Illustrious

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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)