Brute Beast

Psalm 73:21-22

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered,

I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.



In this verse, David had been tempted to envy the propserity of the wicked. He even said that his efforts at living a holy life had felt pointless when he was embittered. It's strange to hear someone describe a longing or a desire that produces grieving, ignorance, and animalic behavior. Usually when I think of hoping or wishing for something, it is accompanied with excitement or joy. However, in David's case...as in my own...he was angry and full of self-pity.



It's easy to praise God and to speak fondly of Him when things seem to fall into place for me. I talk about His grace and His forgiveness...but now I see yet another glimpse of how much I desperately need a Savior. The more and more circumstances haven't gone my way, the more I've become like a brute beast before the Lord...and before my family...before my wife. I'm instinctively proned to quick fixes and doing just enough to stay out of trouble. This isn't the first time I've seen this in myself. I can't keep track of how many times anymore and I'm beginning to lose hope for myself.



My only hope is that David said his 'foot had almost slipped' and that the Lord was 'always with him'. Even though David almost slipped and gave himself over completely to his temptations, the Lord held him with His right hand. I'm putting my hope in that now.

Others

I think that God is making a point about prejudices today. While at work, a few of my teammates allowed some misgivings they had between each other to bear fruit of a less than healthy nature in front of our customers. The customer told me about this display and wanted to know what was so terrible that a question, which many of us could've answered in two minutes, had to erupt into a runaround of emails sending our customer to and fro throughout the members of our team. My first thought was to inform our manager that we have a problem within our team and that it has to do, mostly, with our obsession regarding what other team members are/are not doing. While speaking with other teammates about what I had determined to be a very drastic situation that needed to be addressed quickly...I realised just how much I was included in the problem. I was so pre-occupied with the actions of others, that I spent almost forty-five minutes talking about it, instead of doing my job.

While on the drive home, I started listening to the radio and heard some rowdy banter between a sports talk-show host and a local caller. After that conversation, I could only think about how much I disfavored the caller's attitude and what kind of stern lectures I could give him were I given the opportunity and were he silent enough to listen to it. Of course that would never happen and it all really didn't matter in any schemes of any significance. Once again, I was very much occupied with the actions, opinions, and prejudices of others. I was so pre-occupied I forgot a couple of the errands I needed to run while away from the house. Once again, my pre-occupation with the less attractive aspects of other people were given more priority than things that actually mattered!

When I arrived home, I realized how much I missed being with Jesus and how much I needed to hear his voice. The cares and concerns of so many insignificant matters occupied my mind from every front and I could not concentrate on things that were holy, pure, and good. I needed to see the Lord. While thinking about Jesus, it seemed obvious to note that he never seemed frantic about the actions of others. He knew they couldn't do anything without God's authority. He only did what He observed the Father doing. So the question could be asked,"What is God doing when He allows people to behave in ways that frustrate us?" Is God allowing those things so that we can become pre-occupied to the point of forgetting our responsibilities? Would God allow these circumstances to occur so as to misdirect me from things that I know He expects me to do? It is pretty clear that these distractions are not being allowed to occur so that I can dwell on what I feel is wrong with other people. To the contrary, it appears as though He's allowing these things to happen so that He can destroy my prejudices. I read Utmost today and the author states that obsession with the prejudices of others is a part of our old life. That is, our life prior to trusting Jesus and being born again. The new life should never be consumed with the prejudices of others and our energy should not be devoted to the being another's conscience, parent or boss. When we become focused on the prejudices of others, we develop prejudices of our own and Chambers stresses that God doesn't want the old life to remain in any of us. He's working to remove all fragments of the old man from all of us.

When we look at the things God has given us to do for the day, we can't spend that day wondering what He is going to do to correct the actions of other people or daydreaming about how we would correct them ourselves. Jesus told Peter, "What is to you? You follow me." As John Piper expresses, this is a blunt and liberating statement. Piper calls this obsession with others a depressing slavery that is ultimately fatal. Lord, I repent of my obsession with the actions and behaviors of others. I see that you are using those things to break me of this obsession and I'm asking for you to help me see when I'm slipping again into a mind trying to thrive off the cirumstances around me. I surrender. Thanks for being unchanging and so quick to bring Your word into my life. I love Your faithfulness and I trust You.

Joshua

Like Hearing It Again...

I don't know where you are today, but I offer you this word. If you find yourself facing discouragement, consider your choices.

- Trust the world and act accordingly.
- Trust your flesh and act accordingly.
- Trust your mind and act accordingly.
or
- Trust God and act accordingly.

It's a battle we face, but thanks be to Jesus Christ our Lord. By grace, through faith, He has redeemed us and His grace is sufficient during this time of discouragement. Don't let the worries and cares of this world, choke that out of you.

JB

Meaningless Conversation...

Some of my friends (mostly from college and high school) and myself can really drive new friends (and family) crazy. We have this...'type of conversation' where we use nothing but quotes from popular culture to communicate. Some of these comments are very random and some of them are amusingly fitting for the time. I've noticed something in myself lately though that resorts to this kind of language when I can't find anything meaningful to say. It's almost like silence around people makes me uncomfortable. I'm not sure exactly as to why this is really. It is unpleasant to my wife when I am this way. She can be very comfortable in silence, but at some point in my life, I began to feel the opposite.

In today's Bible reading, this verse seemed particularly relevant to what I am describing:
Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Now this verse is very useful for the self-righteous when we want to place judgement on others for using foul language. However, I find it at these moments to be rebuking only myself. When I can't think of something useful to say, I say things that are pretty meaningless. The truth is that there is a time for speaking and a time for silence. There is also a time for laughter and having fun with friends. However, I don't need to let this 'meaningless conversation' rob me of the opportunity to seek something 'helpful for building others up according to their needs'. I also don't need to speak so much in general. I guess right now I'm just praying that I will not miss an opportunity to speak truth into someone's life.

Lord Your word says that the tongue cannot be tamed by man. Knowing this, I ask You to tame mine. Sometimes the words that come from my mouth remind me of Paul's duality crisis in Romans 7. In my mind, I am a slave to You Lord. I ask You to please tame my tongue. I wish to let my 'yes' be yes and my 'no' be no, in Your name I ask this. Amen.

This is a song about...hope...

I gave away one of my favorite cds, by one of my favorite song-writers, a long time ago. The details of why I gave it away or who I gave it to aren't important. The point is that I re-purchased the cd today, as well as the most recent cd by the same artist, Sara Groves. I know that Sara would not want me to dwell on her, or her songwriting because I know she wants the name of Jesus to be lifted above all else.

Something about one of the songs on the album spoke to me and I believe it is something the Spirit is starting to expose to me...He may have been trying for some time now. The word that started with that song and continues forward through the Word itself has ramifications that I have yet to really even begin to understand. In 1 Corinthians 13 when Paul writes about love, it is kind of hard not to let some of the other terms he talks about get lost in all the talk about love. I'm not going to diminsh the term love, nor would I dare diminish love's purpose. However, there is another term in this passage that merits great attention. This term is something that these verses state love always does. Love always hopes.

Hope.

I can't believe how useless this term has become in my vocabulary. I'm more often to say that I hope Auburn wins a football game, than I am to cry out for hope in Christ and the coming glory of God. Looking at the apathy that has scratched my soul in the past few years, I can now put my finger on a vast abscence of hope. A void lacking anticipation. Joyful hope has been replaced with cautious optimism, and cautious optimicism with an almost cynical doubt.

Yet here it is, the word hope. On this evening of rest with my wife, the word hope dares ring in the voice of this songwriter. Though she says plenty of other things, the phrase, "This is a song about...hope..." is the phrase that gets me up to write. She said 'hope' and the Spirit spoke to me, "Now these three remain: faith, hope and love".

When I look at life's circumstances, its hard for me to put into practice the principle of being anxious for nothing. Tough times can hit every aspect of existence, and I find what keeps me apathetic and unexcitied about the amazing potential for God's glory being revealed, is a lack of hope. Hope should be bigger within my heart and not just some religious substitution for the word 'wish'. We're not wishing on a star here, we're hoping in the Son of God. Who cares if it looks like someone we know will never change? Nothing is impossible with God. (Luke 1:37) Who cares if it looks like work's challenges can never be overcome? We are more than conquerors through Christ. (Romans 8:37) So what if it appears that our fears will come true? Perfect love drives out all fear. (1 John 4:18) And love always hopes.

Lord, I thank you for a new revelation of hope. Please keep showing me what it means to hope in You and what that means in the midst of everything going on around us. You are so good to bring the news of hope to us. When your Spirit comes, the excitement that fills my being is overwhelming. Surely in your presence there is fullness of joy. We love you Jesus.

God, Signs and Football

The last couple of days have been shown some pretty funny-interesting moments. I was reading a user-created list of 'The Worst Movie Twists of All Time' or something to that degree. One of the movie endings the writer didn't like was the ending to Signs. The author thought the idea ridiculous that God would go through so much 'trouble' to re-establish the faith of a former priest. The author suggested that simply making it rain would have produced the same level of gratitude from the priest. This argument is almost too ridiculous to give a response, except I just can't resist. God is an all-powerful being, and the writer is commenting on God going through too much trouble...as if a series of seemingly random events would be very complicated for God to pull off...and complaining about the efficiency of God's efforts to reach out to the spiritually scarred priest.

To carry things further, I then read an article in ESPN the magazine titled "Does God Care if John Kitna Wins?" This article was written regarding the faith of the Detroit Lions quarterback and the impact he has had on the football team. Kitna's faith in Christ has played a major role in bringing back team unity and several other areas that were sorely lacking among the players on Lions football team. The article is a great read and highly recommended, but ended with the following discussion question: "Does God care about the outcome of a football game?"

The thing that astounds me about these two experiences is how these two individuals view God. I understand that an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-just, and all-loving being is a tid bit difficult to relate to, but come on, the least we could assume is that He isn't limited by the same things humans are limited by? What does God care about efficiency? To conserve resources? He has unlimited resources. To save time? He invented time. He's not bound by time. Does God care about the outcome of a football game? The outcome isn't the point...the process is the point. Men who follow Christ don't pray just so God will help them win. They ask God to help them concentrate, to guide them, to protect them, to give them wisdom, focus, integrity, to make conform them to Christ, or in the case of sports, to help them play for His glory. The outcome of the game, for those who are focused on Christ is quickly diminished.

This is a reminder to me of how easy it is to confine God to our limitations instead of appreciating the unlimited and unfathomable power at His finger tips.

Isaiah 50:8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord.

The Divided Self-Centered Life

I had to copy the whole text of this document because it just really rings true with some things that I (and I'm sure others) have faced recently. Anyone who knows me, knows I read My Utmost For His Highest. This is taken from the August 19th entry and can be found at the following link (http://www.rbc.org/utmost/index.php). I also posted it here so that I could come back and read it again and again over the coming weeks. Without further delay:


God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside. Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone. Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives. Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances. Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.
Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— "Come to Me . . . ." The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.

Was Christ Simply a Great Moral Teacher?

Well, while all of our internal connectivity is undergoing maintenance here at work, I guess I can post something. It's been a long time since I've done so and I feel as though I am neglecting a friend from whose companionship I could benefit greatly if I'd only take the time to sit down and talk to them.

Today's inspiration for writing comes from a quote by C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to" (Lewis 1952, pp. 43).

There's a lot to take in here, but I think what really gets to me is the statement "...but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to...". Christ makes no small effort in expressing that He is the Son of God, endowed with the very divinity of God. The disciples make no efforts to disguise this and all but one of them were killed proclaiming this truth adamantly. There is no middle ground on the deity of Christ. Either He is the Son of God or he is, as Lewis states, a madman.

Within my own soul, I have struggled with this question. "Is He really still alive? Is He really the Son of God? Was He just an exemplary man?" Within my own heart I have settled upon these responses based on the evidence He has shown me. The answers to the first two questions are most emphatically "YES" and the answer to the last question is "No".

Contempt for the Lord

I wonder if we realize what it is we do when we don't trust the Lord God. When our attitudes and actions tell God that He would have been better off leaving us to die in desert or live lives as slaves. When tough obstacles appear, it is human nature to be frightened. When our minds can't conceive of how the victory over the present and coming battles will be achieved, it is very easy to give up. The Israelites did this in Numbers. God sent them to explore the land He'd promised them. Their leaders explored for forty days and came back with reports of the fruitfullness of the land, but also of the terror that would contest them for it. Eight out of the ten explorers sowed fear into the hearts of the Israelites. They did not trust Moses to lead them, and they did not trust the Lord to be with them.I think we should understand that there is no justification to walking in the fear that confronts us. It is perfectly normal to be afraid, but it is showing contempt for the Lord when we embrace that fear or make decisions governed by fear. Fear is a terrible master and desires us to be slaves. A decision not to trust the Almighty Sovereign God, is contempt against Him. When we do this, we say to Him, "Surely you did not bring me this far, just to let me fall. Surely you should have left me back in the desert or in slavery, rather than give me false hope. Surely we would have been better off." To that I intellectually respond, "HOGWASH!" Surely there is no better place to be than in the presence of the Lord. Surely there is no better company than the Almighty. Surely there is no other that has ordained the number of our days. Surely there is no other who has died for our sins. Surely we can trust the one true living God.We must walk in trust. The outcome can never clearly be seen with human eyes, but God is not bound by our perspective of the future nor of time itself. It is all the same to Him and He can bend the 'laws of nature' to His whim. He can command the seas to be still, and walk upon them. He can stop time for a day. He can part the Red Sea. He can lead us with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Those who trust in the Lord, are like Mount Zion. They cannot be moved.

Encountering Jesus at a Deli

I'm pretty selfish. This is especially true when I'm feeling 'down'...which is another way of characterizing 'self-pity'. When I'm down, I get grumpy about everything and I am so unloving. I was acting this way last Sunday. I dropped Saharh off for MSO rehearsal and I went to Jason's Deli. On the way, I was grumbling to God. I was complaining about how hard it is to believe in Him. Even worse, it was more difficult for me to feel like believing in Him. I wanted Him to go out of His way to make me feel better so that I could 'feel' happy again. I'm not saying God doesn't give us joy, but my motivation for it was entirely out of self-pity.

I ordered half-sandwich / half-soup deal. Seafood gumbo (mmmmmm gumbo) and a New York Yankee. Don't let the name fool you, it's a great sandwich. Anyway, I proceeded down the line and waited behind sweet looking elderly couple. Now this deli has a unique ordering process. I gave my order to someone I can only define as a 'ticket-writer'. I'll call him Ticket Jimmy for fun. Ticket Jimmy wrote my order on a piece of two-sheet, carbon paper. He gave me the yellow copy and sent the white copy down 'the line'. The elderly couple had bypassed this process though, and they told Cashier Susie (didn't catch her real name either) their order directly. The wanted a bowl of chicken-noodle, and a bowl of broccoli-cheddar. Cashier Susie called out the imprompt order to Soup-Master Kevin and Soup-Master Kevin promptly got their order ready.

Now apparently Soup-Master Kevin was working on my order because he made a bowl of seafood gumbo and a bowl of chicken-noodle. The elderly man noticed something wasn't quite right but he didn't know how to say it. I introduced myself into the equation (we'll call myself Selfish Josh for now) and clarified the mix up for the Soup-Master. Kevin promptly fixed the elderly couple's order and then handed me the bowl of seafood gumbo. He then told me to go fix my drink, and my sandwich would be ready in about four minutes. He literally said four minutes. Who says 'four minutes'? We usually say 'five minutes' or a 'few minutes', but not Soup-Master Kevin. He wouldn't be the Soup-Master if he did. I'm thinking to myself, this guy is awesome.

Anyway, I go back to the counter around four-minutes later and Organizational Ralph is putting my order together. I see a tray with a 'cup' of seafood gumbo and then a sandwich next to that one that looks a lot like a New York Yankee. Uh oh. Soup-Master Kevin had given me too much soup. I told Ralph and Ralph said, 'Don't worry about it, enjoy the bowl.' I relunctantly say ok, though I had already gotten my wallet half-way out to pay for the excess.

I sit down to read while I'm eating and the author tells me that life is not about me. It is not a play where I am the lead actor, and everything around me supports my story. I am a part of the story of God's glory and am only a part, not the center-piece. Life is not about me, it's about Jesus. Hearing this snapped me out of my selfish attitude. There was so much wisdom in this guy's story that I knew the Lord was speaking to my heart and correcting me in the way that only He can do.

So, after snapping out of my mood, I realized that I didn't want to take advantage of the soup miscommunication. I went back to Cashier Susie and informed her that I wanted to pay the difference. Susie called Super-Cool Ray over and informed him of the situation. Ray looked at me and said that he appreciated the thought, but he wanted me to have the extra soup at no extra cost. He said that something just got mixed up and that it was ok. I told him I was very willing to pay the extra cost. He interrupted me and said, "Did you enjoy it?" I quickly and truthfully told him 'yes' (the soup was awesome). He smiled and said,"That's all that matters to me."

That encounter with Ray was an encounter with Jesus. Ray demonstrated the love of Jesus to me. Ray gave me something I didn't deserve and told me to enjoy it rather than try to earn it. Jesus paid something that we couldn't pay back even if we wanted. He doesn't ask us to spend the rest of our lives to pay the difference, He invites us to enjoy Him forever. God truly is an awesome God.

I'm Starting to See This More and More...

I write this as a confession about myself. I was listening to a radio show that is hosted by a couple of guys that are followers of Jesus. A lot of times these guys tell funny stories about growing up or family life. They also do creative funny things like have racing championships with lawnmowers. Occassionally, however, these guys will get into politics or pop culture news events and that's when an interesting thing reveals itself to me. I have been just too judgemental.

When I start blasting the 'far left' for their opinions I can end up sounding just like they sound to me. I'm starting to see that mixing politics with my spirtual lifestyle is a very dangerous thing. Jesus didn't seem to get very involved in political things. I don't think he sat at the supper table talking about some new hedonistic law passed by the Roman legislation. It was probably the Pharisees who sat around the table saying, "You know they just legalized gay marriage over in Rome? What a downtrodden people they are." It is one thing to share with someone why I believe what I believe, while casting my vote in humility. It is another thing to do it with such an arrogant attitude. I'm not advocating that I let legislations go unchallenged, but I think Christians should be very careful of this area and approach it with great humility. When I spend more time complaining and forecasting doom on our current legislature, I ignore the genuine needs that people have. People need food, mom's need clothes for their kids, jobless people need shelter and hope, but mostly people need the love of Jesus. There isn't enough time in my day to judge others and follow Jesus. It has to be one or the other.

Or how about when some celebrity gets into another nasty divorce or drug problem, I look down my nose and write them off as if they weren't a person like me. I'm so comfortable casting my opinions of people in the popular culture because...well I don't know why. Is it because they have more money than me, and since they do, they should automagically have some kind of behavior modification? Is money really that powerful? Does a rich person throw themselves into some Biblical justification for self-righteous comments from the church, just because they're wealthy? Or just because they're enjoying a type of lifestyle that I'm supposed to obstain from? Am I jealous? I act as if they shouldn't have feelings and that they don't need love because they have the popularity and the finances to make up for whatever's lacking. I sit there and tell them money will never be enough, but I judge them as if I believed it should be enough.

I make comments about the people around me, the clothes they wear, and the personal problems that may have been revealed about them. I'm not a very trustworthy person to be honest. I ramble on and on about people and frankly I'm just tired of myself. I'm not sure what purpose it is supposed to fit when I talk so judgementally and negative about people, but I have to confess that I do. I say all of this to say...that I repent. Lord Jesus show me how to follow you, and love like you do. I don't want to dishonor you anymore with this judgemental attitude. I confess it to you and ask for you to change my heart and rescue me from my own foolishness.

Yearning, Knowing and Yearning to Know

Today after a week of abscences from my prayer closet, I see how knowledge can puff up. (1 Corinthians 8:1) When the Spirit shines His light on all the things of my life, He reveals all of the amazing places I could go that day. Opportunities exist to be productive in my place of work, contribute to group discussions, spend time in the body of Christ (the Church), and so much more. There are so many options each day, but on days like today the light shines brightest on a closet in our apartment. That's the place I really wish I could be today. There is nothing inherently evil about what is keeping me from being there right now. For now, you see, is not the time set aside for me to be there. Unfortunately I neglected those times this week and I sit here, not in condemnation. Praise the Lord, I feel no condemnation because my life is hidden in Him now. I feel something else. I feel something that I could only quantify as an ever increasing desire. In other words, a yearning. I have a yearning to communicate with Christ, at the foot of the cross, and in the light of His words.

My motive isn't for head-knowledge, but for the substance of a relationship with Christ. The inner workings of a relationship that is bonded in privacy and intimacy with Him. There are many wonderful people that I have the privlege to say I know. I'm glad to know the likes of men like Andrew Sivulka, the Knowles Brothers, Brad Knueven, Benjamen Burke, Chad Vail, and Zachary Hung. I consider my relationship with my sister, parents, parents in love, new sisters (Suphia and Sara) and grandparents to be invaluable. I have the great pleasure and warm opportunities to grow closer to my wife, Saharh Burke, each day. There are so many more that I am thankful to know that I cannot take the time to write them at this moment. But the gloss of all these relationships grows dim and pale compared to the desire welling up within me to know Christ.

I don't take credit for this desire. It is something that has been planted within me by a power beyond my control. The Holy Spirit has shined His light on my heart and I can literally taste and see how only Jesus can fill what is lacking. Only what Christ inspires can be built on genuine love, truth, and beauty. Only in Christ can those other relationships shine. The only response my heart can muster is a thankfulness and a humble plea for more yearning and more hunger. By His grace, I will meet with Him in a quiet place tomorrow, so that I can fellowship with Him in private. Until then I will continue to seek the whispers of His voice in the crowded bellows of circumstance. Praise Jesus for the hunger that he both creates and quenches. I leave this post with the words of David Crowder.

"Come and listen. Come to the water's edge, all of you, who know and fear the Lord. Come and listen. Come to the water's edge, all of you, who are thirsty come."

Freedom from Comparison and Being Like Everyone Else

I don't remember the first time I compared myself to someone else. I was probably very young and it was probably over something very silly. Maybe someone had a nicer tricycle than I did. Maybe someone was better at using a router in shop class. Perhaps a colleague was better at mock debate in Washington D.C. There's no way I can forget the athletes that were better than me on the court in high school. After reading a Taste & See Article by John Piper, I can see that comparison of myself to another mortal is bondage. It is a unique slavery in that it has the power to hold us back, and drive us forward. Yet, it is still slavery. In the article entitled "What is That to You? You Follow Me!", Piper illustrates the statements of Christ to Peter. (John 21:18-22) Peter had compared himself to another and Jesus quickly cast that bondage aside. "What is it to you?", Jesus said. What is it to me? What power do I have over another? What gain is there in comparable to someone else? When I compare myself to a person, I either put them on a pedastal on which they do not belong or beneath me, which is a place they do not belong either. Performance driven by comparison is slavery. Anything good, comes from the Father of Lights (James 1:17). Anything worth emulating, is simply emulating the character of Christ. What is it to me, what the Lord chooses to do with another?...nothing. There is only the call to follow Jesus.

Lord Jesus, please squelch the comparitive nature within me. I submit it to you. I long to be free from that which entangles and hinders my stroll in the garden with you.

(Hebrews 12:1)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race MARKED OUT FOR US."

Click here for the Piper article.

Popular Singer/Songwriter Derek Webb Makes His Entire Latest Album Free

I don't see this happen very often, but I'm not going to claim this is the first time either. Derek Webb (formerly with Caedmon's Call), who has released three major albums has decided to release his latest album for free at freederekwebb.com. He asks that those who would've spent money on his cds, spend them on help organizations instead...

read more | digg story

You can never be a Christian too long...(Part 2)

...to learn you haven't got it all figured out and that there is an unceasing need for the understanding of the Lord.

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your hear and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight."

I'm learning that we shouldn't lean on our own understanding in any facet of this earthly existence. I assumed I knew a lot about the heart of God and have been easily drawn into the clamour of the crowd. I am so eager to participate on one side or the other in a picket-sign contest. God is showing me that I need to slow down and seek his understanding before I go running out into the world to participate in the world's debates. Without building my foundation on the rock, my faith will be nothing more than shifting sand. I am acknowledging Jesus and leaning not on my own understanding. I trust that He will make the paths straight.

You can never be a Christian long enough...(part 3)

...to stop realizing you don't know everything. Praise Jesus :)

I must essentially renounce possessions of all kinds, not for salvation (for only one thing saves a person and that is absolute reliance in faith upon Jesus Christ), but to follow Jesus. ". . . come. . . and follow Me." And the road is the way He went.

That paragraph came from this morning's Oswald Chambers devotional. If there's anything being married can teach, it is that my perspective is not the only perspective to be had on everything. It's amazing how critical and unappreciative we can become of the person we have vowed to love, honor and cherish for the rest of our lives. When this criticism and unappreciative nature is confronted by the Holy Spirit (through whatever means He chooses), my natural reaction tends to be..."Yeah, but..." Insert redirectional clause here. Now this applies to everyone in every fascet of life. For example, I can be pretty judgemental of people, groups, and events that I hear about on the news. But Jesus comes right back with the Spirit saying, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:5)

Jesus wants me to follow Him and Jesus did not set an example for us to follow so that we could be judgemental, overbearing and insensitive people. I'm not saying that sin isn't wrong. I'm also not saying that there isn't a place for godly-correction. But as the Scripture says, we must be right with God before we can begin to confront another. Also, if we are right with God then we will confront the other person IN LOVE, not in judgement. It also means that we don't have to confront people on every little thing. For example, taking up someone's offense when they haven't been offended. Sometimes people I know may do or say things that, in my mind (for whatever that's worth), may offend others. In the flesh, I may pull the 'offender' aside and say,"You offended that person...go and apologize." That may be true and it also may not be true. The point is that I should pray long and hard before trying to be the Holy Spirit in someone else's life. The Lord may give us a word for them, or He may be trying to teach US something. The point is we should be quick to listen and slow to speak. In some ways behaving this way strikes me as a lack of trust in God to speak to His children, as if I could say it any better.

I love how Oswald Chambers talks about surrendering every possession or aspect of our lives. We don't need to do this for salvation, but we DO need to do this in order to follow Jesus. I guess one of the possessions I'm needing to surrender is my overbearing, correctional attitude. God is God and I am not. I am crucified with Christ, therefore I know longer live. (Galations 2:20) Therefore, the least frustrating existence to strive for would be one in which I pursue Him while carrying nothing else. God Himself will provide whatever is needed (Genesis 22:8 sort of and 1 Peter 4:11), both in our own lives and in the lives of His children around us.

Prophet, Priest and King

Master, Teacher, and Lord...the names that could be used to describe Christ are bountiful. (I like the word bountiful...so I use it when I can. :) ) I just heard this song say that this is the Judge that ends the strife where wit and reason fail. The deeper I plunge (figuratively) into knowing Christ the more I realize a paradox. The more I learn about who I am in Christ, the more I learn about Christ. The more I know about my identity in Christ, the more I want to know Him. This isn't a search to find myself, but a search to find myself in Him. In order to be found in Him, I need to be conformed to Him. In order to be conformed to Him, I must know Him and obey Him. Who I truly am, can only be found in learning who He truly is for I can only be found in Him. Romans 6 is awesome stuff.

When we were born, we were born with a flesh-man and a spirit-man. The flesh-man is cursed because of the fall of man. The spirit-man is chained and a slave to the flesh-man. Then Christ died and all who believe die with Him. The spirit-man identifies with the death of Christ and dies to the flesh. The chains that bound the spirit-man can no longer hold the spirit-man because the spirit-man has died and is now with Christ. However, just as Christ rose from the dead, so does our spirit-man after being identified or 'crucified with Christ'. The spirit-man has risen back to life in us and is no longer bound to conform to the flesh-man. The spirit-man is now bound to Christ.

Oh how I want to know Him.

You can never be a Christian too long... (Part 1)

...to have a life-changing experience.

This last weekend was spent at a Men's Retreat learning more about Jesus and at a friend's church seeing how awesome Jesus has been in my friend's life. Brad Knueven got baptised and I got to hear some basic truths about the Christian's identity in Christ from an evangelist named John Hobbs (I think it's Hobbs).

John spoke on the subject of the identity of the flesh-man vs the spirit-man. (you can interchange man with woman in that statement of course) Using Scripture from all over the word (starting with Proverbs 3:5-6), John reminded us that we have been crucified with Christ, therefore we no longer live, but Christ lives in us (the spirit-man). Our destiny is not to be flesh-people trying to have a spiritual experience, but spiritual people surviving in a human experience. There is so much detail to this story that I can't give it justice but I walked away with an understanding of how I can know Jesus more, release people of expectations (because expectations 'can' be a form of bondage for ourselves and those we place the expectations on) and the need to wait on God. Our spirit-man needs to wait on God in order to be fed. If the spirit-man is not fed, the flesh-man will take over, but if the spirit-man is fed then the spirit-man (under the Lordship of Jesus) will rule. If anyone wants to know more about it, just let me know and I can even look at getting you the cds. Lifechanging truth.

The visit to Buckhead was spectacular as well. I was so tired from the trip there that I thought I would have a hard time enjoying the visit. However, once we arrived, Brad and all of his friends at Buckhead didn't fail to show us the love and friendliness of Christ. People there are passionate about Jesus and it was so refreshing to meet so many people who were passionate about our Savior. Brad's baptism was great and another chapter in Brad's amazing story of God's redeeming grace in Jesus. As if all that wasn't enough, a man preached a paradigm-shifting message on the reality of Heaven. Heaven isn't a bunch of floating cloads, or us sitting around playing harps all day. However, in Scripture (both the Old and New Testament) God speaks of creating a new heaven and a new earth. (The greek here basically means a new 'universe' including a new 'earth'.) The ramifications of this truth is comes down to how through this truth, Heaven is relevant to our every day life.

Check it out here at Buckhead's site: http://www.buckheadchurch.org/messages
The sermon is entitled 'Heaven or Bust: Part 1'. It's not very long but it is so, so good. Praise Jesus.

Can I not be different?

I'm not sure how many times a day this happens. There is no formula for the circumstances that produce it either. I am sure, however, the condition of my heart is very much the same in each instance. Whether the issue is politics, pop culture, or 'the way things are these days', I find myself forecasting doom over the world around me. I observe a circuit court ruling and begin predicting the downfall of our society. I read about a theological argument choosing paper over plastic and I mock those who would waste such time and energy on such nonsense. Maybe I'll see a movie preview and scoff at the nature of the film while calling it a true 'sign of the times'...whatever that's supposed to mean. In these moments, my very actions and words reak of self-righteousness, judgement and despair. Worst of all, this is sometimes acceptable in my circles of society and given enough time I could spend more energy talking about how terrible that is as well.

At this point in my recollections I could very easily cry out like Paul saying , "What a wretched man I am?! Who will save me from this body of death?! (Romans 7:24) My state of being would reflect David's confessions in Psalm 37:22. At those times I am nothing more than a senseless, ignorant person behaving no better than a beast responding, as a slave, to the primal instincts of nature. Of course, left to myself the only answer would be despair. However, God is greater than I. He is so much greater than I. In His grace, He spoke these words in Isaiah 8:11-17:

11For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: 12"Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. 13But the LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.

14And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken."

16Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. 17I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.

In this the Lord is saying clearly that I should not respond to the daily disappointments of our society or church with the spite of the flesh. I should not forecast doom as if to give into hopelessness and cease believing in God's redeeming power. Andrew Murray points out how we should respond biblically to moments like these in his book Waiting on God by saying:

"Instead of the tone of judgement or condemnation, of despondency or despair, realise your calling to wait upon God."

We are to wait on God in noticing the symptoms of sin around us. We are to wait upon God and fear Him. We are to wait upon God on behalf of those around us that need Him, just as we should wait on Him in our own deffeciency. Oh how ofen I do no turn over the daily trappings of distraction to the redeeming power found only in waiting on God. Oh my soul, wait only on God.

I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies, I will call upon the Lord. The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

Be true to what?

"Be true to your heart...believe in yourself...you can do anything if you set your mind to it." I find it very difficult to take those words of advice. Please don't misunderstand my intentions, I do not mean to downplay the importance of not giving up. Nor do I imply that one should simply reject themselves. I do however imply that seeking to believe in one's own self is a lost cause. We say 'be true to your heart', but what if what you want in your heart is...revenge, lust, or greed. What if deep down in one's heart, the desire is in itself deceitful and corrupt. A movie I once saw had a character telling a woman that the only true sin is to deny what one's heart desires. I presume then that the character believed the film's antagonist was merely following his heart when the villian decided to try and kill hundred's of people. That's the paradox of 'following one's heart'. If we are all truly meant to just follow our hearts, then there is no right and there is no wrong. We are all merely following our hearts when we steal, when we kill and when we destroy. When i a person is freely encouraged to follow the bent of their own heart, then words that were once evil are now merely options. Should I kill or should I save? Do I want paper or plastic? What does it matter, simply follow your heart. By now, or maybe long before now the reader has realized the sarcasm with which I am speaking. However, I do not think it can be easily argued against. In reality we are trying to tell people to be true to their hearts, in so much as it complies with some...good. But what is 'good'? What is 'good' to me, a happily married, white male who grew up in a simple town could be exceedingly different from the 'good' embraced by a kid raised by a single parent in the Bronx. So is it our perceptions of what exemplifies 'good' meant to be the navigator for our hearts? I believe that this just cannot be so. Even I, the kid raised in a simple town, with a pleasant life would rather die than live by my own heart's standards alone. For I believe, if left to my own heart's leanings, I could lead a life filled with more ill nature than a hundred ruffions of the street. The human heart is deceitful even unto itself. It must be shaped, it must be...refined. And so the words of a song echo in my ear:

"Yes, and I must, I will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus' sake
O may my soul be found in Him
And of His righteousness partake
Amen, amen

The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before Thy throne
But faith can answer Thy demands
By pleading what my Lord has done"

I put no faith in my own heart, but only in the love of Jesus which has come into my heart. For I long to be changed from the inside out, having my heart refined by the heart of God. He is the only 'good', and he is the only means by which to embrace that which is 'good'. 'Trust in the Lord with all of your heart...', says the Word. My heart must be completely dependent, not independent, on the truth of the Lord. Even still it is emphasized, '...and lean not on your own understanding.' Our understanding cannot be shaped by our own understanding of what is good. Our understaning must be shaped by that which is good. 'For the Lord is good...and His love endures forever.' We must be true to the ways of the Lord.