Another Throw Away The Filth

I have to send all of my stuff to Texas.  I came across these shoes that I've had since my feet stopped growing.  The trademark on the soles said 1990.  The shoes leaked, and the soles squeaked on tile floors. But I had put a little oil on them, and they looked okay.  But I struggled to decide whether or not to send them to Texas.  I agonized over the decision.  I couldn't let these fifteen year old shoes go. 

As I was agonizing I remembered a radio preacher saying "Throw away the filth."  He was a screamer.  "THROW AWAY THE FILTH."  At the time, I had no real idea of what he meant.  But as I was staring at those shoes, I think I started to figure it out.

I cared for those shoes because I thought they said something about me.  I thought they showed or proved that I was frugal and conservative and a good steward of my resources.  I wasn't confident enough in my myself that I was really those things, so I needed those shoes to show I was a good man, a good person.  I started to look around and I saw more and more things like that.   More things that meant something to me because I thought they said something about me that probably wasn't true.  These things are the filth that we must throw away.

And there is only one way to really throw away the filth of life and that is fully trusting Jesus Christ.

Acts 16:30-31 (New International Version)

³⁰He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
 ³¹They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."

Get Healthy

I pray, and I am told to "get healthy."

I listened to a priest discuss greediness.  He related it to the stories of people lining up at Wal-Mart on Black Friday for the proverbial $19 DVD player, and the fact that people get trampled at these sales.  He says that kind of material greediness is rampant in today's society.  But he went on to discuss the spiritual greediness that is prevalent in our society.  The fact that many people can't give all of their heart, all of their mind, all of their soul to Christ, to evangelizing, to really doing the work of the Lord.

As I've discussed before, I am not a fan of bashing selfishness.  But there is something to being too spiritually self-centered.  This idea is that we get so caught up in our own lives that we miss our greater connection to God and the surrounding world.

Here is my example:  I just got really upset about a perceived slight.  I was emotional about the fact that people "hadn't treated me right."  I didn't blame them in one sense, but I honestly felt like they had injured me due to their lack of caring.  But all I could think about was me and how "they" had made me feel.  At first, I couldn't find the faith in Christ needed to sustain my will to do His Will.  And that is what spiritual greediness really means.  It is what happens when we lose our faith and only see what is front of us.  And this loss of faith is unhealthy.  Very unhealthy.

A personal relationship with God is necessary.  It is essential.  But a personal relationship with God requires the trust to look past our own day-to-day problems and embrace the big picture that God has painted for us.  Being healthy is this embrace.  Being healthy is this wonderful balance of doing God's Will while also accepting and trusting God's Will.

Heavenly Father,
Help me to be healthy.
Show my Your Ways.
Help me to seek good things and reject bad things.
Help me to control my emotions and care no matter how uncared for I feel.
Lord, help to remember how much You care for me.
It is in Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.
      

Being A Fixer

I know this guy who "lives to serve."

Personally I like to "fix things."  I want things to work, and I believe I am the one who should make things work.  I am the one who can solve conflicts.  I don't know if "fixing things" is equivalent  to service, but deep in my heart, I want to fix things.  I want to make things right.

But the problem is I need someone or something to fix me.  I need someone to forgive me for all of those times that I broke something, for all of those times when I thought I was fixing, when I was really breaking.  I need someone to lift me from the pit of this worldly existence.  I need someone to help this brokenness inside of me to start healing.  And I need it bad, real bad.

I need the great I AM.  I need the peace of Jesus Christ.  It is one thing to serve. It is another to live a life of love and be faithful to the real fixer, to the one who served us so well on Calvary.

 

A Couple Of The Many Times That The Heavenly Father Has Reminded Me Of Who Really Is Boss

1.  I go to Kroger after church.  I buy a case of diet Big K soda.  It is rather late.  I ask my wife, "Do I go home?"  I ask my mom, "Do I go home?"  They both say "yes, go home."  I know I should go home.  The case of soda busts as I am walking up the stairs to my office.  Four or five cans burst and spill everywhere.  I make a mess by not listening to Him.

2.  I am in the office.  It is late.  Do I go home?  Do I stay?  I have an idea that I need to stay, get a few more things done before I leave.  Only the TV waits for me in my apartment.  I flip a coin.  Staying is heads.  The apartment is tails.  It comes up tails two times in a row.  I pack up.  I shut down my computer which has updates to install.  I am ready to go.  I look out the window.  It starts to pour.  The much needed rain proves that He is in control.

I have a long way to go in my life.  I have a lot of things to learn.  I have to learn to live a life of repentance.  I have to learn to live a life for Christ.  It isn't easy, but He is in control.  If I remain faithful, "walk upright," and pray, He'll lead me.

The Jefferson Bible

I've had always these conflicted thoughts about The Jefferson Bible (The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth).  It was one of those readings that pushed me to be baptized.  But the underlying "cut and paste" mentality behind the book worries me.  I have no idea exactly what Jefferson's intentions were, but Jesus' miracles have meaning too.

The other day an elder gave a lesson where he went through Matthew and just recounted the miracles.  As a believer, it was a powerful.  But as a non-believer, I don't think it would have been powerful.  I needed the cold deism of The Jefferson Bible to see what Jesus was really about, what He really had to say.

I guess it gets back to the "what should be" versus "what is."  Yes, we should take the Bible as a whole.  But many people want rationality.  The desire for rationality is a fact.  Maybe it shouldn't, but if The Jefferson Bible gets one closer to Christ, then I am hesitant to condemn it.

More Thoughts On 'What Is' Versus 'What Should Be' Or Why I Never Understood The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy For The Devil"

There is a sense of fatalism in the crucifixion of Christ (Matthew 26).  It had to happen.  From a 'what is' perspective, Jesus' death is horrible travesty created by mankind.  From a God, 'what should be' perspective, it had to happen, "as it is written."  The 'what is' perspective is important here, but the 'what should be' perspective in the sense that Christ died so that we may live is more important.  Dwelling on the evilness of mankind and the fact that man could crucify God is telling and something a Christian needs to know.  But the real lesson, the 'what should be' lesson  that Christ died so we could be forgiven and Christ's death was always part of God's plan is the essence of Christianity.    

The point here is that Christianity requires Christians to be 'what should be' people.  A Christian cannot live with 'what is' attitude without compromising Christ.  He must continuously search and strive for 'what should be.'

    

Sacrifice And What Should Be

I've always had a problem with the term "sacrifice."  I don't think that sacrificing decisions are sustainable.  You can only hurt yourself for so long.  Eventually there has to be a pay-off.

From one perspective, being a Christian requires sacrifice today for eternal rewards.  Pain in this world for an eternity in heaven.  I would think this is the predominant perspective among Christians.

But another way to look at it (I think) is from a "what is?" versus "what should be?" perspective.  Sin is 'what is.'  It exists.  Sin feels good in a 'what is,' worldly sense.  Righteousness feels bad in a 'what is,' worldly sense, but it feels so good in a 'what should be' sense.  And sin feels so bad in a 'what should be' sense.  Righteousness is 'what should be.'

If we confine ourselves to thinking about things in a 'what is' sense, my sustainability question is very relevant.  I don't think you can keep telling 'what is' people that the rewards are heavenly.  In the Lord's prayer, Jesus says "...your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10)."  We need to emulate God's will so earth will be more like heaven.  God's will is the ultimate 'what should be.'  

The Thing About The Thing

One of the struggles of being a Christian is how much to put in to the church, how much to put into benevolence, how much effort to put into evangelism, how much time to put in to Wednesday night invitations.  One must balance.  We can't completely tune out the world, and the Lord wants us to be involved in His work.

So I reflect on Luke 10:38-42.  It is a difficult passage.  Someone has to worry.  Someone has to "make the preparations."  Someone has to organize and plan.  Paul warns against idleness in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-14.   

My answer is somewhat cryptic:  If Jesus is teaching, then we need to stop the things we're doing and focus on Him. Now learning when Jesus is teaching, that is a more difficult lesson.  A lesson that will take a lifetime to learn.

Heavenly Father,
Help me to learn Your lessons.
Help me to recognize when You're teaching.
Help me to learn how to listen.
Keep me from idleness.
Help me to passionate for You.
It is in Jesus' name that I pray.

(Part Of) What I Was Trying To Get At In My Perceptions Versus Intentions Lesson

From Patrick English at www.audioevangelism.com:

"But who else is watching us? In Matthew 5:16, Christ told His disciples in His sermon on the mount to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." 

We must realize that our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, other Christians, children, and even complete strangers are watching us too! And because of this, we should be mindful of how we conduct ourselves in life."

Topics I Am Thinking About

1.  A preacher on Saturday discussed the idea: "If you exalt yourself, you will be humbled.  If you humble yourself, you will be exalted."  "If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel."

2.  Last Wednesday night, a teacher discussed the implications of humanism.  The "state of the world today" is a complicated issue.  But I heard a comedian discuss the problem in what I think are the correct terms.  Paraphrasing him:  "Today, we celebrate 'what is."  People want their sex tapes released.  They want people to know they were abused.  It used to be that people cared more about what should be.  Now there this total acceptance of the world as it is."  Like I said, this is a complicated issue.

3.  I was talking with a guy about service and what it means "to serve."  This is another one of a complicated situations that is most likely contextual.  But I think it might be a good topic to expand on eventually.

Memorial Day

So I woke up on Memorial Day memorializing the person I was. Not the person I am. Not the person I want to be. I went through my past. I thought about all of those great achievements in my past. And I realized that those past achievements weren't that great either.

Forgiveness is a powerful thing. But it can only come through a disciplined faith. It can only come through the grace of God. It has nothing to do with the person I was.

"Get Over Yourself"

I came into the office this morning worried about all of the unimportant things going on in my life.  And God told me "Get over yourself."  Isn't that the Truth?

I also read this by Stephen Bradd at www.audioevangelism.com/.  He goes over some of the sins of Sodom, and I am guilty of a few of them.

Morning Thoughts

⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

This morning I had the U2 song "Moment of Surrender" in my head.  It is a beautiful song that gets at one of the points I was trying to make in my Sunday sermon.  We can't worry about other people in our pursuit of Christ.*

But the idea of a a "moment of surrender" is also powerful.  We can only get out of the "black holes" that we fall into with a moment of surrender where we admit God's power.  And like the song says, these moments of surrender happen at unpredictable strange times.  Some times they happen daily.  Some times they take longer.  But they have to happen.

*I recently read an article that didn't like the idea of 'finding Jesus.'  The idea was that Jesus was, is, and will forever be a constant.  I don't know what I exactly think about this idea and line of reasoning.  I do think that Christianity is both a struggle and a pleasure.  I don't think that denying the struggles or forgetting the pleasures is an appropriate Christian strategy.  

Father Longenecker And The Lord's Prayer

Here and here.

I had to give another 15 minute lesson on Sunday night.  I tried to expand on the perception and reality topics I have been talking about here.  I tried to make it about how we have to teach despite and in spite of the world's perceptions of God's intentions.

I quoted Matthew 5:38-39, and said "We've all been slapped in the face by the world, but do we turn the other cheek and keep our focus on Christ?"  (Of course, I didn't say it exactly like that.)  Now I don't like using generalizations like "the world," but we all let the flesh and those things we don't need or want get in the way of our one true mission.  

How Old Do You Want To Grow?

"So really, the whole, hugely expensive campaign to extend life is morally neutral. Long life is good because life is intrinsically good, but a life is not a good life simply because a person isn't dead. The real quality of life is a moral quality. As I age I don't want to just be an old man, I want to be a good old man. I want to enjoy life--the joys and the sorrows--the agony and the ecstacy. I want to laugh and love and stay active and do stuff...and every now and again I guess I want to be a little bit grumpy too."


From Father Longenecker here.


"As I age I don't want to just be an old man, I want to be a good old man. I want to enjoy life--the joys and the sorrows--the agony and the ecstacy. I want to laugh and love and stay active and do stuff...and every now and again I guess I want to be a little bit grumpy too."


"I want to enjoy life..."


The other night I ate dinner with a great Christian family.  By nature, I am a loner, and the only person I want to have dinner with is my wife.  And I didn't have a good day at work.  But I decided to forget that filth and enjoy myself.  I decided to stop thinking for a few hours and just be.   


It was the best decision I had made in a while.  It is a decision I hope I can remember and bring closer to my heart.  Because it is a Christ-like decision.  


"I want to enjoy life..."   

A Thought

One day Jesus had to wake up and say: "I AM THE SON OF GOD. And like it or not, I have to fully accept that responsibility."

Wouldn't it be nice if we woke up each morning and said: "I AM MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. And like it or not, I have to fully accept that responsibility."

Another Month Another Funk

I realized that I am fragile.  Emotionally I am young, immature, not up to the challenge.  I don't handle things well.  I let too many things get me out of my rhythm.

I was praying about this the other day.  And God came back with:  "I am writing your story.  I will reveal My Will for you in due time.  I am the Teacher.  You are the student.  Your struggles are My Lessons.  Love Me, Trust Me, and I will guide."

In other words, I need to stop worrying about where I am going or what I have done.  And start trusting and doing. 

I know this idea of moving past worry and doing and hoping has become a reoccurring them of this blog, but  Lord, help me to be active and faithful.  Because You know I need the help.

Grandmothers On Mothers' Day

(My grandmother (I called her Nanny) died last week.  I almost had to speak at the funeral.  Thankfully, I didn't have to, because I would have turned into a blubbering idiot.)

God gave us a lot of different relationships,  husband-wife, father-son, mother-daughter, brother-brother, grandparent-grandchild.  He also gave us a lot of different types of love associated with these relationships.  And all of these relationships teach us about God and His love for us, but there is no more special love than the love between a grandchild and a grandparent.

Parental love is an everyday struggle.  Parents must correct children.  Parents must guide children when children don't want to be guided.  And human parents have to spend so much time with their children that mistakes will be made by both parents and children.  Like a child of God's relationship with the Heavenly Father, there are going to be good times and bad times.  There are going to be times when a child looks at his parent and asks "Why?"  God cannot make mistakes, but He does do things that our human brains won't be able to understand (Isaiah 55:8-9).  There are many great Truths to be learned from the parental relationship and the love it requires.  Other relationships all produce satisfying types of love that can help us better understand God and Jesus Christ.

But a grandparent-grandchild relationship is a different type of love.  It is more of a spoiling love.  There is more adoration and less questioning.  I am sure most grandparents feel like they don't get to see their grandchildren enough.  I am sure by the time grandchildren get to be my age they wish they got to see and know their grandparents more.  I have learned a lot about Nanny in the last few days.  I wish I could have known more.  But the love between a grandparent and a grandchild encompasses just enough time for a great bond to develop.  A special bond that reminds me of Christ telling us that we must "become like little children" and "humble (ourselves) like (a) child" (Matthew 18:3-4).  Being young like a grandchild and being older like a grandparent allows more innocence to enter the relationship.  This innocence demonstrated by grandparents spoiling grandchildren is analogous to the way God spoils us with His love through giving his Son  (John 3:16).  Also the way a grandchild simply embraces a loving grandparent is a great example of how we should simply embrace Christ.   The bitter world that adulthood brings and the pressures that young families face can distract us from loving God with all our hearts, minds and souls (Luke 10:27).  Grandparents and the memories associated with grandparents can help us see the type of love we need to show God and what type of love God shows us.

This grandparent love reminds of the famous wedding verses in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.  I also think these verses are the best descriptor of Nanny:

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Heavenly Father,
Help me to mourn.
Help me to see your Truths.
Help me to embrace the many types of love you have given us.
Most importantly, Lord, help to to love You with all my mind, heart, and soul.
It is Christ's blessed name, I pray.
Amen.

1 John 2:6

1 John 2:6 (New International Version)

⁶Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

But I Knew The Guy

Yesterday a person I knew was sentenced to life in prison.  After the gospel meeting last night, I overheard a preacher and an elder discussing the sentence.  The preacher was frustrated because of the life sentence and not the death penalty.  I wanted to say "But I knew the guy."  I remained silent.



Two minutes ago, two colleagues commented on the situation and was dismissive to the murderer and a former colleague who publicly supported the murderer.  Their conclusion was "We didn't really know the guy, and we have to move forward."  I remained somewhat silent. 


Friday was the anniversary of April 16th.  Since that day, there has been a camp who believes we have to move forward.  Some want to move forward with respect.  Others just want to move forward.  Others want to continue to remember.  


I don't know what I want.  


Christianity and religion in general requires discipline.  It requires punishment.  It requires moving forward.  It requires being intentional.  It requires struggle.  But it also requires love, compassion, forgiveness, and peace.   


Unfortunately since Friday, I have been in a funk.  The previous paragraphs get into some of it.  I can't break from the past, but I can't embrace the future either.  This dilemma disallows enjoying the present.  And the present is all that matters.    


Heavenly Father, 
Guide me as I struggle with the world,
Show me Your ways,
Ease my pain,
Help me learn from the past,
Help me enjoy and achieve in the present,
So I can embrace the future,
Help me balance discipline and love,
Help me balance punishment and forgiveness,
Help me be intentional while also being compassionate,
Lord, help me live a life of repentance,
And forgive me for my many failures,
Help me to trust in Christ,
Because through Him I can do all things,
It is in His name I pray,
Amen.