the kids' fault.

So Keller concludes, "Nobody says that 7-year-olds need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. And yet, a child born into my family has a 300 to 400 times greater chance for economic or social flourishing than the kids in those neighborhoods. That's just one example of the way in which the fabric of the world—the shalom of this world—has been broken … . It's not enough to do individual charity; you have to address [larger social issues]."

Marcellus speaks to his companions of the time of Jesus' birth. In Christmas, in the birth of Jesus, in the birth of that baby boy we have a time a day where life stands still. It is a holy peaceful time he says, a time in which life grows still. Christmas is like a lake or a river at peace, In Jesus the turmoil, the waves, the things that make life unclear subside. Its like the surface of a river so calm and clear so that we can look down into it and see glimmering there in its depth something timeless, precious, other. He goes on to And a gracious time, Marcellus says—a time that we cannot bring about as we can bring about a happy time or a sad time but time that comes upon us as a grace, as a free and unbidden gift. Marcellus explains that Christmas is a time of such holiness that the cock crows the whole night through as though it is perpetually dawn, and thus for once, even the powers of darkness are powerless.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a romantic comedy about culture, family, and acceptance. Nia Vardalos plays Toula Portokalos, the awkward middle child of a proud Greek family. Her father, Gus (Michael Constantine), often embarrasses her because he always lectures people on Greek history. "Give me a word," he says, "any word, and I'll show you how the root of that word is Greek." Toula has ambitions to go to college and find a good job. Her father, on the other hand, just wants her to marry a nice Greek boy and give him Greek grandchildren.

When Toula meets Ian Miller (John Corbett), a long-haired English teacher who comes from a reserved and proper-mannered family, they fall in love and begin a complicated and secret courtship. Her family eventually finds out, and her father is livid that she's dating a non-Greek. When the couple decides to marry, the two families must come together, making for a number of misunderstandings and uncomfortable moments.

Toula's father is devastated that she's marrying outside of her heritage, and he is against the wedding from the beginning. He simply does not understand the Millers' way of life. Over time, he begins to realize how important Ian is to his daughter and how in love they are. Seeking a way to reconcile their differences, he turns to the Greek language. At the wedding reception, he gives the following speech in broken English:

"Welcome to the Portokalos family, and welcome to the Miller family. I was thinking last night, the night before my daughter is going to marry Ian Miller, that—you know—the root of the word Miller is a Greek word. Miller comes from the Greek word "milo," which means "apple." So there you go. As many of you know, our name, Portokalos, comes from the Greek word "portokali," which mean "orange." So, here tonight, we have apples and oranges. We are all different. But, in the end, we are all fruit."

Joy advent Illustrations

According to Psychology Today, in 2008, 4,000 books were published on happiness—up from 50 in 2000.

Suppose we were to come up with a set of Beatitudes for the 21st Century. What if we made a list of the kinds of people who seem to be well-off—who seem to have it made—by today's standards? It might go something like this:

Blessed are the rich and famous, because they can always get a seat at the best restaurants.

Blessed are the good-looking, for they shall be on the cover of People magazine.

Blessed are those who party, for they know how to have fun.

Blessed are those who take first place in the division, for they shall have momentum going into the play-offs.

Blessed are the movers and shakers, for they shall make a name for themselves.

Blessed are those who demand their rights, for they shall not be overlooked.

Blessed are the healthy and fit, because they don't mind being seen in a bathing suit.

Blessed are those who make it to the top, because they get to look down on everyone else.

Early in his career, the great American playwright, Eugene O'Neill, wrote the imaginative play Lazarus Laughed. It's about Lazarus's life after Jesus raised him from the dead. Near the beginning of the play, guests from Bethany are gathering for a banquet in Lazarus's honor. They are all desperate to hear what Lazarus has to say about his experience. As they take their seats, one guest says, "The whole look of his face has changed. He is like a stranger from a far land. There is no longer any sorrow in his eyes. They must have forgotten sorrow in the grave." Another guest, one who had helped roll the tombstone aside, recalls the scene after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in even more beautiful terms:

And then Lazarus knelt and kissed Jesus' feet, and both of them smiled, and Jesus blessed him and called him "My Brother" and went away. And Lazarus, looking after him, began to laugh softly like a man in love with God. Such a laugh I never heard! It made my ears drunk! It was like wine! And though I was half-dead with fright, I found myself laughing, too."

While attending a 2008 awards presentation at the Strathmore Music Center, a concert hall just outside of Washington, D.C., author Mark Gauvreau Judge witnessed what can only be described as unashamed joy—something we don't often get to see in a broken world, let alone the church. The scene was made all the more powerful because it included different people from different cultural backgrounds—a Nimiipuu Indian, a saddle maker from Idaho, a Brazilian street dancer, a leader of the music liturgy of the Ethiopian Christian church, an Iroquois choir, a bluegrass band, a master of Peruvian folk art, a quilter from Alabama, a Korean dancer from New York, and a jazz musician specializing in the traditional New Orleans style. Judge writes:

After almost three hours, it was time for a curtain call—one last bow to end the evening. As [the host of the event] reintroduced everyone, [the] featured jazz band played "When the Saints Go Marching In." That's when something happened.

The audience at the Strathmore rose to its feet to acknowledge the fellowship winners—it seemed at the time like one last blast of applause before the exit. But as they—we—clapped in time to "When the Saints Go Marching In," the performers onstage began to dance. … The jazz band, sensing something in the air, got louder, and kept playing. And playing. And playing. Onstage, the performers formed a conga line, led by one of the jazz musicians, then a circle, each person taking his or her turn in the center. The invisible line between performers and audience evaporated. It had turned into one big party—or revival meeting.

The spiritual writer Stephen Mitchell once described a holy joy "so large that it is no longer inside of you, but you are inside of it." I used to work at a record store and wrote music reviews for newspapers and websites, and I've been to hundreds of concerts over the years. I have never seen anything like what happened on that stage at the Strathmore. It was the most totally unselfconscious explosion of bliss I have ever seen in performance; the people onstage were not hamming for the crowd or blowing kisses. They were as lost in abandon as we were. I wouldn't be surprised if they had forgotten we were there. This was a spontaneous eruption of happiness. …

After about thirty bars of saints marching in, [the host] shut things down. No one wanted to leave; I honestly believe the band could have played for an hour and no one would have moved for the exits. Staggering outside, I heard a woman say she was "swimming in joy." I myself was speechless. Then I heard someone say, "I hope there was someone from the media there." I thought of saying that I was in the media. But then I had the decency to admit there were times when language failed. Like everyone else, I just wanted to stay inside the joy.

A fascinating study done by Professor Vicki Medvec reveals the relative importance of subjective attitudes over and above objective circumstances. Medvec studied Olympic medalists and discovered that bronze medalists were quantifiably happier than silver medalists. Here's why: Silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning gold, so they weren't satisfied with silver; broze medalists tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all, so they were just as happy to be on the medal stand.

Love Advent Illustrations

In a short devotional for Christian Standard magazine, Paul Williams writes about an unusually bumpy flight he once had from Philadelphia to Long Island. Being a frequent flyer, Williams wasn't all that concerned as the plane was batted around in the sky. Others, however, were grabbing onto their armrests or steadying themselves on the seat back in front of them. While observing the reactions of his fellow passengers, Williams took notice of one young mother caring for her baby. He watched as she "wrapped her arms around her infant and pulled the child very close to her breast. Then she dropped her chin, rested it on the back of the child's head, and began to sing ever so quietly, 'Hush, Little Baby.'" The moment caused him to reflect on Christmas, of all things. He writes:

Helpless fragility is the lot of the infant. Those early days leave a lasting impression on the human psyche we never really resolve. That vulnerability stays with us all of our days, reminding us of the seemingly capricious nature of things—a bitter world that does not care if we exist.

But then God came—as an infant, unable to reach out and steady himself on the seat back in front of him, fully trusting a human, fallible mother to pull him close to her breast through the pitching, shaking nature of things.

What an extraordinary risk, to trust the infant of God to a frightened young girl.

But then again—watching that new mother sing to her child all the way through the turbulent skies to the welcoming runway—I realized God knew good and well what he was doing. The power of love trumps fear, rewards risk, and brings meaning and life to an otherwise frightening world. Over and over again.

For a God who would become powerless for love, and to a mother who sings softly in her infant's ear, I give my heart for Christmas, wholly amazed at the wonder of it all.

In an Esquire magazine article titled "Larry King: What I've Learned," Larry King was asked about his marriages. After being married and divorced eight times to seven different women (for his fifth marriage he remarried his third wife), King said,

Questions about my marriages and divorces always take me to the same place. I once asked Stephen Hawking, the smartest guy in the world, what he didn't understand. He said, "Women." If the smartest guy in the world couldn't understand them, what do you expect from me?

Then King said, "The three greatest words in the English language are not: I love you. That's second. The first are: Leave me alone.

According to Martin Luther, even from his birth, Jesus was standing with sinners. Luther wrote:

Christ is the kind of person who is not ashamed of sinners—in fact, he even puts them in his family tree! Now if the Lord does that here, so ought we to despise no one … but put ourselves right in the middle of the fight for sinners and help them.

Illustrious

2011-10-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

A while ago I had a plan. I am hereby continuing with said plan.

On Sin and hard Heartedness

So this was taken from Mike Dunigan a student at COD. Sin is like the rain on the windshield of your car. If there is a ton of it the more that piles on you don't really even notice. It's not until the windshield is wiped clean that you notice how bad and distorted things were. Once you do wipe the glass clean you notice each drop and each speck land and unless you keep wiping it clean you end up with a blurry distorted view. In the same way we need to keep coming to God for forgiveness, we need to keep coming to him to be made clean and also to have our vision cleared up and hearts aligned to His over and over again.

On Purity

Typically people don't get why God needs complete Holiness, why can't he just accept us as we are? Why do we need to be changed? Why does our sin need to be dealt with, why does God demand perfect perfection?

A helpful illustration is this: Imagine a batch of brownies perfectly baked. crisply edges moist and chewy. Now imagine being told there is a little bit of poop in those brownies.

Just a little.

Do you really need complete perfection? Isnt' that being unreasonable? That standard too high? Oh you don't think so... God demands perfection in all things.

Jesus is all I need

2011-10-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

There is a lot of writing about the rampant consumerism in America and growing throughout the world. I've written about it in the past, here and a number of other places when dealing with politics and injustice. Skye Jethani wrote the book on its negative influence in the church. CNN just had an article declaring greed the last taboo. Which doesn't really make any sense, but there it is anyway.

Anyway, I just wanted to use this opportunity to remind us all that we need to find our identity and sufficiency in Jesus alone. Here is another article from Time. The point is that materialistic people are less happy in marriages. The suspected reasons, since these people find more pleasure in possessions rather than people they put their time and energy into getting stuff, rather than in the people around them. There is truth in that. Take Ecclesiastes 2 for example

⁴ I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. ⁵ I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. ⁷ I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. ⁸ I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem^[a]as well—the delights of a man’s heart. ⁹ I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
   I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
   and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
   and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
   nothing was gained under the sun.

Solomon was one of the few people who could afford everything his heart desired, (tho Americans definitely try) and yet it was all unfulfilling. He was not satisfied with everything so long as his heart was not set on God.

Nothing else satisfies, and chasing after it destroys our other relationships. Therefore guard your hearts and minds from this insidious idol, this greed that seeks to control.

The Anti Corruption God.

2011-09-05T11:34:00.002-05:00

I just read this article http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2091395,00.html that I think reaffirms the truths we had been learning about in Micah. It makes me long all the more for God's Gospel to keep going forth in this world, and ultimately for God's glory to be shown when he brings final justice to a world rife with injustice.

Remember and reflect on these 2 verses from our study in Micah

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.

The first is how we are part of the solution here. How we can work towards a world that reflects God's goodness.

The Second trusts that even tho we will never finally deal with all the corruption and Justice, we hope in the one who will set it all right.

Right Questions Wrong Answers

2011-07-06T16:33:00.000-05:00

The other day I ran across this quote from C. S. Lewis.

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.
C. S. Lewis

There are certain strains in our society that tell us that education is the solution to all the ills of our society. As someone who actually believes in sin I disagree with this position. The problem isn't uneducated people, the problem is people. As a society we've been reminded of this with the recent economic abuse enacted on regular people by Bernie Madoff and his ilk, but we also see it in the political sex scandals of Wiener and Strauss-Kahn. These were all well educated people who commit wrongs against others, abusing their position and justifying there wrong doing. All of this lines up with this quote and what ultimately underlines humanity. Sinful and corrupted human beings to serve self first. Sadly when the educated sin, it often has the potential to hurt many more people.

This TIME article reinforces this idea that its not only the uneducated (or entitled "celebrities") who sin. The author points out that the rich steal more often than the poor. From an economic and needs standpoint that doesn't make sense at all. Yet this is the reality, educated people easily rationalizing why they don't need to follow the rules. Why they can do as they see fit.

I think its the unwillingness to submit that is at the heart of all sin. We rebel against God and his ways, we put ourselves on the throne and proceed to serve self above all. For some of us those sins might express themselves in shoplifting, or sex scandals or financial indiscretions, but for all of us we stand against God rather than at his feet. Education (while extremely important and highly recommended and something my kids had better commit to or else) doesn't help us submit our will to God. Instead it gives us more tools with which to rationalize and justify our self serving nature. Scripture says since knowledge puffs up and as we are grow ever prouder it becomes harder and harder to submit. So lets pray that God would give us humble hearts, that we would see our sin for what it is, and that we wouldn't pin all of our hopes on the answers and pathways the world provides. Instead lets pin our hopes on Christ and walk humbly and act justly.

I'm hoping to post a follow up relating to awareness as the hipster answer to social problems related to this idea that education is the answer to everything...

Pure Church

2011-06-03T11:28:00.000-05:00

So I've been preaching through the 7 churches in Revelation. The American church is very much like Laodicea.

¹⁴ “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:   These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
   ¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
   ²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

When you see what is going on in China you see the persecution and the strength that comes from true belief and not a watered down faith.

Perhaps they are like Smyrna or Philadelphia,

⁷ “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
   These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. ⁸ I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹ I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. ¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
   ¹¹ I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. ¹² The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. ¹³ Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Perhaps we could learn

Illustrious

2011-05-03T21:15:00.000-05:00

My posting has been anything but. However I'm gonna start posting illustrations here for my own future reference and if anyone else wants to post them. As I read I'll rewrite them, not verbatim and only reference the book not pages.

The cockapoo and the pitbull

Once there was this cockapoo (cocker spaniel/poodle mix) that was a long time resident of a couple who then decided to get a pit bull as a puppy. The cockapoo did not like this uninvited guest in the least and bullied the puppy into submission, even as the pitbull outgrew the cockapoo it didn't dare challenge its former tormentor. One day the cockapoo got some gum or something in its hair and needed too get it cut off. Well upon his return he started walking around as if he owned the place, but the pitbull saw this skinny shaved dog prancing about in his house and jumped his housemate with the full force of a pitbull. At that moment the relationship changed forever...
In the same way, Satan is a parading pretender and we don't live in the victory that Christ has won for us. Instead we are bullied, and beaten down under the weight of our sins when we should really be reminded of the power of God's grace and not our own weakness.

The second is about submission. Say a car and 18 wheeler are driving down the highway, but soon a lane is merging in and the 18 wheeler is in the lane that is being merged. The big massive truck is the one that needs to yield due to nothing more than its position. It is required to follow the rules in order to avoid a big mess. In the same way we are all called to submit in lots of situations, the most talked about one is wives to husbands. Less talked about are the biblical commands to submit to God, (James 4:7) Pastors and Elders (Hebrews 13:17) Gov't (1 Peter 2:13-15) and Employers (1 peter 2:18) as well as children to parents.

Both are taken from PB Wilson's liberated through submission

Amos Lee

2011-03-21T14:10:00.002-05:00

Cup of Sorrow by Amos Lee is especially meaningful right now in light of the tragedy of Japan and the little we can do from thousands of miles away. (As well as send cash)

The Line that hit home

I send a prayer out across the ocean,
To a man that's forced out of his home.
I send a prayer out across the ocean,
So that he may not suffer there alone.

And the song in its entirety:

Cup Of Sorrow"

I want to drink from your cup of sorrow,
I want to bathe in your holy blood.
I want to sleep with the promise of tomorrow,
I know tomorrow may never come.

I send a prayer out across the ocean,
To a man that's forced out of his home.
I send a prayer out across the ocean,
So that he may not suffer there alone.

I want to drink from your cup of sorrow,
I want to bathe in your holy blood.
I want to sleep with the promise of tomorrow,
I know tomorrow may never come.

I want to sit at your table of wisdom,
So that not one crumb shall go to waste,
For if we keep down this pathway to destruction,
Oh will our children will suffer for our haste.

I want to drink from your cup of sorrow,
I want to bathe in your holy blood.
I want to sleep with the promise of tomorrow,
I know tomorrow may never come [x3]

I am amazed by how many Christian artists there are in mainstream recording. Christ and Culture is a classic book by Reinhold Neibuhr. It talks about the different ways Christians approach the world around them. His point is we need to have lives that overlap with people who aren't Christians. We shouldn't conform to the culture,we shouldn't hide from it and we shouldn't develop an us v. them attitude. Instead we should be like Jesus himself who loved people from all backgrounds, but encouraged them to be renewed and transformed, to leave their lives of sin and come unto Him. I think that the reality of Christians making music that isn't only intended for a Christian audience is a reminder that all of us need to step into the lives of the many people around us, and to live as Christ.

Law as Gift

2011-03-18T08:51:00.001-05:00

This week I was reading Luke 6:1-11. A few thoughts that really impressed me were related to the point of the Law. Ultimately, the Sabbath and the entire law are not meant to be oppressive burdens. That's the problem that results from legalism. God's reason for giving the law is as gift. (As well as to show us our sinfulness when we reject it.) But I'm going to focus on the gift part.

In v. 5 Jesus says, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Now this can be read as Jesus saying, "Look here pharisees, I'm God I don't need to follow the law. I am the law!" Kind of like a corrupt policeman. But in the context He's talking about David and that David (and Jesus and the disciples) were doing what "some pharisees" (v. 2) considered work (and other pharisees didn't). But David and his companions, to stay alive ate the consecrated bread. Jesus point is that people (sons of men) are Lord over the sabbath and that the sabbath is not Lord over them.
The Sabbath is a gift designed to give life. God mandates rest becuase we need a break, that we need rest, we need to refocus, we need to trust in God and not in our own efforts to truly enjoy this life. But if Sabbath becomes a burden if it ends up destroying life v. 9. thats a problem. That's a corruption of the law. That's a teaching that needs to be fixed.

We need to see all of the law as gift and not just a burdensome list of rules meant to weigh us down. When we believe that God is good and trust his gift of law we see that. Not stealing, coveting, hurting, lying, sleeping around, cheating on our spouses, lusting, boasting etc. is a gift. When we don't do those things our lives and more joyful because they are less painful, and less oppressive for ourselves and for those around us. Instead we are supposed to be serving, loving, being patient and humble. If we praise God and give thanks, and follow the "do" commands we see our lives being filled with joy and meaning.

God's commands are gift, and meant to give life. When we see this it makes all the difference in how we see God. (Authoritarian taskmaster v. concerned and loving Father)

Basically it comes back to that first temptation of Satan...when he asks Eve to question if God is really good. Can you really trust him? Don't you think he's holding out on you? I used to think of God as Iron fisted, and capricious like Zeus waiting to throw Lightning at me if I screwed up.

Now that I've screwed up a lot, and rarely been hit by lightning I know he works a different way, a restoring and redeeming way. I hope you see that too.

Borders and Crossing the Line

2011-02-25T11:11:00.000-06:00

With the closing of 30% of Borders stores and its chapter 11 bankruptcy this may be the end of the book as we know it. Mike Shatzkin in the Wall Street Journal predicts a 90% reduction in bricks an mortar bookstores as Amazon and e-readers take over the market. Are traditional books to follow and with it, perhaps analytic and grounded thinking.

I offer myself and my own thinking as examples. I read a lot of stuff online. As I look for sermon illustrations and even insights on passages I often scour the internet for illumination, but often I don't trust what I get online because everyone's opinion is on here and who is to say it is worthwhile. So I often turn to books, articles and to commentaries from trusted authors and publishers. As books and publishers and even bookstores fade, where will all of these things be grounded? What and who will we recognize as authorities or at least as informed people whose opinion should be considered and trusted? The internet is full of opinions, many of them are completely uninformed, developing unfounded conspiracy theories, making seriously defective conclusions. Thus the reason for websites like snopes.com. The concern for critical thinking as it relates to students and adults has quickly become a concern in Academia. in 2000-2002, 16 articles and books at least were written to address the reality that we need to do a better job helping young people internalize truth and reject unfounded claims. Suffice to say, the prospect of undermined quality printed material makes this more difficult.

Ultimately, this brings me back to Scripture and that we as believers say that God's Word is authoritative. Without authority, we are all free to make our own reality. We make our own rules, we make ourselves our own gods. That may sound good at the outset. I think that making our own reality and self actualization are things that our culture promotes. But when it comes down to it ultimately self centeredness is a dead end. Without things we all hold in common we will become increasingly divided. Without a common law a common authority we'd find ourselves in anarchy pretty quickly. In the same way without a common authority (or at the very least opinions based in fact) we'll quickly descend into intellectual anarchy where every opinion is equally valid. Even the stupid ones. Even the dangerous ones.

Culture wars...to what end?

2011-02-22T16:46:00.002-06:00

With the recent statements of David Cameron, Nikolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, Leaders of Europe's 3 largest nations saying that multiculturalism is a failed experiment, and with the recent abandoning of democratic process in Indiana and Wisconsin (links everywhere) I'm wondering if there really is a way forward for America.

Chuck Colson, former advisor to Nixon, who came to faith in prison and started Prison Fellowship, a Christian ministry to reach and help rehabilitate prisoners said in a recent article that he believes multiculturalism is impossible to sustain without some unifying aim. One of America's Motto's is E pluribus unum- of many, one. My fear is that there are 2 clear directions we are headed as Americans. With two strong philosophical polls pulling us further and further apart we will be incapable of moving forward. Incapable of meaningful or lasting change. I fear that while we aren't decrying Islam as the incompatible culture like Europe is, it is we who have a much bigger problem on our hands, rather than minority subcultures, we have 2 equally large divided cultures in America, the rhetoric and actions seem like they will only escalate.

As always Ideas have Consequences. Let's pray we can start to see the ways we can work together.

I should also add that God's Kingdom will be multicultural. The people from every tribe tongue and nation will be in God's presence. And that while we will be many it will be possible because we do have that one thing unifying us, that one aim which is to give glory to our God and Savior. Amen.

Add this to my points. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2052843,00.html?xid=rss-mostpopular

New Playlist Arcade Fire

2011-02-01T10:20:00.000-06:00

I'm including a new playlist by Arcade Fire. A Pitchfork Review said this about their faith.

Lately, gospel-- not to mention fundamentalist Christianity-- has been experiencing something of a renaissance, so it's no shock that the same label that sometimes frowned upon Cash's religious recordings is eager to revisit them today. But times are different. Big music names from Bono to Mary J. Blige to Arcade Fire are believers of the highest order.

While I do think there are hints to their faith in many of their songs there is also a criticism of hypocrisy in the church. The most explicit is in the last song on the playlist Antichrist Television Blues. Basically about a guy praying for a child to make it big. I think it may also be an indictment concerning Christian Music; saying that we can make music that mines the themes of faith for the masses or just grab the cash that comes more easily to Christian Artists.

Either Way enjoy the music, consider the lyrics. I hope that we are willing to bring the love of God to all people through all means

Good Times

2011-02-01T09:28:00.001-06:00

There are a lot of things I look back on fondly and miss about my childhood, especially as I raise my kids in this new and ever changing world. One thing that I miss most is letter writing. I used to write a lot of letters and they were good. They were my artistic medium, honed and crafted. I wish that carried over to these blog posts, but writing to a person and the masses are vastly different enterprises. Regardless, the thing I miss about letters was not only the formation of the letters on my end, but the anticipation of a response. Nothing was instant, and ideas and hopes and emotions would fill me in the meantime. Waiting was formative. Now we don't wait. Its all instant, and while I like getting stuff now, I miss the waiting. I miss the patient waiting, and hoping. I think it taught me something valuable that maybe I stopped learning a long time ago.

My cousin Ryan posted this on his FB account today. I'm sure I read it only moments later. Ha. anyway it said "In the end everything will be OK. If its not OK, its not the end."

In other words wait for it.

This is also my song post. The Song "We used to wait" (Also to experience it in an amazing way from a happier(?) time of your own life, you must check this out http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/)

basically what I just said. But it also speaks of the value of having words on paper, tangible and lasting rather than digital and easily deleted. Forever. In a letter you put yourself into it. You think about it. You craft and form it. It comes from your heart. A tweet, email, Wall post typically doesn't have that much investment....

I used to write,
I used to write letters I used to sign my name
I used to sleep at night
Before the flashing lights settled deep in my brain

But by the time we met
By the time we met the times had already changed

So I never wrote a letter
I never took my true heart I never wrote it down
So when the lights cut out
I was left standing in the wilderness downtown

Now our lives are changing fast
Now our lives are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last
Hope that something pure can last

It seems strange anekatips
How we used to wait for letters to arrive
But what's stranger still
Is how something so small can keep you alive

We used to wait
We used to waste hours just walking around
We used to wait
All those wasted lives in the wilderness downtown

oooo we used to wait
oooo we used to wait
oooo we used to wait
Sometimes it never came
(oooo we used to wait)
Sometimes it never came
(oooo we used to wait)
Still moving through the pain
(oooooo)

I'm gonna write a letter to my true love
I'm gonna sign my name
Like a patient on a table
I wanna walk again gonna move through the pain

Now our lives are changing fast
Now our lives are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last
Hope that something pure can last

oooo we used to wait
oooo we used to wait
oooo we used to wait
Sometimes it never came
(oooo we used to wait)
Sometimes it never came
(oooo we used to wait)
Still moving through the pain
(oooooo) anekatips

we used to wait (x3)
www.lyrics-celebrities.anekatips.com

We used to wait for it
We used to wait for it
Now we're screaming sing the chorus again
We used to wait for it
We used to wait for it
Now we're screaming sing the chorus again

I used to wait for it
I used to wait for it
Hear my voice screaming sing the chorus again

Wait for it (x3)

If Your Life Ends the Day you get Married, this would be Convenient. Otherwise I'd say no

2011-01-20T16:07:00.000-06:00

Long title I know. But I couldn't be anything other than disturbed by this growing trend to have weddings in funeral homes. Weird. I think its part of our lessening the value of marriage in our America. Here are some interesting other thoughts of late.

1) Marriage rates are shrinking among those who would benefit most from marriage, the working poor. The article says that the wealthy elite introduced the ideas of marriage as an unnecessary human construct, but generally marry.

2) The same arguments made to advocate same sex marriage are now used to defend incest. The reason we shouldn't allow incest according to social commentator Willaim Slatean, It's bad for families. I agree, that's what people have been saying about homosexuality and divorce for forever. I don't think that holds any water legally. If you read most of the comments they promote the idea of incest for consenting adults, so long as they don't have kids. These same arguments are being used to promote polyamory... Slippery Slope anyone? (not that we have to just that there is no logical reason not to change our stance)

How can we be so messed up and not even know it?

Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. ³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

10 Things you didn't know about Christmas

2010-12-26T21:24:00.000-06:00

I posted the Thanksgiving one of these over a years ago. And I needed to get something on the Board for December.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1868506_1868508_1868515,00.html?iid=moreontime

Remix Culture

2010-11-30T09:32:00.000-06:00

I was reading today about the how a new form of art today is basically stealing from the cultural milieu (that may be the first time I've ever written milieu) and making it your own in some way. This has different forms, from sampling and mixing to mashups. Perhaps the most notorious purveyor is Gregg Gillis aka Girl Talk who is produced by illegal art. And there in lies the problem or at least the question. How much of today's music and art and film is legitimate and how much is blatant stealing and re purposing of others ideas? How do we protect artists and give them motivation to create and provide the right rewards when their work is what brings the dollars rolling in?

The other reality is that art has always been a call and response. One person taking influence and concepts from other artists and speaking new value into them, challenging these innovations or using them as a jumping point. If you go to any art show there will always be an interplay between artists. This brief article about Matisse and Picasso really brings that to light. I think this reality blurs the line all the more...sure artists of the past had to reproduce elements of art on their own, and that made it more difficult to "steal" or incorporate someone else's work. That said, there are new mediums, new artistic forms and opportunities and those influences can be more easily co-opted. Is that necessarily wrong?

This same question is asked of pastors as many preach books that others have written, they simply take titles and themes from other pastors and authors and present them as they try to make them there own. Is this legit? Where is the line? For me, I want my inspiration to always be God's Word. So it is my building block, his word is my starting point. I try to preach exegetically, and to address our church and cultural situation. I will read commentaries, occasionally listen to another sermon on a topic and even take an illustration that fits a theme from another source, but I also try to give the credit to the original source or at least from the source I borrowed from. In some ways, that is where mashups and sampling always pays homage to the original and gives the credit back since its real source is not meant to be hidden but presented in the light.

The Sanctity of Marriage

2010-11-19T13:28:00.000-06:00

The Pew Research Center Recently released new findings and changing attitudes toward what marriage and family mean these days. Read more in this Time Article. It is a very interesting and telling study, basically it says that we still want to get married (95% of respondents under 30) but think marriage is a fading cultural institution (44% of that same age group think marriage will become extinct). It shows that people who embrace marriage now more than ever are healthier and wealthier. They live longer and make on average 41% more than singles. Children of married parents achieve higher grades, and have better behavior than children of divorces. Marriage is a gift and its benefits seen in society.

And yet...

We devalue it, Americans see it as a fine choice, one they would like for themselves but not for everyone. And not for better or worse.

Divorce is actually declining, but cohabitation is way way up. Cohabiting couples break up at much higher rates than marrieds even when kids are involved.

According to the study half of kids who are born to unmarried mothers were to people who were living together, over 50% of those mothers thought they would end up marrying the father, 5 years later only 16% were married.

We are destroying the institution and destroying our nation, to give in to our personal whims and wishes as we fail to keep our vows and commitments before each other, our friends and our God.

Pray for your married friends and your marriages. I'll pray for yours and mine.

veterans day

2010-11-11T09:43:00.000-06:00

Typically Veterans day is one of those holidays I don't really think about. It's a day off for the kids and maybe something I should mention at church. I was thinking about it yesterday as I explained to Simone why she didn't have school. (She was not happy about a day off) Anyway, I told her how it is a time when we think about he people who have served in the army. And a day we commit to remembering them and thanking them for our service.

The reality is I don't know many people in the military, and for me it's just one more area that is removed from my life. An area I don't think about because it doesn't connect with my day to day living. Like food. I don't live on a farm, butcher animals or anything like that so I don't think about the process, the care and the effort it takes to give me chicken for dinner. Since I don't think about it, I don't care.

I don't care about veterans. I don't really care about all the neighbors around me, because I don't know them. They don't impact me. God wants me to love my neighbors. He wants me to care. So this year, at the prompting of my 3 year old daughter. I'm being thankful for their sacrifice. I'm thinking about what people give up so that I can live the life I have. I'm thankful that people would be willing to give everything, for me. And I'm reminded once again of the ONE who intentionally gave it all, for me.

All We Need is Love, and someone to tell us No.

2010-11-03T09:07:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about a "Theology of No" lately. I think this really started as I was praying about different things and often getting a no from God. My life changed back in 1999 when there was a ministry job at the (Syracuse Rescue mission) that I was sure I should get and sure I would get. When I was told No by God my life was redirected. 5 months later, God had me in a different ministry (Bethesda Mission in Harrisburg) a very similar job, but in the same community as my future wife.
When God said no, I was heartbroken and confused. I wanted answers and I didn't get them for a long time. But now I see when God says no, he knows what he's doing.

Now that I'm a father, a loving father. I say no a lot. My kids ask for a lot of stuff, but they are getting used to hearing no. Sometimes it is very easy for me to say no, often its very hard. Usually my kids requests are well within my power to accomplish. Can I have ice cream, candy, McDonalds etc. Often I think, I could give it too them, its in my power it will make them happy and what harm is there in saying yes. The problem is if I always said yes there could be problems. My kids could eventually get obese. Happens a lot in America, am I right? My kids could get spoiled. Again pretty common.

Sometimes my kids ask me to intervene when kids at the playground have hit them. They know they can't hit back. They come to me tell me the problem and ask me to step in and alter their situation. Spare them the trouble, the fear the pain the hard stuff. I always tell them to tell the other person that it's not OK. Tell them to stop and that it's not nice. It's hard, usually they just try to avoid the problem. Once in a while they will address the person head on. Once in a while they will stand up and confront the hardship and things will get better. If they do that, and things still aren't changing, then I'll step in.

When people today think about God and his love they think like a child. God has the power to step in and change things, he has the power to fix my situation, to make it easier. If He loved me he'd do it. We often parent like that, to the detriment of our kids. I think we learn from our heavenly father, see that saying No is a part of his plan. Its often how he teaches us. He teaches us that getting everything we want is not healthy for us. That always serving our impulses and desires and selfishness is destructive to ourselves and those around us. As a parent the hard part is knowing when, why, and how to say no. As a child of God, we need to accept the no, and consider what God is trying to teach us by saying no, (or even wait). Do I need to face the trial, do I need to confront the person I'm having trouble with (most likely) do I need to stop running and avoiding the things in my life that stress me out? Do I need to grow up?

Lord God, Father in heaven help us all to accept your no, to learn from the situation and to pursue the good things you have before us even if it gets a little muddy and murky and difficult on the way. Amen

Christ Alone

2010-10-26T15:12:00.000-05:00

I read this today. A while back my focus in these things changed a bit. I hope and pray that this will continue to refine my posts as God refine's my heart.

I am no longer my own blogger, but Thine, O Lord.

Refine me with each post how You will, rank me how You will.

Put me to service, or put me to suffering.

Let me post for Thee or be put aside for Thee,

Lifted high, only for Thee, or brought low, all for Thee.

Do with me and each post whatever you will, because You alone know best.

Let me not strive but submit Let me not compete but care

Let me not desire hits but holiness

Let me be a follower, instead of seeking followers.

Let my blog be full of Thee, and let it be empty of me.

Let me crave all things of Thee, let me care nothing of this world.

Let my words be worthy of the greatest of audiences: You.

And You are enough.

May I write not for subscribers… but only for Thy smile.

May my daily affirmation be in the surety of my atonement,

not the size of my audience.

May my identity be in the innumerable graces of Christ,

never, God forbid, the numbers of my comments.

May the only words that matter in my life not be the ones I write on a screen ---

but the ones I live with my skin.

I freely and heartily yield every sentence, every title, every post, every comment… or no comments… all to Thine pleasure and perfect will.

My only fame is that I bear Your name

My only glory is the gift of Your Grace

My only readership, Your eyes that seek to and fro to find a heart hard after You.

Make this so, oh Lord…

Yahweh, You alone are my God, not Google

Jesus, You alone are my Savior, not site meters

And Holy Spirit, You alone are my Comforter, not comments

So be it, today, yesterday, and every post to come.

This is my prayer I have made on earth and over this keyboard… let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

Christian. Real. Music.

2010-10-15T14:31:00.001-05:00

Click the playlist now.

Seriously

Ok continue
I know about a year ago I said that I'd be featuring music on Tuesdays. I apologize that it's a Friday. I also apologize that instead of about 50 musical selections I've provided precisely 3 to date. As I said back then if I don't start listening to new music I will become old. I think that's the case. I have a wife who is 30! And I was a cradle robber. So I must be ancient. To fight off the inevitable. I bring you Mumford and Sons, a British band that's pretty folksy as per my liking, but even more than that this band writes about disappointment imperfection and this broken world. Within that there are hints that God alone has the answer. Check out The Cave's lyrics and the playlist that is at your immediate right.

It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind

The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind

So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand

So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say

Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be

And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

They aren't all Christian, but I do think that the main singer is. The great thing is they bring these songs to the masses. Most of the time the truths of Jesus aren't at the forefront, but the fact that we live in a broken world and that we ourselves are broken and want, hope and know that there is something more and better out there comes through over and again. That's what people resonate with.

That's half of the gospel. In the past people didn't like to hear that part. People didn't believe or didn't want to accept that humanity is the problem. But today people don't try to pretend the brokenness doesn't exist. Today people doubt the solution. They doubt that God would allow bad things to happen to people at judgment. But I do think this is where we start talking about the good news today. We talk about the problems with gov't we talk about the 27 million slaves, we talk about pedophilia and sexual slavery. We talk about how I hurt the people I love the most with angry words, by ignoring my kids when they keep pushing for more of my time, becoming frustrated and bored of my parents, friends, wife. We share that we are broken people and that the solution doesn't come from a bunch of broken people, but from a perfect God.

Grace and Peace to you all

Endings

2010-09-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

As a church we voted to move and to change our church name. We voted unanimously. We voted because we want to be salt and light and provide ourselves with better opportunities to do that. We'll be in a better location to reach Indians, we'll be in a better sized worship facility, we'll be in a more visible location. We'll be meeting on Sunday mornings, which makes sense for believers and is a bit easier on families with kids. We have made all these choices in an effort to take a step forward as a church.

Shajan John our retreat speaker this year, talked about how to step forward you have to leave the ground you are on. This is often the most difficult part. And in many ways, I'm sad about leaving the relationships and opportunities in Westchester behind. My eyes are opened anew to the opportunities here as I see chances to engage Gabe's kindergarten class and soccer team. We have neighbors who have been friends for the past couple of years. All of these things as well as the relationships with the people of Grace make this step forward difficult. But, often it is the difficult things that are best. There are still more difficult steps for us to take, things we need to change, ways we need to grow as a church. This step is not the endpoint of the journey. Only the very first step.

Please pray for us.

Utmost

2010-09-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

Most of the church today doesn't really take Jesus lifestyle seriously. We put a lot of pop psychology in there to make the calls to self sacrifice and eternally giving to others in there to make it palatable and sensible.

I can do that pretty easily as well.

Oswald Chambers devotional spells out that we need to give, trust follow Jesus at all times. This faith is impossible without Christ. Thank God he came to save us from ourselves.

Beginnings

2010-09-14T16:06:00.000-05:00

My kids Gabe and Simone just started school. I just started coaching Gabe's soccer team and our church is going to be starting to minister in a new setting. It's got me thinking about new beginnings and how just starting something new opens up tons of new opportunities. I know new things can be tough to take on. It's a lot easier and safer to do the same old same old, but sometimes the same old gets boring stagnant and in need of change.

So we take on these new challenges with prayer, because new beginnings have a lot of risk to them. Fortunately we have a God who can help since was around in the (very) beginning.

Retreat

2010-08-31T10:59:00.000-05:00

Not long ago I wrote about being in God's creation and the affect that has on us. How it reconnects us with His presence. How it demonstrates His creative power, and how awe of God restores us to right relationship with him. Well this last week we went on a retreat at a beautiful conference center right on Lake Geneva. Beautiful weather, perfect water and lot's of green. The perfect retreat.

Interestingly, we also talked about going on the offensive. About bringing the message of redemption and hope to a dark and overwhelmed world. I think more than just being able to escape from the day to day, that is really the point of a retreat.

In battle a retreat is strategic. Things aren't working, we are overwhelmed, we are losing our position and ourselves. So we take a step back. Reorganize, re-prioritize and once settled re-deploy. I usually think of a retreat as a diversion from the day to day. But this year, I saw it as a call to renewed purpose. It was an important lesson.

Thanks be to God, who leads us in his triumph! thanks be to God who's got the victory!

Best websites

2010-08-26T09:26:00.002-05:00

Time's list of best websites is out. I didn't make it. Maybe next year. When I post more than once a month...

The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up

2010-07-26T04:28:00.000-05:00

This week is surprisingly a good one, that is when one considers the fact that the town I live in just went through massive flooding, when I was on vacation. Check out these photos to get an idea of the damage. It' pretty insane. I read in one article that there was 60 billion gallons of water dropped on Chicagoland. As I said. Insane. We had 4 feet of water in the basement. I spent 13 hours today dragging stuff out. We lost some memories and some stuff and a lot of carpet and drywall and we might need a new washer dryer air conditioner and furnace. But I also learned some things and have had my heart put right, and for that I thank God.

I have been reading here about a gratitude list. And figured now is a good time to thank God for lot's of things.

1) I thank God for getting us out of Chicago on Friday night, before we were planning and mere hours before the flood. Now my wife and kids are with the rest of my family vacationing as they should be.
2) I thank God for my Dad who happened to have a layover in Chicago and could hop off the flight to help me take apart the basement.
3) I thank God for this time with my Dad.
4) I thank God that there was a flight and a seat available for me the moment we drove into Denver so I could come home asap.
5) I thank God that on that flight I was able to sit next to, talk to, and pray for a woman who had just lost her sister. A 48 year old mother of 2 and grandmother of 2.
6) I thank God for the modern conveniences I take for granted.
7) I thank God for all the stuff we have.
8) I thank God for the chance to clear some of that stuff out.
9) I thank God for making our time dealing with all of this headache pretty easy. We weren't here to experience the stress, when I arrived the flooding in my neighborhood had receded so that I could drive up to my door.

I also learned that no matter what you do you can't protect things or people perfectly. Your stuff, and your kids can't be held onto too tightly. I mean they need to be held onto tightly, your kids need to be loved, but no matter what, things will happen. When they do we all we can do is trust God. We need to trust that he is in control, that all those things I can be thankful for in this hard situation are a product of his divine intervention. I don't know what will happen to Star. This woman that I spoke to on the plane and prayed with, but I do hope she comes to know Jesus as he works in her now to draw her to himself.

On the drive we listened to a CD my mom made for the kids, they were about family mostly, but one I really like (my adaptation) goes

All I really need is God's song in my heart, food in my belly, and love in my family.

Amen.

Vows: With my Body I thee Worship

2010-07-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

Since I re-read the vows that Dani and I said at our wedding I've been really thinking a lot about the phrase, "With my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." This phrase while surprising to many of us as American Christians I think uncovers 2 of the areas of constant marital strife. Our sexual relationships and our financial ones. Today I'm going to deal a little bit with the sexual relationship side of things and later address finances.

The first thing we need to discuss is the idea of worship. Fundamentally worship is giving appropriate worth to someone or something. So when we worship God we ascribe to him the majesty and glory he deserves. When we worship our spouses, we don't elevate them over and above God instead we give them appropriate value which places our spouse in a secondary position beneath God. Of course, a spouse can become an idol, but in this context it speaks to honoring our spouses, and that we live out that appropriate honor, by giving our spouses what they deserve and desire through intimacy.

It has often been said that men desire respect in the husband/wife relationships more than anything. That as the head, and leader of the family, a man desires his reasons and opinions and decisions to not be challenged and undermined. Of course, constructive challenges and criticisms are often necessary, and the wise and loving husband will seek his wife's input and perspective on decisions in order to include her, understand her and care for her needs and well being. In short to show her love.

This same situation applies to the marriage bed.

³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent...

So here we see that both spouses should seek to fulfill each other sexually whenever the other is interested. I believe this supports the primary desires of husbands and wives.

Husbands who desire respect experience a woman's acceptance of his advances as respect. Her willingness affirms that he is worthy and she wants to express and reward that. In the same way that he wants his wife to accept his decisions as wise and good he wants his wife to accept his advances. He wants his wife to submit to his will and choices both in life and in the bedroom. When she says yes, she is in essence saying you are good, I trust you and want to please you. However, when the advances are denied it undermines that respect. Men don't want excuses, I'm too tired, I'm too busy, headache, whatever. All those things communicate, you aren't good enough for me. I'd rather sleep, work, clean whatever than be with you. That is some pretty crappy stuff to rank beneath. All of those things communicate the opposite of respect and certainly don't give a husband the worth he is due.

Women want to be given appropriate value and worth as well, and men need to remember that and realize how we can love our wives in a way they feel worthy. Women desire to FEEL loved, rather than respected. For most of us men, if our wives will give it up at all times, (which is God's plan btw, and is awesome) we'd likely stop doing all the loving, caring things that score us enough points to actually get us what we want. Its our sinful and selfish nature. Honestly, If I wasn't regularly rejected I wouldn't try so hard to make SURE it happens "this time." If I wasn't regularly rejected, my negligence would probably make my wife feel used, rather than honored. It would make my wife feel unappreciated and not loved. And I think this is the key for guys. That is, make sure that we listen to and understand our wives preferences and needs and not simply expect that she be available. Then we will seek to do the things for her, that make her feel loved. In response she'll want to be available. So give the massages, buy the flowers, just cuddle (I don't get it either!) all those things just because we want to honor our wives with our bodies, not because we want to get something out of it. We need to love through doing the things that she enjoys and that give her pleasure and not simply expect her to bend to your (my) preferences. Because if we do that, women feel used and not like she is being given appropriate worth.
So the command to both husband and wife, the promise Dani and I both made is that we will worship each other with our bodies. For me that means putting her first, loving, caring, serving, giving, all the time no stopping, no putting my self first. All her all the time.

I just hope she is reading this, and is way better at her job than I am at mine.

Marriage

2010-07-19T10:16:00.001-05:00

This past weekend Dani and I went to a wedding. It's always a good reminder for those of us married to hear others taking those vows, making that promise. To love: to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I think it helps us to refocus on the part we play in making things work. It reminds us of the difficult commitment we have made, but that indeed we did commit. It reminds us of the joy and expectancy and hope of that day, a hope that still exists in us all as we continue to grow in that love or at least striving for that beautiful perfect love that we know exists.

Sometimes in that pursuit however, we get lost. We get things backwards and messed up. I was reflecting on my vows. The Old English vows written by Thomas Cranmer. It's usually presented like this, "with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you." but the original reads this, "With my body I thee worship and with all my worldly goods I thee endow. Pretty big difference, right? I mean you can see the heart of the original in the revision. It's a lot more palatable to modern sensibilities, but it loses the power of the original and the thrust of what marriage really is. Marriage is a complete commitment to the other person for their good. Usually we get married because we love who we are when we are with that person. They make us happier, or smarter, or safer, or braver, or whatever, but all too often we love ourselves when we are with them. Marriage and life together helps us to learn what it is to love someone.

We see this progression in Song of Solomon. in 2:16 it says this

My lover is mine and I am his.

In 6:3 the order changes

I am my lover's and my lover is mine;

In 7:10 we see a further evolution

¹⁰ I belong to my lover,
and his desire is for me.

Notice how in the first verse (pre-wedding) the beloved is focused on possessing her spouse. He is mine. First and foremost this is about what he can do for me. This is essential and a normal part of our growing into love. The same thing happens in our relationship with Jesus. We want what he can do for us. So we accept the proposal.

However, that's not the aim. That's not what we hope for and ultimately, a possessive me focused relationship is unsatisfying. In Chapter 6 we still see possession, we still see ownership, but we see the order changed. There is a recognition of belonging to the other person, we begin to give up our rights to ourself. We begin to understand love as a place to give, but our sense of self and rights and desires are not eradicated.

In chapter 7, we see the difference. A complete abandonment of self interest of possessing and owning the other. We are now free to give ourselves completely to our spouse. Here is the beautiful thing though. She knows she is loved. She knows her husbands heart is committed to her and without that love we don't get to this point. There can be relationships where someone gives up their rights to themselves, and it's a messed up out of whack relationship that does not honor God. There can be relationships where men demand women serve them and give themselves up for them, abusive, oppressive relationships. There can be relationships where women control their husbands, manipulating, nagging and operating in a way to suck all the joy out of the relationship in order to get what they want. There are a lot of ways to mess up a relationship, for sure. But there is only one way to get it right, and that is for both spouses to see that every aspect of marriage is about caring for the other. Giving all that you have and all that you are to each other. That means mentally and emotionally, that means spiritually and physically and that means financially and sexually. This is where we pick up these vows that Dani and I said 8 years ago.

These are areas of conflict for a lot of couples, but these need to be areas that we both see as essential to the health of our relationships. We need to seek to serve and care for and love each other through these areas. I'm going to deal with how to do that in later posts since this is already a monster as it is. Here is a good article in the meantime.
http://www.diobeth.org/Bishop/DLColumns/dlcolumn10.html

Mercy

2010-07-06T09:39:00.001-05:00

A while back my son got lost. I started to freak out and panic. I was so panicked I started yelling out "Gabe!" Of course this was done in public to the other parents judgmental and derisive looks. Eventually, I found him. I was upset. I've decided some time when we are out I will hide on him so that he feels the panic and fear that I felt. I'll have to think of something else to help him understand the humiliation I felt by exposing my poor parenting to people I don't even know....

Ok, so actually I'm not going to do that. I've already dealt with it with the words I forgive you. Sure, I said some other stuff before those words. But I can and did forgive him because I don't need to have justice in the situation. I don't need to make sure things are fair because I was "wronged." I get a chance to forgive and in forgiveness we find mercy.

These days justice especially social justice is often held up as the highest moral virtue. Maybe Love still holds the #1 spot, but we hear a lot about justice. And I think justice is important and essential and I love that our God is a just God who will judge the evil and hate and all the things that bring about pain in our world. I'm glad for all the ways and chances we have to be involved in bringing justice to broken people and systems. I think the church needs to take a greater stand against oppression and unfairness inherent in America. But I think it is important that we remember a few other things about God and the role of Justice, Mercy and Grace in the redemptive story

Justice is getting what you deserve, what is fair. I have a lot of things that I don't necessarily deserve more than others just because I was born at a certain time in a certain family, had certain opportunities. All things where its not fair that I had an advantage and others didn't and so I want to work to provide fair structures and opportunities for all people. But there is another side to justice, to fairness. I hurt people I love. I get angry and impatient. sometimes people get mad back, but sometimes they can't exact justice and I get away with injustice. We all do. Ask my kids.

Mercy is not getting what you deserve. For all the wrongs that we do we could get justice. God keeps track of them. Some of the people in our lives keep track of them and hold them against us. In reality that is fair, it is just it is right. But there is another way. A way of forgiveness. A way to say, I know you wronged me but I'm not going to hold it against you. That is the story of Jonah. I'll be preaching on it through July and into August. I'm excited to learn more about mercy and God's compassion for individuals, and nations and even animals. And I'm really really grateful for mercy. Mercy extended by God, by my family especially by my wife, by my church and friends. Mercy should be met with gratitude.

Grace is getting what we don't deserve. So basically grace is beyond justice and beyond mercy. It is something that we can't earn. It is something that goes beyond forgiveness. It is something that looks at all our failures and wrongs and the hurtful things we do and say. It sees the times we turn our backs on justice. It says in spite of all that, in spite of the evil in your past and in your heart. I will not only forgive you, I will bless you. When we understand true Justice we can understand the good news. We get to see the gospel and grace for what they are: The true gift of God.

New Eyes

2010-06-25T08:52:00.001-05:00

I got new glasses last week. I like them a lot, but I'm not sure if they are the reason I'm seeing the world more clearly. On Monday I walked and prayed for an hour and the sky was a deep blue, the clouds a brilliant white. The leaves seemed greener too. All the beauty had me thinking about our Creator and what we lose by being insulated from this world, inside all the time. Stuck looking at concrete and brick. We are becoming an increasingly atheistic people, especially in large cities. Scripture often speaks of how creation demonstrates who God is.
Ps 19: The heavens declare the glory of God;
       the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
       night after night they display knowledge.

Romans 1:20
. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

When I was younger I would go hiking, escape to the woods and let God's creative power work in me. I was reconnected with his immensity as I saw myself as a speck once again. One of my favorite illustrations of his hugeness is:

Imagine a grapefruit. Ok That grapefruit is the Sun, now imagine a grain of sand 35 feet away. that is the earth, the moon a speck of sand would be a half inch from the first grain of sand. Now Imagine another grapefruit 2000 miles away. that's alpha centauri the nest closest star. Now recognize that there are at least 100 billion stars (maybe 400 billion?) in the Milky way all about 1600 miles from each other using this same scale. And at least 100 Billion galaxies in the Universe maybe 500 billion. Think about how huge the universe is and that somehow it is always expanding. Now you are one of 6 billion particles on that tiny grain of sand, and for some reason you think everything revolves around you.

Psalm 8: ⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,
       the son of man that you care for him?

yet he does...

Transformation

2010-06-21T09:47:00.000-05:00

God has given me more time, desire and passion for His Word recently. I've been doing devotions with my wife, reading The Pursuit of God by Tozer and reconnecting with a couple of spiritual mentors. My faith is being refreshed and I'm being transformed, at least my passion for God is returning and as I am faithful and responsive to God's will and call to empty ourselves for those around us I will be transformed continually.

This is one passage that cut deep.

It (The veil of self that blinds us to God) is woven of the fine threads of the self-life, the hyphenated sins of the human spirit. They are
not something we do, they are something we are, and therein lies both their subtlety and their power.
To be specific, the self-sins are these: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency,
self-admiration, self-love and a host of others like them. They dwell too deep within us and
are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them.
The grosser manifestations of these sins, egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion, are strangely
tolerated in Christian leaders even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. They are so much in evidence
as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust it is not a cynical observation
to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the Church
visible. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little
notice.

I am self focused (so are you), but seek to have them mind of Christ. (so should you)

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

Pray with me Tozer's prayer

Lord, how excellent are Thy ways, and how devious and dark are the ways of man. Show us how to die, that we may
rise again to newness of life. Rend the veil of our self-life from the top down as Thou didst rend the veil of the Temple. We
would draw near in full assurance of faith. We would dwell with Thee in daily experience here on this earth so that we
may be accustomed to the glory when we enter Thy heaven to dwell with Thee there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

My hope is I can have more of God changing me in the blog and less focus on correcting the incorrect thinking of culture

Ah, Statistics

2010-06-09T09:14:00.000-05:00

It's funny how everyone has research to defend their position. Today there was an article in Time on Lesbian parents and their high performing kids.

This was my response to the article

It's easy to see the variables in the study that are problematic. 1) self reporting being the most obvious "the parents agreed to answer questions about their children's social skills, academic performance and behavior at five follow-up times over the 17-year study period. "

2. The study should be compared not to all hetero couples but those who chose artificial insemination due to fertility issues for consistency and as a control. Obviously choosing this path is intentional parenting and has a great financial investment, therefore better schools opportunity etc.

3. The finding concerning whether a separation happens is interesting in that it produced no discernible difference.

We need to be discerning readers. I know I spend a lot of time reading things other than Scripture. But I find that the more time I spend reading books other that God's Word, even Christian books, especially church books I begin to focus on what I can do and get all these ideas about how to manipulate God's World...for his own good. So to have hearts and minds aligned with Christ to be able to "give an answer for our hope" we must make the Bible the plumb line, the starting point for all things. Only then will we have insight into fallen perspectives around us whether they be the lies of evil intent and errors of good intent.

Right Again

2010-06-02T21:01:00.000-05:00

I mentioned these flawed arguments for lowering the drinking age a while ago. It seems we have confirmation that despite all the talk about maturity with regards to alcohol the Europeans aren't really any better than what we profess to be.

No inconveniences please

2010-06-02T15:02:00.000-05:00

The CEO BP the other day said he just wanted his life back. Please everyone who will forever be affected by the negligence and errors of my company, but all of your criticism is not good for my day to day well being.

Sadly, I think this is how all of us operate. Maybe most of us if I'm being generous. We really don't care what else is happening in the world as long as I get to do my thing. We don't get out of our comfort zones because it would be too tough. We don't serve others because it would take too much time. We don't like people cutting in front of us in traffic, or even traffic because it impinges on my desires right now.

It's easy to point our fingers at the entitled and uber wealthy. I just need to keep looking back at my own life and remember. I'm not really any better. Christ is.

The Guilt Post

2010-05-28T14:53:00.000-05:00

Are there things in your life that you know you should do, but you just can't bring yourself to do them? Either you are too busy, or too unmotivated or too bored with those things or you feel so bad for ignoring it for so long that it's hard to muster up the courage/motivation/effort to do it again?

Me too.

But then when you finally do it. There is relief. There is comfort. There is the joy that you had all those other times you exercised, did your devotions, went to church or Bible study, made dinner for your wife, gave her a massage, cleaned...anything. Guilt can be a good thing. It's just when we let it linger for too long it becomes bad. When we still feel bad today about not exercising that one day last month. God wants us to forget what is behind and strain toward what lies ahead. Here's too another post. Maybe even soon.

Following the Wrong Crowd II

2010-04-15T08:46:00.001-05:00

Just like individuals, I think we need to realize that there is a wrong crowd for countries. For some reason America wants to be Europe. I know I already wrote about how I favor the health care bill, but only for a short time as a corrective to the broken system of today. Soon this system will be equally broken and it should be overturned and not run indefinitely.

Anyway, I always hear these people saying how our young people would be such responsible drinkers if only we lowered the drinking age to 18 like Europe. This article speaks to the problems of alcohol in England and particularly Scotland. The fighting, damage to public property and health care expense due to drunks.

"And shockingly expensive, costing Scotland $3.2 billion a year in lost productivity and additional expenditure for health services, the police and other public-sector institutions. Scots are the world's eighth-heaviest drinkers, and a casual visitor to Glasgow could easily conclude that they top the league in public Bacchanalian drunkenness".

One plan to curb the epidemic? Raise the drinking age to 21. Who is following who?

We already talked about Greece and its debt problems. Why do we want to be like Europe's declining nations? How is that the way forward for the US? This should be a warning for the US, as Europe turns its back on God it declines in prominence, population, and productivity. China on the other hand is seeing a flourish of churches and the gospel is growing there as it ascends to unprecedented heights, it's eerily similar to the rise of Korea not so long ago.

We should all be following Christ. Just like Paul said in I cor 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. Or in Philippians 2:5-11
⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

Following the Wrong Crowd

2010-04-13T10:25:00.000-05:00

My mom always told me be careful who I associate with. I needed to make sure that my friends were bringing me in the right direction. I always feel like I had good friends and bad friends. Some friends I new who were more well behaved than myself and others who were trouble, at least relative to me. I thought I was kind of the middle player in my group of friends. I asked the kids in the confirmation class who were their good friends and who were their bad friends. The boys knew exactly what I was talking about, but one student said she didn't think she had any bad friends. I took that either to mean she was the bad friend. She said she had just distanced herself from those she felt had been pulling her down.

Either way I think there is something wrong with that. We need to surround ourselves with people who inspire us to walk closely with Christ. The people who influence us should be those who draw us toward Christ. But we also need to be deep enough into the lives of others that we don't simply avoid the "bad" people. We need to engage and love and draw them toward Christ. We can't do this if they don't know us or care what we say or think. So let's try to find those people on both sides of us. Those we can influence for the good, but also those that can help us stay grounded and pursuing our Lord and Savior.

Money Makes the World Go Round

2010-04-09T21:46:00.001-05:00

Money get away
Get a good job with more pay
And your O.K.

Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands
And make a stash

New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team

Money get back
I'm all right Jack
Keep your hands off my stack

Money, it's a hit
Don't give me that
Do goody good bullshit

I'm in the hi-fidelity
First class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet

That's the beginning of the Pink Floyd song if you click through you can hear the rest of it.

Here is another link from Time about paying/bribing kids to do well in school. Honestly, it works. That is their point, but they have also shown financial incentives to be the most effective motivator in losing weight and other matters that should be dictated by willpower. Basically, the point we are teaching our kids is the Almighty Dollar is more important than the Almighty God. That's pretty much how America is set up already, but I think we know there is more to life than stuff.

That's why the church is so important we are commanded to give, of our selves of our money for the sake of others. Once you can do that, once you can say no to the god of wealth you are free to do anything just cause you want to and not because someone is going to pay to do it. Good luck finding people to pay you to lose weight or change whatever your bad habits are when it isn't a scientific study....

A sign of the times?

2010-03-30T09:13:00.000-05:00

In a recent Time magazine

Ready for Your Biometric Social Security Card?

We see the most recent effort to adopt a marker that the Bible seemingly predicts as a sign of the end times and a takeover of the anti Christ.

Revelation 13:16He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, ¹⁷so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.

So basically the idea is there is this mark, 666 which promotes the system of man over the system of God. We need to get the mark to continue functioning in the marketplace. Which obviously is the focus of this effort. The plan would be your fingerpring (hand) or retinal scan (forehead?) would serve as a bio identity marker so that we don't have any illegal immigrants sneaking in.

While I"m not saying this is the end or this is the actual mark I am saying this is scary, and this is something that we should be very wary of. Any effort like this should be roundly criticized, not only for it's cost, but also for it's stance that people need to buy into the nation state system in order to be treated like human beings. This is one area that I widely disagree with the republican party and America in general. I like free trade and outsourcing. I think opportunity for those in countries with less wealth and opportunity than America is a good thing. I think spreading the wealth around via the extended free market makes a lot more sense than protectionism for America's poor when the foreign poor are willing to work a lot harder.

Thoughts?

Health Care Reform

2010-03-22T16:13:00.000-05:00

In all things concerning the state I try to think about them theologically. I basically want to look at things beginning with a human nature that is corrupt and sinful. So in that regard I believe that this reform in the short term can be a very good thing.

1) The current system is broken, competition is no longer working in the favor of the people rather insurers are finding more and better ways to rescind and deny coverage to individuals. Health expenses are way too hi, litigation out of control, there are lots of problems and while there are lots of good fixes many of these options haven't been put forward.

2) Republican options for tort reform and increasing competition across state lines were the better fiscal options due primarily to the fact that it would direct people's greed (and sinfulness) toward better pricing, but the trade off is it does not insentivize better care. Republicans corrupt and greedy in their own right, did not bring about these ideas when they had a chance to because they were more focused on pocketing the lobbyist money that has them fighting so hard right now.

3) The current system will help end some of the abuses and make health care more affordable for everyone, at the same time it will likely cost people more. To say that we are going to provide more care seems logically connected to the fact that more care= more money. I do think there will be some administrative, lobbying and marketing salaries that will be cut and will have an immediate impact and lower prices in the short term.

The Bad thing is that every system by scientific law, becomes more disorganized. Every institution by human nature becomes more corrupt more abused. In this light I'm a huge fan of reform, major drastic reform like this as long as we can do it again in about 15-20 years. Because in 10 years all of the loopholes and ways to manipulate the current law will be exposed and those in power will be abusing a new set of regulations to their gain, thereby negating the effectiveness and efficiency of this bill.

I also believe that the abortion language is loose enough that if later generations want to alter it and fund it they will be able to. I do appreciate Obama's signing of the executive order, I think Stupak has been brave facing heat and criticism from both sides. I think he's probably right in saying that the republicans just want to politicize the bill further and that if he is confident in the presidential order than I am ok with his position.

The last thing I want to talk about is why does America want to be like Europe? Europe seems ahead of us in that it is a post Christian region and a place where the State has taken the place of the church providing social services, and care in the name of equality to everyone. However, Europe is in deep financial trouble. Much more so than the US. Iceland went completely bankrupt last year. Greece would be if it hadn't become part of the Eu and adopted the Euro. Spain, Portugal Italy Ireland are in the same place. England is on the verge of plunging back into recession. Europe is a mess, and the answers we come up with are...let's be more like Europe. People in the states are worried, and with the passage of this bill we likely should be more worried. So lets all enjoy the shake up in health care, the immediate savings and the way that entrenched power brokers have to release their tyrannical hold on the American people. But let's also prepare for another long protracted health care debate in 20 years as new public servants find new ways to get their hands on money that is supposed to be by the people and for the people.

Praise God that sin has been conquered in the resurrection of his Son and that we won't need to worry about this forever. Amen.

St Patty's Day

2010-03-17T22:28:00.000-05:00

Ok figured I'd stop in and give you this. 10 things you didn't know about your favorite Holiday imported from Ireland.

Farewell Vancouver Olympics

2010-03-01T10:28:00.000-06:00

The Olympics are over. The winter Olympics are over and I'm actually kind of sad. I miss it, and I don't even like winter sports. But as always the Olympics are about more than the competition, they are about national pride and the global community coming together.

One thing I've been thinking about is why these Olympics are doing so much better than in 06, in terms of viewers? I think it has something to do with the recession. Not the people are saving money, staying home and watching TV reasons either. No I think it has more to do with our national psyche. Let me explain,

When I was young there was nothing as important as the Olympics, primarily the Summer Olympics as it was a showdown between the USA and the USSR. It was a civilized sporting event intent on showing global superiority. In 1980 and 84 these tensions led to boycotts of the Olympic games, but in 1988 every victory validated the democratic system over the oppressive communist state, the investment of every American was real. As a kid I'd stay up late and watch hoping in our country, in our best, in our country and in our way of life.

Since these tension and drama filled competitions the games have lost some luster, there isn't nearly as much on the line, the sports aren't all that mainstream and national pride isn't as important since we don't have as many competitors on the global stage. Or at least we didn't in 2006.

Now, in 2010, we have a little bit more of a need to see the US do well. In the middle of this recession we are reeling as a nation, unsure about our future. We know things are bad and nations like China and India are gaining on us in prosperity and production. We realize that the system we were once champions and advocates of has let us down and we are now wondering, "Is the USA still the land of dreams?" I think this question is one reason we tuned in, in such larger numbers. Even though we could find results on the internet before the events aired, we waited. We watched, we hoped, we invested. There were even people who were comparing the Hockey Final to the 1980 Hockey Final when the college kids from the USA beat the best team in the world from Russia. That event not only had way more political drama, (Canada isn't quite the evil empire that Russia was, eh?) it also featured a much greater disparity in the talent level of the teams. But here is the key. America loves an underdog story and in both situations America was the underdog, and so we cheered, we tuned in we hoped in the promise of America. Basically that promise is if you commit to something you can accomplish anything. No matter where you come from you can get ahead.

Sadly, that story has come into doubt here in the US. People see the way the deck is stacked in favor of the rich, people are noticing that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer and wonder if America will ever be the same, if the promise really exists. People want to hope and they want real change. But they don't want to change. We keep wanting things to get easier, to be handed to us, and we forget that what made America great was our Protestant work ethic. The fact that we as Christians work not for a paycheck (primarily) instead we work to the best of our ability to please God who has given us gifts and abilities to benefit others and his kingdom. So let's continue to hope in America, to watch the Olympics, (in 2012) to believe in the promise of America, but also remember that that promise only works if Christ is working in us. If his goodness is permeating how we live and act and think. Let's keep Christ and not ourselves as central and America will once again be the nation that stood up and shown the light as a city on the hill.

It seems like so long ago that a dark cloud hung over these Olympics as the life of a young Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili was taken due to neglecting on an insanely fast course that had people complaining before the tragedy about it's safety. But just as life often teaches us from even the darkest times, light and hope break through. There are numerous stories of individuals within and from outside of the luging community joining together to support the family and memory of Nodar.

Phoenix

2010-02-16T12:51:00.002-06:00

So last week I was on vacation in Phoenix (to visit family) and since it is a Tuesday and a long time since I wrote, I figured I'd write about the band Phoenix and this song Lisztomania. The song is infectious, and a lot of fun, but what is the meaning since lyrics are a bit cryptic? And what is the connection to Franz Liszt?

Well to make a long story short Franz Liszt was the Beatles of his day, the "viral" phenomena. He exploded in popularity to the point that masses of screaming women would fight over his handkerchiefs and gloves. (Which he would toss into the audience as any fabulous showman would.) The scene is even more amusing when you consider him a hoity-toity classical pianist.

Anyway, the Song is about fame, and the way it compounds itself and it isn't necessarily connected to talent, more luck and timing. For sure Liszt was a supreme talent, but he also spent time playing the music of Hector Berlioz a pianist whose music and talent were obvious to Liszt, but was unknown to the masses. He published and performed Berlioz' work to help his talented friend who suffered in abject poverty. This began a lifelong commitment to using his abilities and position to bring relief to suffering and poverty. The Brangelina of his time? For the last 30 years of his life, nearly all of his performances were for charitable causes.

Which brings us to Haiti. On Feb. 6 our church ICEFC held MANNA. A coffeehouse featuring the artists The Secret Name and After the Service. Donattions were collected and we raised about $300 dollars for Haiti and World Vision. Sure it's not the 60 Million that the Celebrity world conjured up, but it is us doing our part.

A line in the song goes:

"These days it (fame) comes it comes it comes it comes it comes and goes"

Notice how fame grows and grows it snowballs and then all the sudden: gone.

Celebrity is fleeting now more than ever, and so God's call in our life is to do what we can where he has put us. One way I've heard this summarized is "bloom where you are planted." Why has God put you where he has you? What can you be doing to serve him better, now, where you are?

Liszt in later life in the Franciscan order as an abbott. He wanted to join the ministry when he was young, but was dissuaded by his parents. From early on Liszt realized that what we have is God's gift and we should be involved in giving back especially if we have been blessed. (granted Liszt had many faults) Maybe you haven't donated anything yet. Maybe you could have contributed more. Our contributions went to fmsc.org and they are a great organization to work with 94% of the money goes to the people and they have been working in Haiti for the last 10 years and will continue to work with 200 partner organizations that were already in Haiti.

But maybe you'd also like to yell and scream and fight over articles of clothing belonging to amazing musicians. Well, in that case I have another option for you. My friend Leo Rhee Pastor at Canaan Community Church is hosting a benefit concert for Haiti as well.

Matthew 6: ¹⁹"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Lyrics for Lisztomania

Middle Class

2010-02-05T14:04:00.000-06:00

Hey So i just watched this CNN Video on, "What is the Middle Class?" People had various definitions and ideas about what the middle class is, and what we can do about it. (That is to strengthen it, not eliminate it) The most striking thing is the outlook of these people. They all worry that things will be very difficult for their kids. They worry that America is crumbling, and that it's only a matter of time before things get significantly worse.

The question is, what do we do? How can we bring hope in the midst of this despair? The answer does not lie in top down solutions and efforts. Generally once power is established in the hands of the few change and growth becomes more difficult not less. However, when the Gospel takes hold in the lives of the few, then many cultures change and grow and expand. People on the small scale begin to make changes to the world around them. This week I was reading Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" one thing he said was there was a certain threshold in communities that once a certain level of stabilizing people (generally educated) people in a community there were dramatic decreases in crime and teen birthrates. But if you drop below the threshold things skyrocket. These communities may have the same funding and police presence and authority structure, but it's the neighbors and individuals in the community that make the difference.

So I think the church needs to let people know that Christ is where hope lies. That as we work together and live out the call to be like Christ that our communities will change for the better, then our states will change and then our country will change. The problem is that for us to do that the church needs to step away from our "me first" culture and begin to serve. We aren't going to accomplish anything if we just ask others to change our communities. No, American politics and secular humanistic philosophy is set against the underlying beliefs of Christians. We believe people are fundamentally selfish and sinful. Most other religions and secularists think that is more the exception than the rule. This article basically presents the humanist position, but is countered by George Marsden with a great deal of sense. Anyway, my point is the Church needs to be the agent of hope and change and let's leave politics to ride our coattails, just like the whole roman empire did.

Amen

Tebow

2010-01-27T13:43:00.000-06:00

I don't like the Florida Gators. I really don't like Steve Spurrier and was glad when he left and struggled at Washington and South Carolina. I was glad when Florida was down for a few years. Into all of that disdain walked Tim Tebow. I have been slow to warm up to the all world QB whose on the field performance is only topped by his off the field efforts. He regularly visits prisons, the Philippines and talks to young kids about living with a higher purpose and rising above the temptations and culture that would suck them in. He is a great leader and inspirer. Unfortunately whenever anyone leads they attract nay sayers and haters. It happened to Nehemiah of the Bible. It happens to Presidents as can be seen happening to Barak Obama. I agree with little that Obama holds to be the right way forward, but I think that there are too many attacks against him and not as much substantive rebuttal. It's certainly happening to Tim Tebow.
Read this great article about Mr Tebow from ESPN's Pat Forde. Basically, Tebow puts himself and his faith out there and for that people hate him. Vehemently. It is being brought out all the more as word spreads of his Pro-Life Super Bowl Spot. For example this comment from a similar article on People.com.

"WOW, how ironic that a walking, talking abortion of a person is "pro life" (more like pro "lets step back into the dark ages where we controlled women instead of letting them make their own choices when it comes to THEIR bodies"). Thank you Mr Tebow, you have 100% confirmed that abortion should be a choice, it's just a shame your mother didn't do us all a favor and choose to get rid of you. Oh and I couldn't care less what everyones personal choices are, just don't you DARE try to tell me what I should and shouldn't do with my body, this is AMERICA, not IRAN."

Hate. Spewing. Crazy. But he endures the hate and criticism that most 22 year olds would break down and cry from. He knows he aims to please God, and not other people. He is willing to be humble so that Christ may be glorified. Are we? Am I? Am I willing to risk people liking me to do what is right and good? Am I willing to take a stand? I hope so. I try, but I'm a people pleaser. It's easier. It's safer. But we are called to more than an easy and safe life. Much more. We are called to glorify our great God in Heaven . We are called to suffer with him and for him. Since we belong to him. Hopefully these words of Jesus in JOhn can help bring some comfort and encouragement, to Tim and to us.

16:33"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Sooo

I really like Tim Tebow. I even kinda like the Gator Nation. But the Old Ball Coach is still on my "punk" list.

Martin Luther King Jr.

2010-01-18T14:27:00.001-06:00

It's his day, so how do we honor him? I think it's necessary to remember not only what he stands for, not only the impact he had, or the difference there is today because of him. No, to truly realize what it takes to change the way people think and act and feel we need to remember what he did, when he did it and how much it cost him. I've been reading lot's of quotes and things on facebook, many from my friend Dave Zimmerman among others. These posts got me thinking in a significant way about MLK day. They got me thinking more about this day than most of the times in the past I've considered this day. As a result of this extended reflection, the one thing that most impresses me is not only the things that MLK said, but what he did. Sure his words are true and they resonate and they were put accurately and pointedly. But lot's of people can say things that are true. Lot's of people can say things eloquently, lot's of people can post things on their facebook status, like I did. But what most people don't do and aren't willing to do is say those things for the benefit of others. Most people aren't willing to stand up for what is right and what is good if it will cost them anything. Sure we may send $10 bucks here or there to some charity or worthy cause (Haiti). But MLK gave up his life, he said those words knowing his time was short. He stood for truth knowing someone was going to gun him down. He gave it all that some might have life.

John 15:11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

So just as we honor MLK today, we are reminded that everyday we need to honor Jesus Christ. He's the one who gave all that he had so that we could have life, not just a better life on earth, but eternal abundant and lasting life. Both MLK and Jesus persevered despite the suffering set before them. What about you and me?

MLK jr's I have a dream speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

Haiti: Help and Pray

2010-01-15T16:55:00.001-06:00

Please Pray for Haiti. You can watch for some video's at Talking Points Memo of the impact. You can contribute with one of my favorite local ministries, Feed My Starving Children. You can pray with our denomination the EFCA these prayers:

Praise God that church planter Pastor Absalon and his wife are alive. Pray for the leaders and members of the EFC church plant in Haiti as they serve in the midst of this crisis. Please pray for:

- the people of Haiti as they experience loss, pain and death.

- the Crisis Response team as they determine how God would have the EFCA respond.... See More

Pray that God would move in this crisis and that people would come to know and trust Him.

Pastor Absalon was missing for a while after the earthquake, another Haitian Chicago Pastor flew into Port Au Prince half an hour before the quake hit. Please pray for Franco Valdemar as he is ok, but overwhelmed and not able to contact his family in the states with any regularity.

In all of this let's keep our hearts focused on Haiti and what we can do. I'm saddened that the focus of the media has turned away from Haiti and towards Pat Robertson's statements. I'm also saddened by those statements.

Multiculturalism in the Church

2010-01-13T08:58:00.000-06:00

Okay So I was reading this encouraging article in Time about the growing multiculturalism in the largest churches in the US and how this particular phenomena is more likely to happen in the evangelical churches. There are a growing number of church plants that are intentionally multiethnic and things are moving a new and better direction. But I want to challenge some white folks to be the ones to make the move first. So far all the big white churches try to get minorities to come to them. Why can't there be more white people who go to predominantly hispanic, black or asian churches? People in my church, often are confronted by people who attend mildly diverse churches who ask them if an ethnic church is Biblical. If people feel this strongly about these things, why don't they go to a church that is ethnic and help them make this transition. Help them break down their prejudices be the welcoming "other" face that greets others who come into the church.
Instead we stay where it's safe. We ask people to come to us and never face the difficulty that minorities feel each and every day. C'mon church, let's break down some walls.

Moving Time

2010-01-11T08:31:00.000-06:00

This week we started a study on Abraham at church. We also announced that we as a church are moving. We are moving for many reasons, but primarily because our church is not in an area where we have been or possibly are able to be affective. As I’ve said before I pastor an Indian church and the town we are located in has 119 total Indians out of the 17,000 residents in Westchester. We already have 4 of this number attending our church and I have only met 1 other Indian gentlemen in the 3 years we have lived in Westchester. Our church has been here for 19 years and we haven’t ever had people from the community begin going to the church. Most of our congregation travels 15-45 minutes to get here and this makes it hard to do things to reach the community. It makes things difficult in inviting our neighbors to travel over half an hour to visit a church. It just makes doing God’s work more difficult.

I want to be invested in a community, I pray for us to play a role in its identity and formation, I want our deeds to be known to people so that we can make God known. We have a lot of work and a lot of habits to change even after we move, but I know that we can’t be sedentary any longer, we can’t simply waste more time shrinking as a congregation. I pray we will wholeheartedly take up the Great Commission and live it out. I pray that we to do this in a place that makes sense for us as a diverse but mainly Indian Congregation. I pray our neighbors to be impacted and easily invited to meet with us and with God. I want to provide our people opportunities to put their faith to work. And so it is in accord with these hopes and dreams for this community of God that we set out, for a place we don’t yet know….that’s the other thing we don’t yet know where we are headed. We haven’t identified the area we are moving to. (Though I have some ideas) And that is one of the reasons we are working through Abraham. In Hebrews 11:8 it says that Abraham left everything he had ever known behind, “Even though he did not know where he was going.” He just knew God said “Go. I have a plan for you Abraham to be a blessing to all people. To take hold of it I need to you go, to take some steps on faith, to trust me fully and completely.” So Abraham packed up his life and went. He just started walking and when he got there God said here it is. Abraham was able to trust and go, because “he was looking forward to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:10) That’s our hope and prayer. That we would go where God leads and that no matter what God is the author of this next chapter. That God is the one who guides and directs and moves this community to the place he has been preparing for us. Amen.

Time

2010-01-06T15:13:00.000-06:00

It goes quickly. I have had many blog ideas over the last week. I just haven't had the time to put them on this here blog. Going back to the early blogs I linked to an article that talked about the best blogs and how they are focused on one category. I immediately abdicated focus in order to enterntain my own whims and desires and directions. The second key to a good blog is longevity, regular updates in order to build a lasting and trusting relationship with those who follow your blog. This month I've now realized I need to give that goal up as well. It's true this blog could be more and better if I were more dedicated, but I have a higher calling than the likes of you dear reader. I have to care for the church God has put me in and I have a little thing called a family as well. So, yeah, I really enjoy the blog, but it's likely not going to be as regular as I intended, or hoped. But I will continue to think and relect here for your enjoyment and entertainment. Or at least for my own. Until next time.

Big Daddy

2009-12-30T12:51:00.001-06:00

I'm reading through Genesis, in particular the story of Abraham as I will be preahing it from January to April. It's funny because I can't stop reading. I know I'm only preaching part of the story this week but I keep finding myself racing ahead to see how God shows his faithfulness and how Abraham grows on his physical and spiritual journey. The picture above captures the key aspect of Abraham's story. Basically Abraham is this guy without hope. His father and brother have died. Their plan to move to Canaan ends for some reason, and even though Abram has a lot of stuff he has no future because his wife is barren. The Bible says, Now Sarai was barren; she had no children. Either the Bible is being repettively redundant or it's trying to emphasis the severity of this situation. She was barren she couldn't have any freaking kids. Is how I might phrase it. Anyway the point is Abram (whose name mean father) can't have any kids. There is no future for his family. All his stuff will go to some punk kid (Lot or later we are told a servant). It's all over for his family line.
That's where God steps in and gives him a new hope and a new vision. He says, Abram with me their is a future. With me there is a life that you can't even imagine. You'll be famous, and wealthy and people thousands of years later will be reading and talking about you, and your kids. I'm going to change your name from an ironic joke. Abram= daddy when you can't have kids. To something meaningful Abraham= father of multitudes and have it be a reality. I'm gonna change your name from Daddy to Big Daddy. (thanks Leo Schuster) Just trust me.

Trust. That's the hard part Abraham goes through victories and struggles as he waits on God, as he learns faith and trust in the God who promises more than we could ever dream and then gives it to us, but not necessarily in the timeframe we were hoping for. That's the God I seek to follow, and as I read this story I'm encouraged to stay on schedule to stay on the path, but also reminded that when I screw up God is willing to step in to straighten me and the situation out. I'm excited about preaching Abraham's story, but more excited about living my own, because I know that there will be so many unexpected twists and turns and I'll get freaked out and scared and sad and have doubts. BUT I know through it all God is going to work something amazing through all the times I screw up. So let's go, let's do this, let's live this life, let's screw things up so that God can straighten me out and so that I can grow into a person of deep faith who eventually gets it. Who eventually lives a life that is a blessing to all people.

Shame on Me

2009-12-29T17:13:00.000-06:00

I wrote earlier about how astonishingly old I am getting and that one of the main reasons I am getting old is I don't really listen to music anymore. So today I was looking back at some music that came out in 2009 and noticed that I had missed some other really old guys coming out with another album, and I didn't even know about it. The Band: U2. Now I could roll out the excuses, primarily that I was in India when it happened and that they didn't really promote the album before and that I'm uber busy and whatnot. But instead I have decided to admit I'm old and that I'd given up on continued transformation, and inspiration. Now that I'm doing this blog I've recommitted to get younger, to listen to music and to allow the sounds of today inform my understanding of God's creation and to continue growing as a person and christian and pastor. So for your listening pleasure something Magnificent.

As I think about faith and life the above story is played out all too often. No matter who we are we get satisfied with the thoughts and beliefs and feelings that we have. We stop listening to other people, we stop learning we become old and stale and make excuses to instead position ourselves as "timeless" or "strong", or "certain" or enlightened. But the reality is we become closed, Christians and nonchristians, conservatives and liberals, everyone. We only listen to and read things that confirm our beliefs or hopes or perspectives and dismiss out of hand things we don't agree with. That's dangerous. That's what happened with the Phairisees, and can happen with all of us. So we need to understand that while God's word is true it should always be asking us to change, always be making us look for ways that we fall short of God's perfection and in reading his word openly we'll be transformed into something magnificent.

Christmas Music: The Key to a Joyful Christmas

2009-12-22T11:45:00.001-06:00

Christmas is supposed to be a season of Joy, not stress. Just in case you forgot.

Anyway for me the key to Christmas is the music. I love singing out at church and at home to the classics and newer renditions of songs as people put their own spin on the songs. Christmas still inspires new music to be written by popular and Christian artists, by punk bands, country singers, and rappers. Christmas inspires us to sing out to sing songs new and old as the Christmas story reminds us of the greatest gift ever given and helps us to focus on what God wants us to be, by reminding us of his humility, peace and joy. I hope you enjoy the Christmas Playlist as you read.

The song I'm going to focus on is Away in the Manger. It's a song by Martin Luther who wrote a lot about the manger as a symbol of Christmas. What impacted me most was that he talked about how today we are the manger, because we hold Jesus. The question for us is are we carrying Christ to the world, are we holding him up so that they can come and worship like the Shepherds and wise men?
Or are we just full of other stuff. Manger comes from the french word meaning to eat. I think of the Italian, Mangia! Mangia! Eat! Eat! for some reason. I guess the alternative to holding the Christ child is for us to be full of common things. For a manger it is food for the animals, but today it might be that Christmas is just about big family meals and get togethers. Maybe it's more about the "consuming" part, and it's just about gorging on all the stuff and sales. But it's meant to be different to really have a Christmas story we need to provide a place for the sweet child's head, the prince of peace. Amen.

Also Enjoy this new Manger song by Chris Tomlin.

The gift of life

2009-12-21T17:14:00.000-06:00

Cynthia Nixon says she can't keep quiet about the abortion debate as it relates to the proposed health care reform. She says that both sides want to lessen the number of abortions and yet she wants the Stupak amendment out of the bill, which basically upholds the current federal position of not using tax dollars to fund abortion. In the interview she mentions rape, incest and situations where the mother's life is threatened and says we shouldn't punish people who have those difficult circumstances thrust upon them...however the Stupak amendment doesn't limit federal dollars for abortion in those situations.

I think one thing we can be sure of in the US the best way to make people care about something is to make there be a financial incentive or cost tied to the matter. See dieting, smoking, and dead beat dads. If we are serious about limiting abortion doesn't it make sense that an additional cost be tied to it?

There are 3,500-3,700 Abortions a DAY in the USA 1.1-1.3 million a year. That's a huge problem and if we underwrite the cost, we incentivize poor family planning. That number will rise and we'll all be worse off for it. Why not put our money where our mouths are and really truly attempt to lower the number of abortions, regardless of what side of the debate we are on and while the USA is allowing abortion, not mandating that we all foot the outrageous medical bills for the "choice" of some.

Psalm 139:13-18

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
¹⁶ your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
       How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
       they would outnumber the grains of sand.
       When I awake,
       I am still with you.

Choosing the Sex of your Child?

2009-12-17T08:44:00.000-06:00

On CNN there was this article and video about new technology being developed that would allow people to choose the sex of their child. It was designed with the thinking that there are some fatal and debilitating genetic traits that are gender specific. There aren't a whole lot of these but for those with the trait the thinking was to spare parents fear, heartbreak and the children difficulties at some point in life.

Of course, if there is a technology and a desire we are going to look for ways to profit from it. So now the questions of is it moral for people to choose the sex of their kids? Can we allow families to get the boy or girl to "complete" their family? Is it alright for people who want only boys to ensure that's what they get? Are reproductive desires our right, and can we determine, when how many, and which kind we prefer. Or should there be some restraint in these matters? Who decides? What do we think?

I was actually surprised by some of the representatives from certain countries that said they felt it was wrong. I was surprised by others that come from more "conservative" nations saying it was ok, and I was really impressed by the Chinese guys response. Praise God for the Church in China and the influence he may soon wield in a very important country in the future.

The thing that is scariest, all these science fiction works like Gattaca predicted genetic favoritism and priority, there are works about body part harvesting, which may be happening in China. Be afraid of China, with the power it is gaining and the power Satan currently has in that system. These are all very important ethical questions.

So let me pose the question. Would you choose the sex of your child if you could? What if there was a genetic predisposition to a gender of the child?

Sick of Health Care, Literally.

2009-12-16T15:19:00.000-06:00

Ok so here is this article from Chief Executive Magazine, which my wife read to me. (I didn't even know there was such a magazine, let alone read it.) The gist of the article is the entire health care debate is making people sick. That said I think we do need major reform concerning health care and that because of the very wealthy being entrenched in the status quo nothing approaching the needs of the country will get done. I also think that once the gov't gets involved future changes are even less likely. So basically I think this whole thing is a mess, it's not going to get fixed well, just a band-aid on the gash that will become infected later. I wish at some level Americans could remember that we shouldn't be asking what can my country do for you, but what you can do for your country. If we had that attitude rather than a hand-out entitlement attitude, we'd actually see some progress on this and other necessary areas of reform. As it is, no dice.

SU-rprise, SU-rprise

2009-12-11T14:13:00.002-06:00

Last night I watched Syracuse beat down a game Florida team again and again. The 12 point victory is the smallest margin of victory for the Orange(men) this season. Watching the game, especially the first half, that and the second half, got me really excited about another possible National Championship. This team really has it all. They have big bodies down low that can score and rebound. They have a great pro prospect in Wesley Johnson who I thought played poorly, and still ended up with 17 pts and 10 rbs. They have an improving Freshman PG, a sharpshooter who is now driving and distributing in Rautins, and 2 high performers coming off the bench. Most of what I like is they play with intensity, which can often be lacking in a 2-3 zone, but not these Orange...(men). It's fun watching them some of the best teams the SEC, ACC, and Pac-10 have to offer. I'm giddy, even.

The best thing about this season is that Syracuse lost 3 starters last year. All of whom left early, and had the pundits and myself not expecting very much. Then they lost to Lemoyne a D-II school across town in Syracuse. That lost to the Dolphins made many who had hope in this team to lose it.

So the stage was set for a terrible, dissappointing season...and that makes this ascent by my Syracuse Orange so surprising, so exciting so perfectly timed for Christmas. Christmas is the story of God providing an unforeseen gift to a people who without him would be without hope. That's been my preaching theme this year as I look through the Christmas story. To us it's the same old same old. (Like being a UCLA fan in the 60's-70's and to a lesser extent Duke fan in the 90's)

But if you read it with open eyes, with a fresh perspective you realize that the Christmas story is surprise after surprise after surprise. Zacharias your ancient wife Elizabeth is are going to have a son. Mary I know you are a virgin, but you will be impregnated with the Son of God, Joseph your wife to be is pregnant, but she was completely faithful. Hey Shepherds, the Savior of the world is in town, why not visit him. Wise men, I know you have dedicated your lives to searching the skies and now you have seen the greatest most amazing star to ever appear, and by the way don't go back to Herod. Each of these situations is amazing in it's own right, so I won't even mention the fact that a freaking angel came to these people to surprise them and turn their world upside down.

That's who God is, in the darkness. In times of hopelessness he brings the most amazing surprises into our lives. He's the God who says in Habakkuk 1:5
"Look at the nations and watch—
       and be utterly amazed.
       For I am going to do something in your days
       that you would not believe,
       even if you were told.

and in Ephsians 3:20

²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

He does stuff that we wouldn't believe, that we can't even imagine. That's our God, the God of surprises. Merry Christmas.

Tiger, Moby, and the Rest of Us

2009-12-08T11:38:00.000-06:00

I'm gonna ask you to look away
I love my hands but it hurts to pray
The life I have isn't what I'd seen
The sky is not blue and the field is not green

Wait for me (8x)

(humming)

I'm gonna ask you to look away
My broken life will never stay
Try too hard and I always lack
Days are grey and the nights are black

Wait for me (7x)

Moby's latest album with the same title as the song. Is a haunting soulful song of sorrow and dissappointment. It is from the perspective of someone who is ashamed of what their life has become. They are broken and hurting. They just want some time to put things back together to show you that they can be more than they are, they can be better. It's just gonna take some time.

I think Tiger definitely feels this way. He's worked hard to put on the perfect show, to have us think that he's the model golfer, a paragon of class, and not a John Daly. Now things are spinning out of control, he delayed any statement, any explanation. He's still not speaking as everyone jumps on the trainwreck bandwagon. He just wants us all to give him some space, some time.

The reality is we all feel like this at times. Our lives aren't as glorious and perfect as we dreamed when as when we 1) Graduated 2) Got Married 3) Started our Careers, whatever. Our lives our broken, but we want to fix them. We feel like we can, we must, but as we look around all our efforts haven't got us where we want to be. We've had some success, but often at the expense of other areas we'd really like to excel at.

It's from this reality that the Gospel makes sense. Where the message of Jesus really is good news. The Gospel says that we are all sinners. That we are often our own worse enemies, that our lives are broken and hurting because of the choices we make, and to an extent the choices that others around us make. But the Gospel is that in Christ we can be new people. That he will bring about the change in us that we haven't been able to bring about on our own. My prayer for Tiger is that he won't just feel bad, but that he'll understand his need to give up some control in order to have true healing in his life. That's my prayer for us all, my stubborn self included.

Mainline Morality

2009-12-07T16:02:00.001-06:00

So the Mainstream church in America is dying quickly. In large part due to their desire to reflect and confirm the values of the culture. In particular, the mainstream church has put cultural values over Biblical ones. The Evangelical Lutheran Church became the latest mainline denomination to further embrace the homosexual agenda. In August they voted to call homosexual pastors in committed monogamous relationships. This week their bishop actually spoke to the reason they have adopted this position and why so many conservative denominations condemn this move (Hint: It's not because we think homosexuality is a particularly evil sin). Basically Bishop Hanson said the Bible doesn't understand this issue as well as we do so I'm gonna go with my beliefs rather than God's word. Oh yeah, plus if we do this we might be able to see some growth and stem the flood of people from our Church. People probably aren't leaving because we don't really care what the Bible says, it's prolly cause we aren't gay friendly.

The Anglican Church which started this whole movement hasn't found that to be the case at all. Many churches have left, other denominations have formed in response, still others are under the leadership of the Nigerian Bishop rather than the American one. The Episcopal church is rife with division and anger. Yet despite the Archbishop of Canterbury (the "Pope" of the Anglican church) saying that those who want to push this agenda ahead must show restraint in light of the deep divide, the American Anglican's are once again appointing a gay bishop to the consternation of the rest of the global "communion." This is arrogance, plain and simple. I guess that's what makes us American. Or something.

"Hollywood" meets some "Real Christians"

2009-12-02T10:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I read this article about Sanda Bullock and the movie The Blind Side. Basically this Christian couple "adopts" this young man and help him realize his God given potential in many ways (spiritually, academically, athletically). Michael Oher is now an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens. More important than that Michael now knows who Jesus is and the selfless love his people are called to live out. We see the impact one person can have on the life of another if we will invest, and if people are open to us.

I mention the article because of the flawed view of the church that Sandra Bullock had, and how impressed people are when the run into people who "walk the walk." Miss Bullock basically felt that the entire church was hypocritical. Saying one thing, doing another and then telling other people not to do those same bad things. Then she ran into Leigh Anne Tuohy and her preconceptions were put in check. She realized there are people who live their faith. The question for us is. Why do people have such a bad image of us, and why aren't more of us impacting the world and showing them that we LOVE them. This is the failure of the church today. Christians are supposed to be known by their love. When we tell people Christians they should get all excited because they know we are going to be amazing to them, instead they want to avoid us or argue about abortion and homosexuality. That shouldn't be the first response. We need to be more involved in the lives of people around us to change that. Only then will people want to know Jesus like we know him.

For more on this thought read this.

Rekindling the musical flame

2009-12-01T09:49:00.001-06:00

I am old. 32 years to be exact, but it's not the years that make me old. It's not that I'm a father of 3, that I don't party on the weekends, that my basketball game becomes increasingly limited. The other day the reality that I am now officially old dawned on me when my dad was talking about how he doesn't know any of the new songs, by any of the popular artists. Neither do I. We both listen to talk radio, lots of sports talk. I listen to more sermons than he does but other than that we are in the same boat.
The other element to this puzzle came when I was reading through Time's top blog's and came across one dedicated to really good songs. I like really good music, but don't really go looking for it very often. When I was in PA I listened to XPN radio and loved it because people who really loved music would host the shows and do all the research finding new upcoming and deep artists. They did the work for me and made finding good music easy. When I moved to Illinois 7 years ago I couldn't find a radio station that played anything new I liked ever, let alone all the time.
So now I listen to talk radio. Sad. Old.

I will be sad and old no longer. Today I give you Son Volt!

Son Volt's front man Jay Farrar was part of Uncle Tupelo with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. Their music has gone different directions, both fabulous. Anyway, the newest album American Central Dust includes the song Down to the Wire.

Wake up to the Biddle Street blues
Can't shake the news
All the way to the big dome
They're trying

The intrigues of the new royalty
And the believers
In the afterlife
Share the same gamblers pages

Cobblestone streets saw 3 sovereign flags
As they raised their glasses to conquest and nation
Still pawns playing out the legacy
Of long dead industry titans and haters of men
Feeling down to the wire
Feeling down to the wire

Plastic grocery bags fly from trees
Proud symbols of a cavalier progress
Memories and landscapes in triage
Disappearing averages, permanent changes

No jury will have a final say
Everyone knows the jury is guilty
Faced with no plan at all
Just to trick a smile out of the moment

Feeling down to the wire
Feeling down to the wire

Feeling down to the wire
Feeling down to the wire

It talks about the a hopelessness born from humankind's sin, from our willingness to turn a blind eye to the injustice and inequity (like during the Katrina debacle). He throws the church under the bus, as is common these days, but points to a deeper reality, the sinfulness of all those in positions of power. It talks about our destruction of God's world in the name of progress. But the real hopelessness in Farrar's lyrics is that there will never be any justice, that there will be no end of people abusing the system to get ahead, no end to people selling out the future in order to enjoy this moment. It's that kind of attitude in today's world that has Jay worried. Worried that with all the progress, this world might end pretty quickly.

The funny thing about this song is it points out the hope of the Gospel, the hope of the church and those of us who "believe in the afterlife." That is one of the messages that gets lost when we avoid talking about sin and God's judgment. The message is that God brings judgment. He will punish those who abuse the poor. God's justice is no joke. If you mess with the most vulnerable people, you have to deal with God, when he's angry. You won't like God when he's angry. So let's not dare to forget the most vulnerable during this season of giving, and caring. Let's be like God and have a heart for those that most people don't even give a second glance.

Tiger Woods: Not perfect ?!?!

2009-11-30T16:23:00.000-06:00

This past week the world has watched in fascination as Tiger Woods perfect image has come into question. Everyone wants to know what happened. What are the real problems at the root of this incident, who is to blame? There are rumors swirling to the point where even if we did hear the truth many would not believer it over their own construed reality. There are lots of things that are intriguing about this debacle, but the question that keeps coming to my mind is why are we so intrigued? Why do people feel they need to get to the bottom of this?

I think a big reason so many people have been drawn into this story is that Tiger and his wife Elin seem so perfect, so clean cut. I mean, look at them over there. They certainly look perfect. Tiger has carved out this perfect image as if he has everything together. He is the ultimate competitor, the pinnacle of his sport. He went to Stanford. I could probably spend a lot more time talking about his feats and accomplishments painting the picture of perfection, but it wouldn't matter. In one feel swoop Tiger's perfection came crashing (pun intended) down. If that didn't convince you, he even admitted not being perfect in his public statement. No one is perfect.

In this world the only thing we love more than watching people rise to the top is when they fall, and fall hard. We like people who seemingly have everything making mistakes because it makes us feel better about our situation. We think if we were only in their situation we wouldn't do the dumb things they do. We wouldn't make the mistakes they make. We pass off our sins as more the result of our situation than of ourselves. The reality is we would still be sinners no matter what great fortune or amazing abilities we might have. We are flawed. No one is perfect. No one is perfect except Jesus, that is.

It's almost Christmas. a time to celebrate the Perfect Son of God coming into the world to live a perfect life so that we might benefit from his righteousness. So instead of worrying about Tiger and what his sin might be or what struggles his family might have, instead I suggest we hope in the One who never sinned. I know it is hard to believe that someone could live life and never sin. I have friends for whom that is a major stumbling block...but from Scripture we understand that sin is the cause of death. So Jesus' resurrection is proof that he was sinless, because death could not conquer someone who was sinless. Fortunately, Jesus is able to cover us all with his holiness and goodness and our sin is done away with. We too can conquer sin and death because of what Christ accomplished in his death and resurrection.

So whether you are awesome like Tiger Woods or just a regular guy like me, take this Christmas season to be fascinated by the one who truly is perfect.

Things you don't know about Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T14:24:00.000-06:00

I'm really not going to say anything, just providing a link to this TIME article. I think I'm gonna start Celebrating Franksgiving. I dig turkey.
One more thing. Thanks be to God who leads us in his triumph thanks be to God who's got the victory!

Tuesday Tunes Be Thankful

2009-11-24T19:14:00.000-06:00

So It's Tuesday a day I'll regularly taking a look at music. New and old, fast and slow, Christian and ~~Non-Christian~~ plain old music. Hopefully all good stuff so that people actually want to listen. Anyway I was thinking about thanksgiving songs and the main ones that I know of are by Arlo Guthrie, Alice's Restaurant and Adam Sandler, The Thanksgiving Song. But this year I stumbled upon this song by Natalie Cole, Be Thankful. My favorite part is in the chorus it goes,

"Rollin' over, seein' my baby's eyes, uh
Is enough to say, "I thank you, Lord""

There are a lot of reasons to say thanks to God and my wife is certainly one of theme, especially in the AM when I wake up see her smile even though she's the one who has been up feeding and changing Colette while I sleep. Gotta love her. So I am thankful to Jesus for her. Very thankful.

By the way Nate Dogg has his own Be Thankful song, it's on the Album Christmas on Death Row. Ah, rappers.

Child Care Questions

2009-11-23T09:39:00.000-06:00

So I'm a fairly new father of 3. Both my wife and I work and once Dani finishes her 3 month maternity leave we need to make some decisions about what to do with the kids. We have a neighbor who has provided childcare who really loves our kids and is super flexible (and cheap!). We are just worried about if our kids will get enough care if we send the boatload to her place with a new infant in tow. There are other kids in her house, and it is all that the 2 of us can do to care for 3 kids alone. So we don't think it's fair to the kids or to our neighbor.

The other part of the equation is with all those kids we know they will be watching more TV. We know they already watch a good deal more than we would like. I guess it's not uncommon. This new study shows that preschoolers watch about 2.4 HOURS of TV at in home day care. That is likely conservative since the study is self reporting. There really is no substitute for family care of your kids. This months has been a fabulous time for my wife to spend so much time with the kids, we are sad to see it go, and look forward to the time where we can make that situation work. For now the hunt is on, prayerful decisions need to be made, anyone got any leads?

Cuse Hoops

2009-11-20T09:36:00.000-06:00

Friday's are going to be a break from the routine. Fun Friday's if you will. For me fun usually comes in the form of sports. So to let you know I'm a Big Syracuse University fan. I even cheer for the football team. Seriously. Anyway I just want to highlight Scoop Jardine's 22 pt 6 assist performance off the bench in Syracuse's 95-73 upset of the #13 Cal Bears. On the menu tonight UNC Tar Heels, Yum.

What I love about sports is the beginning of the season. The hopes and dreams of every team. Every team I've ever been on has always had the belief that we would be amazing and make a run toward the championship. From little league to my High School Soccer and basketball teams, to each and every SU basketball team; hope springs eternal.

Sometimes I think why God has brought about so many different works in his redemptive drama. From Creation to Noah, to Abraham and the covenant with Israel, to the times of the Judges, Kings, Jeremiah and the Jews return to Israel, and especially to Jesus ushering in of a new covenant with humanity. God continually used new means and new "era's" to accomplish his work. He knows how we work and wants to present us with a clean slate, a new beginning over and over again. That's the Gospel in a nutshell. The old is gone the new is come. The sins of the past are forgiven, now we can strive to live for Christ and simply look ahead. This is the day that we are faithful. Here is our chance to be amazing, inspiring, perfect, winners. If we don't have this view we are in trouble, and bound to fail. So let's hope, let's dream, let's do this knowing that we can in Christ.

Oh yeah and let's beat those arrogant bums from Chapel Hill.

Decisions, Decisions

2009-11-18T09:28:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was looking at Time's list of the 25 Best Blogs. I'm aspirational like that. Once in a while, anyway. From observing them I realized that all these blogs have one central concept and people come back because they know exactly what they are getting. I'm not gonna do that. I know that derails my plan to get into the top 25, but I'm gonna leave that to the career bloggers anyway. I have a church to run for goodness sakes.

Instead I'm going to take the Paul route and seek to become all things to all people like in 1 Cor 9:19-23 What I really want to do is look at many different areas of life and see how and where they intersect with God's plan. So I'm going to have daily themes. Politics, Theology, Music, Sports, and Culture. My hope is each of these topics will connect with people on a personal level and then they will begin to think about everything they see and think through a Biblical lens. I think it will help me do the same. We'll see.

Introductions

2009-11-16T21:19:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the Blog. I'm gonna take a moment to introduce myself and look back just a little bit, but I'm really hoping that this blog will be primarily forward looking and inward looking as I try and do that personally.
So anyway the peculiar pilot. Well first, I'm not that strange. I mean everyone is peculiar in some way. My usual diversions from straight lacedness comes in the form of barely rhyming free verse to classic song tunes in order to get my kids to 1) Be Quiet 2) stop fighting 3) clean. Other than that I'm fairly main stream.
It is my situation that is different however. I'm a white guy. I pastor an Indian Church. This usually doesn't happen. First, there aren't a whole lot of Indians in the States. Second, I'm kinda young and most of the Pastors in the Indian community in edition to being Indian are also older. There is a great deal of respect for elders in the culture and being a young white guy breaks the mold. It's a bit Peculiar if I do say so myself.
The Pilot aspect has to do with being a pastor as well, not with an avocation or second career or anything. Pastors really don't have time for that kind of thing (Instead we use our time writing with the hope that people will be drawn in.) Anyway, My aim is to guide people safely to my final destination. I'm going to heaven, and I have been entrusted with the task of teaching people to know God and live for him. If I do this and do it well I will Save myself and My hearers (1 Tim 4:16) So that's the task. Fly the ship: get it to up in the air, fly smoothly and land safely. I'm hoping this will be a vehicle for accomplishing that. I'm hoping you'll take a seat and enjoy the flight.