We've been talking about living an Xtreme life at the XPerience. About living a grand adventure that is beyond belief. That life is to be lived every day in an a fit of undying passion. It is not a monotonous journey, trudging between momentary adventurous reprieves, but one continuing adrenalin rush as we encounter God in ever widening circles of wonder and awe. It is about living life with the God who lives in you!
I like the rendering of John 10:10 in the New Living Translation:
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
A rich and satisfying life. Is that what you have?
You see, Jesus/God/Heaven/Eternity is not about when you die; it's about now!!
I remember spending hours writhing in agony and torment as I was subjected to convention sings (for those of you who were not "blessed" with a southern gospel heritage, that is an interminable session of people singing seemingly unending songs about how horrible this life is and how great it will be when we die). We journeyed to the Mecca of Southern Gospel Music to attend all not sings with the Gaithers et al on several occasions. I remember when they debuted "I Am A Promise", we left that night at 1am, it was cold and snowing ... the horror ... the horror ...
Anyway, the scars run deep - back to the subject.
There was such an emphasis on life with Christ after we die. It was like Christianity is a suppport group to help us make it through this time and place so we can get to eternity. That's not my understanding.
I am indwelt by the Spirit of God. I am a new creation. I am an ambassador. I am a child of God. I am a conqueror. What part of that leads to a "ho-hum" life?!?
God takes you places you never thought you would go, shows you things you didn't even know existed, allows you to work in areas where you have no ability and brings you to adventure beyond your imagination. If this is not your experience, fight for it! It is as close as your next choice. Do you trust Him?
He used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: it's springs were at every doorstep and every path was it's tributary. "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door," he used to say. "You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to."
The Lord of the Rings
Frodo about his uncle Bilbo Baggins, Chapter 'Three is Company'.
Be swept away off to the places God will lead you.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
God Hates?!?
From a recent query:
Hello Jim, how are things?
Just had a Q for you. I recently stumbled upon the Godhatesfags.com website. It brought up a single point that I couldn't automatically dispute. It quoted a verse from romans (9:13), which my footnote said was from the first chapter of Malachi.... "..the Lord says. 'Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated..'" The idea that God could hate someone is new to me...Any thoughts?
Generally we deal with these as hyperbole - Jesus says, "Unless a man hates his father and mother for may sake ..." We would say that God is looking for preeminent position in our lives, that in comparison, our love for him makes all other relationships pale not that we are supposed to hate our parents. That would fly in the face on "Honor your father and mother."
As far as Esau goes, his descendants occupied the area called Edom and they are mentioned many times as a stubborn and rebellious race. Look at the last sentence of Ezekiel 35:15. What is God's purpose in bringing them down?
Ezekiel 35:15
"As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you You will be a desolation, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD."'
God does not hate "fags". He hates their rebellion as any father hates rebellion in his children. It does not diminish his love for us as individuals. What He desperately wants is a reconciled relationship - that is not possible in rebellion. We are "brought low" so that we will know He is Lord.
One of the toughest concepts of love is understanding that true love does not allow someone to continue to harm them self or others. It does not stand idly by as someone self destructs. We talk of "enabling" and it's detrimental effects on our emotional and social well being and possibly our physical well being in the sense of various forms of self abuse, yet we expect people to "accept" and "support" us in our stupidity. Love does not say, "It's okay for you to hurt yourself if that is what you really want."
All sexual sins are deep and wound at a fundamental level. God does not hate the homosexual any more or less than the fornicator. Or the idolater, witch, liar, thief or gossip for that matter.
Those are my thoughts.
Hello Jim, how are things?
Just had a Q for you. I recently stumbled upon the Godhatesfags.com website. It brought up a single point that I couldn't automatically dispute. It quoted a verse from romans (9:13), which my footnote said was from the first chapter of Malachi.... "..the Lord says. 'Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated..'" The idea that God could hate someone is new to me...Any thoughts?
Generally we deal with these as hyperbole - Jesus says, "Unless a man hates his father and mother for may sake ..." We would say that God is looking for preeminent position in our lives, that in comparison, our love for him makes all other relationships pale not that we are supposed to hate our parents. That would fly in the face on "Honor your father and mother."
As far as Esau goes, his descendants occupied the area called Edom and they are mentioned many times as a stubborn and rebellious race. Look at the last sentence of Ezekiel 35:15. What is God's purpose in bringing them down?
Ezekiel 35:15
"As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you You will be a desolation, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD."'
God does not hate "fags". He hates their rebellion as any father hates rebellion in his children. It does not diminish his love for us as individuals. What He desperately wants is a reconciled relationship - that is not possible in rebellion. We are "brought low" so that we will know He is Lord.
One of the toughest concepts of love is understanding that true love does not allow someone to continue to harm them self or others. It does not stand idly by as someone self destructs. We talk of "enabling" and it's detrimental effects on our emotional and social well being and possibly our physical well being in the sense of various forms of self abuse, yet we expect people to "accept" and "support" us in our stupidity. Love does not say, "It's okay for you to hurt yourself if that is what you really want."
All sexual sins are deep and wound at a fundamental level. God does not hate the homosexual any more or less than the fornicator. Or the idolater, witch, liar, thief or gossip for that matter.
Those are my thoughts.
Monday, March 16, 2009
When All Else Fails
Faith is such a tricky business.
My God will supply all my needs. I've seen it a dozen times or more. He even provides things that I wouldn't have even thought to ask for myself.
My God is all sufficient. Comfort in crisis, strength in weakness, order in chaos, presence in isolation ... He is more than enough at every point of need.
Why is it so hard to trust that He will continue to be everything He has already demonstrated Himself to be?
Usually it couches itself in "self-doubt". That little gnawing, "I know God is sufficient, but is this His will? What makes me think that I know what I'm doing? If it is His will, why has He not provided for it?" The question becomes, "What is my faith in?"
Is my faith in my understanding of God's purpose? Is it in my ability to discern? Is it in my experience in what God has done in the past or the way Christians do things, the council of Evangelical churches? Or is it simply in God and our relationship together?
What is my faith in? Is my faith in something that is so big it overshadows all self-doubt? Is it in something that is bigger than my knowledge, my understanding or my wisdom? Is my faith bigger than me?
Tricky business, this faith thing!
Lord, increase my faith.
My God will supply all my needs. I've seen it a dozen times or more. He even provides things that I wouldn't have even thought to ask for myself.
My God is all sufficient. Comfort in crisis, strength in weakness, order in chaos, presence in isolation ... He is more than enough at every point of need.
Why is it so hard to trust that He will continue to be everything He has already demonstrated Himself to be?
Usually it couches itself in "self-doubt". That little gnawing, "I know God is sufficient, but is this His will? What makes me think that I know what I'm doing? If it is His will, why has He not provided for it?" The question becomes, "What is my faith in?"
Is my faith in my understanding of God's purpose? Is it in my ability to discern? Is it in my experience in what God has done in the past or the way Christians do things, the council of Evangelical churches? Or is it simply in God and our relationship together?
What is my faith in? Is my faith in something that is so big it overshadows all self-doubt? Is it in something that is bigger than my knowledge, my understanding or my wisdom? Is my faith bigger than me?
Tricky business, this faith thing!
Lord, increase my faith.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Stuff, Stuf, Stuph, Stough
Ever have that day where you are running the to do list through your head and what started out as 8 items turns into 22 items each with 3 to 7 sub-items attached to 1 or 2 ancillary items each? I've had one of those years.
Remember the time management tips - Deflect, Dump, Delegate, Delay, Do.
The problem is I Deflect an item and it ricochets off the Dump pile and hits me square in the guilt, so I shuffle it straight off to the Dump pile instead. On the way over to the Dump, it gets snagged on my blasted sense of responsibility - you know that character trait that says if it has to be done it has to be done no matter the cost. Okay, so it has to be done, so let's Delegate (Like that first person plural there? "Let us" , like I'm God or something). So the attempt to Delegate is made and I quickly discover that I am not God and the people I work with (all volunteer) are better than I am at deflecting and dumping. Finally I tag one of them in their sense of guilt, responsibility, or indebtedness and they agree to do it, but their guilt and responsibility are not the highly refined shackles that mine are and somehow they manage to slip out of them. And as for indebtedness, apparently inflation has seriously diminished it's buying power! So seeing the task flounder and having lost enough time in the process (Delay is almost never a viable option for me since it assumes if it can be delayed long enough someone else will do it or it will be deemed unnecessary and experience shows that no one else is going to do it and if it was unnecessary in my eyes it would never have hit my to do list in the first place so it has to be done and no one else is going to do it, Guilt and Responsibility bring me back to it's time to act and it's time to act now and I'm the one who is going to have to do it (I wax Pauline)), it is now time to Do. Now in the process of Deflect, Dump and Delegate, enough energy has been spent to Do three times over, but if I never Deflect, Dump and Delegate my to Do list will always be out of control. So there is no choice but to continue the cycle in vain hope that someday all this management stuff I've been taught will actually work, I will be more productive and more effective and my volunteers will feel empowered.
Is this nuts or what?
Ever had a day like that?
Oh, crud ... this isn't even on the to do list!
Remember the time management tips - Deflect, Dump, Delegate, Delay, Do.
The problem is I Deflect an item and it ricochets off the Dump pile and hits me square in the guilt, so I shuffle it straight off to the Dump pile instead. On the way over to the Dump, it gets snagged on my blasted sense of responsibility - you know that character trait that says if it has to be done it has to be done no matter the cost. Okay, so it has to be done, so let's Delegate (Like that first person plural there? "Let us" , like I'm God or something). So the attempt to Delegate is made and I quickly discover that I am not God and the people I work with (all volunteer) are better than I am at deflecting and dumping. Finally I tag one of them in their sense of guilt, responsibility, or indebtedness and they agree to do it, but their guilt and responsibility are not the highly refined shackles that mine are and somehow they manage to slip out of them. And as for indebtedness, apparently inflation has seriously diminished it's buying power! So seeing the task flounder and having lost enough time in the process (Delay is almost never a viable option for me since it assumes if it can be delayed long enough someone else will do it or it will be deemed unnecessary and experience shows that no one else is going to do it and if it was unnecessary in my eyes it would never have hit my to do list in the first place so it has to be done and no one else is going to do it, Guilt and Responsibility bring me back to it's time to act and it's time to act now and I'm the one who is going to have to do it (I wax Pauline)), it is now time to Do. Now in the process of Deflect, Dump and Delegate, enough energy has been spent to Do three times over, but if I never Deflect, Dump and Delegate my to Do list will always be out of control. So there is no choice but to continue the cycle in vain hope that someday all this management stuff I've been taught will actually work, I will be more productive and more effective and my volunteers will feel empowered.
Is this nuts or what?
Ever had a day like that?
Oh, crud ... this isn't even on the to do list!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Gospel According to Stephenie Meyer
Wow! One Twilight quote and a mention that I am working on a message series with illustrations from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, etc. and you'd think I was preaching from the Satanic Bible.
Listen folks, the books are for the purpose of illustration. Meyer is not a theologian. She wrote some really good fiction with excellent character development and complex relational interaction (not to mention it was a good story). I will not be teaching the Meyer Gospel (to my knowledge, no such work exists). Why do we have to go through this every time there is something popular that hits the market that doesn't read like Pilgrim's Progress or My Utmost for His Highest?!
Listen to this:
Check out Paul in Athens, Acts 17:16-34. When he wandered around Athens, taking a look at their societal condition and their religious practice, he found many altars to many gods, but the one that struck him was the altar to an unknown god. In verses 22 & 23 he says:
Look at the numbers. They've already read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. The ones who don't read have already seen the movie. They are already on Team Bella, Team Edward or Team Jacob.
Communication is just as much about cultural relevance as it is about language. Words are metaphors and images. Ideas are grown in a garden of rich, relevant, culturally literate loam.
For those whom I have offended, why don't you stop by The Shack and we'll talk.
Listen folks, the books are for the purpose of illustration. Meyer is not a theologian. She wrote some really good fiction with excellent character development and complex relational interaction (not to mention it was a good story). I will not be teaching the Meyer Gospel (to my knowledge, no such work exists). Why do we have to go through this every time there is something popular that hits the market that doesn't read like Pilgrim's Progress or My Utmost for His Highest?!
Listen to this:
- Obsession - "You are exactly my brand of heroin" Edward Cullen, Twilight, Chapter 13, p 266
- Love - "I'm here ... which roughly translated, means I would rather die than stay away from you." Bella Swan, Twilight, Chapter 13, p 274 (this is the image of the crucifixion. I really like that one)
- Pain - "Like everything in life, I just had to decide what to do with what I was given." Carlisle Cullen, New Moon, Chapter 2, p 35
- Identity - "What I am was born in me. It's a part of who I am, who my family is, who we all are as a tribe - it's the reason why we're still here." Jacob Black, Eclipse, Chapter 4, p 111
- Reality - "What kind of place was this? Could a world really exist where ancient legends went wandering around the borders of tiny, insignificant towns, facing down mythical monster? Did this mean every impossible fairy tale was grounded somewhere in absolute truth? Was there anything sane or normal at all, or was everything just magic and ghost stories?" Bella Swan, New Moon, Chapter 12, p 293
- Purpose - "I'm sure all this sounds a little bizarre, coming from a vampire. But I'm hoping that there is still a point to this life, even for us." Carlisle Cullen, New Moon, Chapter 2, p 36
Check out Paul in Athens, Acts 17:16-34. When he wandered around Athens, taking a look at their societal condition and their religious practice, he found many altars to many gods, but the one that struck him was the altar to an unknown god. In verses 22 & 23 he says:
- Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. (NIV)
Look at the numbers. They've already read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. The ones who don't read have already seen the movie. They are already on Team Bella, Team Edward or Team Jacob.
Communication is just as much about cultural relevance as it is about language. Words are metaphors and images. Ideas are grown in a garden of rich, relevant, culturally literate loam.
For those whom I have offended, why don't you stop by The Shack and we'll talk.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sacrifice
I just spent 25 and one half hours with a group of young adults (15 to 25) on a fasting and prayer retreat. We stayed at the church overnight Saturday and went to services on Sunday and in the afternoon we went off campus to spend some time with God in the out of doors. One particular exercise was a meditation on Romans 12:1-3.
Each participant was to listen as the passage was read three times. The prayer was that God would reveal His word for us as individuals through this scripture as we listened for a key word or phrase that seemed to resonate within us. As we each heard our word or phrase, we would then meditate on it seeking God's message.
The word that struck me was sacrifice.
As I thought about the concept of sacrifice, it became clear that in my own life there is much that I hold closely, that I protect and view as sacred. These are the things that are my "rights", my inalienable prerogative. They are my habits, my "comfort zones", my customary practice, my heritage, my tradition. All these things that keep me in my ruts of safety and comfort are non-negotiable. They are me.
If I am to be the "living sacrifice" Christ has called me to be, all of it is fair game. If He requires my "down-time", it is a reasonable sacrifice. If He requires my entertainment, what is that. If He requires my "personal time" or "personal space", why would I withhold it? If He is Lord and King, there is no sacrifice that He cannot require and that I cannot give.
It's easy to say that I live by faith and then say God can't possible require that I risk losing my home or financial security or worse yet, do something I am not comfortable with. What is it that I just won't live without. That is the very thing that I must sacrifice. It is easy to offer my body as a one time sacrifice with great risk of death. In a momentary burst of uncharacteristic heroism, I can run into the burning building, leap into the churning flood or snatch the child from the onrushing traffic. But can I give up 20 minutes of pre-recorded MASH? 30 minutes of browsing myspace comments and facebook notes? Can I find 20 minutes a day to learn Spanish so I can communicate with a growing Hispanic community within my own neighborhood? Can I take 15 minutes to assemble a gallon zip-loc bag with food suitable for a homeless person? Can I create enough margin in my schedule to stop and help the stranded motorist?
What God has done for me and my family is nothing short of miraculous. He has provided not only our basic needs, but far and away more than we had ever expected. He gave us a house, many cars, an all expenses paid trip to Disney World for 4 days (including hotel and some spending cash), a room make over (complete with 46" plasma tv and theater surround sound) and so much more ...
Bella Swan says, "When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end." (Twilight, Stephanie Myers, Preface, p. 1) When God has done so much for me, how can I be upset about a little inconvenience? God's love for me has been demonstrated in so many ways that exceed the material things listed above. How can I hold anything back from Him? How could I consider anyting a sacrifice when compared to all the undeserved benefits and blessing I've received?!?! What an ungrateful wretch I am!
As I sat at the beach on an incredibly beautiful, spring day, listening to the surf, feeling the warm breeze, completely relaxed and enjoying the moment, contemplating this issue for all of 6 minutes, I was suddenly struck with only one thought ...
What sacrifice????????
Each participant was to listen as the passage was read three times. The prayer was that God would reveal His word for us as individuals through this scripture as we listened for a key word or phrase that seemed to resonate within us. As we each heard our word or phrase, we would then meditate on it seeking God's message.
The word that struck me was sacrifice.
As I thought about the concept of sacrifice, it became clear that in my own life there is much that I hold closely, that I protect and view as sacred. These are the things that are my "rights", my inalienable prerogative. They are my habits, my "comfort zones", my customary practice, my heritage, my tradition. All these things that keep me in my ruts of safety and comfort are non-negotiable. They are me.
If I am to be the "living sacrifice" Christ has called me to be, all of it is fair game. If He requires my "down-time", it is a reasonable sacrifice. If He requires my entertainment, what is that. If He requires my "personal time" or "personal space", why would I withhold it? If He is Lord and King, there is no sacrifice that He cannot require and that I cannot give.
It's easy to say that I live by faith and then say God can't possible require that I risk losing my home or financial security or worse yet, do something I am not comfortable with. What is it that I just won't live without. That is the very thing that I must sacrifice. It is easy to offer my body as a one time sacrifice with great risk of death. In a momentary burst of uncharacteristic heroism, I can run into the burning building, leap into the churning flood or snatch the child from the onrushing traffic. But can I give up 20 minutes of pre-recorded MASH? 30 minutes of browsing myspace comments and facebook notes? Can I find 20 minutes a day to learn Spanish so I can communicate with a growing Hispanic community within my own neighborhood? Can I take 15 minutes to assemble a gallon zip-loc bag with food suitable for a homeless person? Can I create enough margin in my schedule to stop and help the stranded motorist?
What God has done for me and my family is nothing short of miraculous. He has provided not only our basic needs, but far and away more than we had ever expected. He gave us a house, many cars, an all expenses paid trip to Disney World for 4 days (including hotel and some spending cash), a room make over (complete with 46" plasma tv and theater surround sound) and so much more ...
Bella Swan says, "When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end." (Twilight, Stephanie Myers, Preface, p. 1) When God has done so much for me, how can I be upset about a little inconvenience? God's love for me has been demonstrated in so many ways that exceed the material things listed above. How can I hold anything back from Him? How could I consider anyting a sacrifice when compared to all the undeserved benefits and blessing I've received?!?! What an ungrateful wretch I am!
As I sat at the beach on an incredibly beautiful, spring day, listening to the surf, feeling the warm breeze, completely relaxed and enjoying the moment, contemplating this issue for all of 6 minutes, I was suddenly struck with only one thought ...
What sacrifice????????
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