Monday, August 31, 2015

Seeking after the Eternal One




God's son said: “Seek the kingdom first and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you.” Matt. 6.33.

What did God mean?

Seeking is active involvement. It includes having a heart that’s focused outward, on others. Looking beyond our own self, not being limited by our own resources. Counting on God to provide. Not waiting until we have it figured out, or we feel ready. It means setting the table for adventure!

Seeking God is putting God first, above everything else. Above material gain, above position and prestige and possessions. 

It means placing God at the center of our life. Seeing things from God's point of view. Responding to people and situations the way that God would by asking God how God sees them.

Seeking includes movement towards the source. 

It’s movement towards intimacy. It’s laying down whatever holds us back. It’s actively letting go of the cares of this earth so that we can pick up God's mercy and grace.

Seeking God means letting go of fear and picking up the Eternal One's perfect love. It means listening to our soul so that we can hear the music our soul is singing to us. It means having the courage to speak out the desires of our heart, to admit them, out loud.

Seeking God isn’t a linear sort of journey, it’s a dance. 

Seeking the Eternal One is freedom. The freedom to step outside of our comfort zone and follow God. The freedom to rise above the cares of the day because we trust God's goodness. The freedom to believe that God's faithfulness really is new every morning. The freedom to break away from prejudice that binds and constricts. The freedom to let go of habits that inhibit. The freedom to be totally saturated in the presence of the Eternal One.


Seeking God is the window to kingdom living!

Photo credit: www.otherfood-devos.com

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Breaking the yardstick of judgment



There’s a scripture that reads: “Judge not, for the same measuring rod that you use to judge will be used on you.” (Matt. 7:2) Matthew goes on to say, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” (NLT)

God's son went on to say, "consider the log in your own eye before asking your friend 'let me help you get that speck out of your eye.'”

It’s an interesting phenomenon isn’t it? For some reason we tend to readily focus on the speck in our friend’s eye. Even though we can hardly see out of our own eye due to do anything about it.

What God's son was saying is that quite often, we are in no position to judge anyone. How much advice given out among friends in daily living is unasked for, and actually a judgment; would you guess 99%? And how much advice comes from individuals who have no real expertise or experience to offer? 99% again?

That’s a lot of advice going around as judgment that probably doesn’t have a solid foundation for it.

Consider that the standard we use when judging will be the very same standard used to judge us. Wow. How would we stand up to that standard? And what is that standard, to begin with? Is it fair? Is it honest? Is it objective?

How fair is a standard that bypasses facts, skips over inferences and begins with a judgment? How adequate is a standard that is based solely on our own preferences? How helpful is a standard that seeks to strike down instead of build up? Ouch!

Which leads us to another question: What is the goal of our judging in the first place? What’s our aim? What do we hope to accomplish by judging? Is it to help the other person become better, stronger and whole? Is it to encourage the talents and good that are stored inside them?

If not, then the goal of our judging probably isn't helpful and the standard we are using, ultimately gets in the way of honest, open communication and doesn’t accomplish anything positive – either in our own life or in the life of the other person we are judging.

What’s the effect of our judging others? Does it leave them feeling validated and encouraged in their relationship with us and God? Does it feed their soul, moving them forward in life?

It’s a sobering thought to consider that the yardstick we use to judge others will be used by God to judge us. 

Maybe today God's asking us to throw the yardstick away.


Sidenote: Of course, there's a process to this. First, to admit that we judge (no one likes to admit that they're judgmental, myself included). Second, to go to God with that confession and ask God's help - to replace judgment with blessing others. Third, to monitor our judgmental thoughts towards others and when they crop up, to ask God to help replace those thoughts. To actively seek opportunities to bless our friends, to speak positively and to realize there are differences between judging, advice and discipline.


photo credit: www.clumsygrace.com

Friday, August 28, 2015

Here's what engagement looks like


Here's what engagement looks like.

It begins with an openness, a willingness to share. It’s exactly how Simone Weil wrote in Waiting for God. Everyone is waiting to be asked, “How are you doing?” That simple question is the invitation the key to unlocking the heart.

There are tons of communication techniques to choose from, but it all boils down to asking: “How are you doing?” 

Asking that question with no hidden agenda. Asking that question because we mean it. Asking that question because we genuinely care about the others’ situation. Asking that question because we have God's heart towards that person in mind and we want to see the other brought into relationship.

Putting aside our own desires and needs for the other is the hallmark of other-centered communication. 

It sounds easy to do but the fact is, in Western culture in the present day, it’s about the hardest thing to accomplish. Most of us spend our day totally immersed in our own world, in our own thoughts. We are so focused on our own thoughts that most of the time it doesn’t occur to us to think of others. And when a thought towards another comes, it’s usually self-centered.

Self-centered living, to a large degree, is living out of a place of fear, and that fear leaves no room for others. It leaves no room for genuine sharing. And leaves a person feeling empty and meaningless. 

Other-centered people are by far the happiest because they're fulfilled. Remember the old song “People who need people?” And the refrain, “people who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” That’s actually very true on a spiritual level.


To be aware of others. To be focused on others. To be engaged with others. That’s living a full life. 

Thursday, August 27, 2015

God's kindness initiates a powerful chain of events




Did you ever wonder why it’s God's kindness that leads people to repentance, to changing their mind, to turning from sin towards God?

From the moment that our spiritual ancestors turned their backs on God, from the moment they decided that being in intimate relationship wasn’t enough, God was at work reconciling. God's response was towards them, God's heart was towards them, God's desire was for restoration.

God's word says that "never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13.5)

That’s an accurate summation of God's heart towards us. God's word also says that God's desire is that not one should perish. Not one. God's heart beats forgiveness. God's heart is filled with desire to see people brought into relationship.

God is an inclusive being.

God's son said that he was the good shepherd who looks out for his sheep. A good shepherd is diligent, watchful and keeps the safety of each member of the flock in mind at all times. God's son also said that his sheep know his voice, and he knows their voice. That speaks to deep relationship – going beyond the superficial. Going beyond business as usual. Going beyond the perfunctory

What is the world’s standard for kindness? Nowadays, kindness is seen as weakness. If you are kind to someone then you aren’t looking out for yourself and at some point, the person you are being kind to might take advantage. Kindness isn’t seen as being practical. If you are being kind to someone that’s energy being misspent.

When you think about it, there could be a lot of things that would lead a person to repent. 

God's sheer strength, God's power could instill a holy fear. God's position as creator of the universe could demand repentance. But ultimately repentance, a change of heart, a change of mind, has to be an act of free will. A person who is sinning, who has chosen to back away from relationship, has to decide to turn back. They can’t be forced to do it. Fear alone doesn’t cause repentance. Neither does guilt.

God's kindness initiates a powerful chain of events. God's kindness elicits love and that love brings about genuine change of heart. Be encouraged! God's heart is filled with kindness towards us.

photo credit: www.belovedlove.org

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

God's mercy, grace and love are new every morning


 
It’s morning. A fresh beginning.
God's word says that God's mercy is new every morning. That means we can start the day with a fresh slate, it’s been wiped clean of the past. Everything that happened previously to today doesn’t count in God's book. We are made clean. God's forgiveness is absolute and there are no strings attached to it. No toxic guilt from the past. As long as we have come to God and confessed, God doesn’t remember those sins at all.
Mercy is linked to grace and that grace is unmerited favor. So the good news is, if we are in relationship with God, and we’ve confessed our sins, we’re forgiven. If we aren’t in relationship, it only takes acknowledgement and receiving God (repentance) and then we’re forgiven as well.

Pretty good news, overall, wouldn’t you say? That simple sentence that people greet each other with at the start of each day: Good morning. It really, truly is!
God is always at work in the lives of everyone on earth. God's not limited by religion, dogma, philosophy, experience, geography, governments or economics. God can go straight to the heart. That’s what God's aiming for. Relationship. Intimacy.

Paul once wrote, “who can separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8.35 NLT) He said, "Does it mean God no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted or hungry or destitute?"
Of course all of these things had happened to Paul in his own life so he was speaking out of his own personal experience. He was not offering a 'pie in the sky, someday' sort of portrait of life. And he wasn't denying that there is suffering and pain in life.
But, he went on to say, "No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God..."
Too often there is a tendency to ignore the strength of God's love and in our minds we disable the powerful truth of it by believing that there are things that are stronger than God. So Paul's statement gets altered to read: Who can separate us from the love of Christ?... Poverty, political oppression, gender inequality, social structure…”

But when we speak out those things we are giving the things of this earth way more power than they actually have. We are, in essence, saying that Paul got it wrong. That God has it wrong. That evil triumphs over good. That hate trumps love.

But that has never been the case.
 
The fact is that God is at work in the earth. God is at work in each of us. God is at work in the lives of the very people that we so often count as lost. In God there is always hope. In God there is always salvation. In God there is always the promise of intimacy.

God's love is simply that strong!

photo credit: www.godisreal.today

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Getting to God's Will


 
There’s a difference between asking for help, asking for God to bless you, asking God for guidance and asking for God's will to be manifest.
 
Asking for generic help is ok, but it isn’t always predicated on much of a relationship.

Then there’s asking for blessing. Joseph asked Jacob to bless his sons. He understood the power behind the blessing and its importance. Joseph also had a reverence for his dad and they had relationship. The Bible describes their relationship as a close one. Jacob loved his son and favored him and Joseph loved his father back. They had an intimate relationship. So much so in fact that the other 11 sons of  Jacob were jealous.

Asking for guidance is predicated on relationship as well. It also involves trust and hope. If we’re not in relationship with someone to the point of trusting them, we probably aren’t going to ask them for guidance. We usually don’t ask guidance from people we don't know. We are much more inclined to actually follow the advice of someone that we trust.  And there is hope involved in believing that the guidance given will be helpful and that the person we are seeking guidance from has our best interest at heart. All of this is based on relationship that goes deeper than a casual “can you help me?”

Finally, asking for God's will to be done actually goes farther than asking for guidance.
 
When we ask for God's will to be done in our life we are actually giving over our own preference to God's. At the point of asking for God's will to be done, we are going beyond guidance to letting go of control. We are making an active decision to defer our own wishes and inclinations to God's. That is deep trust and hope. That sort of relationship is based on deepest love, even intimacy.

A person doesn’t let go of their free will and defer to the other without intimacy between them. It involves submission and submission doesn’t come easily. The cost of laying down our will is giving up our rights. In western culture, especially at this moment in time, there is huge pressure to hold on to our rights.
God's son was the perfect expression of someone who lived out God's will in his life.

God's son lived out “greater love than this...”
God's son went past asking what could be done, past asking God to bless him, to seeking guidance to doing God's will. Every aspect of Jesus' life was covered in deep love.

Today let's be encouraged to press in to deeper relationship! To get beyond asking for help to doing God's will!

photo credit: www.whynotservehim.com

Monday, August 24, 2015

Sometimes it seems as if God's grace is wasted on the wrong people.


Yesterday afternoon I went for a walk and while I was out it began to rain. Slowly at first. In fact I came back home a little wet but far from saturated. Then about ten minutes after I got home, the downpour came! And the rain came pouring straight down, in sheets, at some points shifting with the wind.
It was torrential.

Everything that was caught in that rainstorm was soaked. There was no way for the dryness to contend against it. Every part of the earth received what was coming down. It was full and strong and it influenced every bit of the ground.
This morning the street outside my front window is clean. It was swept clean by the power of that water rushing down from the sky. Any plant caught in that liquid explosion was saturated; even the weeds, making them extremely easy to pull out.

In short, everything living that received the rain was affected by it.

That’s how God's grace works. God doesn't have favorites and God doesn’t coddle. There are no gold row seats that get you a ringside spot in God's presence. In fact God's word says something about God's rain falling on the just and the unjust. It seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it? Why should a just person get as soaked as someone who isn’t?

Because it’s grace.


And God's grace is undeserved and unmerited favor. It’s favor purely for favor’s sake. It’s not determined by outward actions and it’s not always connected with what is going on deep within someone's heart.

In terms of human understanding God's grace can be illogical, provocative and totally arbitrary. And there are times when it can seem as if  God's grace is wasted on the wrong people.

But it never is.

That's because God's grace is an invitation to relationship. It’s free. And despite outward appearances, it’s always intentional.


photo credit: www.gracechurchabq.org

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Judge Not...


Jesus said, "Do not judge others and you will not be judged..."  (Matt. 7:1).
When we judge others, we are actually judging ourselves. We are judging ourselves by comparing ourselves to others and coming up lacking. We are selling ourselves short. And we are robbing others of the opportunity to get to know us.
That’s the insidious thing about judging. It harms the person we are judging but it also harms us as well by cutting ourselves off from relationship. And part of that cutting off involves cutting our own self off from a deeper understanding of who we are.

Judging makes forgiveness impossible.
Unforgiveness locks us in an emotional prison towards the person we won’t forgive; it also locks us up from the deepest part of who we are. So, when we judge someone it not only harms the person we are judging, but it also harms us. It keeps us narrow-minded, unloving and unkind. It’s the very opposite of love.

The solution to all of this is to seek God when judgment comes creeping back into our thoughts. Seek God by confessing it, asking God to remove it and bring the opposite towards that person and our own self. Ask God to bring blessing to that person, to help us understand them, and to heal them and ourselves.
As we get into this habit of dealing with judgment, we will see mercy and grace and forgiveness flowing.

photocredit. janshares.hubpages.com

Friday, August 21, 2015

When the Search becomes an Adventure!



Seeking comes from motivation.

When there’s a sufficient reason the search becomes an adventure.

When the heart is aligned with the spirit it hears the cry of the soul and follows. Often times the challenge is that the heart is going after things that the soul doesn’t desire. There’s a disconnect that happens and the interference from the world causes communication that is coming from the earth instead of from heaven.

Motivation comes from relationship. A shaky relationship that hasn’t much foundation to it can’t support seeking for very long. The seeking becomes distracted by the cares of the day, or worry, or fear. A relationship that isn’t based on love doesn’t encourage seeking.

Why would you seek after something that you don’t care about?

On the other hand, seeking comes naturally in a relationship that’s based on deep love. The love nurtures a desire to know the other in a more complete way, and that in turn brings a desire to spend time with the other and to seek them out.

There will always be distraction in life, but a heart and spirit that are aligned with the soul overcome the distraction so that the seeking becomes stronger and the relationship deepens.

photo credit. yzhengblog.wordpress.com


Thursday, August 20, 2015

Patience has a purpose


When you are being patient, you are digging a deep well of mercy and grace. And the source of the mercy and grace is a wellspring of hope and trust following from God.

The water of hope and mercy is sweet and cold and refreshing to the soul.


Patience is learned in the middle of the most everyday, common events of life. 

It is the result of making hundreds of little decisions – to remain quiet and listen, instead of interrupting or giving in to the desire to tell your side of the story before you have fully heard the other side; to stand secure enough within your own self to step away from confrontation that serves no purpose, other than to elicit anger; to remain civil towards others, even when that civility is not returned; to take the high road instead of the lower path that is so easily worn by tramping on the feelings of others.

Patience has a purpose. It isn’t the same as cowardice or avoidance for avoidance’s sake. In fact, patience actively allows mercy and grace to flow through us to the other in order to promote healing and understanding.

Patience is very much an activity that takes place below the surface. Oftentimes leaving the other involved unaware. But eventually, if we let patience have its way, if we let mercy and grace flow from its well inside us, soon we will see love’s brilliance shining through.


The only thing that is lost by being patient is our own agenda. What is gained is healing, understanding and intimacy.

p.s. Just to be very clear, the type of patience being discussed isn't tied to domestic abuse or other forms of violence. It's directly focused on the everyday, almost mundane aspects of day-to-day life.

photo credit: www.womenofgrace.com

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

What is freedom?


What is freedom?
God's word says where God's spirit is, there is liberty. But what does that mean? Liberty from fear, liberty from sin, liberty from loneliness, liberty from disappointment, liberty from confusion, liberty from selfishness.

It also means there’s liberty to; a liberty to receive grace, liberty to receive mercy, liberty to receive peace, liberty to receive my love.

There is liberty to enter into God's presence at a deeper level, unencumbered by the weight of this world. And where God's presence is there is joy.
The joy of fellowship. The joy of true companionship. The joy of being in a continual state of thankfulness. The joy of a full life. The joy of completion. The joy of receiving being loved and giving that love away.

There is a liberty and joy to enter in to the dance of the bride and the bridegroom. Truth, beauty, wisdom flow from this dance.
This dance is the dance of eternity, of heaven kissing earth with mercy and grace.

This is the dance where old things have long passed away and there is a beholding of making all things news.


That is freedom’s dance!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The cost of friendship


 
What is the cost of friendship?
Is it time? The time spent focusing on the other? Time spent getting to know another and learning what they are like? What interests the other and excites them and causes happiness and sorrow? Is it the pursuit? The pursuit towards their passions and desires apart from yours? Pursuit in the middle of your own busy-ness? Pursuit towards intimacy, around distractions and things that would normally consume your interest? Is it laying down of your will in the interest of being other-centered?

Ultimately is that what it is? Laying down of your will? Letting go? Deferring dreams so that another’s can come true?
What is the cost of friendship?

Does it depend on timing? Turning in the timetable for your life's agenda, your goals?
To what extent does a person grant permission to explore friendship in the first place?
Is it a conscious decision as much as the mystery than it is often made out to be? Is it serendipitous as much as thoughtfully setting the stage? Is it based on deliberate actions as much as feelings?
Is there always room for friendship?

Or can a person’s life become so centered on self that it chokes out any opportunity to discover the other? How does a person make room for friendship to grow? Why do some friendships become stagnant? Is it because the people involved give up hope? Can a relationship die simply due to mutually negligent homicide?

How do you court friendship?
Do you allow yourself to be washed clean of judgment and limited thinking? Do you pull up the weeds of old fears and selfish habits and let pure love cleanse the scar tissue of past hurts and disappointments?

How valuable is friendship to you?
Is it worth more than the rubies and diamonds of your time? Is it more precious than your bank account or your IRA or 403-b?

What does friendship mean to you?
Are friendships the mile-markers of your life, the cornerstones? Do you depend upon them to feed your soul and help guide you?
No one can answer these questions for you. But the answers will surely come from how other-centered you are and are becoming.

photo credit: www.prettydesigns.com

 

Monday, August 17, 2015

Fear is a liar.



A recent tweet by Sarah Cunningham (Sarah Cunningham on Twitter) actually startled me.

She had sent the above photo with the caption "Fear is a liar." 

It's true and it's such a powerful statement.

In my own life God has been speaking to me about fear. 

For years I was living a very fear-focused life. That is, I either did, or didn't do most things out of fear. I judged people, primarily because of fear. Fear produced a reflexive defense of rushing past getting to know someone on the way to labeling them.  It was a very convenient way to sidestep even the very beginnings of relationship.

Fear got in the way of knowing. It was absolutely life-inhibiting and like an emotional cancer eating away at my soul.

Here's other things that fear can do:
. stunt our intellectual and emotional growth
. contribute to selfish behavior
. spawn me-centered thinking
. stifle honest relationships
. stunt creativity
. lower our expectations of ourselves and others
. limit our understanding of God
. limit our ability to go after true wisdom

So if fear is so pervasive and powerful, what's the cure? 

I'm thinking of two things, both based on Bible verses.

"The truth shall set you free." (John 8:32)

Yes, that's a fairly generic statement, but that doesn't stop it from being true, and it helps set us up for the next verse, which is:

"Perfect love casts out fear." (1 John 4:18)

It might help to get a little context; a few verses before this one, John writes "We know how much God loves us and we put our trust in God's love." (vs. 16)

This morning, I was motivated to pause and reflect and give thanks for the perfect love of God for each of us. Among other things, what I'm seeing in these verses is that because God loves us with perfect love, we don't have to fear.

Very simple stuff, for certain, but just as certainly very powerful.

Fear is a liar and it does great damage to those it controls. On the other hand God's perfect love offers a way out of fear-based living. We don't have to give in to fear any longer because God's perfect love casts it out. The truth is: We are all loved. 

Here are (just a few) things that God's (perfect) love does:
. sets us free
. moves us towards other-centered living
. replaces judgment with mercy and grace.
. promotes healing and emotional strength

A very wise spiritual director once told me, "You can't give away what you don't have."

My prayer this morning is that each of us would choose to live in God's love! 







Saturday, August 15, 2015

Building Bridges



Earlier this morning I was on Twitter and stumbled upon a tweet by Ann Voskamp (author of One Thousand Gifts) that included a video from the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

It shows how a Peruvian community comes together to rebuild a grass bridge every year. They've been doing this for centuries. No one forces them to do it, it's just that the communities involved, living on either side of a very deep canon, want to stay in contact with each other.

The whole process takes about a day, because almost every adult helps. And at the end they come together to have a party.

The video is around three minutes long, and it's about the most uplifting, fun and educational video I've seen in a long, long time.

Enjoy!

Community Bridge Building in Peru

photo credit: www.dailymail.com.uk

Friday, August 14, 2015

Alfred Lord Tennyson & "Old Fashioned"


Friendships are investments in our emotional future. The investment is other-centered, drawing the dividend of love. Without that investment there is no intimacy.
It’s exactly like Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote: “Love is the only gold.”

In the film "Old Fashioned" Amber (the female lead) has this quote cut out and prominently pinned on her bulletin board. She explains to Clay (the male lead) how she came across the quote to begin with. During a football game. She was in the high school marching band, the game "wasn't even close," so in-between routines on the field, she caught up on homework. Which included reading that line from Tennyson.

"Old Fashioned" charts the course of their meeting  from when Amber pulls in to town because of an empty gas tank and winds up renting the apartment above Clay's antique shop. Because of guilt over his past, Clay is very reserved around women to the point of almost hiding up in his home, refusing to date.

He has theories about how relationships should go; while Amber is a free-spirited breath of fresh air that Providence has brought into his life to set him free. On the other hand, Clay helps Amber realize that there's an alternative to leaving town when relationships don't pan out (she's lived in 14 states). He helps her realize the value of commitment.

As the storyline of the film unfolds love takes its course, with opportunity for both Clay and Amber to rethink how they relate to each other and to God. And there's a moment of repentance and redemption for both of them.

"Old Fashioned" is refreshingly honest in its approach. For instance, there's a scene in which Amber expresses her frustration with Clay's inability to break out of his rule-based view of things and emotionally relate to her. She tells him: "Why are you so hard on everybody? Most of us are just doing our best not to be lonely." 

When was the last time you saw a romantic comedy expressing that truth?

Thank you Rik Swartzwelder (who wrote, directed and starred in "Old Fashioned") for giving us this gem of a film that reminds us, as Tennyson said so many years ago, that "love is (indeed) the only gold."

If you haven't seen "Old Fashioned" yet, please do yourself a favor and check out the trailer. The film is available on DVD. 

Old Fashioned Trailer

photocredit: www.meetville.com



Thursday, August 13, 2015

Love Quenches Loneliness



There are so many people that we interact with on a daily basis that are wishing that someone would pay attention to them, ask them a question inquiring about their life, and It really isn’t all that difficult to show God's love to them.
It’s a matter of observing and listening, letting a question come to you from that observation, and then asking that question to engage in conversation. Jesus did it all the time. We have Jesus' spirit in us and we can do the same thing!

Love comes out of relationship; and relationship comes out of getting to know someone; and getting to know someone comes out of listening and observing and responding.


The world is thirsty for a love that’s deep enough to quench loneliness. Those who are other-centered and are deeply rooted in God have that kind of love.

photo credit: www.wdyl.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Eventually We All Leave this World Behind



Everyone who is born eventually leaves this world behind. 

No one takes anything with them to the next life except their relationship with God. 

That’s it. 

That’s why Brennan Manning’s question (author of the Ragamuffin Gospel) is so important: Did you let God love you?

Most of us are too busy with the things of this life. Most of us are too concerned with success as the world views it. Most of us are too caught up in the illusion of success to understand what true success really is. 

Going after the temporary only clouds our focus on the eternal. 

Trying to attain the world’s acclaim and acknowledgement is like trying to please all the grains of sand on the seashore. It’s impossible, it’s fleeting and it will slip right through our fingers. And it’s disappointing because it’s so temporary. Trying to build ourselves up on the esteem of others’ opinions of us is like trying to stand on thin air. 

Come to think of it, didn't Jesus have a parable that spoke to this? One person built their home on sand, and another on solid rock, and when the storm came, the home on solid rock was left standing.

The solution to all of this disappointment is to build on the eternal which is God-centered. And it's also very, very liberating to be free of the burden of living for this earth when we're actually headed towards heaven!

photo credit: www.crosscards.com

Monday, August 10, 2015

Short Stories by Jesus: Amy-Jill Levine


I've been reading Short Stories by Jesus, a look at some of the parables Jesus told, written by Amy-Jill Levine.

One of the parables that Levine examines is The Good Samaritan. And if there is one biblical parable that is well-worn, this one is it. But she offers a wonderfully fresh and insightful spin. Here's some of what Levine has to say:

"...the Samaritan is not a social victim. He has money, freedom of travel, the ability to find lodging (more than what Jesus found in the Samaritan village), and some leverage with the innkeeper. The parable, in its original setting, is not about the type of prejudice that creates people on the margins; it is about hatred between groups who have similar resources.

Second, a benevolent reading of the Samaritan's final actions understands him as providing not one-time aid, but long-term care. Thus the sense of loving neighbor means continual action, not something to check off the to-do list. The Samaritan's offering the innkeeper what amounts to a blank check fits within Jesus' overall concern for generosity..."

Commenting on the lawyer's (from the parable) follow-up question, "Who is my neighbor? She notes:

"Samaria today has various names: the West Bank, Occupied Palestine, Greater Israel. To hear the parable today, we only need to update the identity of the figures. I am an Israeli Jew on my way  from Jerusalem to Jericho, and I am attacked by thieves, beaten, stripped, robbed, and left half dead in a ditch. Two people who should have stopped to help pass me by; the first, a Jewish medic from the Israel Defense Forces; the second, a member of the Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church USA. But the person who takes compassion on me and shows me mercy is a Palestinian Muslim whose sympathies lie with Hamas, a political party whose charter not only anticipates Israel's destruction, but also depicts Jews as subhuman demons responsible for all the world's problems.

The parable of the "Good Hamas Member" might be difficult for people in support of Israel's existence. Were Jesus a Samaritan, we'd today have the parable of the "Good Jew," told in the streets of Ramallah. If people in the Middle East could picture this, we might have a better vision for choosing life.

Can we finally agree that it is better to acknowledge the humanity and the potential to do good in the enemy, rather than to choose death? Will we be able to care for our enemies, who are also our neighbors? Will we be able to bind up their wounds rather that blow up their cities? And can we imagine that they might do the same for us? Can we put into practice the inauguration promise of not leaving the wounded traveler on the road? The biblical text - and concern for humanity's future - tell us  we must."

To take a look at Short Stories by Jesus, click on this link:

Short Stories by Jesus

To read an interview with Amy-Jill Levine, written by Jonathan Merritt, click here.

Interview with Jonathan Merritt

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Wisdom: The Book of Proverbs



This morning I'm been thinking about wisdom.

Each morning I begin the day by reading a chapter from Proverbs. Years ago a dear friend told me she did this and the very next day I began to follow her example.

Proverbs is loaded with clear images of what wisdom is and what it looks like. For instance:

"Listen as Wisdom calls out!
Hear as understanding raises her voice!
On the hilltop along the road,
she takes her stand at the crossroads.
By the gates at the entrance to the town,
on the road leading in, she cries aloud,
'I call to you, all of you!
I raise my voice to all people,
You simple people, use good judgment.
You foolish people, show some understanding!
Listen to me! For I have important things
to tell you." (Prov. 8:1-6 NLT)

Wisdom is approachable. So much so that Wisdom stands up on a hill literally yelling out for us to simply pay attention. There doesn't seem to be any hidden secrets to obtaining wisdom.

Or how about this?

"And so, my children, listen to me,
for all who follow my ways are joyful.
Listen to my instruction and be wise.
Don't ignore it.
Joyful are those who listen to me,
watching for me daily at my gates,
waiting for me outside my home!
For whoever finds me finds life,
and receives favor from the Lord.." (Prov. 8:32-35 NLT)

The image of wisdom being feminine is interesting - implying a nurturing, encouraging, generous spirit behind the invitation to spend time getting wisdom. And the fruit of obtaining wisdom is a joyous life.

And here's a final thought from Proverbs.

"Fear (as in respect, awe, reverence) of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment." (Pro. 9:1-10 NLT)

Proverbs not only gives an amazing variety of images of Wisdom, it also points to its source.

Oh, how I love the book of Proverbs! It is so life affirming with a rich aroma that mixes the poetic and the practical.

Today if you are struggling with confusion or doubt, Proverbs beacons you!

photo credit: pixabay.com

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Love Makes the World Go Round


In the movie "Ragamuffin" (which is about the life of Rich Mullins) the character of Brandon Manning says, “I’m absolutely convinced that when we face God after our death, he will have one question and one question only to ask us: 'Did you let me love you?'”

That’s really the bottom line of it. That’s the whole point. Everything flows from that question, from that invitation. It’s so simple and yet it can be so difficult. It’s very uncomplicated and the most intricate emotion of all. Love.

When I was a young boy there was a popular song that got a lot of airplay, “Love Makes the World Go Round.” (The theme from "Carnival").

Love makes the world go 'round
Love makes the world go 'round
Somebody soon will love you
If no one loves you now

High in some silent sky
Love sings a silver song
Making the Earth whirl softly
Love makes the world go 'round

High in some silent sky
Love sings a silver song
Making the Earth whirl softly
Love makes the world go 'round

Making the Earth whirl softly
Love makes the world go 'round

I really enjoyed listening to this song. Every time I heard it, the words triggered a deep longing inside. It was as if my soul was telling me how important love was.
The song spoke to hope as well. “Somebody soon will love you, if no one loves you now.”

It also speaks to a divine presence, almost in an off-hand way with the words “high in some silent sky love sings a silver song, making the earth whirl softly, love makes the world go round.”


So, the song speaks to the hope of love, and to its source as well as to its importance.
At the time, I had no way of knowing it, but that song summarized my own feelings about love even before I could actually articulate them.

This morning I felt God's encouragment. God was encouraging us to consider the fact that God's love contains several promises. Because of God's deep love for us, every other promise from God true.
For instance, because God love us, God will never leave us or forsake us. Because God loves us, we can safely trust and hope in God. Because God loves us, we are protected every moment of each day. Because God loves us, nothing can separate us from that love.

How thankful I am to be reminded this morning of a popular song from years ago, not even a "Christian" one, that points to God's love!
Here's a link to Anna Maria Alberghetti singing the song, she co-wrote it along with Jerry Orbach and Pierre Olaf.

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Simone Weil's Definition of Sin



“Every sin is an attempt to fly from emptiness. ”
Simone Weil

Webster's defines sin as "a transgression against God."

While I think that's certainly accurate, I love Simone Weil's take on the subject.

Weil's simple statement of "an attempt to fly from emptiness" at once summarizes what sin is, but also captures its cause.

In my experience, the primary reason that temptation is tempting is because of loneliness. Especially in the sense of lack of. Temptation captures my interest because it's appealing and it's appealing because I'm lacking something.

A person with a full stomach probably isn't going to be tempted to over eat.

Webster's defines lonely as "being without company, cut off from others."

If we are planted solidly in community, surrounded by caring people, we'll be much less likely to feel lonely. (By the way, feeling lonely is different than being alone.)  Because we humans are social by nature, there's a lot of fear that can come from feeling like we're cut off from others.

Being part of a community gives us lots of opportunity to interact with others, to share joy and love along with mercy and grace. All of this counteracts fear.

Dorothy Day wrote in The Long Loneliness that the only cure for loneliness was community. I agree with her. And community really can't thrive without love.

There's a scripture that makes the observation "perfect love casts out fear."  It makes sense that love, in it's purest form, would wash away fear. In fact, love and fear can't co-exist.

So, at the end of the day, what Simone Weil is saying is that if we're feeling emotionally empty inside, it's a wake-up call from our soul to get connected, to re-establish friendship, to get outside of our selves. The cure is being willing to let go of whatever is blocking honest, intimate communication.




Monday, August 3, 2015

Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz Revisited




In 2006 I read Blue Like Jazz by +Donald Miller. At the time I wrote down what I considered to be some of his main points and then responded to them. (Miller's words are bolded and italicized below).

“If I cannot accept God’s love, I cannot love Him in return, and I cannot obey Him. Self-discipline will never make us feel righteous or clean; accepting God’s love will. The ability to accept God’s unconditional grace and ferocious love is all the fuel we need to obey Him in return.”

For most of my Christian walk, I have been struggling with inconsistency. I know that sin is wrong. I know that God doesn’t like it. I know most of the consequences. I know that my sin effects others, that others are counting on me not to sin. None of this knowledge keeps me from sinning. Lately I have suspected that what I need is a revelation of God’s love. To be so in love with Him that I supernaturally want to obey Him.

I am very aware that self-discipline isn’t sufficiently enough to remain consistent.

“Here is the trick, and here is my point. Satan, who I believe exists as much as I believe Jesus exists, wants us to believe meaningless things for meaningless reasons. Even our beliefs have become trend statements. We don’t even believe things because we believe them anymore. We only believe things because they are cool things to believe.”

Wow! I wish I could say this weren’t so, but I have to admit that it is. Never mind pointing the finger – how often do I shut up and say nothing when faced with obvious moral discrepancy because what I’m thinking isn’t popular?  (I'm not just talking about being politically correct here, I'm also thinking about what's discussed inside Christian circles). No wonder it’s such a confusing world out there. Sometimes it seems like no one is motivated very much at all to tell the truth purely from God's point of view.

“Too much of our time is spent trying to chart God on a grid, and too little is spent allowing our hearts to feel awe. By reducing Christian spirituality to formula, we deprive our hearts of wonder.”

When was the last time I allowed myself to simply be awestruck by the Living God? When was the last time that I put myself in a position to be overwhelmed in the presence of the Creator of the Universe? How often do I stop and consider who I am talking to before I begin to pray?

“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.”

Oh, how I wish it were not so! How I wish I could control the speed at which I receive revelation from God! How I wish I could fast forward, through the tough stuff, the soul searching, and end up with the pot of wisdom at the end of the rainbow.

“Nobody will listen to you unless they sense that you like them.”

I’ve spent the vast majority of my adult like trying to figure this one out. Trying to scoot around this basic human truth. But the fact is, it’s the truth! What I know doesn’t impress people, or cause them to be receptive to my influence. It’s how much I love them that counts. How deep the relationship goes depends upon this. Judgment chokes out intimacy. It’s like throwing battery acid on a friendship.

“And so I have come to understand that strength, inner strength, comes from receiving love as much as it comes from giving it… And this is the prayer that I pray for all my friends because it is the key to happiness. God’s love will never change us if we don’t accept it.”

This is the central point of Christian living. It’s scary to have to admit it, but it’s absolutely true. God’s love for us propelled Him to send His Son. Jesus’ love for the Father compelled Him to obedience. Jesus’ love for us caused Him to leave us with the Holy Spirit. But none of this really matters if we can’t receive the love that the Father has for us in the first place!

Father, I don’t ever want to be done discussing this with You. This is huge. This is crucial. It’s the guiding force behind my walk with You. Our own relationship depends upon me considering these things and doing something about it.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

Pinocchio: Art Credit, Disney If ever there were a time for a national "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire" award, it's now. And certai...