Candle of Hope

***This is the first in a series of Advent Meditations***

We’ve all heard the quote, “The light at the end of the tunnel.” That phrase signifies hope after a long period of despair. After a time of struggling through, relief finally arrives.

And in a world filled with darkness, we all need a little light.
Whether it’s a great flame that shows us how to win back what we lost,
Or a powerful beacon intended to scare away potential monsters,
Or a few glowing bulbs that reveal to us the hidden truth of our past,
We all need something to help us get through the night,
Even if it’s just the tiniest glimmer of hope.
(from Desperate Housewives)

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
Isaiah 9:2

“In Jesus was life,
and that life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
but the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:4-5

Hope is a light shining in a dark place. As we begin the Advent season and begin lighting candles, we light the first candle and celebrate the light and hope we have at the end of the tunnel. Jesus is our Light and our Hope in this dark world.

Prevaliling Prayer Sermon Part 5-Conclusion

Prevailing Prayer means that prayer permeates our lives. That prayer is a constant from the time we get up until the time we go to sleep. Praying without ceasing is being able to pray in the moment.

I believe that much of the power of prayer is that your heart is changed as much as the heart of God:
When you praise him you begin to understand your place in this world
When you seek His healing your realize that only His power can make you whole again
When you come to Him hurting, you are fully relying on Your heavenly Father to make things better.

Prayer should change us as much if not more than it changes God.

I talked about how prayer is cyclical—that you end up at the beginning again. So I ask you, “Where are you in the cycle?”
Maybe you need to begin looking around at the good in life instead of dwelling on the bad. Offer up praise to the God who is so deserving of it.
Maybe you need a fresh start both physically and spiritually. Come to the Great Physician for the healing that only He can bring.
Maybe you are just hurting so badly from the pain of life. Come to the cross and be comforted. Be reminded of God’s faithfulness in the past and in the future.

The closer we are to God in our prayers, the further we are away from the concerns of the world. God waits to hear from you.

Prevaliling Prayer Sermon Part 4

Psalm 13
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

Prayers of Hurting:

There are also times when we are just hurting more than words can express. Maybe it is physical pain or maybe it is emotional pain. A nagging pain that just won’t go away. The loss of a loved one. Disappointment with where you are at in life. Ridicule of your faith by coworkers or family members. A general feeling of futility or worthlessness. A feeling that you are always on the short end of the stick. A loss of faith because of your situation. The Psalmist knows what that is like. He cries out, “How long?” How long must I suffer like this? How long must I always be the loser? How long must I go about hurting? How long?

I hurt my back about a year ago. Elijah was only a couple of months old, and as I bent down to pick him up, my back just gave out. It hurt so much that I almost dropped him right there. Fortunately, I didn’t. I fought off the pain and laid him back on the floor. It hurt so badly. I had to call Brett Morton over to help me. I could not walk, pick up a 15 lbs baby, or do anything except lay on the couch. I was in agony, but looking back, I don’t think the pain was the worst part of that whole ordeal. The worst part was how it affected my psyche. I felt useless. For a while, I really felt like I was good for nothing except for keeping the couch from blowing away. I have succeeded in most everything I have tried (except golf), so this was a new experience for me. I like to think that if I am not good at something, I will leave it to those that are. But what was I going to do? Stop being a father and a husband? It was depressing. The pain and hurt was not just physical, but emotional as well. While I was laid out on my back, I had a lot of time to think. And a lot of time to put into practice what this James passage tells us.

James encourages us to pray when we hurt. The psalms teach us to pray what we are feeling. If you are angry, shout to God. If you are depressed, express those feelings to Him. If you think that God is to blame for your state in life, confront Him. God can handle it. He can handle our doubts. He can handle our pain. He can handle our hurting. God is not afraid of our suffering. He will not turn away. Though we might not get answers, I believe that we will get comfort. We will get reassurance. We will be reminded of His faithfulness.

It’s cyclical. Notice it ends right where it starts—giving back praise to God. At the end of that psalm after crying out to God, after asking how long, the psalmist writes: “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.” We can ask “How long” but we might not get an answer. Instead, I believe God gives us that peace, that “Shalom” that surpasses all understanding.

Prevaliling Prayer Sermon Part 3

Psalm 6
O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.
Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am faint;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are in agony.
My soul is in anguish.
Turn, O LORD, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.
I am worn out from groaning;
all night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes.
The LORD has heard my cry for mercy;
the LORD accepts my prayer.

Prayers of Healing:
I can only remember one or two occasions when I was so sick that I could have been speaking those words. One time while I was in college I got extremely sick with plenty of vomiting and diarrhea. I couldn’t hold anything down and I didn’t really want to try. I laid around a lot, well, in between trips to the bathroom. Unfortunately, this happened right during the soccer season. We had a game to play. So I sucked it up, and went out there and gave it a shot. I wish I could say that it was a Michael Jordan experience like when he overcame the flu in the NBA Finals to drop 38 points on the Jazz including the tie-breaking three-pointer with 25 seconds left. But it wasn’t. I played terribly. The team played terribly. We lost 5-0. But I can remember saying, “God, heal me. I am weak and I need your strength.”

I am sure we have all had times when we were so very sick that we just called out to God for healing. That is after all what we are told to do. The James passage says:
“Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed.”

But notice that the sickness talked about is not just physical—this sickness also includes the need for forgiveness and restoration. We do a lot of offering up prayers for the sick in body. Our prayer list is full of those who need physical healing, and there is no doubt that God can and will heal them. But what about the sick at heart? Many prayers are lifted up for various illnesses and bodily failures, but how about our spiritual health? Why don’t we pray more for sickness of the heart? Our own stubbornness and pride? Our hard heartedness? Our selfishness? Our fear? Our judgmental attitudes? Why don’t we bring these sorts of things up during prayer request time?

I am sure the reasons may vary, but this passage makes it clear that confession of sins is directly linked to healing and wholeness. I don’t think sin or lack of faith causes sickness, but I think that at times there is a correlation. When our spirits are burdened with sin, that causes stress on our minds and our bodies. The result often times is sickness. Have you ever noticed that you get sick at the exact wrong time? When things are the busiest, most stressful, most complicated—those are the times our bodies choose to let us down. It is no coincidence that when we are depressed or weighed down by guilt or plagued by broken relationships that this impacts our bodies. But when our spirits are refreshed, often our bodies follow right along. When there is healing of the soul, the flesh usually doesn’t follow too far behind.

The Jews call this concept “Shalom.” We often translate that word “peace,” but it means so much more. It is wholeness—wholeness of self, between you and God, and between you and others. Peace is just a result of being complete and free from impurity. Such a state only occurs when we offer up prayers of healing, which include repentance, petitions for forgiveness and restoration, and then following up such prayers with action. There cannot be peace if there is animosity between people. Pray for healing. Work for peace.

Prevaliling Prayer Sermon Part 2

Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?
You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:
all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Prayers of Honor
Sometimes you just feel like singing, or humming, or at the very least smiling. Perhaps you see a child do something entertaining. Or maybe you hit that perfect shot on the golf course. Or maybe you finally finish a project you have been working on for a while. Or maybe you just feel good and can’t explain it. There are just times when you feel like you are about to overflow. That golf illustration hits a little too close to home for me. I decided to start playing a couple of years ago. It has not been that great. 99% of my time on a golf course is spent being frustrated. But boy, when that 1% comes, there is jubilation. When I got by first birdie, I was smiling the rest of the round, even if I did finish with a very poor score.

I think life is often like my gold experience for many of us. The majority of it is full of drudgery, frustration, and disappointment. Or at least we perceive it to be that way. The Pediatrician told Carrie and I to compliment Elijah when he was doing something well. The whole positive reinforcement thing. The more I do it, the more I realize that it is good not just for him, but for me too. Yes, it encourages right behavior for him, but it also allows me to see the good in him. No one likes to dwell on the bad all the time. I don’t want to continually say “No” to Elijah. It gets frustrating and wears me down. I get burdened from always being around him just to discipline him. So praising him helps me as much as it helps him.

I think the same could be said for our relationship with God. If we are always looking at the negative and bringing that before God, it will affect our relationship with Him. That is where prayers of thanksgiving, praise, and honor come in. I once heard a proverb: “The man who looks on the bright side can find his way in the dark.” The James passage says, “Do you feel great? Then sing.” What a great use of our prayer time—taking time out and just offering up a prayer of praise for the times when you see God working in the world.

That psalm outlines just what a prayer of honor entails. The Psalmist looked out and just the sight of the world around him caused him to break into song. He says, “Look at the glory of the heavens. Look at the stars. Even look at humanity. God’s wonderful acts are all around us if we would just take time to look and to lift up our praise to God.” It doesn’t have to be poetic. A simple “God you are great. You change the seasons. You got me up this morning. You kept me from harm. God you are majestic. You are great.” It’s that easy.

And I firmly believe that the more we see God’s grace, then the more we give God the honor he deserves, and the more we become grateful people. God does not need it. We do. As we speak, our hearts are changed. Dwelling on God’s actions in the present strengthens our faith for what he will do in the future.

Prevaliling Prayer Sermon Part 1-Intro

I preached on Sunday about prayer. The next few days will include exerpts from that sermon. Hope you enjoy.
_________________________________________________

“Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.
Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
James 5:13-16 (MSG)

What kind of prayer is being talked about? I think most of us would look at the prayer offered by Frank in the movie and think, that wasn’t effective. That wasn’t even a prayer. So what is an effective, powerful prayer? Is it any old prayer spoken by someone who goes to church? Is it a special memorized prayer? Do certain words have to be used? From what we read in the Bible, there are no secret words or tricks that should be used. In fact, using formulaic prayer is often looked down upon rather than celebrated. And as we think about this passage in James, he doesn’t tell us what to say. He just tells us to do it, in whatever form we feel led to use.

I believe that prayer is the link between the spiritual and the physical. It unites the heavenly with the earthly. And when we think about building a spiritual temple, it cannot be done without prayer. It is through prayer that we grow in faith, in trust, and in our relationship with God. When we consider prayer, I think it is important to distinguish the occasion and reasoning for different types of prayer. Though there may be more, but I want to really hone in on 3 types of prayers today—prayers of honor, healing, and help. We will be hearing examples of each type of prayer taken right from the Psalms. May our faiths and prayer lives be bolstered as we encounter the God that hears our prayers and acts.

Health Care Reforms

I just happened to turn on “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” on CNN the other night, and the one and only Ted Nugent was on the show to talk about various topics from gun control to his desire to run for governor of Michigan in 2010. Now most people outside of the Michigan Militia consider him a right wing wacko whose ideas are impractical and at times downright dangerous. I clearly disagree with his views on gun control and so I was expecting to be angered by his comments, but he brought up a concept that I found very intriguing.

Basically he stated that smokers should not receive government-funded health care. The logic follows that if people are going to intentionally and continuously damage their health, why should the taxpayers fund their self-imposed destruction? After all, we all know what cigarettes do to the body. There is nothing redeeming from smoking. But the effects of smoking—cancer, emphysema, asthma, etc.—cost millions and billions of dollars to treat even though most are incurable. And if such people knowingly engage in actions that contribute to the overwhelming cost of medical care, they are taking advantage of the system and wasting valuable money—my money.

As I consider such a proposal I think, “That makes perfect sense. Stop the waste. Increase the health of America. Everyone’s happy.” But here’s a problem with the whole setup. If we agree that people who intentionally hurt their bodies should not receive government funded health care, where does this logic end? Should gluttons get heart surgery after they have clogged their arteries? Should drug abusers get detoxed when their bodies are addicted? Should those who go to tanning booths get chemotherapy when they get skin cancer?

I want to say sure they can have it—if they pay for it. Why should I pay for their terrible decisions? Why should those of us who live wisely underwrite an effort to make their lives better when they don’t deserve it? Of course, such questions fly in the face of grace, but I can’t help it. I suppose these questions bring up the concept of justice vs. grace, holiness vs. love, and consequences vs. forgiveness. Can we make such decisions? Should we draw such lines? Or should we just live lives of love and let God deal the rest?

Interpretive Lens

I had an epiphany/revelation/breakthrough of some sort on Friday. Perhaps it is nothing new to you, but it was something to me. I have been wondering for some time now why people do not grow spiritually. Or, to put it more specifically, why don’t people’s understanding of the Bible go beyond a surface level reading? Many people have been in the church for a long time. They have heard countless sermons and lessons. And yet, when a question is asked in a small group all you hear are standard sorts of answers that don’t really mean much—“religions fluff.”

As I considered it, it seems that much of what people are taught in churches is morality. They Bible seems to be little more than a book that contains a blue print of how to live. Though this may be true, it is so much more than that. I think as I look at it that the depth of the Bible is not being taught. In other words, the interpretive lens that is being used by most church people revolves around figuring our right and wrong instead of cultivating a vibrant relationship with God.

So what’s the solution? I’m not sure, but I think it involves giving people a different lens with which they can read and interpret the Bible. Too often people run to the Bible looking to justify their own preconceived notions instead of letting the Bible speak on its own. And at those times when they do come seeking, often they can’t break through the surface of the text to something deeper because they have no concept of context. I guess I am proposing that the church needs to do more education in exegesis. Every church member should be equipped with the tools to understand the background, context, and genre of any given passage. This includes historical stuff. This includes rituals and practices of the people involved. This includes original language information.

At this point you may say, it will never work. Most people don’t care about such things. I disagree. I see how the people respond when someone puts a passage in context by giving just a tiny bit of extra biblical information. Granted, I have also seen preachers ramble on and lose their audience. But when the context is presented well, it opens up minds and illuminates passages. I also know firsthand that people are interested. I teach a small group of Jr. High and High School boys. We have been going through the book of John. I don’t bring awesome hooks and games to our group. I bring a good understanding of background and they eat it up. The ask questions, seek clarification, and desire more. I even have used Greek and they don’t think it’s boring!

But I am doing all the work in that situation. The goal is to get each person to the point where s/he can do the work him/herself. Teaching and applying exegesis is like getting a new lens prescription. It makes things so much clearer, crisper and more enjoyable. Now comes the hard part—making such a dream reality.

Skydiving Adventure

I went skydiving this past weekend. Yes, you read correctly. If you don’t believe me, you can see the full set of pictures on my website. I didn’t tell many people because I didn’t want to hear, “That is so stupid. You are going to die. Why would you jump out of a perfectly good plane?” And so forth.

It was pretty amazing. People ask if I was scared, and I reply, “Not really.” Truthfully, I was not. There were times of fear, but overall it was pretty exhilarating. I was most fearful as the door to the plane opened up, and 2 other guys jumped out on their own. I did not have a parachute on at the time so being 10,000 feet in the air with only about 2 feet between me and a freefall was definitely a scary situation. But they jumped, the door was closed, and I was hooked onto the guy with the parachute.

It was a tandem jump, meaning that I was harnessed to another person who had the parachute on his back. I learned a lot about trust and faith through this experience. Though the guy has had over 2000 jumps, I still didn’t know him from any other stranger. I had to trust him to teach me the correct technique, to pull the rip cord (though there was a backup computer failsafe that would pull the rip cord at 2500 feet), to guide us back to the drop zone, to keep me from breaking my leg on landing. My life was literally in his hands. So, Bob, thanks for delivering me back to the ground safe as can be.

The actual experience was incredible. Free falling was great. That probably took 45 seconds. Then the chute opened, and we gradually fell to the earth for probably 5-10 minutes. I lost track of time as I looked around and admired God’s creation from a completely new and different vantage point. To be honest, it was quit surreal. It didn’t even feel like I was flying since there was little in the way of perspective. Until we were about 500 feet from the ground I didn’t realize how fast we were approaching the earth.

Would I do it again? Definitely, but I think I would like to go on my own. I also think I might enjoy hang gliding as well.
Would I recommend it? Sure. Though putting your life in unneeded danger might be considered foolish, it makes life interesting. I just taught Ecclesiastes to my OT Survey class, and perhaps Qoheleth was right that we should just find enjoyment amidst our toil (Ecclesiastes 2:24).

Finally, on a humorous note, I lost my shoe as we deplaned. As my fellow jumper cleverly put it, “Going skydiving cost you your sole.”

Leave the cases cold

While watching CNN yesterday, I saw a story about a new Justice Department office that would investigate and prosecute ''cold case" murders from the civil rights era. The goal of this office would be to investigate and then attempt to prosecute unsolved homicides motivated by racial hatred that occurred before 1970. The annual budget is $5 million.

The bill was inspired by efforts to reopen the case of Emmett Till, a 14-year old black youth who was murdered in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi.

Senator Jim Talent, Republican of Missouri stated, ''We want the murderers and their accomplices who are still living to know there's an entire section of the Department of Justice that is going after them. We need to unearth the truth and do justice, because there cannot be healing without the truth."

I disagree with a few things. First, I don’t think that unearthing the truth will go very far in the healing realm. In fact, all I see it doing is bringing back feelings of racism and cruelty. I can see picketing by the KKK at these trials, and more confrontations that will stem from these prosecutions.

In addition, most of the men who have perpetrated these heinous crimes are over 60, many in their 70s and 80s. There the story highlighted a man who had just been found guilty of a crime, and he could barely stand up. He received 60 years in prison. I will be surprised if he makes it 5. I am all for justice, but it seems ludicrous to attempt to meet out justice in this way.

Finally, I am concerned with the waste of money and effort that this new branch in our government will cause. Really, all that money for what? To really prove how far we have come as a society? I don’t buy it and I wish there was something I could do to stop it. How about we use that money to deal with modern problems? It is time to move forward and stop trying to rectify the past.

Racism Overreaction

So I hear that the Air Force Football coach, Fisher DeBerry, made some “inflammatory” remarks after their big loss to TCU. To sum up, he basically said that black athletes by and large seem to exhibit more speed on the football field. As he looks at it, his team needs more speed (i.e. more black players), especially based on the thrashing his team had just taken. He didn’t say that other races weren’t fast, indeed he made a point to say that they too had good athletes. But by and large, black athletes seem to be faster.

As I watched “Around the Horn” on ESPN yesterday, 3 of the journalists were incensed that the coach said something like that. They were calling for his head and his immediate firing. They said he was a spokesperson for not just the university but for the country. The only one who stood up for him was Michael Smith—an African American journalist.

Now I am what you might call sensitive to political correctness. I think that refraining from using words that disparage races and people is vital to fostering peace and unity among people groups. But give me a break. This coach just put to words what every coach thinks, what scouts look for, and what fans have accepted for years. Though he may be politically incorrect, he is still correct.

Let’s look at the speed positions in football
Name one wide receiver that isn’t black. I thought of Jason Seahorn. That’s it.
Name one running back that isn’t black. I thought of Alstot. That’s it.

There is a reason why there is a movie called “White Men Can’t Jump.” There is a reason why white farm boys freak out when they play a team of black players. There is a reason why it is tough for you to name white “speed” players. Black players dominate those positions.

So were DeBerry’s statements racist? I guess, BUT HE WAS COMPLEMENTING THE RACE!! There are times when people say things to disparage a race, especially the African American race. This is not one of those times. Give the guy a break. He was only speaking what everyone was thinking.

Busy Bee

Well, it has been a crazy last few weeks. The number of activities I have been in charge of or involved in has almost been overwhelming. But, we got through, and now have a short respite with only the normal responsibilities.

This past weekend was our annual youth retreat. I thought it went well. The students seemed to grasp the concepts. I made it a point to really challenge them this year.
I challenged them in regard to their selfishness as it comes out in their spending and possessions.
I challenged them in regard to their relationships, reminding them that God has given them a fresh start and they should treat one another in the same way.
Finally, I challenged them in regard to their purpose in life, encouraging them to find God’s will for their lives and then live it out.

Hopefully the seeds have been planted. Now I leave it in God’s hands to produce the growth.

Sacrificial Worship

I was teaching my Old Testament class this week from 1 Kings, and came across the story regarding the split in the Kingdom. Rehoboam was unwilling to ease off the people’s labor and caused the Northern Kingdom, led by Jeroboam, to begin a separate monarchy. But what is most intriguing is Jeroboam’s shrewdness in keeping the people from returning their allegiance back to the Southern Kingdom and Rehoboam. The law required all religious activity to take place in a central location in Jerusalem. Thus, people from all Israel were supposed to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem 3 or 4 times a year to offer up their worship.

Jeroboam realized that if the people returned to the Southern Kingdom they might waver. So he set up 2 golden calves in Bethel and Dan as worship centers for the Northern people. This way they would have no affinity for the South or reason for returning. He made worship convenient. Much of the sacrifice was taken out of the equation. The result was apostasy and idolatry.

As I read that story, I began to wonder: “Is our worship too easy? Where is the sacrifice? Have churches made worship too convenient?” I made it personal and tried to list the elements of the Sunday morning worship service that are sacrificial. I came up with very little. We talk about offering up a sacrifice of praise, but it seems to be a bit of a misnomer.

Instead of sacrifice, we do the exact opposite. We put time limits on the service. We try to appease everyone as much as possible. We make the service as convenient as possible. It seems wholly unlike the Old Testament or the few snippets we get from the New Testament. So I wonder, should our worship services be more sacrificial or is what we are doing satisfying to God? If you agree that there is not enough sacrifice, how can we make it more sacrificial?

In Memorial

I’ve been meaning to write this all week, but have not had the time. Our church suffered a huge loss this past Saturday. The chairman of our eldership, Larry Smithson, passed away suddenly of a massive heart attack. He was only 61 years old and was the catalyst for much of the growth and positive activity that occurred in at Central Holston Christian Church. He was committed in so many ways and was one of the hardest workers I have ever met. His presence, influence, sacrifice, and work will be thoroughly missed by the Kingdom.

Resume

You may have seen this floating around the internet. Maybe not. EIther way, it is both humerous and telling in light of the many people who lie on their resumes. This is an actual job application a 17-year-old boy submitted at a McDonald's fast-food establishment in Florida. They hired him because he was so honest and funny. Enjoy some humor on this Friday.

JOB APPLICATION
NAME : Greg Bulmash

SEX : Not yet. Still waiting for the right person.

DESIRED POSITION : Company's President or Vice President. But seriously whatever's available. If I was in a position to be picky, I wouldn't be applying here in the first place.

DESIRED SALARY : $185,000 a year plus stock options and a Michael Ovitz style severance package. If that's not possible, make an offer and we can haggle.

EDUCATION : Yes.

LAST POSITION HELD : Target for middle management hostility.

SALARY : Less than I'm worth.

MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT : My incredible collection of stolen pens and post-it notes.

REASON FOR LEAVING : It sucked.

HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK : Any.

PREFERRED HOURS : 1:30-3:30 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SKILLS : Yes, but they're better suited to more intimate environment.

MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER : If I had one, would I be here?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP TO 50 LBS : Of what?

DO YOU HAVE A CAR : I think the more appropriate question here would be "Do you have a car that runs?"

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR RECOGNITION : I may already be a winner of the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.

DO YOU SMOKE : On the job no, on my breaks yes.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS : Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy dumb sexy blonde super model who thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, I'd like to be doing that now.

DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE : Yes. Absolutely.

SIGN HERE : Aries.

Unfettered - Francis of Assisi

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

From the USA Today:
“Todd Marinovich was born on the Fourth of July and programmed to be a great quarterback. His father Marv, a former Oakland Raiders offensive lineman and assistant coach, drilled him from infancy with NFL stardom as the goal. For a while, Todd responded. The 1987 All-USA Offensive Player of the Year racked up a national-record 9,194 passing yards High School. His decision to play college ball at Southern California was preordained: his dad was co-captain of USC's 1962 national champion.

Marinovich led the Trojans to the Rose Bowl as a redshirt freshman, but by his sophomore year, there were bugs in the program. The young man who never had touched a Big Mac or watched cartoons was arrested on drug charges and suspended from the team twice. Marv Marinovich said at the time that his son's problems were just part of growing up and "Todd will come back with a vengeance."

Marinovich would have many downfalls and attempted comebacks in the ensuing years. He left USC, entered the 1991 NFL draft and was a first-round pick of the Raiders. He signed a $2.27 million, three-year contract, became a starter in his rookie year and played in one postseason game. His continuing drug problems ended his NFL career the next season. He has since bounced around the Canadian Football League and, most recently, the Arena League. He spent 90 days in an Orange County, Calif., jail in 1998 for a marijuana cultivation conviction and was arrested a year ago after Los Angeles police found heroin in a car he was driving. He was placed on probation but violated the terms and was ordered into a drug treatment program.”

So what happened? How could this guy be destined for stardom and yet fall so hard? He couldn’t live up to his dad’s expectations of him. He faltered in the face of the overwhelming pressures of living up to his father’s wishes.

And though his situation was extreme, we need to understand that our parents have expectations and desires for our lives. Most of them probably want you to experience the middle class suburbia life—a husband or wife, 2 kids, 2 car garage, shed for the riding lawn mower, a porch swing, etc. In other words, your parents want what they think is best for your life. They don’t wish harm on you. They equate a comfortable and successful life with the best thing for you.

Luke 9:57-62 contains some expectations, both from family and from Jesus:

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.
He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Jesus expects people to follow his leading regardless of their situation in life. But the people may not be ready. The second man had to bury his father. There is no indication that his father necessarily was dead. What he means is that he can’t leave and quit his job in the family business until the father does die. He is expected to stay home. The third man felt obligated to go back and explain things with his family. He was torn between Jesus’ calling and his families expectations, and as a result his path was wavering.

So here’s the big question—At what point does it become faithful to go away from your parents’ expectations? When should you tell your parents, “I love you, but I can’t live up to the life you have envisioned for me?”
Though your parents want what is best for you, their idea of “best” may be different than “best for the kingdom.” God may have other plans for you. Parents want us to contribute to society. We think that we accomplish this concept by being good citizens, voting, helping out the economy, having a nice family, etc. But God doesn’t want us just to contribute to society. God wants us to change it and improve it.

There once was a guy named Francis of Assisi. Francis was born in Italy into a family of moderate wealth and grew up in a comfortable lifestyle. He spent all the money he had. He enjoyed the romantic adventures of a young nobleman. He was kind and considerate and faithful to the church, but for the most part he pursued his own pleasure and thought little of the needs of others. He was living the life that was expected of him.
This lifestyle began to change through a long and odd series of events. For one thing, he was captured during a brief battle between the cities of Perugia and Assisi. While a prisoner he endured a long sickness and when he recovered he was a much more serious person. Soon after this, while on his way to participate in the wars of Southern Italy, he received a vision calling him to “serve the Master rather than the man
His first major ministry came after he received a vision which he understood to be calling him to a ministry of rebuilding churches. His first attempt was to take goods from his father’s warehouse and sell them to pay for the repairs of a local church. He also asked the priest if he could stay and live at the church. His father did not appreciate being robbed or his son’s new home. In response, he found Francis and beat him and chained him up, even though Francis was twenty-five years old at the time. Francis was released and returned to the church. His father came again, confronted him and told him to come home or renounce his inheritance. Francis decided that he would rather serve God than be wealthy, and he gave up all that he had from his father. He even took off the clothes he was wearing since even they had come from his father’s money. Fortunately one of the church workers present gave him something to wear.

Talk about dropping your nets. Here is Francis dropping a huge net—his parents expectations. A life of luxury. All just to serve. Will that be the life for all of us? No. But we should at least consider what God might be calling us to. There is a difficult tension of your parents wanting you to live a good life, but perhaps God calling you to something different. Understand that you are not bound by the way your parents have lived out their faiths. You may be called to live your faith a different way. God may be calling you to drop the net of your parent’s expectations so that you can follow Him unfettered and without looking back.

Unfettered Part 1

I started a new series last Wednesday in Youth Group called “Unfettered.” The goal is to subvert culture’s dictating who we must be by following the example of other faithful people. Then we can live unfettered by the world’s story prescribed for us, and follow Christ freely. This first lesson focuses on Jesus and His true calling for us.

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“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” Matthew 4:18-22

What if Jesus decided to change your story and replace it with a different one? In other words, if Jesus called you to drop your net (the future that you envision) and do something different, how would you respond? Would you immediately drop your nets like the disciples?

Jesus’ message seems so encouraging. Here we have someone promising us such great blessings. So when he calls us out of our boats to follow Him, it seems like a pretty good idea. It was for the apostles. It is not as though their future was all that exciting. They left a life of fishing for the chance to follow the Messiah around. We wonder why they so quickly dropped their nets. And the answer is obvious: following Jesus was a step up for many of the disciples. They were pretty well stuck in their lives. They would never be rabbis, scribes, Pharisees, or anyone important. So when Jesus comes to call them to something different, they readily dropped their nets. Perhaps this is the same reason few Pharisees responded to Jesus’ message—it was a step down for many of them.

Just as disciples were given a story, so are we—Jesus’ calling. For some it will be a relief. For others it will be very distressing. In our culture, we are told there is no other way out than buying into the story they are offering. You have to live a certain way, act a certain way, do certain things in order to succeed. But Jesus’ calling breaks the world’s mold of what is acceptable. His calling encourages us to live life unfettered by the world’s expectations. Yes, it will be uncomfortable if you take seriously the call of Christ. But he calls us to lay down our nets—some good, some bad. Some will find laying down their stories easy. Others will be very hesitant to leave the security in which they find themselves.

But it is not Jesus’ initial calling that is so difficult. It is the continued discipleship. Jesus’ promise of food and drink quickly changes to something very unappetizing:

“I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

Basically Jesus is saying, “Unless you are willing to give up everything and suffer as I will suffer, don’t stay. You aren’t worthy. My food is my broken body. My drink is my spilled blood. My sustenance comes from suffering.” It is no wonder many left him after this. It is a hard teaching. It is a far cry from “Follow me and I will improve your life.” Yet the apostles stayed by His side, because they knew where the words of eternal life were.

The question is not, “Will you accept Christ’s story in addition to your current story?” The question is, “Will you give up the other story for Christ’s story? Will you drop your net? Will you drop your story?” For many of us, we are not in the position of the disciples. We are in the position of the Pharisees. The life he calls us to is not better by the world’s standards. You give up the things you like. You take on things you may vehemently dislike. Whoever comes to Jesus will never be hungry or thirsty because we will feast on Jesus’ body and blood—his very sufferings. Pursuing the Christian story promises many things, with suffering being near the top of the list.

Thank you for all of the responses to my last post. That entry easily had the most posts under it in the history of this blog. The response reminded me of a few things.

Theodicy (in my opinion) is the most difficult question for any faith to answer. We can try to explain away the trinity, the incarnation, and various other theological quandaries. But trying to reconcile a loving, all-powerful God with our experience of evil and hardship is extremely difficult, if not impossible at times.

But we are called to struggle nonetheless. And the responses show me that there are a variety of ways that we reconcile the question. Our struggles produce views that console, comfort, and encourage us. But others are bothered by the same views, and must work it out on their own.

Perhaps there is no “right” answer in determining how to combine God’s judgment, God’s grace, Nature’s power, humanity’s sinfulness, and a fallen world. Though it seems a mixture of all, each of us has different amounts of each in our explanations. And so it should be.

May God use our feeble attempts at grasping the unknowable to comfort those in dire need.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Theodicy

I have been slow in getting a secondary response out regarding the Hurricane tragedy and its aftermath. The coverage has been difficult at times for me to watch. I feel so helpless, and so frustrated by the state of the world. I have been asked a couple of times various questions by people (teenagers especially) seeking to come to grips with theodicy (figuring out how the existence of a benevolent God can reconciled with the existence of evil).
One girl in the youth group said, “If everything happens for a reason, then why did God allow this?” I have heard various responses, the worst of which was, “Because he doesn’t want Mardi Gras to continue.”

And the more I grapple with that question, the more I realize no answer will suffice because the question is flawed. The question not just assumes that everything happens for a reason, but it is God’s reason that things happen. I totally disagree with such logic. The Bible is clear that humans must live with the consequences of sin. We inherit the sins of those who have gone before us and will deal with the consequences of our own sins. Everything does happen for a reason, but it isn’t God’s reason.

Let me lay out the reasons that such a tragedy might befall our nation. They all come under the heading of arrogance/pride/selfishness. For example, why is New Orleans under water? Because a levy broke. Why did a levy break? First of all, we as humans decided that we could harness nature, and reroute rushing rivers to where we wanted them to flow. And we accomplished this feat through a system of dams/levies that were built to withstand a fierce storm (category 3), never imagining that nature would have the audacity to bring anything stronger.

Then, when a stronger storm did come, we thought that we were safe in our finely constructed buildings. A little wind can’t destroy our technology can it? After all, we have overcome anything nature can throw at us. So we stay put, expecting this little nuisance to just blow over.

But it didn’t just blow over. Nature wreaked havoc. It snubbed its nose at our reinforced concrete. It laughed at our levies. And in the end, it reminded me who I am compared to the power of God:

“Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness,
when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place,
when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt’?
Can you raise your voice to the clouds and cover yourself with a flood of water?
Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?
Who has the wisdom to count the clouds? Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
when the dust becomes hard and the clods of earth stick together?”

“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

--Job

From Bad to Worse

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?”

I’ll tell you why I am so disturbed. My heart is sad this morning. As I have watched the devastation along the Gulf Coast I have grown increasingly unsettled. The damage is massive. The casualties will be high. The cost is incalculable. And if that were the worst of the situation, that would be bad enough. But then I hear about the continually deteriorating situation in New Orleans:

Residents are looting stores, not for necessities, but for shoes, watches, and weapons.
During an evacuation from the Super Dome someone fired gunshots at rescue helicopters.
There is general lawlessness and residents walking around armed and angry.

I can’t even put words on the situation. The impact is being felt across the country. But the impact is not what I expected. I expected sadness, frustration, anger, even inspiration to help. But most of what I hear is worry about gas prices. I walked into youth group last night and all the talk went something like this:

“Oh my gosh! Have you seen how much gas is?”
“Yea. Most of the gas stations are out of gas and won’t get anymore in until next week.”
“Oh my gosh! What are we going to do without gas?”

What are you going to do? Who cares what you are going to do? You at least have a car to put gas into. You have a home to drive that car home to. You aren’t using your gas to try and find missing loved ones. I get so pissed at our selfishness. We dismiss this catastrophe with an, “Oh, it’s so terrible,” and then immediately put the focus back on ourselves. It is too much to even write about.

My prayer for this situation comes from the Psalms:

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.”