From one of the teenagers at church ...
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch atCmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in awrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the fri st and lsat ltteer bein the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raedit wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed erveylteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Amzanig huh? yaeh and Iawlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Of course, if you cannot read this you may need the gift of interpretation :)
2005 in Review
12 Excerpts from this years bloggings:
19 Jan 2005 The purpose of pain
Pain is a somewhat relative phenomena ... for someone in a wheelchair pain is quite different from someone who has lost a loved one - but pain is pain nonetheless and our challenge is to find a way to let pain achieve its purpose in our lives.
4 Feb 2005 Religious Pollution
Do 'religious people' make you angry? You know those people who seem to love the rules but don't seem to love people. I must confess that they do make me angry.
10 Mar 2005 Identity
It is a matter of identity. Many in the church today refer to themselves as 'just a sinner saved by grace'. I wonder if by saying these things we have trained ourselves to identify as sinners and not new spiritual creations.
29 Apr 2005 Beauty for Ashes
Don't you love happy endings? Do you believe in a happy ending for yourself? I am sure that Job never thought the day would come … perhaps you are in a similar situation. I have seen many of my trials turn into blessings.
21 May 2005 Confessions of a Charismatic Fundamentalist
The events of these years have convinced me that the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. I have learned that there is a difference in being right and righteous … one can have absolute truth about an issue but be absolutely wrong in their application of that truth if they are not truly led by God’s Spirit.
22 Jun 2005 Perspective
We can, in the same way, be disappointed with God when he does not meet our expectations. We often imagine that he will do something in one manner and he acts in a way contrary to our thinking … and we are disappointed.
2 Jul 2005 Choosing Joy
Spurgeon reminds us that even in death God is present ... in the fiery furnace God is there. For me, worship has been the key to having joy and experiencing God's presence.
10 Jul 2005 Citizenship
Being a citizen of heaven is a reminder that we, who are in Christ, live in, and are under the government of, a different kingdom. Our world is an inner realm ... an eternal world where motive, intent and meaning are important.
06 Sep 2005 Katrina and that River in Egypt
We often miss this step when we read Job's story. The first two chapters of are basically ones of denial. Job's reactions are very much entrenched in numbness.
29 Oct 2005 Religious Answers
Ever read something in the bible, embrace it and regurgitate it to someone? Sure you have. I wonder if it is endemic of our need to have an answer when we don’t have a clue.
28 Nov 2005 Unplowed Ground
Our hearts, like the soil, can be hard, shallow and strangled. Trials, tests, hardships and suffering often reveal these aspects of our hearts. A trial will surface the person that we are on the inside ... what we really believe.
12 Dec 2005 Disappointment
The older I get the more I can resonate with Paul in a small way. Paul accepted sufferings not only as a part of life but also as God’s plan to refine him in weakness. God seemed to have brought him to a place where he embraced every aspect of life did not lose hope when it was as he expected it to be.
19 Jan 2005 The purpose of pain
Pain is a somewhat relative phenomena ... for someone in a wheelchair pain is quite different from someone who has lost a loved one - but pain is pain nonetheless and our challenge is to find a way to let pain achieve its purpose in our lives.
4 Feb 2005 Religious Pollution
Do 'religious people' make you angry? You know those people who seem to love the rules but don't seem to love people. I must confess that they do make me angry.
10 Mar 2005 Identity
It is a matter of identity. Many in the church today refer to themselves as 'just a sinner saved by grace'. I wonder if by saying these things we have trained ourselves to identify as sinners and not new spiritual creations.
29 Apr 2005 Beauty for Ashes
Don't you love happy endings? Do you believe in a happy ending for yourself? I am sure that Job never thought the day would come … perhaps you are in a similar situation. I have seen many of my trials turn into blessings.
21 May 2005 Confessions of a Charismatic Fundamentalist
The events of these years have convinced me that the letter kills but the Spirit gives life. I have learned that there is a difference in being right and righteous … one can have absolute truth about an issue but be absolutely wrong in their application of that truth if they are not truly led by God’s Spirit.
22 Jun 2005 Perspective
We can, in the same way, be disappointed with God when he does not meet our expectations. We often imagine that he will do something in one manner and he acts in a way contrary to our thinking … and we are disappointed.
2 Jul 2005 Choosing Joy
Spurgeon reminds us that even in death God is present ... in the fiery furnace God is there. For me, worship has been the key to having joy and experiencing God's presence.
10 Jul 2005 Citizenship
Being a citizen of heaven is a reminder that we, who are in Christ, live in, and are under the government of, a different kingdom. Our world is an inner realm ... an eternal world where motive, intent and meaning are important.
06 Sep 2005 Katrina and that River in Egypt
We often miss this step when we read Job's story. The first two chapters of are basically ones of denial. Job's reactions are very much entrenched in numbness.
29 Oct 2005 Religious Answers
Ever read something in the bible, embrace it and regurgitate it to someone? Sure you have. I wonder if it is endemic of our need to have an answer when we don’t have a clue.
28 Nov 2005 Unplowed Ground
Our hearts, like the soil, can be hard, shallow and strangled. Trials, tests, hardships and suffering often reveal these aspects of our hearts. A trial will surface the person that we are on the inside ... what we really believe.
12 Dec 2005 Disappointment
The older I get the more I can resonate with Paul in a small way. Paul accepted sufferings not only as a part of life but also as God’s plan to refine him in weakness. God seemed to have brought him to a place where he embraced every aspect of life did not lose hope when it was as he expected it to be.
Six Resolutions for 2006
I guess it is that time of year again. With 2006 approaching in just a few days I thought that I might suggest six resolutions. In the year 2006 I resolve:
- To love God … to know His will … to meditate on Him and His word … to yield to and not quench the Holy Spirit … to be pleasing to Him.
- To love people … to genuinely care … to listen more and speak less … to love my wife … to love my kids and grandkids … to love Christ’s body … to love those who hurt.
- To be me … to live from my guts and not brain … to have the courage to live from my heart … to not let our culture or other people define who I am.
- To be generous … to be a compassionate giver … to be a good steward of everything that God has blessed me with … to be content.
- To stretch … to leave my comfort zone … to do things that make me feel uneasy … to be around people who are not like me.
- To take care of myself … to exercise and eat healthier … to rest … to have boundaries … to live life and not manage it.
I’d be interested in knowing what, if anything, you have resolved for the New Year. In either case have a blessed and joyous 2006.
American Express wants to know
A bit of a format change ... to celebrate me (actually in response to a challenge from another blogger) I have listed below my answers to questions posed by an American Express Ad campaign:
- My childhood ambition ... to be a fireman (@6 yrs), a lawyer (@16 yrs) & a computer programmer (@26 yrs)
- My fondest memory ... my honeymoon
- My soundtrack ... worship music (oddly followed by Phantom of the Opera)
- My retreat ... my basement
- My wildest dream ... hasn't happened yet
- My proudest moment ... my wedding day
- My biggest challenge ... to pick up my cross and follow Jesus
- My alarm clock ... RCA cube (with a CD player) gets me up between 6 & 7am
- My perfect day ... running around town with my wife
- My first job ... YMCA Camp Counselor
- My indulgence ... my car
- My last purchase ... new pair of jeans
- My favorite movie ... Chariots of Fire
- My inspiration ... Jesus
- My life ... trying to live true to the heart that God gave me (easier said than done)
- My card ... Blockbuster (only because Wal-Mart doesn't have one)
If you are so inclined leave a comment and answer the questions. Happy 2006!
Busy-ness vs Being-ness
I have been home sick most of this week and have had the time to do a bit of blog surfing. Found one where the blogger opined about the busy-ness of the Advent season. I commented as follows:
Busy-ness vs Being-ness ... it took a long time to understand that it was okay for me to just 'be' without doing. It was (and still is) hard because so much of my worth/identity was/is wrapped up in what I did/do. I have found that when doing comes out of being it feels more like what Jesus said about living water coming from our innermost being. This kind of doing refreshes the soul rather than draining it.
The scripture I reference in my comment is from John 7:38 and reads:
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
Earlier in John's gospel (6:28-29) Jesus answered this question:
"What must we do to do the works God requires?"
by saying:
"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
I think that these scriptures are enlightening. If we equate doing the works of God to believing in Jesus (hence being our Heavenly Father's child) then we conclude that these works will flow out of us in away that does not drain us spiritually but actually refreshes us. A similar concept is found in Proverbs 11:25:
"The generous man will be prosperous,
And he who waters will himself be watered."
Refreshing and life comes when our doing is the result our being God's child. If you find yourself weary it may be because your busy-ness is not coming from being-ness.
Busy-ness vs Being-ness ... it took a long time to understand that it was okay for me to just 'be' without doing. It was (and still is) hard because so much of my worth/identity was/is wrapped up in what I did/do. I have found that when doing comes out of being it feels more like what Jesus said about living water coming from our innermost being. This kind of doing refreshes the soul rather than draining it.
The scripture I reference in my comment is from John 7:38 and reads:
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
Earlier in John's gospel (6:28-29) Jesus answered this question:
"What must we do to do the works God requires?"
by saying:
"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."
I think that these scriptures are enlightening. If we equate doing the works of God to believing in Jesus (hence being our Heavenly Father's child) then we conclude that these works will flow out of us in away that does not drain us spiritually but actually refreshes us. A similar concept is found in Proverbs 11:25:
"The generous man will be prosperous,
And he who waters will himself be watered."
Refreshing and life comes when our doing is the result our being God's child. If you find yourself weary it may be because your busy-ness is not coming from being-ness.
Unplowed Ground
In the first 21 verses of Mark 4 Jesus tells the parable of the sower, the seed and the soil. When he explains the parable to His followers Jesus tells them that the sower is God, the seed is God's word and the soil is a person's heart. Of these 3 elements only one changes in the parable - the soil or the heart. Jesus paints a picture of 4 different hearts: a hard heart, a shallow heart, a strangled heart and a good heart. When I think about the soil and planting seeds I am reminded of a verse that we used to sing in church:
Notice the phrase 'break up your unplowed ground'. It seems that the issue in the Mark 4 parable is soil that has not been plowed. Without the plow's work the soil is hard, shallow and strangled.
Our hearts, like the soil, can be hard, shallow and strangled. Trials, tests, hardships and suffering often reveal these aspects of our hearts. A trial will surface the person that we are on the inside ... what we really believe. A person may say that they "trust the Lord" in their finances, then lose their job and become anxious and agitated ... the trial surfaced a shallowness in their heart faith. Because faith is a heart issue, and really has little to do with our cognitive abilities, we can logically understand the concept of God's provision but until we have experienced it in our hearts we really don't believe it.
Once a hard, shallow or strangled area of our heart is revealed we need to allow God to plow that area of our heart. We first need to identify the heart issue, find its source and allow God to bring truth to the issue. God recently plowed an area of my heart ... here is how it went:
Earlier this year I accepted a ministry position with my church and had been happy serving the Lord in that capacity. A few weeks back I received a phone call from a person offering me a software consulting position that paid very well. I was very attracted to the offer and was tempted to pursue it ... that really frustrated me because I knew that it was not God's will. As I searched my heart in prayer God showed me that because of my childhood insecurity issues I always 'followed the money' when it came to job pursuits. You see my insecurity had a stranglehold on my heart and needed to be plowed. When I allowed God to plow my insecurity issues it set my heart free to follow the Lord vocationally.
It is not the lies that we believe with our minds that are issue ... these lies are a mere reflection of the inner lies. Lies we believe at an experiential heart level result in hearts that are hard, shallow and strangled. Trials expose these lies and only God's plow can bring truth to these areas and make our hearts free.
Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. -- Hosea 10:12
Notice the phrase 'break up your unplowed ground'. It seems that the issue in the Mark 4 parable is soil that has not been plowed. Without the plow's work the soil is hard, shallow and strangled.
Our hearts, like the soil, can be hard, shallow and strangled. Trials, tests, hardships and suffering often reveal these aspects of our hearts. A trial will surface the person that we are on the inside ... what we really believe. A person may say that they "trust the Lord" in their finances, then lose their job and become anxious and agitated ... the trial surfaced a shallowness in their heart faith. Because faith is a heart issue, and really has little to do with our cognitive abilities, we can logically understand the concept of God's provision but until we have experienced it in our hearts we really don't believe it.
Once a hard, shallow or strangled area of our heart is revealed we need to allow God to plow that area of our heart. We first need to identify the heart issue, find its source and allow God to bring truth to the issue. God recently plowed an area of my heart ... here is how it went:
Earlier this year I accepted a ministry position with my church and had been happy serving the Lord in that capacity. A few weeks back I received a phone call from a person offering me a software consulting position that paid very well. I was very attracted to the offer and was tempted to pursue it ... that really frustrated me because I knew that it was not God's will. As I searched my heart in prayer God showed me that because of my childhood insecurity issues I always 'followed the money' when it came to job pursuits. You see my insecurity had a stranglehold on my heart and needed to be plowed. When I allowed God to plow my insecurity issues it set my heart free to follow the Lord vocationally.
It is not the lies that we believe with our minds that are issue ... these lies are a mere reflection of the inner lies. Lies we believe at an experiential heart level result in hearts that are hard, shallow and strangled. Trials expose these lies and only God's plow can bring truth to these areas and make our hearts free.
Religious Answers
Ever read something in the bible, embrace it and regurgitate it to someone? Sure you have. I wonder if it is endemic of our need to have an answer when we don’t have a clue. Consider these passages from the first three chapters of book of Job:
Chapter 1: All of Job's children have died in one day. In that same day he lost all of his livestock. Here is how Job responded:
Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
Chapter 2: On the heels of this devastation Job is struck with boils all over his body. His wife is in a level of pain that very few people can relate to. Here is Job’s response to his wife:
“You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Chapter 3: Some time has passed … Job has been visited by friends … the pain of his loss has taken hold. Job is coming out of denial and responds:
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
In March of 1990 my first wife Ellen had a heart attack and kidney failure at the age of 39 … after four years of declining health and hemodialysis Ellen passed away in 1994. My initial responses to my pain were very much like Job’s. Masking my inner devastation I often spoke words that were very religious … albeit empty and devoid of inner truth. Christian clichés did not help me but got in the way of dealing with my pain. Phrases like “God is still on the throne” or “I am a victor not a victim” or the ones that Job spoke caused me to shrink back in fear instead of addressing my plight in courage. Religious words never help because they insulate us from our pain instead of addressing it head-on.
I attended a grief group after Ellen died. It was in this group that I learned that to heal on the inside I had to step into my pain ... I had to deal with the reality of my experience in a truthful way. I believe that Job began to take this step into pain in chapter 3. This step is one of the scariest that I have ever taken … it took more courage than I ever imagined. This first step took me on a journey where I began to shed my religious answers. I am still on this journey … it is a journey where I am challenged every day to live out of my dangerous heart instead of my safe mind.
Most of Job’s story is one where he and his friends trade religious accusations and answers … this dialogue was not helpful and did not result in comfort or encouragement for Job. The next time you or a friend is in crisis please refrain from giving a religious answer. Get a hug or give a hug instead.
Chapter 1: All of Job's children have died in one day. In that same day he lost all of his livestock. Here is how Job responded:
Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
Chapter 2: On the heels of this devastation Job is struck with boils all over his body. His wife is in a level of pain that very few people can relate to. Here is Job’s response to his wife:
“You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”
Chapter 3: Some time has passed … Job has been visited by friends … the pain of his loss has taken hold. Job is coming out of denial and responds:
After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
In March of 1990 my first wife Ellen had a heart attack and kidney failure at the age of 39 … after four years of declining health and hemodialysis Ellen passed away in 1994. My initial responses to my pain were very much like Job’s. Masking my inner devastation I often spoke words that were very religious … albeit empty and devoid of inner truth. Christian clichés did not help me but got in the way of dealing with my pain. Phrases like “God is still on the throne” or “I am a victor not a victim” or the ones that Job spoke caused me to shrink back in fear instead of addressing my plight in courage. Religious words never help because they insulate us from our pain instead of addressing it head-on.
I attended a grief group after Ellen died. It was in this group that I learned that to heal on the inside I had to step into my pain ... I had to deal with the reality of my experience in a truthful way. I believe that Job began to take this step into pain in chapter 3. This step is one of the scariest that I have ever taken … it took more courage than I ever imagined. This first step took me on a journey where I began to shed my religious answers. I am still on this journey … it is a journey where I am challenged every day to live out of my dangerous heart instead of my safe mind.
Most of Job’s story is one where he and his friends trade religious accusations and answers … this dialogue was not helpful and did not result in comfort or encouragement for Job. The next time you or a friend is in crisis please refrain from giving a religious answer. Get a hug or give a hug instead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)