the waiting is the hardest part...

I have heard it said that patience is a virtue... I have also heard it said that if you pray for patience that God will put you in situations that force you to be patient. Now, I don't know if either of those things is actually true because neither of those statements is in the Bible, but I'll tell you one thing: waiting sucks... especially if you are waiting on news... Even as I type this I am sitting in a waiting room to hear how the surgery of a loved one has gone, and while I am not anticipating any negative news still the waiting is the hardest part...

Looking to Scripture for comfort, one of the most intriguing things I find is the description of God in the Old Testament. Check out how God names Himself when He speaks to Moses

5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Exodus 34:5-7a

This happens right after Moses goes back up to get the second copy of the 10 commandments, after the Israelites have built the golden calf, and Moses destroys the first copy. It's really poignant to me that even though the Israelites have shown themselves to be utter failures and totally disobedient, and even when Moses loses his patience, God is right there to demonstrate His.

Right now, I need that kind of God to be the Lord in my life and be patient for me, when I can't be.

The "Christ" in Christmas...

So, it's Christmas time once again, and I am faced with a conundrum... Should Christians "boycott" retailers that don't use the term "Merry Christmas" but instead "Happy Holidays" or some other neutral phrase? Check the link here for an article related to the most recent movement in that direction. "Christians Urged to Boycott Retailers..."

On the one hand, I see the point of many Christian leaders that I respect immensely... the elimination of the word "Christ" in any public arena represents a decline in the acceptability of our faith at all. Now, not to seem alarmist, but it's a short step from that little verbal removal to outright persecution, segregation and worse. That is and should be huge concern to all Christians.

On the other hand, is boycotting a company really the Christian thing to do? Are we allowing these stores to not only take the "Christmas" out of Christmas, but also the Christians out of Christmas? Jesus calls us, in the gospel of Matthew, to be the light in the world... but how can we do that if we refuse to go into the entire marketplace?

My dad had a saying that always stuck with me. He would say, "You don't shine the light by cursing the darkness, but by being the light..." It seems pretty obvious. I mean, when you go into a room you don't yell at the lamp to come on (unless you have a fancy noise-activated lamp) and then get rid of it when it doesn't turn on. You have to go over to the lamp and put some of your own power into it.

As Christians, we can't expect the dark world to act like the light, unless we infuse it with our witness of Jesus first. If we are rejected, than that is a different story. But we have to be the light in the world and not keep our lights separate, segregating ourselves and further pushing our faith to the fringes. We must be so attractive that the world will "see our good works and praise our Father in heaven."

What does that mean for us? It means that when we go into the marketplace, we clothe ourselves with Jesus Christ. We say, "Merry Christmas" not in a way that is militant or rude, but in a way that points toward the grace and love of Jesus Himself. We must be the "Merry Christmas" before we become overly concerned about saying the words.

Now, you may disagree. You might think that I am spiritualizing an excuse for consumerism. That's okay, feel free to tell me so. What's your take on this?

oh, the things to be thankful for...

So, in case you haven't heard... which I don't know how that is possible... gas prices have dropped below $2/gal. for the first time in over three years! HOORAY and pass the pump! Well, maybe not pass the gas pump, but as we head into the holiday season it's definitely something to be thankful for.

The crazy thing is that 10 years ago that would have been ridiculous. When I graduated from high school gas was right around $1/gal. and very few people thought about filling up the ol' car. Sure, my parents remember paying a lot more for gas in the 70s and early 80s and when I lived in Europe as an early adolescent I remember Mom and Dad talking about it, but more or less I think we took it for granted that in the US gas prices would be cheap. Sure, getting good MPGs was a selling point for buying a car, but it wasn't a make or break. Americans bought outlandishly huge SUVs whether they needed them or not... remember the first Hummer that got like 6 mpg... funny.

Things have certainly changed, because I don't know about you, but when I get around that turkey this week and begin thinking about what I am thankful for one of the things I will be praising God for is that gas prices are falling.

Now, is that weird? I don't know. I mean, I'm certainly not more thankful for the low gas prices than I am for my loving wife or my family, or the fact that I am relatively healthy and I have a job or am a part of a good church or a nice home or the thousand other things that are more important. But, I gotta tell you... when you drive as much as I do and have to fill up a car as much as I do seeing the ticker only go hint $25 as opposed to $45 is not insignificant. It's something to be thankful for. And, yes, I thank God. Now, that may be the weird thing for some of you... What does God have to do with it?

I believe that God is absolutely 100% in control of everything, and while that can create some discomfort for me intellectually and emotionally at times, it is a tremendous comfort all the time. Because when things are good I know that God is in control, and when things are not good I know He is still in control. I'm not really dependent upon anyone person or any one thing. I'm just dependent upon a God who does not change.

Times change. Families change. Jobs change. Gas prices change. Churches change. Governments change. Health changes. God does not. And that is something to be thankful for. Because whether I know it or not, I know that Romans 8:28 is true...

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

and from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10...

[Jesus said], 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

you are in the Cash Cab...

"It's a TV game show that takes place right here in my taxi!"



Alright, so if you're not familiar with this great Discovery Channel show, you are probably pretty confused. So, I'll fill you in...

Basically, there's this cab in New York City driven by our host, Ben Bailey. The passengers are asked questions ranging in prize money and difficulty until they reach their destination. There are "RED LIGHT CHALLLENGES!!!!!", three strikes and you're out, and at the end the passengers have the option of doubling their money with a video bonus question. That's about it. Simple.

The cool thing about the show is that it totally catches the contestants/passengers off-guard. It doesn't make sense to them at first. They get into the cab expecting on thing and then their expectations are totally up-ended. And at the very least the people get a free cab ride.

So, often we have expectations for our lives. We have plans. And then things happen. Life happens and our expectations change and they shift. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but whatever the case maybe it catches us off-guard.

The one person that is never caught off-guard, though is our Lord. He knows the good, the bad, and the in-between and nothing is a surprise. But He does surprise us. He surprises us in that He takes the bad and the ugly... the problems and the pain... and brings us to places that we never thought we could be.

People who overcome major illnesses are able to help others who may be facing the same thing. People who have faced financial difficulties can sympathize with others who have problems in similar areas. We become more compassionate by going through the fires of life. We become more generous by needing generosity ourselves. We become better people by the discipline that comes from the hard times.

It's unexpected. Good coming out of the bad. Loveliness coming out of ugliness. But that is the entire story of the Bible. God making great things come out of horrible things. Pick up the Bible and take nearly any story, and that's what you will find. This is a great passage that points to that very thing.

He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity. - Job 36:15

How does God deliver people? By their pain. How do people hear Him? When they are in pain. God makes beautiful come out of the ugly... the great come out of the small.

The sweetest things...

So, I have a confession to make... I can seriously put away some snack food. No joke. If there is anything remotely munchie-like in the house I'll devour it. Chips. Small candies. Cookies. Brownies. And especially cereal. We cannot have cereal of any kind in the house lest I gain massive amounts of weight courtesy of my friends at General Mills. Of course, you know what happens... you get what I call "a-hankering" for something... that's "southern" for craving, jonesing, etc... and you cannot stop thinking about it until you've gotten a taste.

That is exactly what happened to me a couple of days ago. I got a massive hankering for Lucky Charms... OOOOOOHHHHHH Yeah! That sugary, marshmellowy, "turn the milk in your bowl an odd shade of grey" goodness... fortified with vitamins and minerals... Now, I haven't had Lucky Charms in years, but for some reason, I was just like ravenous for some Lucky Charms. So, that's what I got... and six bowls later and several dozen handfuls and that box was gone... it didn't even last a day. (Unfortunately, now that I am talking about them, I want them again...)

Here's the thing with cereals, especially those like Lucky Charms: they're great for a while, but really bad for you if you eat them all the time as your only source of nutrition... even with all those vitamins and minerals. As kids, we learn to eat breakfast and so we start with things like Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, Honey Smacks, and the like, but as we grow our parents point us to more nutritious things like fruit, and whole grain bagels, and other things for breakfast. Those things are good for you and the taste is pretty good, but come on, they are no Lucky Charms.

Now, as a adults a couple of things might happen: either we never let ourselves have the taste of those sugary cereals and we only eat whole wheat mush, or we reject the more healthy foods all-together, sticking with the all-fat breakfast... or of course there are those people that don't eat breakfast at all...

Spiritually, we can allow ourselves to fall into a rut. As I observe Christians I know, they typically fall into similar categories when it comes to their Bible intake. 1) They only stick to the promises and the passages that talk about God's love and forgiveness, they keep to the warm, feel-good passages... they typically ignore the parts where God is a judge or a warrior. 2) There are also people who are always wanting a kick in the pants from the Bible. To these people, the justice of God is the main thing... Hell, fire and brimstone are the passages that get their spiritual juices flowing. When they do talk about God's forgiveness and love, it is usually followed by a, "yeah, but... God is a righteous and holy judge..." 3) And this is the worst... there are those "Christians" who don't get into the Bible at all, fearing they might be challenged or disappointed or their preconceived ideas about God might be blown up.

I can totally understand all three of these reactions because the fact is the Bible is challenging, and our minds are small. Even the brightest of people run up against things they can't wrap their brains around. So, what are we to do? Quit? Stick to only one topic and that be our personal version of God?

The Scripture makes it pretty clear that we need all these things, whether we get it our not. The writer of Hebrews says it pretty clearly

...you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Hebrews 5:12b-14

But then Peter says...

2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3

So, what can we say? Every once in a while we need the Lucky Charms of the Bible. The sweet stuff, the stuff that shows us that in order to enter the Kingdom of God we have to do so as a little child. But at the same time, we can't stay there. We need the meat. The roughage. The stuff that maybe a bit tough to swallow, but once it's there it is so good for the soul.

What's the lesson in all this? Eat your Lucky Charms, eat your non-fat yogurt with whole wheat bagels. Eat your pancakes and bananas... Read the Psalms, read Leviticus, read Revelation and John.

Read the whole Bible. Ultimately, it's all good.

and the winner is...

For those keeping score... the winner of the weird band name poll is...

Chumbawumba!

Thanks for playing...

a rose by any other name...

So, I love music... I love all sorts of music (and yes, I have an appreciation for old country and rap), and I have been really blessed to be in a couple of different bands over the years. One of the most fun and difficult things about starting a band is figuring out what you are going to call yourselves as a collective... what will be your identity as a band? How will people know the group as a group? And it can be fun...

But bands can come up with some seriously messed up names.

As I thought about this I took a look through the old iTunes library to see some of the bands I have on file, and then I browsed through the iTunes music store to find the kings and queens of the ridiculous band names (actually 'Kings and Queens of the Ridiculous' is not a bad band name)... Anyway, so here are ten that I found in no particular order that I think are kinda crazy from different genres (though the rock/alt genre gets more play from me) and different decades. And, because there are literally billions of unsigned, unpublished musicians out there with crazy names, I am limiting to those that have produced a record on some sort of label. (editor's note: Because this is a faith-based blog I have to say that just because these bands are on the list does not mean I endorse them, their message, or their music)

1. ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead
The ellipsis is actually part of the band name, and no, they are not a thrash, death metal band, which makes the name all the more quirky.

2. Panic! At the Disco
I give credit to any band that puts punctuation in the name.

3. Blue Oyster Cult
Classic. Maybe one of the definitively great band names of this decade.

4. Three Dog Night
Again. Classic. Mama Told Me Not to Come is great!

5. Kajagoogoo and Limahl
80s greatness. I'm not sure if this name is actually related to the band members' names, but it's on the list because Kajagoogoo is funny to say!

6. Hootie and the Blowfish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Goo Goo Dolls
Because there are so many, kinda weird, but not quite "out there" band names from the 90s I'm combining these together.

7. Chumbawamba
I rest my case.

8. Strawberry Alarm Clock
Psychedelic band from the 60s with great songs like Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow.

9. Death Cab for Cutie
Indie rock for the kids.

10. Fat Boy Slim
Praise You is a great song, and great for running really fast.

So, what is with these names seriously? I mean, even the normal band names aren't really that normal... Coldplay, U2, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones... Now, some of them have interesting back stories, some come from nights of inebriation, others are really just three or four randomly selected words that happen to fit together like a game of Mad Libs. I have been in bands that have had very strange names, and if you ask nicely I'll tell you, but I'm not going to totally throw myself under the comedy bus... but trust me, it's good.

No matter what the reason a band name gets chosen, the fact is that the mention of a band name alone can bring up memories of songs, high school dances, long drives, family struggles, and on and on to those that are fans. The identity of the band is so strongly tied to its name.

For us, even though technically our parent's give us our names, God understands how names can tie in closely with our identities. For me, my name is Zachary, and it comes from the Hebrew word which means "God remembers," and that has always stuck with me, whether I felt close to the Lord or not. My wife's name is Julia, which means "youthful spirit". If you know Jules then you know that fits her bright personality well.

I understand that in our modern day, we don't name our children based on meaning and that's okay. We name based on family names, names we like the sound of, names of our favorite authors, names of our favorite television characters, etc.

Regardless of our given names God already has us named. Throughout the Bible God renames people to tell the story of His actions in that person's life... Abram to Abraham, Joshua to Israel, Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul... Jesus was given his name specifically and for a real purpose. And for us, God has done and will do the same things.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. - Revelation 2:17

But the question is: what is the big deal about getting a new name?

In God's economy our names are tied directly to our identities, and He is in the business of restoring our identities. Many of you probably don't feel good about yourselves. Maybe you feel like going by the name of Failure, Unloved, or Unlovable. Maybe you feel like your name should be Ugly, Dirty, Tired, and so far from God that He can't possibly hear you.

But the truth, is that is not your actual identity in Christ. In Jesus Christ, we have the name Loved, Forgiven, Free, Righteous, Child, Friend, and the list goes on and on. The Bible is full of promises to us that seek to show us how God actually sees us. The way we see ourselves it comes straight from Satan who lies to us to keep us in our guilt and sin.

We simply can't live the way God longs for us to live unless we understand that in Him and through Him we have the power to overcome our current condition, and in Him and through Him we are loved beyond any measure we can hope for. And here's the beauty part, God has taken the initiative to write that new name for us, and notice in Revelation that name is written on stone, not paper, not even in a computer, but on something that is substantial and permanent, something that cannot be lost.








on the subject of band names... if you know the back story of any of these band names, or have a seriously weird band name, post it here...

that has nothing to do with it...

Gas prices are high. That is one of the most obvious statements that can be made today. I mean it is true, and it has been true for the last half-decade... but what is not so obvious is how certain companies are using high gas prices to actually sell stuff... Now, I can understand how high gases prices can be used to sell hybrid vehicles, bicycles, walking or running shoes, but not so much with other things.

Two examples that have really bothered me are the use of high gases prices to sell pools, and to sell LCD/plasma TVs... yes that's right pools and plasma televisions. I should explain that these are radio ads that I hear while listening to sports talk radio on my way into school or work... so basically the spots go something like this... (insert your own radio announcer voice here)...

"Are you tired of high gas prices? Can't get to the beach? Well, bring the water to you with a new (company name) designed pool..."

"Hey, we all know gas prices are expensive, so instead of packing up the kids and driving to the big game save that money and buy a new flat panel TV from (company name)..."

Now, maybe it's just me but that's just ridiculous... I mean, do people seriously spend so much money on driving to the beach that they would actually save money by purchasing a $8,000 pool. Or do people spend so much on gas driving to football games that a plasma screen TV would be a savings. I might be wrong but, those seem like luxury items to me and really don't relate at all to the point of high gas prices.

When it comes to faith we often times can get caught up doing things in the name of Christ that really aren't related to Him at all. For example, every Sunday people all of the country get dressed-up in coats and ties (me included) and Sunday dresses to go to church. Now, why? Well, I think most people would tell you that they do it to bring God their best, but I think that more than a few people get dressed up to try and impress other people.

For me personally, I find the major struggle being that I try to do so much for God, that I don't do anything with God, and that can be especially dangerous. Isaiah 64:6-7 tells us just how dangerous it can be...

6 All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

7 No one calls on your name
or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us
and have given us over to our sins.

It says, that our righteous acts become like filthy rags unless we first strive after the Lord. As believers, we can get so mixed up doing so much in our churches or in charities that we believe that is our faith, but our faith consists not so much in what we do, but in who we are in Christ.

I think, that is why God sometimes disrupts our lives with problems and pains and disappointments so that we understand that a true relationship with our Lord is one that rests in Him, one that is quiet in Him, and one in which our actions are governed by a life of faithfully guided by His power.

something old, something new...

There is real power in change and discomfort. I never used to really believe that, but lately I have had no choice but to submit to changing times and uncomfortable situations.

As most of you know I am a worship leader, and one of my responsibilities is to organize and plan the worship of a contemporary service. Recently, we lost a pretty important band member... nothing tragic, he just moved on to take an internship out-of-state... and replacing him has been difficult. At around the same time our drummer's other employer has been forcing him to take on Sunday hours and essentially taking him out of the mix for a couple of weeks. At this same time, we found that our pastor was diagnosed with cancer. It seemed to me that God was slowly but progressively taking our church and me into some fairly uncomfortable waters. Now, of all these things certainly the most serious of issues is the last, but all contribute to a feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty.

I have led worship in some capacity for nearly 9 years whether as a support instrumentalist or the lead guy, and it is always easier and more comforting when you have the noise of a full band, and the trusted leadership of a pastor at the helm. And in the last several weeks, it seems as though God has been allowing those security blankets to be taken away, whether actually or just in my head.

At times, I'll admit that I have have panicked a bit internally. I have questioned the actual sanity of God. I have asked the question repeatedly, "Alright now, Lord, what the heck is going on here? Why all this now?" And then I realized that the quality of our worship before the Lord and the stability of His church does not rest on me or a band or even the pastor. The foundation of a true church does not sit upon the standard operating procedure of a worship service, or even on the well-being of a good staff.

It rests on God alone.

This is where being a good Calvinist is such a comfort to me, because I know God has absolutely everything under His control and at His command and that not only can He, but He will work all things together for the good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. Not only that, I know that because it is His church ultimately in cannot fail.

This Sunday, we had no drummer, no electric guitars, but we set our eyes upon the light of Jesus in a literal way. We earnestly prayed. We shouted together that "It's gonna BE ALRIGHT!"

I'll admit, it wasn't comfortable for me, and that's probably just how God wanted it.

in the tumult...

If you look at the blog that Julie and I update on a regular basis, you know that we have had some pretty heavy news in our family. Julie's dad, and our consequently our pastor, was diagnosed with colon cancer. This is the kind of news that can shake your core and make you question everything, but there have been some amazing signs that God is working and ministering to us even in this time.

Tom (Julie's dad) said that he has found an even deeper faith through this because in moments of sleepless nights and anxiety, God gives him a verse or a song or hymn that comforts him and points him back to his faith in God. I have found those times myself in the past 10 days or so.

Just a quick example... Last week, I got ready to teach our weekly Bible study... the first since Julie and I found out about Tom's cancer... and of course, I am teaching on Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4... you know the story... There's a huge storm while the disciples and Jesus are in boat, the disciples are freaking out, and Jesus thinks this is a great time to catch a nap. The disciples wake him up and ask if he cares that they will die. Jesus gets up. Rebukes the storm. Things calm down. And he asks, "Do you still have no faith?"

I asked the question, "What would Jesus have considered faith?" I mean, didn't the disciples run to him? Isn't that what they were supposed to do? Isn't that faith?

I think Jesus wanted his disciples to understand something; that faith isn't faith until it has ridden out the storm. Sometimes we gain faith when we see miracles, but true faith comes not by seeing but by believing in spite of the circumstances.

Jesus said to Thomas after he showed himself, "...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

This is easier said than done for sure. Right now, I am struggling between riding out the storm with God in control and just being in a constant state of asking 'why'. Now, faith doesn't mean you don't have questions... in fact, faith is faith when the questions consistently go unanswered.

When I look at the disciples actions... what would Jesus have had the disciples do? I think, faith would have meant the disciples laying down and taking a nap with Jesus. I may be wrong, but if Christ is the supreme example for our faith than what option do we have? To face things as he did. To lay down with him. To follow him regardless of storms, fires, sacrifices or cancer.

The great thing about this story in Mark 4 is that, even though Jesus seems disappointed in the disciples' actions, he still calms the storm. He didn't wake up and preach them a sermon on faith at this point. He didn't chastise them and leave them in a panic. Jesus understood his disciples and understood what their faith could bear. He gave them only up to what they could bear, but not more.

God is a God of grace, and even though the situations of life might test us with God for us nothing can be against us. It may not always feel that way, it may not always seem that way.

But it is that way, and right now I'm having to learn how that works.

very excitable...

So, yesterday there was a pretty cool little Apple event introducing a revamped line of iPod products and some software updates for said products. Being a total Mac guy (though admittedly I am posting this on a Dell right now) I watched as three separate blogs posted real-time updates of the event. Now, I know what some of you are thinking, "seriously?" Yes, seriously. Oh, but it gets worse.

Later that evening after the event was over, I plopped down on the ol' couch and watched the event on my laptop. And, wonderful wife that she is, Julie watched along too. As she was watching she said, "It's weird to me that this isn't a Christian thing." The way she said it, I knew what she meant. She meant that, with the stage, the lighting, the touting of the exploits of "the greatest portable music device in the world", and even the music at the end provided by Jack Johnson, it seemed very much like a worship service. I'll admit too that I wait for these sorts of events, and watched in technological wonderment as the new features are described in glorious detail. It makes you want to jump up and sing!

So scary, right?

Here's the thing: there is a line between healthy admiration and idol worship. And if we are honest, we all skirt the line and sometimes we even jump over it.

When I look at a pretty famous example of idol worship in the Bible I think of the golden calf story... you know when Moses goes up the mountain to get the 10 commandments, the people get bored, so Aaron (Moses' brother) makes a statue of a cow for the people to have a party around. This is a weird story in a lot of respects for Western audience to get, but the weirdest thing that happens is when Aaron finishes making the calf he says, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

Now, we all sit back say, "Wait a minute. That cow didn't bring you out of Egypt, God did!"

You see, the Israelites idol worship was terrible because they were giving credit to a stupid cow for something God had done. They were putting their hope and trust and getting excited about something that hadn't done anything for them.

For all of us I think the line is similar. When we put so much faith that this thing or that thing will bring us contentedness, we worship an idol. When we put so much emphasis on a person or job that we can't see past them, we worship an idol. When our hope for the future rests on a given outcome rather than on provision of God, we worship an idol. When things don't go our way and we blame or even curse God, we worship an idol. When things do go our way and we get excited to everyone else but fail to praise God, we worship an idol. When our sleep becomes more important than coming together with God's people, we worship an idol. When we read book and magazine or watch as much TV as possible but don't make the time to sit down and get into God's Word, we worship an idol.

It's a sneaky thing... idol worship.

I'm guilty of this in more ways than just wanting techno-geeky stuff (though that certainly becomes an idol for me), and I'm sure you are to. Look at your life and really ask the questions: Where is my hope? Where is my trust? Where do I run to when I want to rejoice? Who or what do I blame when things go wrong? Where are my priorities? What do I worry about more than anything?

Find your idols and then give them right back to the Lord.

the rebar of faith...

I'm not a construction guy... I don't build a lot things, I don't really work with my hands, I don't understand the physics or science of construction all that well, but one thing I know: Rebar is tough stuff... Rebar or reinforcing bar is that carbon steel bar placed in concrete structures to give it strength and stability. It's somewhat bendable but incredibly strong and is used in everything from foundations to walls to keep structures together.

Now, I always though concrete was pretty strong simply on its own, and it is, but it is made that much stronger by rebar. When really crazy elements come up against a building it is the rebar that keeps the concrete together. If a construction company neglects the rebar their can be disastrous results.

You know, often I forget that my faith needs that same sort of reinforcing bar. It needs that same material to keep it strong and to maintain its security when the elements of the daily grind start to where on it. But what is the rebar of faith?

When I thought about that I had to take into consideration that this thing has to be stable, it has to be consistent, it is not something that tests faith (though those sorts of things strengthen faith as well), but it is the foundation where faith rests. That led me to think of one thing: prayer.

I know what you're thinking... "My prayer life isn't always that consistent or stable. How can that be the rebar?"

Well, that's one key point. Just like the neglect of the reinforcing bar can have disastrous results on the integrity of a building, so can the neglect of prayer have a seriously negative impact on the integrity of one's faith.

1 Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
2 Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4 Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.”Interlude

5 Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!
6 He made a dry path through the Red Sea,
and his people went across on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 For by his great power he rules forever.
He watches every movement of the nations;
let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude

8 Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises.
9 Our lives are in his hands,
and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God;
you have purified us like silver.
11 You captured us in your net
and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 Then you put a leader over us.
We went through fire and flood,
but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

13 Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings
to fulfill the vows I made to you—
14 yes, the sacred vows that I made
when I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma,
and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me. Psalm 66 (NLT)

Now, anyone reading this that remembers their Sunday School can probably pick up that this was written by Moses shortly after he and all of Israel ran from Pharaoh and Egypt... note the Red Sea reference... What's interesting is that this is a Psalm praising God, but also a Psalm that shows life isn't easy. Where does the joy of faith come from for Moses? Prayer. (see vs. 20).

Unlike some Christians, I don't believe your life is supposed to be easy or fun or somehow happier just because you are a Christian. In fact, the mark of God's people is suffering (but that's a post for another day). The strength of Christianity is that we have direct access to our God. He is a personal God who cares deeply for His children. So that when we pray, something extraordinary happens... God actually listens. And our sincere prayers of faith can actually have an impact on what God does.

21Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:21-22 (NIV)

How does that work exactly? To be honest... I don't know. But I know that faith and prayer go hand-in-hand, and there is something supernatural that happens when a faithful person prays to the Creator of All Things... He listens.

day 8...

It's been 8 days since the opening ceremonies of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (I have learned since my last post that this is, in fact, the proper way to write this), and what a fantastic week of competition... and, no, I'm not talking about that Phelps guy's 1/100th of a second victory to tie Mark Spitz's record for 7 gold medals in one Olympics, I'm not talking about Nastia Lukin and her gymnastic artistry or the fact that she had to compete against the pre-adolescent Chinese team, I'm not referring to the return to dominance of the US Men's basketball team (dubbed the Redeem Team... appropriate since this is a Christian blog), and I'm not even talking about my favorite sport, track and field with Bernard Legat, Lopez Lomong, Deena Kastor, Ryan Hall, and the all the rest... no, for me the highlights of these Olympic games has come in the absolute ruling of the South Korean squad in archery and the rousing sets of women's doubles table tennis between Japan and Hong Kong... I told you I'm an Olympics junkie...

Now, the question you are asking yourself right now: "Really? Is he serious?"

Well, maybe not entirely... but I have watched more archery than swimming so far in these games, and even as I type this I am watching a table tennis match (in Mandarin Chinese, no less)... The question that will get you is: why? Why do I care so much about these "lesser" events?

Well, that's just it... they aren't "lesser" events... at least not as far as the spirit of the Olympics is concerned.

To me the Olympics represents such a perfect metaphor for our equality in God's economy, because while, Michael Phelps or Shawn Johnson might be more popular or famous to the viewing audience in terms of the Olympics they are the same as the archers from South Korea or the rowers from Great Britain... they are Olympians, plain and simple. And the cool thing is that a gold medal is a gold medal is a gold medal. I think that is so cool! I mean, all the gold medals look the same. They all have the same ribbon. And they are all awarded in the same way. Every gold medalist hears their country's national anthem played in their honor. The only difference is the event that is inscribed on the medals.

26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26-29

In this passage, Paul is reassuring his readers that their standing before God is not based on their merit, or their social standing, or even their gender, it is based on the cross of Jesus. As a result, anyone who truly believes (and exactly what that means is a topic for another post) has the right to be called a child of God.

Far too often, we place pastors or worship leaders or those in public ministry on this pedestal as though that sort of service is the kind that everyone should attain to. We believe that those in public ministry will be sitting closer to the Lord when we get to heaven. But that is simply not the case. Just look at who Jesus honored. Fishermen, tax collectors, repentant prostitutes, poor widows, lepers, and the list goes on and on.

Now, don't get me wrong. Pastors, and teachers, and worship leaders are doing what God has called them to do. But God doesn't honor them because of the public aspect of that service. God honors anyone who puts their whole trust in Him and seeks to serve Him with the gifts, talents, and time they have.

Not every Olympian can be Michael Phelps. But every Olympian is an Olympian, and the gain that not because of the event in which they compete but by a heart and life that has been devoted to training and competition above others.

Those who put their trust in the Lord and devote their lives to Him are equal in His sight.

(The Japanese just staged a great comeback in women's doubles table tennis against Hong Kong by the way...)

the pomp and circumstance...

The Games of the 29th Olympiad began yesterday in Beijing, China with a spectacle of light and drama and technology unmatched by any opening games. There were presidents, prime ministers, athletes, and other dignitaries in attendance to witness the affair live, while those of us more than half a world away watched in taped delay. As I watched the preliminary coverage of the Olympics leading up to yesterday, I was struck by how little respect the games are garnering from the national media. They are a blip on the radar screen. Allegations of doping by athletes, the political strife surrounding China's government, the pollution, all have overshadowed the coverage leading to the opening ceremonies...

But for me the Olympics are special... no because of the international political implications... not because of the harmony they supposedly produce... no for me it reminds me the importance of competition for the sake of competition.

The first Olympics I have any memory of was the '88 Games in Seoul. Then '92 in Barcelona, '96 in Atlanta, and on and on... I remember names like Kerri Strug, Michael Johnson, the Dream Team, and the other celebrities that were born from those games... but I also remember watching the truly obscure sports... badminton, judo, beach volleyball, field hockey, rhythmic gymnastics... and the list goes on and on... I mean, these are sports I didn't know existed outside the Olympic games. Before I watched the Olympics I thought ping pong was little more than an adolescent basement game, but in the Olympics I found it was table tennis.

I have the sports that I really love to keep track of... track and field, basketball, soccer, gymnastics... but even now, at 28 I still find myself watching the weirdest things, simply because it is the Olympics. This morning, I found myself watching, now get this... women's team handball Angola v. France... seriously... It's the competition I love.

It may not seem like a very Christian thing to admire... sports and competition, but Paul saw Christian ministry very much in terms of competition...

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

This always begs the question for me: who are we competing against? Certainly not against other Christians... or other churches... and certainly not against God. The purest form of competition is the competition one feels against the self. I think that is what Paul is talking about here. We work, in the power of Christ, so that we will be qualified for the prize that Christ has already gained for us. Not to earn something, but to work for the glory of the one who had already earned it all on our behalf.

I heard a statistic during the opening ceremonies that really struck me. Something like 87% of all the countries that compete in the Olympics have never won an Olympic medal. Never. Now, I don't know where that statistic came from, and I can't back it up for myself, but even if it is only partially accurate then that means that the majority of the athletes that go all the way to China have little chance of standing on a podium... and even fewer of hearing their national anthems played for them. So, why do they go? Because they have trained and beat their bodies to gain a prize that comes from competing against themselves.

How much do we train ourselves for our Christian lives and ministry? Do we feel like we will gain the spiritual maturity we hope for just by falling into it? We have to foster a sense of competition in ourselves to build up our faith, so that when life comes at us with both fists we will be ready.

In you... in you... I find my strength...

Alright... alright... so this turned into a three part series on this passage from Mark 12, but I think it's really important stuff. I mean, God made us in His image to reflect that image out in the world, but we don't know how to do that. So, read the previous two posts, and then pick it up here to get the rest of the story.

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him. Mark 12:13-17

When we understand that we have the image and likeness of God on us we understatnd that Jesus is telling us to render ourselves to Him. Rendering ourselves to God means that we must be motivated to please God and rendering our allegiance to His Word and truth above all else. But when we truly render ourselves to Him we have to remember that we’ll come up against resistance, and so the third insight we gain from this passage is that rendering our lives to God means we must render our strength to Him so we can stand firm against resistance.

We can see that fleshed out in this Scripture, and the really interesting thing about this passage in Mark 12 is that it is a part of series of three challenges Jesus faced against leaders of His day. Here He faces the challenges of the Herodians and Pharisees over taxation, in verses 18-27 He answers the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in resurrection, about resurrection, and in verses 28-40 He challenges the scribes about their interpretation of Scripture.

Jesus didn’t back down from resistance, He knew it would come, and He faced it. He looked at every point of resistance, every point of hostility as an opportunity to expound His mission in the world to glorify the Father through the redemption of all of creation.

Admittedly, my reaction to resistance is somewhat different than Jesus'. I’m not a biologist or zoologist or anything like that, but of the things I remember from my high school and college science classes one of the things that really stuck with me is the “fight or flight” instinct that all animals have. For those that can’t remember the “frog-slicing” days of junior biology, the fight or flight instinct basically means that when an animal feels threatened it does one of two things: it fights back or it runs. And for animals this is purely instinctual.

But the sad things is that most Christians tend to do the same thing when we come up against those that don’t share our faith. We either get indignant and express, what I like to call, “combat apologetics” or “combat evangelism”... mowing people down with quick Scripture references and razor-sharp logic leaving no unbeliever unpunished for their lack of faith... Or we run and hide in our little Christian bubble, hanging out with our little Christian clique, listening to our little Christian music, and living little Christian lives.

Jesus did neither of those. He was out in the world. Touching people’s lives. He was not closed off, and He did not fear people like the Herodians or Pharisees or the Roman officials. But He also wasn’t violent with those that confronted Him. In fact, as Isaiah 53:7 states He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, when the final resistance came.

The great news of the gospel is that the same Spirit that gave Jesus the strength to face His detractors, and the same Spirit that gave Him the strength to go to the cross, is the same Spirit He promises for our help. As Paul exhorts Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Rendering ourselves to God, bearing His image in the world means that when things come against us that attempt to rob that image, we have to rely on the power of Christ and the strength that can only be found in the Holy Spirit.

Do we rely on the Lord in the face of difficulty and opposition, or do we latch onto our “fight or flight” mentality? Do we beat people over the head with our knowledge and doctrinal truth, or do we demonstrate the love and patience of Christ in the face of opposition? When resistance comes, do we run and hide in our Christian world and cut ourselves off from anything that might challenge us, or do we live in the strength of the Lord and face challenges to our faith head on?

I don’t know you necessarily, but right now, there may be people in your life that are challenging your convictions as a Christian, and you don’t know what to do. Or there may be people that are alienating or even actively trying to discredit you because of your faith. That may be happening to you, and you are wondering: "just how do I stand in the face of all this?"

I have to tell you that you can’t stand in the face of it. But instead you have to kneel at the throne of Jesus and be in a constant state of prayer to ask for the Spirit’s guidance and direction. That's rendering our strength to Him.

I pledge...

In the last post I talked about what gives us our identity... and more specifically... how we live lives that are rendered to God. I mean, we ARE created in the image of God, but how do we live like we are? That brought me to this passage in Mark... well, there is more to say about it so... in case you missed it... here's that passage again.

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him. Mark 12:13-17

It's pretty obvious that if we are created in the image of God, with His image and likeness on us, than we are supposed to render ourselves to Him. As I asked in last post: how do we do that? First, I said rendering our lives means rendering our motivations, but rendering our lives to God also means rendering our allegiance to Him.

Now what is allegiance exactly? When I hear that word I immediately think of the Pledge of Allegiance... you know, that thing you had to recite so often when you were a kid. I still remember mornings in the schools I attended... the principal would come over the intercom and give the announcements of the day, and then the whole school would stand up, put our hands over our hearts, and with once voice would say, “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Now, admit it... before reading this you had probably forgotten the words...

When you’re a kid though, it’s just what you do... it's a way to instill patriotism without actually explaining patriotism, because they never get down to what “allegiance” is. They never explain that you are giving your loyalty and commitment to the flag and to the nation above everything else. They just want you to get up and say it.

But what about the allegiances of the major players in our scene here? Well, the Herodians had built themselves a nice little niche with the ruling Roman government and so they were intensely loyal to maintaining the status quo with Rome. They wanted the people to pay their taxes and do their part to be good Roman citizens. So, it’s likely they saw Jesus as an inciter that threatened a government revolution. For them, Jesus had to go.

For the Pharisees, they bore their allegiance to the traditions of the Jewish faith and their authority hinged on maintaining the religious status quo. They wanted people to obey them as their leaders, make their sacrifices to God, celebrate the appropriate festivals and look to God to reestablish Israel against Roman rule as a physical kingdom. Jesus was an obvious threat to that. He called Himself the Son of God, the Messiah, and challenged the traditions that kept the Pharisees in control. Again, Jesus had to go.

The great thing we have to remember about our Lord is that at any moment Jesus could have called armies of angels from heaven and had the power and authority to strike down all those that came against Him, but His allegiance was to the will of God, and it was that allegiance that took Him to the cross. As Philippians 2:6-8 states

[Jesus] though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Christ’s allegiance was to the will of the Father, and it was His obedience that makes it so we can be redeemed, saved, and transformed into the image God intended for us.

In our day, it can be difficult to understand that kind of allegiance... but the truth is we make decisions everyday that demonstrate who we are committed to, where our loyalties are, and where our allegiances lie.

When we choose to spend unnecessary hours at our jobs rather than developing strong spiritual foundations in our families, we are demonstrating our allegiance. When we get in that early round of golf on Sunday morning rather than making weekly corporate worship a priority, we demonstrate our allegiance. When we would rather spend our money padding our comfortable, cushy lives more than advancing the mission of God’s church, we demonstrate our allegiance.

Now, I'm not trying to guilt trip anybody here... the fact is, often where I say I pledge my allegiance and where I actually live out that allegiance is totally different. But that fact is that God did create us in His image, to reflect His glory in the world, and a big part of doing that is aligning ourselves with His will and purpose first and foremost.

where do you sit in the cafeteria...

Yeah, it has been a while since I updated this little blog, but it has been a crazy few weeks, and to be perfectly honest... I've been kinda dry in the writing department. However, I have had to write a couple of things for some of my summer classes, so I'm gonna be posting a few things here to give you some mid-week snacks... so here we go...

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him. Mark 12:13-17

Growing up, I had to move… a lot. My dad’s job as an Air Force chaplain and Methodist pastor meant that we moved nearly a dozen times before I graduated high school. I moved all over. From Texas to Italy from the North to the South, and for the most part it was great… You can really see how diverse the world is when you travel at such a young age, but you can also see how it’s the same. For instance, I have a lot of experience being the “new kid” in school and survival rule #1 in a new school is “Learn where you need to sit in the lunch room.” It’s the same everywhere, because kids identify themselves by where they sit in the cafeteria. Jocks sit with jocks. Nerds sit with nerds. Band geeks sit with band geeks. And moving around as much as I did I tried them all… never being quite sure where I fit in or who I wanted to be identified with.

When I have looked at this passage of Scripture in the past, often I got hung up on the politics and governmental aspects of it all. Is Jesus telling us we should pay our taxes? Is He giving us a guide to holding to civil authorities? If it was, it wouldn’t be inconsistent with other places in the Bible. I mean, Peter said in 1 Peter 2 that we should “Submit [ourselves] for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men…” and Paul said in Romans 13 that “there is no authority except that which God has established…”

But is that the point Jesus is making here? Maybe on one level, but I think what He is dealing with is a far deeper and far more important point that we all need to learn.

I think, Jesus is asking the Pharisees and Herodians and us the same question, “Whose image and whose likeness is on us?” Where do we gain our deepest identity? To what or to whom do we render our lives?

One of the great truths of the Bible is that we don’t have to wonder where we should gain our identity. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us straight out that God created man in HIS image so my identity is secure in Him. God is our Creator and we our His special creation, unique in that there is something in us that reflects His glory out in the world. His likeness is on us.

Because that is true, we should render every part of ourselves to Him.

But there’s a problem. Sin has infected us so deeply that we get caught up in looking for other things to define us. That old “high school cafeteria syndrome” still gets at us, and we want to know what group are we going to be identified with. For Christians we struggle between reflecting the image of our Creator and worshipping Him with our lives and living for ourselves and just serving our own purposes. Paul calls this sin problem the “two laws” in Romans 7, saying, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” But Praise God because Jesus Christ, through His life, work, and sacrifice on the cross makes it so the divine image the Father placed on us can be redeemed and we can know how to truly render our lives to him. As 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, we were bought at a price, so we have been redeemed, purchased, rescued to live the way we were supposed to live… as God’s children.

But how do we do it? How do we live a life in the identity God created us to? How do we render ourselves to Him?

We if look at this passage of Scripture and pay attention to the contrast between the interrogators and Jesus Himself we gain some key insights into what it means to live a life marked by God.

Rendering our lives to God means we must first render our motivations Him. You see, we can’t live a life that honors and reflects God if we don’t have motivations that conform to His will.

As we look at this Scripture, I think it’s important to know who the major players are. We get two groups mentioned coming at Jesus: the Herodians and the Pharisees.

The Herodians were a particularly interesting group because they were part of the Jewish community that, at least in part, supported the interest of the Roman authorities that occupied Israel. As their name indicates they were friends of the regional king, Herod. The Pharisees on the other hand were more strict teachers of the Jewish law who, on some level, resisted Roman rule.

So it’s interesting and more than a little shady that these two groups are coming together. I mean, when they ask the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” It’s obvious something weird is going on. The Herodians would have been fine if Jesus had said, “yes” while the Pharisees thought it was idolatry to use money with Caesar’s face on it. But if Jesus had said “No,” then He would have been seen as inciting a riot. So, the Herodians and the Pharisees had one motivation here as it says in vs. 13, “to trap Him” or as some translations put it, “to ensnare Him.”

These guys had one motivation: to put the good of their group ahead of everything else. They couldn’t care less about God’s will or purposes, they cared about their place, their position, and trapping Jesus in His words.

But it begs the question: what motivates us?

You know, I’m an avid runner... I love doing it. I love talking about it. And I love reading about it. I was reading a story in Runner’s World magazine about Alicia Shay who is getting ready to run in the US Olympic Trials this next weekend in the 10,000 meters. Like nearly every other runner that steps to the line, she has stories of injuries, over-training, bad races, and good races, but something is different about Alicia’s story and it has to do with her motivation. Some of you may have heard about a runner who died at the men’s Olympic marathon trials this past November. For those of us in the running community it was shocking and more than a little scary. I mean, this was a guy who was incredibly fit, in the prime of his career trying to run for his country on the world’s biggest stage, and then he was gone. When Alicia Shay steps to the line for the Olympic trials she’ll also be running for the memory of that marathoner… her husband of only three months, Ryan Shay. She said in that article that she wanted to give up after Ryan died, but that he always saw so much potential in her that she needs to do this now for him.

Motivation is a powerful thing. And so it’s important for us to remember that if we want to truly render our lives to God, we have to render our motivation first and foremost. It means that when we get out of bed we don’t live for that first cup of coffee (like I often do)… it means we live to make God look good. We work hard, not to earn a good pay check, or climb that corporate ladder, but we work hard because people will see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. It means steering clear of things like gossip or lying or being greedy because God has called us to be holy. It means making time for Him, getting in His word, making weekly worship a priority, so those are the things that drive the trains of our lives.

It doesn’t mean trying to be perfect for the sake of looking good. It means relying on the Holy Spirit to give us the strength we need for each new day and living in gratitude for the blessing God has given us.

can anybody say "knock off"...

First things first... compare these two videos...





Alright... so... any questions?

Well, I have to admit something first: I am a Mac guy. I love my old school Powerbook, I have more iPods than I care to admit, and darn it, Macs are just cooler. Now, all you PC people out there, don't be haters... that's not my point, just a little self-disclosure. The point is, that when I first saw the very first iPhone commercial I was blown away... not by the phone itself (I already knew a ton about the iPhone before the commercials started running), but by the sheer simplicity of the commercials. Solid black. Single hand. Product demonstration.

When I saw the Palm Centro commercial, I was also blown away... by the blatant ripping off of an idea. I guess it is a bit different. I mean, the background is blue, not black, and the screen of the phone is smaller. And the song is not identical... (insert sarcastic tone and look here) I suppose. Just to be clear, I am not knocking the Palm Centro phone per se. It's cool. But the commercial is an obvious rip-off.

But the thing about rip-offs is that you can only tell something is phony compared to the real thing. If I had never seen the iPhone commercial I would have no frame of reference to know the Centro one was a knock-off version. That's the same sort of thing we have to watch out for in our Christian walks... false teachings are everywhere, and if we are not ready to compare them to the real thing, we are bound to get sucked in. In Paul's ministry, he was constantly dealing with churches that were being duped by something other than the real thing. He warns the Ephesians like this...

we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:14-15 (NIV)

This theme is prevalent over and over in Paul's letters... he says, "Grow up and quit messing around with things that just aren't true!"

The question always comes up though, "How do I know if something is false?" Well, in the context of Ephesians, Paul gives his readers some pretty practical advice. If you want to know if something is false or not get yourself in a community of Christian believers you trust, and don't be afraid to ask questions. Those communities are called churches. The real problem comes into play in identifying which churches are really churches... The unfortunate thing is there are a lot of groups out there that call themselves Christians but they're the knock-off version, but the true, ancient church had a way to identify real believers from false ones. The way was the creed. The oldest of these is the Apostles' Creed and it is just a statement of what Christians ought to believe.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

There are other creeds, of course, but for nearly 2000 years this has been the an anchor to help Christians of every age determine real churches and real Christians from the knock-off. Remember, even Jesus said not everyone who says they're a believer really is one.

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT)

where everybody knows your name...

One of the things I have never been is "a regular." No... not regular... A regular... You know what I mean. I mean like you go into a restaurant and the waitress says, "He's one of our regulars." The cool thing about regulars is they are known. They have their "usual" and can often times get their own drinks because they know where everything is, and the people that work in the restaurant know them and trust them, and it's okay. Sadly, I have never been "a regular," but my wife is.

Julie often times goes to the same two or three places for lunch everyday, and orders the same things from each place that she goes. For those that have ever eaten lunch with her you know what those meals are and where, but most importantly the servers and staff at these places know her. They'll have her tea ready when they see her, and all they have to do is ask what sort of day she's having to know whether it is sweet or unsweet. They know what she orders, and don't even have to ask. The odd thing that happens with regulars and the people at the restaurant is that there is this cool relationship that is formed. Sort of a friendship, really. There is a trust. There is a knowledge. There is a comfort to going to a place where everybody knows your name... as the great sitcom once said.

I think about our churches and our Christian relationships, and feel like on some level we ought to remember what it means to be "a regular." There are people at my church with whom I have built real relationships. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I know where they need prayer. I know when I can rely on them and when I shouldn't expect to.

But we can't expect to be a regular where we don't put in the time. Imagine going to a brand new restaurant and telling the waiter, "I'll have the usual." He'll look at you, kinda puzzled, and bring you a big plate of nothing, because that's your usual there. Quite often Christians that go to church once every couple of months expect to be treated the same as those who make weekly worship a priority for their lives. Often they wonder why they don't get asked to be a leader in things. They wonder why their opinions aren't listened to with the same force as others' opinions are. But why is there such confusion?

Even some of the best Christians I know I have a hard time being a "regular" with their church attendance. I know I'm speaking from the cheap seats. I work at a church. I can count on one hand how many Sundays I have missed in the last three years. So, maybe I am being unfair.

But think of the percentage of days you miss of your job. Think of the percentage of days you don't show up for your boss. Out of 100 days of your job, how often do you miss? Five, Ten... less, more? Now, what about your worship? Are you a once-a-monther, twice a month... more, less? How do the two compare?

The writer of Hebrews gets that perseverance in doing what is right is difficult, but sometimes we forget that even our meeting together is a part of that call...

23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25 NLT

God has put us in this great relationship with the church, not just for our benefit, but also because being together with each other is part of being together with Christ. It is part of being a Christian.

So, where are are we "regulars"? And what does that say about our priorities?

three stick...

So, I am by far and away not a golf expert. In fact, aside from my only PE credit in college and the occasional round of putt-putt (at which I am a total disaster) I've never played the game. It's not that I don't like the game of golf. I actually do. I've been know to watch whole tournaments on television... something even die hard golfers won't necessarily do... it's just it takes a lot of time, a lot of money, and a lot of patience... none of which I have.

But one thing I have learned about golf is that of all the dozens of clubs in a golfer's bag, they can get by as long as they just three: a putter, a wedge, and some sort of middle iron. When I found this out, I was dumbfounded! I mean they why do you have all those clubs, that expensive bag, and that guy that carries all that around for you... yes, I know he's called a caddy. But, as the Florida Southern golf coach told us on the first day of our PE class, "You can learn and master all the fundamentals of golf with just three sticks." He later explained that the other clubs were for nuance, and specialization, and to add to the fundamentals.

So, I was running through Lake Ashton, a golfing community (in Florida they have whole villages and towns built around the sport, and no I am not kidding...) watching men and women out on the course with their carts, and all-leather golf bags... some of them were decent golfers, others... not so much, but the lousy ones still had a bag full of sticks. Anyway, I was running and watching, and I got to thinking about fundamentals and our Christian walk. What are the three sticks of Christianity? I mean, what are the base things that we need to get straight before we can expect any real Christian fruit? Well, I know every teacher or preacher will give you lists of three things or five things or 1 thing or 50 things depending on his or her lesson that week, but I know one Scripture that is pretty clear about the progression of Christian growth.

3 By his [God's] divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 1 Peter 1:3-7 (NLT)

Here Peter tells us that we have everything we need through God's power to live a godly life, and he tells us the very first stick to the Christian life is "coming to know him" or faith itself. It is a fundamental, non-negotiable. Without faith, moral excellence is just looking good without being good. Without faith, knowledge is just intellectualism without understanding. Without faith, self-control is just asceticism without direction... and on and on. Faith in Christ is the first and most important fundamental. But here's the caveat: faith isn't really faith unless it produces the rest. If you say, "I have faith" but are a pretty shady business person or unfair to your kids or don't make time for the Lord or family, then guess what... it ain't faith. The cool thing here in this passage is that it shows the Christian life for what it is: a progression toward godliness that takes time.

There are two problems that crop up though, with golfers and with Christians. First, some spend all their time on the fundamentals and never try to take the next steps. For golfers all they do is go to the putting greens or driving ranges to work on their skills but never hit the course to see how those skills work on an actual hole. For Christians, some spend all their time going to worship services, reading their Bibles, or in prayer developing their faith but don't do anything to express that faith in action. They aren't necessarily good, because they use faith just to feel better or think better but nothing else. On the other side, some golfers never work on the fundamentals. They never practice putting, chipping, or driving a ball; they just hit the course. The result is often disaster. I've seen the same thing with Christians. They don't make the fundamentals a priority, but instead avoid worship services, studying the Bible, time in prayer and just want to serve. Their desire is to serve or go on mission trips and just "do their faith" without "developing their faith". And the results? Often disaster.

Success in golf and in the Christian life is knowing how to balance both. The fundamentals are important but that is not all there is to playing the game. Develop faith. Then add to that faith.

FearBUSTERS... from the pulpit...

Gotta watch this first... this is the extended youtube edition...



Enjoy...

the biggest problem... part 2

So, I told you I had more to say about the problem of pain, because it is a universal problem. No one escapes it... but I left a few things undone... and, of course, I can't do that...

When you meet a person for the first time one of the first questions you will likely ask is, "So, where are you from?" It may not be worded like that exactly, but usually in order to get to know a person you need to know where they are from. So it is with pain. A lot of non-Christians get hung up on the origin of pain, and why God allowed it to enter into the world? Pain is a by product of evil and evil enters the world through sin. But it is important to remember that evil is not something created. It is more like a state of things. Just like good isn't concrete... you can't point to good... you can point to a good chair or a good person or a good movie, but not to good by itself. The same is true of evil. And the state of evil is a byproduct of disobedience, rebellion, etc. against God.

In the Garden in Genesis 3, Satan tempted Eve and Adam with the idea that they could "be like God" by eating the fruit of the tree. Some people think that the mistake that Adam and Eve made was that they ate the fruit, but really it is deeper. It comes down to the fact that they wanted to replace God and be God for themselves. Their choice to try their hand at being God resulted in the status of evil entering into the world. Now, a lot of people will say, "Well, Satan is there so evil is there already, it doesn't have anything to do with human sin." In one sense, that is true. Satan is there already, and so is the possibility that Adam and Eve will mess up. (Side note, I'm not going to launch into an origin of Satan discussion since only a couple of passages in the Bible may or may not deal with it but you can check out this article for more details on that http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=389)... But as we see from Genesis 2 God gave them that free will. But... whoa... wait a minute... does that mean God created sin? NO! God created human beings, and human beings have to have free will in order to be human beings and not merely animals or robots. You see, God created us in his own image. Something about how we are made, and something about the content of our being reflects something of our Creator. God has choices and thus so do we. Without the option to not choose God we wouldn't be what we are created to be.

So, sin allows evil to come into the world, and sin brings pain, toil, hardships and so on. But the good news is that God always, always, always knew that was going to happen, and always, always, always had a plan to redeem what he created, and it would be even better than if he had never created anything in the first place. God, even in Genesis 3, tells Adam and Eve that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the seed of the serpent pointing to the redemption of Christ. Paul explains it best in Romans 5.

12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Therefore, the problem of evil and pain points us to the solution... Jesus Christ. And his sacrifice of his perfect life more than accounts for all the evil and sinfulness in the world, and that can be accessed by anyone who chooses to quit making the mistake of Adam and Eve, quit trying to be God, and put faith in Christ and his Lordship.

the biggest problem... part 1

It's funny what can occupy a person's attention. People who should be concerned with driving their cars often pay more attention to a phone conversation... okay that's the pot calling kettle whatever... People who should be concerned for their child's character are more preoccupied with if their kid is a good athlete or musician. And the list goes on and on. It's the whole smoke and mirrors routine your typical magician uses. They make some big spectacle during a trick, or move a hand one way, or do some dramatic gesture to keep you from seeing how they pull off the astonishment that is the trick... here's a "good" example from a favorite television show...



Satan has done that to so many of us when it comes to belief in a loving and perfect God. The old story goes if God were really so loving then He wouldn't allow people to go through pain. If God were really so powerful then He'd be able to do what he wants. So either God doesn't care, or He really isn't an all-powerful God. This is essentially the crux of the argument for most atheists, and C.S. Lewis outlined this problem in his book, The Problem of Pain. The fact is that even for most Christians this is where our faith hits a road block... and even full-time professional Christians, like yours truly can stumble on this topic. But let's take a minute or two and think about it, should this really be seen as a problem for us as Christians?

The first thing we need to understand is that evil is not something created, not something tangible, not something God could have made because God made all things good. Look at Genesis 1, after everything God did he called it "good". And from John 1, we see that every created thing has its ultimate origin in God. Second, we need to differentiate evil from pain. A lot of times we get hung up because we think that anything that causes pain is evil, and anything that doesn't make us happy has some level of pain associated with it. But think about that garbage for a second. When I go out and run 6 or 7 miles, there is certainly pain there, but it is far from evil... in fact it is actually good. When a doctor prescribes medication or physical therapy there is a level of pain, or at least unhappiness, but the treatment is good. Even emotionally, a lot of times we watch heart-wrenching movies or read terribly sad books, which may cause us pain, but the result is cathartic. On the flip side of that is the fact that not everything that causes happiness is necessarily good. I can think of a number of examples such as drug use, skipping work to relax, going to the beach without sunscreen, eating McDonald's french fries every day (it's lunch time sorry)... all those things may cause happiness in the short term but they are not good because the long term effect is bad.

That's one of the things that we need to understand with this problem of pain and evil... God is always in control, and He does work out all things for the good (Romans 8:28), but it may be that the good is not totally revealed to us except in the long term. And by long term, I mean God's eternal long term, not our finite long term. But over and over again, throughout the Bible, God is taking what is evil, painful, and even sinful and using it for His greater good. From Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery thousands of people are fed during a time of famine (Genesis 37-50). From David's murderous affair with Bathsheba the next king of Israel is born with Solomon, and he leads directly to Jesus Christ (2 Samuel 11-12, Matthew 1). One of the most heinous persecutors of the church, Saul/Paul, became the first and greatest church planter and writer of the majority of the New Testament. Sometimes we do see the purpose of a given painful situation, other times we don't. But that doesn't mean God's greater purpose isn't working.

I have more to say about this, but I want to get to a bottom line... Pain does exist in the world, and whether you're an atheist or a Christian you cannot escape bad things from happening. But with God there is hope. With God pain is not merely pain, and evil not merely evil. With God those things don't have the final word. With God there is purpose beyond the problem.

a brief reflection on the week...

For those that are familiar with the Christian calendar, this week is Holy Week. It is the week that we commemorate the Passion... the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Right now, I am studying for a mid-term exam for my class on Acts and the Pauline Epistles and even as I type this I am listening to a lecture on Paul's letter to the Romans and this passage just jumped out at me in relationship to this week.

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:14-25 (NIV)

Now, I understand this is not a traditional Passion Scripture, but it strikes me as so profound how deep our need for Christ's sacrifice. I really echo what Paul says here... as I am sure we all do. In my heart of hearts, I know what is right, I know the good path, but I just can't do it. Even my best individual effort is tainted. The fact is I am corrupt in my nature. Paul quotes earlier in Romans 3 that we are all sinners, all short of God's glory, all in desperate need, but the need has been filled in Christ. We have been justified, sanctified, changed, moved, transformed by something outside of ourselves... something divine, but it took a death so that our sinful nature might also be put to death. Then and only then are we able to do what is right. Unfortunately, most people never understand that need fully, or else they see the problem but not the solution: Christ.

This isn't as light-hearted a post as you are used to here, but it is important for all of us to understand the depth of our need so that we can grab hold of the liberty, and freedom, and joy, and glory of Easter. It's not just about the bunny rabbit and those great Cadbury Eggs, it's about trading in the slavery of sin and death and fault for the joy of service to God.

The bottom line is that we don't have a choice whether we have a god or not. Even atheists serve something, but it is a matter of what kind of god we'll worship. Dylan said it best,

You're gonna have to serve somebody,
It may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Holy Week gives us the option... not whether we serve or not, because we will serve something... but whom or what we will serve. Without the Passion of Christ, without the history of this week, we would be lost. But the good news is that Christ did walk the road to the cross and allowed himself to die and then was raised so we might have the opportunity for eternal life.