Fellowship One

James Isn't Bitter Is He?

2008-12-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

"You adulterers! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility with God? So whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God. Or do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God caused to live in us jealously yearns for us?, But he gives all the more grace. And so he says,

“God opposes the arrogant
but gives grace to the humble.”

Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you. Come close to God, and he will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable, mourn, and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." James 4:4-9

Now there is a red carpet welcome. It’s stuff like this that keeps the Bible fresh. In what other book would you find the author calling the reader an adulterous, double-minded sinner who needed to mourn his own depravity? I haven’t read many lately. If I did come across one, I don’t think I’d give it a favorable review. But this is our book, the centerpiece of our existence, and we have a mandate to like it, so I’ll stay positive here.

James was writing to some church goers who had become a bit contrary with one another. He takes the tone of an old man reprimanding some neighborhood truants who had just thrown a rock through his window. We have to believe that he isn’t all bitterness and guile, that deep down inside he loves those kids – he just has a funny way of expressing it.

I feel like he’s a bit over the top here, a bit brash, a bit uncool. But I have to admit he makes a strong point. The kids have screwed up royally; they have crossed one of the most ominous of lines in the cosmic conversation – the line where humility meets arrogance. James witnessed this misstep and came unglued for the entire world to see. He understood that this is one of the most fundamental issues in the God-man relationship. When arrogance creeps into the heart of man there is no grace. Grace, the cornerstone of Christianity, gives humanity access to God. But where there is arrogance there is no grace, thus there is no access. James was justifiably upset.

The centerpiece of this passage is conveniently off set for us, it is a paraphrase from Proverbs 3:34.

“Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he shows favor.”

To scorn is to mock. God doesn’t care for those who take shots at him or his kids, nor does he like know-it-all’s and rule makers. He has a heart for the broken.

Remember, James is a church elder writing to his church goers, not a street preacher screaming at innocent shoppers. This message is for Christians more than it is for the non-believing. Be mindful of your heart.

I have been thinking about this for some time. Pursuing humility is absolutely central to a healthy relationship with God. A lot of things can get us into trouble in life, but this arrogance thing is a pretty big deal. When it comes down to it we don’t have much figured out, we definitely don’t have it all together. In truth, we are really doing the best we can with what we have. It is a rare thing to come up with pocket aces, but when we do let us not forget that God has stacked the deck and he’s playing with a royal flush every time. Humility, pursue it at all costs and you’re sure to stumble into the favor of God.

The Parlor Mob

2008-12-02T15:04:00.001-08:00

Here's a nice breather from all of that heavy philosophical talk you have come to expect from this blog. This album should be purchased by everyone I know and everyone they know. Justin and I discovered this band about a year ago and our lives haven't been the same since...While you're in the Christmas/Consumer spirit buy one of those books that are randomly presented on the right side of the screen. A little literature couldn't hurt that bad.

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Clark Griswold: King of the Road

2008-11-19T15:21:00.000-08:00

Life is more mysterious than it is concrete. Ask a wise man questions about purpose and meaning at five year intervals, and you will get different answers each time. We grow, we mourn, we change, we error, we lose, we cry, we graduate, we sleep, we win, we sing, we breathe, we multiply, and we ruin. And when we have done all of these things we cycle through again, feeling this time we surely know how it will work.

Liken life to cross country travel. If you drive on the main route long enough you will begin to recognize patterns. Congestion, merging lanes, changing speed limits, seasonal landscapes, accidents, etc. The road while continually changing remains strangely the same. Staying on it long enough will give you the delusion of expertise. You become so familiar with the way the road works that you consider yourself a guru. You stamp the side of your trailer with a “king of the road” sticker. You begin filling in the blank states of your trailer-side map with colorful versions that speak of conquest and you wait for the next obstacle to dodge. The once difficult obstacles become commonplace and the highway lulls us into a royal stupor.

Then comes your first 3 am detour, like Clark Griswold in East St. Louis the initial feelings are fear and self-protection. It is these rare turns that become the milestones of our lives. No neat sticker can communicate what happens during those strange and unplanned exits. But the exits are what make us. Our purpose, our personhood, our life is meant to be lived off of the road.

To celebrate the seasons when all was according to plan is not wrong, it is incomplete. The challenge of life is the centerpiece of its greatness. Our ability to embrace the challenge is proportionate to our ability to realize those lofty concepts of purpose and meaning.

Concubines and Trees

2008-09-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

Solomon fascinates me. He doesn't fit in a modern pulpit. He says strange things:

Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. Ecclesiastes 10:19

He does even stranger things:

He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. I Kings 11:3

At the end of the day he is remembered as the wisest man to walk the earth. I imagine that kind of wisdom kicks in at the 1000 woman mark. I will expound on the wisdom of concubinage another day. Today I want to briefly consider a passage in I Kings.

He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon... I Kings 5:32-34

I find it interesting that the author of I Kings links Solomon's wisdom to his discourses on nature. Of all the things Solomon talked about and accomplished during his life this little bit about nature made it into the biography.

If I were a king with a home in the hills of Israel, 1000 women at my disposal, and complete freedom to do as I pleased I can't fathom taking timeouts to study the trees. Nevertheless, his appreciation for creation resonates with me.

There is something about nature that both heals and inspires. Too much life is spent behind desks and in front of cheap entertainment devices. If we are able to get out and experience nature we will be better people. We don't need to chain ourselves to trees, but hugging one instead of a concubine might be a good decision.

On Miracles

2008-08-04T12:52:00.001-07:00

Since I received no comments on the Brueggemann piece I decided to write my own...Sorry Walter.

I am often perplexed about the role of miracles in the life of the believer. There is no doubt in my mind that miracles happen today. In fact, I believe that miracles are wrought through people every day, in the same manner as those recorded in the Bible. The challenge for me is my role in the production of the miracles.

Digging a bit deeper it is obvious that the challenge is rooted largely in my theology of God. In real simple terms, it is a common idea that God would be nice if we would let Him. He is sitting on the edge of his seat, eternally waiting for man to act so He can in turn show off his kindness. There is no limitation in God to create, recreate, heal, etc. In me, however, a myriad of limitations reside. Therefore, the absence of supernatural activity is always pointing directly to the weakest link in the chain. God, in a sense, is limited by my inaction. This position is often supported by pointing to the idea of freewill. A logical extrapolation of freewill might state that God has set the world in motion, is interested in participating in our affairs, but shows restraint because of his loyalty to the power of freewill. Freewill then becomes the lowest common denominator in the human-divine continuum. God is completely capable of putting his hands on the lives of men, and we are fully priviledged to be conduits and recipients of such divine intervention. Our ability to harness our will becomes the sticking point between heaven and earth.

There are some snags in this theology. Assume that the above is completely true. In our non-theoretical world there remain those instances where man does everything they know to do, yet there is no sign of the supernatural to be seen. In fact, there is a tangible void where God ought to be. These instances are not few and far between, they are the norm. The fact that God does not appear in a cloud when we call upon him, reminds us that He does not yield to our desires. No matter how many spiritual disciplines we master, He is not under our control. This fact puts my neat little theology on hold. In fact, it slams that theology up against a brick wall, exploding it into invisible pieces. I am left charred and desperate with nothing where a wall once stood, and no theology in sight. Reality, all by itself, destroys convenient theology.

A loosely connected thought: “To lean into a wind that is not blowing is not faith, it is reckless.” That should be a proverb.

I have heard it said that we are to base our lives on what the Bible says, not what our experience dictates. This is interesting advice. The problem is that the Bible is often akin to a chameleon. These creatures can take on many colors to blend with their environment. They are fundamentally limited to a general structure, but their ability to be one thing at one moment and another the next earns them their fame. The bible is a different book to me today than it was ten years ago, it will change again by the time I’m fifty, and if I’m lucky enough to reach eighty-two it will surely have a different hue than it does today. It holds the same structure, the same fundamentals are intact, but my ability to see the same things in the bible that I saw when I was fourteen is long gone. This process of change is natural. Hopefully, it is wisdom mixed with time that brings the bible into new light.

So, here we have arrived at the crux of my confusion. God has healed others when I lay hands on them and prayed. Other times he has done nothing in response to similar prayers. He has also healed me, when I asked him too, while on other occasions similar phone calls have gone unanswered. These experiences are puzzling. Because I am forever hungry for clear definitions I would instinctively define that which is familiar to me, me. I am weak, I am wishy-washy, my faith waivers, my internal resolve wanes, I am inclined to sin, I have a hope for salvation, but am trapped in a fallen body on a fallen planet. There it is the perfect out – my failures. This is a safe escape that keeps my safe theology intact. God remains on the edge of his chair waiting to get His hands on my life, but he cannot act because my part of the bargain remains incomplete. It could be any or all of those factors that keep him from acting, whatever the situation is, it is easiest to say that God is not the root, I am.

It borders on heresy for many to imply that God would remain silent while looking at his kids who are in need of his intervention, asking for it with pure motive, and believing fully that he can fix things. A God who would allow bad things to happen to good people is a sadist, too evil to be akin to Jesus. Therefore, it must not be so. As it relates to fallen humanity, we would rather understand him as a God in a cage, thrashing against the shackles of Satan and Freewill. This is a small God who we can love. We can love Him because he would never find it in his heart to hurt us. We can cuddle with this God. We can smile at his Red Sea-parting power when we are going blind at 30, because we know that it is, frankly, not up to him.

Creatures-For-Communion

2008-07-23T09:19:00.001-07:00

Sadly, the following is not my own.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Psalm 73 provides a dramatic recital of a life consumed in alienation, resentment, and envy. The speaker is on his own hook, and his life is diminished:

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;

my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant;

I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

(vv. 2–3*)

The turn in the psalm happens only when the speaker goes into the sanctuary of God’s presence and has his life reoriented (v. 17*). There the speaker “comes to himself” and acknowledges that:

Nevertheless I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me with honor.

(vv. 23–24*)

In the end, it is enough that,

God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

(v. 26*)

Psalm 17 contains a long complaint that appeals to God (vv. 1*, 2*) and that voices rage at enemies (vv. 9–11*). In the end the speaker anticipates full fellowship with God:

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

(v. 15*)

This is a most staggering affirmation, one of the strangest in the Bible. The speaker anticipates seeing God’s face, beholding God’s very form.

This collection of prayers, to which others could be added, makes clear that the full, hoped-for self is a self who will live in full communion with God, enjoying God’s presence, being utterly safe, at home, at peace in God’s presence. This affirmation may strike us as odd and offensive, but it belongs to the core of our faith. It is clear, in my judgment, that modernity has almost completely talked us out of this hope. We fear that such an affirmation sounds mystical, or romantic, or otherworldly, or only for those with a particular “spiritual aptitude.” That, however, is not the case in the Psalter.

These are the “prayers of the people,” ordinary people who recognize their own true character. The true character of human life, so evangelical faith affirms, consists not in buying and selling, not in being right or good. It consists in communion! That is what is promised and what is yearned for. These psalms hope for companionship, at-homeness with God. This is not a particularly pious affirmation, but simply a recognition that we are creatures-for-communion. God has created us with a restlessness for that uncommon rest. In an acquisitive society, we have skewed that desire into wantonness and lust of many kinds, but none of these pursuits ever finally satisfies our desire. It is part of the work of the text-driven church to focus once again on what makes the self whole. It is communion that makes whole, and that communion requires disciplines, embraces, and renunciations in order to become available for life with the God who is not cheaply available.

Excerpt from Walter Brueggemann (1993). Texts under negotiation : The Bible and postmodern imagination (43). Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

Lamentations, Life & Passion

2008-06-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah's identification with Israel interests me. I don't know many who could honestly see the failure of their workplace, church, or family as their own personal failure. These quasi-center pieces are frequently discarded in our culture. Most give all of their time to these three institutions and most walk away when things begin to crumble with little more than mild regret.

What was different about Jeremiah? How does he take Israel's breach of faith as his own? He had a tough job; he was to plead for Israel's repentance, even though God had already told the prophet that Israel would not repent. Doesn't that feel like some of our jobs? Work on this project even though all of us know that it will mean nothing to the company in the end. Knowing what Jeremiah knew he continued to give his whole self to the task. He writes Lamentations in response to the sad situation.

I guess I'm throwing a challenge out here. The challenge is to do everything as if it truly matters, sincerely devout ourselves to our tasks. Yep, that would be the challenge. I will be honest and say that I have not reached ninja status yet. Disillusionment has a tendency to creep in when I consider institutional realities. I am not a big fan of the machine, be it work, church, or family. The routine that these things call for frightens me. I cannot reconcile settling down and accepting everything that tends to come with these great traditions. Don't be dismayed though. I believe we can carve out our own traditions by creating our own institutions.

My family will be what I make it, no more, no less. The same can be said for church and work. So, endeavor with me to bring some of Jeremiah's passion into the world that you live in...Good luck.

Job on Righteousness, Part 2

2008-06-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes sin takes center stage in our minds during our challenging seasons in life. Assuming our hearts are angled more towards God than away from him we are not at risk of breaching our eternal contract. Why then do we, like Job's friends, philosophize about the relationship between temporal prosperity and sin?

For Job's friends who had no revelation of Christ, their righteousness by works was all they had. Their only way of relating to a righteous God was to be as righteous as possible. We all know the old covenant didn't work out so well, and thankfully the conversation has changed for our post-cross generation. We can not relate to God through our righteousness, but through the righteousness given (imputed) to us by faith in Jesus.

All right that is enough Theological talk for the day. Here is the down to earth thing that sickens me. If we believe in Christ, sin is powerless over us. We've beat it through faith. The cause and effect of sin no longer applies. But the fact is we still beat ourselves up over our failures. And when things start going bad in our careers, in our relationships, in anything we immediately turn on the introspective high beams. And say, This is all my fault, or If I was closer to God this wouldn't happen, or Look at her, everything in her life goes right, or I am paying for all of those years of failure. These interal conversations are entirely normal, but absolutely wrong.

Job is the perfect example. Regardless of our performance life happens. When life happens it often happens in surges that are beyond our comprehension. Waves of challenge that dwarf anything that we have ever thought possible, or probable for people as good-hearted as us.

Here's my admonition for the day. Do not let the infinitely small manifestations of personal inadequacy taint the infinitely large landscape of your life. Don't pigeon-hole your world. You were made for something much, much larger than living the perfect Christian life. Your life is a canvas that is beautiful to God when it is touched by both dark and light colors. Remember he sees the whole picture at once, we must endeavor to do the same.

Job on Righteousness, Part 1

2008-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

"So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes" (Job 32:1 NRSV).

Much of the conversation in the book of Job highlights a pre-law understanding of righteousness. The topic or point is not Job's suffering, but the root of Job's suffering. Job and his friends would agree that righteousness was attainable and it was rewarded by God. A simple equation prior to the law. Job outlines the various levels of his righteousness: he clothed and fed the poor, cared for the widow, gave generously, refrained from lust, etc. His works were well known, so much so that a hush would fall in local government meetings when he'd walk in the room because of the universal honor for this Godly man.

Job, defending his righteousness to no end, refuses to budge and admit the possibility of a breach of character on his part. His situation is thus a quandry. There could be no other explanation to Job than God had forsaken him. For his friends there could be no explanation other than Job's hidden sin. This tension bounces back and forth throughout the book.

The first Biblical book written the book of Job predates the law of Moses, thus it highlights a time when righteousness was attainable in the eyes of men, and a very simple rewards system was in place. The righteous prosper while the heathen burn out. The great wealth of Job, was the direct result of a life well lived.

The author of the book could not have recorded this exchange simply because of Job's request that his words be written down forever. Rather the author does much to understand the fundamental issue of humanity. Righteous before God.

Curious Counsel

2008-05-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 12:7-9 (NET)
Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me – so that I would not become arrogant. 12:8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me.

I find it funny how Paul describes this thorn in his flesh. It was given to him in order to keep him humble. When questioned God's response, "it is good" is a bit counterintuitive. Good for you to have a messenger of Satan troubling you. Good for you to have an issue that exposes your humanity. This issue is bringing God honor, because it reminds everyone that you are weak and I am strong. The great things that you are doing are only possible because of Me. Remember that thorn, it points to your incompetence and to my overwhelming grace.

When God decides to help us out, he isn't using a religious grid for boundaries. He employs the devil at times. Sending the devil into Paul's life to accomplish his purpose, that is the ultimate demonstration of power. A small reminder that this life, is so much more about Him than it is about us. Our efforts towards status are like Solomon said, "all ...vanity and a chasing after wind, and there [is] nothing to be gained under the sun" (Ec 2.11). At times it is impossible, but we must attempt to see our own lives with God in mind. God the center, not God the helper. My life is a testimony of His greatness, not my own greatness because of Him.

The rediculous circumstances and failures that we participate in are not always simple cause and effect. As self-centered as we can be, the fact remains that God has his hands in our business. Sometimes he might even throw in the devil's shackled hands as well, just to make a point. This whole story, from beginning to end is about Him.

One-Sided Conversation

2008-04-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

“I know he will talk to me about it when it’s time. He is there all the time. There is no question in my mind. It’s just that he doesn’t talk loud enough all the time. But whenever I need him he is there. You know? I don’t want you to think that I’m saying he has failed me. That is not what I’m saying at all. He is so good to me, always. I just want him to talk to me more. So I can hear him. You know that he doesn’t talk to just anyone. He is selective and timely. I have gone through some pretty tough stuff, and he has stayed completely quiet. Then when I really, truly needed him there he was. He will talk to me through one of his prophets, or a pastor, or scripture, or something. It is just strange that after all these years he doesn’t say more to me. Sometimes I get these feelings, and I know it’s him. But it is so hard to know. You know? Has he ever spoken to you?”

“What did he say? How do you know it was him?”

“What do you mean? Oh, you must mean dreams. Yeah, I have those too. The other night…”

“Not just dreams?”

“What do you mean he speaks to you through nature?”

“You keep saying that he speaks to you through a whole bunch of things all the time, but that just doesn’t make sense. It is clear in the Bible ‘The Lord called Samuel,’ meaning he spoke directly to him.”

“It is clear. These men were prophets, they heard from God. He didn’t speak to them through nature, billboards, cereal boxes, and television of all things.”

“I don’t understand. I’ve heard that before, ‘learning to listen’. It is so abstract, and the Bible is so concrete. When you say he is speaking to you through all of these things, do you really mean that you are speaking to yourself, and saying it is him? Because I have done that before. One time I saw this squirrel get hit by a car…”

“You’re right. It will work out for me. You just keep telling everyone that you are hearing from God, and I will keep waiting for him to speak to me. I know that when something is important he will let me know. Just one question for you, do you read your Bible every day?”

“You should, if you don’t you will not be able to compare those voices in your head to scripture. If we don’t have the word inside of us, we will never know his voice when it comes. I read the word every day. So, when he speaks I will know it is him and not the enemy.”

“I’m not afraid of anything. We just have to be on guard. You know you can hear things other than God. I have heard all kinds of voices and when I call on Jesus they go away. But it is easy to be tricked.”

“Yes. It actually says ‘His sheep know his voice’, you missed the first His – that’s an important one.”

Growing

2008-04-03T17:05:00.001-07:00

Sometimes you need to unlearn what you know because what you know is keeping you from discovery and creativity.

- John Dufresne
in The Lie That Tells a Truth

Jeremiah. Adventure. Plea. Jeremiah.

2008-03-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

"For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, 'Peace, peace,'
But there is no peace."

Jeremiah 6:13-14

***

I turned on the TV the other day. Falling into the soft cushions I needed entertainment. Tired and bored TNT offered an elixir. They were all in their twenties, so happy and so sexy. They had just stolen their neighbor's mail and jumped in the lifeguard's convertible. I was now an accomplice. Sucked in by her pretty face and their generosity - they let me sit in the front seat and leaf through the mail with them. What a rush. I lifted my ice water to my lips, eyes widening a bit. I set down the remote with the other hand and adjusted the comforter over my feet. This was getting interesting.

My wife comes in, late from work. I motion for silence and grab the remote, tucking it under my thigh and covering it with the blanket. She gets the message. I am not home. I am masquerading with a car full of co-eds, who trust me with their secrets. She knows not to bother me, this is my time. "My time to shine," is what I like to say. These precious TNT moments give me a new life. Every Thursday.

***

Don't know why I am so unhappy. I have it all, or all has me, not clear on the order here. I'm doing it all, and I'm doing it all right. Everyone thinks so. I work, eat, sleep, sex, socialize, family, plan, and adventure in unequal but sensible proportions. I was recently nominated for high contributor in two of the categories listed. I'm not telling which ones though.

What I'm saying is I'm unhappy. I do it all, and I do it all well, but I can't get my smile back. I want that stupid smile. The one I had when i was 8. When I was 8 I would smile at birds, balloons, and bridges. I don't smile at those things anymore. In fact, I am increasingly suspicious of my smiles. They are half-smiles at best, usually involuntary, and never connected to emotion. Sometimes I catch myself smiling without cause, in conversations I hate. Plastic, superficial conversations that make no attempts at skin contact, let alone soul contact. I am doing it all right, or am I doing it all wrong?

***

St. Gregory, Prayer & 8th Grade Dating

2007-12-04T23:46:00.000-08:00

"If work is preceded by prayer, sin will find no entrance into the soul. For when the consciousness of God is firmly established in the heart, the devices of the devil remain sterile..." - St. Gregory of Nyssa, The Lord's Prayer: Sermon 1

St. Gregory of Nyssa is a great read. You should never read anything he writes without saying…"That's just wrong," or "What?" But you will also find yourself saying things like "Oh!" and "That…That is really good." The passage I've highlighted above is no exception. Plucked from the first of five sermons on the Lord's Prayer, Gregory challenges us to go deeper.

The larger context of Gregory's comments are the merits of prayer. A frustrated pastor, Gregory introduced the talk saying, "the majority of men grievously neglect in their life this sacred and divine work which is prayer." Instead men in his day focused on wealth, status and the aggressive accumulation thereof - sound familiar? So, wanting his people to pray he gives them some bait.

"If work is preceded by prayer, sin will find no entrance into the soul."

Now, the point here is not to rail against his formulaic approach to purity, life, and God. So, I will briefly say, "That's just wrong." If you find yourself disagreeing with me you are defaulting to a religious view. It is a lot easier to say if we are faithful then we will be free from sin. This is a logical position. However, Grace, Christ, Sanctification, and Salvation are not logical constructs. We default to religious thinking when we think that our souls and our success lie squarely on our shoulders. Thinking, "If I am just faithful enough I will win." Don't worry we all feel this way from time to time. Thank God those feelings are wrong and Jesus happened. Now that we agree, let's look at Gregory's better thought.

"For when the consciousness of God is firmly established in the heart, the devices of the devil remain sterile…"

Now that is good. This consciousness of God concept is really what challenged me to write today. Our ability to work God into the center of our consciousness as it relates to everything, yes, everything in our lives will have a supernatural effect on things. Like Gregory I am frustrated with my congregation (myself) that continues to neglect the sacred in his everyday life. Thinking, working, living, laughing without God. Its not that I am behind on my prayer time. Rather, I am daily aware of the pieces of my life that aren't first and foremost conscious of God.

Gregory's answer is prayer. I think it goes much further than the thing that we have traditionally defined as prayer. Developing a consciousness of God that reaches every canyon and cave of our lives is a process. It takes time for God to awaken us to his absence in the more treacherous areas of our lives. I don't know that we ever really get this job done. Complete God consciousness implies complete submission. If we are sincerely conscious of God in our thoughts towards money, for instance, we have acknowledged his sovereignty and rule in that department - forever trusting, rejoicing, and celebrating God's active and perfect hand in our lives as it pertains to the green stuff. So, petitioning God to help us with money is a good start, but a deeper interaction with God on an every-instance basis is really what consciousness of God probably looks like. Do we kneel before every whopper purchase, no. But with an ongoing internal dialogue we will likely see the fruits of the spirit manifesting themselves through our purchases, giving, hording…etc.

Communication with God in traditional bed-side prayer is the first phone call to that cute girl in your 8th grade English class. You are now talking, but you really hope that you can be more than just friends. If you stick with the phone calls you will probably make it to first base. But by the time you are 30, let's hope you have realized that there is more to a relationship that periodic talks on the phone. To make it to second, third, and home you have to start taking that girl with you wherever you go. Sorry, just part of the deal. Even Michael Jordan hit a single after a couple of hundred tries. Don't think that you are living the extravagant life that God promises his kids if your God consciousness equates to a few phone calls after hours. Consciousness of God is just so much more than that.

P.S. Please pardon the terribly inappropriate metaphor.

Jason Upton at OneThing 2003

2007-11-25T00:12:00.000-08:00

This video is a little dated, but it is a must see. This is Part 1 of 4. Links to parts 2-4 are right here if you want them:
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Less-Than Inspirational

2007-11-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

No scripture, no exhortation, no preaching today. You probably don't need it. In fact, I wonder how often you do need those things. You being me, you being us. We are after many of the same things you and me. I just wonder how much of our current diet will get us where we hope to be going? I know, sometimes mixing up the ingredients in our tried and true dishes produces a disaster. I imagine though, that sometimes a little variety might produce something worthwhile. Maybe something extraordinary or superb. Who knows?

"He saw that rest was good."

2007-10-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

When your father is on his deathbed and has one sentence for you, you listen. Jewish tradition held that this was the time of highest clarity and regarded the words of the dying man to be prophetic - pure words from God. So, Jacob, understanding the tradition, called his twelve sons to his bedside and spoke words of blessing over each one. Some sons received paragraphs of praise, others short rebukes. Issachar the fifth son of Leah heard these words:

"Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds; he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant; so he bowed his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave at forced labor." Gen 19:14-15

Yes he called him an ass. Like most biblical passages, this one doesn't translate all that well into our 21st century parlance. Let me try to clear up a couple of key phrases. "Strong Donkey" translates literally into "Donkey of bone" or "Skeleton Donkey." Yes, that makes it a lot better! We'll come back to that in a minute. I've included a picture of a "sheepfold" above; this is the place shepherds would corral their sheep at night protecting them from predators. The shepherds would sometimes sleep at the entryway or gate of the sheepfold - making sure none of them escaped. All right, this is still all rather confusing...

So, what I think Jacob is doing here is edifying, exhorting and comforting Issachar. Remember he is speaking prophetically about what will come of Issachar and who he was made to be. I think Issachar was a stubborn ass of a man. His brothers who were sitting around the bedside with him knew this so they all smiled when dad confirmed their feelings about their brother. There was something of determination mixed with stobborness in him that allowed him to go his own way without regard for others' opinions. And Dad (Jacob) as well as God liked this about him.

The literal reference to a donkey of bone - no fat - is a spiritual metaphor for the eternal parts of Issachar. You remember Joseph demanding that his bones be carried into Jerusalem - Jews understood bones to be representative of their eternal substance. So, Issachar is here depicted as this stubborn ass of a man who is lean and characterized mostly, if not completely, by his eternal parts. When you looked at him you weren't distracted by a lot of fleshly fluff. Instead you knew what he was about - eternity. He was a man of focus and vision. So in a few words Jacob sums up Issachar's God ordained character. It is only a person of such focus and determination that can venture into unique places in God. Stepping outside of the norm produces criticism that a fragile person can not handle. God had equipped Issachar for his father's next words...

Your father has one sentence to speak to you. He is prophetically pointing to your destiny, all that God has equipped you to do, the sum of your existence and he says: "lying down between the sheepfolds; he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant." Come on! is that it! Seriously, God looks at me (Issachar) and he says I know how to rest?!!?!? There are a lot of things that God could have made Issachar for, one of twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob, but he chose rest. And it was this characteristic that distinguished him from his brothers. Issachar was equipped to rest. From that place of rest he was free from the burdens of his responsibilities. If you consider the image, he is resting between two sheepfolds - essentially protecting two large collections of sheep. But there is little weight on him. Nothing to vex or tear at him, just a pleasant place to rest. The sheep - the burdens - were somehow taking care of themselves while he was in that place of rest.

For time's sake I'll jump ahead to the final phrases. "So he bowed his shoulder to the burden, and became a slave at forced labor." From his position of rest he was able to consciously bow under the yoke of his calling. He willfully became a slave/servant to God. From his knees he was able to rise up and assume the perfect call of the lord, becoming a bondservant of God.

Issachar's sons are later remembered as ones who knew the seasons of God. They helped bring David into his position on the throne and saw the ark of the Lord return to Israel. Fruit, tremendous fruit, was born out of Issachar's posture of rest.

If God could speak one thing over you...

Perfected Forever

2007-07-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 10:14 "For by a single offering he has perfected (telios) for all time those who are sanctified."

telios - to overcome or supplant an imperfect state of things by one that is free from objection, bring to an end, bring to its goal.

Common translation: to make perfect.

The simultaneous act of Jesus as high priest and spotless lamb on the cross is the pinnacle of history. This moment of perfect sacrifice has forever changed man's eternal opportunity. Through faith in this act we are complete, perfect, whole. Nothing more needs to be done in order for us to stand forever justified before God.

Those who are sanctified, or set apart, consecrated to God, will forever remain in this perfected state. Our sins are forever forgotten (Heb 10:17) and we are forever perfect.

Redemption

2007-06-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

Prior to our redemption everything in us, by nature, is bent towards a life contrary to the laws of God. We were fine-tuned sin-eating machines; we thrived off of sin, thinking little of lies, insults, language, immorality, McDonalds, whatever. But then God happens.

God’s drawing process begins and we are suddenly aware of our sins, mysteriously aware of a law that we can’t seem to keep. Consequently a civil war is sparked and our bodies and souls begin to contend with an empowered conscience that we can’t seem to shake. The voice of the spirit of God within us wars for our right standing in relationship to the royal law of Christ.

This battle takes days for some and lifetimes for others. God’s process is violent and bloody, but the outcome is always redemption. The body and soul eventually become allies with the spirit, and there is a new, if not tenuous, agreement between the parties. However, the spirit is an ambitious member who struggles continually for dominance in the union; the body and the soul, in turn, are recalcitrant to the end. Each member continually vies for control of the whole.

God is rooting for the spirit. By his Spirit, he constantly encourages the growth of his little likeness, and celebrates the successes of this bold little fighter. While the war ends at redemption, the battle for sovereignty rages on. This is a forever prospect. But much of the tension can be alleviated with a proper understanding of redemption.

Christ brought us into divine order at the point of redemption. When we declared our faith in him, our body and soul was subjected to our spirit. In other words, our internal pecking order was reestablished by God himself. Our spirits now have charge over our body and soul; we are in alignment with God. We, however, are often not aware of this renovation, and continue to function as if our bodies or souls were still in charge.

Under the former regime the royal law was laughable. The idea of loving our neighbors as much as we love ourselves was out of the question. But with our spirits in charge things begin to make a bit more sense. So, when you are at that family reunion and you see that person you don’t really care for, remind yourself who’s in charge.

Prosperity Gospel...John Piper

2007-06-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

You should react to this in one way or another...React.

"It Is Hard to Explain...

2007-05-31T16:52:00.000-07:00

...because you are slow to learn" (Heb. 5:11).

When I read passages like this I am reminded of my responsibility towards my purpose. Trying to figure out what we are made for is difficult enough, add to that the challenge of accomplishing such feats and you could be on the verge of a panic attack. Sometimes there is a lot of pressure from without and within to do something extraordinary with our lives, to produce, to innovate. A tall order when you're up against six thousand years of recorded history. Hasn't it all been done already? The Red Sea, the mountain bike, the Great Awakening, the Age of Mythology, the Bic Quattro, you know, all the important stuff; and we are faced with the impossibility of invention in a society that has seen and done it all.

Sometimes if feels like my contributions are so small, a drop in the proverbial bucket - why press to go on? More education, more experience for what? And then I come to this below the belt shot from the conveniently anonymous author of Hebrews, "you are slow to learn." He's got a lot of nerve, or was it a she?

When its all said and done the big man upstairs will talk to us about us. Everything we did, everything we were, and he will likely have more good to say than bad. So the pressure really isn't coming from him. Our culture's fixation on forward progress at all costs is a wilely medusa-like creature. If you look at it square in the eye you will inevitably sieze up with insecurity and an overwhelming sense of meaninglessness. So it is important that we don't confuse God's opportunity for growth with our culture's expectations towards progress.

Growth is a natural process that occurs when us organisms are given the necessary nutrients. We can do our part and pursue the nutrients, but the growth is often less than predictable. God knows that. He knows exactly what that $6 burger at Carl's Junior will do to you. Sometimes our spiritual pursuits are like those innocent trips through the drive through. But God has a way of painting grace all over our perfume flavored attempts at Godliness, servanthood, holiness, and the like. He loves us and he wants us to thrive. His idea of success is you with that beautiful smile, standing with your finger pointed directly at him, wherever he is, wherever he's moving. Don't overdo it with your personal growth programs, those unrealistic expectations that our culture foists on everything that breathes are not for you, the believer.

Instead of reaching for your inhaler when you think about fulfilling your destiny in Christ look outside at a tree and laugh. It took quite a while for all those limbs to grow. When it was young birds mocked it for being a bit awkward and useless. Everything relating to growth involves time. If you are sincere you will be one of the nicest bird resorts in town in no time. (read Heb. 5:12-14 and make the completely obvious connections).

The Pursuit of Knowledge

2007-05-21T14:14:00.000-07:00

A quick quote that struck me...

"I have allowed the quest for logic to rule me. The problem with logic is that it is based on knowledge. And the problem with knowledge is that there is always new knowledge that hasn’t been discovered yet. So if you base your logic and you base your life on too much knowledge then you end up not being able to make a decision, because you are wondering what other knowledge don’t you have that could impact and change the decision you just made. So you end up having spiritual paralysis because you are afraid to make a decision" (John Paul Jackson, Fireside Chat, Aug. 2005).

"Don't let logic steal your dreams" (Vince McCarrie, Fellowship One Blog, May 2007).

True Faith Produces Rest: Part 3

2007-05-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and it is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" Heb. 4. 11-12

American Christians take note, your culture denies Hebrews 4. The faith God honors might look a little different than your own. Living in a culture that promotes diligence towards everything but rest, we ought to wonder what exactly we are postured for. True faith, God's idea of faith as outlined in Hebrews 4 promises rest. A Christianity that fails to cure anxiety, insecurity, restlessness, and disappointment could not be that thing that the author of Hebrews equates with rest.

True faith will give you perfect peace and lead you into the promises of God. Infused with true faith in the promises, purposes, sovereignty, and power of God we have no choice but to swagger. Our hearts should be ablaze. Remind yourself of God's greatness daily. Remember the maker of heaven and earth.

While you are encouraging yourself towards greater faith consider God's words over your life. God's words are living and active, they cut right down to the very core of your being. Yes, scripture does this. God's words of purpose for the individual do the same. When God put the dream in your heart to reconcile broken marriages, adopt an orphan, and evangelize a nation he spoke a word into eternity that will forever define your potential. It is the daily battle with those dreams that proves your true faith in an almighty God. He sees your heart's posture towards those dreams. If you are saying no, can't, never your faith is testifying against God, you will not know rest, and you can not realize God's dreams for your life. When those dreams stir in your spirit and your heart is saying yes, it will happen, and I can't wait you are testifying of God's greatness with your faith. You are standing in a company of heroes who declare "The Lord is my strength and my song!" (Ex 15:2).

Back From Downieville

2007-05-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

We have returned from paradise. Take a look at the photo album (link on the right hand side "Downieville 07") and you can pretend you were there with us! We will be going up again this summer don't miss out, it's beautiful up there!

Check back soon for more on Hebrews and upcoming events.

A Son Believes: Part 2

2007-04-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

We finished off our last chat with the major points on the superiority of the new covenant, and our privileged role as sons of God. The theme continues as we look at chapters 2 and 3.

Heb. 2:14-18
At the conclusion of chapter 2 we are introduced to Christ’s call to identification. Jesus identified himself fully with us, his creation, by becoming like us. It sounds weird, but Jesus had to become like us: living, suffering, and dying like us in order to be a “merciful and faithful” high priest. The primary role of the High Priest in the Old Covenant was to make intercession before God for the people of Israel. The high priest was a good intercessor because he was one of the people who needed the mercy of God. He was not feeling proud when he stood before God in the Holy of Holies. He understood his humanity; he knew he needed God’s grace just like all of his brothers and sisters in Israel. So, Jesus too understands the plight of man and can stand before God, daily making intercession for us, saying “God be merciful, its tough down there…Believe me, I know.” Read and reread Hebrew 2:18 it should stick with you for a while.

Heb. 3:1-6
The author of Hebrews then challenges us to consider Christ in comparison to Moses. Here we are getting yet another slice of the Old Covenant vs. New Covenant pie. This brief comparison contrasts the ideas of servanthood and sonship. Moses was a faithful servant in God’s house. He faithfully attended to the wants and needs of the Lord and the people of the Lord. His status though could never be raised higher than that of servant. A servant enjoys the accommodations of the house, but works hard to maintain them. Jesus is revealed as the Son of God and is faithful over God’s house. To be faithful over a thing is much different than being faithful in a thing. So, Christ did not have to work to maintain the house, it was established, complete, promised and delivered to him by God. Christ’s position over the house of God gives him a place of honor over that of Moses. Moses, the preeminent father of the Law holds a position of great esteem in the kingdom of God, but relative to Christ he is little more than a servant.

Take a second and consider where you are in the kingdom honor continuum. Christ is the head of the church; Christ built the church; Christ is the Son of God; you are a son of God (Gal. 4:7), and a partner of Christ (Heb. 3:14) should you too not receive a position of honor in the kingdom? Or do you, because of your former sinful state, assume a position of lowly servanthood forever? God honors those who believe in Christ, we should too.

Heb. 3:7-19
The next sermonette details the threat that had challenged the Hebrews. Citing Psalms 95:7-11, the author outlines the failing of the Israelites while in the wilderness. The central issue in their failure was unbelief. The Israelites in spite of their miraculous deliverance and ongoing provision entered into a place of unbelief. They allowed their hearts to harden and failed to believe that God’s promises over their lives would actually come true. This unbelief incited the anger of God and their promises did in fact fail to come true. The promises for the Israelites were found in the Canaan land. They could not enter this place of rest because the condition of their hearts was corrupt - they failed to believe.

The author of Hebrews is explicit; Christians if left to their own devices run the risk of hardening their hearts and failing to see the promises of God come to pass in their lives. Sin is a component of that unbelief; it deceives and acts as a catalyst in the unbelief process. But believers are responsible to exhort one another daily, challenging themselves towards faith in God.

He repeats: “Today, if you hear [the Holy Spirit’s] voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

This is an absolutely key idea for the Christian. We each have God-given dreams. Without a heart that continues to believe that God will bring those dreams to pass we run the risk of missing out on the promised land of our lives. The dreams of God take time to develop; they involve unforeseen obstacles, and seem all together too fantastic to be realized in our lifetimes, by, of all people, us. But this is the place of faith. This is the built in need that we have one for another. It's not that we might remain God’s people; it's that we can enter into the promises of God for our lives. We must exhort one another towards the elusive, far out, extravagant dreams that God has planted inside of each of us. We can not let our hearts grow distant from God or from those dreams that he has placed inside of us.

Only you know the condition of your heart, your inner-most feelings towards God and your future. Realize that going through the religious motions does nothing when it comes to inheriting the promises of God. The Israelites were faithful to offer sacrifices, practice feasts, and observe the law while they were in the wilderness. This did not get them into Canaan. It was the condition of their hearts – an entire generation died in the wilderness, a day’s journey from their promise. This is not the future God has for you; he wants you to enter into your dreams, into his rest.

Link up with people who exhort you, who are honest with you, who keep you believing and looking towards God. Your dreams are too important not too.