lifelike jesus

The Divine In The Ordinary (Jesus Car)

2011-10-25T06:37:00.001-07:00

This car was parked outside of the coffeeshop this past week:

its decorated with slogans like "come lord jesus." the license plate says "worship." i certainly saw the divine, but not in this "out of the ordinary" car. it was in peoples reaction. basically they were laughing, mocking, and making light of this car. i was right there with them (on the inside of course).

i know it may be harsh, i just dont see the sense in something like this. first, what does that even mean? when we say "come lord jesus"? does it mean you hate this world so much your ready for it to be over? if so, is that a biblical view of creation?

"Jesus is coming soon"? how does she know? The apostles certainly didnt.

I saw the divine in peoples reaction. they were not upset because someone believed in God, or Jesus. They were upset because they, just as i with a different perspective, could see the nonsense in decorating your vehicle in such a way.

now i know that she has as sincere heart in what she is doing....at least i hope she does.

but the sincere heart does not justify the damage things like this does to the movement.

i think we forget that a lot....that its a movement. its not an established institute, but a movement that has not reached its destination.

should our message be "come lord Jesus"? at least in the sense its meant here? if it is "come lord Jesus" into the hearts and minds of people to transform our world...then yeah. but if its come back so we can all get off this shitty earth....then no. thats not what we represent. thats no more love than those who quickly jumped on the life raft to escape the titanic leaving women and children behind.

but as i said, i saw the divine in the reactions of the people. i saw a people that God is so reaching out to, and i saw their minds revert further away from him because of this visual obtrusion.

The Divine In The Ordinary (Spiders)

2011-10-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

so....i found the most fascinating facts the other day about spiders.

some of them have warning colors. they mean that they are poison and over time other species have learned to stay the heck away from these colors.

but there are also others spiders who are not poisonous, but over time they have evolved to become these colors so that predators leave them alone as well.

well done evolution, well done spider.

so after finding out about spiders....i found this great one in my yard.

so he is that big blurry spot in the middle. the iphone (RIP Steve Jobs) doesnt take the best pictures. here is another one:

he is in the yellow circle. anyway, what was so awesome about this spider, wasnt himself, but this amazing huge web that he created. it was gigantic. and overnight.

so i learned more about spiders and their webs.

this spider makes a big web, sits in the middle of it, and when things get stuck in it, it vibrates and he is immediately aware something is there and he goes and eats it.

other spiders leave little webs everywhere, then go back and periodically check them for prey.

and still other spiders pounce on prey and use their web to wrap it up (see the Shelob for details).

i cant believe i havent thought of this before...but as christians, we should be just like spiders. we should be....spidermen?

only in my dreams.

are we not supposed to ensnare people with who we are. the path of our life should be this sticky presence that, no matter how hard people try, they cant escape what they have experienced through you. is this not what we are supposed to do with love?

weather or not we are conscience of all that is around us and can sense when people are in need around us....or we leave signs of love all over the place just hoping someone will get trapped in it, or perhaps we just tackle people around us with who we are.

i think about this when i want to be cool. when i want to be rude or say just the right smart-assed thing, or talk back to someone who is rude....i should just be shooting lovewebs at people. i know...lamesauce...but how could would it be to really have love webs?

not a break, a pause

2011-09-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

don't worry.

your computer is not broken. in fact, lifelikejesus is not broken either.
whenever an amateur blogger goes on any sort of hiatus they tend to try and explain it somehow. they make up an excuse like, "oh i just got so busy." or something. we here at lifelikejesus, however, are not amateurs...

we paused for reflection.

every so often you need to stop and smell the digital roses, right? so we did.

now we're done. we're done smelling roses, I mean. not done with lifelikejesus.

I know that might be what you would expect from lifelikejesus. sudden death, right?

you would think we had done this before or something... ha.

but during this time of rest and reflection, I kind started thinking about that whole moral flexibility thing. then I was taking a class on the kingdom of god- how jesus talks about it- and something started to come together. it is not yet fully formed, but here's a piece- most of it is ripped off. if you want to know my sources, i would be happy to share.

we are trees. we can be good or bad. that depends on the kind of fruit we produce. in order to produce good fruit, we have to take care of our hearts and motives. when our hearts are right, we produce good fruit or the right kind of fruit. when our hearts are not right, we produce bad fruit. so what is good or morally right? take care of your heart and the overflow of your heart will be good fruit.

that's too simple. it might not even be right all the way. but that is what I am working on right now.

and that is what this is. sometimes life is inconsistent, that is ok. sometimes this blog reflects life's randomness. but the reason it is here is to keep myself and anyone else who wants to join in reading it and scripture, thinking about these things through the paradigm of everyday existence. what is it like to produce good fruit in a messed up world?

God, help me produce good fruit.

amen.

The Divine In The Ordinary (Bird Chaser)

2011-09-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

this is my youngest son Archer.

I had no idea, but he really likes to chase birds.

We were downtown at the fountain a few days ago and he went ballistic over these birds. It was pretty fascinating to watch as these birds, who have become overly used to people, were not phased at all by the giant toddler chasing them in a horror movie like fashion. they always kept a few feet ahead of him, but never flew off, never left, just sort of stuck around.

i dont know if i have expressed this, but the bird is my spirit animal. that is totally self diagnosed, yet true. i secretly love to watch birds and i feel like i see God in them often.

so if this bird were God, which seems likely that he would take the form of a pigeon, which is just one step ahead of a seagull, which is one step ahead of a rat, then what did i see from this scene?
this is sort of a metaphor for mine and God's dance through life. i know he has never left me, and i have never stopped seeing him. i have always seen him, right there, right in front of me. and perhaps, he wants me to stand still and admire, observe, watch, think, ponder, talk.... but i am like a clumsy child who has just learned to walk and keep running towards him stumbling around and he has to keep creating new paths and new ways to see him. in the end, it can be quite exhausting, but i am still excited that i got to chase a bird.

"dear God, thanks for always staying right there with me, even when i probably annoy the hell out of you sometimes."

The Divine In The Ordinary (Vintage Cool Chair)

2011-09-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

So, this is going to sound weird. nonetheless, its true. God sat down in this chair next to me today on a friends porch. which sort of makes sense, if God was going to come sit next to me, it would be in this cool aged modern chair.

i am having an off day. there is something hanging over my head and if you know me at all, thats not good. i like to deal with responsibility immediately, i hate having things loom. however, sometimes you dont get that choice.

i had to journey over to the other side of town today and wait for a long time. i decided to pass the time across the street on a friends porch. i sat in a chair and then i felt like talking to God. to unload a lot of crap on him. it was much easier to do this if he were sitting next to me as oppose to speaking to the dark clouds in the sky. so i talked to him in this chair. it was nice. it was so nice i wanted to steal the chair and bring it home in hopes that God would often come to visit in this chair.

i bet its real similar to Jesus coming to sit with the woman at the well to talk to her. or maybe when he came to Zacchaeus' house. better yet, how about this scene from John 21:

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

its nice to know that God comes to just sit with us sometimes. does this ever happen to anyone else?

The Divine In The Ordinary (leaf bug)

2011-09-20T06:32:00.000-07:00

something in this picture doesnt belong. no its not the big gross foot. no its not the weird ball-like growth at the end of my foot either. its the leaf-bug. i know i know. with modern technology i should be able to look up what kind of bug this really is and right the technical term. but i dont do that. i do know though, from my many trips to the Cincinnati Zoo that this is a but that hangs near leaves and bushes and such and its natural build makes him blend in with his surroundings. to help hide him from predators.

the only problem is, it doesnt quite help him that much when he lands on skin, in particular, feet.

i sat there staring at him and i found the divine in the ordinary. i thought about how great this bug is. i thought about how my first instinct may have been to smack him and possibly kill him, or in the very least to shoo him away. i didnt. i just watched him and thought about how much he didnt belong there.

i have never felt like that. i have always felt like i belong. i think i am supposed to feel like i dont belong, like there is something bigger or better, or different (because most heroes of the story seem to feel that way, ask Charlie Bucket). but i dont. i feel like i fit here, in my life, in this world. and that, is a comforting feeling.

however, sometimes....i feel like i should be a leaf bug on skin sometimes. i feel like i should stick out more sometimes...i maybe should be places i dont really fit in. i guess some would say step out of a "comfort zone". i think God calls us to that quite often.

Joshua 12

2011-09-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

(Note: NO BLASPHEMY IS INTENDED TO APPEAR IN THIS POST. IF YOU ARE OFFENDED PLEASE FILE A COMPLAINT IN YOUR PRAYERS TONIGHT.)

Passages like these oft remind me of the verse, "All Scripture is God breathed and is useful..."

Really? I ask. This is useful to me in my everyday life?

Um, yeah. (Note: Italics obviously indicate the Holy Spirit.)

How so, Holy Ghost?

Isn't it obvious? The Israelites, a rag tag group of desert dwellers, destroyed more than 30 kingdoms with God's help.

So?

Boy you are a dummy. (Note: This is not an actual transcription of a conversation between me and the Holy Spirit (that would consist of weird groans and translations(Yes, that is a parenthetical statement inside of a parenthetical statement. What are you gonna do about it?))... it is a dramatization of internal events. I don't think the Holy Spirit would not talk like that.) That means that God was true to His promise... that He took care of them through all of those fights... that, because Joshua and his men remained faithful, they were strong and courageous they were able to completely destroy many kings.

So the moral of the story is... trust God and he will help you kill kings?

Am I going to have to flood the earth again? I really don't want to do that. I promised I wouldn't.

No, no, no wait, Holy G, I was only joking. I get it now. The moral of the story is that God is faithful to His word. If we remain faithful to Him, even when times get tough, if we fight on His side- we'll win.
____

OK, so that was weird. Anyway, I always try to let myself skip over passage like this or genealogies when I am reading the Bible. It seems like these endless lists that we find are rarely useful or explicitly insightful. There is little application in a list of names. But today, since I wanted to pull something out, I made myself read it all the way through and when I got to the bottom I was left with the feeling that God accomplished a lot with so little. He makes good on His word. I need strength and courage. I need to devote myself to the Scriptures like the Israelites here and great things will happen by God's Divine hand.

God, again keep me strong and courageous. Lead me to do what you want me to do. Amen.

Joshua 11

2011-09-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

"Then the land had rest from war."

As I was reading through this chapter, a thought occurred to me. I read through Joshua another time, awhile ago and was startled by how much God had the Israelites do in the killing department. Kill these guys. Kill their horses. Then go kill some more.

I was flabbergasted. I guess we just do not understand a God of war like the Israelites did. I mean, imagine if God told Obama to nuke Britain and take over... that would sound outrageous and crazy... right? The people who would protest the most (besides the Brits) would be the religious people. Think of all the innocents... slaughtered.

And yet, through God's righteousness, we must presume that these battles were just and righteous.

It just does not seem to compute.

But then I think back to the flood. That was definitely a God thing where lots of people died. Women and children got swept away... How does that fit on the lovey-dovey daddy of modern Christian Theology?

It doesn't, I guess.

SO where does that leave us?

One of the ways my mind tends to think about things like this is a sort of flexible morality.

I'll name him Charlie Bucket

I know... its a slippery slope to say morality is flexible, but it has to be. Would it be morally wrong to kill a man if that was the only way to stop him from killing your whole family? Would it be morally wrong to become angry at someone for stealing your pet monkey?

Or.. would it be morally wrong to drink a beer in front of a known alcoholic?

So is it wrong that all these people had to die in order to give God's chosen people their inheritance? Apparently not.

I think that after reading the last few chapters, though I was relieved to see the rest from war at the end of this one. I don't want to think about God killing people right now.

I like to sneak into rooms and open up a can of worms, then leave. SO... have fun.

God, let my morality and wisdom only come from you. If I let my opinions in on the matter, smack me. Amen.

The Divine In The Ordinary (bird)

2011-09-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

by: Justin Dunn

Intentionality, Intentionality, Intentionality.

How much of a difference that word makes. Especially in the realms of faith and mindfulness of God.

I have been reading an excellent book called Making A Mess & Meeting God by Mandy Smith. Its main function is to teach people how to be conscience and aware of God all the time, throughout the everyday world.

a great quote: "connecting with God usually involves many words- reading, praying journaling, listening, talking, thinking, singing. Can we add to these the possibility of learning and connecting through holding, shaping, walking, sitting, standing, making, and doing?"

its basically about finding the divine in the ordinary.

i think this is something in which i normally do. i just havent been very intentional about it.
so, on this blog, i am going to try to make this a daily exercise.

i am not a good writer, i actually dont like to write a lot. so, most of my posts will be short, but it will be how i saw the divine in the ordinary that day. the goal is that i do it enough to where i am constantly seeing God in all the things i do. whether it be washing dishes, playing with my sons, doing art, or watching TV.

as i was thinking today, i thought i may have felt the richness of God as i was sitting outside of Panera, smoking a good pipe with Rookwood tobacco from Strauss tobacco company. also enjoying a cup of coffee. i was amazed at how the tobacco brought out a good bean flavor from the coffee (a coffee that is usually not so tasty). but that wasnt it.

i saw God in this fellow:

he was hoping around my table. i threw him some crumbs from my delicious blueberry scone. i was pretty amazed how he could hear those crumbs falling from a long way away.

birds may be my spirit animal. i love to watch them and find them fascinating. as this guy hopped around eating my crumbs, i was thinking of God. How amazing he is, how he throws me more than crumbs and i am sure he is fascinated with what i do with them. i would get upset when i threw him some and he didnt come get them, so i would pick them back up and toss them at him again. until he got them. i am glad God keeps doing that for me to. i miss out on a lot i am sure.

Joshua 10

2011-09-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

This is what I automatically think about when I read this story.

"if Joshua stopped the sun in the sky -- the earth stopped spinning on its axis, continents toppled over one another, mountains flew into space, and the earth, shriveled to a cinder, crashed into the sun. Now, how come they missed that little tidbit of news?"

Can't help it. I went to public school and was therefore forced to believe... you should watch movies in class. Helps pass the time.

Really, though, I am not sure what to do with this passage. All of a sudden the Lord is fighting for Israel? He takes a command from a human general? Not sure that this works... At least, not in the context of my earlier readings of the scriptures. So through extensive research/ google search I have found several theories which seek to either discredit the validity of the statement as a mere quotation of uninspired poetry or use this opportunity to expound on how God could use this particular miracle to spit in the eye of the "heathens." The former could be plausible, though it reeks of "cop-out" to me. The latter does not address the issue at hand at all.

I guess my gut is telling me that God taking orders from Joshua seems far fetched. Just because of who I believe God to be. If I am wrong about this, I will tell you what... I will talk to God and command him to make me right. Sound good?

So it brings me to this conclusion, Jesus is right.

""If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." -Luke 17:6

"you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." -Matthew 17:20

or you can say to the sun, "I want to do some more killing, keep giving me light." -The Gospel of lifelike jesus blog 1:2

It is not that God is taking commands or even fighting FOR Israel, as much as He is fighting and Israel happens to be on His side. So what to do with verse 14? I will let Biblical scholars nibble on it and leave their findings in the comment box below. (I think this reeks of cop-out as well, but I am fine with that).

God, let me never assume that I know who you are or how you operate. You may have taken a command from Joshua or maybe you didn't. Either way, I still know that you have taught us to fight on your side and you will win... and that is enough for me. I am on your side. Use me as you will and teach me to be bold, courageous, strong. Amen.

Joshua 9

2011-09-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that I am my biggest enemy. Its not even that I shoot myself in the foot, necessarily, like the Israelites do here. I am just my own critic, too often. Everything I do goes under the lamp light of self-criticism and self destruction.

"That last blog post got 3 hits in the last 4 days, you must be a terrible blogger!"

It is true. I am not the most competent, consistent or committed blogger out there. I think I am coming to fear technology a little too much for that... but this blog does possess value to me in some sense. IT gets me thinking about scripture in a new and different way.

I feel like, too often, we sit down and aimlessly read through the Bible just hoping to finally finish that book or chapter we are reading so we can say we have read it recently or something. Like a guy comes up to you and says, "I think that the Old Testament is lamesauce." You can come back with, "Well, when I was reading Joshua the other day... I thought to myself, the Old Testament is anything but lamesauce."

Other guy:0
You: WON!

Who is super christian who reads his Bible? That is right. You are. Who is lamesauce? That guy!

That probably makes no sense to anyone but myself and is, hence, another example of how I am not the most competent blogger on the face of the planet.

But the whole point is that this blog has provided me a way to connect Scripture with my life... even if it is through rambling, sometimes nonsensical, reflections on my life and how it pertains to Joshua or Scripture as a whole.

I can only hope that it does the same for you.

And all that to say, I needed to encourage myself today to continue on this little journey through Joshua and invite you to do the same. Strength, Courage.

God, I do not want to discourage myself. I do not want to shoot myself in the foot. I do want to ramble my way through your Scriptures so that I might be able to learn something from your word and maybe show someone else what it means to live a life like jesus... to become a lifelike jesus. however disjointed and digressive it is. Amen.

PS Comments are always welcomed. As are cash gifts.

Joshua 8

2011-08-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

a tomb and an altar.

As Joshua's men are erecting a tomb for the body of the former Ai king, Joshua is busy building an altar to the God who won the battle. Joshua knew the proper response. Joshua and his men had devised a plan and failed. God succeeded. The proper response is worship. Joshua is now sure of his place.

He is the leader of Israel. He is a servant of a most powerful Deity. God is not on his side, but Joshua could choose to be on God's.

All of Israel gathers around to hear the Scriptures being read. Joshua and his men were not discouraged. They were strong and courageous in the aftermath of a defeat. They fought again because this time God was calling the shots. And now Joshua is recommitting Israel to the reading of the Scriptures.

God, teach me to be Joshua. Teach me what strength and courage truly are. Let me always remember that I can choose your side if I want to, but you will never be on mine. If I choose your way, you will see to it that everything works out according to your plan (because that is what you do). So teach me to recognize your plan and always strive to follow it. You are good. You are terrifying. You are good.

Amen.

Joshua 7

2011-08-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

As soon as God gives us an inch we take a mile. He pampers us for a second and we, all of a sudden, start thinking we are something special.

(Of course, we are something special to Him... but it has nothing to do with our own greatness. We are special to Him because he has taken pity on us.)

Anyway, I feel like whenever something I have prayed for starts to come to fruition, I forget who accomplished the miraculous. Whenever I get something from God, I tend to think I earned it. It's easy to take an invisible being for granted.

That may be the subtext behind this passage. The Israelites were given victory over Jericho and they started to think they were something special, that God was on their side. Remember? He's not. God is on God's side and always will be. That is just the way it is. He can not be on our side, because we can not give God our plans and expect Him to follow them. He has to be the originator of the plan.

All of a sudden, you see a guy steal from God and you hear the leaders of Israel advise Joshua, with a cocky swagger, "Let's go beat up on this little town. Send out the JV squad. It will be easy. Heck, we just defeated Jericho by walking and yelling."

What they all forget is that the loot is God's (He called it before the battle), and the victory belongs to Him as well. We get a taste of what it feels like to be on God's side and all of a sudden we assume He is on ours. In order to live under His command, we have to keep the proper perspective.

God, don't let me ever assume that you are fighting for me. Teach me to fight under your banner, no matter what it means. Give me perspective. Take all the glory.

Amen.

Joshua 6

2011-08-15T21:48:00.000-07:00

Joshua 6 from Eric Tomeo on Vimeo.

God, help me trust you with all that I have, give me the courage to face anything that comes across my path, and give me patience to wait for your plan to come to fruition.

Amen

Joshua 5

2011-08-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

There seems to be this insurmountable task that lies ahead of Joshua. He now has to lead the Israelites to battle Jericho ( a walled city) with sticks and stones. He's checking it out and God shows up.

I face the insurmountable too often. I plan and scheme, trying to find ways to solve my dilemma. Then God shows up.

Are you for me or my enemies?

Neither.

Wait a minute. What? Did God not lead us out of the wilderness to take possession of the land was promised to Abraham? You aren't on my side?

Nope. I am here to do what God wants done. I don't work for you.

OK. I see. (wink) Right. I want God's will done too. Now here's what I have figured out so far...

You don't understand. I am in command because the giver of all authority has put me in charge of this operation. You're plans are pointless.

Oh. So what do we do?

Walk and Yell.

I don't understand why you can't just look at the plans I have. I have thought things out and reasoned and...

You're plans won't work. You can try them out and watch them fail or just trust that God meant what he told Abraham.

Be strong and courageous, right?

Faith.

Don't be discouraged.

Exactly.

So you are really neutral in this fight?

Absolutely not. I fight for God.

God, give me the strength and courage to abandon my plans for yours whenever you ask me to without being discouraged.

Joshua 4

2011-08-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

I never did homework in high school. Where others would use the lame dog ate my homework excuse, I pulled out an unprovable and believable lie... I forgot.

I was, however, awesome in science. This wasn't even homework, I built it on my own free time.

Sometimes, though, it was true. I tend to get wrapped up in the present moment. Whatever is around me has my full attention. This is good in a sense, I think. I mean, Jesus did say, "do not worry about tomorrow." So I don't. That is what makes me a great Christian... OR not. See, I am so busy thinking about today, that I often forget tomorrow. I forget to prepare for things if there is not immediate gratification. I forget what I did yesterday. I forget the past and the future when there is anything else that has my attention.

It could be a great song. It could be the movie "Rocky Balboa" (which, by the way, deserves 2 thumbs up)

The point is, if we forget where we've come from, if we forget who got us here... we can come to some funny conclusions about ourselves.

The Israelites were just about to fight many battles. They were about to kick Canaanite butts. Without the memory of something amazing like this, it would be easy to forget the one reason why you are winning. It would be easy to assume you are an amazing warrior, if you forgot that following God is the reason you ended up there. It would be easy to convince yourself that you deserve this land.

But remember the wilderness? That is what we deserve.

So remember. Take stones from the middle of the river, set them up as reminders, tell your children... we came from over there and God parted the waters so that we could take hold of the inheritance He gave us.

God, though my memory is hijacked by the present tense all of the time, help me remember your mighty hand. Teach me to set up stones that force my memory back to you. Amen.

Joshua 3

2011-08-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”

Get ready for amazing things. Even if it does not seem like they will happen to you get ready its coming. You are about to cross the Jordan river on dry ground. But just because you are getting to participate in a miracle, it is easy to forget. So don't. Don't try to explain it away. Accept the awe-inspiring amazing-ness, embrace it, love it, live in it while it is there. Because it won't be there for long.

Soon, after spending so long in the desert, you will enter the land flowing with milk and honey. Your troubles don't stop there, though. You need to fight for the land. You need to plow in the fields to reap a harvest. You have to toil and struggle. You have to work for the greatness God has given you.

Remember the miracle, though and it will help you through. Do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. You will experience doubt and disillusionment. Press on. Remember the way you feel as you stand in the middle of a dry, flooded river. This is what spurns you on to your ultimate destination. This is the evidence of God's hand upon you. If God is for you, you can not fail.

God, help me remember the evidence of your works in my experience and paradigm. Let me be not discouraged, but delighted in the miracles you have shown me. Amen.

Joshua 2

2011-07-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

Spies in Danger

Many times I have this idea of God being this magnificent protector. That no danger can come to me when I am following Him. This idea seems to be professed throughout the Old Testament because it neglects to mention the imminent danger present. At least, nothing seems dangerous when you read it in the Bible.

I am not sure why that is.

Maybe it is because we are so far removed from the culture or language or history... perhaps our idea of boring old church influences our reading... perhaps it is our translation of the Bible... If you ever read a novel that has been translated into English from some other language, there are times you notice a weird saying or a paragraph that just sounds off. It is almost always because there is no real way to translate what is being said into intelligible English, so the translator tries his hardest to give us readers a way to understand what is happening in the story. It is hard to be thrilled by that stuttering translation. Sometimes I think that applies to Scripture as well.

But I think I might be off in my assumption of a God who keeps us from all danger. I have to, at least, modify my definition. If God's protection were merely the avoidance of danger, the protection would perhaps be meaningless. But if we experience the thrill of danger and can recognize God's Providential guidance and protection, how much more do we appreciate the protection. That is not to say that God puts us in danger to show us how awesome he is... Maybe he does... but danger naturally surrounds us. We are going to experience danger and He can pull us through.

Sounds ridiculous to say he'll send us a prostitute who will be willing to hide us from the powers that be. But then again, we don't let ourselves read the Bible that way... even if it is a more thrilling story.

God, give me courage and strength to face the danger until you save me, one way or another. Amen.

Joshua 1

2011-07-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Sometimes I feel the need to look for God. Not because I want to be closer to Him. I feel that if I don't, he won't be there when I need Him most. The truth is that He is there when I need Him most, its just that I do not see Him when I have not been in the midst of pursuit.

A father takes his son to a cave. It is dark inside. The son is nervous and turns to his dad. "I don't want to go in."

"I'll be right behind you. I want to make sure that you are in front so that if anything happens I will be there to take care of you."

"But I won't be able to see you."

"I know. Just listen."

The father starts to sing the song he has sung every night, since his son was born, to put the son to sleep. The son recognizes the tune, the intonation, and the voice of his father, because he has heard it so many times before and he steps into the darkness, strong and courageous.

The true pursuit is more about familiarizing yourself with the voice, I think. The "need to look for God" I talked about earlier is the son clutching his father's leg, refusing to enter the cave for fear of separation.

God says, keep the Scriptures close or familiarize yourself with my voice, and strike out. Be strong and courageous. Don't wait till we reach the cave start the pursuit. Listen to my song every night.

Give me strength and courage. Help me walk in front of your song with confidence, God. Let me take in your song.

i feel happy

2010-09-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

lifelike jesus has been stagnant, stale, wasted internet space for too long. But we are not dead yet. I promise.

The other day I was in church and the preacher guy was talking about reading your bible and how important it is to know Scriptures. This blog was originally set up as a way us to create a dialog with the text of Scripture and everyday living. A way to keep us all on track, meditating on, living out the Bible's teachings in a real way.

Five different people would each comment from our own framework, culture, or paradigm upon the text of God's word. It was a decent plan. If we let enough people in on the discussion, maybe our wealth of collective human experience would give us some insight into what God meant when he had such and such write this or that. We were not, however, abandoning the scholarly study of Scriptures for mere reflections and devotions. Some of the contributors to this blog would spend quite a bit of time studying the text at hand, to come up with some decent cultural analysis, background or context by which they could draw out how that particular passage would apply to their lives or experiences.

It was, in short, a good attempt that did not quite work out.

Five people were slated to write once a week on a specific topic and it (understandably) did not always work out that way. So in some sense, we knocked that guy out with a big stick (per Monty Python). SO we will attempt a Hillary Clinton/ Russia Moment here and hit the reset button.

boop.

All right. Now that that is done... listen for the start-up sound because the screen is flickering back to life. It won't look the same way it did before.
But...

lifelike jesus is coming back.

A Hymn

2009-03-08T01:12:00.000-08:00

There is no one I know can render
Deeper love and lasting grace
That shocks the soul to full surrender
Shows eyes of sin perfection’s face

Our humble lives are far too fleeting
to understand your righteous plan
before our hearts just started beating
you spoke to night and day began

You cured our sin, in times departed
Long before we learned to cry
Long before we even started
Learning what it meant to die

With silent grace you faced our wages
Your blood flowed through the words of men
And traveled through the countless ages
To change our hearts and kill our sin

We live our days in the delusion
That our suffering will last long
But when we meet our great conclusion
We’ll sing a never-ending song

A song whose verse lasts even longer
Than our modest lives could be
A chorus ringing even stronger
When joined by harps from glassy seas

So God please make our lives here humble
Let us live out our small part
Protect our lives, help us not stumble
So we can show a friend your heart

what its all about

2008-11-15T07:16:00.001-08:00

It is all about surrender and humility. I have lost that of the latter which I used to possess in too great a quantity and the former is extremely difficult with all that pesky pride we are bound to by the Great Sin of Adam lingering about.

I have been trying for too long to find my journey’s end, to reach the destination only to find the journey is all. Our quest for God must, read: will, never come to an end. For God is too big for our mortal lifetimes to comprehend let alone befriend. Even if spent in quiet solitude, diligently seeking and praying every minute of the day, save for a few minutes of sleep (to which even the most devout must succumb), we still would not be able to ‘know God’ except through what He Himself decides to reveal.

God is good and has opened the door to a relationship with Him, but in order to take it we must die. We have to destroy everything that we are so that we can become more like Him. Everybody likes somebody like themselves, even God. Though we can not achieve it, we can accept his grace. But His grace, its all about surreder and humility.

Pray, God, give me more humility so that I can give up.

What the Heaven and Hell?

2008-06-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

so lately i have been thinking of things such as heaven and hell. i usually dont. keep in mind i think focusing on these things too much is not good for us. because they are so far outside of what we know and they are also not dealt with too much in the bible. so, i think to decide that you certainly know what adventure lies in the afterlife is a bold statement to make.

but i have decided that you can make a claim on what these things may be like.

heaven

hell

i decided that it can not be described or thought about by theologians. they cant do it.

i decided it cant be done by scholars...

i decided it cant be done with preachers...

these people cant see it or do it.

you know who can?

the artist can.
the poets
the musicians

i think that they are the only ones who can see heaven and hell and really communicate what that might look like or what that might be like.

only the artist can really give us a taste and describe for us the moment of what those two realities could be.

and he walks with me...

2008-06-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

the other night at bible study, we were talking through Ephesians. in chapter 4 there is a place that says "walk in a manner worthy of the calling." the guy who was leading really focused on the word walk for a while. and something struck me in it.

many real meaningful conversation, many real meaningful thought, and many real connections with people i have had seem to happen on walks. when you are sitting still, you are easily distracted, but walking, moving, and sharing a travel with someone really adds depth to your interaction.

God came down, when he made paradise (the garden of eden) and he would walk with adam and eve.

walk with them.

we need to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.

our faith is a journey, it is a walk with Jesus.

sharing our experiences as they pass us by, side by side, with Jesus.

i like that.

still posting.

2008-05-28T16:05:00.000-07:00

So, as much as I try not to be. I am a pretty judgmental person. I don’t ever judge people based on their worth. I never think I am better than others, or that they are less of a person than me. However, I do judge them based on how ‘cool’ I think they are. When I say ‘cool’ it has nothing to do with popularity or reputation. It does have everything to do with whether or not I could see myself hanging out with them.

I am currently in Nashville TN. I am sick as a dog. I have been puking all day and peeing where you normally don’t pee. My theory is that a girl named “liz” has a voodoo doll of me and she is torturing me constantly. The thing that really upsets me is that I am sure her voodoo doll has more of a receding hairline than I do. Anyway, I digress.

There is this man who lived, named Jesus. I also happen to believe this guy died for my sins and that his way of living life is the best way possible, that is why I want to live my life like him. He is often misquoted or ill-represented, but one of his more famous quotes is “love your enemy.” Like I said, I am currently in Nashville on a trip with the prestigious university that employs me. I was not excited about going because the cast list of those coming was less than stellar. In particular the guy I was going to room with. I thought it would be less than the best circumstance. I pretty much thought this guy was crazy and I judged him. Sure enough, as I do, I got to know him and he is actually pretty amazing. First he is a Guinness drinker and I don’t think I have ever met a Guinness drinker that I have not liked. I myself am not a Guinness drinker, so I don’t know what that means. I also found out that he is a war vet, and despite certain churches stances on our troops and supporting them, it happens that this warrants the utmost respect from me.

When you get to know someone, you are starting a process of loving them. and if you really love people, then when you get to know someone it is certainly hard to see them as your enemy.

Love your enemy.

If you can do this, then your list of enemies should be growing shorter everyday.