I can remember talking to a friend back in High School, just a *clears throat* couple of years ago, and hearing from her, “I like my boyfriend, but I am afraid that if we break up, he will hurt himself.” Hmmm… At that time of my young existence, I did not know all that much about relationships, nor the bible, nor psychology. I did know, however, that that statement seemed to be sort of dangerous. It seemed to me that there was an underlying current of control over a person if you were able to get them to believe that their happiness, or ultimately their safety, would hinge on whether or not you were with them, or talked to them enough, or wrote them enough notes. (*DISCLAIMER* The concept of texting, facebook, twitter, IM, email, etc had not yet really been thought of on a wide scale, so we were forced to write notes, on paper, with a thing called a pen.)

Most everyone has read the above verse, or heard it at a wedding. It is one of the most recognizable of all times. I believe that I had it at my own wedding this past summer. I would say that it was very kind of Paul to write this verse 1900 years ago so that we are able to use it for our weddings now in the 21st century. Always in search of context, I read the entire letter (that being 1st Corinthians). Interestingly enough, six chapters earlier, Paul writes:

“Now to the unmarriedand the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.” 1 Cor 7:8

Now this line as well would not be so good for a wedding ceremony. This is the problem with taking any small part of something which someone says, or when reading the Bible. It is so easy to find a part within the Bible’s pages which proves our point, but the Bible isn’t about proving our point, it is about conveying God’s point to us. It is not there to justify, to God, using His thoughts, our actions. It is there to guide us on our paths, from Him.

The danger in all of this is the fact that it is able to be used to control other people. Of course there are countless examples of groups who, over the years, have used God’s word, or at least their interpretation of His word to control, corrupt, or otherwise hurt other people. The God that we serve is a radical and powerful God. He is so radical that he has the ability to look at us and love us for who we are, and he is powerful enough to have infinite patience with our being human beings. This is the thing with people, we are always looking for a way to justify what it is that we think or feel. We always want to be in charge of our own outcomes, and many times the outcomes of others. Psychologists call this codependency. Whatever you call it, it is not healthy for our well-being.

I’ve known several people who have gone through addiction recovery, and as such, I often invoke the “12 steps.” The very first is admitting that I am powerless to overcome whatever it is which I need to overcome. That right there is one of the easiest things to say “no duh” to. That is also the number one hardest thing to actually do. A good friend of mine summarized this concept quite well in saying that the largest distance known to man is the 20-or-so inches from the head to the heart; the distance it takes to go from “knowing it,” to “getting it”.

Looking back at our original example of my friend above, it is so easy to see that we can be trapped in a state of being by our own inability to, as I tell my youth, OWN YOUR STUFF. That is to say that I will hold myself accountable only for that which I have control. What an absolutely freeing feeling that would be, to only have to act upon what it is that you can do something about! I will let you know if I ever get completely there myself. On the same note, it is very easy to say something to the effect of “Well, I would never do that, to get stuck like that, but I know someone who would!” To that person, I would ask how it is to be Jesus. Jesus had to carry a cross, but the weight did not consist of not being forthcoming in His needs.

When Paul was writing his letters, he did so in a manner as to address some sort of issue or problem or question being asked of him. He did so in letter form without the thought that 1800 years later people would be using them to prove their points about something which he had no way of telling would happen, or worse, as printing on a card to a person cared about. I used the above verses in order to show a contrast of what a few pages of the Bible could tell us about God’s intentions about love for each other. I believe that the verses beginning with “love is patient…” are some of the most beautiful and introspective words ever put together. I find their meaning and purpose astounding, and can bring a person close to tears if allowed. This is especially true if one were to consider their universal meaning. Paul was not talking about simply romantic love, he was writing about love for each other. That is an amazingly beautiful thing. Paul is saying, simply, that favors, niceties, well-meaning, love, are not there to guide another person’s feelings or actions. Love is simply there because it is what is supposed to be; it is that it is…so-to-speak.

My prayer for all of us is that we take the opportunity to love those with whom we are blessed, even the ones which we do not like at the time. That we love each other for love’s sake would be the highest aim. I pray that we are all able to be so madly in love with each other, in a true way, that we would not use our words, actions, or withholding of, for control, but to enhance. Finally, I would pray that we find love in God’s grace and in loving Him, because He does not use His love to control us, He wants us to love Him because we love Him, not because He makes us.

Blessings!

-b.

These words are obviously very prophetic, especially in light that it was written 700 years before Jesus was born.  What is it about the Christmas season that just seems to come over us?  It could be the shopping, or the warm feeling of love between everyone, or maybe it is the immense sugar rush which we get from eating pounds upon pounds of sugar… whatever it is certainly is a wonderful feeling for a short time this season.  It really is a time where we can reconnect with our families, and friends, and yes, even crazy uncle so and so who shows up seemingly to just drink eggnog.

I had a person ask the expected question of whether I was ready for Christmas to start this year.  I am I informed him, and I added that I try to be very intentional about ensuring that I do not schedule too much in this short time.  He finally lamented that “We do the Christmas thing, then it’s over and back to life.”  That phrase saddens me quite a lot.  Why is it that we spend so much time, and thought, and energy of getting ready all of the food, and presents, and candy, and candy, and candy, and making plans to rush from place to place to make our expected appearances so that in the end we are able to finally sit back and relax after the season in over and enjoy and pseudo-complain about all of the work that we did and how we are not sure if it was appreciated?

This sounds to me a bit like when people come back from vacation and are so exhausted that they need a vacation.  The etymology of the word vacation is “freedom or release” (from some activity or occupation)” from the 14th century or so.  This is to say that the entire purpose of taking vacation is to vacate from one’s “real world” duties.  Why then do we take a week of vacation and attempt to cram 52 weeks of pent up activities into that week?  We as humans do our best to normally fit as much enjoyment into our days as is possible.  We strive to squeeze out those last few drops of TV or our book before sleeping, we wait until the last minute before begrudgingly heading off to work, my mom still refers to me as being 418 months old as though that will slow my march through time.  We enjoy life as much as possible, which is a great thing.  When it becomes not-so-great is when we do not allow ourselves the opportunity to enjoy what we are experiencing.

I make very few concrete plans while I am on vacation and I normally find myself very well rested as a result.  Christmas does not stress me out because I am careful (usually) to not over-schedule myself.  It is rather unfortunate when we become so engrossed in a final goal that we do not take the time to appreciate the journey.

Vacation
- Pack — Check
- Load family into transportation — Check
- Wonder if we turned off the coffee pot — Double check
- Get to destination — Check
- Fret because some reservation was screwed up — Check
- Alternate doing stuff and fretting more — Check
- Get home

The title of this blog is Christmas Presence.  It is vital to be present during our waking hours, regardless of the season, but particularly at this time.  Jesus was sent to us to serve as a living example for how we are to live our lives, and to ultimately give himself for us.  Jesus, who was God made Man, who created everything, did not spend a lot of time shopping for the newest toy nor playing Angry Birds to the exclusion of conversation with others.  What a blessing we have in having this example of pure and wonderful and perfect love!  We need to reflect on that blessing, as well as all of the many other blessings which we have in our lives.  We need to take a moment that while it is irritating that so and so did not particularly care for the color of the Snuggie which we got for them, or that the potatoes are lumpy, or REALLY?  Fruitcake again?!!??!, we are celebrating the coming of God to be with us!

My prayer this Christmas is that we do not stop celebrating the coming of Jesus.  Christmas is not something which simply needs to be checked off so that we can get to New Years, then the forever until Easter.  I would encourage all of us to take a few minutes each day, stop, and meditate on what it is that we are experiencing, and to take a bit more time to remember the example which was set for us.  Maybe then we will be able to rest while experiencing this season, maybe then it will last past Christmas day.  God came to us in the form of a baby, to be present with us, to struggle with us, to council us, and to love us.  We need to be present with Him.

Blessings (and MERRY CHRISTMAS!)

-b.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:19-21

I have found that in addition to being, as many believe, the inspired word of God, or the direct dictation from God, or something in the middle, depending on your theology, that the Bible is, if nothing else, a really useful bunch of parables on how to live. Take the things which we really care about. I will admit, I am something of a computer nerd, and I really like the latest and greatest technology which I can get. I LOVE my iPhone 4. It can do everything and really has made my life easier in terms of productivity and scheduling, and playing games, oh, and it makes calls too. What is the trouble with what I just said? “I LOVE my iPhone.”

We do that a lot, don’t we. We really identify ourselves by what we have, and what we can show that we have, and even sometimes where we were able to get it! There is something about people seeing that you are wearing a $100 pair of jeans, and then for them to know that you paid full price or more for it! We get some sort of pride from being able to afford the coolest thing, and we feel somehow justified when we pay full price for it at times. Let’s address the stuff which we are talking about here first. Stuff can be the car, house, phone, property, vacation, or really anything which money can get us. These things are all fine in and of themselves, and if you want a Ferrari and can afford one, by all means, go get one! As long as you don’t trick yourself into believing that the feelings which you have for that thing are anything approaching love. If a thief were to steal the car, or you broke your phone, or the jeans ripped, would you likely buy a casket for them, and hold a service with everyone you know in order to memorialize all the things that your phone had done for you?

Many people, conversely, look at the above verse and read it to mean that we shouldn’t have anything expensive nor nice. We are to live poorly and without any sort of excess. Again, I believe that this may be a bit one-sided as well. There are many examples in the Bible which people use to warn about money and having stuff. What God is warning about starts with the 1st Commandment:

You shall have no other gods before me.

Of course much of the time, we think of gods as some other sort of heavenly being to which we pay homage. We think of Zeus or Apollo. But in worshiping, rather, placing great value on something which we feel identifies us are we not making an idol of that thing? If one lives only to make money, or to collect nice cars, or the like, is that person not just making a god of that thing. I often refer to the 12-step programs here as a great illustration. If we are serving things here on Earth, then we are bound by those things. If I drink to escape or to fill a hole in whatever shortcoming I feel that I have, it is no different as being the guy who lets everyone know how great his life is because he can afford anything in the world. Neither drink nor money are, by themselves, bad things, rather it is when we become consumed with “love” for these things where we go wrong. (Second of the 12 steps: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity

What Matthew is saying in the verse above is the same thing that my grandmother used to say: “Your home is where your heart is.” There is nothing but truth to that. My father used to tell me that on the sports field, if you want to know which way someone is going to run, watch their hips, because they have to follow their hips; regardless of what they are doing with their hands, or head, or feet, once their hips are pointed in a direction, they have to go that way. In the same way, we will always go in the direction of where our heart is pointed. If what is important to us, the things which we serve are here on Earth, we are bound to have a relationship with this thing where it becomes our master. So Matthew, in reminding us to store our treasures in Heaven, the thing which is the most important to us, he is telling us to put our value in a place where man, nor storm, nor destruction can get to it.

I had a friend earlier this week tell me an amusing, and poignant story/joke. There was an old, very wealthy man who had a lot of things. Now, he knew the saying that he could not take his things with him. He also knew that the kingdom of heaven is paved in gold, so it must be very well-regarded. (Revelations 21:21) Given that, he made a deal with God whereby God would allow him to bring his wealth with him. He dies, and shows up to the proverbial gates, and Peter asks him what he is doing with a suitcase. The man explains that he made this deal with God to bring ALL of his worldly wealth with him, and so he did. Peter asks to see what is in the suitcase, which the man very proudly opens and shows to him a very impressive collection of gold bars. Peter asks the man a simple question: “Why did you choose to bring, of all things, paving stones?”

There are many historical examples of paving material. Farmers used to combine manure with asphalt to make it go farther, people used to throw old spices out into the streets, etc. Perhaps in God choosing to show the streets paved in gold was not JUST an attempt to show us how aesthetically pleasing Heaven is, maybe it is also an attempt to make us understand how valued it is not in Heaven. Think about it, if we on earth are throwing tar and manure together to pave our streets, and God is paving with gold, what value does that gold have to Him?

I would pray that we are able to enjoy the things with which we are blessed while here on Earth. God has given us such an incredible number of things to bring us a little pleasure. He takes great pride and pleasure in seeing us enjoying these things. He also needs us for His purpose, and since it is said that “man cannot serve two masters,” we need to remember the hierarchy in that order. There are things here on Earth which serve us and bring us pleasure, and we need to look to He whom we serve with love and readiness.

Blessings!

-b.

If those two thoughts above do not simply rock your world, please reread them.  They are, in my opinion, doing a great service towards the idea of the whole “Body of Christ” thing of which we are supposed to be a part.  We, as humans do a very good job, on the other hand, towards breaking that body as far apart as we can.  We use all sorts of scripture and other justification in order to bring ordination to our own ideas that we are somehow superior to others.  Paul was pretty clear in both Romans and Corinthians 12 where he talks about the Body of Christ and how each member is a part of the ONE body.  Please reread that last sentence, I have to as well… WE ARE ALL PART OF ONE BODY!  The ear is no more important than the leg, and so on and so forth, as I have written about before, as have many others.

It would seem that it is so very easy for us all to talk about these things, in a nice clean “of course we are supposed to do that” kind of way, but as we all know, when we get out into the real world, and there is stress and there is pride, and there is us versus them, we want to win.  So that message gets boiled down to read something more like:
I will affirm your right to believe and even to exist as a human because that is the law and I am not allowed to punch or kill you (and that whole God thing because I believe…but in a superior manner than you do…) So we will have this conversation whereby I shall pay you lip-service and I will pretend to listen just long enough for me to form a thought and then I shall unleash upon you all of the wrongs which I see with your thought process, and I shall feel even better than I did before.”

We have all done that, haven’t we?  I use the term of being guilty of being a human being for lots of stuff.  This is so very true, and maybe no more so than in our communication with others.  I hear, and have said, “But it is hard to do all of the time.”  Let me affirm, it is hard.  Further, it is SUPPOSED to be hard.  Think about it, God has been telling us to BLESS OTHERS all the way back to Genesis and a bunch of times after that until He sent Jesus to both save us from our best intentions as well as to set an example for us.  But there are others who have tried to live in such a way where their actions could be emulated, Buddha, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Saint Francis, and on and on and on and on… It is hard, very hard to “practice in the presence of God” as coined by Brother Lawrence many years ago.  It is hard to quit drinking when you are an alcoholic, ask one, they WILL likely tell you their story.  It is hard to stop drug addiction too.  Further, it is really hard to run a marathon, and even harder to win one.

When I talk to a person who is, or has been in a 12-step program (and this is no secret, it is in a bunch of books you can buy or look at online) their best intentions got them to the place where they are, and it took a while, and many trials, and likely many failed attempts, but their realization eventually was found in their very first steps to recovery.

Step 1 – We admitted we were powerless over our addiction – that our lives had become unmanageable
That seems simple enough, right?  I mean all we have to do is admit to ourselves that we are not able to “do life” for ourselves.  We are not able to control ourselves.  Thankfully that is just a problem of an addict, phew!  I was worried that I would have to change something, but I am just a Christian who is not addicted to anything… God I love my iPhone!

Step 2 – Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Again, I am so glad that only addicts have to deal with this…because thankfully I am firmly in control of my life, and everyone else too!  I am so thankful that God gave me dominion over My creation and My god.

Step 3 – Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Wow…this must be some really great stuff for these new-agers to make themselves feel better about their terrible situations!  Again, I really thank and give praise to the holy Me that by the grace of Me, I have not had to do this… wait… am I supposed to do this one?

Step 4 – Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Uh oh……my best intentions got me here…my best intentions cannot get me out!  I need help!

Ok.  So that was a bit of a light way to look at how many people see some of the 12 steps as well as their view of God.  Being the curious sort that I am, I read on in the passage of Romans 14 and got to 14:10-12 which states:
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
   every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

That is really where the “uh oh” part starts.  I am simply unable to locate, anywhere in these passages, where we are not to look inward to ourselves, to be improving ourselves, to be following through with God according to what He wants from us.  Read the steps above, all of them are about us, as individuals, talking about us, in relation with God.  The truth is that it is impossible for us to “do life” successfully on our own. And in the end, I am accountable to God for MYSELF and MY actions, and how I believed and served.

Paul was talking in a time where Jews who were Christians were just Jews who followed Christ, so there were a bunch of laws attached to what they could and couldn’t eat/say/do/etc.  There were also a bunch of other Christians who were of the Gentile background.  They did not have these same laws and traditions surrounding their faith.

As you may know my wife and I run the Youth Ministry here at our church.  We LOVE doing this, and all this about it!  We feel blessed to have these kids with us, and our number one goal, before getting more kids here, before getting more people involved, before making them members of our church family, and even before creating better Christians, it to ensure that they feel safe and welcome here.  There are kids in our youth group who are not sure what to believe, or need more signs, and those who are of GREAT, albeit young faith.  What if we tried to built this ministry on the thought of “Hey!  Come hang out if you believe like we do!!”  Can that organization survive more than a generation?  I do not believe that it can.  We need to make disciples for He who called us.  If we concentrate only on those who already believe, that is not a bad thing for those who already believe, but it is somewhat self-defeating in that we are unable to sustain and grow, not just in numbers, but in faith together.

My prayer for us is that we would look past the prejudices that we harbor, and stop acting as though we have the answer to all of the questions.  God has all of the answers, and he gives them out to us in all ways.  There are as many different types of people and gifts as there are answers to be given.  I pray that we really take the time to appreciate all aspects of people’s beliefs, even the ones which do not agree with our own, we may be surprised by the fact that we learn something from them.  Then, I pray that we take the time to realize that God is working, through us, to bring others to Him.  We will be known by our fruit, so it is best for us to cast off all of those bitter fruits and poisonous leaves, and to reach people as God intended us to do, in His image, not in the image which we created of Him.  Finally to really meditate on a quote that I recently read, “At no point in time, either before God saves you or after, does your behavior determine God’s love for you.”  I would add to that, “Neither should our perception of others be swayed by their behavior nor beliefs.”  We are all of God’s family, and for each other we should be thankful that He saw fit to grant us so many blessings in so many shapes and types.

Blessings,

-b.

When I first read that quote above, many years ago, I was shocked… I was shocked by the gall of someone to dare speak against the Christians, as though the Christians set the timbre for what was and was not acceptable. Upon further review, and much prayer and thought, I decided that there may be some truth to this statement.

I have run across many people in my life who would consider themselves non-Christian, or not believing in God at all. In speaking with these people I was surprised by the fact that there was a very common theme running through their message and their objection to God, as we see Him. Much of the message which I was hearing was centered on how these people, many of them friends of mine, and all of them very nice, were treated by Christians. It would seem that if one is not a Christian, then there seems to be the need to tell that person how wrong they are, and that they will burn for eternity, or at the very least, that they are living a useless existence. Now I don’t know about you, but I am not exactly a huge fan of hearing that my existence is futile, or that I will burn for eternity, especially if I am a person who considers myself to be a good person.

It is an indelible fact that Jesus has called us to go out and talk to people about this “good news” which He has given us, this is true. We need to get that message to all of the people which we are able, and the best way is to use that message like a hammer and hit people about the head with it…right? I guess it depends on how badly you want people to believe your message…

Let’s think about it this way for a moment: God’s message is a piece of chocolate (if for some crazy reason you do not like chocolate, please feel free to substitute any other sort of food which you are fond of). You know that the chocolate which you hold is sweet, and savory, and has all sorts of other attributes which other people will like, and will enter well into their existing diet. So, you go out, and you start trying to pass out all of this chocolate to other people, in school, on street corners, at home, with friends, wherever. You find that people are reluctant to take it, so you start to push the chocolate on other people, I mean just taking the chocolate and stuffing it in their mouth… all the while telling those people that what you are forcing upon them is actually good for them, and they just don’t know it. This track, of course causes your chocolaty message to be rejected and for people to start to spread the word that they should avoid you and your chocolate at all costs. What is your ability to now get that chocolate out to those people? How receptive would they be? What if others were to have had your chocolate willingly, before you started shoving it in their mouths, and had made their own flavor of chocolate, and went about the country showing that other versions of chocolate were wrong, and protesting people who liked the other versions…. You get the idea

What do you think the original inventor of chocolate would say about all of this? Do you think that he/she would be pleased that the thing which had been made (chocolate) was being used to divide people, forced upon people, and hurting people in the name of?

Matthew (the author in the Bible) was a pretty bright guy. I feel that he capture a great many ideas and quotes from Jesus which really serve His message very well…and clearly…and to the point:

- Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged Matthew 7:1-2
- Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:3
- Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? Matthew 7:9-10
- Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Matthew 7:19-20

Do you get the feeling that maybe God has given us that gift of the “chocolate” and wants it shared with everyone, but that whole part whether people choose to take it or not is something of a matter between they and God? My concern here is twofold:

1. I would assume that most people who have come to know God are very excited about that. The promise of eternal paradise; not having to worry about things here on Earth as God is in control, knowing that you are loved, etc. This is some really powerful stuff, and being excited about it, I really want to share it.

2. Knowing the peace that all of this brings; I know many of the benefits of subscribing to these beliefs. Further, I would like for people to be able to receive them. That is a very tall order when there are a bunch of other people telling them that they are just flat wrong, or that they will burn, or that they are evil, or whatever the thing-du’ jour is to tell them that week.

Normally I do not get angry at many things, but this is one of the things which I am very passionate about. I love God, and Jesus, and the idea of being loved regardless of my actions; I believe that it is a VERY powerful thing. I also think that it is an example which has been set for us!
I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. – Genesis 12:2

We have had the direction to act as a blessing to others, virtually since the beginning. We have had the blessing from God such that we are blessed and loved and all we have to do is follow Him and try as best as we are able to act like Him, and that’s it. That is our job. We are to act out our faith, not talk about it. If you are a person, like myself, of limited financial means, you look at the guy driving the Ferrari, and you want to know what he did to get the means to buy the car (if that is your thing, sorry, I like nice cars). As Christians, unlike the guy who has the Ferrari, and just drives it around enjoying it, we spend a lot of time talking about this or that. We tend to tell each other about the great parts of our faith. We then tell others (many times) about how wrong their beliefs are rather that acting as we should. “As we should” includes, but is not limited to: being nice, showing love at all times, giving of ourselves as best as we are able, not judging others, etc. Like I said, our job is to love each other, and ourselves, and God. God’s job is to love and judge others.

My prayer here for us all is that we can take a moment to step back from our own viewpoint, from our own legalistic interpretation of what God means when X or Y was written. We need to take a look at the real instructions which God has written for us. The ones which tell us to be a blessing to others, to love others as HE has loved us, and to give of ourselves freely, and without expectation for “doing that favor.” He gave so freely of Himself in creating us, and the Earth, and the stars, and all other things. He gave us His son as an example and as atonement; we need to give of ourselves to Him and each other, regardless of that other person’s real or perceived faith.

Blessings!

-b.

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

 But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.  When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”   Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. John 8:2-8

OK… So I am no real expert, though I play one on TV at times, but it would seem that Jesus, who was God, but here on Earth, who had created EVERYTHING and made all of the rules for people to live by, would have seen this woman, who had been caught committing adultery (cheating on her husband) as a real abomination.  God even created a rule which states that you are to not commit adultery.  So here was God sitting there, drawing in the sand when the leaders of the time came to him and wanted to stone this woman who was a sinner of the highest degree.  They were justified by their law to do so.   So when they asked Jesus whether they should stone her, filled with a bunch of anger, trying to get Jesus all fired up and mad at this sin-filled woman.  His response? … Total calm, to the point where He started to write in the sand and kind of ignored them until they persisted with Him.  He stood up, faced them, and stated that they were correct, she had sinned, and they could carry out the requisite punishment…on one condition.  The one of them who had not sinned in his life had to throw the first stone…seems simple enough…right?  Imagine for a moment that you live in a time where your life is governed by rules, where you’re position in society literally is dictated by those rules, your name, and your “honor.”

“Back in the day” your honor was how people perceived you.  If you had the cool well-known name, you had position in society.  You studied really hard and became learned, you could help to make the rules as well as bringing judgment on people who broke those rules.  The last thing that you wanted to be seen as was a hypocrite, that is, someone who judged people differently from how they lived.  The brilliance in what Jesus did here to illustrate his point is in that very hypocrisy.  The Pharisees, who were merely mortal men, were passing judgment on this woman for her crime and were going to stone her to death.  At the same time, they were always trying to trip Jesus up.  If He were to become angry with her for her crime, then He would be agreeing with them, if He told them that their law was wrong and that they should not be judging her based on the law, then he would be accused of speaking against God’s law.  So, Jesus said to them, basically, “Go ahead and carry out the punishment, but you need to have never sinned in order to do so.”  They all knew that they had sinned, and they knew that each other had sinned as well, and in throwing that first stone, they would be acting hypocritically in doing so, which would have left them without much credibility with each other, so they left her alone and went away.

So, aside from the fact that Jesus was really smart at spotting and getting out of verbal traps, (Given the fact that He was God, and therefore had invented the human brain, this should come as little surprise) He was here to teach a lesson.  What was that lesson?  Was it about caring for people?  Was it about not following old antiquated laws?  Was it about not eating fish on a Friday, or the fact that we shouldn’t cheat on our spouses?  Jesus was here serving as the ultimate illustration of how we should live our lives; he was here to teach us how to be.  His message was to love one another.  Simple. Straight-Forward. Well-Packaged.  It should be really easy to follow.

Remember in the beginning of this blog where I was talking about how cool it feels when we know that we are right, and when we really have someone to hold accountable?  After we have called that person out, after we have punished them, have you ever thought for a moment that you had also sinned in your life?  Much of Jesus’ messages were illustrations like this one.  None of this is to say that it is OK for us to walk about this Earth and just do whatever we want and to not punish those who do wrong.  This is more to show that we are, as people, very quick to judge each other, many times correctly, but for the same things which we are also guilty of having done.  What happens after the first part of the scripture above?

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  John 8:9-11

This is a great illustration of grace.  She was in the wrong for her actions; she knew it, the Pharisees knew it, and certainly Jesus knew it.  There is a great quote pertaining to this very thing from the movie Schindler’s List:  “Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.”  That quote brings something more of a personal power angle to the concept of grace and forgiveness and judgment, but there is a lot of truth to the power of grace.

My prayer for all of us is that we remember that we serve an all-knowing God.  He sees our actions (even the ones that no one else sees) he sees our intentions and what we really mean when we do or say something.  God knows what it is that we are all about.  He also knows that we are very fallible and are nowhere near perfect.   Yet He looks past all of that in order to love us all individually and communally.  He created us for His purpose, and we sin against Him.  He looks past that because of grace, and then he brushes us off, and tells us to “go now and leave your life of sin.”  I pray that we can remember to do the same for others who wrong us, or even have done something to another and we are tempted to judge them harshly.

Blessings!

-b.

We have all heard them, or written them in our notebooks, or Facebook, or texted, or *gasp* have even said them. Cheesy love quotes like “Trying to explain how much I love you is like explaining how water tastes…impossible” Admit it, you HAVE said something like that to another human being, or have at least imagined saying something along those lines to another person.

In the Bible, there are many, many references to “love,” whether it is related to loving God, or to loving Jesus, or to loving each other…even if we do not agree with, or like these people. We are called to love them. One of the most complete writings on the subject of love is that found in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians:

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

We have all heard that passage in some manner, usually while at a wedding. Have you ever read that passage above out loud? I dare you to do so, while really concentrating on the words contained in it. I dare you to do that without feeling a great deal of emotion. Here, Paul was talking about not marriage, as we use the passage today, but obviously talking in loving people as a general rule.

The line which I am most struck by in the above passage is the first one: If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. There is so much applicability in that simple line. It really could, in my opinion, be the only line which someone ever hears from the bible and remembers, AND ACTS UPON and that person would be meeting the goals set in the rest of the book.

What if you know a person at school or at work and that person is very popular. This person is the sort of person who walks into the room and everyone takes note of the fact that they are there. This person is someone whom people listen to, and whom others want to be like. You know the type, she has all of the right things to say all of the time, she is beautiful and has all of the right clothing, and she makes people laugh. What if she is the type of person to use that popularity and power to keep her in that elevated status. She uses it for her own good. She is nice to those whom she considers friends, but she has no problem shooting down people whom she feels threatened by. How do people look at this person? Of course people look at her with some amount of jealousy and desire to be “cool like that” but do people really like this person? How could they be true friends when she acts, as Paul says, as a “clanging cymbal?” She gets a ton of attention to herself, but not for the right reason.

Aren’t we all guilty of that? I mean, maybe we are not the type of person who walks into the room and everyone says “wow!” Maybe we don’t have the perfect boy or girlfriend or have one at all, maybe we don’t have the right hair, or in my case, any at all. Maybe we are just another average person…which itself is fine. But haven’t we all, at one time or another, or maybe a lot, been really nice to that friend who was a really nice person, but when we are in public, we talk down about that person or make them feel like less just because we want to “feel cooler.” Haven’t we, at some time, really wanted to get something and been really nice to our parents to get it, but then around our friends, our parents are just…you know…whatever. Lest you think that kids are the only ones who do this, how many times as adults have we been really nice to that person at work because they had something to offer us? Again, we are all guilty of being human beings! Our challenge, and that which Paul talks about in the scripture, is that of trying, sometimes against our best efforts, to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, even if it is reaaaaallllllyyyyy unpopular…and that is HARD!

Paul talks towards the end, about just how that looks:
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Right before this is the part where he talks about casting off the childish ways. Childish ways here does not mean age, rather maturity, and in saying so is really talking more about how closely we try to act like Jesus rather than maturity as we use the word today. So… After we get rid of the old way of acting, that is become more Christ-like, we are able to see ourselves as a reflection in a mirror.

A term I’ve heard used is emotionally naked. That is to say that we look at ourselves without all of the emotional stuff attached. We are not cool, we are not big, we are not popular, we are not nerds, we are neither liked nor disliked at school, we are just who we are, “even as I am fully known”… as God sees us. He does not care how cool we are or what others think of us so much as He knows our hearts and our intentions (what we really mean when we are being nice.)

My prayer here is that we continue to struggle against that natural urge to be a human being and to submit ourselves to our own desires or to the will of others wants. Rather I would pray that we are constantly evaluating what it is that is important to us, and constantly trying to bring those desires in line with what God needs us to be doing, and how He needs us to be acting. I would hope then, as we stand emotionally naked, in front of the mirror which is the example which Jesus taught, that we realize that “now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

All races eventually end…right?  Think about the few words above… Have you ever felt like that?  Have you ever thought to yourself, “will this ever be over with?”  The words above are what have been told to me by a friend regarding his experience in running a marathon.  I thought that it was a very good illustration of how easy it is to feel that way about most anything which is longer than 5 minutes these days.

There are so many things for us to get into doing, from sports, to church stuff, to school activities, and don’t even mention dating let alone marriage.  We are living in a world which is simply amazing to behold.  Never before has there been this much stuff to take up our time.  In a couple of hours, I can go online, book the flight to Florida, book the hotel, change my Facebook status so people know where I am, then get in my car and drive to the airport, have my tickets texted to me, get on the plane, put my headphones into my Phone 4 to listen to music, log into the airplane’s Wi-Fi with my iPad and track my flight progress live online while tweeting about my experience with the flight attendants’ customer service.

WHAT?!?!?!?!

Let’s put the brakes on here and flash back about 125 years, when the modern automobile was invented, let alone not really readily available for several years.  I had to walk into town to get a train ticket for a journey which would take about a week to get to my final destination, and then I waited for said train and had to talk to people because my iPhone 4 and its Mp3s were on back order for another 120 years.  When I got to Florida I had to FIND a hotel and get a room if available.

Have you every taken the time to consider as you are sitting there in your airplane seat, that you are in a tube made of aluminum?  How about the fact that that tube is 5 miles above the Earth and is traveling at about 550 miles per hour?  We have talked before about being present with current goings-on, but holy cow… it is pretty amazing to think about.

For anyone who has ever been married, or in a long term relationship, there is a great quote I heard once that it is more about perseverance than passion.  Think about my friend who is the runner.  He loves to run…I know, I don’t get the thrill of running 26 miles either… but he loves it, and he is very good at it having won many medals in his sport.  How present with himself does he have to be in order to keep going when his whole body is in pain and he is sweating like crazy, and he has to boil his experience down to “left, right…”  We have somewhat been sold a bill of goods in society that everything from marriage, to kids, to church, to whatever, is perfect as we want it to be, and if we don’t like it, we fire one of the writers of the show and hire someone who agrees with us completely.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised. “For yet a little while, and the coming one shall come and shall not tarry; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and keep their souls.  Hebrews 10:35-39

How many times have we wondered again, “Why doesn’t everyone get it?”  I have done it…in church, in marriage, in earlier relationships, at work… We all wonder why everything is not working out exactly as it need to according to our design and plans.  When we are in the race of living our lives, the passion and the newness of whatever it is that we are doing quickly wears off and all we are left with is us versus ourselves.  We may start a race because we think it would be fun, or impress others, or to prove to others that we can, or whatever reason we come up with.  No one who has ever finished a hard, long race did it to impress another person, or for anyone else.  Look at the Navy SEALs.  They have what is considered the hardest training…ever.  As they are in the airplane ride of training, when things get tough, they cannot just start the level over, or walk away…all they have at times is the “left… right… left… right…” mentality with them.

I know that this can come across as somewhat defeatist, but I assure you that it is not.  In paying attention to what you are experiencing and getting through the hard times in life, when everything in your world seems out of control, the left…right mentality makes not only the parts a bit more manageable, but also allows you time in communion with God’s purpose.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.  Philippians 1:12-14

Paul was writing this letter, from prison, or at least house arrest, likely aware of the fate he had coming to him….and he is excited because God has used him to spread the message so that others may be less afraid to speak it.  Not only does he spend time with God here, in prayer, he helps to encourage others in a way that obviously changed world history.  What if Paul had just given up and stopped preaching so that he would be in less trouble with the Romans?  He couldn’t, God’s purpose was that he should be doing exactly what he was doing.

It seems to pale in comparison with Paul’s struggle when we parallel his struggle with that of homework, or school, or sports, or with marriage, but it is valid.  There are times in a relationship with another person, in marriage or friendship or dating, where being in love is not enough to get you through, or you may feel less in love with that person.  That is OK and natural at times.  But in looking at the tough times as one foot in front of the other… “left…right…left…right…left…right…left…right…left…right…” You are being present in your struggles, and you are becoming closer to God in the process.  As forever as a 26 mile race may seem… about 4 and a half hours, and about 46,112 “left…rights” later, you are across the finish line, and on the other side of your struggle.  That is perseverance!

My prayer is that as we travel through life, however we choose to do so, we are always mindful of what is happening around us, and take the time to notice God there too.  He is making us stronger, he is cheering for us, and most of all, He is working His plan.  I pray that we take the time to realize that in the end, all of the sweat, and the pain, and the struggles are worth it.  That in going through these struggles we are able to become closer to God and to each other.

Blessings!

-b.

This is probably the number one thought which goes through the mind of a person in a time of trial (even teens.) When we ask someone for something, we want answers…NOW! We are used to this as people. A long time ago, in a civilization far, far away, we would send a letter to a person when we wanted to talk. Then we got the telephone and cars and became much faster at communicating with people, then came the Internet, and email, and it was like a long-standing cloak was lifted from our very eyes! We could communicate as fast as we were able to type. Now, we have Facebook, twitter, blogs, IMs, BBSs, all of the older stuff still, and texting. When we send a text to a friend, it has been reported that texts are answered, on average, about 28 seconds later. That is crazy fast!

Now that you have that knowledge, you know that this fast and easy way get results is the best way to go, and therefore, God should follow along and join the 21st century with his iPad and iPhone 4. I mean, here is this ultimate being, who rules and created EVERYTHING, including the iPhone, so you’d think that He would be able to start communicating with us, even without fear of early termination contract fees!

What about looking at it like this. What if we assumed that no matter how much we change, no matter how advanced we get, God does not move with the tide of the times. What if we thought along the lines that these things are so incredibly and in-comprehensively small and irrelevant to God? What then? What does God want us to say? How should we approach Him who has created everything?

In Exodus, we are introduced to the man called Moses. We have all heard the story, right? Moses born, Israel enslaved by Egypt, Moses kills guard for beating Israelite up, Moses in exile in desert, God shows up as burning bush, Moses takes off his shoes, God says get Israelites out of Egypt, Moses calls God crazy and involves a bunch of other people from his family, in the end, God’s will is done. (There is a bit more to that story, but for the sake of space, I figured the abbreviation was enough.)

So, when the really famous story of the burning bush starts, we find Moses in the desert, hanging with his wife and sheep, and he happens upon a bush which is on fire, yet it is not being destroyed. Since Moses was a curious sort, he started towards it to investigate. Put yourself in this moment here, you are in exile for fear that a NATION wants to kill you, and you happen upon a burning, yet not destroying fire. The bush then started talking to Moses…strike two for normal things happening to him that day. What did God say?

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father,the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Exodus 3:5-6

Moses was so incredibly consumed with awe and respect that he hid is face and was afraid to even look at God. He was just struck by this whole moment. A couple of minutes later in this conversation, God has informed Moses what His plan is to answer the prayers of the Jews. He gives Moses instructions as to what he (Moses) needs to do in order to get his people out of this situation. What Moses does next is astounding. Here he had been, covering his face because seeing God was too much for him to handle, he was way overwhelmed. He then, upon hearing God’s instructions, starts to disagree with God’s plan. He brings up every conceivable reason why he should not be the one sent, or what if they don’t believe me, and all sorts of other excuses…TO GOD…who he knew had created EVERYTHING!

But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Ex 4-10

Fast forward a couple of thousand years, and we have Peter hanging out with human-God (Jesus) who tells them that in order to fulfill his father’s will, he must meet death so that all will be free.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. Matthew 16:22-25

Fast forward to now. Here we are praying to God for what we think that we need. We are asking Him to reveal His plan for our lives to us, just like the Jews of Moses did, just like the Jews of Jesus’ time did, and we sort of do the same thing to God, don’t we. Maybe our encounter with God is not as overt as was Moses’, maybe there is no burning bush there, and maybe we aren’t physically walking down the road with Jesus, but we insert what we believe our best plan to God. I have often heard the phrase, “pray and get out of the way,” which is to say that when we ask God for His wisdom, it is due to the fact that we realize that we are not the answer, nor do we have the answer, so we need that answer from God. It becomes troubling for us, however, when we get that feeling or that thought that God is talking to us, and what he is telling us is not what we WANT to hear.

Back in Jesus’ time, there were many many people wandering about claiming to be the Messiah. The Jewish people were really expecting and wanting a Messiah to be the leader who would deliver them from the Romans and from being persecuted. Jesus WAS the Messiah, and what he claimed, and taught, and showed was that people needed to be saved from their own agendas, and to be brought to a closer communion with God. This was revolutionary in that he was not leading an army against the Romans, which is what the people wanted, but setting an example to the people of love and how to treat each other, and how to be closer to God, which is what God wanted. This is why what Jesus saying to Peter was so important. Jesus was saying that “What I am going to do is God’s will, you all have prayed to be delivered and saved, I am going to show you, and die for you to make that possible (Get out of the way).”

I would pray that as we go through our lives, we are able to really hear God talking, and to feel him working, and to accept that what He does is what He needs to do, regardless of what we think. This can lead a person to feel a little bit like a pawn, but really is just God using all of us, as He needs to, to work His plan.

The Lord’s Prayer, Aramaic Translation

Oh Thou, from whom the breath of life comes
Who fills all realms of sound, light and vibration.
May Your light be experienced in my utmost holiest.
Your Heavenly Domain approaches.
Let Your will come true – in the universe just as on earth
Give us wisdom for our daily need,

Detach the fetters of faults that bind us, like we let go the guilt of others.
Let us not be lost in superficial things,
But let us be freed from that what keeps us off from our true purpose.
From You comes the all-working will, the lively strength to act,
the song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age.
Amen

Set your eyes on the things of God, and away from the things of men. Then you will be in concert with the needs of God, and you won’t wonder why he is not answering YOUR needs. He is, He just knows the bigger picture of what those needs are.

Blessings!

-b.

Now that that is out of the way, let’s talk about that person staring back at you in the mirror.  Do we like what we see?  Do we agree with this person staring blankly back at us?  Do we even seem to know this person all of the time?  I know that the answers to these questions would seem to be a resounding “YES!” but it may not be that simple…

I remember looking at myself in the mirror when I was about 16 or 17 wondering what the future held for me, wondering if I would fit into this or that group of people, and generally wondering why I thought the things which I did.  I can remember feeling a certain way about something and “knowing” that it was the correct way to feel about that way, then wondering why everyone else was so out-of-the loop on the topic.

What is it that you see in that person (you) when you are all alone and your friends aren’t there and you aren’t trying to impress someone else?  This goes for adults as well.  Adults just, rather than wearing sideways caps and certain tennis shoes will buy a bigger house, or a sports car.  Hats of a certain style or brand name jeans, let alone nice houses and sports cars are not in any way evil nor dangerous in themselves.  It becomes troublesome to one’s life when these things, and the search for more of them, or better ones of them, or ones which my friends don’t have becomes who we are.

The word which comes to mind here is AUTHENTIC – adj.  Of undisputed origin; genuine

Imagine for a moment that I want to get a bunch of teens to trust me so that I can deliver the good news which we Christians are always trying to share.  What if I, as a 34-year-old who hasn’t been into a high-school even to visit in like 10 years were to put on the new trendy jeans, a trendy shirt, the flat-brimmed hat, and the hoodie.  Boy would I be pretty cool and widely accepted into this teen circle…right?  Probably not so much.  I would be coming to them with something which would be beneficial for them to hear, but I would be doing so in a less-than-truthful way, which is to say that I am not being me, and in doing so, my message is lost.

Adults do this all of the time with each other.  We walk around dressed in a certain brand, or talk about the trip which we made unnecessarily expensive for the sake of being able to talk about how expensive it is.  We drive cars which are very expensive, because everyone else knows how expensive they are.  Kids do this by acting a certain way around different groups of people, as to say “I am a member of this group.”  Have you seen this in the halls, or at lunch… or in the boardroom for a meeting?

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? James 2:1-26

God does not care what car you drive, he does not care who you act the most like, he does not care for your clothes.  He loves YOU as YOU are.  Part of loving God, as I have written before, is that letting go and letting God mentality.  We have to be willing to let go of these things which we see on the outside, and concentrate on ourselves and our relationships to others.  We have to look into the mirror and be willing to be OK with what we see staring back at us.  We need to get into agreement with ourselves as to what is important.  We need to learn to be ourselves, and to be the real deal us regardless of who we are around, or who we would like to impress.  Interestingly enough, God created all of us, differently, on purpose.  Our tough job is to be then who we are, despite what we may think that others wish us to be…likely they just want us.

Blessings!

-b.