Archive for November, 2007

Idols

November 28, 2007 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , ,

It is tough accepting certain realities. There are so many things in my life for which I am thankful; my family, my friends, my church, my health. I have jokingly used the term “good-ish” for the way in which I have chosen to live my life. The humor is in using a funny made-up term. I would encourage you to start using “ish” in your everyday conversation. The part that is not humorous is the fact that “good-ish” is not what kind of life I have been called to lead.

It was brought to my attention that I have allowed an aspect of my life to become an idol. By now if you read regularly, you know that I am a word geek, so here we go:

www.dictionary.com says… idol: 3. any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion

I have allowed an aspect of my life to become something that I admire, adore, and have structured my life to fit around. I realized yesterday that I have made sacrifices in my life to make this aspect a reality.

It is something that I have in my life that is comfortable and convenient. Interestingly, “comfortable” doesn’t show up in any searches when you are looking through the bible for it. We have not been called to comfort or convenience, yet we live in a culture that if it had a coat of arms these words would be at the top. It gives true definition in my mind to the concept of being asked to live counter-culture.

It isn’t hard to find comments in scripture about how to handle idols… to paraphrase in plain weaverology (ooh, I like that) “DON’T DO IT”… In the Ten Commandments Exodus 20 it is pretty clear…

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them;”

For me it links my thoughts back to the idea of what “worship” really means. I truly believe that worship is a way of life. That everything that we do has an object that receives something. I desire for my life to be an act of worship that points to God, but I realize that there are times in my life where the object of my worship is my own selfish desires.

It makes me think of something that Bradley Hathaway says in one of his rants… and I am going from memory here, so I apologize if I mess it up…

“I want to be like David, a man after God’s own heart, I am not quite there yet, but somewhere past the start.”

The reality of what I am dealing with now in the realization of this false idol in my life is; how do you remove this? I think of Old Testament times and looking at a huge Gold or Silver Idol that is on the top of a mountain and seems unmovable… how did they get the idol off the altar?

There are a few realities, and I am literally thinking this through as I write, so bare with me;

It isn’t coming down quick. If it did it could have catastrophic consequences.

It isn’t coming down without help. I am not going to get there on my own.

It isnt’ coming down until I decide to take it down. I have to want it to come down.

It isn’t unmovable. Nothing is impossible with God.

(I apologize for the vagueness of “an aspect of my life”… I get frustrated with people who ask for “unspoken” prayer requests… but, this subject is so fresh in my life that it is a little sensitive to go and declare it blogwide… as well as the principles I think would apply to anything that is an idol.)

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The other side of the clouds

November 27, 2007 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , ,

Have you ever experienced something that reminds you of a very obvious truth? But for some reason “seeing” it makes it more real?

I flew back home after an amazing week of rest and games and food and sleep and food and games and food and pie and food and fun… you get the picture… with my brother and his family… it was a great time of retreat and refuge, something that I think everybody needs…

I got to the Columbus airport to board my Southwest flight back to Nashville. I got a good seat… settled in… started reading… and then we took off… The weather was more than just overcast… it was just plain grey… We took off and we were in the clouds before very long… and it was one of the most bumpy ascents I had experienced in a while…

Then I realized something, something that might seem pretty obvious… We got up over the clouds, and guess what? I saw the sun. It was beautiful. The cloud cover was below us and it was sunny and not grey at all.

It reminds me of an old episode of “Growing Pains” where Mikey Sever stays home from school and is dumbfounded to find out that the Television shows, the mailman, the buses all still go on, even when he doesn’t go to school.

In my mind, I realize that when the clouds come the sun doesn’t disappear. But, it really is a matter of perspective.

It brought to mind the simple fact that even when I go through life and don’t feel like God is there… He is. To abuse the analogy (which is what I do best)… When the clouds of life make things look grey, the Son doesn’t go away.

Might seem like a pretty simple thing, but for me, it was a special moment on the plane.

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Directions from Tim-Tim

November 14, 2007 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , ,

Okay, that might be the cheesiest title, but, I stand behind its clever-ness and ability to engage.

I was reading 2 Timothy yesterday and came across some amazing imagery in the Message version.

At the end of 2 Timothy chapter 2 in the Message version, I stumbled across this gem:

In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets—some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing.

Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil’s trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.

I don’t want to have a discussion about grace. I don’t want to talk about the grey areas of faith. I don’t want to be challenged on looking at life from a “holier-than-thou” perspective.

As I look at wanting to be involved in a life that looks more and more like ministry day-by-day, the encouragement is pretty simple to understand… be the type of plate that God can use to serve everyone… not pleasing everyone, but, being available to be used by God for everyone.

It does make me think about the decisions in how I choose to live my life; am I the type of plate that can be used to present gifts to all kinds of people? Or am I trying to deliver (here comes the signature abuse of the analogy…) Delicious steak on top of a garbage can lid?

It is not my job to make the Gospel attractive, it is attractive… but I am responsible to present it well… I am in charge of the wrapping, not the gift… does that work?

I just really needed to hear these words and I am thankful for what it has brought to light in my life…

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WWE Jacob-style

November 13, 2007 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , ,

I was encouraged the other day to be like Jacob. As I have commented many times before, Old Testament knowledge is something that I am not even close to being considered a scholar about. I took a few classes and barely passed them. So admittedly, I needed to go back and re-read and brush up on the story… Good stuff..

We will start in Gen 28… Jacob has a dream where God promises to bless Jacob… Jacob wakes up and says,

verse 20 through 22: Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

Now that is my kind of vow…

Later there is a great story in Genesis 32:24-30

But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn’t get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob’s hip out of joint.

The man said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak.”

Jacob said, “I’m not letting you go ’til you bless me.”

The man said, “What’s your name?”

He answered, “Jacob.”

The man said, “But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it’s Israel (God-Wrestler); you’ve wrestled with God and you’ve come through.”

Jacob asked, “And what’s your name?”

The man said, “Why do you want to know my name?” And then, right then and there, he blessed him.

Jacob named the place Peniel (God’s Face) because, he said, “I saw God face-to-face and lived to tell the story!”

Jacob says, “I am not letting go until you bless me” It makes me question myself, do I have that kind of zeal, fervor, gumption, let’s be honest… cajones…

Do I have what it takes to wrestle with God?

Do I have what it takes to not let go?

Do I have the guts to demand that I am not letting go unless I am blessed?

I am glad that I was encouraged to go back and read this, because I am in a place where I need to hold on to My God and not let go until He blesses me.

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Choices…

November 12, 2007 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , , ,

I was at church yesterday, and the message was wrapping up and I had put my pen and notes away, and then the speaker went somewhere with an afterthought that caused me to pull out my pen and notes and write down a thought…

“God has no backup plan, He chooses to do His work through us.”

I know that this might seem like a fairly simple and understandable concept, but when you really wrap your head around an infinite almighty being having the power to do whatever He wants… and He chooses to use us and involve us… that is pretty heavy for me.

When you look at the plan of salvation or the process of redemption; the fact that God chose to come to earth, live as an earthly being and pay the price of my past sins and sins I have yet to commit; it is heavy.

I have been really deep into reading a lot of Andy Stanley’s writings, and a central theme to what he teaches on is that we are living lives that are full of choices. He talks about the “Path Principle” that states; all paths have a predetermined destination, and if you choose to be on a path then you have in turn also chosen the destination.

I think for me, I often think of my life being a sum of my own choices… I choose to eat a certain way, and it has a predetermined destination of what I look like and feel like… I choose to spend my time a certain way, and it has a destination of what my life will look like…

But, I rarely think about the fact that God has/had a choice in how He chooses to do His business… How amazing is our God that HE chooses to involve us… He is the best example of a wise decision maker…

It makes me feel tremendously loved and valued to know that the sometimes seemingly distant almighty has chosen to do His business in a terribly intrusive and personal way.

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Opera flowers…

November 7, 2007 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , ,

I just got back from being involved in Ignition It is a conference for independent Christian artists. It is by far been one of the highlights of this past year for me. We have done four events regionally… and God has taught me a ton through these events. He has used these opportunities where I am out of the office and out of my element to really speak into my life.

If you have ever worked in the capacity of teacher or facilitator, you know that often times you come away getting more out of classes or events than potentially the students do.

I have had the privilege of giving the main session devotions to start off the events. I haven’t had the opportunity to speak in this capacity in a long time, so there was a little bit of getting used to being up on stage that I had to get re-adjusted to but it is like riding a bike, once you get your self settled… you are on your way. The message has gone over well… the real quick overview is… be open to God and allow Him to show you who He has created you to be, see how you fit into the community of Christ… and recognize that we are called to excellence because what we do has eternal impact… (wow, could have just got up and said that, saved us 20 minutes… haha)

I usually get a response from a few people who are being polite and thank me for sharing… a few times I have seen people come up who had fought back tears to thank me… and a few people have shared that what God said through me truly impacted them…

One of the participants from the weekend wrote a letter to myself and the other judges and presenters… This participant was a really really sweet lady, who despite not placing into the finals is a tremendously talented writer… She commented on how something I shared in my devotions really helped her change her perspective on how she approached things… it was very meaningful to know that God could use me to change someone else’s perspective…

She shared with us a story that stuck out that I would love to share with you… cause it ministered to me… She shared that she had heard the origin of why people gave opera singers flowers at the end of their performances. Opera singers would have this big rush of emotion when the crowd was giving them a response of applause, the next morning there would be a big “let down” when there was no applause… the flowers were to serve as a reminder of the sweetness of the applause…

I think that this core concept is shared in the biblical concept of standing stones… throughout the Old Testament there are occasions that happen and where it happened they would put up standing stones to remind them of where God had shown up in their lives… I have been really impressed about the idea of standing stones in my life… helping me to not live “mountain-top-to-mountain-top” in my journey…

But, I am two days out from the event and wish that I had flowers to remind me of the sweet time that God allowed me to be a part of… and I guess I will hold on to this letter from this precious lady as my opera flowers…

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