I was sitting here uninspired and I began to think and this hit me. I truly believe that this is one of the saddest passages in all of Scripture...read on.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
It's scary to think that God has ordained this. FIrst off that those who claim to not know him will be held accountable at the end of times because His power and nature have been displayed from the beginning of time. That in itself is simply terrifying.
More than anything, the part of this passage that breaks my heart is the end. They worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Even in the end, they didn't get it. Have you ever wondered why something like 50% of marriages fail today? Why suicide rates are higher than they have ever been? Why depression and mental instability run rampant through a society with more opportunities than ever before? I do...it is for this reason.
People chose to worship the creature. When we rest all of our hopes and dreams on a single person or even thing (sport, job, etc) we are bound to crumble. Our beliefs and hopes and dreams and wants and needs will eventually be crushed by the thumb of destruction. And when that happens, when there is no hope, there seems to be no where left to turn.
What a heart wrenching thing to read...but written in hopes that people may read it and be convinced to put their heart and hopes in the hands of something eternal. Something that never fails.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I hate realizations
Ever since God has revolutionized my life, most of my "epiphanies" have been rather painful. In one way or another I come to realize something. Most recently it was that what I thought was dying all along was simply the wrong definition. Now that situation has caused more than a subtle stir in my behavior, and on the brutally honest side I would rather have it any other way than the way it is now. Unfortunately, it is not possible.
Another example, tonight our softball team could have been replaced by a large plastic bag filled with garbage and the result of the game would have been the same. We didn't play offense or defense from top to bottom, and it was very angri-fying. So as a "leader" in my community I feel the need to convey the glory of God in all of my actions, and tonight all I felt the need to convey was a butt-on-my-shoulders attitude and the appearance of a raging 13 year old boy. Real classy. It was this little tirade that caused me to chuckle and let out yet another "soul-sigh." I hate it...I have to change so much. Or, to put it in theologically sound terms, He has to change so much.
My shortcomings can no longer be written off as immaturity and pride. It may have been deemed acceptable at age 17, maybe 18 or 19 as well...but certainly as a man of 22 with a regenerated heart and a passion for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ...it's time to change.
So yes, as I said...I hate epiphanies. Take them away, keep them to yourself. I'm tired of changing, I want to be lazy again...let me stay in my suck. Haha, I don't mean it but at the same time it is more appealing than one might imagine. Believe me, I have chosen far from the easy way :/
Another example, tonight our softball team could have been replaced by a large plastic bag filled with garbage and the result of the game would have been the same. We didn't play offense or defense from top to bottom, and it was very angri-fying. So as a "leader" in my community I feel the need to convey the glory of God in all of my actions, and tonight all I felt the need to convey was a butt-on-my-shoulders attitude and the appearance of a raging 13 year old boy. Real classy. It was this little tirade that caused me to chuckle and let out yet another "soul-sigh." I hate it...I have to change so much. Or, to put it in theologically sound terms, He has to change so much.
My shortcomings can no longer be written off as immaturity and pride. It may have been deemed acceptable at age 17, maybe 18 or 19 as well...but certainly as a man of 22 with a regenerated heart and a passion for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ...it's time to change.
So yes, as I said...I hate epiphanies. Take them away, keep them to yourself. I'm tired of changing, I want to be lazy again...let me stay in my suck. Haha, I don't mean it but at the same time it is more appealing than one might imagine. Believe me, I have chosen far from the easy way :/
Sunday, May 18, 2008
The "Soul Sigh"
The soul sigh is a term I am going to borrow momentarily from my very close personal friend Matt Chandler. I read it and it clicked with me so I'm going to steal it, maybe for good, we'll see. Essentially, it's an exasperated sigh knowing what's coming. It's that feeling you get when you're a little kid and you've done something bad and you know you deserve a spanking and you're about to get one. That little moment when you go, yup, it's for my own good : / They are not fun moments, but nonetheless they are very much NEEDED moments. Tonight for me was one of the most satisfying nights of my very brief ministry career. I sat and listened to two of my small group students (the only two that came) converse about the work that God has done in their lives since salvation.
Now I don't have kids, but in terms of symbolism you could call my students my children in a way. So I care deeply about these guys, and sharing this experience with them was absolutely beyond measure. I've always heard the phrase that parents can learn something from their children, but I never fully understood it until tonight. As those two boys/men sat there talking, they were uttering the most brilliant things. I was trying to mentally record quotes from the conversation but the nuggets of beauty flowed faster than this little mind could track. I saved a few, but the one that struck me the hardest was this, said from a young man who has been a Christian for roughly a year, to another guy who's been a Christian for roughly 9 months..."I could never relate to the Psalms until recently. It was like I had never experienced that kind of loneliness and turmoil so I had no idea what he was talking about. But lately, I get it. I had to give up the thing that was keeping me from that loneliness...and it's the hardest thing in the world to let it go but it was like...NO! NO! NO! Ok, I know...yes. I just get it now."
I feel ashamed quoting him without making him aware, but can you see the brilliant radiant face of God Himself beaming off of that statement? Let me unveil it a little. God is using the most difficult time in his life, a time that before he met Jesus he deemed absolutely impossible (the old I'd die without you scenario), to draw him into the arms of God. To bring him to the cross, not gently, but with the intent of learning to worship one thing and one thing only. He has been led to the cross to learn what Christ and suffering and surrender and death is all about...and now HE JUST GETS IT!!
It was this that made me let out a soul sigh. I had come upon some rough times lately, but this statement was like, bright light in my eye...Ok, I get it. I'm sorry I've avoided it for so long, it's time to be obedient. After all, obedience is proof of love. Obedience proving love and leading to joy...maybe not now, but as a time in my life approaches rapidly and I am forced to submit to the will of God rather than arrogantly assuming I can write my own story here, joy will come. Joy will follow the heartache and loneliness and sorrow that stem from dying to self.
God's not just some bully who wants to spoil all our fun. So often we see dying to self as torture (which it absolutely is, believe me) that is endless and totally pointless!! We skip right over the resurrection and the restoration part. As we die to ourselves, more of Christ comes to life in us and we begin to see the ultimate restorative plan He was writing all along (not to mention the red marks where we tried to pen the biography). That's the issue I have to deal with...set aside your pride Jake and recognize that you can't do this on your own, and maybe, just maybe He knows a little better than you do what is good and what's not. It's not easy being green...
"...So we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12
Now I don't have kids, but in terms of symbolism you could call my students my children in a way. So I care deeply about these guys, and sharing this experience with them was absolutely beyond measure. I've always heard the phrase that parents can learn something from their children, but I never fully understood it until tonight. As those two boys/men sat there talking, they were uttering the most brilliant things. I was trying to mentally record quotes from the conversation but the nuggets of beauty flowed faster than this little mind could track. I saved a few, but the one that struck me the hardest was this, said from a young man who has been a Christian for roughly a year, to another guy who's been a Christian for roughly 9 months..."I could never relate to the Psalms until recently. It was like I had never experienced that kind of loneliness and turmoil so I had no idea what he was talking about. But lately, I get it. I had to give up the thing that was keeping me from that loneliness...and it's the hardest thing in the world to let it go but it was like...NO! NO! NO! Ok, I know...yes. I just get it now."
I feel ashamed quoting him without making him aware, but can you see the brilliant radiant face of God Himself beaming off of that statement? Let me unveil it a little. God is using the most difficult time in his life, a time that before he met Jesus he deemed absolutely impossible (the old I'd die without you scenario), to draw him into the arms of God. To bring him to the cross, not gently, but with the intent of learning to worship one thing and one thing only. He has been led to the cross to learn what Christ and suffering and surrender and death is all about...and now HE JUST GETS IT!!
It was this that made me let out a soul sigh. I had come upon some rough times lately, but this statement was like, bright light in my eye...Ok, I get it. I'm sorry I've avoided it for so long, it's time to be obedient. After all, obedience is proof of love. Obedience proving love and leading to joy...maybe not now, but as a time in my life approaches rapidly and I am forced to submit to the will of God rather than arrogantly assuming I can write my own story here, joy will come. Joy will follow the heartache and loneliness and sorrow that stem from dying to self.
God's not just some bully who wants to spoil all our fun. So often we see dying to self as torture (which it absolutely is, believe me) that is endless and totally pointless!! We skip right over the resurrection and the restoration part. As we die to ourselves, more of Christ comes to life in us and we begin to see the ultimate restorative plan He was writing all along (not to mention the red marks where we tried to pen the biography). That's the issue I have to deal with...set aside your pride Jake and recognize that you can't do this on your own, and maybe, just maybe He knows a little better than you do what is good and what's not. It's not easy being green...
"...So we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
China Earthquake
Hello friend(s), However many of you actually read this blog. I'm certain it is not many. I wanted to ask if you could to please remain in prayer for the people of China. If you haven't heard anything or read about it, there was an earthquake in Dujiangyan, China that has totaled more than 8,000 deaths so far and the list is growing rapidly. Comparatively, this is almost 3 times the amount of people killed in the World Trade Center disaster here in the United States.
It is my hope that the country will remain open to assistance and relief as it is now for awhile. Experts say as many as 18,000 are still buried, and so I beg you to pray for them...if you don't pray then keep them in your thoughts as we plan how to help them. I can't imagine the pain and anguish that some people are going through as they search through rubble, dust, buildings, trees, and dead bodies to try and unearth a son or daughter or mother. What an awful event and I hope that the hundreds of thousands of people affected by it feel the prayers of an entire country and world lifting them up.
It is my hope that the country will remain open to assistance and relief as it is now for awhile. Experts say as many as 18,000 are still buried, and so I beg you to pray for them...if you don't pray then keep them in your thoughts as we plan how to help them. I can't imagine the pain and anguish that some people are going through as they search through rubble, dust, buildings, trees, and dead bodies to try and unearth a son or daughter or mother. What an awful event and I hope that the hundreds of thousands of people affected by it feel the prayers of an entire country and world lifting them up.
Monday, May 12, 2008
People Pleaser + Pride = Chemical Rxns
Let me preface this blog by saying this about myself. I'm a confident guy, I try not to be arrogant or cocky, but I am confident in a few things. Number 1...I can talk to people. I don't mean that in a crazy way, I just mean I can relate to people and unless I'm missing the point I feel I can generally connect with anyone. Number 2...I feel good being in front of people. If you let me go, I'll go. Now these two things for me can be dangerous as well, number 1 because I have a tendency to over talk things. I keep going and going and if people need to vent then I block them out. The second one is a problem for similar reasons, if you give me 5 I'll take 10, if you give me 20 I'll take 25...see what I mean? It just kind of keeps going. So I am trying to harness these things and use them but at times it can be a bit difficult. This isn't really the point of this blog though, pretty much all that to say, my main idea is this...I struggle with pride.
It is of my personal opinion that most people do, but also that pride is the most dangerous of all sins. It blocks us from seeing that we need God, it prevents us from confessing sin, it makes us think we can be God, and even when we have God we tend to take credit for His hand in our lives. So, essentially, this is public enemy number 1.
Number 2, I'm a people pleaser. I don't care for tension. When something has gone wrong in a relationship I want to fix it right away, and I'll do whatever it takes. If I'm really upset I may have to walk away and calm down, but tension seems so unnecessary and such an easy fix if somebody will step up to the plate.
Keeping those two things in mind, mixed together they make for an extremely difficult time maintaining relationships. When there is tension I tend to ask what I did wrong so I can try and fix it...but generally when people tell me what I've done wrong the pride kicks in and I start to think, well let's not put it all on me here little Mr./Ms. perfect!! You have some faults of your own so let's talk about those. THIS IS NOT GOOD!!! Haha, it has never and will never work for me. God has opened my eyes and is working on me, but this ultimate combination of wanting to fix the problem and somehow thinking that I have no problem in the matter is not a good tool. I'm not sure why God made me this way but I'm certain He has some reason.
So, if you read this and you have been or will be offended by my words in a situation like this...I apologize. I'm learning, I'm in repair, and I'm a work in progress. Hopefully you can forgive me and realize all the bad things you've done to get our relationship to this point. Like I said, I'm working on it :)
It is of my personal opinion that most people do, but also that pride is the most dangerous of all sins. It blocks us from seeing that we need God, it prevents us from confessing sin, it makes us think we can be God, and even when we have God we tend to take credit for His hand in our lives. So, essentially, this is public enemy number 1.
Number 2, I'm a people pleaser. I don't care for tension. When something has gone wrong in a relationship I want to fix it right away, and I'll do whatever it takes. If I'm really upset I may have to walk away and calm down, but tension seems so unnecessary and such an easy fix if somebody will step up to the plate.
Keeping those two things in mind, mixed together they make for an extremely difficult time maintaining relationships. When there is tension I tend to ask what I did wrong so I can try and fix it...but generally when people tell me what I've done wrong the pride kicks in and I start to think, well let's not put it all on me here little Mr./Ms. perfect!! You have some faults of your own so let's talk about those. THIS IS NOT GOOD!!! Haha, it has never and will never work for me. God has opened my eyes and is working on me, but this ultimate combination of wanting to fix the problem and somehow thinking that I have no problem in the matter is not a good tool. I'm not sure why God made me this way but I'm certain He has some reason.
So, if you read this and you have been or will be offended by my words in a situation like this...I apologize. I'm learning, I'm in repair, and I'm a work in progress. Hopefully you can forgive me and realize all the bad things you've done to get our relationship to this point. Like I said, I'm working on it :)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Game
So I was reading some thoughts online and biographies of some of the great Christian thinkers in history, or I guess I shouldn't use the phrase "Christian" there, but rather followers of Christ...people with enormous minds capable of spinning me in circles and laughing. It kind of stemmed from my earlier post of William Booth's quote, and for some reason lately I have become quite fascinated with the history and reformation...so I stumbled across this little nugget...
"Among the rich you will never find a really generous man even by accident. They may give their money away, but they will never give themselves away; they are egotistic, secretive, dry as old bones. To be smart enough to get all that money you must be dull enough to want it." G.K. Chesterton
The last line struck me immediately, it stood out and jumped off the page. Only the dullest man sits and dreams of being filthy rich. I think of the end of Mr. Deeds here when he's asking all the rich people, "What did you want to be when you were a kid?" Everyone begins to shout out their former dreams ranging from astronaut to pro athlete to weirdo etc. But it's true, no child ever says I want to be rich, only the dullest of minds cannot reach a greater dream than that one.
But as my mind mulled over the quote another part sat in my stomach like I had swallowed a fourteen pound bowling ball belonging to Curtis "The Legend" Thibault. They will NEVER give themselves away; they are egotistic, secretive, dry as old bones. Essentially, they care about nothing but themselves, live in darkness, and are, for the most part, dead. This sheds a whole new light on the interaction between Jesus and the rich young ruler whom He tells to "sell everything you have and follow me." We are beginning to see that maybe Jesus wasn't a lunatic here, that He knew this guy was dead and in order for that dried up heart to beat again he had to surrender that which had killed him in the first place. Intriguing no?
Side note: I bet you never thought you would see a day or blog where Mr. Deeds and G.K. Chesterton were quoted within sentences of each other...write that down.
"Among the rich you will never find a really generous man even by accident. They may give their money away, but they will never give themselves away; they are egotistic, secretive, dry as old bones. To be smart enough to get all that money you must be dull enough to want it." G.K. Chesterton
The last line struck me immediately, it stood out and jumped off the page. Only the dullest man sits and dreams of being filthy rich. I think of the end of Mr. Deeds here when he's asking all the rich people, "What did you want to be when you were a kid?" Everyone begins to shout out their former dreams ranging from astronaut to pro athlete to weirdo etc. But it's true, no child ever says I want to be rich, only the dullest of minds cannot reach a greater dream than that one.
But as my mind mulled over the quote another part sat in my stomach like I had swallowed a fourteen pound bowling ball belonging to Curtis "The Legend" Thibault. They will NEVER give themselves away; they are egotistic, secretive, dry as old bones. Essentially, they care about nothing but themselves, live in darkness, and are, for the most part, dead. This sheds a whole new light on the interaction between Jesus and the rich young ruler whom He tells to "sell everything you have and follow me." We are beginning to see that maybe Jesus wasn't a lunatic here, that He knew this guy was dead and in order for that dried up heart to beat again he had to surrender that which had killed him in the first place. Intriguing no?
Side note: I bet you never thought you would see a day or blog where Mr. Deeds and G.K. Chesterton were quoted within sentences of each other...write that down.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Preaching
I preached at FOS last night for the first time and it was, uhh...eye opening. God really humbled me, sadly it was in front of 150 kids. Haha, but I closed the night with a quote and I deemed it appropriate to put that quote up here, on my blog, that no one reads and no one comments on. :)
The quote is by a man named William Booth, as I said last night. He was a poor guy who became a street preacher, and eventually was a reformist and he started this organization that offered Salvation and Christian ethics to the poor, prostitutes, sick, drug addicts, alcoholics, and whoever else wasn't allowed in any other churches. This organization eventually became what we know today as The Salvation Army. He said this in response to a man who claimed to, "not be called into missions." So, check it out, enjoy, wrestle with it...let is get to you a little.
"'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.
Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face -- whose mercy you have professed to obey -- and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world. -- "
The quote is by a man named William Booth, as I said last night. He was a poor guy who became a street preacher, and eventually was a reformist and he started this organization that offered Salvation and Christian ethics to the poor, prostitutes, sick, drug addicts, alcoholics, and whoever else wasn't allowed in any other churches. This organization eventually became what we know today as The Salvation Army. He said this in response to a man who claimed to, "not be called into missions." So, check it out, enjoy, wrestle with it...let is get to you a little.
"'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say.
Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear Him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters and servants and masters not to come there. Then look Christ in the face -- whose mercy you have professed to obey -- and tell Him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish His mercy to the world. -- "
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