In so many ways, I dislike New Year's Resolutions. My sneaky title was just to get your attention, because people can do what they want and it is good to have some goals. But thinking through this stuff, there are a couple of things that come to my mind about this idea or some common goals.
One that Christians do often is "get closer to God." This one is particularly annoying to me on many different levels. No resolution is worthwhile if you have to ask a follow-up question like, "what does that mean?". Often people will say something like, read their Bible more, attend church more regularly, pray, etc. Those are depressing answers to me. Firstly, I believe the Christ died and was resurrected to make the payment for our sins, or actions that disobey God, and then gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to live within us and guide us. If the Holy Spirit (God) is living within us, then we can't get any closer to God than that! What if the goal would be changed to "becoming more like Jesus"? That would be much more practical, and could be broken down easier because there is a definite standard involved. For instance that means you will be less selfish (serve your spouse, forgive easier, put other people's needs ahead of your own, to serve not be served), do something to bring justice to your corner of the world (volunteer at a shelter, tutoring, speaking out against mean jokes, helping an elderly neighbor), and love the unlovable. Not only are these tangible goals, they are meaningful, so no one can complain about and make you into a better person.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Thursday, November 1, 2007
More Deep Thoughts Of Others That Make Me Think
"Merely to repeat his words is not to continue his work; we must reproduce his life, passion and death. He desires to live again in each one of his disciples in order that he may continue to suffer, to bestow himself, and to labor in and through them towards the redemption of humanity, until all prodigal and lost children be found and brought back to their Father's house. Thus it is that, instead of being removed far from human history, the life and death of Christ once more take their place in history, setting forth the power of redemptive sacrifice, transform and govern it, and direct it towards its divine end." ---From "The Atonement" by Auguste Sabatier as quoted in The Double Search by Rufus M. Jones
How much more difficult is it to not just repeat the words of Christ, but to live out His new life in our own. To live out the parable of Fall, for new life to begin the old must wither and blow away. The beautiful colors of dying leaves matches the beauty of selfish desires and destructive patterns we conform to and in all honesty love. It is really no wonder why Ghandi said "I like your Christ, I do not like you Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." What a tremendously true statement, that points to our need to become less so Christ can become greater. To many Christians (myself included) want to take hold of the crown without the cross first. May we learn to live out Jesus while we still have time.
How much more difficult is it to not just repeat the words of Christ, but to live out His new life in our own. To live out the parable of Fall, for new life to begin the old must wither and blow away. The beautiful colors of dying leaves matches the beauty of selfish desires and destructive patterns we conform to and in all honesty love. It is really no wonder why Ghandi said "I like your Christ, I do not like you Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." What a tremendously true statement, that points to our need to become less so Christ can become greater. To many Christians (myself included) want to take hold of the crown without the cross first. May we learn to live out Jesus while we still have time.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Finally, A New Post
I started up using a devotion again, "A Guide To Prayer" put out by the Upper Room. Today God really knocked my socks off (in a loving way). Here are some quotes from some Jesus lovers.
"The spiritual life is not a life before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now. Therefore we need to begin with a careful look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year, in order to become more fully aware of our hunger for the Spirit. As long as we have only a vague inner feeling of discontent for our present way of living, and only an indefinite desire for "things spiritual," our lives will continue to stagnate in a very generalized melancholy. We often say, "I am not very happy. I am not content with the way my life is going. I am not really joyful or peaceful, but I just don't know how things can be different, and I guess I have to be realistic and accept my life as it is." It is this mood of resignation that prevents us from actively searching for the life of the Spirit.
Our first task is to dispel the vague, murky feeling of discontent and to look critically at how we are living our lives. This requires honesty, courage, and trust. We must honestly unmask and courageously confront our many self-deceptive games. We must trust that our honesty and courage will lead us not to despair, but to a new heaven and a new earth." from Making All Things New by Henri Nouwen
"The words of the Lord are the seed sown by the sower. Into our hearts they must fall that they may grow. Meditation and prayer must water them, and obedience keep them in the sunlight. Thus will they bear fruit for the Lord's gathering." from Life Essential by George MacDonald
"The Lord never came to deliver men from the consequences of their sins while yet those sins remained: that would be to cast out of the window the medicine of cure while yet the man lay sick; to go dead against the very laws of being. Yet men, loving their sins, and feeling nothing of the dread hatefulness, have, consistent with their low condition, constantly taken this word concerning the Lord {http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%201:21&version=31#en-NIV-23166} to mean that he came to save them from the punishment of their sins. This idea---this miserable fancy, rather---has terribly corrupted the preaching of the gospel. The message of the good news has not been truly delivered.
The mission of Jesus was from the same source and with the same object as the punishment of our sins. He came to work along with our punishment. He came to side with it, and set us free from our sins. No man is safe from hell until he is free from his sins; free of them, hell itself would be endurable to him." From Life Essential by George MacDonald
May they cause you to think about God and life as they have mine.
"The spiritual life is not a life before, after, or beyond our everyday existence. No, the spiritual life can only be real when it is lived in the midst of the pains and joys of the here and now. Therefore we need to begin with a careful look at the way we think, speak, feel, and act from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and year to year, in order to become more fully aware of our hunger for the Spirit. As long as we have only a vague inner feeling of discontent for our present way of living, and only an indefinite desire for "things spiritual," our lives will continue to stagnate in a very generalized melancholy. We often say, "I am not very happy. I am not content with the way my life is going. I am not really joyful or peaceful, but I just don't know how things can be different, and I guess I have to be realistic and accept my life as it is." It is this mood of resignation that prevents us from actively searching for the life of the Spirit.
Our first task is to dispel the vague, murky feeling of discontent and to look critically at how we are living our lives. This requires honesty, courage, and trust. We must honestly unmask and courageously confront our many self-deceptive games. We must trust that our honesty and courage will lead us not to despair, but to a new heaven and a new earth." from Making All Things New by Henri Nouwen
"The words of the Lord are the seed sown by the sower. Into our hearts they must fall that they may grow. Meditation and prayer must water them, and obedience keep them in the sunlight. Thus will they bear fruit for the Lord's gathering." from Life Essential by George MacDonald
"The Lord never came to deliver men from the consequences of their sins while yet those sins remained: that would be to cast out of the window the medicine of cure while yet the man lay sick; to go dead against the very laws of being. Yet men, loving their sins, and feeling nothing of the dread hatefulness, have, consistent with their low condition, constantly taken this word concerning the Lord {http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%201:21&version=31#en-NIV-23166} to mean that he came to save them from the punishment of their sins. This idea---this miserable fancy, rather---has terribly corrupted the preaching of the gospel. The message of the good news has not been truly delivered.
The mission of Jesus was from the same source and with the same object as the punishment of our sins. He came to work along with our punishment. He came to side with it, and set us free from our sins. No man is safe from hell until he is free from his sins; free of them, hell itself would be endurable to him." From Life Essential by George MacDonald
May they cause you to think about God and life as they have mine.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Traveling and Prayers
Hey, we are going to be traveling about 14 hours overall to Lake Traverse Reservation to Sisseton, SD. We are working with Youthworks, http://www.youthworks.com a great team to work with. Please be in prayer. We want God to work in our lives, and speak clearly as a team. This is a week that should be devoted to Him. Thanks for your prayers.
Timing and Trust
God has great, some might even call perfect, timing in life. He sees the large picture, and will orchestrate accordingly. We are only able to see the tiniest slice of the situation. I firmly believe that God takes us along in life in a meandering fashion to build our character and prepare us for the big struggles to come.
Sin is a church way of saying screw-up or disobedience. If God sees the whole picture, and wants the best for us in all areas of our life, then it makes sense to listen to Him and obey Him. But there is such a great degree of trust needed to follow Him that closely. There are times where we have no choice (when circumstances take us out of our control) that we can obey, but usually it is tough to trust. Someone in my life is being a great example trusting God by paying down his checking account to almost nothing to support ministries and God's Kingdom. It doesn't make sense, unless you can trust in the hands that created the world, and can hold the waters of the ocean in the hollow of His palm. There is a big difference failing for being disobedient, and failing by obeying so that God can prepare us for our best life. If God is big and powerful, then we would be foolish not to trust Him with everything we have. So how much do our actions show we actually trust.
Hopefully when people look at my life, and my actions, they will see someone trusting in God, and God's way of doing things.
Sin is a church way of saying screw-up or disobedience. If God sees the whole picture, and wants the best for us in all areas of our life, then it makes sense to listen to Him and obey Him. But there is such a great degree of trust needed to follow Him that closely. There are times where we have no choice (when circumstances take us out of our control) that we can obey, but usually it is tough to trust. Someone in my life is being a great example trusting God by paying down his checking account to almost nothing to support ministries and God's Kingdom. It doesn't make sense, unless you can trust in the hands that created the world, and can hold the waters of the ocean in the hollow of His palm. There is a big difference failing for being disobedient, and failing by obeying so that God can prepare us for our best life. If God is big and powerful, then we would be foolish not to trust Him with everything we have. So how much do our actions show we actually trust.
Hopefully when people look at my life, and my actions, they will see someone trusting in God, and God's way of doing things.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Control
Janet Jackson's title song off of her 1986 album, Control, spoke of Independence from every one's expectations that were close to her. Here are the lyrics:
This is a story about control, my control
Control of what I say, control of what I do
And this time I'm gonna do it my way
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do
Are we ready? I am? Cause it's all about control
And I've got lots of it
When I was 17, I did what people told me
Did what my father said, and let my mother mold me
But that was long ago
Chorus:
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
First time I fell in love
I didn't know what hit me
So young and so naive
I thought it would be easy
But now I know I've got to take...
Repeat Chorus
That's right, I'm on my own,
I'll call my own shots, thank you
Bridge:
Got my own mind
I wanna make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life, my life
I wanna be the one in control
So let me take you by the hand
And lead you on this dance
Cause what I've got is because I took a chance
I don't wanna rule the world
Just wanna run my life
So make your life a little easier
When you get the chance just take...
Repeat Chorus
Free at last, out here on my own
Now control this
That's right, career moves
I do what's right for me
And me wants to groove
Is that ok?
Repeat Bridge
Hop to it
I'm in control (and I love it, that's right)
Control, now I've got a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
I'm in control, I'm in control
Don't make me lose it
So much of what we do in life is trying to gain control. Control of what people think about me, control of how I use my money, control of my job expectations, control of what my significant other treats me, etc. Often people talk about power, freedom, money, or time with the real goal being control of life, control of everything. People (everyone) will lie, cheat, steal, and/or push people around to feel like being in control. When we do that, we are trying to communicate that we are perfect, don't need grace or forgiveness, and that we are God (because we don't make mistakes, need help, or need any one else). Love turns into manipulation, trying to get what we want from someone else. Friendships turn into using people for what they can offer us. Trying to stay in control makes people things to be used for our own personal happiness.
God calls us to something better, an understanding that we are not in control. We need others, and they are every bit as valuable as we are, which means their happiness is as important as ours. That means we need to submit to others, trust them to help us on our journey, and value them as equals. It is difficult, scary, full of troubles, but often worth every step of the way.
Control freaks lead to hypocrisy, trying to create spin control rather honest conversation. People hate hypocrites, and don't want to deal with liars. Many people have judged Jason Giambi, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds as cheaters and liars for using performance enhancing drugs. They say things like, "they should just admit it, and retire." It drives me nuts to hear that kind of judgement, because would we be willing to take that step of bravery and courage? How many of us lie over things less important than that? It is easy to treat them as objects rather than people from our position of being outside of the fish bowl. How about we all make the choice to be real, give up control and pride to let God do His part and make the world a better place. It starts with one person making the right choice, will you be willing to do that?
This is a story about control, my control
Control of what I say, control of what I do
And this time I'm gonna do it my way
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do
Are we ready? I am? Cause it's all about control
And I've got lots of it
When I was 17, I did what people told me
Did what my father said, and let my mother mold me
But that was long ago
Chorus:
I'm in control, never gonna stop
Control, to get what I want
Control, I got to have a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
First time I fell in love
I didn't know what hit me
So young and so naive
I thought it would be easy
But now I know I've got to take...
Repeat Chorus
That's right, I'm on my own,
I'll call my own shots, thank you
Bridge:
Got my own mind
I wanna make my own decisions
When it has to do with my life, my life
I wanna be the one in control
So let me take you by the hand
And lead you on this dance
Cause what I've got is because I took a chance
I don't wanna rule the world
Just wanna run my life
So make your life a little easier
When you get the chance just take...
Repeat Chorus
Free at last, out here on my own
Now control this
That's right, career moves
I do what's right for me
And me wants to groove
Is that ok?
Repeat Bridge
Hop to it
I'm in control (and I love it, that's right)
Control, now I've got a lot
Control, now I'm all grown up
I'm in control, I'm in control
Don't make me lose it
So much of what we do in life is trying to gain control. Control of what people think about me, control of how I use my money, control of my job expectations, control of what my significant other treats me, etc. Often people talk about power, freedom, money, or time with the real goal being control of life, control of everything. People (everyone) will lie, cheat, steal, and/or push people around to feel like being in control. When we do that, we are trying to communicate that we are perfect, don't need grace or forgiveness, and that we are God (because we don't make mistakes, need help, or need any one else). Love turns into manipulation, trying to get what we want from someone else. Friendships turn into using people for what they can offer us. Trying to stay in control makes people things to be used for our own personal happiness.
God calls us to something better, an understanding that we are not in control. We need others, and they are every bit as valuable as we are, which means their happiness is as important as ours. That means we need to submit to others, trust them to help us on our journey, and value them as equals. It is difficult, scary, full of troubles, but often worth every step of the way.
Control freaks lead to hypocrisy, trying to create spin control rather honest conversation. People hate hypocrites, and don't want to deal with liars. Many people have judged Jason Giambi, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds as cheaters and liars for using performance enhancing drugs. They say things like, "they should just admit it, and retire." It drives me nuts to hear that kind of judgement, because would we be willing to take that step of bravery and courage? How many of us lie over things less important than that? It is easy to treat them as objects rather than people from our position of being outside of the fish bowl. How about we all make the choice to be real, give up control and pride to let God do His part and make the world a better place. It starts with one person making the right choice, will you be willing to do that?
Friday, June 29, 2007
Deep Thoughts..........By Me.
Have you ever wanted to share a great thought? Maybe something that can be shared and touch a life? Tonight is not that night for me. It seems like my streak of thoughts worth sharing is broken for a time. Here is what I am thinking about, and why. Currently the movie Luther is on, a really good movie taking a look at Martin Luther, the reformer, and his times. It is very illuminating to myself to see the outrages of the Christian church then lived out on screen. To see the wonderful message of Christ, about a God who loves us dearly and wants to live with us for Eternity, turned into a money making scheme about earning heaven and rewards from God. But it makes so much sense to do something, or go some a quest, or pay for the joys of heaven. It is a system that makes sense to us, until we look at just how far removed from reality our ability to repay such a debt is. It is simply better not to try and insult the generous King by demanding to pay. We should allow God to bring this great message to as many people as possible out of gratitude. That is the reason we reach out, not because we are avoiding hell by paying our dues, but by passing along God's great love. We should not allow ourselves to become jaded or forgetful of this great love, but always renew by passing along. It is truly a renewable resource.
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