May 6th is Graduation day.
I did not think that I would feel excitement. I'm glad its over and theres a sense of relief, but theres a happy feeling in my heart that I wasnt really expecting. While I was wondering what it was I realized that it was the sense of accomplishing something, the feeling of finishing a task which I started which lead me to think about other things I have started but not finished. Books that Ive started and left uncompleted. Articles and stories that need more sentances. Woodworking projects that are still in pieces. People whom I continually see and never become friends with. So I started making a list. And I was a little frustrated with its length. Mind you, this is not a list of things I want to do with my life, mearly a list of books, tasks and people with which I have never completed an already started task.
Finish what you start. Its the fourth rule of living put forth by a hero of mine when I was little named Captain Kangaroo (The other ones are 1-Say please and thank you, 2-Be On time, and 3- Do what you say) Im not entirely sure what it is, we tend to start things with gusto and then we peter out, we loose the momentum, and then stop with out completing our task. If starting something new is hard, then seeing it through to the end is even more difficult. There are consequences to seeing something through to the end. School is easy compaired with the task of graduating and then looking around and saying God now what?, of putting to good use the things which you have learned so that you can now do something a little more important that flipping burgers at MacDonalds.
When I go to die, I want to feel an even greater excitement. I'm not trying to be morbid, but I want to be excited because I finished something, because I got it done right. But to get to that point at the end, I've got to start on the right path now. Ive got to choose the right things to pursue, the passions and desires that God has given me, the person who He has created me to be.
Are you choosing the right things to start and pursuing them with all you have?
Just a thought
April 25, 2006
April 18, 2006
Risking Selflessness
One of the things that I have been thinking about latley is the risk. When I read through the book of Acts or the Old Testament or the Gospels or just the whole bible, I get a great sense for how much the people of God were used by God to do amazing things. And I started wondering why. And I think that some of it was the fact that they were willing to risk all that they had to accomplish the work of the kingdom. They were willing to risk themselves. And because of that God was able to use them. I mean, start to thingk about some of the things that people were asked to do in the bible. Moses standing up to pharoh, jerimah preaching naked, hosea marrying a prostitute, peter preaching to all the religious leaders, and so on. They stopped thinking about what they wanted and started focusing on what God wanted for them.
Yet that is probably one of the biggest struggles that I face, letting go of my own desires and clinging to the desires of God. The Bible says that God wishes that none would perish, and that my mission is to go into the world making disciples, but when I go and talk to people, I mostly just want to be liked and accepted. God says that we should rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those that weep, that we are a part of a living organism and when a part of the body hurts, we all should hurt and yet its so much simpler to stay on the surface with our relationships. The Bible says that when we gather, we ought to be supporting and encouraging each other with scripture and prayer and singing and yet its more fun to play games and goof off.
And a lot of the time, all those things that I thought Id rather do leave me feeling pretty empty afterwords. And I need some sort of fix to get me going again. Seven nights in a row hanging outwith people doesnt do anything to fix lonleyness. Its prayer and seeking God and reading the scriptures and fellowship that is about encouragement and admonishing. Letting the Holy Spirit examine us, taking that time to say okay God, what do you want to work on now is a good thing. But for some of us, including myself, we start to focus inward. We start to look at what we dont have, what we need, what we want for our own lives to go down the path that we have chosen. Some people call this introspection- looking inward. I have come to realize that its more than just looking inward, its focusing inward. Call it what you want, its self-focus, self-centered, and ultimatly selfish. The world is self-focused. Media and school and sports tell us its all about us but its not. We as Christians ought to be others-focused and ultimatly Christ-focused. Its interesting to me that at mental institutions the treatment most often utilized treatment involves getting the patient to serve others. It is in the service of others that they often loose that self-focus on their own problems, starting to see that the world is much bigger than them.
Jesus says if any one wants to follow Him, then they need to deny himself, take up his cross and start following. Everyone here, at some level, has the first part down, the desire to follow Jesus. But its just so hard for us to do the next step: deny yourself. Theres a couple of things that help me with this and if you are having trouble getting over yourself (which is the highest mountain youll ever climb) try these or seek out your own ways.
The first is Prayer. I keep a record of people that I pray for. Its a reminder to me that as a Christian, we are to pray for one another. So often I can get caught up in my own needs that I forget to pray for other people, I forget that the primary work of the ministry is prayer, that above every thing we need to be people of prayer and people of one book. So the first is commiting to pray, and then regularly praying for others.
The second is Fasting. Fasting helps us cut the fat in our lives. We give up things which we are so accustomed to, which have attached themselves to our lives, and fasting helps us dientangle ourselves. We tend to think of food only when we fast so maybe I should use a different word. Maybe we need to learn the art of Simplification. Of reducing all the distractions that point us back at ourselves. I love music and I got super connect to the White Menace that is the Ipod. No seriously, Id carry it every where and used it as a means to block people out. So when it broke it was a good thing, even though it eventually got fixed. When it got fixed, I gave it away cause I no longer wanted that attachment and I knew it would bless the person I gave it to. There was a list of things that Dave gave a few years back about how to simplify our lives. One of them said make a habit of giving things away. So I did. So fasting and simplifying our lives from all the things that we just cant live without.
The third is Service. Jesus did it. He said if anyone wants to be great in the kingdom of heaven then he must serve everyone. Theres a subtleness that goes on right there. Did you know that we are supposed to serve people. That ultimately our service is towards people. Even if we clean toliets, our service becomes a service to the next person who sits there. You want to get out of a self focused funk? Then go find somebody to serve. They are out there. In church, at the well, at school, your friends, your teachers, your parents, your family. It was Jesus vission that leaders would be the biggest servants. MacDonalds got it right with their question How can I serve you today?
Are we willing to change? To deny ourselves and follow Him? Then get ready to see him move in amazing a powerful ways in our lives and in the lives of our community.
Yet that is probably one of the biggest struggles that I face, letting go of my own desires and clinging to the desires of God. The Bible says that God wishes that none would perish, and that my mission is to go into the world making disciples, but when I go and talk to people, I mostly just want to be liked and accepted. God says that we should rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those that weep, that we are a part of a living organism and when a part of the body hurts, we all should hurt and yet its so much simpler to stay on the surface with our relationships. The Bible says that when we gather, we ought to be supporting and encouraging each other with scripture and prayer and singing and yet its more fun to play games and goof off.
And a lot of the time, all those things that I thought Id rather do leave me feeling pretty empty afterwords. And I need some sort of fix to get me going again. Seven nights in a row hanging outwith people doesnt do anything to fix lonleyness. Its prayer and seeking God and reading the scriptures and fellowship that is about encouragement and admonishing. Letting the Holy Spirit examine us, taking that time to say okay God, what do you want to work on now is a good thing. But for some of us, including myself, we start to focus inward. We start to look at what we dont have, what we need, what we want for our own lives to go down the path that we have chosen. Some people call this introspection- looking inward. I have come to realize that its more than just looking inward, its focusing inward. Call it what you want, its self-focus, self-centered, and ultimatly selfish. The world is self-focused. Media and school and sports tell us its all about us but its not. We as Christians ought to be others-focused and ultimatly Christ-focused. Its interesting to me that at mental institutions the treatment most often utilized treatment involves getting the patient to serve others. It is in the service of others that they often loose that self-focus on their own problems, starting to see that the world is much bigger than them.
Jesus says if any one wants to follow Him, then they need to deny himself, take up his cross and start following. Everyone here, at some level, has the first part down, the desire to follow Jesus. But its just so hard for us to do the next step: deny yourself. Theres a couple of things that help me with this and if you are having trouble getting over yourself (which is the highest mountain youll ever climb) try these or seek out your own ways.
The first is Prayer. I keep a record of people that I pray for. Its a reminder to me that as a Christian, we are to pray for one another. So often I can get caught up in my own needs that I forget to pray for other people, I forget that the primary work of the ministry is prayer, that above every thing we need to be people of prayer and people of one book. So the first is commiting to pray, and then regularly praying for others.
The second is Fasting. Fasting helps us cut the fat in our lives. We give up things which we are so accustomed to, which have attached themselves to our lives, and fasting helps us dientangle ourselves. We tend to think of food only when we fast so maybe I should use a different word. Maybe we need to learn the art of Simplification. Of reducing all the distractions that point us back at ourselves. I love music and I got super connect to the White Menace that is the Ipod. No seriously, Id carry it every where and used it as a means to block people out. So when it broke it was a good thing, even though it eventually got fixed. When it got fixed, I gave it away cause I no longer wanted that attachment and I knew it would bless the person I gave it to. There was a list of things that Dave gave a few years back about how to simplify our lives. One of them said make a habit of giving things away. So I did. So fasting and simplifying our lives from all the things that we just cant live without.
The third is Service. Jesus did it. He said if anyone wants to be great in the kingdom of heaven then he must serve everyone. Theres a subtleness that goes on right there. Did you know that we are supposed to serve people. That ultimately our service is towards people. Even if we clean toliets, our service becomes a service to the next person who sits there. You want to get out of a self focused funk? Then go find somebody to serve. They are out there. In church, at the well, at school, your friends, your teachers, your parents, your family. It was Jesus vission that leaders would be the biggest servants. MacDonalds got it right with their question How can I serve you today?
Are we willing to change? To deny ourselves and follow Him? Then get ready to see him move in amazing a powerful ways in our lives and in the lives of our community.
April 3, 2006
A game of hide and seek death match with the ultimate champion
Last week we talked about meditation on the word of God even when life seems to be going every way but the right one. Willy shared about his week of having to struggle though his time in the word and the choice that he made to meditated upon it.
But why? Why bother with it? I go to read my bible and it seems there are suddenly a hundred other things to do, and sometimes even washing the dishes looks better than cracking open a bible. Every thing of this world pulls and tugs at my soul. Its a constant noise inside my head. Bigger, better, stronger, faster. This other thing is what will really make you happy. This other way will lead you to success and self-fulfillment.
You can call it slick advertisement, a good campaign, media marketing, or what ever, but I call them lies. Willy was right last week when he said that commercials have the ability to manipulate our thinking. I wasnt even thirsty but now after that commercial all I want to drink is a big, old refreshing coca-cola. After watching the commercial I was convinced of my need for something to satisfy a desire I didnt really even have.
And it rips us off. Because we have some real needs in our lives that the world would love to just ignore and push in the corner. Because the world cant package it, sell it, or market it in a way that makes them a buck.
But Christ came that we might have life and life to the fullest! This is not an empty promise. I have become such a skeptic some times because nothing ever seems to live up to its promises. The refreshing taste of coke that makes you go AHH! is actually the acid in the Coke burning away the lining of your esophagus. Its the same stuff you use to take chrome off of metal. And I'm afraid that Christs promises might not actually be TRUE. Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. He says to us. So because we have been burned by every thing false in this world, we fear to draw towards the one true thing, the one true reality in this world.
We are so messed up we are not even sure what truth really is. The word gets thrown around all these days. Wanna be rappers say true that, double true. People go in to court and promise to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth when in fact they are totally prepared to lie. Philosophers and poets say they are searching for the deeper truths while espousing nothing more than their own personal take on life. Even Pilate when he was questioning Jesus said, What is truth?
When I go to describe a particular aspect of an object, the chair is white, the wall is brown, 2 2=4, these are all statements that can be either proven or disproved. No the chair is actually yellow and the wall is green but 2 2=4. And then theres another sort of truth. The yellow chair is better that the white one. Well why? And then I list off a list of reasons why I think this to be true, and none of them really convince you and you say well its great that you think the yellow one is better but I think the white one is better. Are you right or am I right. We cant both be right, right? This is where we realize that we maybe using words like truth and right far too loosely. I would say that what we call truth actually falls into one of two categories. The first is a description of reality the other is an expression of opinion. Often times its easy to see which category something falls in. Two plus two = four. Thats a description of reality. Rocky road is the best flavor of ice cream. Thats an opinion; it would have to be, why else would they make other flavors then. Some times its not so easy. How about Texas is big Well it is right? Thats reality. Well big compared to what? Big compared to New Hampshire, absolutely. Big, compared to South America, probably not. Its actually a statement of opinion. Now the statement that Texas is 3 times the size of California is a description of reality
Now one of the reasons that it can be hard for us to distinguish between the two types is that a successful marketer is trying to get you to believe that their opinion is actually a description of reality. And then they take things that are reality and call them just an opinion
Because theres lots of opinions out there about Jesus. He was just a man. He was a good teacher, a prophet. He didnt really die and rise from the dead. Wasnt he married to Mary Magdalene, didnt he come to America and preach to the Indians. And then what about Muslims, and Buddhists and triibalists, what about their traditions and beliefs. Doesnt that make Christianity and Jesus just another opinion among many.
No. Jesus himself said, I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the father except though me. Thats pretty exclusive language. And what backs that up? What makes that not just Jesus opinion, but a description of reality? Wheres the proof.
I know lots of guys who could give you good reasons how I can know that God exists, that Jesus was God, and that the bible is true. They are good reasons, I know some of them and Id be happy to share some of them if you want to come talk to me about them or drop me a line over the Internet.
But reason I know that Jesus and the word are true is because of a changed lives. Because of my changed life. You see theres third category of truth. It describes reality, but not reality as we see it. Its the reality of God. When we went to Chicago one of the guys speaking hit on this. He said 2 2=4 but that doesnt change your life. It is the truth in Gods word to us that will make an impact on our lives. But is it up to us to sort through every thing thats thrown at us during the day? In a way yes. We are to take our thoughts captive, which means examining what we are thinking about and then realizing where that thought comes from and what to do with that thought.
But we have a helper in this. Thank God that we have a helper. When Jesus was hanging out with his disciples the day before his execution, he spoke in detail about the Holy Spirit who was to come, John 16:13 I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
Do you get that? God himself has promised to lead us into the truth, to teach us the truth and yet few of us take the time to listen an follow God who is waiting to tell you great and mighty things which we do not know (Jer 33:3) We just need be willing to listen. And that requires being in the word on a regular basis, of meditating on the word, and of struggling through the drawings of our own flesh.
But why? Why bother with it? I go to read my bible and it seems there are suddenly a hundred other things to do, and sometimes even washing the dishes looks better than cracking open a bible. Every thing of this world pulls and tugs at my soul. Its a constant noise inside my head. Bigger, better, stronger, faster. This other thing is what will really make you happy. This other way will lead you to success and self-fulfillment.
You can call it slick advertisement, a good campaign, media marketing, or what ever, but I call them lies. Willy was right last week when he said that commercials have the ability to manipulate our thinking. I wasnt even thirsty but now after that commercial all I want to drink is a big, old refreshing coca-cola. After watching the commercial I was convinced of my need for something to satisfy a desire I didnt really even have.
And it rips us off. Because we have some real needs in our lives that the world would love to just ignore and push in the corner. Because the world cant package it, sell it, or market it in a way that makes them a buck.
But Christ came that we might have life and life to the fullest! This is not an empty promise. I have become such a skeptic some times because nothing ever seems to live up to its promises. The refreshing taste of coke that makes you go AHH! is actually the acid in the Coke burning away the lining of your esophagus. Its the same stuff you use to take chrome off of metal. And I'm afraid that Christs promises might not actually be TRUE. Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. He says to us. So because we have been burned by every thing false in this world, we fear to draw towards the one true thing, the one true reality in this world.
We are so messed up we are not even sure what truth really is. The word gets thrown around all these days. Wanna be rappers say true that, double true. People go in to court and promise to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth when in fact they are totally prepared to lie. Philosophers and poets say they are searching for the deeper truths while espousing nothing more than their own personal take on life. Even Pilate when he was questioning Jesus said, What is truth?
When I go to describe a particular aspect of an object, the chair is white, the wall is brown, 2 2=4, these are all statements that can be either proven or disproved. No the chair is actually yellow and the wall is green but 2 2=4. And then theres another sort of truth. The yellow chair is better that the white one. Well why? And then I list off a list of reasons why I think this to be true, and none of them really convince you and you say well its great that you think the yellow one is better but I think the white one is better. Are you right or am I right. We cant both be right, right? This is where we realize that we maybe using words like truth and right far too loosely. I would say that what we call truth actually falls into one of two categories. The first is a description of reality the other is an expression of opinion. Often times its easy to see which category something falls in. Two plus two = four. Thats a description of reality. Rocky road is the best flavor of ice cream. Thats an opinion; it would have to be, why else would they make other flavors then. Some times its not so easy. How about Texas is big Well it is right? Thats reality. Well big compared to what? Big compared to New Hampshire, absolutely. Big, compared to South America, probably not. Its actually a statement of opinion. Now the statement that Texas is 3 times the size of California is a description of reality
Now one of the reasons that it can be hard for us to distinguish between the two types is that a successful marketer is trying to get you to believe that their opinion is actually a description of reality. And then they take things that are reality and call them just an opinion
Because theres lots of opinions out there about Jesus. He was just a man. He was a good teacher, a prophet. He didnt really die and rise from the dead. Wasnt he married to Mary Magdalene, didnt he come to America and preach to the Indians. And then what about Muslims, and Buddhists and triibalists, what about their traditions and beliefs. Doesnt that make Christianity and Jesus just another opinion among many.
No. Jesus himself said, I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the father except though me. Thats pretty exclusive language. And what backs that up? What makes that not just Jesus opinion, but a description of reality? Wheres the proof.
I know lots of guys who could give you good reasons how I can know that God exists, that Jesus was God, and that the bible is true. They are good reasons, I know some of them and Id be happy to share some of them if you want to come talk to me about them or drop me a line over the Internet.
But reason I know that Jesus and the word are true is because of a changed lives. Because of my changed life. You see theres third category of truth. It describes reality, but not reality as we see it. Its the reality of God. When we went to Chicago one of the guys speaking hit on this. He said 2 2=4 but that doesnt change your life. It is the truth in Gods word to us that will make an impact on our lives. But is it up to us to sort through every thing thats thrown at us during the day? In a way yes. We are to take our thoughts captive, which means examining what we are thinking about and then realizing where that thought comes from and what to do with that thought.
But we have a helper in this. Thank God that we have a helper. When Jesus was hanging out with his disciples the day before his execution, he spoke in detail about the Holy Spirit who was to come, John 16:13 I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
Do you get that? God himself has promised to lead us into the truth, to teach us the truth and yet few of us take the time to listen an follow God who is waiting to tell you great and mighty things which we do not know (Jer 33:3) We just need be willing to listen. And that requires being in the word on a regular basis, of meditating on the word, and of struggling through the drawings of our own flesh.
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