It was 5th grade, and we were at 3rd period. As we were walking upstairs to class I asked Matt Duecher what we were doing in Social Studies today. We had it 5th period but he just finished. Nonchalantly he said “you’re going to watch the space shuttle blow up.” This statement didn’t really compute as it didn’t have anything to do with the Oregon Trail that we were studying. But sure enough when 5th period arrived, the video cassette recorder was wheeled out and Ms. Zimmerman played a very shocking tape for us--of the Challenger explosion. I actually don’t remember the actual class, just the viewing. Maybe we all had a discussion about it; perhaps we just rewinded it and watched it again.
I only had one other time that I remember that I was pre-warned about something disturbing during a class. I don’t remember who warned me, but I remember it in the same matter of fact delivery. “Mr. Miller today is going to strut around like Bruce Springsteen.” Again, like the space shuttle, the thought of my Socialist, Borat-looking Economics/American history teacher doing a little “Dancing in the Dark” was something that I thought someone would simply make up. I knew what was about to happen when he pulled out the video machine… But it still didn’t stop my jaw from dropping as this 40 year old mirrored the moves and passion of the boss. Our faces were all were painted with confusion as he continued to sing at the top of his lungs… “War! Huh! Good God, y'all! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing, huh! Say it again! War! Huh! Good God, y'all! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing, huh! Say it again!”
He utilized his pointer (which he normally dropped on the ground to make a point) for his “microphone”. I’d have to say he managed to etch his point on the back of my retinas. I still desire to poke out my mind’s eye. But regardless, as a young mind, it was a nail in the side of George Bush Sr.’s Gulf War.
…
I was watching CNN in the airport as I was coming home this week from vacation, and I witnessed a promo they are doing for The Fisher House™. CNN’s Hummer that was doing war coverage over seas is going to be sold and the proceeds are to be given to The Fisher House™. This is a program that supports America's military by meeting a humanitarian need beyond that normally provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. As I watched the promo, I found my heart go out to them. And I also found a difficulty within myself on why this happened to these soldiers. The terrible image of Mr. Miller came back screaming:
War! Huh! Good God, y'all! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing, huh! Say it again!
Now, I can’t claim political knowledge or political bent in any way. Nor can I claim any sort of desire to want to --the media drives my boat like everyone else. When CNN wants me to feel remorse, Dang it, I feel remorse! At the same time, when Ty Pennington gives feetless children a house, I cry with joy. My opinion doesn’t mean much, but it does mean something to the world. The world needs me for something that only I can give. Ratings. And strong emotion does that.
There seems to be a war that we are fighting. But there also seems to be a media that wants a particular opinion on it. We ask around and seem to deem the correct stance to word of mouth and popular or underground culture. But are we right?
On the battlefield, the morale is low as well. War takes it’s tedious toll beginning with those who are enlisted. Your idealism as a new recruit is slowly worn away. Your initial zeal of patriotism begins to be tested as another recruit says something that leads you to question those in leadership. Then when you get your first taste of battle, the necessity of following orders becomes very real. The shock of bullets actually using you as a target makes you question your need for being there in the first place. Maturity sets in and you know that your orders will move your company forward, but within a year you see three of your very good friends take a hit from the enemy that they are either recovering back at home, or gone. You consistently hear through letters and TV of more and more friends being taken down. “Is this the right war to be in?” you ask yourself. “Am I on the right side?”
John, in the first century was revealing two opposing sides of a battle. But, before he is to reveal these sides, he felt it necessary to address his company, for morale had been low. When you are on the front lines and you see your friends go down it is easy to let cynicism and bitterness take their hold. John brings his company together and says:1 John 2:12-14
I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
What happened? What hardships have they had in this battle? Are they thinking, “Is this the right war to be in?” Are they considering taking leave? Taking a break?
Cynicism and depression attached to war is nothing new. Eric Bogle in the 1970’s wrote “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” after witnessing a march that was held on ANZAC DAY in Australia to commemorate the slaughter of Australian troops at Gallipoli (Turkey) in 1915, during the first World War. You can hear his editorial in first person, from a soldier, about the British “empire” and the massive incompetence on the part of British politicians (chiefly Winston Churchill) that led to a death toll that hit every town and every city in what was then, still a tiny nation. Listen:
When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli
How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again
Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away
And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all
The endurance of war takes its toll. The cheers that went out in shock and awe begin to grow quiet as our troops come back from the front lines in body bags, and as amputees. Questions of war legitimacy begins buzzing upon the headlines, and people begin questioning those in charge.
Why are we doing this? Why are we at war?
….
As Christians, we are given our orders. They are clearly articulated. We are given dispatch from our General and we are told without any hesitation to Love Each Other as our Commander in Chief has done for us. Not the W… Jesus Christ. Our Lord. Our Chief. Our Commander. This word “Lord” holds political meaning along with the spiritual and tutorial significance. Yet, Christ himself rewrites the definition of “Lord” when he strips down to servants’ clothing and washes our feet. Our President, Our Caesar, Our Leader of the world; showing us what true leadership is: To die for His friends. Sacrificial love. Amazing love, how can it be? That thou my God would die for me???
Phil2:6-11Christ…Who, being in very nature [a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature [b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the Name that is Above Every Name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in Heaven and on Earth and Under the Earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The world out there is full of darkness. And you my friend are a soldier of the Light. The battle is on. It begins as you stand up, as you look around--it begins as you simply say “hi” to someone next to you. Why? Because you are in the battle, right now at this point the darkness begins its spin within your soul. “You don’t need to be nice to that person; they wronged you the other day.” Your orders within this battlefield: Love each other as Christ has loved you. In this case: forgive them. Darkness says: “you had a hard holiday weekend; you don’t have enough energy to care for that person.” Your orders: Love each other as Christ has loved you. In this case: show them that you care.
Some of us have the luxury of going to boot camp. But most of us go out to the front lines immediately and begin the war against the darkness. God equips us with the courage of the Holy Spirit and audacity to be followers of Christ. We move within the conflict of loving each other by holding tight to the revelation of God. On the frontlines, our only weapon to hold onto, is the application of Christ to our hearts. We love. That’s what we do--that’s what we are called to do. That is our battle here on Earth. To love Each other. And if you’ve truly loved for any time, you know what a battle it is. How it must be maintained, and how much endurance it takes.
But maybe you are not a recruit yet, or perhaps like Bogle, your past has given you good reason to question the “Empire.” So you ask starkly, “Why do I need to go?” Or, “Who is this leader that leads in weakness?” I can’t convince you to enlist, but let me tell you a bit about the commander in charge.
Jesus Christ. God of Very God, Man of very man. Savior of the world. Jesus acts as Savior by delivering us from our sins. Our Darkness. On the cross, God shows us how much we missed the mark. Judging our evils. By looking at our sin, we cry to God “FORGIVE US!” It is this act of repentance that begins our dawn as a Soldier of Light, for our God of Light is rich in mercy. And His fountains of Light, Life and Love are able to wash us clean in the blood of the Lamb. Saving us by His forgiveness. Wiping the debt clean.
There is a battle out there for our souls; but there is also a battle here, in our minds, that will give it legitimacy. How can you follow orders if you don’t believe in the cause? When you are bombarded by media that tells you that this war is futile, do you agree? Is the magnetic ribbon on the back of your pickup truck really all you can give as support?
OH that as an officer I could convince you that this war for your soul is indeed valid. That when you see our troops returning from battle with an arm or a leg missing, Oh I would hope that you would know that their sacrifice was worth it. That as you see the veterans wheeling down the street in their wheelchairs, I would hope that somehow I may be able to convince you to not grieve, mourn, or pity them, but rather you would see them as the heroes that they are.
Company: What is your primary objective? To love each other… That is an order! I am telling you this because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name!
Veterans: You have followed him well!!! I am telling you this because you have known Him from the beginning.
Soldiers: You have overcome the enemy. Your strength and adherence to orders have given you victory!
Recruits: You know the Father. You know why you joined. Because the Father of Lights is one you can give your allegiance to, without reservation.
Are you in the battle? Has the negative spin of the battle let your morale fade? AreYou in your living room watching CNN critiquing a battle you know nothing about. Let me encourage you this morning to stand up. Proverbs 24:16 For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again…”. So dust yourself off. And put on your flack jacket of Light. Pick up the word of God on your heart. And fight for your soul Today. Do what you are called to do. Love each other! Today, now, that’s an order!
Monday, November 27, 2006
The Enlisted
Monday, September 18, 2006
Why the Disguise?
We spend our live living in disguises. Some more than others. We sometimes see these disguises as helping us: gaining access to people and things that perhaps we wouldn't have access to if people knew our "whole" story. Other times we see these disguises as a catch 22 trap. You cant live with it and you can't live without it. As a result you see your disguise as a bourdon, that you alone must carry.
I interviewed two characters that you may know about their disguises.
G: Why the disguise Alice?
A: Why the disguise? Well I can hardly say this is a disguise. My size is not a disguise.
It has allowed me into other people’s worlds however. But you see, I'm not particular to size, only, one doesn't like changing so often, you know. You all are much kinder then that very contradictory caterpillar over in the garden. I’ve had such a very curious day. And just over there he asked me ‘who am I?’ Well, that was not an encouraging opening to a conversation. I told him I hardly knew, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.
This caterpillar seemed to be in a VERY unpleasant state of mind. I hardly could keep my temper because of his irritating short remarks. “Who are you? Who are you?” I can't understand myself to begin with; being so many different sizes in a day. I told the caterpillar I should like to be a LITTLE larger…three inches is such a wretched height to be. He didn’t agree. He said I’d get used to it. We’ll perhaps I would if I kept the same size for ten minutes together!
But I guess I’ve found that being a particular size makes you into different things to different people. For instance: to this caterpillar being three inches allowed me to be his psychotherapy patient. And to this pigeon after taking a bite of this mushroom, I was accused of being a serpent. Being a certain size to gain access to other people’s worlds may have its benefit, but it sure is confusing when someone asks “Who are You?’
G: Why the Disguise Mr. Kent?
CK: Why the disguise? What… you know? I’m sorry my name is Clark… I have no idea what you are talking about. Really, are you going to rat me out? Well I guess to answer your question I do get a lot of publicity. And because I do my job for free, I don’t have the means to pay for a publicist. I’m not Paris Hilton. Plus I love Lois, I can’t get her mixed up with being in the media…Even though she is the media.
It’s nice to talk to you though… you don’t know how lonely it is. I’m sure our relationship is going to change because of this conversation. Oh well, you don’t understand the only people who don’t treat me like some sort of super being, are villains. That’s not healthy. But I sort of get a rush when Lex or Bizarro pops up. At least they condescend me or try to put me in some elaborate trap. I at least know they care.
I don’t know. I guess growing up with this inner secret has permanently alienated me. I want to be normal, I guess that’s why the disguise. I can never confide or reveal myself to Lois or anybody without risking them thinking of me as different. I am different. And it’s not like they wouldn’t think leaping tall buildings in a single bound is cool. But I’m afraid if I reveal who I truly am… I’ll lose them.
Oh my secret is great. Who I truly am is magnificent. But I see these great powers as a great weakness that keeps me from intimacy. Why is it so hard to look internally for strength and greatness? I would probably say the greatest weakness that I need to share with those around me is that I don't realize my worth. I can't accept that I am a capable person worthy of love, as is. It's easier to resign myself to becoming a victim of my situation and hope that a superman will come and save me rather than to stand up for myself and losing the disguise.
Whatever our excuse for having these disguises; whether we must have them, or whether we choose to take them on. God is constantly asking us to be true to ourselves, and what He has called us to be. In Psalm 51:6, the psalmist writes: "But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being." True honesty comes via baby steps, starting from the inside out.
I interviewed two characters that you may know about their disguises.
G: Why the disguise Alice?
A: Why the disguise? Well I can hardly say this is a disguise. My size is not a disguise.
It has allowed me into other people’s worlds however. But you see, I'm not particular to size, only, one doesn't like changing so often, you know. You all are much kinder then that very contradictory caterpillar over in the garden. I’ve had such a very curious day. And just over there he asked me ‘who am I?’ Well, that was not an encouraging opening to a conversation. I told him I hardly knew, just at present-- at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.
This caterpillar seemed to be in a VERY unpleasant state of mind. I hardly could keep my temper because of his irritating short remarks. “Who are you? Who are you?” I can't understand myself to begin with; being so many different sizes in a day. I told the caterpillar I should like to be a LITTLE larger…three inches is such a wretched height to be. He didn’t agree. He said I’d get used to it. We’ll perhaps I would if I kept the same size for ten minutes together!
But I guess I’ve found that being a particular size makes you into different things to different people. For instance: to this caterpillar being three inches allowed me to be his psychotherapy patient. And to this pigeon after taking a bite of this mushroom, I was accused of being a serpent. Being a certain size to gain access to other people’s worlds may have its benefit, but it sure is confusing when someone asks “Who are You?’
G: Why the Disguise Mr. Kent?
CK: Why the disguise? What… you know? I’m sorry my name is Clark… I have no idea what you are talking about. Really, are you going to rat me out? Well I guess to answer your question I do get a lot of publicity. And because I do my job for free, I don’t have the means to pay for a publicist. I’m not Paris Hilton. Plus I love Lois, I can’t get her mixed up with being in the media…Even though she is the media.
It’s nice to talk to you though… you don’t know how lonely it is. I’m sure our relationship is going to change because of this conversation. Oh well, you don’t understand the only people who don’t treat me like some sort of super being, are villains. That’s not healthy. But I sort of get a rush when Lex or Bizarro pops up. At least they condescend me or try to put me in some elaborate trap. I at least know they care.
I don’t know. I guess growing up with this inner secret has permanently alienated me. I want to be normal, I guess that’s why the disguise. I can never confide or reveal myself to Lois or anybody without risking them thinking of me as different. I am different. And it’s not like they wouldn’t think leaping tall buildings in a single bound is cool. But I’m afraid if I reveal who I truly am… I’ll lose them.
Oh my secret is great. Who I truly am is magnificent. But I see these great powers as a great weakness that keeps me from intimacy. Why is it so hard to look internally for strength and greatness? I would probably say the greatest weakness that I need to share with those around me is that I don't realize my worth. I can't accept that I am a capable person worthy of love, as is. It's easier to resign myself to becoming a victim of my situation and hope that a superman will come and save me rather than to stand up for myself and losing the disguise.
Whatever our excuse for having these disguises; whether we must have them, or whether we choose to take them on. God is constantly asking us to be true to ourselves, and what He has called us to be. In Psalm 51:6, the psalmist writes: "But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being." True honesty comes via baby steps, starting from the inside out.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Debts?
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”
We have convinced ourselves that God is out to get us. That the church is out to reveal the true hearts of the wicked. Out to expose us for the sick bastards that we are. To humiliate, put down, and keep us coming back due to our own guilt. Due to our debt. Our Debt of Sin - The depraved things that we do every day. We have been told that we’re going to hell in a hand basket. As a result we cling with fear to Christianity hoping beyond hope that we aren’t going to be dipped in the lake of fire. Some have grappled with this fear and it is their primary source of faith. Others have grappled with this fear and have seen it and have said “nope”. With humor they exclaim “welcome to hell,” or “I AM going to hell in a hand basket… How do you like that preacher man?”
Our thought concoctions protect us from addressing THE DEBT … giving us the illusion of being free. “I call myself a Christian… I’m safe from the lake of fire… I don’t have any fear of the afterlife, so when I come into contact with someone that doesn’t call themselves a Christian I can piss all over their humanity because ‘they are depraved’, I can disregard their will and personality… because nothing that they say regarding religion is really correct…so I can bulldoze my agenda all over them… I am giving the good news, that they can change their lives and think like me…. OH I’m free… I’m free indeed from my debt of sin.” Or maybe you’re on the other side… on the ‘dark side’ thinking Christianity is bullshit… “Some of the people are nice. But mostly the philosophy is an archaic pushy belief that was developed by those in power to belittle, bombard and betroth those that they would choose manipulate to an addiction towards their own guilt. These people’s lives are poor, and they don’t know any better than to absolve themselves once a week day in day out. Oh believe me Geoff… I much more free than you and your so called debt… because the debt of sin doesn’t exist for me.”
I’m not saying we’re dumb… in fact we’re extremely smart. Brilliant even! There are tons of things in society that protect us from debt. Overdraft protection, hedge funds, old people… (otherwise the scam artists would be after your money). We protect ourselves from this spiritual debt by our thoughts…giving us the illusion of freedom. But it seems as though we are still shackled. Have we been set free from this debt?
Jesus taught us a prayer saying “forgive us our debts…”A debt implies that we have to pay back something. It implies that there is a loss, an absence, a borrowing of something. Is it money? No?… then what is it? Christ knew there was something lost, but what do we need to pay? If we have a debt of sin… do we pay with sin? The reason why I ask is because if I owe someone $100 I’m not going to give them a guinea pig. (unless that guinea pig is worth $100) You need to pay back what you borrowed. I have heard that we have a debt of sin… But I’m sure God is not asking us to pay him back with sin. Some of you might like that… for a while. Then do we have a debt of sin? (Ohh Geoff keep going… your making my protective layer stronger… I am absorbing your thoughts. Ask your question again Geoff…) Is there a “sin debt” that we need to pay back?
I’m about to reveal to you the secret of my trick… some of you at the beginning of this may have thought that Jesus paid your debt of sin. But now… it’s gone. Your debt of sin was only an illusion… a protection from the real deal.
The reality of our fear, or the reality of our distaste for a jackass belief system, is rooted in the same semantical problem. We don’t have an angry God that is ready at the drop of a hat to dip us in fire. We don’t have a debt of sin to repay. We have a God that loves us unconditionally. And because of that we do have a debt and we do have a responsibility. But it in no way is it focused on our sins. Focusing on our sins has only allowed us to get another credit card… at a higher interest rate… and stopped us from fixing our debt problem. Jesus was right in teaching us to pray “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” But what is that debt?
Love. We have been asked by God to love him and love each other. This is our calling; this is what we were born to do, and this is what he asks of all creation. Love is our zero, it is our bottom line, and it is what we were meant for. The moment that we choose to not love is the moment we begin to draw on the bank of God. Don’t get me wrong, God has a lot of love; he’s the Daddy Warbucks of love. In fact, one of the daily miracles that he produces everyday is the preservation of humanity, because humanity tends to “not love” a lot. This has produced an amazing world debt, and many of you have felt that in your lives. You can’t escape it because YOU (I have three fingers pointing back at me) have done it. But you know what? God wants us to change that. How? By recognizing how we didn’t love. And decide to change TO love. Our debt is a debt of love. To only be repaid by love. We need to get back to Zero!!! That is why Jesus was perfect. That is why he said “I will pay your debt”. Because it was his love that did it. Oh it didn’t transform the world into sunshine, lollypops, and rainbows… but for those who believe that God loved them so much to die for them… it inspires revolution. Heart change… and perhaps for those that get the message-à world change.
I don’t know where this semantical change will get us. But when I see a sandwich board on the street saying “repent or parish” I tend to bristle. Because what they are asking me to do is Change -Learn your lesson! And yes, I do need to change… And yes, I do need learn my lessons. But I think: the emphasis on a “Debt of sin” has focused our eyes on the wrong things. I don’t need to dive into my monstrosities, and flog myself for what a terrible person I am. I have a God that loves me where I am; right now, as is. And He lifts my eyes up to see that he has called me out of my monstrosities to a life in His image: an Image of love.
There is a huge debt in this world to be forgiven. And for those that believe. It has been. But it definitely shouldn’t stop there. Love must continue. We MUST decide to change TO love.
Maybe some of you have been wrapped up in your illusion of safety that has protected you from loving. Or maybe this illusion has protected you from loving God. Before we can learn to love, we must recognize how we didn’t love. Please think today how you contributed to the world’s debt. We all haven’t loved others… before we can change our ways in repairing our world, we must recognize how we need to change.
Today let your change pay tribute to a God who inspires you to be who He has called you to be.
We have convinced ourselves that God is out to get us. That the church is out to reveal the true hearts of the wicked. Out to expose us for the sick bastards that we are. To humiliate, put down, and keep us coming back due to our own guilt. Due to our debt. Our Debt of Sin - The depraved things that we do every day. We have been told that we’re going to hell in a hand basket. As a result we cling with fear to Christianity hoping beyond hope that we aren’t going to be dipped in the lake of fire. Some have grappled with this fear and it is their primary source of faith. Others have grappled with this fear and have seen it and have said “nope”. With humor they exclaim “welcome to hell,” or “I AM going to hell in a hand basket… How do you like that preacher man?”
Our thought concoctions protect us from addressing THE DEBT … giving us the illusion of being free. “I call myself a Christian… I’m safe from the lake of fire… I don’t have any fear of the afterlife, so when I come into contact with someone that doesn’t call themselves a Christian I can piss all over their humanity because ‘they are depraved’, I can disregard their will and personality… because nothing that they say regarding religion is really correct…so I can bulldoze my agenda all over them… I am giving the good news, that they can change their lives and think like me…. OH I’m free… I’m free indeed from my debt of sin.” Or maybe you’re on the other side… on the ‘dark side’ thinking Christianity is bullshit… “Some of the people are nice. But mostly the philosophy is an archaic pushy belief that was developed by those in power to belittle, bombard and betroth those that they would choose manipulate to an addiction towards their own guilt. These people’s lives are poor, and they don’t know any better than to absolve themselves once a week day in day out. Oh believe me Geoff… I much more free than you and your so called debt… because the debt of sin doesn’t exist for me.”
I’m not saying we’re dumb… in fact we’re extremely smart. Brilliant even! There are tons of things in society that protect us from debt. Overdraft protection, hedge funds, old people… (otherwise the scam artists would be after your money). We protect ourselves from this spiritual debt by our thoughts…giving us the illusion of freedom. But it seems as though we are still shackled. Have we been set free from this debt?
Jesus taught us a prayer saying “forgive us our debts…”A debt implies that we have to pay back something. It implies that there is a loss, an absence, a borrowing of something. Is it money? No?… then what is it? Christ knew there was something lost, but what do we need to pay? If we have a debt of sin… do we pay with sin? The reason why I ask is because if I owe someone $100 I’m not going to give them a guinea pig. (unless that guinea pig is worth $100) You need to pay back what you borrowed. I have heard that we have a debt of sin… But I’m sure God is not asking us to pay him back with sin. Some of you might like that… for a while. Then do we have a debt of sin? (Ohh Geoff keep going… your making my protective layer stronger… I am absorbing your thoughts. Ask your question again Geoff…) Is there a “sin debt” that we need to pay back?
I’m about to reveal to you the secret of my trick… some of you at the beginning of this may have thought that Jesus paid your debt of sin. But now… it’s gone. Your debt of sin was only an illusion… a protection from the real deal.
The reality of our fear, or the reality of our distaste for a jackass belief system, is rooted in the same semantical problem. We don’t have an angry God that is ready at the drop of a hat to dip us in fire. We don’t have a debt of sin to repay. We have a God that loves us unconditionally. And because of that we do have a debt and we do have a responsibility. But it in no way is it focused on our sins. Focusing on our sins has only allowed us to get another credit card… at a higher interest rate… and stopped us from fixing our debt problem. Jesus was right in teaching us to pray “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” But what is that debt?
Love. We have been asked by God to love him and love each other. This is our calling; this is what we were born to do, and this is what he asks of all creation. Love is our zero, it is our bottom line, and it is what we were meant for. The moment that we choose to not love is the moment we begin to draw on the bank of God. Don’t get me wrong, God has a lot of love; he’s the Daddy Warbucks of love. In fact, one of the daily miracles that he produces everyday is the preservation of humanity, because humanity tends to “not love” a lot. This has produced an amazing world debt, and many of you have felt that in your lives. You can’t escape it because YOU (I have three fingers pointing back at me) have done it. But you know what? God wants us to change that. How? By recognizing how we didn’t love. And decide to change TO love. Our debt is a debt of love. To only be repaid by love. We need to get back to Zero!!! That is why Jesus was perfect. That is why he said “I will pay your debt”. Because it was his love that did it. Oh it didn’t transform the world into sunshine, lollypops, and rainbows… but for those who believe that God loved them so much to die for them… it inspires revolution. Heart change… and perhaps for those that get the message-à world change.
I don’t know where this semantical change will get us. But when I see a sandwich board on the street saying “repent or parish” I tend to bristle. Because what they are asking me to do is Change -Learn your lesson! And yes, I do need to change… And yes, I do need learn my lessons. But I think: the emphasis on a “Debt of sin” has focused our eyes on the wrong things. I don’t need to dive into my monstrosities, and flog myself for what a terrible person I am. I have a God that loves me where I am; right now, as is. And He lifts my eyes up to see that he has called me out of my monstrosities to a life in His image: an Image of love.
There is a huge debt in this world to be forgiven. And for those that believe. It has been. But it definitely shouldn’t stop there. Love must continue. We MUST decide to change TO love.
Maybe some of you have been wrapped up in your illusion of safety that has protected you from loving. Or maybe this illusion has protected you from loving God. Before we can learn to love, we must recognize how we didn’t love. Please think today how you contributed to the world’s debt. We all haven’t loved others… before we can change our ways in repairing our world, we must recognize how we need to change.
Today let your change pay tribute to a God who inspires you to be who He has called you to be.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Your Contributing Verse
We are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with Passion. Poetry, beauty, romance, love -- these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman: “O me! O life! of the question of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish... What good amid these O me, O life?”
The Answer: That you are here--That life exists and your identity is intrinsically unique, and extraordinary. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. "That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse." What will your verse be?
I know what the verse is for my particular church:
In this powerful play… our verse would be to have a place where we worship God freely through all art forms. That we would not only be working out the most innovative expressions of music, but we would have groups that would facilitate dance, we would have people that participated in expressive and engaging art, that we would see plays and other skits that bring laughter, and understanding.
Another verse that we would contribute would be a family to those that have none. That people would know us and know our God by our love of them.That we would see people healed by their inclusion, incorporation and their movement towards becoming a mature follower of Christ. That we would see the change in peoples lives towards maturity as they began to walk with a loving God.
Our church may contribute such a verse and our world would be changed because the people of our church are authentically themselves and authentically His.
But here’s the deal: This vision, this beauty, this verse that we are contributing is exactly that. Merely a vision. Words written on paper. That’s all. It’s us looking through the hole in the fence and seeing the colorful world beyond, and being stoked that we were smart enough to look through. But it isn’t our reality… It’s just a vision.
Peter, when he saw his master’s lifeless body pulled from the cross on the first day, saw his immediate colorful, passionate life reduced to a vision. As Jesus lay in the tomb, peter saw a great man, with great words, and great miracles. An inspiration to all. If peter was a poet he might of recited Walt Whitman’s piece:
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores acrowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
To many of us, our world can only be a vision. We can hear an inspiring message, see an inspiring piece of art, we can even be a part of an inspiring church. But when we go home, our contribution to changing our world is as dead as the captain on the deck.
Jesus was a great teacher, Jesus was a great miracle worker, and Jesus was an inspiration for those that desire social change. But holding onto that inspiration alone today will only allow us simply to be inspired. Those of us that are driven may even make some sort of impact. But the vision will still only stay a vision. Because Jesus was all of these things (teacher, miracle worker, inspiration to all), but He WAS NOT the dead captain on the deck.
Because the God of the Universe decided to write the poetry of his love for humanity, and the prose of his Son loved us so much that he became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And this poetic form of a man died by the hands of his own people. And we can stop there and mourn the loss of our captain, but the poem does not end there for those that believe.
Because the sonnet of love continues to talk of a Son that three days later went from was…to is. Death to life; Death to our misgivings, mishaps, misfortunes, and miss whoever her name is; Death to the things of our lives that we are not inspired by. But the captain is risen! He is risen. Raised from death to life by the power of God. Not to simply inspire us with a nice story, or a nice vision. Not just resurrected to bring passion, beauty, and poetry to our lives. But for those that believe, this resurrection comes with an ability to accomplish much. To see your vision become a reality.
No longer will we be looking through the hole in the fence, but we will be on the other side. And we will not just be on the other side. But we will be walking within that world. WALKING! And where we move, the people will breathe in the kingdom of God. Why? Because the world changes as we walk. As we pass by. When we act. AS WE LOVE.
My hope today is that you are not manipulated… it is my hope today that you are convinced that we have the ability to contribute a verse to this world so beautiful it will bring tears to all that read it. But it is also my hope today that you would understand that we can only accomplish this vision it by the power of the Holy Spirit. Which means 3 things. And it is three challenges.
Challenge #1. That those of you, who have been teetering on the edge for so long with beauty in your eyes, who have been constantly dazzled by Gods love: It’s time for you to accept Jesus. It’s very simple and will move you towards who you want to be. After the service Ken Deborah and I are available to pray with you.
Challenge #2. Those of you who have accepted Jesus, It’s time for you to commit to Him. Meaning: be baptized, commit to your community, and commit to increasing your communion with God.
Finally, Challenge #3. those who are committed, its time for you move towards your maturity in Christ. What exactly does that mean? It means you utilize your communion with God to empower you to contribute YOUR VERSE to your community. Through your contribution of time, of your talent, and of your money you will see the vision grow towards a reality.
A play is only a script unless the actors Act! The beauty of the vision can only beheld if the painter applies their energy to paint the canvass. We have a challenge today. Do we accept it? or is it just a passing breeze? I know for a fact God is making something beautiful Now. Will you come along with me to make it better?
Monday, July 10, 2006
Serving Ham
I’m going to share with you a tragic tale; a tale that has adventure, stardom, love and betrayal. But it’s a tragedy, so if you’re not up to it, please…don’t continue. But, it is my hope today that in reading about someone’s unfortunate life, we may be able to see and learn the things that are beautiful in our own lives.
So… come away with me, if you will, back … to a very dark time… an evil time… a very non-absorbent time. But like most times, it was also a time of children. Yes… in midst of a time of pure evil, there were still sweet innocent children scattered about; three of them, in fact.
Now, you might know their father. He was the one guy who had an ounce of integrity during this evil time. And if you don’t know who this guy is, well then, maybe you know his great great…(skip about 230 greats)…great grandson. Who was… your dad. Yes, we’re talking about YOUR family here. You might not know, but they’re there… in the Bible. “But who was my great great…(skip about 230 greats)…great grandfather?” You might ask. Well, he’s best known for building a rather large boat in his driveway. His name was Noah.
You might know the story of Noah. Big flood, lots of animals, major rain… But many of you don’t know the story of Ham. This, is the unfortunate tale of Noah’s youngest. At first glance, you might see how unfortunate it would be to be named Ham; especially when your name resides within a Jewish document. But you see, at this very evil time, naming your son after an unclean animal was the least of your worries.
Did I mention that it was an evil time? Good (bad). But it was also a time of great entertainment. There was lots to do, and much to see. There were very strange entertainments at the time (the evil time) that people flocked to. Stars would get their notoriety by skinning their babies alive, rape was a common matinee, and the Aristocrats were performing down the street. It was an electric time of entertainment. And it was a time where many became famous.
Enter Ham. As perhaps many of you know, often, youngest children love to make people laugh or take center stage. Many actors and comedians are the youngest children in their families. Growing up, Noah would find his youngest tugging on his tunic showing him the latest in gyrations he discovered he could do. Being a supportive father Noah would sigh and say: “that’s wonderful Ham.” Yes! Ham grew up to be (yes, you know it) a Ham, and desired to be seen. The stage was calling his name.
So in college he interned at the local theatre. He did all of the odd jobs like cleaning the blades, and feeding the slaves. And while he was there, an agent snatched him up and began telling him that he would be famous one day. With stars in his eyes and money in his hand he started down the path of going to auditions.
At this point, Ham’s Dad received a harebrained idea to build a really huge boat in his driveway. Ham realized that his dad was 480 years old, so he attributed this wild idea to senility and continued with his dream of being a star.
His last agent didn’t work out, as well as the 3 others previous. Ham knew he was special… but the Agents weren’t doing their Job. He hadn’t hit it big yet. They would cower when he went on his tirades. Ham more and more became known for his turnover of Agents then anything else. When one didn’t serve him correctly it was onto the next.
Noah, being 510 at this point, started to understand that he needed some help in constructing this boat. As a result he began employing his sons. Reluctantly, Ham began working with his older brothers Japheth and Shem to make this oversized Yacht. But still the stage called his name. So much so that he would leave midday saying to his dad. “Can’t you see dad, I just want to act. Building this boat is just not serving my needs.”
Then, after the failed audition, Ham would come back with his tail between his legs with vinegar saying “I didn’t get it because they knew all about my crazy dad and his boat.” Or “I was late because I was working on the boat.” There were tons of reasons why he didn’t get the job, and each of them made him more and more bitter. His dream still called however…. I WANT TO BE FAMEOUS!!!
Finally He got his break… a minor role in the Broadway version of “Thoroughly Mauling Millie.” (He cleaned up the blood and had one line “Millie don’t go in there!” ) It was opening night. And he was about to make his big break. His dad wasn’t there because Noah had to finish up with the chimpanzees and kangaroosees-roosees. Ham was disappointed. But also elated that he finally was going to get his dream. 20 minutes until show time he got a knock on the dressing room door. There was no star on the door as he had to share it with the other actors. When he opened it he was surprised to see that it was his dad Noah. Ham smiled and then looked deeper into his dad’s eyes… What’s wrong?
“It just started raining” we need to go.
“Dad no… this is my opening night! Can’t the destruction of the world wait so that I can get my curtain call?”
Against his will, a 600 year old man picked up a 150 year old man and dragged him kicking and screaming to one of the largest wooden boats ever made where they would live for a year. If you can imagine the fight that Ham had in him. This was going to be his night. His break, and nothing was going to take him away from that. But his father did. His father dragged him to safety as his Birkenstocks dug into the moistening ground. You can imagine the silence in the boat as Ham refused to speak to his dad for quite some time. Ham thought: “This Ark saved my life. But I would have been able to make it after I got my applause.”
Skip a few years when the ground was dryer, and Noah was back to farming (a trade he knew in his early hundreds). Ham still longed for the stage, but worked as a farmer. Angry that there were less people to laugh at his jokes. But soon… Ham would have his break
It all started with a Vineyard. And some wine. (like it always does) Noah, drank the wine… and drank the wine… and drank the wine. As a result he got drunk.
Ham’s dad made a fool out of himself. He got drunk, and then passed out nude. (pretty wild partying Noah!) Culturally this was a big deal. Possibly because they had just been in a very terrible culture, and to expose yourself was to liken yourself to them. Whatever the reason it was extremely embarrassing.
At this point Ham happened upon his passed out Dad. Now, according to Portland street culture if someone passes out without taking off their shoes off, then you have permission to write all over them with a Sharpee pen while they’re sleeping. Now-a-days, Noah would have had “Patriarchs suck” written all over his forehead or something. A true friend would take Noah’s shoes off and leave him to sleep. No Sharpee pen marks. Instead, Ham thought the embarrassment of his dad was hilarious. So he decided to tell his brothers.
“Psst Shem, Japheth come over here, Dad got completely wasted and going commado all over his tent.” …We can all have fun. And we can all joke. But sometimes (especially when you are dealing with your 700 year old father who saved your life a hundred years ago) at the ripe old age of 300… you need to grow up.
Shem and Japheth realized the embarrassment his father was dealing with. I’m sure major tabloids would be printed tomorrow by the grandkids. So they took measures to cover him up.
The next morning Noah, read the morning paper and it looked like Ham got his 15 minutes of fame. He did it by doing an Expose on his dad. “There I was… and there he was” he told the enquirer. Headlines saying “Patriarch Poses Provocatively”…details inside. Yes, Ham had made it. He got his fame. He got his start. And he got his curse.
Yep… a very pissed, and Hung over Dad came knocking on Ham’s door. Which now had a star on it. He was independently wealthy with the rights he sold to the pictures he snapped in the tent. He also had a Comedy talk show that was making it big, mainly because of his catch phrase “well at least you didn’t get drunk.” But Noah had a statement for him. Noah felt disappointed, because he saw a trait in his son that he couldn’t weed out.
At this point Noah was not worried about the pictures. His other sons were working hard on a PR campaign to uphold his name. At this point Noah felt like he needed to address a very serious issue; an issue that was revealed to him when Ham named his youngest son. Canaan. Canaan means servant. He named his son servant. And what this name showed Noah, was that his son Ham would never be able to take responsibility for his own life. It was always the agent’s fault that he wasn’t famous. It was always the director’s fault that he didn’t get the role. It was his dad’s fault he didn’t get his curtain call, and it was God’s fault that he never would have a huge audience.
Ham’s life screamed serve ME serve ME serve ME. To the point that he even named his own son “Servant.” Noah saw how sad it was to have an ungrateful son that continued to blame others for his life; to demand that others make it better; and to pigeon hole his own son to be that “servant” that potentially could make things better. Finally, when Noah looked back on Ham’s life, he saw how he always wanted to make it, how he always wanted others to change for him. Noah saw how he personally had to drag him from the stage to the ark to save his life. And told him frankly:
“Cursed be Canaan! A slave of slaves, a slave to his brothers!” I’m not sure how curses go. If as the words came out all of the sudden it was so. Or if Noah simply was stating the fact that Ham’s own lack of responsibility was passed onto his youngest son. Regardless, nothing changed. Ham had more fodder for his Comedy routine. But when his brothers were successful in their PR, Ham soon got canceled. And you know what? It was his brothers’ fault that he was a nobody again.
--------
I told you… A tragic tale.
We all have a little Ham in our lives. The little drama king or queen that always has something up. They in no way enjoy their latest whirlwind, but for some reason they are always in midst of one. They continually call to the spotlight “Hey Hey! LOOK HERE!” They come up to you and say… “You’ll never guess what happened to me”… but you can guess. I’m not sure how this happens but in some way or another they go about their life declaring “Serve me! Serve me!” You listen to them, watch them, and possibly even counsel them. Then they go on their way… and return the next day with the newest of whirlwinds.
Now, if you don’t know one of these people, you most likely ARE ONE. You’re the HAM. But this message is not about you. You have enough problems, you don’t need me telling you that you’ve taken on a “serve me, serve me” personality. You’re so vain, you probably think this message is about you. But your spotlight dims today…I know, I know, it’s rough. I would rather spotlight for today someone that normally points the spotlight at you. The wind beneath your wings, if you will, the one who’s cold within your shadow, the person who drags YOU back to life.
Yes, there is someone who has taken RESPONSIBILITY in your life. And that responsibility is your well being. Your actual life! It could be a parent, loved one, a friend. But they have been there, maybe not always, but at specific times you can pinpoint how their interference ended up changing the course of your life for the better. They have weathered YOUR storm. Weathered YOUR independence. And possibly, dragged you aboard a boat against your will so that YOU may live.
Many times the scream “serve me, serve me!” drowns out the beauty of the response…. The spotlight on drama seems to be much brighter then the shimmer of a heart that is ready to listen, and love.
Today, just for this moment, lets turn the tables from what is wrong with our world, to what is right. You all have had someone act responsibly towards you. Think on how this altered the course of YOUR life. Has there been someone who dragged you from something bad, something evil… and they were right? Maybe they did something kind, and it inspired you for the rest of your day. Whatever it is, whatever it was, it is my hope today that you would pay tribute to those people; that you would put your problems and issues aside for one moment, and thank those that have taken a vested interest in your life. The ones who care.
And, at the same time, you who are a tired parent… who is at the end of your rope. Who is consistently bringing YOUR child back to life, THANK YOU. You, the counselor who hears peoples stories, and provides peace… THANK YOU. You, the person that lends your strength (both physically and emotionally) to those who are weak…THANK YOU. You, who have taken on SOME RESPONSIBILITY that changes another person’s world. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
Like Noah and his son Ham. We all can see that responsibility puts us out, it wears us down, and doggonit, it hurts when we are betrayed. But it changes our world. It drags our children onto a boat so that they can live.
Oh that we may have a world, even a church, that reflected the nature of our creator. Who took responsibility for His creation, even more who took responsibility for his children, by taking on flesh, and living among us. He took responsibility for our sins, by putting them on a cross never to be looked at again. Today, we have a God that we also must thank. Because, He continually sees us about to drown in our limited perception, and still He chooses to drag US aboard His rescue boat. Oh that we would be able empowered to do that for others, that our church would change the face of the world because we are so inspired by our loving God who did this for us.
Ham, in his independence from his responsibility, was trapped by his dependence on others to make his life better. As a result, his eyes clearly saw his pain, needs, hurts, dramas, and problems; which made his cycle start over. SERVE ME. FIX IT. MAKE IT BETTER.
Today, with this tragic illustration of a man trapped in a self-centered cycle, I would hope that we wouldn’t declare our independence from those that love us. Instead, today, notice those that have held you together. Remember those who have made you live. Break that cycle, and be empowered by God to hold others together. And if you can, thank them for keeping you afloat.
So… come away with me, if you will, back … to a very dark time… an evil time… a very non-absorbent time. But like most times, it was also a time of children. Yes… in midst of a time of pure evil, there were still sweet innocent children scattered about; three of them, in fact.
Now, you might know their father. He was the one guy who had an ounce of integrity during this evil time. And if you don’t know who this guy is, well then, maybe you know his great great…(skip about 230 greats)…great grandson. Who was… your dad. Yes, we’re talking about YOUR family here. You might not know, but they’re there… in the Bible. “But who was my great great…(skip about 230 greats)…great grandfather?” You might ask. Well, he’s best known for building a rather large boat in his driveway. His name was Noah.
You might know the story of Noah. Big flood, lots of animals, major rain… But many of you don’t know the story of Ham. This, is the unfortunate tale of Noah’s youngest. At first glance, you might see how unfortunate it would be to be named Ham; especially when your name resides within a Jewish document. But you see, at this very evil time, naming your son after an unclean animal was the least of your worries.
Did I mention that it was an evil time? Good (bad). But it was also a time of great entertainment. There was lots to do, and much to see. There were very strange entertainments at the time (the evil time) that people flocked to. Stars would get their notoriety by skinning their babies alive, rape was a common matinee, and the Aristocrats were performing down the street. It was an electric time of entertainment. And it was a time where many became famous.
Enter Ham. As perhaps many of you know, often, youngest children love to make people laugh or take center stage. Many actors and comedians are the youngest children in their families. Growing up, Noah would find his youngest tugging on his tunic showing him the latest in gyrations he discovered he could do. Being a supportive father Noah would sigh and say: “that’s wonderful Ham.” Yes! Ham grew up to be (yes, you know it) a Ham, and desired to be seen. The stage was calling his name.
So in college he interned at the local theatre. He did all of the odd jobs like cleaning the blades, and feeding the slaves. And while he was there, an agent snatched him up and began telling him that he would be famous one day. With stars in his eyes and money in his hand he started down the path of going to auditions.
At this point, Ham’s Dad received a harebrained idea to build a really huge boat in his driveway. Ham realized that his dad was 480 years old, so he attributed this wild idea to senility and continued with his dream of being a star.
His last agent didn’t work out, as well as the 3 others previous. Ham knew he was special… but the Agents weren’t doing their Job. He hadn’t hit it big yet. They would cower when he went on his tirades. Ham more and more became known for his turnover of Agents then anything else. When one didn’t serve him correctly it was onto the next.
Noah, being 510 at this point, started to understand that he needed some help in constructing this boat. As a result he began employing his sons. Reluctantly, Ham began working with his older brothers Japheth and Shem to make this oversized Yacht. But still the stage called his name. So much so that he would leave midday saying to his dad. “Can’t you see dad, I just want to act. Building this boat is just not serving my needs.”
Then, after the failed audition, Ham would come back with his tail between his legs with vinegar saying “I didn’t get it because they knew all about my crazy dad and his boat.” Or “I was late because I was working on the boat.” There were tons of reasons why he didn’t get the job, and each of them made him more and more bitter. His dream still called however…. I WANT TO BE FAMEOUS!!!
Finally He got his break… a minor role in the Broadway version of “Thoroughly Mauling Millie.” (He cleaned up the blood and had one line “Millie don’t go in there!” ) It was opening night. And he was about to make his big break. His dad wasn’t there because Noah had to finish up with the chimpanzees and kangaroosees-roosees. Ham was disappointed. But also elated that he finally was going to get his dream. 20 minutes until show time he got a knock on the dressing room door. There was no star on the door as he had to share it with the other actors. When he opened it he was surprised to see that it was his dad Noah. Ham smiled and then looked deeper into his dad’s eyes… What’s wrong?
“It just started raining” we need to go.
“Dad no… this is my opening night! Can’t the destruction of the world wait so that I can get my curtain call?”
Against his will, a 600 year old man picked up a 150 year old man and dragged him kicking and screaming to one of the largest wooden boats ever made where they would live for a year. If you can imagine the fight that Ham had in him. This was going to be his night. His break, and nothing was going to take him away from that. But his father did. His father dragged him to safety as his Birkenstocks dug into the moistening ground. You can imagine the silence in the boat as Ham refused to speak to his dad for quite some time. Ham thought: “This Ark saved my life. But I would have been able to make it after I got my applause.”
Skip a few years when the ground was dryer, and Noah was back to farming (a trade he knew in his early hundreds). Ham still longed for the stage, but worked as a farmer. Angry that there were less people to laugh at his jokes. But soon… Ham would have his break
It all started with a Vineyard. And some wine. (like it always does) Noah, drank the wine… and drank the wine… and drank the wine. As a result he got drunk.
Ham’s dad made a fool out of himself. He got drunk, and then passed out nude. (pretty wild partying Noah!) Culturally this was a big deal. Possibly because they had just been in a very terrible culture, and to expose yourself was to liken yourself to them. Whatever the reason it was extremely embarrassing.
At this point Ham happened upon his passed out Dad. Now, according to Portland street culture if someone passes out without taking off their shoes off, then you have permission to write all over them with a Sharpee pen while they’re sleeping. Now-a-days, Noah would have had “Patriarchs suck” written all over his forehead or something. A true friend would take Noah’s shoes off and leave him to sleep. No Sharpee pen marks. Instead, Ham thought the embarrassment of his dad was hilarious. So he decided to tell his brothers.
“Psst Shem, Japheth come over here, Dad got completely wasted and going commado all over his tent.” …We can all have fun. And we can all joke. But sometimes (especially when you are dealing with your 700 year old father who saved your life a hundred years ago) at the ripe old age of 300… you need to grow up.
Shem and Japheth realized the embarrassment his father was dealing with. I’m sure major tabloids would be printed tomorrow by the grandkids. So they took measures to cover him up.
The next morning Noah, read the morning paper and it looked like Ham got his 15 minutes of fame. He did it by doing an Expose on his dad. “There I was… and there he was” he told the enquirer. Headlines saying “Patriarch Poses Provocatively”…details inside. Yes, Ham had made it. He got his fame. He got his start. And he got his curse.
Yep… a very pissed, and Hung over Dad came knocking on Ham’s door. Which now had a star on it. He was independently wealthy with the rights he sold to the pictures he snapped in the tent. He also had a Comedy talk show that was making it big, mainly because of his catch phrase “well at least you didn’t get drunk.” But Noah had a statement for him. Noah felt disappointed, because he saw a trait in his son that he couldn’t weed out.
At this point Noah was not worried about the pictures. His other sons were working hard on a PR campaign to uphold his name. At this point Noah felt like he needed to address a very serious issue; an issue that was revealed to him when Ham named his youngest son. Canaan. Canaan means servant. He named his son servant. And what this name showed Noah, was that his son Ham would never be able to take responsibility for his own life. It was always the agent’s fault that he wasn’t famous. It was always the director’s fault that he didn’t get the role. It was his dad’s fault he didn’t get his curtain call, and it was God’s fault that he never would have a huge audience.
Ham’s life screamed serve ME serve ME serve ME. To the point that he even named his own son “Servant.” Noah saw how sad it was to have an ungrateful son that continued to blame others for his life; to demand that others make it better; and to pigeon hole his own son to be that “servant” that potentially could make things better. Finally, when Noah looked back on Ham’s life, he saw how he always wanted to make it, how he always wanted others to change for him. Noah saw how he personally had to drag him from the stage to the ark to save his life. And told him frankly:
“Cursed be Canaan! A slave of slaves, a slave to his brothers!” I’m not sure how curses go. If as the words came out all of the sudden it was so. Or if Noah simply was stating the fact that Ham’s own lack of responsibility was passed onto his youngest son. Regardless, nothing changed. Ham had more fodder for his Comedy routine. But when his brothers were successful in their PR, Ham soon got canceled. And you know what? It was his brothers’ fault that he was a nobody again.
--------
I told you… A tragic tale.
We all have a little Ham in our lives. The little drama king or queen that always has something up. They in no way enjoy their latest whirlwind, but for some reason they are always in midst of one. They continually call to the spotlight “Hey Hey! LOOK HERE!” They come up to you and say… “You’ll never guess what happened to me”… but you can guess. I’m not sure how this happens but in some way or another they go about their life declaring “Serve me! Serve me!” You listen to them, watch them, and possibly even counsel them. Then they go on their way… and return the next day with the newest of whirlwinds.
Now, if you don’t know one of these people, you most likely ARE ONE. You’re the HAM. But this message is not about you. You have enough problems, you don’t need me telling you that you’ve taken on a “serve me, serve me” personality. You’re so vain, you probably think this message is about you. But your spotlight dims today…I know, I know, it’s rough. I would rather spotlight for today someone that normally points the spotlight at you. The wind beneath your wings, if you will, the one who’s cold within your shadow, the person who drags YOU back to life.
Yes, there is someone who has taken RESPONSIBILITY in your life. And that responsibility is your well being. Your actual life! It could be a parent, loved one, a friend. But they have been there, maybe not always, but at specific times you can pinpoint how their interference ended up changing the course of your life for the better. They have weathered YOUR storm. Weathered YOUR independence. And possibly, dragged you aboard a boat against your will so that YOU may live.
Many times the scream “serve me, serve me!” drowns out the beauty of the response…. The spotlight on drama seems to be much brighter then the shimmer of a heart that is ready to listen, and love.
Today, just for this moment, lets turn the tables from what is wrong with our world, to what is right. You all have had someone act responsibly towards you. Think on how this altered the course of YOUR life. Has there been someone who dragged you from something bad, something evil… and they were right? Maybe they did something kind, and it inspired you for the rest of your day. Whatever it is, whatever it was, it is my hope today that you would pay tribute to those people; that you would put your problems and issues aside for one moment, and thank those that have taken a vested interest in your life. The ones who care.
And, at the same time, you who are a tired parent… who is at the end of your rope. Who is consistently bringing YOUR child back to life, THANK YOU. You, the counselor who hears peoples stories, and provides peace… THANK YOU. You, the person that lends your strength (both physically and emotionally) to those who are weak…THANK YOU. You, who have taken on SOME RESPONSIBILITY that changes another person’s world. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
Like Noah and his son Ham. We all can see that responsibility puts us out, it wears us down, and doggonit, it hurts when we are betrayed. But it changes our world. It drags our children onto a boat so that they can live.
Oh that we may have a world, even a church, that reflected the nature of our creator. Who took responsibility for His creation, even more who took responsibility for his children, by taking on flesh, and living among us. He took responsibility for our sins, by putting them on a cross never to be looked at again. Today, we have a God that we also must thank. Because, He continually sees us about to drown in our limited perception, and still He chooses to drag US aboard His rescue boat. Oh that we would be able empowered to do that for others, that our church would change the face of the world because we are so inspired by our loving God who did this for us.
Ham, in his independence from his responsibility, was trapped by his dependence on others to make his life better. As a result, his eyes clearly saw his pain, needs, hurts, dramas, and problems; which made his cycle start over. SERVE ME. FIX IT. MAKE IT BETTER.
Today, with this tragic illustration of a man trapped in a self-centered cycle, I would hope that we wouldn’t declare our independence from those that love us. Instead, today, notice those that have held you together. Remember those who have made you live. Break that cycle, and be empowered by God to hold others together. And if you can, thank them for keeping you afloat.
Monday, June 19, 2006
The Honeymoon Bubble
According to a report released by the state Department of Health, a Rhode Island surgeon recently operated on the wrong side of a patient's brain. The man was hospitalized in order to undergo a procedure to drain blood from his brain. Health officials say a CT scan image was improperly placed on an x-ray viewing box, leading the surgeon to believe the left side of the man's brain required surgery instead of the right. The surgeon discovered the error when he drilled holes in the left side of the man's skull and found no internal bleeding. The procedure was correctly repeated on the opposite side of the patient's head.
Its father’s day and every father’s day I tend to have my mind wander to an odd medical situation known as Wrong side surgery. Although it sounds almost comical, wrong side surgery is an unfortunate reality for far too many people throughout the United States. Careless surgeons have amputated the wrong leg, performed a mastectomy on the wrong breast, operated on the wrong knee, and even conducted brain surgery on the wrong side of the brain. I don’t know about you, and I’m not sure if you can understand my preoccupation, but you see my dad at one point almost had himself his own Wrong side surgery.
3 times the people asked my dad how his right leg was doing, it was his left that needed surgery... after the third time the nurse made the mistake, fed up, he demanded that the nurse find a sharpee pen. One hour before going under he wrote on his left leg "THIS IS THE LEG" and on the right one "If you operate on this leg I will sue you." You see My dad was a lawyer.
Growing up it was hard having a lawyer for a dad,
Your friends begin to be careful with you as to not get sued. My friend Timory got a motorcycle, and my dad took Timory aside and told her “you realize if you kill my son on that motorcycle I’ll sue your parents.” Yeah…so…I never got to ride the bike. I did however hold on with rollerblades on. Somehow that was different.
It was weird what it did to my psychy… I felt like superman: I’d fly into the family room from after school, and get ready my bulletproof dad. “Dad Lets sue the school for million for detention being dirty… its really dirty… I bet if I licked the floor I’d be completely sick… we’d make millions.”
But it still was hard. I remember one day despite my lack of blood sugar this didn’t stop my dad from crossexamining me as he gave me a ride home.
How was your day
Fine
What did you do
Nothing
You’re honor if I may approach he must have done something today…
My mom would act judge “answer the question Geoffrey.”
Went to school.
Nowadays despite the pains of my childhood, its actually nice to have a dad for a lawyer. Why… Protection. My dad is wired as a lawyer. He’s interested in the best possible way to keep you out of the most amount of trouble. This is good for me. Because he totally has protected me from punkasses. I’m a protected man.
I personally had my protection popped this week. I created this space between me and the world and I called it “the honeymoon bubble” I left my little honeymoon bubble this week and began working again. Back to the grindstone! I could have stayed in my honeymoon bubble forever … like a calgon bath… The honeymoon was good … real good. Nice to take a rest and spend it with Crystal… So Amazing. Problem is I’m not independently wealthy…so life has brought me back to reality.
So here I am back to reality, Back in church, and out of the honeymoon protection bubble, I probably still am protected as much as I can be from punkasses. BUT back in life noetheless.
Life… that’s really what you guys want to know about on this father’s day… right? You came to church…. You want to know about life. Specifically… I think I’m hearing a little of your hearts and I think you want to know a little about eternal life. Am I right?
Well… Like my dad… there was this lawyer that wanted some protection. He wanted some protection in the world beyond. And like you…he had a question that many of you you Luke 10:25-37… "Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?"
Jesus answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?"
He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."
"Good answer!" said Jesus. "Do it and you'll live."
Looking for a loophole, he asked, "And just how would you define 'neighbor'?"
Jesus answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. (Jerusalem to Jericho was a distance of nineteen miles northeast, a deep and very fertile hollow. The road, being rocky and desolate, was a notorious haunt of robbers, then and for ages after, and even to this day. There was once a man sent down from Jerusalem and fell among thieves) They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. (Jericho, the second city of Judea, was a city of the priests and Levites, and thousands of them lived there. The two here mentioned are supposed, apparently, to be returning from temple duties) Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.
A Samaritan (A Samaritan was one excommunicated by the Jews, a byword among them, synonymous with heretic and devil, so someone that wasn’t anywhere close to a believer, not in the church.) traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I'll pay you on my way back.'
"What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?"
"The one who treated him kindly," the religion scholar responded.
Jesus said, "Go and do the same."
The lawyer wanted protection. What was that protection? He wanted assurance that he would have eternal life. Jesus said the only protection that you’ll find is in love. And THAT may look entirely different than your books have taught you.
--------
I feel as a church we are moving to a new place in our minds. A place that isn’t like church as we know it. Or maybe it’s what church is supposed to be. The idea is that church… isn’t Sunday, church isn’t music, it isn’t me talking, it isn’t the food we eat after. Church is us. Us, living out our lives, and Sunday is just a time to come together to recharge, renew, and love each other in this ‘show’ type of way.
We are not a show. Our faith is not a show. Our religion is not a show. But somehow we have learned, and been trained that church IS a show. Sunday morning… we pay admission with our tithe, and get our 2.5 hours of spirit. Get a good concert, maybe some amazing art or poetry, definitely an amazing message (wink), and top it off with a free lunch and coffee. We have learned that in order to really be “effective” in church we must hold the microphone. Or be versatile at the guitar. Or even as advanced as we are, be a great dancer, poet or artist. Our Sunday morning is a recharge for us. A day where we can refocus our energies on the goodness of God, worship Him, and definitely feel amazing about the grace we have in Jesus Christ. But a recharge for what?
Sunday morning should be your recharge. You should come in here and let the Holy Spirit wash over you. You should rejoice with your friends and family here in the wonderful things. You SHOULD enjoy the show. Pray for people in the sad things. Be free to express yourself in worship towards God, with all of the ways and emotions that God draws us into. But don’t let this day go in vein. Don’t let this “show” go in vein. Use it for what it’s meant for: A springboard into your life. To inspire you to really do the things that God is calling you to. What is he calling you to do? Participate in Life!
Life … ahhhh life. Wouldn’t it be great if our life didn’t have beat up strangers on the road. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we just could live in our little honeymoon bubble forever? No one bothering us; no one taking their toll on us; us, just going on our merry way to Jericho. No interruptions along the path.
We would love to station guards on the path to Jericho, so that no one gets robbed, and no one needs to bother with tending to people’s wounds. The robbers would go to jail, and the guards would keep things nice, so that we all could continue on our way to the temple without fear of someone draining our pocketbooks, or efforts, or maybe even robbing us. I’m wondering if some of us would hope that those guards would do their job a little bit better because it’s not our job to tend the wounds of the people. Is it?
The thing is, I want to be refined, direct. I want to be the most effective person I can be. I don’t want to put out more effort than I need to. And I want to love the most deserving of people. Who can I exclude, so that I don’t have to worry myself with efforts of spending my life putting energy out towards people that don’t deserve it? Who are the people I need to love? God if you only just tell me which people I need to love, then I can focus my life and be the most effective for you and your will.
“I love you God…. And I love people….but there are so many of them… so if you could just narrow it down so that I can focus my efforts on that small group, I think I’d be much more effective.” And maybe that’s true. And Maybe that’s what the lawyer was really trying to get at.
But Jesus switches the question from “whom am I to love?” to “Who is the one that shows love?” I’m asking “who do I love?” the real question is “who is the one that shows love?” The answer: the one who shows mercy.
You see, love is not a quantifiable, measurable, act or duty to a specific few; especially if those few that share your same idea structure. It’s something that you are. And it’s something that you show. It’s something that you respond to. Love is inconvenient. It lies dying on the road asking you to tend to it. Love costs money. It takes your resources. And its possible that the person God is asking you to love this week believes something entirely different then you.
Love is the great equalizer. If you are the most righteous of people or a punkass, the dying man on the road has the same need. And the story ends the same way if you show mercy.
Yes, Love IS the great equalizer. It is what has gathered us here today. And has made us all Sons and Daughters of God. Because there was one who came to bless this heartless world of ours with His incomparable love--first in words, and then in deeds which have translated His words into flesh and blood, and poured the life of them through that humanity which He made His own! Along the road WE have been stripped beaten and robbed.
Is this story designed to magnify the law of love? And to show who fulfils it and who cannot? And who did this as never man did it, as our Brother Man, "our Neighbor?"… Christ… The priests and Levites had not strengthened the diseased, nor bound up the broken (Ezekiel 34:4), while He bound up OUR broken hearts (Isaiah 61:1), and poured into all wounded spirits the balm of sweetest consolation. He hungered, but He fed thousands; He was weary, but He is the Rest for the weary; And today He saves him that went down from Jerusalem and fell among thieves.
You see, to live your life truly, means that you have to live outside the comfortable walls of your safely guarded bubble. Popping the protection! You have to begin pressing on the boundaries of your world and interact with people that are inconvenient. And on top of that: YOU…SHOW…MERCY!. Even if they wouldn’t have … YOU DO!!! Because that’s what life is about: it’s what gives electricity to the soul. It’s the recharge you feel from God as you leave this place. The empowerment of the Holy Spirit to pay attention to humanity, and life… and ultimately CARE!!!! Because Jesus Christ did that for you. No matter who you are, no matter what you believe. Jesus Loves you and has put us all on equal terrain. Love IS the great equalizer. How will you spend your week. Protecting yourself from life? Or paying attention and engaging it?
Let the Spirit of God dwell you today and throughout the week. Do what you can to pay attention to humanity, and life. And BE a neighbor as you go along your road.
Its father’s day and every father’s day I tend to have my mind wander to an odd medical situation known as Wrong side surgery. Although it sounds almost comical, wrong side surgery is an unfortunate reality for far too many people throughout the United States. Careless surgeons have amputated the wrong leg, performed a mastectomy on the wrong breast, operated on the wrong knee, and even conducted brain surgery on the wrong side of the brain. I don’t know about you, and I’m not sure if you can understand my preoccupation, but you see my dad at one point almost had himself his own Wrong side surgery.
3 times the people asked my dad how his right leg was doing, it was his left that needed surgery... after the third time the nurse made the mistake, fed up, he demanded that the nurse find a sharpee pen. One hour before going under he wrote on his left leg "THIS IS THE LEG" and on the right one "If you operate on this leg I will sue you." You see My dad was a lawyer.
Growing up it was hard having a lawyer for a dad,
Your friends begin to be careful with you as to not get sued. My friend Timory got a motorcycle, and my dad took Timory aside and told her “you realize if you kill my son on that motorcycle I’ll sue your parents.” Yeah…so…I never got to ride the bike. I did however hold on with rollerblades on. Somehow that was different.
It was weird what it did to my psychy… I felt like superman: I’d fly into the family room from after school, and get ready my bulletproof dad. “Dad Lets sue the school for million for detention being dirty… its really dirty… I bet if I licked the floor I’d be completely sick… we’d make millions.”
But it still was hard. I remember one day despite my lack of blood sugar this didn’t stop my dad from crossexamining me as he gave me a ride home.
How was your day
Fine
What did you do
Nothing
You’re honor if I may approach he must have done something today…
My mom would act judge “answer the question Geoffrey.”
Went to school.
Nowadays despite the pains of my childhood, its actually nice to have a dad for a lawyer. Why… Protection. My dad is wired as a lawyer. He’s interested in the best possible way to keep you out of the most amount of trouble. This is good for me. Because he totally has protected me from punkasses. I’m a protected man.
I personally had my protection popped this week. I created this space between me and the world and I called it “the honeymoon bubble” I left my little honeymoon bubble this week and began working again. Back to the grindstone! I could have stayed in my honeymoon bubble forever … like a calgon bath… The honeymoon was good … real good. Nice to take a rest and spend it with Crystal… So Amazing. Problem is I’m not independently wealthy…so life has brought me back to reality.
So here I am back to reality, Back in church, and out of the honeymoon protection bubble, I probably still am protected as much as I can be from punkasses. BUT back in life noetheless.
Life… that’s really what you guys want to know about on this father’s day… right? You came to church…. You want to know about life. Specifically… I think I’m hearing a little of your hearts and I think you want to know a little about eternal life. Am I right?
Well… Like my dad… there was this lawyer that wanted some protection. He wanted some protection in the world beyond. And like you…he had a question that many of you you Luke 10:25-37… "Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?"
Jesus answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?"
He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."
"Good answer!" said Jesus. "Do it and you'll live."
Looking for a loophole, he asked, "And just how would you define 'neighbor'?"
Jesus answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. (Jerusalem to Jericho was a distance of nineteen miles northeast, a deep and very fertile hollow. The road, being rocky and desolate, was a notorious haunt of robbers, then and for ages after, and even to this day. There was once a man sent down from Jerusalem and fell among thieves) They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. (Jericho, the second city of Judea, was a city of the priests and Levites, and thousands of them lived there. The two here mentioned are supposed, apparently, to be returning from temple duties) Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.
A Samaritan (A Samaritan was one excommunicated by the Jews, a byword among them, synonymous with heretic and devil, so someone that wasn’t anywhere close to a believer, not in the church.) traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I'll pay you on my way back.'
"What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?"
"The one who treated him kindly," the religion scholar responded.
Jesus said, "Go and do the same."
The lawyer wanted protection. What was that protection? He wanted assurance that he would have eternal life. Jesus said the only protection that you’ll find is in love. And THAT may look entirely different than your books have taught you.
--------
I feel as a church we are moving to a new place in our minds. A place that isn’t like church as we know it. Or maybe it’s what church is supposed to be. The idea is that church… isn’t Sunday, church isn’t music, it isn’t me talking, it isn’t the food we eat after. Church is us. Us, living out our lives, and Sunday is just a time to come together to recharge, renew, and love each other in this ‘show’ type of way.
We are not a show. Our faith is not a show. Our religion is not a show. But somehow we have learned, and been trained that church IS a show. Sunday morning… we pay admission with our tithe, and get our 2.5 hours of spirit. Get a good concert, maybe some amazing art or poetry, definitely an amazing message (wink), and top it off with a free lunch and coffee. We have learned that in order to really be “effective” in church we must hold the microphone. Or be versatile at the guitar. Or even as advanced as we are, be a great dancer, poet or artist. Our Sunday morning is a recharge for us. A day where we can refocus our energies on the goodness of God, worship Him, and definitely feel amazing about the grace we have in Jesus Christ. But a recharge for what?
Sunday morning should be your recharge. You should come in here and let the Holy Spirit wash over you. You should rejoice with your friends and family here in the wonderful things. You SHOULD enjoy the show. Pray for people in the sad things. Be free to express yourself in worship towards God, with all of the ways and emotions that God draws us into. But don’t let this day go in vein. Don’t let this “show” go in vein. Use it for what it’s meant for: A springboard into your life. To inspire you to really do the things that God is calling you to. What is he calling you to do? Participate in Life!
Life … ahhhh life. Wouldn’t it be great if our life didn’t have beat up strangers on the road. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we just could live in our little honeymoon bubble forever? No one bothering us; no one taking their toll on us; us, just going on our merry way to Jericho. No interruptions along the path.
We would love to station guards on the path to Jericho, so that no one gets robbed, and no one needs to bother with tending to people’s wounds. The robbers would go to jail, and the guards would keep things nice, so that we all could continue on our way to the temple without fear of someone draining our pocketbooks, or efforts, or maybe even robbing us. I’m wondering if some of us would hope that those guards would do their job a little bit better because it’s not our job to tend the wounds of the people. Is it?
The thing is, I want to be refined, direct. I want to be the most effective person I can be. I don’t want to put out more effort than I need to. And I want to love the most deserving of people. Who can I exclude, so that I don’t have to worry myself with efforts of spending my life putting energy out towards people that don’t deserve it? Who are the people I need to love? God if you only just tell me which people I need to love, then I can focus my life and be the most effective for you and your will.
“I love you God…. And I love people….but there are so many of them… so if you could just narrow it down so that I can focus my efforts on that small group, I think I’d be much more effective.” And maybe that’s true. And Maybe that’s what the lawyer was really trying to get at.
But Jesus switches the question from “whom am I to love?” to “Who is the one that shows love?” I’m asking “who do I love?” the real question is “who is the one that shows love?” The answer: the one who shows mercy.
You see, love is not a quantifiable, measurable, act or duty to a specific few; especially if those few that share your same idea structure. It’s something that you are. And it’s something that you show. It’s something that you respond to. Love is inconvenient. It lies dying on the road asking you to tend to it. Love costs money. It takes your resources. And its possible that the person God is asking you to love this week believes something entirely different then you.
Love is the great equalizer. If you are the most righteous of people or a punkass, the dying man on the road has the same need. And the story ends the same way if you show mercy.
Yes, Love IS the great equalizer. It is what has gathered us here today. And has made us all Sons and Daughters of God. Because there was one who came to bless this heartless world of ours with His incomparable love--first in words, and then in deeds which have translated His words into flesh and blood, and poured the life of them through that humanity which He made His own! Along the road WE have been stripped beaten and robbed.
Is this story designed to magnify the law of love? And to show who fulfils it and who cannot? And who did this as never man did it, as our Brother Man, "our Neighbor?"… Christ… The priests and Levites had not strengthened the diseased, nor bound up the broken (Ezekiel 34:4), while He bound up OUR broken hearts (Isaiah 61:1), and poured into all wounded spirits the balm of sweetest consolation. He hungered, but He fed thousands; He was weary, but He is the Rest for the weary; And today He saves him that went down from Jerusalem and fell among thieves.
You see, to live your life truly, means that you have to live outside the comfortable walls of your safely guarded bubble. Popping the protection! You have to begin pressing on the boundaries of your world and interact with people that are inconvenient. And on top of that: YOU…SHOW…MERCY!. Even if they wouldn’t have … YOU DO!!! Because that’s what life is about: it’s what gives electricity to the soul. It’s the recharge you feel from God as you leave this place. The empowerment of the Holy Spirit to pay attention to humanity, and life… and ultimately CARE!!!! Because Jesus Christ did that for you. No matter who you are, no matter what you believe. Jesus Loves you and has put us all on equal terrain. Love IS the great equalizer. How will you spend your week. Protecting yourself from life? Or paying attention and engaging it?
Let the Spirit of God dwell you today and throughout the week. Do what you can to pay attention to humanity, and life. And BE a neighbor as you go along your road.
A Plea
I usually come at you with witty remarks and clever little anecdotes meant to tickle your funnybone and gently coax you down the yellow brick road of righteousness. Today all I have is a simple plea.
First as this is not a full transcription of my talk for right now I will post this and maybe if I have time I'll write the first part later.
the outline essentially went like this:
First I want to map out a little history.
Romans 1-4 what is essentially that happens in this part of Romans.
(essentially it is the part where Paul outlines that all have fallen and it is by faith in which you are saved)
Why was this passage so important to martin luther?
(because he had a huge holiness hangup and needed to readily see this grace by faith in order for his being to be set free... also he was the one who coined sola-fide)
So follow history and we can see how people have been preoccupied with the mental ascent of faith.
now lets look at the real reason Paul is writing this:
Romans 14 :
because two factions (jew and gentile) were at odds with each other. What Paul was saying here is that Jesus has leveled the playing field. What he was saying was that because ALL have fallen and it is by faith alone in which you are saved. YOU MUST coexist and not bicker and argue different types of food and who can eat what. Essentially you're all at fault. AND ALL NEED GRACE.
It is here where I came in:
We have been a self centered religion. Allowing ourselves to be pleased with our mental ascent at faith in Jesus. Yet sheer belief in the Son of God is a fleeting mental bump.
True faith is more accurately defined as it is simply stated in 2 corinthians 1:18-20
But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas[b] and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." 20For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
In other words, faith is saying “yes” to God’s Yes in Christ. Not a mental assent to the sheer proposition of “do you believe?” But the “hearing” of the gospel as an act of obedience. Faith is not a human accomplishment. Like you would carefully formulate a theorem of the facts to be proven… and thus believed. Faith is truly a grateful acknowledgement of being embraced by the Yes of God’s grace towards us.
He has given us grace. We all are equal in our relationship to sin and death. We are all equal in our relationship to their brothers: flesh and law. An yet we have a God who’s mercy has conquered all of them through the death and resurrection of His Son. You are justified by your faith in Jesus. That’s not the end of the book though, faith is you being eternally grateful for the mercy you’ve been given. The thing is…there’s more to the story. If we choose to stop at Romans 4, we miss a vision that Paul has for us. And it’s an amazing hope.
The hope is this: That our faith would propel us into life with the Spirit; which is God’s power in Christ. This Spirit pushes every believer into the future horizon of God’s coming glory. The Spirit conveys the dynamic character of Christian life as a life of pilgrimage; moving closer and closer towards this hope of glory. This Spirit by definition is never separated from its activity in the human body. This is why Paul in Romans 12 writes: 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship.
You aren’t a dead sacrifice, burning on the alter. Yet many times that’s where we end up. “I believe in Jesus Christ… and?” “And I’m just taking a break right now.” “I believe in Jesus Christ… and?” “and I’m not really happy with church because there is too much drama.” “I believe in Jesus Christ… and?” “and what? It’s my faith alone.” Dead… and Burning?
…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, This is the hope that Paul has for us. If you are taking a break because you’ve burned out, not going to church because of the politics, or just happy sitting in the pew on Sunday, you’ve only read part of the story. It’s a great part of the story. It’s a story of faith. It’s a story of love. And it’s a story of an eternal future. But its time to turn the page and begin truly living. Because Paul at this point begins writing about a hope that he has that one day the church will be working together to bless the world. Working together to bless itself. That the people involved will not become the consumers of faith, a show, or righteousness. But rather be proactive in their response to the Mercy and Love they’ve been given by God. That because of their understanding of the love of God. They would begin acting like His children.
Paul’s hope is that we would utilize this Spirit to do the things we’ve been called to do. Thus making the church into a vibrant body.
4In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. 5The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, 6let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
What I’m saying to you today is we can be a part of something incredible. Maybe some of us have been hurt, bruised, or angered by other parts of this body. So here you sit saying… I love Jesus, but do even try to get me to do anything. Our pain, our reaction to the cancer of overgrowth, or our sheer apathy is killing us…and killing you. As a body, utilize me today to motivate you towards becoming who you are meant to be; who you truly are. If you preach, preach; if you help, help; if you teach, teach; 8if you give encouraging guidance, encourage; if you're in charge, don't manipulate, but lead; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. 9Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. …10Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
What if the church were one? What if we all fit together like a puzzle whose picture painted the story of God’s love for each one of us. What if that picture told the world about the love of God. This dream of the God of hope filling you (all) with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We can work together to make this body run. And you all have a job. I may not know what that is. Maybe even you don’t know what it is. However, there maybe someone in here whose job is to point out what you’re good at. And you’ll be far better at it than any of us. You just need some exercise.
We can’t pull our own weight anymore. We learned that with Jesus. And now we need to realize it for His church. His heart is in us. His thoughts are in us. It is now time for his actions to be ours.
I ask you, plead with you, beseech you. Very much like Paul did to the Roman church. Not a command. It is the language of grace. There is no thunder from mount Sinai when I ask: “by the mercy of God, get up from those chairs, and contribute your beautiful selves to this amazing hope of having a church that’s alive, and an amazing representation of God’s love.
First as this is not a full transcription of my talk for right now I will post this and maybe if I have time I'll write the first part later.
the outline essentially went like this:
First I want to map out a little history.
Romans 1-4 what is essentially that happens in this part of Romans.
(essentially it is the part where Paul outlines that all have fallen and it is by faith in which you are saved)
Why was this passage so important to martin luther?
(because he had a huge holiness hangup and needed to readily see this grace by faith in order for his being to be set free... also he was the one who coined sola-fide)
So follow history and we can see how people have been preoccupied with the mental ascent of faith.
now lets look at the real reason Paul is writing this:
Romans 14 :
because two factions (jew and gentile) were at odds with each other. What Paul was saying here is that Jesus has leveled the playing field. What he was saying was that because ALL have fallen and it is by faith alone in which you are saved. YOU MUST coexist and not bicker and argue different types of food and who can eat what. Essentially you're all at fault. AND ALL NEED GRACE.
It is here where I came in:
We have been a self centered religion. Allowing ourselves to be pleased with our mental ascent at faith in Jesus. Yet sheer belief in the Son of God is a fleeting mental bump.
True faith is more accurately defined as it is simply stated in 2 corinthians 1:18-20
But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas[b] and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." 20For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.
In other words, faith is saying “yes” to God’s Yes in Christ. Not a mental assent to the sheer proposition of “do you believe?” But the “hearing” of the gospel as an act of obedience. Faith is not a human accomplishment. Like you would carefully formulate a theorem of the facts to be proven… and thus believed. Faith is truly a grateful acknowledgement of being embraced by the Yes of God’s grace towards us.
He has given us grace. We all are equal in our relationship to sin and death. We are all equal in our relationship to their brothers: flesh and law. An yet we have a God who’s mercy has conquered all of them through the death and resurrection of His Son. You are justified by your faith in Jesus. That’s not the end of the book though, faith is you being eternally grateful for the mercy you’ve been given. The thing is…there’s more to the story. If we choose to stop at Romans 4, we miss a vision that Paul has for us. And it’s an amazing hope.
The hope is this: That our faith would propel us into life with the Spirit; which is God’s power in Christ. This Spirit pushes every believer into the future horizon of God’s coming glory. The Spirit conveys the dynamic character of Christian life as a life of pilgrimage; moving closer and closer towards this hope of glory. This Spirit by definition is never separated from its activity in the human body. This is why Paul in Romans 12 writes: 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship.
You aren’t a dead sacrifice, burning on the alter. Yet many times that’s where we end up. “I believe in Jesus Christ… and?” “And I’m just taking a break right now.” “I believe in Jesus Christ… and?” “and I’m not really happy with church because there is too much drama.” “I believe in Jesus Christ… and?” “and what? It’s my faith alone.” Dead… and Burning?
…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, This is the hope that Paul has for us. If you are taking a break because you’ve burned out, not going to church because of the politics, or just happy sitting in the pew on Sunday, you’ve only read part of the story. It’s a great part of the story. It’s a story of faith. It’s a story of love. And it’s a story of an eternal future. But its time to turn the page and begin truly living. Because Paul at this point begins writing about a hope that he has that one day the church will be working together to bless the world. Working together to bless itself. That the people involved will not become the consumers of faith, a show, or righteousness. But rather be proactive in their response to the Mercy and Love they’ve been given by God. That because of their understanding of the love of God. They would begin acting like His children.
Paul’s hope is that we would utilize this Spirit to do the things we’ve been called to do. Thus making the church into a vibrant body.
4In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. 5The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, 6let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
What I’m saying to you today is we can be a part of something incredible. Maybe some of us have been hurt, bruised, or angered by other parts of this body. So here you sit saying… I love Jesus, but do even try to get me to do anything. Our pain, our reaction to the cancer of overgrowth, or our sheer apathy is killing us…and killing you. As a body, utilize me today to motivate you towards becoming who you are meant to be; who you truly are. If you preach, preach; if you help, help; if you teach, teach; 8if you give encouraging guidance, encourage; if you're in charge, don't manipulate, but lead; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face. 9Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. …10Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
What if the church were one? What if we all fit together like a puzzle whose picture painted the story of God’s love for each one of us. What if that picture told the world about the love of God. This dream of the God of hope filling you (all) with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We can work together to make this body run. And you all have a job. I may not know what that is. Maybe even you don’t know what it is. However, there maybe someone in here whose job is to point out what you’re good at. And you’ll be far better at it than any of us. You just need some exercise.
We can’t pull our own weight anymore. We learned that with Jesus. And now we need to realize it for His church. His heart is in us. His thoughts are in us. It is now time for his actions to be ours.
I ask you, plead with you, beseech you. Very much like Paul did to the Roman church. Not a command. It is the language of grace. There is no thunder from mount Sinai when I ask: “by the mercy of God, get up from those chairs, and contribute your beautiful selves to this amazing hope of having a church that’s alive, and an amazing representation of God’s love.
Proud Mary
Y’ know, every now and then
I think you might like to hear something from us
Nice and easy
But there’s just one thing
You see we never ever do nothing
Nice and easy
We always do it nice and rough
So I’m gonna take the beginning of this talk
And do it easy
Then we’re gonna do the finish rough
This is the way we are going to do church today
And I’m rollin’
It’s spring. The sun’s out off and on. There’s new life and hope in the air. Easter Sunday came and went, but something has remained. Your faith.
Your belief in Jesus Christ being your savior has remained. And when you think of Jesus maybe you think of Easter Sunday, maybe you think of that picture on the wall. But my hope is that you have a picture of a very alive Jesus. Not one who is dying, who is eternally dying. Up there on a cross, getting another nail driven into him every time you mess up. Jesus is risen. Conquered sin and death so that you may live.
So here he is, alive, and all Jesusy. Paling around with you. Saying I love you etc. (cause Jesus does love you)
If you’re new to Christianity, you might know what I’m talking about. If you have just started your faith journey, you probably feel a lot more, and God is much more vibrant to you then this statement of paling around. But if you’ve been in the Christian bath for some time the water tends to lose its temperature. Your life may work like this: “I love Jesus. Here I am at church… and there I go.” Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ on the river of life.
And this nice life is nice. Because you know who Jesus is, what he’s about, and you continue to learn more about him just by living.
But in just livin’ you also have to work. You get a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day. You clean a lot of plates, and you pump a lot of ‘tane. And as you live your nice life… you find it’s not so easy. In fact you may consider it rough.
Things tend to happen when you’re rolling down the river of your nice life. Things begin to creep in. Because this world is immensely complex, full of curveballs and politics, and just by living your nice life, you are affected by the rough. That vibrancy of Christ that you once felt is possibly as cold as the water you’re in. And there you are. Working working working.
Working for your God saying “I’ll take on that cause, cause that’s what Christ would do” or Working for your church because its what’s needed, or simply working to live your life I need to do this or I need to do that. Or I need to be nicer. Better. Less rough.
Most of the time I've received the compliment of being a 'nice guy' I've found it is a very limited compliment… Not really stoked about being “nice.” It’s like telling a girl that that dress looks fine. Not FOYN, but just fine. The complement is lost in the complacency of the statement.
One of my friends who blogged about this, and he came to this conclusion: “I guess I'd rather be a good man. However, this indeed is a much more rare compliment.”
The thing is, all of us lose our edge at some point. And our desire to be “a good man or a good woman” becomes a practice of discipline, rather then an outward expression of our soul. And discipline is a good thing, cause it keeps you on track; but when you are doing, because you are “supposed to do” rather than doing “because you want to.” You continue workin’ for that man.
While you work for the man you find that there are some things that are just not important. We find ourselves letting things in that we never would before. Evil things. And we just let them stay, because it’s nice and easy. It’s nice to have your cake and eat it too. To have a nice forgiving Jesus and a little sin on the side. And as we let this and that come in, our water becomes a little cool. And sweeps us away from our goal.
Our goal: To be a good man or woman. Is not necessarily nice. And is definitely not easy when you’re workin’ for the man. To be “good” on your own two legs is to work yourself, You’re your own boss and you work yourself to the bone. To be a good man or woman is to step into the river and swim upstream. The river is far too big and swift for you to be doing it for a lifetime. So your tired body washes up on the shore.
But what do we do, how can we manage this burdon of our faith? How do we overcome the rolling river and the rough rough rough waters.
It’s time to step aboard the riverboat queen. Where you can start to see the good side of the city that you working so hard in.
Ephesians says this: “do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the holy spirit.”Now before you say, thanks for the judgement Geoff. I thought you were just telling be that I can’t accomplish this on my own merits, and to be sober right now is not what I needed to here. But let me explain what the writer is saying. This passage isn’t about wine. Its about the nature of wine. Some of you may relate… I’m not sure. But what is the eventual outcome of being drunk. (you eventually get sober) Why? (because eventually you either pass out or you run out of money… or die if you stay drunk forever) But listen to this. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Writer is saying to Ephesus Like you would consider drinking to stay drunk. Consider “continuing to fill yourself with the holy spirit. This word fill is like how a wind would fill a sail to move it to where the boat needs to go. This passage is saying “maintain your buzz,” with the holy spirit. Hop aboard this riverboat. The Riverboat of the Holy Spirit. The steam pushes it along to turn the paddles of your nice and rough life so that you can become “a good man or a good woman.”
Apart for the Holy Spirit, you’re going to be workin’ for the man. But with the Holy spirit you will be Rollin down the river And you’ll never lose one minute of sleep
Worryin’ ’bout the way things might have been.
Your doing starts with a filling of steam. Your doing starts with the opening your sail. Your doing starts with this prayer. “Fill me up Holy Spirit.”
1tim5:4 “Religion begins at your own doorstep and you should pay it back with gratitude by what you have received.” Try this without the holy spirit and you are a nice guy. Try this with the holy spirit and your doorstep begins to bless the entire world.
1tim6:17 “…Go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—18 to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. 19 If you do that, you’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.” Again do this as yourself and be the nicest, tiredest guy on the block. With the Holy Spirit and let your life truly live
There is richness in the simplicity of being yourself before God. God doesn’t want anything else. But He does want you to let go of the evil things in your life. You yourself want to let them go anyway. But you can’t do it on your own steam. Climb aboard. And DO what you have always wanted to do.
Today… as you’re rollin’ on the river of life
Realize that God is asking you to do the things he’s asking you to do. God’s asking you to call upon him in prayer. God is asking you to learn about him by studying the Bible. And finally God is asking you to become good men and women, by climbing aboard his Holy Spirit, practicing doing good to others.
I think you might like to hear something from us
Nice and easy
But there’s just one thing
You see we never ever do nothing
Nice and easy
We always do it nice and rough
So I’m gonna take the beginning of this talk
And do it easy
Then we’re gonna do the finish rough
This is the way we are going to do church today
And I’m rollin’
It’s spring. The sun’s out off and on. There’s new life and hope in the air. Easter Sunday came and went, but something has remained. Your faith.
Your belief in Jesus Christ being your savior has remained. And when you think of Jesus maybe you think of Easter Sunday, maybe you think of that picture on the wall. But my hope is that you have a picture of a very alive Jesus. Not one who is dying, who is eternally dying. Up there on a cross, getting another nail driven into him every time you mess up. Jesus is risen. Conquered sin and death so that you may live.
So here he is, alive, and all Jesusy. Paling around with you. Saying I love you etc. (cause Jesus does love you)
If you’re new to Christianity, you might know what I’m talking about. If you have just started your faith journey, you probably feel a lot more, and God is much more vibrant to you then this statement of paling around. But if you’ve been in the Christian bath for some time the water tends to lose its temperature. Your life may work like this: “I love Jesus. Here I am at church… and there I go.” Rollin’ Rollin’ Rollin’ on the river of life.
And this nice life is nice. Because you know who Jesus is, what he’s about, and you continue to learn more about him just by living.
But in just livin’ you also have to work. You get a good job in the city, working for the man every night and day. You clean a lot of plates, and you pump a lot of ‘tane. And as you live your nice life… you find it’s not so easy. In fact you may consider it rough.
Things tend to happen when you’re rolling down the river of your nice life. Things begin to creep in. Because this world is immensely complex, full of curveballs and politics, and just by living your nice life, you are affected by the rough. That vibrancy of Christ that you once felt is possibly as cold as the water you’re in. And there you are. Working working working.
Working for your God saying “I’ll take on that cause, cause that’s what Christ would do” or Working for your church because its what’s needed, or simply working to live your life I need to do this or I need to do that. Or I need to be nicer. Better. Less rough.
Most of the time I've received the compliment of being a 'nice guy' I've found it is a very limited compliment… Not really stoked about being “nice.” It’s like telling a girl that that dress looks fine. Not FOYN, but just fine. The complement is lost in the complacency of the statement.
One of my friends who blogged about this, and he came to this conclusion: “I guess I'd rather be a good man. However, this indeed is a much more rare compliment.”
The thing is, all of us lose our edge at some point. And our desire to be “a good man or a good woman” becomes a practice of discipline, rather then an outward expression of our soul. And discipline is a good thing, cause it keeps you on track; but when you are doing, because you are “supposed to do” rather than doing “because you want to.” You continue workin’ for that man.
While you work for the man you find that there are some things that are just not important. We find ourselves letting things in that we never would before. Evil things. And we just let them stay, because it’s nice and easy. It’s nice to have your cake and eat it too. To have a nice forgiving Jesus and a little sin on the side. And as we let this and that come in, our water becomes a little cool. And sweeps us away from our goal.
Our goal: To be a good man or woman. Is not necessarily nice. And is definitely not easy when you’re workin’ for the man. To be “good” on your own two legs is to work yourself, You’re your own boss and you work yourself to the bone. To be a good man or woman is to step into the river and swim upstream. The river is far too big and swift for you to be doing it for a lifetime. So your tired body washes up on the shore.
But what do we do, how can we manage this burdon of our faith? How do we overcome the rolling river and the rough rough rough waters.
It’s time to step aboard the riverboat queen. Where you can start to see the good side of the city that you working so hard in.
Ephesians says this: “do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the holy spirit.”Now before you say, thanks for the judgement Geoff. I thought you were just telling be that I can’t accomplish this on my own merits, and to be sober right now is not what I needed to here. But let me explain what the writer is saying. This passage isn’t about wine. Its about the nature of wine. Some of you may relate… I’m not sure. But what is the eventual outcome of being drunk. (you eventually get sober) Why? (because eventually you either pass out or you run out of money… or die if you stay drunk forever) But listen to this. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Writer is saying to Ephesus Like you would consider drinking to stay drunk. Consider “continuing to fill yourself with the holy spirit. This word fill is like how a wind would fill a sail to move it to where the boat needs to go. This passage is saying “maintain your buzz,” with the holy spirit. Hop aboard this riverboat. The Riverboat of the Holy Spirit. The steam pushes it along to turn the paddles of your nice and rough life so that you can become “a good man or a good woman.”
Apart for the Holy Spirit, you’re going to be workin’ for the man. But with the Holy spirit you will be Rollin down the river And you’ll never lose one minute of sleep
Worryin’ ’bout the way things might have been.
Your doing starts with a filling of steam. Your doing starts with the opening your sail. Your doing starts with this prayer. “Fill me up Holy Spirit.”
1tim5:4 “Religion begins at your own doorstep and you should pay it back with gratitude by what you have received.” Try this without the holy spirit and you are a nice guy. Try this with the holy spirit and your doorstep begins to bless the entire world.
1tim6:17 “…Go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—18 to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. 19 If you do that, you’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.” Again do this as yourself and be the nicest, tiredest guy on the block. With the Holy Spirit and let your life truly live
There is richness in the simplicity of being yourself before God. God doesn’t want anything else. But He does want you to let go of the evil things in your life. You yourself want to let them go anyway. But you can’t do it on your own steam. Climb aboard. And DO what you have always wanted to do.
Today… as you’re rollin’ on the river of life
Realize that God is asking you to do the things he’s asking you to do. God’s asking you to call upon him in prayer. God is asking you to learn about him by studying the Bible. And finally God is asking you to become good men and women, by climbing aboard his Holy Spirit, practicing doing good to others.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Smelly Flowers
Three weeks ago I had a situation. It all started by me not showering. Then as I was working my little tukus off, I began to smell something. Wafts of this aroma would pass my nostrils. Was it me? I checked and I couldn’t pinpoint it. I don’t think it’s me. Then next day I did shower. And yet the wafts continued. I checked around the desk for no avail. Crystal came over and she smelled it. Yet we couldn’t find where it was coming from. 6 days later I looked over, and saw my vase. It turns out some nice flowers had slipped into their water and by the time I found them they had created the Degaba swamp inside the vase. It seemed over the course of 6 weeks, my nice smelling flowers stayed in the same place and because of that they began to smell.
I was watching the second surreal life on VH1 with Tammy Fae and Ron Jeremy. And Tammy told a story of a culture that would sentence those who were convicted of murder to death. This in itself is not too surprising. However, the manner in which the convict was put to death is. You see, the murdered body was strapped to the convict. And as the body decomposed, and rotted, so did the murderer. Tammy spoke of a time where she carried a dead marriage and a dead ministry on her back. And she said how those burdens nearly killed her.
Isn’t it amazing the burdens that we are capable of carrying? Sometimes it’s very good to carry the burdens of things. Prayer is a great way of carrying a burden that we can’t control. But some things are ridiculous. Like dead things. Carrying dead things. I’m not talking about rats and birds you find on the road, but things that Tammy was talking about. Her marriage had ended, and she carried that. Her ministry was reduced to a joke, and she carried that… both were called failure. And it seemed as though Tammy brought her failure flowers and if she stayed there her flowers would have begun to smell.
If you’ve ever had a love one die, you never are the same. But there is a process that you go through that gets you to the other side. It’s called mourning. They have 4 steps in mourning. The first is you in a fit of confusion, of surrealness. You can’t believe it. And so you don’t, it is called denial. You then move into the next phase, crying for your loss, making sure that everyone knows and can see how upset you are. You are sad. Next you start to realize how unfair it was, how unjust the world is, and it moves you into a fit of rage and anger. Finally, after continuing to move through these emotions, you begin to come to an understanding of it all. You may never really be the same, but finally do come to a place where you accept it.
I’ve found by studying this, that many people constantly are in a state of mourning. Mourning this in their life and that in their life. Stages of denial, sadness, anger, and finally acceptance. And depending on our level of hurt, we remain in the stages for any number length of time. We remain giving flowers to the things that we still care about… even though they are dead.
There are things in my life I’ve given flowers to. Things that are dead. And sometimes I’ve let the flowers stay there too long. Long enough to start to stink. Let me read you something: Gal2:19… I have been crucified with Christ. 20I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Have you ever trusted God? Trusted Christ? I have. What a wonderful, incredible, journey. And what depth it reaches your soul. But …. there is one thing that I’ve found within the feelings and new excitements. When signing up for this new journey you’re barraged by amazing partying gifts like the Holy Spirit. And you are wash over by all of this new thought and new faith. And the adrenaline rush is like no other, but like all other adrenaline rushes, they end. And at that moment you follow Christ with diligence, not out of a feeling, but out of trust.
Now some of us who’ve been in it for a long time begin to feel the ware. We begin to question what our conversion means, and at some point some of the things in our old life creep in. We begin bringing flowers to someone that we pronounced dead. Visiting the life of someone we once were. We begin taking on the habits of our old life. Revisiting it… cause somehow we have forgotten what we got ourselves out of.
Many times when people are not allowed to go through the stages of mourning, they get caught. They’re not able to move on. Their life stagnates into a routine of remembrance. That remembrance stops who they are and who they will be, and makes them remain who they were.
Paul saw something similar it the Roman Church when he wrote:
1So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? 2I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? 3Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. …
8If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. 9We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. 10When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. 11From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did.
12That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. 13Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time--remember, you've been raised from the dead!-into God's way of doing things. 14Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.
Paul saw that his people were stuck… They hadn’t mourned yet. They said that their old selves were gone dead and buried. But they still brought the flowers and visited their old lives.
Mourn brethren mourn! Do what you need to do to give your death a proper burial. Grieve the loss of who you were, so that you can move on to who you are, and who you will be.
Who were you? Do you remember? Some of you remember all to well because you’re still holding onto what you were. Going back two, three times a week, and giving it flowers. Mourn! Lean into it. Go through all of the steps so that you can come out the other side. Do you realize you’re not committing to your old life, or your new?
Maybe you’re saying “This is me. I can’t give this up.” But God is telling you “There is a better way.” Because to take that dead man with you; is to sentence yourself to death. It’s like you are living your life and on the weekends or at night you’re climbing into your tomb to sleep with your rotting corpse.
I hope I’m not being overly dramatic here. But something stinks. And it’s our self loathing. Do you hate yourself? Then why do you continue to live, yet choose the things that make you die.
“Geoff…” you say “… Lets be realistic. No one can be without flaws.” We can be realistic. As a community we need to be realistic. And the fact is: God is extremely realistic. Which is why Jesus died for us. He loved us so much that he wished us to live with him eternally. Why would we choose to die?
When I was a senior in College, my roommates and I had a visitation. It wasn’t from aliens, or the Lord. We had a visitation from a freakishly clever turd. I heard the toilet flush about 6 times as Neil, my roommate, slightly defeated, but somewhat intrigued asked me “Geoff…come over here.” I knew that it had to do something with the toilet but wasn’t ready for what I was about to see. You see, Neil wasn’t the kind of man that would be proud of his excrement. That was more other roommates. However, when I peered over the toilet, there it was… Neil’s poo. He looked at me perplexed. And said… “I’ve been trying to get rid of this for the last 6 minutes.” It wasn’t too big, or long, it hung in the water at about 45 degrees not too much fiber, not too little, the water was somewhat clear around it because of the excess flushing. He asked “what should I do.” I told him to try to flush it again. Whooosh… The water swirled around, carrying the poo away down the hole. I looked up somewhat grossed out at having to solve that problem, but also somewhat satisfied that I again had made the world right. But as I was moving away Neil said “wait… This is why it’s exciting.” Sure enough I looked down, and creeping out of the hole was “bloop” Neil’s poo.
My other roommate Greg entitled it: “the peek a poo” and for the next three days we were in awe of its cleverness. None of us wanted to touch the peekapoo because of its novelty. We went to the bathroom normally (1 and 2) and somehow the peekapoo would navigate its cylindrical type of body around even the most daunting of loads. Whoosh…“bloop” Whoosh…“bloop” We kept the fan on to keep the smell out of the living room. Neil had become a minor celebrity and even though he wasn’t a part of our fraternity, he received accolades. Then…as mysterious as it came into the world, the peekapoo left the apartment bathroom of A38. I don’t even remember who it was. Maybe because of the loss no one wanted to own up. But our pet, our brother, our shit…left us… Flushed, with the rest of the filth.
Who knows how long we would have left it there. Maybe it would have been the 9th wonder of the world, and we could have charged admission. But the loss was very real. The stories of our peekapoo would come to a close, as we had to tell those that asked that he was gone. I suppose we might have had a funeral for him if we new it was his last flush… Or if we truly had a pulse on how much joy a poo could give us. But alas, like every other turd should, the peekapoo was carried away to a watery grave.
Do you have some poo in your life that God is asking you to flush? You find it a novelty, something that makes you unique, not like the rest of them. Or you’ve just held onto it saying, it’s just too big, there’s no way that it will go down such a small hole. Let me tell you. It stinks. The fan that you’ve left blowing for a while is because you don’t want to get rid of it. But eventually the smell is going to creep out and take over your living room. Your house will no-longer become a place people want to go, nor will you want them to be there. People that love you will still come over, but before they do they’ll put on their game face, and endure your smell.
I ask you why? For what purpose? Is there a reason you’re keeping it around? Maybe you have no idea how to get rid of it. But it’s time. Its time to flush it down. Look deep into the water. What’s floating there might have been in you… but its not you anymore… and you’ve kept it around far too long. Take a big whiff and see what keeping this around has done to you and your house.
God loves you… and if you never changed God would still love you. But God loves you far too much to live like that. He wants you to mourn who you were and move on to who truly are.
Jesus said to the woman at the well John 4:10..."If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water."… “14Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst--not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."
A body of water that has no intake and outlet stagnates, and gets polluted. But God has given us an artesian spring from within. So that we can continue gushing and flushing. But that means you need to let the past be done. Let it go, and move towards your future. You can’t hold on to both without loosening your grip on both. And eventually one will win. Why not have it be life?
Its time to throw those smelly flowers away and get on with your life.
I was watching the second surreal life on VH1 with Tammy Fae and Ron Jeremy. And Tammy told a story of a culture that would sentence those who were convicted of murder to death. This in itself is not too surprising. However, the manner in which the convict was put to death is. You see, the murdered body was strapped to the convict. And as the body decomposed, and rotted, so did the murderer. Tammy spoke of a time where she carried a dead marriage and a dead ministry on her back. And she said how those burdens nearly killed her.
Isn’t it amazing the burdens that we are capable of carrying? Sometimes it’s very good to carry the burdens of things. Prayer is a great way of carrying a burden that we can’t control. But some things are ridiculous. Like dead things. Carrying dead things. I’m not talking about rats and birds you find on the road, but things that Tammy was talking about. Her marriage had ended, and she carried that. Her ministry was reduced to a joke, and she carried that… both were called failure. And it seemed as though Tammy brought her failure flowers and if she stayed there her flowers would have begun to smell.
If you’ve ever had a love one die, you never are the same. But there is a process that you go through that gets you to the other side. It’s called mourning. They have 4 steps in mourning. The first is you in a fit of confusion, of surrealness. You can’t believe it. And so you don’t, it is called denial. You then move into the next phase, crying for your loss, making sure that everyone knows and can see how upset you are. You are sad. Next you start to realize how unfair it was, how unjust the world is, and it moves you into a fit of rage and anger. Finally, after continuing to move through these emotions, you begin to come to an understanding of it all. You may never really be the same, but finally do come to a place where you accept it.
I’ve found by studying this, that many people constantly are in a state of mourning. Mourning this in their life and that in their life. Stages of denial, sadness, anger, and finally acceptance. And depending on our level of hurt, we remain in the stages for any number length of time. We remain giving flowers to the things that we still care about… even though they are dead.
There are things in my life I’ve given flowers to. Things that are dead. And sometimes I’ve let the flowers stay there too long. Long enough to start to stink. Let me read you something: Gal2:19… I have been crucified with Christ. 20I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Have you ever trusted God? Trusted Christ? I have. What a wonderful, incredible, journey. And what depth it reaches your soul. But …. there is one thing that I’ve found within the feelings and new excitements. When signing up for this new journey you’re barraged by amazing partying gifts like the Holy Spirit. And you are wash over by all of this new thought and new faith. And the adrenaline rush is like no other, but like all other adrenaline rushes, they end. And at that moment you follow Christ with diligence, not out of a feeling, but out of trust.
Now some of us who’ve been in it for a long time begin to feel the ware. We begin to question what our conversion means, and at some point some of the things in our old life creep in. We begin bringing flowers to someone that we pronounced dead. Visiting the life of someone we once were. We begin taking on the habits of our old life. Revisiting it… cause somehow we have forgotten what we got ourselves out of.
Many times when people are not allowed to go through the stages of mourning, they get caught. They’re not able to move on. Their life stagnates into a routine of remembrance. That remembrance stops who they are and who they will be, and makes them remain who they were.
Paul saw something similar it the Roman Church when he wrote:
1So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? 2I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? 3Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. …
8If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. 9We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. 10When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. 11From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did.
12That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. 13Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time--remember, you've been raised from the dead!-into God's way of doing things. 14Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God.
Paul saw that his people were stuck… They hadn’t mourned yet. They said that their old selves were gone dead and buried. But they still brought the flowers and visited their old lives.
Mourn brethren mourn! Do what you need to do to give your death a proper burial. Grieve the loss of who you were, so that you can move on to who you are, and who you will be.
Who were you? Do you remember? Some of you remember all to well because you’re still holding onto what you were. Going back two, three times a week, and giving it flowers. Mourn! Lean into it. Go through all of the steps so that you can come out the other side. Do you realize you’re not committing to your old life, or your new?
Maybe you’re saying “This is me. I can’t give this up.” But God is telling you “There is a better way.” Because to take that dead man with you; is to sentence yourself to death. It’s like you are living your life and on the weekends or at night you’re climbing into your tomb to sleep with your rotting corpse.
I hope I’m not being overly dramatic here. But something stinks. And it’s our self loathing. Do you hate yourself? Then why do you continue to live, yet choose the things that make you die.
“Geoff…” you say “… Lets be realistic. No one can be without flaws.” We can be realistic. As a community we need to be realistic. And the fact is: God is extremely realistic. Which is why Jesus died for us. He loved us so much that he wished us to live with him eternally. Why would we choose to die?
When I was a senior in College, my roommates and I had a visitation. It wasn’t from aliens, or the Lord. We had a visitation from a freakishly clever turd. I heard the toilet flush about 6 times as Neil, my roommate, slightly defeated, but somewhat intrigued asked me “Geoff…come over here.” I knew that it had to do something with the toilet but wasn’t ready for what I was about to see. You see, Neil wasn’t the kind of man that would be proud of his excrement. That was more other roommates. However, when I peered over the toilet, there it was… Neil’s poo. He looked at me perplexed. And said… “I’ve been trying to get rid of this for the last 6 minutes.” It wasn’t too big, or long, it hung in the water at about 45 degrees not too much fiber, not too little, the water was somewhat clear around it because of the excess flushing. He asked “what should I do.” I told him to try to flush it again. Whooosh… The water swirled around, carrying the poo away down the hole. I looked up somewhat grossed out at having to solve that problem, but also somewhat satisfied that I again had made the world right. But as I was moving away Neil said “wait… This is why it’s exciting.” Sure enough I looked down, and creeping out of the hole was “bloop” Neil’s poo.
My other roommate Greg entitled it: “the peek a poo” and for the next three days we were in awe of its cleverness. None of us wanted to touch the peekapoo because of its novelty. We went to the bathroom normally (1 and 2) and somehow the peekapoo would navigate its cylindrical type of body around even the most daunting of loads. Whoosh…“bloop” Whoosh…“bloop” We kept the fan on to keep the smell out of the living room. Neil had become a minor celebrity and even though he wasn’t a part of our fraternity, he received accolades. Then…as mysterious as it came into the world, the peekapoo left the apartment bathroom of A38. I don’t even remember who it was. Maybe because of the loss no one wanted to own up. But our pet, our brother, our shit…left us… Flushed, with the rest of the filth.
Who knows how long we would have left it there. Maybe it would have been the 9th wonder of the world, and we could have charged admission. But the loss was very real. The stories of our peekapoo would come to a close, as we had to tell those that asked that he was gone. I suppose we might have had a funeral for him if we new it was his last flush… Or if we truly had a pulse on how much joy a poo could give us. But alas, like every other turd should, the peekapoo was carried away to a watery grave.
Do you have some poo in your life that God is asking you to flush? You find it a novelty, something that makes you unique, not like the rest of them. Or you’ve just held onto it saying, it’s just too big, there’s no way that it will go down such a small hole. Let me tell you. It stinks. The fan that you’ve left blowing for a while is because you don’t want to get rid of it. But eventually the smell is going to creep out and take over your living room. Your house will no-longer become a place people want to go, nor will you want them to be there. People that love you will still come over, but before they do they’ll put on their game face, and endure your smell.
I ask you why? For what purpose? Is there a reason you’re keeping it around? Maybe you have no idea how to get rid of it. But it’s time. Its time to flush it down. Look deep into the water. What’s floating there might have been in you… but its not you anymore… and you’ve kept it around far too long. Take a big whiff and see what keeping this around has done to you and your house.
God loves you… and if you never changed God would still love you. But God loves you far too much to live like that. He wants you to mourn who you were and move on to who truly are.
Jesus said to the woman at the well John 4:10..."If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water."… “14Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst--not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."
A body of water that has no intake and outlet stagnates, and gets polluted. But God has given us an artesian spring from within. So that we can continue gushing and flushing. But that means you need to let the past be done. Let it go, and move towards your future. You can’t hold on to both without loosening your grip on both. And eventually one will win. Why not have it be life?
Its time to throw those smelly flowers away and get on with your life.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
The Empty Gift
I dread holidays…. St. Patrick’s… not so much, but birthdays, and Christmas. Because I find gifts are stressful. I’m poor at giving gifts. Or maybe is it, that giving gifts is stressful when you’re poor. I donno
I like giving wine. Giving wine is weird. It’s like the vanilla of presents. You didn’t really commit to anything. Wine is versatile; you can dress it up with one of those slender bags, or dress it down with a bow. I guess the only time you really would be committing to wine as a present is if the person is in AA or something. I envision someone telling me “Geoff I told you I’ve been sober for 6 months now.” I’m like “and that’s not a reason to celebrate?...Plus it was 3 for $9.99 at Rite-Aid so I have two more in this paper bag mom.”
Wine is non-threatening. It more often then not reveals the recipient’s ability to show their appreciation in silent form… They slide the bottle halfway out of the bag, and recognize whether it’s a white or a shiraz, and as they slide the bag back, they look up and mouth the words “thank you.” Giving nods of acceptance. This… I like, because it’s hard to really wow with my gifts these days.
I attribute this to “The List.” The List is the registry for the non-married/non-showered individuals. I’m not a fan of the list. It’s taken all the spontaneity out of gift giving. Every Christmas and Birthday my mom asks me. “Geoff I need the list of what you want people to give you.” And then for the next two weeks I labor over what I want. This in itself is probably a great exercise for me because I rarely want anything. That’s not true. I know exactly the things that I want….About $16,000 to pay off my bills and back taxes. My real list consists of someone paying off my car, someone else buying me a house, expense paid weekend in Cabo. But alas I’m not Paris Hilton. So I have to make up stuff that will sit on my shelf. “I really want this book…Like I read. I really want this deodorant. “Mom and Dad I really want some wood…to build a house.”
I think a major chaos in my life that has sprung from the inception of “the list” is the “The Present Lie.” This is when you get the same thing from two different people. And as you open the present you exclaim “This is exactly what I wanted…” as you look into their eyes and think to yourself “I wonder if I can take this back.” The other person is telling their friend “you know why it was exactly what they wanted? Because it was on The List.” It’s my understanding that the Apocrypha addresses this problem as it is not addressed in the standard Protestant cannon of the Bible. In I Hezekiah it states: “Thou shalt bear false witness when your neighbor hast given you the same gift ast your other neighbor. For to tell the first neighbor the truth would be-est rude.”
The table gets turned though when there is a party and the recipient begins opening presents publicly. It’s hard when there are two identical presents opened in front of everyone, because the second person is required to apologize. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know Johnny was going to get that for you.” It’s like it’s a race. A winner and a loser. You select the most moderately priced cool item on the persons list and then spin the wheel…Boop Boop Boop Boop AAHGNK. Sorry now you must grovel!
Hence, I like giving wine… You don’t need a gift receipt with wine. Say someone else gives the same wine… now, instead of a nice dinner, they’re having a party! Talk about win/win. There are quite a few lame gifts that are given in the bible. Myrrh is one… Mary is like “he was the poor wiseman, Geoff… don’t make fun of him … he couldn’t help it” But there were others that I think could help it, and they gave the kind of gifts that make me go “HUH?”. Weird gifts that were far worse than wine. They gave their family “air”. Well not even air…just…. nothing. And not like they forgot their birthday. It was purposed, thought out, and then actually given at a particular time …given. This…nothing.
Perhaps some of you are completely confused so let me give you a little back story. There was once this guy named Abraham, a man who didn’t have very much to give. He had a simple, yet strong faith. And though he didn’t have much, there was one thing that he did have. He had this Promise. Now what is a promise but a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. To some, a promise is just words. But to Abraham this was something much more. Because it was a promise from God.
Early in Abraham’s life he was childless, and this made him very sad. But God told him that his future was going to be a little different than he thought. He said Gen 15:5 “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." He also said 19“To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.” And there it was. God Promises. And as Abe lived his life he believed it.
Finally after a series of events Abe does have a legitimate son. And something happens that sort of messes with things. God asks Abe to sacrifice the son. A test. Now his son was the one sole thing that Abraham wanted. And Here’s God, asking him to remove it? What is that all about? Being obedient though, Abe is about to slash little Isaac’s throat in God’s name when God stops the whole mess and knows for a fact that Abe will withhold nothing from Him. Not even his only son.
I think this had a profound effect on little Isaac; possibly messed him up real good. However what he took with him from this was that this very promise from God will be fulfilled in him, and his life. God said Gen22:17 ”I'll bless you--oh, how I'll bless you! And I'll make sure that your children flourish--like stars in the sky! like sand on the beaches! And your descendants will defeat their enemies. 18All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants because you obeyed me." Nothing like your dad holding a knife to your throat to drive home a point.So skip a few years and a few dramas and we come to the end of Issacs life. And culturally there is this thing called “the blessing.” Which for our eyes looks very much like “a last will and testament.” Isaac is reading his will,( by the way … there is a lot of complicated crap going on with Jacob conniving and family issues regarding favoritism that can easily complicate what I’m trying to say. SO if you know it… cool, if you don’t know it, realize I’m skipping some stuff and read the story for yourself. ) He does at this point have quite a bit of land and “stuff” so you would think that Jacob would be wanting to hear that “he gets the house, and the cat… blah blah blah…” but this is want Issac says: Gen28:3"And may The Strong God bless you and give you many, many children, a congregation of peoples; 4 and pass on the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants so that you will get this land in which you live, this land God gave Abraham." Here’s what makes me stagger back: Isaac says to Jacob “I’m willing you… an idea… a promise….” Not stuff, not a house, this isn’t even air. Air you would seal in a plastic bag and the recipient could sniff it. But this is nothing; nothing but a set of words. Isaac is willing Jacob a future, that his father hasn’t seen, he hasn’t seen and perhaps not even his son will see it. But here is the clincher for me… Jacob’s response… “Yes! I got it. Yes!”
What is that? Can you imagine? How easy would that be if I was at a birthday party. The Person opens the wrapped gift and looks within the tissue paper, and there isn’t anything there. They turn it over to look at me in confusion and I tell them. “You’re going to have lots of descendants.” And their response is: “YESSSSSSSSSSS! I didn’t put it on ‘my list’ because I thought no one would get it for me. You truly are amazing!”
I think what is incredible about this is they viewed this promise as a possession. When you will something to your family they get it. When you will your house to your family…they get a house. Soooo… when Abe willed this promise to his son…he got it. What is so amazing to me is the promise of God that Abraham got, he never saw. He saw a glimpse of it when he had a son; but not the whole enchilada. But he still saw it a something tangible and real. So he passed it on.
The promise has happened over the ages “many, many children,” would be how the nation Israel was developed. They eventually did get the land in which Jacob lived. And a major clincher, “All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants” was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Abraham could have easily considered this promise as “nothing” but a bunch of words; especially because he never saw if it would came true or not. However, to Abraham, this “nothing” was something. So much “something” that he willed it to his kid. And his kid took the empty box filled with nothing, and gave it to his kid. And so on. The empty gift was as real to them as a house, money, or whatever. I’m sure some days they might have felt like the empty box was truly empty. But it wasn’t. It happened! That is the real substance of God’s promise.
To this day all nations continue to be blessed by Abraham’s descendants, because within that empty box, God promised to give us something extraordinary. He promised to give us eternal life. Everyone who would believe in one particular descendant of Abraham would look into this empty gift, and see that they were truly loved by God. Because it was God Himself that came down as one of Abraham, Issac, Jacob and so on’s descendants. In the form of a man called Jesus Christ. Whoever looks into this empty box called Jesus, and believes, knows that they have the grace of God. Because John3:16God loved the world so much that He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 17God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. 18Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
We have been given a gift of nothing or we have been given a gift of everything. You choose. It’s not an easy choice because it speaks of where you are and who you are. Some will never see it, though they have been given the gift over and over. Others may see it for what it is, yet place it in the back of their closet because they’ve grown to view it as one of their many possessions. The reality of this gift is exactly that, a reality. And the reality of faith is extremely simple… you either believe it or you don’t. If Jesus is not savior…your savior… you don’t have faith. It’s nothing personal, its fact: you see nothing in the gift that you’ve been given. Its time to look at your ambiguities, your questions, your myth-busters, and ask yourself… Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for you? Not did he die, no one is questioning that, but did he die for you? Is he your Savior? The empty box is staring at you, waiting for a decision, waiting for you to open your heart and say “I do choose the grace of God… I do believe.” So many times we crowd our lives with emptiness. Obstinately looking the other way because of what might happen if we take a chance and believe something that is so simple, yet so revolutionary. Maybe for once you’re seeing God’s grace filling that box. If you see the substance today… look deep… it’s the love of God for you. What if we could see that belief? What if you could hold it in your hands? Wrap it up and give it to someone? What if you could will it to your kids after you die? Believing the promises of God so strongly that you would will them to your kids. That’s just not done today.
What is God promising you this morning? Is it real to you or is it a myth. A hope. A pipedream. Let me tell you today…God’s promises are very real. So real that you can will them to your kids. The Promises of God will always meet their mark; whether you’re around to see them or not. At this moment, one of those promises is eternal life for those who would believe in Jesus. 1John 5:11 God gave us eternal life; the life is his Son. 12So, whoever has the Son, has life; [conversely] whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.
Maybe someone is going “hmmm… I disagree”… I ask you to not get into a semantically battle with me on who stays or who goes. God’s the final judge on that matter. But why on earth would you choose to reject grace? Why would you look at Jesus Christ dying on the cross and rising from the dead and not say “hallelujah!” because what that means for us is Good News! Jesus Christ paid for our sins. Saw the complexity of our problems And let us off the hook! He has given us a second chance to live “with the holy spirit inside of us” If anything, this is your proof. This is! When you believe. When you strongly take hold of that substance of God’s promise. eph13…[you] find yourselves home free--signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. 14 This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life. The proof that you are justified to have eternal life… is the Holy Spirit. To believe that God loves you, births within you a very real substance of the Holy Spirit. Which begins to show outwardly gal5:22 like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, 23not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Am I selling something?… maybe I am. Why wouldn’t I? Its good freakin’ news! You’re loved! You’re Loved!! YOU”RE LOVED!!! Why would you choose to look at this as empty? This is love and acceptance from God…straight to YOU!
I’m terrible at giving gifts, especially when it comes to air. (“Here I got you air….(breathe) mmmThanks”) Its not your birthday, its not Christmas day…It is today. This gift is nothing to the eye. Nothing. Yet this gift is everything to you heart. Everything to your soul.
Do you believe Jesus Christ is your savior? We can all say that Jesus was this famous guy who claimed some stuff. But what I’m asking is: Do you believe that Jesus is your Savior. Because when it comes to gifts, though it looks like nothing to the eye. It means eternal life.
I just hope today that you begin to view the promises of God, like something you can rely on. Something that you can shove into your knapsack, and even pass on to your children. They are as real as something that you would will to them. Your house, your cat, your salvation. The love of God is worth that. It’s worth holding onto. It’s worth passing on.
Let’s enjoy today, and thank God for the many blessings he’s given us, starting with his Son. I love you guys.
I like giving wine. Giving wine is weird. It’s like the vanilla of presents. You didn’t really commit to anything. Wine is versatile; you can dress it up with one of those slender bags, or dress it down with a bow. I guess the only time you really would be committing to wine as a present is if the person is in AA or something. I envision someone telling me “Geoff I told you I’ve been sober for 6 months now.” I’m like “and that’s not a reason to celebrate?...Plus it was 3 for $9.99 at Rite-Aid so I have two more in this paper bag mom.”
Wine is non-threatening. It more often then not reveals the recipient’s ability to show their appreciation in silent form… They slide the bottle halfway out of the bag, and recognize whether it’s a white or a shiraz, and as they slide the bag back, they look up and mouth the words “thank you.” Giving nods of acceptance. This… I like, because it’s hard to really wow with my gifts these days.
I attribute this to “The List.” The List is the registry for the non-married/non-showered individuals. I’m not a fan of the list. It’s taken all the spontaneity out of gift giving. Every Christmas and Birthday my mom asks me. “Geoff I need the list of what you want people to give you.” And then for the next two weeks I labor over what I want. This in itself is probably a great exercise for me because I rarely want anything. That’s not true. I know exactly the things that I want….About $16,000 to pay off my bills and back taxes. My real list consists of someone paying off my car, someone else buying me a house, expense paid weekend in Cabo. But alas I’m not Paris Hilton. So I have to make up stuff that will sit on my shelf. “I really want this book…Like I read. I really want this deodorant. “Mom and Dad I really want some wood…to build a house.”
I think a major chaos in my life that has sprung from the inception of “the list” is the “The Present Lie.” This is when you get the same thing from two different people. And as you open the present you exclaim “This is exactly what I wanted…” as you look into their eyes and think to yourself “I wonder if I can take this back.” The other person is telling their friend “you know why it was exactly what they wanted? Because it was on The List.” It’s my understanding that the Apocrypha addresses this problem as it is not addressed in the standard Protestant cannon of the Bible. In I Hezekiah it states: “Thou shalt bear false witness when your neighbor hast given you the same gift ast your other neighbor. For to tell the first neighbor the truth would be-est rude.”
The table gets turned though when there is a party and the recipient begins opening presents publicly. It’s hard when there are two identical presents opened in front of everyone, because the second person is required to apologize. “I’m sorry; I didn’t know Johnny was going to get that for you.” It’s like it’s a race. A winner and a loser. You select the most moderately priced cool item on the persons list and then spin the wheel…Boop Boop Boop Boop AAHGNK. Sorry now you must grovel!
Hence, I like giving wine… You don’t need a gift receipt with wine. Say someone else gives the same wine… now, instead of a nice dinner, they’re having a party! Talk about win/win. There are quite a few lame gifts that are given in the bible. Myrrh is one… Mary is like “he was the poor wiseman, Geoff… don’t make fun of him … he couldn’t help it” But there were others that I think could help it, and they gave the kind of gifts that make me go “HUH?”. Weird gifts that were far worse than wine. They gave their family “air”. Well not even air…just…. nothing. And not like they forgot their birthday. It was purposed, thought out, and then actually given at a particular time …given. This…nothing.
Perhaps some of you are completely confused so let me give you a little back story. There was once this guy named Abraham, a man who didn’t have very much to give. He had a simple, yet strong faith. And though he didn’t have much, there was one thing that he did have. He had this Promise. Now what is a promise but a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. To some, a promise is just words. But to Abraham this was something much more. Because it was a promise from God.
Early in Abraham’s life he was childless, and this made him very sad. But God told him that his future was going to be a little different than he thought. He said Gen 15:5 “Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." He also said 19“To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.” And there it was. God Promises. And as Abe lived his life he believed it.
Finally after a series of events Abe does have a legitimate son. And something happens that sort of messes with things. God asks Abe to sacrifice the son. A test. Now his son was the one sole thing that Abraham wanted. And Here’s God, asking him to remove it? What is that all about? Being obedient though, Abe is about to slash little Isaac’s throat in God’s name when God stops the whole mess and knows for a fact that Abe will withhold nothing from Him. Not even his only son.
I think this had a profound effect on little Isaac; possibly messed him up real good. However what he took with him from this was that this very promise from God will be fulfilled in him, and his life. God said Gen22:17 ”I'll bless you--oh, how I'll bless you! And I'll make sure that your children flourish--like stars in the sky! like sand on the beaches! And your descendants will defeat their enemies. 18All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants because you obeyed me." Nothing like your dad holding a knife to your throat to drive home a point.So skip a few years and a few dramas and we come to the end of Issacs life. And culturally there is this thing called “the blessing.” Which for our eyes looks very much like “a last will and testament.” Isaac is reading his will,( by the way … there is a lot of complicated crap going on with Jacob conniving and family issues regarding favoritism that can easily complicate what I’m trying to say. SO if you know it… cool, if you don’t know it, realize I’m skipping some stuff and read the story for yourself. ) He does at this point have quite a bit of land and “stuff” so you would think that Jacob would be wanting to hear that “he gets the house, and the cat… blah blah blah…” but this is want Issac says: Gen28:3"And may The Strong God bless you and give you many, many children, a congregation of peoples; 4 and pass on the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants so that you will get this land in which you live, this land God gave Abraham." Here’s what makes me stagger back: Isaac says to Jacob “I’m willing you… an idea… a promise….” Not stuff, not a house, this isn’t even air. Air you would seal in a plastic bag and the recipient could sniff it. But this is nothing; nothing but a set of words. Isaac is willing Jacob a future, that his father hasn’t seen, he hasn’t seen and perhaps not even his son will see it. But here is the clincher for me… Jacob’s response… “Yes! I got it. Yes!”
What is that? Can you imagine? How easy would that be if I was at a birthday party. The Person opens the wrapped gift and looks within the tissue paper, and there isn’t anything there. They turn it over to look at me in confusion and I tell them. “You’re going to have lots of descendants.” And their response is: “YESSSSSSSSSSS! I didn’t put it on ‘my list’ because I thought no one would get it for me. You truly are amazing!”
I think what is incredible about this is they viewed this promise as a possession. When you will something to your family they get it. When you will your house to your family…they get a house. Soooo… when Abe willed this promise to his son…he got it. What is so amazing to me is the promise of God that Abraham got, he never saw. He saw a glimpse of it when he had a son; but not the whole enchilada. But he still saw it a something tangible and real. So he passed it on.
The promise has happened over the ages “many, many children,” would be how the nation Israel was developed. They eventually did get the land in which Jacob lived. And a major clincher, “All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants” was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Abraham could have easily considered this promise as “nothing” but a bunch of words; especially because he never saw if it would came true or not. However, to Abraham, this “nothing” was something. So much “something” that he willed it to his kid. And his kid took the empty box filled with nothing, and gave it to his kid. And so on. The empty gift was as real to them as a house, money, or whatever. I’m sure some days they might have felt like the empty box was truly empty. But it wasn’t. It happened! That is the real substance of God’s promise.
To this day all nations continue to be blessed by Abraham’s descendants, because within that empty box, God promised to give us something extraordinary. He promised to give us eternal life. Everyone who would believe in one particular descendant of Abraham would look into this empty gift, and see that they were truly loved by God. Because it was God Himself that came down as one of Abraham, Issac, Jacob and so on’s descendants. In the form of a man called Jesus Christ. Whoever looks into this empty box called Jesus, and believes, knows that they have the grace of God. Because John3:16God loved the world so much that He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 17God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. 18Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
We have been given a gift of nothing or we have been given a gift of everything. You choose. It’s not an easy choice because it speaks of where you are and who you are. Some will never see it, though they have been given the gift over and over. Others may see it for what it is, yet place it in the back of their closet because they’ve grown to view it as one of their many possessions. The reality of this gift is exactly that, a reality. And the reality of faith is extremely simple… you either believe it or you don’t. If Jesus is not savior…your savior… you don’t have faith. It’s nothing personal, its fact: you see nothing in the gift that you’ve been given. Its time to look at your ambiguities, your questions, your myth-busters, and ask yourself… Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for you? Not did he die, no one is questioning that, but did he die for you? Is he your Savior? The empty box is staring at you, waiting for a decision, waiting for you to open your heart and say “I do choose the grace of God… I do believe.” So many times we crowd our lives with emptiness. Obstinately looking the other way because of what might happen if we take a chance and believe something that is so simple, yet so revolutionary. Maybe for once you’re seeing God’s grace filling that box. If you see the substance today… look deep… it’s the love of God for you. What if we could see that belief? What if you could hold it in your hands? Wrap it up and give it to someone? What if you could will it to your kids after you die? Believing the promises of God so strongly that you would will them to your kids. That’s just not done today.
What is God promising you this morning? Is it real to you or is it a myth. A hope. A pipedream. Let me tell you today…God’s promises are very real. So real that you can will them to your kids. The Promises of God will always meet their mark; whether you’re around to see them or not. At this moment, one of those promises is eternal life for those who would believe in Jesus. 1John 5:11 God gave us eternal life; the life is his Son. 12So, whoever has the Son, has life; [conversely] whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.
Maybe someone is going “hmmm… I disagree”… I ask you to not get into a semantically battle with me on who stays or who goes. God’s the final judge on that matter. But why on earth would you choose to reject grace? Why would you look at Jesus Christ dying on the cross and rising from the dead and not say “hallelujah!” because what that means for us is Good News! Jesus Christ paid for our sins. Saw the complexity of our problems And let us off the hook! He has given us a second chance to live “with the holy spirit inside of us” If anything, this is your proof. This is! When you believe. When you strongly take hold of that substance of God’s promise. eph13…[you] find yourselves home free--signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. 14 This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life. The proof that you are justified to have eternal life… is the Holy Spirit. To believe that God loves you, births within you a very real substance of the Holy Spirit. Which begins to show outwardly gal5:22 like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, 23not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Am I selling something?… maybe I am. Why wouldn’t I? Its good freakin’ news! You’re loved! You’re Loved!! YOU”RE LOVED!!! Why would you choose to look at this as empty? This is love and acceptance from God…straight to YOU!
I’m terrible at giving gifts, especially when it comes to air. (“Here I got you air….(breathe) mmmThanks”) Its not your birthday, its not Christmas day…It is today. This gift is nothing to the eye. Nothing. Yet this gift is everything to you heart. Everything to your soul.
Do you believe Jesus Christ is your savior? We can all say that Jesus was this famous guy who claimed some stuff. But what I’m asking is: Do you believe that Jesus is your Savior. Because when it comes to gifts, though it looks like nothing to the eye. It means eternal life.
I just hope today that you begin to view the promises of God, like something you can rely on. Something that you can shove into your knapsack, and even pass on to your children. They are as real as something that you would will to them. Your house, your cat, your salvation. The love of God is worth that. It’s worth holding onto. It’s worth passing on.
Let’s enjoy today, and thank God for the many blessings he’s given us, starting with his Son. I love you guys.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)