Thinking.

Technology is an interesting thing. It helps us in so many ways. But sometimes it seems to get away. Like when you're hanging out with friends and everybody's looking down at the screen on the phone. Not that that happened recently. But, I wonder is technology for the best? Or is it for the worst? Interestingly enough, I am actually typing this by speaking into my phone - my new iPhone. Pretty cool right? But if I let this technology get the best of it won't be for good. I want to use this to make it better.

Now, I don't have an excuse that I don't have time to sit down at a computer and write. I can dictate as I think. That is pretty cool. I hope that I can use this technology for the good.

As long as I can use this technology to get my ideas out sooner I think it will be good. I love this new technology is going to give me an opportunity to connect my ideas with others sooner easier. My hope is that I'll start to write more and therefore spend more time thinking using this technology as a mediator. My hope is that I can begin to share ideas and engage with people more. I love to think. I love to share ideas. I love to hear what other people think. But when I don't share my ideas, I don't have opportunities to engage.

So, I hope that this leads to more sharing more engagement more interaction with others. I want to dive into ideas more. I want to share what is on my heart. I want to be real with you. I want to hear what's real for you.

I don't have anything specific that I want to share tonight. But I hope to share soon. I have a few things I've been thinking about - things that I'm working on in my own life. I hope that those ideas will come out soon that we can engage with them and share ideas.

Hope

This is the sermon that I planned to speak, word for word, the way I wrote it as I prepared.  If you were there with us Sunday morning you will realize that it did not come out exactly this way.  But I think the heart of my script is still very much the same, even if the words are not.  I pray that you will find this a helpful reminder if you were there and encouraging if you weren't.

Good morning.  I’m honored to have this opportunity to speak to you this morning.  For a while I’ve felt blessed by the fact that I hadn’t been asked to speak on a sunday morning except for camp testimonies because when I look around this room, I’m humbled.  I see people who have been walking with God longer than I have been alive, people who have experienced greater levels of His intimacy and glory, people of profound wisdom, unmatched passion, sincere faith; people who are tireless and generous servants.

I have seen true examples of the love of Christ in this congregation - examples which are inspiring; examples that I have tried to learn from.  I know for some of you, the things I have to say this morning may seem simple and basic in light of your experiences.  I am confident that I will miss the depths of what God has revealed to you.  I hope then that this may be a reminder of those deeper truths that you have learned the hard way.  I am humbled, knowing that my own ability, I really have nothing to offer this congregation.  But I trust that by God’s grace, you will be encouraged as I share this simple word.  I trust you will be encouraged by the things I am learning because in so many ways, I am learning these things from you.  But as Kevin reminded us last week, we can rely on God to give us the victory so I will trust Him to help me through this message.

This morning, I believe I have a word specifically for this congregation.  As I prayed for you, asking the Lord what He wanted me to say, I felt led to share what I am about to share.  I feel that God will be doing some serious and wonderful work in many of your hearts this morning, as He has been doing in mine during the 2 weeks I’ve been preparing to speak this message.  We will be studying a passage from 1 Peter chapter 1.  I didn’t start here, but as I spent more time preparing, I felt drawn to this passage.  I spent the first 6 months of this year studying, memorizing and meditating on this passage.  I have grown to love this passage and see many wonderful things in it.  But that which I am sharing with you today is something that has been revealed to me over the last two weeks and I am amazed I’ve missed it for so long.

If you are able, would you stand to honor the Word of the Lord as I read these verses?

1 Peter 1:3-16

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away,

reserved in heaven for you

who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love.

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
receiving the end of your faith -  the salvation of your souls.

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 
To them it was revealed that, not to themselves,

but to us they were ministering the things which have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;

but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Thank you, please be seated.

My message this morning is very simple: “Put your hope in Christ.”

Put

your hope

in Christ.

I say this to you with an urgency in my heart.  I pray that you grasp the depth of what this means for your life and its importance.  I know it seems like a simple thing, but I really believe that God means to restore something today - to bring back to life that which has died in many hearts.  I do not think it was by accident that I was led by the Spirit to a cemetery before He began speaking this word to me.  “When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes.” In the solitude and silence of that place, I felt God declare hope. He arose from the grave and brought hope with Him.

Before we go any further, allow me to define hope for you:

    hope - the desire or expectation of some future good.

We speak about hope a lot.  People hope for many things:
“I hope we have tacos for dinner.”
“I hope the Bills win this afternoon.”
“I hope it will be sunny tomorrow.”
“I hope we can pay our bills this month.”
“I hope I still have a job after Christmas.”

But what does it mean to have hope?  Why do we need it?

Ultimately, we need hope because hope precedes faith.

Hebrews 11:1 - “Faith is the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things yet unseen.”
Most Christians will recognize that faith is a necessity.  We live by faith.  Faith is what carries us through life and guides our actions.  Without faith, what we do is meaningless.  But I would argue that it doesn’t require much faith - conviction or assurance - to hope for tacos.  There are hopes that require greater faith.  Hoping you will keep your job requires a greater level of faith.  The magnitude of your hope determines your necessity for faith.  Its easy to have faith for small things when your hope is small.  We find that faith sustains us, if we have the right hopes. And we find that our hope can inspire and minister to others. Hebrews 10: 23 “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on…”

Now, let’s look back at the text.  Who is Peter writing to? and what are we to hope in?
If we look at verses 1 and 2, we see that he is writing to people who are being persecuted and have been scattered.  These are people in serious need of hope.  Peter is writing to restore their hope by reminding them of what to put their hope in.  In verse 3 we see “...His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,…” - He reminds his audience that their salvation is coming and God is on their side.

Then, in verse 6 - we see the result of His reminder: “In this you greatly rejoice,…” Having their hope in salvation through Christ gives them cause for abundant joy, even in the middle of trials.  Are you stressed out? May you are, maybe you aren’t, but either way - do you need abundant joy?
I say again very simply, “Put your hope in Christ.”

I believe that hope and salvation are nearly interchangeable - you can read this passage exchanging “hope” for “salvation” and “salvation” for “hope”.  Our hope is in the salvation of our souls through Christ’s sacrifice.  When we keep our hope in His salvation we find strength.  This is our primary hope.
Yet - somehow we still end up with hopelessness at times.  What causes this?  How do we handle it?
We experience hopelessness because we are forced to deal with time.  As creatures who experience time differently than God, we struggle to understand and act through the eternal nature we were created for.  We get impatient and we choose secondary hopes that are meant for this life and we sometimes have to wait a long time for, if we ever get what we hoped for. We should be careful to hope for those things which God has promised us.  Sometimes it is by His grace that we don’t get what we hope for.  But when our secondary hopes are purely motivated and are a promised to us by God, what then?  Proverbs says “hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the promise comes it is a tree of life.”  Sometimes our faith starts to wane as we wait for our promised hope.  We loosely know that eventually we will find that tree of life.  Hope is the seed that grows into faith and faith will eventually produce a fruitful harvest.  But often we don’t realize that even the dormant seed has life within it.  It often springs forth unexpectedly.  The work of hope occurs in secret. 

But what do we do in the mean time?  We see a great example in David (3 different times in Psalms) - “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance.”  David tells himself to snap out of it and reminds himself of what really matters.  Notice - David doesn’t try to restore his faith, but his hope.  He understands that faith follows hope.

Peter echoes David’s example.  In verses 13-16 he makes three statements.  It is interesting to me that (at least in the New King James version of the Bible) these three statements the statements are connected by a semi-colon, meaning that the idea continues but is restated in a different way. First, Peter advises, “Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…”  He’s saying that you have the power to act - and that the place to focus your effort isn’t on having enough faith, but on having enough hope.  So Peter is saying, “Put your hope in Christ.”  In his second statement, he really does repeat himself even if it doesn’t look that way at first - “...as obedient children, not conforming to the former lusts, as in your ignorance…”  What Peter is saying here is “Stop putting your hope in things other than Christ.  Let go of your desires for things that are less than the good God has for you.  Let go of your hopelessness.  Put your hope in Christ.”  And then finally, he repeats himself again: “but as He who called you is Holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy as I am holy.” - He’s saying one last time to put your hope in Christ and the salvation, glory, and perfection that is to come to you - you WILL be holy. So put your hope there. 

Before I conclude, I want to encourage you to take time later today or this week to re-read this passage and to pray and meditate over it.  I believe that God will strengthen this word within you if you give Him the opportunity to.

Let me close on a personal note.

For a while I have been experiencing a growing awareness of hopelessness in my life.  I have doubted my abilities as a teacher, questioned God’s timing and plan to bless me with a wife, struggled with confidence in my ability to play guitar, and more.  I had been getting frustrated because I had lost hope.  I had stopped expecting anything more or different.  I was becoming complacent.
But recently, God spoke two things that are changing all that in me.  It got my attention when God spoke because it was the most direct He’s been with me in a long time.  but His words to me have changed something in me that is restoring hope in every single area of my life.  And quite honestly, He is exceeding the deficit I had perceived and putting in my heart a well-spring of hope.  Is the work done yet? by no means.  But God is doing a significant work in me.

One night a few weeks ago God spoke an unmistakable declaration that has sparked hope within me.  He said, “I love you so crazy freaking much.” and then, very simply, “It’s time.”

I don’t know what it’s time for yet - but I don’t really care.  The God of the universe loves me - and he has a plan for me that is in action as we speak.  It may not always make sense to me.  And I believe there will still be trials testing the genuineness of my faith.  But I have hope.  My hope is in God.  My hope rests soundly on the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the revelation of His glory in me and in the earth some day.  Some day I will be holy, just as He is holy.  And He is beginning that work here and now.  My faith will be informed by my hope and will inspire my actions.

He loves you deeply.  And He has a plan for you that is in action as we speak.  He has a plan to give you a hope and a future.

May you find yourself humbled and sobered.  May you let go of hopelessness. May you take hold of the hope before you which is in Christ and His resurrection. Put your hope in Christ.

Ask God to breathe hope back into your life.  He is faithful.  Go and have a blessed day and week. 

Flux

I know its been a while since I've blogged.  What brings me to the blogger tonight is really a need to process some ideas. Writing always helps me process.  So while I invite and encourage you to read this, I write mostly for my own good.  I hope you find something of value and benefit to you, but that is not my ultimate goal tonight.

Quick disclaimer: some of what I will be writing about is the kind of thing people tend to want to offer positive moral encouragement regarding.  I appreciate your inclinations, but they are unnecessary.  Hopefully you will see why as you read.

First let me define flux (I'm a teacher, remember?): "constant change"; "a process of flowing" - not the physics definition you might normally expect from me regarding such a physicsy word.  Right now, I feel like I am going through a process of change in my attitudes, perspectives, and habits.  I feel like God is doing something in me. 

Ok, so I started reading through the book of Acts recently and kept thinking how very different the life of the Apostles looked from mine.  They stood out in boldness.  They faced up to persecution, trials, and hardships with joy.  They walked according to the Spirit in ways that led to miracles.  They sacrificed freely for the good of others.  They saw fruit in their ministry.  I lead a normal, and pretty comfortable life.  I am kinda shy when it comes to matters of faith.  I haven't seen (m)any miracles as a result of my prayers or actions.  I haven't seen (much) fruit as a result from my labors and efforts to minister to others and have never led someone who wasn't a Christian to the Lord. I honestly started looking at my life and feeling like there are lots of other non-Christian people who do at least what I do.  I know teachers at school who coach and seem to have a much greater impact on my students than I do.  There are lots of non-Christian people who do amazing things for various social causes or needs that I don't come close to as far as impact on the world. I don't mean to come across as thinking non-Christians can't have a positive impact on the world.  But I kinda feel sometimes like I'm not much more than a professional chaperone.  (This is the part I meant earlier,...hold on to your encouragements here please,...allow me to explain.) 

My life does not look like the new testament Christians I read about in Acts.  I think it is ok and good to admit this.  It is a simple fact.  At first I found this really distressing.  I was really tempted to doubt my status as a Christian.  I started to seek encouragement and reassurance from others.

But.

The verse that has been on a running news ticker in my head is Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Be transformed.

I want my life to look different.  I was called  to be transformed. What is it going to take?  A renewing of my mind.

So what mindsets do I have that need to be changed?  Well, I tend to think:

• that I don't have enough faith to see miracles
• that fruit of ministry must be immediate
• that things like acts of healing or prophetic words are more important than other gifts of the Spirit
• that there are other way more spiritual people that God should be using instead of me
• my Spiritual effectiveness will be obvious
• that how well I'm doing spiritually will affect God's call on my life and His ability to use me
• that I don't stand out because in everything I do I see other people who are way more talented than me
• other things that I need to change but haven't identified yet

So I need my mind to be renewed - "to be made new again". God will renew my mind.  He's been challenging me to do so.  I'm not there yet.  It needs to sink in still.  This is the part that I always feel like I'm getting into the way on.  It seems like my tendency is to hang on to things longer than God does.  I think he moves on with life sooner than I tend to.  But He sees the bigger picture.  And getting His perspective is the only way I can experience the transformation I need. 

Here's what I'm working toward:

• Miracles? Faith of a mustard seed (small) is all it takes.(Luke 17:6)
• Immediacy? Seeds need time to take root and nourishment before they produce fruit.
• Ranking gifts? One body has many parts each with unique purpose - should the elbow despise the armpit (or whatever the scriptural body part example really is)? (1 Corinthians 12)
• Comparing myself to others? The potter makes some things for noble purposes, others for ignoble.  Isn't it the potter's choice to determine which is made for which purpose?  (Romans 9:21-23, 2 Corinthians 4:7) The bible says Moses was "mighty in word and deed" and then a little later we see him telling God he is not the right man for the job. Hmmm...What God saw in him wasn't quite what he saw in himself... (Acts 7:22, 35)
• Obviousness of effectiveness? "I was hungry and you fed me,..." "...Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,...?" (Matthew 25:35, 37)
• My mistakes affecting God's use of me? Have you read Hebrews 11?
• Determining my value based on others' opinions? God alone is who I will have to give an account.  His opinion is the only one that matters.  He is my audience of One. He is the only one who gives me peace.  In Him and Him alone is my value determined.  "For God so loved ME that He sent His one and only Son..."
• Um,...there are lots of Bible verses and songs/hymns and other stuff I didn't incorporate into this list yet,...when I figure out what else God wants to change in me (and no, I don't need your suggestions right now, thankyouverymuch) I'm sure He will direct me to the appropriate items.

My mentor has said to me a couple times over the past week that everything I need is in me.  I just need to let it out.  The Spirit of God is living within me.  I just need to let it out. 

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our [intimate] knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3

It will be impossible to see growth in any of these areas unless I take action - start taking steps that move all the stuff that I think-know (the stuff in the list I just made) to being stuff that I act-know.  Without action there is no need or opportunity for faith.  "Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says." James 1:22

Time to be transformed.  Time to let my mind be renewed. 

Survivorman trip!

I am survivorman.

I've never actually seen the show,...but I have seen Michael Scott try to survive (Season 4, episode 7 y'all).

I went camping for one night (a little over 24 hours camping is better than a little over 0 hours).  I went to a state forest called Rattlesnake Hill, near Dansville, NY.  Yes, it is appropriately named, there have been rattlesnake sightings in the more remote sections of the forest.  Yes there are bears in the forest.  But its ok, I have keen knowledge of bears:

So I had nothing to fear.

"You don't have to know what you're looking for,...you just have to start looking." - ancestry.com commercial

I have never gone camping alone before.  But it was good.  I had no plan, no agenda.  I explored.  I napped.  I sat and watched.  I brought a few books and read.  I prayed, and met with God.  I feel refreshed to the depths of my soul.  I cannot remember a time when I had such an incredible moment of clarity about what matters in my life.  I am excited for what is to come and feel prepared.  Something within me has risen up.  There were moments of challenge and frustration, but I feel like they were necessary in developing the things that came out of this trip.  Every great story has conflict, right?  Its hard to have conflict with just one person if nothing goes wrong. But I overcame and found some things in myself in the process.

All that is not to say that there aren't things I will do differently next time.
Lessons learned:

• pack a compass
• pack a map
• bring your glasses and a contact case
• bring enough stove fuel that your hot chocolate gets warmer than 80 degrees (although when its 35 degrees out, anything is an improvement).

So wherever you go, may you find joy, adventure, freedom, and strength.  May you find that you too, can call yourself survivorman.

Have we grown too fond of technology?

/**I found this unpublished post waiting...just waiting to be shared...I wrote this a few weeks ago, but never got around to posting it. Here it is!**/

Before you read anything else, let me say: I am guilty.  I am sorry.

I sometimes like to listen to a radio podcast of a show called "Science Friday" (don't make fun of me).  If you're unfamiliar with the show, they have experts come on the show and talk about a topic, then field listener calls/questions.  Recently they had a segment of the show where they talked about this very question: "Have we grown too fond of technology?"

You should listen to this. (click the listen button in the upper left corner) I think its about 25 - 30 minutes long.

The expert on this segment studied the ways that technology has affected our culture and specifically focused on the way it is affecting the children who are growing up in this world.

Some things that come up in the interview:

• Kids are afraid of having phone or face-to-face conversations and would rather text because "too much might show"
• We've seen a shift from "I have a feeling, I want to make a call" to "I want to have a feeling, I need to send a text". This shift shows that kids are becoming dependent on others to develop their own feelings and independence.
• We are so busy communicating that we don't know how to be alone with ourselves and its crippling us.
• Like food, the answer is not to remove it and avoid it, but to develop a healthy relationship with it.
• Children are complaining that technology is their competition for their parents' attention.

I find it frightening that a scientist is saying that we as a culture have "been seduced".  I don't think anyone is surprised by the problems we are seeing and noticing in kids/teens already.  I also don't believe that it is a situation beyond hope.  But its going to take a real commitment and decision to see cultural change.  I believe that this is more important than we realize.

One of my favorite quotes from BT Roberts says, "Popular sins are, to say the least, silently tolerated."  Let me break the silence.  It is not right when we allow ourselves to be distracted from communion with those who we are physically near us.  It is not right when we ignore whats happening around us because we are worried about what is happening elsewhere.  It is not fair for us to be so dependent on others for our emotional state.

If you consider yourself a healthy and emotionally secure person, please do us all the favor of shaking off the distraction.  Engage with the world around you and the people you are with.  Show love and care to others by giving them your attention and by showing interest in them.

The blog is not dead...

Hey friends,...

I just wanted to let you all know that I haven't forgotten about the blog.  I have been unbelievably busy lately.  Its all been good things.  Just taking a lot of time to do other things.  A lot of good, time consuming things.

Truthfully, I kinda miss blogging.

I have found this year that blogging has been a way for me to process through some of the things that God is doing in me and then release them for any who cares to take an interest in them.  Its been really helpful and beneficial for me to spend time writing.  I hope that in some way it has been helpful and beneficial to you too.

I have some good ideas for things I want to post about.  Hopefully I will get an opportunity to write more about them soon.  If you have thoughts or ideas,...I love mulling over things other people have to say or things they are thinking about, so please share with me.  If there is something I have written about you'd like to hear me elaborate on, please share that with me too.

Until another opportunity to share arises, be blessed and encouraged and filled with peace. :)

Financial Peace

I wonder how often God prepares us in ways we don't understand.

I like listening to a few different podcasts.  About half of them are sermons from various churches around the country that I respect and appreciate.  Normally these sermon topics are unrelated to each other.  It is nice to get a taste of a variety of spiritual insights.  But something unusual happened this week.  The sermons I listened to all revolved around the topic of money and putting God first in our finances. 

A few years ago our church went through the "Financial Peace" seminars from Dave Ramsey.  I learned a lot in those seminars and am grateful for the way that I have been able to live since then.  I feel blessed in so many ways.  Putting God first in our finances really does put Him first in every area of our lives.  Its no longer about me.  Its about God and others first.  The sermons that I listened to this week were great.  They were all in line with what I learned in FP and were all inspiring.  But at the same time, I felt like they were only loosely applicable because I am already doing almost everything that they recommended.  Don't get me wrong, I really believe in this stuff.  It just felt like reminders.  I need to be the bottom of my priority list.  God and others at the top.

I kept thinking,..."God, what's up with this?  Why are you reminding me of these things right now?  Have I lost my focus in what I learned?  Am I missing something?"

Well, today I kinda hit a point where it started to mean something.  This has been an interesting month for me financially.  I have had a series of things happen to my car that add up to around 1000 dollars.  I was tempted to get frustrated by it.  I really hate spending money on my car.  This is a lot all at once that I didn't see coming. 

But as I felt the annoyance growing, I also heard God whispering to me,..."Don't worry, I've got this. You've been blessed."  Those sermons really were reminders.  But reminders in advance.

Now at the moment, I don't expect anything crazy to happen.  I often hear stories about God coming through impossible situations and providing in miraculous ways.  But I have a feeling that God has already done the work for this one.  One of the things that I've done is to set up a savings account for car stuff.  I don't save as consistently as I would like to, but it more than covers this months costs.  I really didn't want to have to spend that money.  It would be nice to save it towards my next car when that day comes (hopefully not too soon). 

But here's the issue: if I save it, am I missing God's blessing?  I don't want to have such a tight grip on the blessing of God, that I strangle it.  God's blessing for this situation has already come through the truths He taught me about saving.  I have money available.  He has provided.  No fear, no worries, no stress.  Its taken care of.  And that money really isn't mine anyway.  If I spend the money and another need comes up, God will provide.  I am confident of it.  But I refuse to ignore the blessing I have available in favor of the blessing I imagine or desire that is not currently available.

So God prepares the way.  Don't miss it.  In what area has God blessed you?  Are you hanging on too tightly?

Growing Up Without a Dad

Twelve years ago yesterday, my dad passed away.  (March 4, 1999)

I love my dad.

It is amazing the impact that the words of a Father have over a child.

Please hear me: I love my mom.  It couldn't have been easy raising two teenage boys alone.  My mom is an amazing woman.  "Love mom the most," he used to tell my brother and I.  And I think we did that while he was still with us.  He loved us boys and cherished our affection and attention, but he really wanted to see us develop a healthy loving relationship with our mom.  He knew we would need it to make it through this life.  I sometimes wonder if he somehow prophetically knew that he was going to pass early.  But with all that being said, there is something about growing up without a dad that leaves me feeling somewhat incomplete.  I feel like there are so many ways that I missed out by not having a dad present.  I know its nobody's fault.  I'm not mad at God about it.  Its just made some things tough and other things very tough.

It is not easy to develop a healthy understanding of what it means to be a man without a dad.  It is difficult to know who or what to imitate in other men, because they have different DNA.  Most of my fears and insecurities come from this missing role in my life.  I still have a lot of learning to do - about myself, manliness, and godliness.

My dad used to pray a blessing over my brother and I:

"May you know goodness and greatness, and may you know God's Goodness and Greatness."

I feel like this blessing has profoundly impacted my life.  I have spent much of my life trying to live out these words.  I had consciously forgotten them for a long time, but hadn't stopped chasing after them subconsciously.  My life is one of pursuit after excellence, but also a pursuit of generosity.  Most of my life choices are an attempt to show goodness towards others and to do so effectively in ways that will have an impact on the world.  Behind all of my choices though, I find an unrelenting pursuit of God that continuously grows in passion.  I desperately want to KNOW God's Goodness and His Greatness.  My dad was a man of God.  I want to honor him and his relationship with God Our Father, by developing my own.  I want to know my God the same way my dad did.

I think I would have made my dad proud.  I think we might have become good, close friends as I matured into adulthood.  I wish I could know the insights and wisdom he would have given me.  I wish I could have experienced life with him as a coach and fan by my side the whole way.

Every time you find Jesus talking directly to God (praying) or teaching on prayer, He is addressing God as Father. Abba. Daddy.  He uses terms like God and Lord, but only when teaching the people.  But He still mixes in His fair share of "your Father" and "my Father".

Jesus had a deeply intimate relationship with His Father.  He made people nervous and angry (jealous?) by the intimacy with which He addressed God and spoke about Him.  It is impossible to read the words of Jesus and not recognize the importance of the Father-Son relationship.  Jesus' ministry is marked at His baptism at the beginning of His ministry and at His transfiguration by the words of the Father: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  God loved His Son.  The Son loved His Father.

Yet, astoundingly, this perfect love had one moment that cut deeply into the heart of the Son (and I imagine just as deeply into the heart of the Father).  It strikes me that there are few wounds in this world as shattering as the wound of a broken relationship with a father.  Even Jesus experienced this.  On the cross, we read the words of Jesus, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"  Jesus felt abandoned by His Father and it hurt so deeply that the One who could not stop calling the Holy and Perfect God of the Universe "Father" could not bring himself to use that name.  It hurt too much.

There is no relationship quite like the relationship between father and children.  Jesus at one point claims that anyone can be his brother or sister or mother, by doing the will of the Father (Matthew 3:31-35).  Only one relationship in Jesus' life is set apart.

I know that I have a long way to go, but I know that my God, my heavenly Father is for me.  He cares deeply about me and longs to see me step into abundant life.  I may have issues and problems, some of which come from growing up without a dad, some of which don't, but God loves me anyway.  He chooses me anyway.

In John 17:3, Jesus prays to His Father, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." So I pronounce this blessing over you: May you know goodness and greatness, and may you know God's Goodness and Greatness.

Ora et Labora

This is a blog post mostly written for my church family, but all are welcome and invited to read it.  I realize that most of the people who will probably read this are not the people who need to hear it. 

Our church is currently going through a sanctuary renovation project. We are updating the carpet, the paint, and the seating.  It is an exciting transition.  Some people may question the use of the word "transition," but it really is an appropriate term.  Transition is about looking at what exists, deciding what matters, and changing what doesn't fit.  

By making these changes we must face some difficult questions about what the purpose, value, and role of a church building is.  I don't have answers to all of these questions.  I haven't even fully identified all of the questions that are being asked.  But at the core of each of these questions we must determine what the changes that we're making say and show about our beliefs about God and His plans for the church. We must face our expectations and see what matters most to us.  

 There are things about the project that I really like, things about the project that I really don't like, and things about the project that I really don't have a preference on.  But my response in each of these areas exposes my heart.  Do I recognize what really matters?  Am I questioning someone's decisions because it goes against my convictions?  Or am I merely letting my preferences get in the way?  When I stack up my convictions against the changes I see, I find that nothing is changing.  Stubbornness can be a good thing when you are asked to change your convictions.

A lot of people like to say nice sounding things like "the church is the people, not the building" or "don't go to church, be the church".  But I think that sort of perspective undermines the complexity of this issue.  

The church was called to impact the world.  As we interact with a Holy and Awesome God, we experience Love and Freedom in ways that help us to do so.  And I believe that as a Christian, you are called on to have an impact everywhere you are, and in everything you do.  Work, friendships, and more are all aspects of your ministry.  We enjoy an astounding amount of religious freedom in this country.  We lack much of the persecution that the church worldwide must face.  However thankful we are for this freedom, we must also recognize that it leaves room for complacency and disengagement.  We are a "Christian nation" in name.  Most Americans profess belief in God or claim to be Christian.  But we are an entertainment driven culture.  People expect (its past the point of enjoy or prefer) to be entertained.  The problem with entertainment in America is that it is a usually spectator event.  People want to stay at home and watch church.  Or allow themselves to fall out of the habit of going to church. This is where the church building's role matters. The church building that we have been blessed with is an important part of God's plan for us in America. It gives us a place to meet with other Christians - in ways that build us up and encourage us as well as in ways that expose our rough edges.  It gives us a setting where we can join together with others and worship and in prayer because of our shared beliefs and in spite of our issues.  We are a body and we all have strengths and weaknesses, but these are not the same for each of us.  Together we are better than we are separate.  This is why we need a place to meet.  It is God's desire for us to be in unity.  And unity begins at church.

Now as we go through this process, it would be easy for our church body to let the people who have strengths in building/construction/painting/etc to take over the project and run with it.  It would be easy for some of us to let it happen and sit back to enjoy (or complain about) the end result.  But I feel as though we are each called to get involved.  I think God has asked us to give more than just financially to this project.  I think God wants YOU to take an active role and to give of your time and your energy.

When this project began, we heard from some of our church family who's (literal) blood, sweat, and tears were poured into this building.  Many people gave and worked and sacrificed in ways that most others will not understand.  Most of us will never know what it cost for us to have this building.  But even though this is a (relatively) small project, you can have an investment in something that will have an impact on God's kingdom.  He wants you to be involved.  He even promises to bless you as a result!

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

What looks like paint, God sees as something which can create an atmosphere for bringing peace to a troubled heart.  What you see as ripping out old carpet, God sees as making room for the new dance floor for his unashamed worshipers.  

This is something that I learned during a missions trip to Haiti.  God loves when you prayerfully work to see things happen.  So take advantage of this opportunity.  I love the "slogan" for Roberts Wesleyan College (my alma mater) and find it especially relevant: 

Ora et Labora.  Pray and Work. 

If you will commit to working and enter into that work willingly and prayerfully, excited to see what God will do through it, I promise you that you will be blessed.  It does not matter how small you think your role is.  Give it your best.  

So here it is: Get over your preferences and get involved because you can have an impact you will never understand, but will bring joy and glory to God.  Be blessed both now and in the inheritance to come as you give, and never doubt or regret what you have given.  Ora et Labora.

New Life

I am reading through the book of Leviticus in my personal reading now.  In the past this has always felt like a struggle and a chore (truthfully, it still does at times).  Normally Leviticus is where I stall out and lose momentum as I try to read through the Bible each year.  But about a week ago, my pastor challenged me to read scripture with a new perspective in mind.  He said that you should be able to find Jesus in any passage of scripture or you’re not looking hard enough.  I wanted to (but didn’t!) roll my eyes as he said that when I realized what book of the Bible I was beginning.  But I kept an open mind - and have been blessed in fresh ways this time around!  

I am amazed at some of the Truth that has been opened up to me.  I’m not sure that I can fully put into words or explain the things I am seeing, but here is a partial list and a few brief explanations.

• The sin offerings (literally a scapegoat) for the people of Israel took place outside of the camp; Jesus suffered and died for our sins outside of the city of Jerusalem.  He was our scapegoat.  (define scapegoat: “A goat (or person) who bears the blame that should fall on others.”)
• Blood - it seems that an important recurring theme of the book of Leviticus is the role of blood.  Leviticus 17:11-12 explains, “‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells amount you eat blood.’”
• It plays an important role in many of the different types of sacrifices and in deciding who is “clean” or “unclean”.  
• The book repeats the idea of “sprinkling blood” over and over in the process of making clean that which is unclean.  This idea is incredibly powerful when paired with 1 Peter 1:2, when we see that Peter gives the following greeting: “in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.” - Even the way we greet others can bring sanctification.
• How shocking Jesus’ words must have been to his audience in John 6:53-54. “Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
• Many of the sacrifices required both a living and a dead animal for sacrifice; Jesus was able to fulfill both roles.
• The Levitical order was established for Aaron and his sons; Aaron as the High Priest and his sons given over to other priestly duties.  Jesus is now considered our High Priest and we have been adopted into his family as sons - giving us a priestly duty.  Scripture also points out that Jesus has finished the work of the High Priest once and for all and has sat down at the right hand of God, no longer needing to continually offer the same sacrifices year after year.
• It is fairly easy for something or someone to become unclean or defiled under the Levitical Law, but 1 Peter 1:4 tells us that we now have a salvation which is “incorruptible and undefiled”.

I am only part way through the book.  But I am excited to see what else God wants to show me in this.  I love when I find new life in something familiar.  God wants to meet you in the same way.  Look for Jesus in every passage of scripture you read and may you find new life as well. 

Getting Sick

Every once in a while, I get sick.

I know most people would probably respond with something like, "well,...duh..."  Especially when I go on to say that I hate getting sick.  Does anyone actually like getting sick?  I mean besides the average hypochondriac (yeah, I know you claim you don't like getting sick, but I don't believe you).

But it really is weird for me.  I have a tendency to walk around with the expectation of health.  I am genuinely surprised every time I get sick.  I am not afraid of getting sick and rarely take the precautions that most people do.  I have faith in my immune system and its ability to do what it was designed to do (and I don't use the word "designed" lightly).  In my mind, health and attitude are not disconnected.  I joke about hypochondriacs, but sadly, it is a truth that some people choose to live in sickness rather than health.

But when I do get sick, I have this tendency to turn into a big baby.  It leaves me wanting nothing more than for someone to take care of me.  I'm not looking for someone to fix it, just for someone to ease the process and comfort me while I wait to get better.  I know its going to take time to get through the process of getting better.  When I am sick I am reminded that despite my best efforts to hide it, I am not perfect - I have flaws and those flaws sometimes get the best of me.  My vulnerability is exposed.

Getting sick shows my need for something - for Someone - beyond myself.  I may hide my true heart's cry for help on a regular basis, but in my weakest moments, it comes out.

So today I am thankful for the reminder that getting sick brings me to be grateful to Jesus, my savior, my healer, my friend. and all He does to comfort me through my daily sicknesses.  He is my eternal immune system and is constantly working to restore me to the health I was created for and choose to live in.

Mistakes

Can we be honest for a moment? We all make mistakes.  And there is no guarantee that anything we do will work out like we want it to or think it should.

I think we I sometimes get so worried about making mistakes that we I fail to act when we I should.  Why is that?  Sometimes we I feel phony or ill-prepared to handle what we I see as a need.  Sometimes we I become overwhelmed by the immensity of the problem that we I don't know where to start or how anything we I do will make a difference.  But God expects us to act.

 ^7-11Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God's words; if help, let it be God's hearty help. That way, God's bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes! (1 Peter 4:8, The Message)

It is interesting that the definition of the word "act" is to play a role or a part; to perform.

How often do we I complicate the choice to act or not to act?  Too often we I let a limited understanding of an unlimited God affect this vital choice.  We I tend to make the decision based on what we I know will yield a positive result. We I must accept that we are I am NOT responsible for the outcome.  And when we I can buy into that idea, we I will begin to act like we I should.  We I have a role to play.

It does not matter how qualified we I feel or what we I believe to be possible.  It only matters that we I follow Jesus' example and obey Him.  We I can see very clearly in the passage above that what matters is that we I play our my part and do something. We I can pray, or be generous, or whatever, but we I should not worry about making mistakes.  All we I should worry about is acting out of love.  As long as love is the motivation, the impetus for action, then it will be forgiven.  Until today I always thought the forgiver in this passage was Jesus and the "sinner" was whoever I was showing love to...but I'm beginning to suspect that the forgiver is that person to which I show my love and the "sinner" is me.  I may offend, frustrate or anger someone with my actions, but if I am motivated by a pure love, in the end, it will be forgiven.

So what am I waiting for?  Its time to start making mistakes.  Will you forgive me?

Sunday Hymns: Immortal, Invisible

Good morning!  Enjoy this hymn written from 1 Timothy 1:17.  I love how unashamed it is of Who God Is.  Its a very short hymn that extols a handful of God's wonderful Names.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days, almighty, victorious, Thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhastening, and silent as light, nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might; Thy justice like mountains high soaring above Thy clouds which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all, life Though givest to both great and small; In all life Though livest, the true life of all; We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree, and wither and perish; but naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light, Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;  All laud we would render; O help us to see Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.

Here's an acapella version for you to enjoy:

Be encouraged this week because the God this song sings about loves YOU!

Ordinary

I recently read Tony Dungy's book, "Quiet Strength".  It is a very easy-to-read book which I highly recommend to anyone looking for an encouraging read, even if you're not that into sports.  Although an appreciation for football certainly helps. 

Its a wonderfully moving story of Tony Dungy's life.  The highs and the lows.  The successes and the struggles.  They did a great job I will admit that it brought me to tears several times.  Tony is an incredibly thoughtful man.  He used every experience in his life to learn and to grow.  He has incredibly faith in God.  He loves his family in amazing ways.  He was always looking to improve the lives of those around himself. 

Things I liked in/learned from this book:

1. Extraordinary things happen when you focus on doing the ordinary things better than anyone else.
2. Use everything you experience as a learning tool to help you grow.
3. Recognize your position in life as a gift and use that platform for good.
4. Value people and keep your priorities aligned appropriately.  (God. Family. Job.)
5. Stay the course.  Don't doubt yourself or your values if they don't seem to yield the right results.  Hang in there.
6. Sometimes life is hard.  But even when life will never be the same again, it won't always feel the way it does in the moment.

Here is one of my favorite (of MANY) quotes:

At some point in life's journey, professionally and personally, we have to be able to trust our preparation.  When we've done everything we can, we need to wrap things up and move on....Higher priorities, such as spending time with God and family, must not be afterthoughts jammed into your schedule.  But doing so requires faith-faith in your preparation, faith in your outcome, and for me, faith that God is watching over me, even when I can't understand His plan.

I sincerely hope you pick up this book and read it.  I'm confident you will be glad you did.

Here's an interview with Tony Dungy:

Confidence

I love this verse:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

As much as I love this verse, I am beginning to realize that I may not truly understand or believe it yet. friend has recently been trying to convince me to start living like I believe this verse on a day-to-day level. 

You see, I tend to think about this verse as a great call to faith in times when things don't seem so great.  I have repeated it to myself over and over again when I'm frustrated, or struggling with something, or feeling burned out and exhausted.  Its brought me hope over the years.  This verse has helped me through some difficult times.

But what does my friend mean when they point out that I don't believe this on a day-to-day level?  Well, most days aren't so difficult that this verse has felt necessary.  You see, I have tended to read this verse as "we know that in bad things God works for the good of those who love Him..."  But that is not what the verse says.

This verse says, "...in all things...".  ALL things.  That means that in the mundane things, God is working for my good.  It means that in the good things, God is working for my good.  In the seemingly meaningless things,...God is working for my good.  God is ALWAYS working for my good.  He is on my side.  He has my best interests in mind.  He loves me and wants to give me the best.

I can have confidence that in any situation or circumstance, in any decision or action, God will carry the weight of responsibility for making it work out for my good.  As long as I keep trying to follow Him, and keep trying to seek His will and desires, I can't miss.  I can swing for the fence and be confident that God is in control of the outcome.  I may hit a home run out of the ballpark - its under His watchful eye.  I may strike out - He will instruct me and help me to grow.  I may have to take one for the team that helps someone else, but He has the bigger picture in mind.  I may get a hit that looks like nothing much, but if I run with passion, and get the right bounces, I may get an inside-the-park home run with Him cheering me on and waving me home with all His might.

I choose to put my confidence in the One with my best interests at heart and the power to move mountains in His words.

I'd like to think I'm a pigeon.

I heard an episode of Radiolab (an National Public Radio program worth listening to if you don't already) called "Lost & Found".  The whole episode was about, well, being lost,...and, er...found.  It was fascinating. Someone talks about the science of how the brain works to keep track of space and "maps" our world.  And a bunch of other stuff too.

But the thing that caught my attention the most was the piece on carrier pigeons (you should listen to this!).  It was unbelievably cool (definitely listen to it!). 

Carrier pigeons are almost never lost.  There have been numerous tests over 60 years to try to get a handle on how the pigeons do this.  You can take a pigeon anywhere away from its home.  It can be awake or asleep (or anesthetized), carried away from its home in the light or dark, in a box that the bird can't see out of, etc.  But if you take a pigeon away from its home and release it, it will fly home.  Always.

During the war, pigeons were getting shot, but still flying home.  They would arrive injured and nearly dead.

Nobody knows how or why they are able to do this.  But they do.  Without fail.  They have tried to trick pigeons in a number of ways, but rarely succeed.

And if you want to make sure it gets home quickly, get it jealous.  You see, pigeons are one of the few birds that are monogamous.  So if you put another male bird in the cage with some pigeon dude's girl when you take him out, as soon as you release him, he'll get home double quick.

I imagine a pigeon could get pretty serious about protecting their lady.

I'd like to think that I'm a carrier pigeon. 

No matter what happens in my life, I know that my heart will make it home.  No attack will stop me.  Nobody will prevent me from getting home to protect my family when that day comes. 

And I think God approaches us the same way.  Nobody can prevent him from finding us.  Nobody will prevent him from protecting those who he loves.

Sunday Hymns - O, for a thousand tongues...

Welcome to the 2nd edition of Sunday Hymns.  If I had started the year online this would have been the 1st hymn you would have seen, for several reasons.  I am amazed by the lyrics.  I am amazed by the heart.  And I love the tradition of it.  

From the note at the bottom of the page in my hymnal: Written by Charles Wesley on the first anniversary of his conversion, Sunday, May 21, 1738.  Methodists have traditionally made it the first hymn in their hymnbooks since the time of John Wesley.

O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing, 1739

O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim, to spread through all the earth abroad the honors of Thy Name.

Jesus! the Name that charms our fears, that bids our sorrows cease, 'tis music in the sinner's ears, 'tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free; His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.

He speaks and listening to His voice, New life the dead receive; the mournful, broken hearts rejoice; the humble poor believe.

Hear Him ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb, your loosened tongues employ; ye blind, behold your Saviour come; and leap, ye lame, for joy.

 This hymn just makes me grateful for so many things.  I love the declarations of power and victory sprinkled throughout.  I love the confidence in a good and loving God.  I love the freedom and inability to hold back praise and adoration for an ever good God.  Be blessed by this hymn and may you see the same freedom and feel the same gratitude this week.

Oh, and David Crowder appreciates this hymn too...

Have a great Sunday, friends!

What you see is what you get.

Vision our ability to picture potential reality.  In many ways, this is a very abstract mental process.  However, I think there are things we can do to cultivate vision.  As I think about men and women of great vision, I realize that they cultivated vision through the mental habits they formed. 

What you see is what you get.

In other words, be careful about what you put in front of your face.  I don't mean this in the figurative sense either.  I mean literally focus your eyes on what you want to achieve or acquire. 

During my freshman year of college, I didn't have anything else to decorate my walls with but a cut-up old calendar.  It happened to be a calendar of hot rod cars.  Dodge Vipers, Ford Mustangs, Chevy Corvettes, etc.  Now I have never been a car guy.  But with those cars on the wall, I found myself thinking about cars a lot more.  I wanted to get a flashy car that had tons of power and could turn heads.  What you see is what you get. 

During my sophomore year of college, I printed out scripture verses and put them on the walls.  I also made them into computer backgrounds and screen savers.  Outside of very specific moments where God touched my heart to bring change into my life, I have never experienced such continual growth and peace in my life, or such a sustained intimacy with God.  What you see is what you get.

Scripture talks about this idea over and over again (2 Corinthians 4:18, Philippians 3:17, Psalm 16:8, Proverbs 17:24, and below...in addition to many other verses). 

No wonder that many of the great revivalists spent so much time reading scripture that they couldn't help but envision a world that was more in line with the Truth of God.

I'd like to leave you with two verses.

Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. -- John 5:19

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!  -- Hebrews 12:1-3 (The Message)

So,...what do you see?

Justice

Well, I was recently summoned for jury duty and I'll admit that I was nervous about what it would be like.  I had no idea what to expect. 

As it turned out, the process really wasn't that bad and I was surprised to find myself fascinated in the process.  I did not get selected as a juror which is in some ways is wonderful, but in other ways is a disappointment.  I'm happy to say that even after experiencing just the selection process, I have a greater faith in our judicial system.





In case you don't know, the process is pretty simple.  It starts a little after everyone has arrived and checked in.  Once everyone is seated in the spectator's area of the courtroom they show all of the potential jurors a video about what the jury selection process is, what the juror's role/responsibility is, what the court system is like in comparison to entertainment's portrayals of it.

After everyone has a better picture of what is going to happen, the judge introduces the attorneys and explains the case.  The potential jurors are sworn in, and the first group of jury candidates are randomly selected for interview.  21 jury candidates were selected and questioned.  The judge carefully explains a variety of questions pertaining to each candidates personal life and experiences which may affect their ability to judge impartially.  Various candidates are then excused due to circumstances which the judge may deem worthy of dismissal.  This process took about an hour and a half.  The attorneys then have an opportunity to question specific candidates in further detail or address the group in general.  The attorneys then decide which jury candidates they are willing to accept and which ones they are not.  The attorneys and judge meet and select a group of candidates to make official jurors. 

In our case, 6 jurors were selected in the first round.  Another group of 21 candidates is brought in and questioned in the same way.  This process keeps going on like the first time until there are 12 jurors and a few alternates. 

My number never got called to get interviewed.  They ended up filling the jury in the first two groups.  I believe I would have really enjoyed being on the jury.  I would not have been selected for this case even if I had wanted to be because of my relationship with several of the witnesses.  This was a criminal case (the jury decides whether or not the accused committed the crime they are committed of).  Many of the people involved with the case are former students of mine.  It would have been difficult sitting on a case involving a family from my school district and returning to teach without having my character judged by other families and potential students.

I really liked the judge presiding over the case.  He would have made a great teacher.  One really cool thing about this experience was seeing just how impartial the judge was.  It is a very natural thing to think that because the defendant is there and has been accused of a crime, that there is probably some level of guilt ("where there's smoke there's fire" philosophy).  But the judge reiterated that as the defendant sat there, they were innocent.  Innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, without having to do a single thing to defend oneself.  What a profound and important idea.  The weight of responsibility in the case was on the Assistant District Attorney (<-- my cousin is one of those!).  What a novel idea.  To think that this was a relatively new idea around the time that the American colonies were forming!  I'm proud to be an American.  I am sure that guilty people go free under this system from time to time.  But I can see no other way of providing true justice - justice where freedom is actually valued.  Justice where innocence is presumed and preserved at the cost of making a mistake.  A system that trusts there will be due evidence when someone is actually guilty.  What a beautiful system!  I believe this system could be considered "gracious" - giving at the cost of oneself. Knowing that some will slip through is a costly and potentially scary idea, but it gives others more than they may actually deserve and in that way protects freedom.  You may disagree with me here.  But I feel blessed to know that when I am accused I will have a fair trial that will stand on evidence and that I can stand without the burden of having to "prove myself" or explain my innocence.

God bless America.  May this spirit of grace and habit of assuming the best about others pervade our culture.  May we let go of our compulsions to sit in judgment on others for the things they say or do, for the way the look or dress, for where they come from or live.  May we learn to accept others for who they are and learn to show love.

PS, this was not me:

Sunday Hymns - Joyful, Joyful

Good morning!

I'm officially back on the internet again after a little hiatus.  Its a bittersweet thing, because I suspect that in a relatively short time I will be hooked again, but for the moment, I am enjoying the freedom of having broken my addiction to television, facebook and the internet.  It feels wonderful to finally have taken the time to do things I always want to do, but could "never find the time" for.  Its truly amazing to me how much time the American public wastes on entertainment.  Shortly before my break from the internet I realized that I was often concerned about "catching up on my shows" when I missed TV shows that I like, but never felt quite as much pressure to "catch up" if I missed reading my Bible for a day, or spending time in prayer and worship.  So my purpose in taking a break was to realign my priorities to a point where I don't mind missing TV, but can't wait to sit down and read or pray.  I trust that the Lord will help me continue in this direction.

One of my goals for this coming year is to take every Sunday morning and post a hymn on my blog.  I want to do this because for a long time, I have loved the depth and power of some of the hymns that are left more or less unsung in many American churches these days.  I grew up singing hymns and they will always hold a special place in my heart.  I will start with some of my favorites, but as I spend time reading through a hymnal (you read that sentence correctly), I plan to post some of my "newly discovered gems" as well.  

This week I am excited to post "Joyful, Joyful, We adore Thee" - this is one of my favorite hymns, but also one which has found new life recently and is soon going to become a favorite in my church and many other churches around America.  Enjoy. :)

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love; Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above. Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, drive the dark of doubt away; Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.

All thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and heaven reflect Thy rays, stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise. Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, chanting bird and flowing fountain, call us to rejoice in Thee.

Thou are giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest, well-spring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest! Thou are Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are thine; Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

This is a great hymn and I love it for its focus on God and the way His creation points to His greatness.  We truly can trust in a God who loves us enough to create so many amazing things as signs of His might and glory.  Do you know how deep the oceans are?  They are nothing compared to His glory.  Do you know many mountains there are?  They were each created by His hand.  Do you realize that He created everything in between and beyond?  Wow!  What an amazing God.  We can rest in joy, even in the midst of our struggles and doubts because He is always at the Center.  He is never changing; always blessing; giving and forgiving.

Enjoy this version by Brenton Brown:

Have a great Sunday, friends!