God's love is incredibly offensive. Not in the sense that "The Pirates need to generate more offense" but in the sense that his love is above and beyond our cognitive understanding of what is good and right.
We have unintentionally shape our understanding of God and His love toward us based on our experience and the love we have receive from others. If one wants to judge by this merit he or she will continually underestimate the capacity God has to show favor, grace, and love toward his children.
I am a Christian and believe in the mystery of the Trinity. I believe in One God yet he has revealed himself in three characters. We call this the Father, the Son (Jesus, the Christ), and the Holy Spirit. They are equal in power and authority for there are literally one but they are different in their roles. The Father creates and sustains the world, the Son sacrificed himself showing us the great love of the Father, while the Holy Spirit empowers us for daily living and enlightens us to the truth that Jesus in the Messiah.
Trying to explain God in human terms is very difficult for He (even using gender is incorrect analysis) indescribable. The best one can do to explain and understand the glory of the Father is to look at the Son. The author of Colossians, Saint Paul, show the resurrected Christ seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven in a vision. He says two important things of God: "The Son is the image of the invisible God" and "God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him."
What's the point. We can fully and truly know God through the character of Jesus Christ. If we have some understanding of God that does not match up with how Jesus acted then we need to repent (change the way we think) at once.
Many of the religious people in the First Century did not like Jesus. They were offended by how he did things. He was offending people before he was born. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. God chose to bring His Son into the world through a teenage Jewish girl who was engaged to be married. Many people would have looked at Jesus and mocked him calling him a bastard child. Neither did Jesus get married. This is more common in today's culture but not in the First Century! In addition, Jesus who was a teacher with much authority, chose disciples that were the rejects of the day. The majority of his followers were fishermen and tax-collectors.
What is this Jesus guy doing? As you read through the Gospels you will see that he continues to offend the religious yet stun the "Sinners" by welcoming them into his life. He breaks down their man-made religion and reveals the true heart of God. "To seek and save the lost."
There is an account of great offense that Jesus brings in Luke's Gospel. Some Pharisees (this was a devout Jewish sect that held morality to a high standard) invited Jesus to have dinner at their home. This was the greatest level of intimacy in the Jewish First Century culture. As they are enjoying their meal and woman who doesn't even get named walks right into the house. She is simply called, "a sinful woman." She does the oldest thing. She falls to the ground at the feet of Jesus, pouring perfume and washing his feet with their kisses and hair.
This event caused the Pharisees not to be mad at the woman but at Jesus. But why? Because he was not offended at the woman. She was unclean. She was unholy. She was unworthy. She was a SINNER. She was a woman. She wasn't one of them. She wasn't a child of Abraham. The Pharisees say about Jesus, "If this man was a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is- that she is a sinner."
Jesus explains why he is not offended with a story (this was pretty common for Him).
"Two people owed money to a certain monelender. One owed him 500 days of wage, and the other 50 days of wage. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?
His rhetorical question was answered correctly by Simon, "The one who had the bigger debt forgiven."
If the Pharisees and many Christians today it is about doing more right than wrong. Life is about achieving perfection; more good deeds than sins. But the thing is no one is perfect. And if we are honest with ourselves trying to achieve perfection is hard and it is tiresome task.
The very fact that God sent His Son Jesus to die in our place is the fact that we could not rescue ourselves. That is
God's
Great
Love.
That he chose to love everyone equally. You might say, "Well, Jeff. Don't we all? No, I don't think so. We might try to love everyone equally and unconditionally but this again is a task that you and I fail.
God's love is offensive because your eternally status before God is not determine by how you act or what you do. It is totally, 100% in the fact that he loves you and me and us and paved the way for us to have an eternal relationship with Him.
Jesus didn't care that the woman who was at his feet was considered to be a sinful woman. He didn't view people in light of their sin but in light of how much he loved them. To this day, Jesus' love is incredibly offensive to many. It is "too good to be true." We many times believe this because we believe the falsehood that God can only love me by how good of a person I am. You are not a good person. You are however, a child of God. A prince or princess in God's kingdom. Forever loved and forever cherished simply because you are you.
Because this woman had a huge debt her understanding of God's love was able to increase. Y(our) ability to love others is directly proportional to the love we have received. To those who have received grace in light of their error how much greater has their capacity to show grace increased.
As you walk through life today, I pray that you know that there is a God and He is madly in love with you. I pray that you can reflect on your life and understand no matter what you have gone through that God is willing to fully forgive you of everything.
And when He forgives; He forgets.
Jun 9, 2014
May 30, 2014
The time Jesus went to a wedding
I was reading in the Bible today about when Jesus went to a wedding. It is unclear who the bride and the groom were because they are not the focus on this story. Some Historians believe that it was a friend of Mary, the mother of Jesus, but no one knows for sure.
At this wedding there is Mary, Jesus, and the disciples of Jesus. There is no mention of Joseph. Joseph was the earthy father of Jesus and historians have taught that he passed away during those 18 years of history that are not included in the Bible.
We encounter Jesus when he is born, when he is 12, and then when he is 30. Jesus took over the family business of being a carpenter but his life was radically changing and he knew it. He experienced the heavenly father when he was baptized in the Jordan River. In that account the Father says of Jesus, "You are my Son, with whom I love and with you I am well pleased."
Jesus is tempted in the desert for a long time but is able to overcome because of the assurance that he received in being the son of God. After this account, Jesus spends time with His Heavenly Father and asks him to show him his disciples.
Jesus picks his disciples and a few days later we find Jesus, His disciples, and His mother all at a wedding feast. Up to this point Jesus had performed no miracles (besides being born). He told his newest disciple, Nathaniel, that "Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
In other words Jesus was telling him that “You don’t just have to believe my words, what I
am saying here. I am going to perform signs that will back up the truth of what
I’m saying and prove that I am who I claim to be.”
And three days later they are at this wedding. Nathaniel must have been waiting to see if Jesus was truly the Messiah. Jesus himself must have been a little nervous. This is a side of Jesus we generally don't think about. But Jesus was 100% God and 100% human. His humanity was in the fact that he had emotions just like you and me.
I wonder if Mary was nervous approaching Jesus. After all, He is now the man in the house. Mary found out the wine was all gone. Which was a huge embarrassment in the First Century. What words should I say to my son?
And then she speaks! "They have no more wine."
That's it???!?? She knew that he would know exactly what to do. She didn't fear but knew that her baby boy was also the GREAT I AM. But was he ready?
His response seemed incredibly hesitant. "Woman, why do you involve me. My hour has not yet come."
What does he mean that his time or hour has not yet come? He was baptized, He has overcome temptation, and he has picked his disciples for ministry. It was time. And he knew it.
It doesn't say in the text but I assume that either through words or by how Mary acted it encouraged Jesus to perform his first miracle. She doesn't argue with her son but simply says to the servants, "Do whatever he tell you."
Mary might have prompted this miracle but I don't think so. Instead I think we don't give Mary enough credit for her encouragement of her son, Jesus. She knew he was ready to begin the ministry, that is why she asked him.
The story tells of how they bring Jesus between 120 to 180 gallons of water and he turns it into wine. It is noted that this wine was better than the original wine! *Sidebar* Jesus was not encouraging people getting drunk but provided enough wine for the entire feast which could last many days depending on what has determined**
There is many spiritual applications that we can take from this story. But the focus that I wanted to take was on encouraging you to know that you are ready. What have you been waiting to do? What have you said you wanted to start doing but haven't yet?
I have heard this phrase that I think is important to read here: "Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift that is why it's called the present."
Live today to the fullest with the boldness and assurance that the God who changes water into wine also will give you whatever you need to accomplish whatever you need to accomplish on this day.
Apr 14, 2014
The Passover Lamb
Happy Palm Sunday. Okay, I am a day late. But to be fair Sundays are incredibly busy in my life right now. This past weekend we had a lock-in Friday night into Saturday Morning and then Youth Group on Sunday night.
I was thinking about Palm Sunday as "Spazz" and his puppet friends explain the meaning of Easter through a parody of "Thriller" but the late great MJ.
And as I was thinking a random thought invaded my mind. I thought, "How much more would we love Jesus if we knew the Old Testament?"
Now, to be fair, knowing the Old Testament or the New Testament or any creed or belief is meaningless without leaning into a personal relationship with Jesus. I think of many Jews in the first Century, or even today. They knew about the prophecies about the coming Messiah but didn't recognize Him when he didn't fit into their understanding of who God was.
I wonder how many times this is the case? We miss what God is doing because He doesn't fit into our box of what God should look like.
God sure does some strange things. At least from my understanding of life. For example, If I were God I would have never thought about giving up my only Son to be murdered on a cross and by his death buy back his sons and daughters (us!). But that is why it is good that God is God and that you or me is not God.
God is always in the business of rescuing. He is close to the brokenhearted. I believe that when He looks at the hurting his heart breaks. But it is in those moments of heartbreak and sadness that we open ourselves to hear and receive from God.
He knew we had a sin problem. Saint Paul later, reflecting on his conversion, viewed sin as death. He said, "The wages of sin are death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
And when there is a problem God is on the move.
God started with a man. He started with Abram. A old man. And through that man he developed a covenant to bring redemption to the world.
Many years later God's people (The Isralities later called the Jews) were in Egypt. They were in slavery and were very oppressed. So the Lord sent a man named Moses to speak to Pharaoh to request for their freedom. The Pharaoh continued to deny Moses his request. As a result God chose to send Plagues to try and soften Pharaoh's heart. The final of these plagues lead to what is now known as the "Passover."
The Lord wanted to show Pharaoh he was serious and gave His People instructions on how to avoid this plague. He told the Jews to take a lamb, an innocent and pure and best lamb, and kill it. They were to take the blood of the Lamb and place it on their doors that night. When the Lord went through Egypt He would know to pass over their houses instead of killing their first born.
There are some amazing connections between that Jewish holiday of Passover and what Jesus did for us.
1) The Lamb Connection
Jesus, who was perfect. 100% man and 100% God did not contain sin. He was completely pure and without sin. He, being like the Lamb, in the Old Testament shed his blood for us on the cross so that when the Lord looks at us He no longer sees our sin.
If you are a Christian you celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover without even knowing it. God has given us the chance to take the blood of the Lamb and apply it to our lives. The Question for us is to we apply it to the "door" of our lives?
2) The Week connection
In the Old Testament there is another connection that relates more directly to Palm Sunday. The Jews were taught to bring their best lamb to the temple to be killed for their disobedience. They needed to bring that lamb one week in advance. They needed to do this in order to prove that this lamb was without defect. It would be looked at and made sure it didn't die in that time period. And at the conclusion of the few days. The lamb was killed and they were freed to go.
In the same way Jesus entered in to Jersualem as their King. People waved palm branches and cried, "Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven."
The word Hosanna means, "Save us!"
The first century Jewish population viewed Jesus as their earthy king. They thought he was there to save them from the evil Roman empire. They didn't realize that Jesus actually knew that Rome was going to destroy the temple a few years later (See Matthew 24).
Jesus had a bigger plan. He was going to save people from their sins and begin to build his kingdom. And as we know from reading the rest of the story, "Jesus is coming back!"
This is good for those who have the "blood of Jesus" on their doors but bad for those who have harden their hearts to the message of the Gospel.
Jesus is our passover Lamb. The one who has come to bring you and I life. As we enter into this holy week may each one of us reflect on our relationship with God. Have we allowed the work of Jesus to transform our life?
I was thinking about Palm Sunday as "Spazz" and his puppet friends explain the meaning of Easter through a parody of "Thriller" but the late great MJ.
And as I was thinking a random thought invaded my mind. I thought, "How much more would we love Jesus if we knew the Old Testament?"
Now, to be fair, knowing the Old Testament or the New Testament or any creed or belief is meaningless without leaning into a personal relationship with Jesus. I think of many Jews in the first Century, or even today. They knew about the prophecies about the coming Messiah but didn't recognize Him when he didn't fit into their understanding of who God was.
I wonder how many times this is the case? We miss what God is doing because He doesn't fit into our box of what God should look like.
God sure does some strange things. At least from my understanding of life. For example, If I were God I would have never thought about giving up my only Son to be murdered on a cross and by his death buy back his sons and daughters (us!). But that is why it is good that God is God and that you or me is not God.
God is always in the business of rescuing. He is close to the brokenhearted. I believe that when He looks at the hurting his heart breaks. But it is in those moments of heartbreak and sadness that we open ourselves to hear and receive from God.
He knew we had a sin problem. Saint Paul later, reflecting on his conversion, viewed sin as death. He said, "The wages of sin are death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
And when there is a problem God is on the move.
God started with a man. He started with Abram. A old man. And through that man he developed a covenant to bring redemption to the world.
Many years later God's people (The Isralities later called the Jews) were in Egypt. They were in slavery and were very oppressed. So the Lord sent a man named Moses to speak to Pharaoh to request for their freedom. The Pharaoh continued to deny Moses his request. As a result God chose to send Plagues to try and soften Pharaoh's heart. The final of these plagues lead to what is now known as the "Passover."
The Lord wanted to show Pharaoh he was serious and gave His People instructions on how to avoid this plague. He told the Jews to take a lamb, an innocent and pure and best lamb, and kill it. They were to take the blood of the Lamb and place it on their doors that night. When the Lord went through Egypt He would know to pass over their houses instead of killing their first born.
There are some amazing connections between that Jewish holiday of Passover and what Jesus did for us.
1) The Lamb Connection
Jesus, who was perfect. 100% man and 100% God did not contain sin. He was completely pure and without sin. He, being like the Lamb, in the Old Testament shed his blood for us on the cross so that when the Lord looks at us He no longer sees our sin.
If you are a Christian you celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover without even knowing it. God has given us the chance to take the blood of the Lamb and apply it to our lives. The Question for us is to we apply it to the "door" of our lives?
2) The Week connection
In the Old Testament there is another connection that relates more directly to Palm Sunday. The Jews were taught to bring their best lamb to the temple to be killed for their disobedience. They needed to bring that lamb one week in advance. They needed to do this in order to prove that this lamb was without defect. It would be looked at and made sure it didn't die in that time period. And at the conclusion of the few days. The lamb was killed and they were freed to go.
In the same way Jesus entered in to Jersualem as their King. People waved palm branches and cried, "Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven."
The word Hosanna means, "Save us!"
The first century Jewish population viewed Jesus as their earthy king. They thought he was there to save them from the evil Roman empire. They didn't realize that Jesus actually knew that Rome was going to destroy the temple a few years later (See Matthew 24).
Jesus had a bigger plan. He was going to save people from their sins and begin to build his kingdom. And as we know from reading the rest of the story, "Jesus is coming back!"
This is good for those who have the "blood of Jesus" on their doors but bad for those who have harden their hearts to the message of the Gospel.
Jesus is our passover Lamb. The one who has come to bring you and I life. As we enter into this holy week may each one of us reflect on our relationship with God. Have we allowed the work of Jesus to transform our life?
Apr 4, 2014
The shame game
One of the biggest misconceptions I have noticed recently is that people have a difficult time telling the difference between guilt and shame.
Guilt is when you do something wrong and you feel bad about it. This is good. If you didn't feel guilty for doing something wrong you would continue to do the injustice.
Shame is when do something wrong and even after you ask for forgiveness you still feel bad about it. Shame can cause people to go down some serious roads that are not fun. Including but not limited to low self-esteem, depression, cutting, and even taking one's on life.
In some cultures shame is an important aspect of life. Last week, I heard a missionary that was stationed in Japan, tell a heart wrenching fact. This was that in Japan shame is important. But they think it is honor that they are protecting. Let me explain: In Japan if you do something wrong you do not ask for forgiveness but you bow down until you believe it has been long enough. In addition, their culture holds perfection as the ideal. If one is under such pressure they go into their room and do not come out for a very long time. This is very common in Japan. In addition, the most honorable way to die in Japan is to take one's own life. Countless people have died because they cannot live up to the standard of their society.
What about you? Have you ever felt shame. "Shame on you," someone might utter. Do they realize what they are saying? Words are powerful. They have the power to kill and the power to heal. Which way are you choosing to use your words today?
This topic of shame gets even more personal when we talk about religion. Religious shame is the worst because it pends eternal damnation if you do not listen to what I have to say. Religion was never meant to be about controlling another person but expressing love.
I think of my religious upbringing and of my current occupation. (as a youth pastor). How much shame have parents put on their children to live a life without mistakes? They do this primarily because they themselves have made mistakes and they would be heartbroken for they made the same mistakes.
The good news is that you do not have to live in shame. Shame is a lie. You are good enough. You have a purpose. I believe that if you are reading this that you have a purpose because you have a father in Heaven that loves you.
No matter what you have done or what has been done to you. He loves you. I believe that. I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus was and is a real person and is really God. That he died the death that we deserved so that we could live the life that he deserved. He was the prefect sacrifice for your, mine, our sin.
If you struggle with shame I want to let you know that you are not the first person and you will not be the last. This is a universal issue. Some deal with it more than others. Did you know that the first humans dealt with shame?
This story is at least 6,000 years old (depending on how you date the earth. I believe it is older than 6,000 but that is a discussion for another time).
The story includes God creating the first humans. Adam and Eve. (not Adam and Steve). I know I am very insensitive and I repent of that in JESUS NAME!
Anyhow, God creates the first humans and places them a garden. He calls this place Eden. Eden is wonderful. There is an all you can eat buffet of food, a life time of no work, and the best gift ever they were both naked.
This place is perfect except for one thing. A serpent. Some made this story literal, some don't. Some make the serpent the devil while others say he is a representation of evil. If you need to believe this story is literal then that is okay and if you are on the other side of the boat and believe that this story is a legend you can still learn a lot as well.
God instructs the person humans that they may eat from any tree in the garden except for the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." He tells them that if they eat from the tree that they will surely die.
Enter the serpent.
He approaches Eve (the woman) and asks her a question: "Did God really say you should not eat from any tree in the garden?"
Eve responses but adds something to what God says, "God said, 'You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
Did you catch it?
You must not even touch it! God didn't tell her that. Of course we all do that. We imagine what people think or say to us and add in shame.
She was fearful. God gave them a good rule. He knew that if they knew the implications of their sin that not only would they be filled with shame but all the other negative emotions in the world. God was trying to spare humankind from having to deal with death and hatred and pain. But He also knew that humans needed to posses free-will.
The serpent tells the woman that if they eat from the fruit they will be like God knowing good and evil. But the question we must ask is why did they want to be more like God? After all if one reads back a few pages in the Bible he or she will realize that God created humans in His image.
They were already like God! They just didn't trust him. They had pride in their own ability.
The shame game continues as God goes into the garden to find Adam and Eve. The first thing they do is hide. They hide because they realized they were naked.
The shame game turns into the blame game as each person begins to blame the other for their error.
God could not shamed them and killed them and started over again. But instead he had a different plan. He didn't give them a get out of jail free card. There were consequences to their actions. But he made them a promise. The promise was that one day He would send His Son Jesus who would be the seed of the woman into the world to save the world from their sins.
What a promise. What a loving loving daddy. That even though we were in the right. We disobeyed the God of the universe. He thought of a plan of redemption.
Adam and Eve should have felt guilty. They disobeyed God. When you do something wrong I give you permission to feel bad about it. Because you feel bad you will make sure things are renewed. I also want to give you permission not to feel shameful though.
I want to encourage you to realize that when you make a mistake that your mistake is not your identity. You are a son or a daughter of God. You were created in the image of God and made with a purpose. I pray that you find your identity as a children of God and find vision and purpose in your life.
Mar 31, 2014
True love doesn't wait
Have you ever heard the phrase "True Love Waits?" In case you have not heard of this Christian Pro-abstinence group I would like to share what Wikipedia says about them:
Before I go too deep into this subject, I want to lay down some disclaimers
1) I believe that sex was created by God as a good gift to His children between one man and one woman to enjoy with-in the covenant of marriage.
2) The idea of sex has become distorted through homosexuality, premarital sex, and porn. Homosexual is not always a choice but neither are tendencies toward premarital sex, and addictions toward porn.
I believe that God created everything good. Sometimes we fall into the duelist mindset and claim that some things are from God while others are not. We say some things are "holy" like church, and praying, and fasting, and reading your bible. While other things are not, like smoking, drinking, and sex.
Instead, I want to pose the idea that God created functions such as sex as a gift for a man and a woman to enjoy. When I consider God up in Heaven when He created humans I imaged his love for us as he gave sex organs to his children. He said, "They are going to love me for this!"
So, Sex is good inside of marriage. Or so I have been told. As I am currently engaged. But I know the sensation that a kiss brings and hunger to consummate from marriage in a few months.
I love purity groups. They are wonderful. But sometimes I think they do more harm than good. They tell boys and girls not to have sex. But for what reason? Because God says so!
Does He? I still haven't found that verse in the Bible. ;)
There are much more psychological reasons behind preserving sexuality than Biblical! For example, consider someone who sticks one's tongue to the flag pole in winter. This of course was done because he or she or YOU were dared during your childhood. Once you stick your tongue to the flagpole there is only one way to unstick it. Pull as hard as you can and stream bloody mary.
What happens? part of your tongue is stuck to the flag pole. Forever.
When you engage in sexual activities just to try it and then there is a breakup you leave part of your tongue (heart) with that person.
That's probably why the Scriptures command of us: "Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life."
The problem I have with most teachings on Abstinence is not that they teach that one should wait to have sex but that they tend to bring your focus on waiting for your lover. If you don't have sex before you are married, if you don't look at porn, if you don't do this or that then you will find the perfect love of your life and live happily ever after.
The problem is that this is a false narrative. It is a false reality because no one person can fulfill on of your desires. Yet people transfer their sexual/finical/emotional desires and place them on someone else.
The slogan is "True love waits." But true love doesn't wait.
Jesus is my true love. He is the lover of my soul. John, a man who followed Jesus 2000 years said this of Jesus: "No greater love than this that a man laid down his life for his friends."
That is what Jesus did. Not only did he lay down his life for his friends 2000 years ago. He laid down his life for anyone and everyone. He paved the way for us to have an intimate relationship with the eternal God of the universe.
True love doesn't wait in your relationships either. If the relationship is one of romance then there is a need to to display one's love for another without breaking boundaries that the two set up. But if one looks for love in another in order to fill complete he or she will not find it.
I don't know everything about love but I have learned at least one thing. A relationship is about giving love not receiving it. Giving love is hard but it is the purpose of all relationship. It shows even greater love toward someone when you give love to someone when they cannot love you back.
True love does not wait for the other to straighten out before they love or have a strict list of rules in order for love to happen. True love is unconditional full of grace and truth. True love is Jesus and His love never runs out on us.
The other problem I have with many Abstinence groups is that they teach that you need to preserve yourself for the "ONE." I write this blog after watching the series finale of "How I meet your mother." This show was amazing but reinforcements the idea that there is a perfect person for each person out there. That the universe, or karma or in Christian circles God will provide your soul mate!
But do we have a soul mate? A perfect one? I would say we do not. After all love is a choice. Love is a choice one must make every day. And because we are not puppets it makes love all that more powerful. That we choose to look beyond the imperfections in others, treasure hunt for their their good qualities and love each other even when it is hard.
True love does not wait. Choose today to love the person next to you. In doing so you will make a difference at least in one person's life.
Mar 21, 2014
The sun will come up tomorrow.
Last night I was able to travel to Saint Marys High School to watch their drama department perform the musical entitled, "Annie." A girl in my youth group/church was performing and I thought it would be nice to go over and show my support. I can't lie this musical blew me away. They hit it out of the park. They used 60 or so little kids as orphans in the scene of "It's a hard knock life for us." In addition, the little girl who played Annie (I found out she was only in 7th grade), blew the crowd away. With her charm, wit, and amazing voice.
If you have never seen the musical Annie here is the synopsis. Annie is about an 11 year old Orphan who lives in an Orphanage with many other orphans in NYC. Annie has hope that her parents are still alive because she has a letter and half a locket from them. She gets invited over to a Billionaire's house (Oliver Warbucks) for two weeks to spend the Christmas season. She loves it there but wishes she could be with her parents. When Mr. Warbucks discovers that Annie wants her parents found he hires over 50 FBI agents and conducts a nation-wide search to find Annie's parents. Many couples try to trick the billionaire and his assistant saying, "We are Annie's parents." because they desire the 50,000 dollar cash reward. In the end, the FBI agents discover that Annie's parents passed away many years ago. This leads to a heart wrenching scene but in the end Mr. Warbucks adopts Annie into his family. It concludes with Annie calling Mr. Warbucks, "Daddy."
Through out this movie the little girl is stunning in her optimism. She sings the song, "Tomorrow," countless times to cheer the mood. She knows that even though the situation is looking bad that things will be better tomorrow. In the orphanage she cheers the "children" up by singing tomorrow. She even sings it to the FDR when the presidential cabinet is feeling depressed. She inspires the president to come up with the "New Deal."
There are a four things that I learned watching the musical last night.
1) Community is necessary in order to make it through tough times.
The first place we see this in "Annie" is at the orphanage. When we have things in common with each other we are able to bond over our common interests and when tough times arise use that developed relationship to lean back on. The girls held a common bond of their hatred toward Miss Hannigan.
Looking at our own lives. When do you find healing? By yourself? Only over time? Those are myths. We find healing by getting whatever is bothering us up and out. James, the brother of Jesus, said it this way: "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."
I am not saying that if you confess your sins and hurts to God that you will not find forgiveness and even healing. But how much more can you find comfort and healing if you walk with your brother or sister in Christ through your tough time!
I believe this is where we often time drop the ball. We are too focus on ourselves and not the needs of the other. The common bond of believing in Jesus for our salvation is the greatest bond in all of the world. If a rag tag bunch of little girls from the great depression can band together over their hatred for Miss Hannigan how much more can we band together over our love for Jesus!
2) When tough times come we can see the brighter side.
Annie sings her song "Tomorrow" in which she proclaims a promise she believes to be true. She says, "The sun will come up tomorrow. Thinking about tomorrow will clear away the cobwebs and the sorrow. The sun will come up tomorrow. You're only a day away."
Wow. What a promise she was able to hold onto. And guess what? She was right. When we are negative and fill our minds with those negative thoughts we trap ourselves. But when we start looking on the brighter side of those we can start to have positive thoughts. Positive words produce positive thoughts which produce positive actions.
The idea of hope within the Christian framework is often under underestimated.
Jesus came to bright hope two fold.
a) In the future.
The scriptures end with a promise. Jesus promised when he returns that, "He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
3) God adopts us into his family
There is this great parallel between Annie and the Bible referring to adoption and selfless love. In the musical Annie, Annie is adopted by Mr. Warbucks. Mr. Warbucks knew there was something missing in his life. He had all the money, fame, and possessions in the world. What he did not have was someone to spend his life with.
In the same way, God adopts us into His family. God has all the money, fame and possessions in the world. What does he need? Nothing. No one. But He yearned for a relationship with us. His yearning was so great that He sent Jesus to the cross in order to gain a relationship with us.
Saint Paul said it this way:
"But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father."
I love that at the end of the musical, Annie calls Mr. Warbucks "Daddy." They no longer had an impersonal relationship. She no longer was an orphan but a child of her daddy.
In the same way, we can call out to our Abba, Father. Abba means our daddy. We now have a deep relationship with the one who created the universe. Not only can we believe that the sun will come up tomorrow; we can know the One who has designed the sun to come up tomorrow.
.
4) God has big things for us. But it might look different then what we had planned.
You might have heard this Bible verse before talking about the future:
"For I know the plans I have for you, declare the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (Jer 29:11)
These words are completely true but often misused. Many look at these words and think if I follow God I will be living on "Easy Street." It is true that God has plans for us and they are good plans but never once are we promised to have an easy life.
In context with the rest of the Bible, Jeremiah is writing a letter to people that follow God but are trapped in a land that was not there own. They were hearing rumors that they were only going to be there for a little while. But God spoke through Jeremiah to tell them they were going to be there for awhile! (See Jeremiah 29:4-10)
He is telling them the opposite of what many believe about this verse. He is telling them that life is going to be tough but it is part of God's plan. He is telling them that God's plan for them is to live in exile for right now. They need to learn and grow and mature.
He goes on to tell them that He will bring them into a better situation but it is going to be awhile. This is where are confidence and faith needs to be in that God knows what he is doing. Life was tough and they had a choice whether to believe and trust that God was going to fulfill his promise.
Two things can happen when you are going through a tough time.
a) The first is that God might change your position.
This is what happened to Annie. She was living in the orphanage when the assistant to Mr. Warbucks comes in and choose Annie over the other children.
For Annie this is not what she thought was going to happen. Her dream was finding out who her parents were and living with them forever.
That didn't happen. But that's okay. Because it all worked out. God had something better in store for Annie and usually God has something better for us that what we are thinking about. We tend to settle for what we think is best. But God has something way better planned for us.
b) The second is that God might change your perspective.
That's what happened to the followers of God in Jeremiah 29. They thought they were going to have a change in position. That God was going to come in and get them out of there. Instead, God came in and changed the way they thought.
He said, "You are going to be here for awhile."
He said, "Build houses, settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters away in marriage. Seek the peace and prosperity of the city. Because when it prospers so will you prosper."
Sometimes we are looking for an out when the situation gets tough. More times then not I have learned that God is using that situation to change me. Transform for into the person He desires me to be. Because if I am able to overcome a tragedy then I can bring hope to someone else down the road.
We need to remember that when life does seem hopeless that the Sun will come up tomorrow and that God is using everything in our lives for our good.
If you have never seen the musical Annie here is the synopsis. Annie is about an 11 year old Orphan who lives in an Orphanage with many other orphans in NYC. Annie has hope that her parents are still alive because she has a letter and half a locket from them. She gets invited over to a Billionaire's house (Oliver Warbucks) for two weeks to spend the Christmas season. She loves it there but wishes she could be with her parents. When Mr. Warbucks discovers that Annie wants her parents found he hires over 50 FBI agents and conducts a nation-wide search to find Annie's parents. Many couples try to trick the billionaire and his assistant saying, "We are Annie's parents." because they desire the 50,000 dollar cash reward. In the end, the FBI agents discover that Annie's parents passed away many years ago. This leads to a heart wrenching scene but in the end Mr. Warbucks adopts Annie into his family. It concludes with Annie calling Mr. Warbucks, "Daddy."
Through out this movie the little girl is stunning in her optimism. She sings the song, "Tomorrow," countless times to cheer the mood. She knows that even though the situation is looking bad that things will be better tomorrow. In the orphanage she cheers the "children" up by singing tomorrow. She even sings it to the FDR when the presidential cabinet is feeling depressed. She inspires the president to come up with the "New Deal."
There are a four things that I learned watching the musical last night.
1) Community is necessary in order to make it through tough times.
The first place we see this in "Annie" is at the orphanage. When we have things in common with each other we are able to bond over our common interests and when tough times arise use that developed relationship to lean back on. The girls held a common bond of their hatred toward Miss Hannigan.
Looking at our own lives. When do you find healing? By yourself? Only over time? Those are myths. We find healing by getting whatever is bothering us up and out. James, the brother of Jesus, said it this way: "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."
I am not saying that if you confess your sins and hurts to God that you will not find forgiveness and even healing. But how much more can you find comfort and healing if you walk with your brother or sister in Christ through your tough time!
I believe this is where we often time drop the ball. We are too focus on ourselves and not the needs of the other. The common bond of believing in Jesus for our salvation is the greatest bond in all of the world. If a rag tag bunch of little girls from the great depression can band together over their hatred for Miss Hannigan how much more can we band together over our love for Jesus!
2) When tough times come we can see the brighter side.
Annie sings her song "Tomorrow" in which she proclaims a promise she believes to be true. She says, "The sun will come up tomorrow. Thinking about tomorrow will clear away the cobwebs and the sorrow. The sun will come up tomorrow. You're only a day away."
Wow. What a promise she was able to hold onto. And guess what? She was right. When we are negative and fill our minds with those negative thoughts we trap ourselves. But when we start looking on the brighter side of those we can start to have positive thoughts. Positive words produce positive thoughts which produce positive actions.
The idea of hope within the Christian framework is often under underestimated.
Jesus came to bright hope two fold.
a) In the future.
The scriptures end with a promise. Jesus promised when he returns that, "He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
What a great promise. That there will be a time when there is no more hatred. No more fear. No more discrimination. We will be completely free to be all we have been designed to be by God. I hate crying. I don't think many people like it. There will be a day when you can't cry because there will be no need to cry!
b) Right now.
The hope that Jesus brings now is to be with us through tough times.
One of the last words that Jesus told his disciples before he was killed was, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
He is telling them that they are going to have some tough times ahead. Some of them will even die for their faith. Jesus does not give them a pass on persecution. What he does give them is a promise. He says that I will be with you. I will walk beside you.
Reflecting back on my own journey: I am incredibly thankful that God allowed bad things to occur in my life. I would not be the same person if I had not been tested with difficult situations in my life.
Jesus does not promise an easy life for you or for me. He does promise that he will be with us through it all. And that is a better promise. Because the sun will come up tomorrow and when it comes up you and I will be stronger.
3) God adopts us into his family
There is this great parallel between Annie and the Bible referring to adoption and selfless love. In the musical Annie, Annie is adopted by Mr. Warbucks. Mr. Warbucks knew there was something missing in his life. He had all the money, fame, and possessions in the world. What he did not have was someone to spend his life with.
In the same way, God adopts us into His family. God has all the money, fame and possessions in the world. What does he need? Nothing. No one. But He yearned for a relationship with us. His yearning was so great that He sent Jesus to the cross in order to gain a relationship with us.
Saint Paul said it this way:
"But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father."
I love that at the end of the musical, Annie calls Mr. Warbucks "Daddy." They no longer had an impersonal relationship. She no longer was an orphan but a child of her daddy.
In the same way, we can call out to our Abba, Father. Abba means our daddy. We now have a deep relationship with the one who created the universe. Not only can we believe that the sun will come up tomorrow; we can know the One who has designed the sun to come up tomorrow.
.
4) God has big things for us. But it might look different then what we had planned.
You might have heard this Bible verse before talking about the future:
"For I know the plans I have for you, declare the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." (Jer 29:11)
These words are completely true but often misused. Many look at these words and think if I follow God I will be living on "Easy Street." It is true that God has plans for us and they are good plans but never once are we promised to have an easy life.
In context with the rest of the Bible, Jeremiah is writing a letter to people that follow God but are trapped in a land that was not there own. They were hearing rumors that they were only going to be there for a little while. But God spoke through Jeremiah to tell them they were going to be there for awhile! (See Jeremiah 29:4-10)
He is telling them the opposite of what many believe about this verse. He is telling them that life is going to be tough but it is part of God's plan. He is telling them that God's plan for them is to live in exile for right now. They need to learn and grow and mature.
He goes on to tell them that He will bring them into a better situation but it is going to be awhile. This is where are confidence and faith needs to be in that God knows what he is doing. Life was tough and they had a choice whether to believe and trust that God was going to fulfill his promise.
Two things can happen when you are going through a tough time.
a) The first is that God might change your position.
This is what happened to Annie. She was living in the orphanage when the assistant to Mr. Warbucks comes in and choose Annie over the other children.
For Annie this is not what she thought was going to happen. Her dream was finding out who her parents were and living with them forever.
That didn't happen. But that's okay. Because it all worked out. God had something better in store for Annie and usually God has something better for us that what we are thinking about. We tend to settle for what we think is best. But God has something way better planned for us.
b) The second is that God might change your perspective.
That's what happened to the followers of God in Jeremiah 29. They thought they were going to have a change in position. That God was going to come in and get them out of there. Instead, God came in and changed the way they thought.
He said, "You are going to be here for awhile."
He said, "Build houses, settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters away in marriage. Seek the peace and prosperity of the city. Because when it prospers so will you prosper."
Sometimes we are looking for an out when the situation gets tough. More times then not I have learned that God is using that situation to change me. Transform for into the person He desires me to be. Because if I am able to overcome a tragedy then I can bring hope to someone else down the road.
We need to remember that when life does seem hopeless that the Sun will come up tomorrow and that God is using everything in our lives for our good.
Mar 14, 2014
Holy Slumber (A theology of Sleep)
I love to sleep. I am not kidding. It is one of my favorite things to do. I heard somewhere that adults need to have between 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night. Frankly, that is not enough. I believe a good night's sleep includes 9 to 10 hours of sleep.
I wrote in my previous blog that I was traveling with my girlfriend, Jasmine Benton, on an eight day road trip. This road trip included going to: Skyline Chili, A Spurs/Cavs Basketball Game, my brother tom's house in Madison, The Tracy's in Fort Mill, SC, Jasmine's Father's house in Tampa, a pirates spring training game, bowling, the beach, Genghis Grill, Starbucks (a few times), and of course Chick-fil-a.
Wow. Did I mention we drove to all these places. Roughly 40 hours of driving. A good time for connecting with my girl and see most of the east coast for sure. But it was a long trip.
Jasmine's father, Kevin Benton, approved of me and he said something of me that affirmed the truth that I already knew, "boy you are a deep sleeper." His statement came from the fact that while I was in Florida, I slept through three trains coming through the town and a transformer blowing up in addition to Mr. Benton coming into and out of the youth room in which we were sleeping.
In many ways, I am similar to Jasmine's father. (Maybe Freud's theory that you marry someone similar to your opposite gender parent is true). We both are in ministry, both love sports, both enjoy singing to the songs on the radio (making up new lyrics where we feel necessary). But in some areas we are not.
Kevin and Vanessa (Jasmine's father and step-mother) are borderline workaholics. It was very difficult for me to write that previous statement for two reasons. 1) As humans we are never confined to a label because we are constantly changing and transforming. 2) Kevin Benton is a church planter. So, in addition to working a 40 hour job he puts in a full time job working at the church. I have no idea how difficult that is.
But the reality is work can cause stress in a individual's life that can influence other dynamics. One area is sleep. If there is always one more thing to be done then that is more important sleep or getting that one thing done? To a person that values sleep it is sleep to a person obsessed with work it is that one more thing.
Getting enough sleep, eating healthy and exercising are the three biggies in lowering one's stress level. I am not perfect in any of these areas but I see the need to continually improve my sleeping conditions, eating a little better and working out when I can.
As I was driving (well when it was Jasmine's turn to drive) back from Florida I opened the book of Psalms and decided to read the chapter for the day. I was on Psalm 4 and was shocked as the author talked about sleep! David wrote the majority of the Psalms, including this one. He is seen as a Biblical Hero for many but really he was just as imperfect as you and me. This is the same David who was a Shepherd, kills Goliath, becomes king of Israel and called a man after God's own heart. Did I forget to mentioned he also committed Adultery, got her pregnant, and killed the husband.
How does one go from being this guy on fire for God to going on a slippery slope of sin? Or maybe I should pose a question that is more personal: How you go from being on fire for God to being on a slippery slope of sin?
Well, maybe it would be helpful to know a little bit more about David in order to know what happened. He was king over Israel and his army was off at war. He decided, instead of fighting with his men, that he was going to sit at home. It was there that he was able to look out his window and see a beautiful young lady. And the rest was history.
David sinned against God because he was slumbering in his house instead of fighting in the battle.
Sleep is good but too much slumbering and laziness can cause your mind to wonder. Stress occurs in our lives when we do things that we believe our wrong. Think into your own life. When do you fall into the same old bad habits? When you are alone. Because there is no accountability of friends.
Many years later David writes Psalm 4 as a warning and a plead for balance between rest and work. He said, "Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your bed, search your hearts and be silent."
Do not sin when you are on your bed but rather search and silent your heart. I wonder where he learned that?
David concludes this Psalm by saying: "In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety."
The problem with many people (including myself), in 21st century USA, is that we are go, go, go. And then we wonder why we are so tired at night. In a society that promotes working your butt off include you get burnt out I want to give you permission today to stop. To take a few breathes. God has important things for you to do but they can wait. Your job/calling/vocation whatever can wait. Spending time alone with God gives you and I the energy and motivation to be all we are.
God needs to be our primarily focus, followed by time with our family, followed by our jobs and other activities. If other areas in your life are lacking think but to the last time you were allowed with God. I am not talking about reading your bible or listening to worship music (though I am not against those activites). But just alone. You and him. Your heavenly daddy. I realize not all of my readings are Christians but even if you don't identify as a follower of Jesus He is still your daddy and He loves you.
May you mediate on these words as you go through out your day:
The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
May you quiet yourself today and allow your Good Shepherd to bring you peace.
I wrote in my previous blog that I was traveling with my girlfriend, Jasmine Benton, on an eight day road trip. This road trip included going to: Skyline Chili, A Spurs/Cavs Basketball Game, my brother tom's house in Madison, The Tracy's in Fort Mill, SC, Jasmine's Father's house in Tampa, a pirates spring training game, bowling, the beach, Genghis Grill, Starbucks (a few times), and of course Chick-fil-a.
Wow. Did I mention we drove to all these places. Roughly 40 hours of driving. A good time for connecting with my girl and see most of the east coast for sure. But it was a long trip.
Jasmine's father, Kevin Benton, approved of me and he said something of me that affirmed the truth that I already knew, "boy you are a deep sleeper." His statement came from the fact that while I was in Florida, I slept through three trains coming through the town and a transformer blowing up in addition to Mr. Benton coming into and out of the youth room in which we were sleeping.
In many ways, I am similar to Jasmine's father. (Maybe Freud's theory that you marry someone similar to your opposite gender parent is true). We both are in ministry, both love sports, both enjoy singing to the songs on the radio (making up new lyrics where we feel necessary). But in some areas we are not.
Kevin and Vanessa (Jasmine's father and step-mother) are borderline workaholics. It was very difficult for me to write that previous statement for two reasons. 1) As humans we are never confined to a label because we are constantly changing and transforming. 2) Kevin Benton is a church planter. So, in addition to working a 40 hour job he puts in a full time job working at the church. I have no idea how difficult that is.
But the reality is work can cause stress in a individual's life that can influence other dynamics. One area is sleep. If there is always one more thing to be done then that is more important sleep or getting that one thing done? To a person that values sleep it is sleep to a person obsessed with work it is that one more thing.
Getting enough sleep, eating healthy and exercising are the three biggies in lowering one's stress level. I am not perfect in any of these areas but I see the need to continually improve my sleeping conditions, eating a little better and working out when I can.
As I was driving (well when it was Jasmine's turn to drive) back from Florida I opened the book of Psalms and decided to read the chapter for the day. I was on Psalm 4 and was shocked as the author talked about sleep! David wrote the majority of the Psalms, including this one. He is seen as a Biblical Hero for many but really he was just as imperfect as you and me. This is the same David who was a Shepherd, kills Goliath, becomes king of Israel and called a man after God's own heart. Did I forget to mentioned he also committed Adultery, got her pregnant, and killed the husband.
How does one go from being this guy on fire for God to going on a slippery slope of sin? Or maybe I should pose a question that is more personal: How you go from being on fire for God to being on a slippery slope of sin?
Well, maybe it would be helpful to know a little bit more about David in order to know what happened. He was king over Israel and his army was off at war. He decided, instead of fighting with his men, that he was going to sit at home. It was there that he was able to look out his window and see a beautiful young lady. And the rest was history.
David sinned against God because he was slumbering in his house instead of fighting in the battle.
Sleep is good but too much slumbering and laziness can cause your mind to wonder. Stress occurs in our lives when we do things that we believe our wrong. Think into your own life. When do you fall into the same old bad habits? When you are alone. Because there is no accountability of friends.
Many years later David writes Psalm 4 as a warning and a plead for balance between rest and work. He said, "Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your bed, search your hearts and be silent."
Do not sin when you are on your bed but rather search and silent your heart. I wonder where he learned that?
David concludes this Psalm by saying: "In peace, I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety."
The problem with many people (including myself), in 21st century USA, is that we are go, go, go. And then we wonder why we are so tired at night. In a society that promotes working your butt off include you get burnt out I want to give you permission today to stop. To take a few breathes. God has important things for you to do but they can wait. Your job/calling/vocation whatever can wait. Spending time alone with God gives you and I the energy and motivation to be all we are.
God needs to be our primarily focus, followed by time with our family, followed by our jobs and other activities. If other areas in your life are lacking think but to the last time you were allowed with God. I am not talking about reading your bible or listening to worship music (though I am not against those activites). But just alone. You and him. Your heavenly daddy. I realize not all of my readings are Christians but even if you don't identify as a follower of Jesus He is still your daddy and He loves you.
May you mediate on these words as you go through out your day:
The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
May you quiet yourself today and allow your Good Shepherd to bring you peace.
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