Maybe he’s telling them to rejoice during a particularly difficult time? Maybe things just aren’t going their way lately. That’s when I started to relate… no how matter how much we try to honor God with our finances, it seems that my wife and I are constantly behind the 8-ball. Now matter how strong our commitment is to each other, we still get selfishly angry and argue about really unimportant stuff. Our kids get disrespectful, our stupid dog runs away every chance she gets, and on and on. I could complain about things all day long, but that wouldn’t change anything except to make me even more grumpy this Monday morning.
But still, the Bible tells me to rejoice – regardless, I think, of what’s going on around me. I was listening to a beautiful song as I drove, that I think helped with my perspective. The chorus goes:
My God, my God, why hast thou accepted me
When all my love was vinegar to a thirsty king?
My God, my God, why hast thou accepted me?
It’s a mystery of mercy, and the song – the song that I sing.
I need to remember that even when I think things aren’t going the way I think they should, I’m blessed beyond measure – even when you boil it down to the fact that even in the height of my arrogance, when I didn’t care anything about Jesus and figured he was just a man in a dusty old book – even way back thousands of years ago, Jesus loved ME, Rob Christianson, enough to die on the cross for me, when the love he knew I’d show towards him was as sour as vinegar when he needed it the most - as he hung there, suffering and beaten, on that splintered wooden cross, surrounded by people who only a week earlier were chanting his name in praise. During the most gruesome hate crime in history, he uttered these words: “Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Wow. Whatever I have to complain about seems pretty trivial now. I’d much rather rejoice in all that He has done for me.
- Location:seattle
- Music:Mystery of Mercy - Caedmon's Call
I have a confession to make… I’ve been prejudiced, and I need forgiveness. You see, with all this political clamor surrounded the people of our nation lately, I’ve become very polarized. And I’ve always prided myself on not being racist, not treating people differently because of economic status or nationality… and those are great things. So how have I become prejudiced then, you ask?
Because I’ve bought into a modern-day pharisaical attitude when it comes to schools of thought. I’ve become convinced that aspiring to holiness is the same thing as “good and conservative”, and have looked down on “evil liberal” ways of thinking. Not to say I’ve decided to change any votes or anything, because it’s important to seek “as biblical as possible” an attitude in the people we elect to represent us in government.
But that is NO EXCUSE to look down on people who think differently. My daily devotional really convicted me when I read and thought about the question, “What steps might you take to break down barriers that exist between you and people of different races, nationalities and classes? How can the gospel bring about the needed reconciliation?” Bingo. I need to stop looking at the people around me like a Pharisee would, because there is NO RIGHTEOUSNESS in “conservative” OR “liberal” people other than HIS righteousness.
The devotional pointed out that:
• We belong to Jesus
• We have peace with one another regardless of race, nationality or class.
• The hostility between races, nationalities and classes was put to death on the cross.
• Through the gospel we are made one people.
• We have peace through God.
• All can freely come to God because of what Jesus Christ did for us.
Forgive me, Lord, and all you who are reading this, for forgetting that fact. It is not a color of state, it is not a donkey or elephant, it is not a political candidate, nor is it a school of thought that will save us from ‘the sin that so easily ensnares us’. It is Jesus, and him alone. I need to remind myself, as my buddy Nathan realized the other day, that my first allegiance is not to a man, a country or a flag. It’s to a King and a Kingdom.
God is not a “respecter of persons” (meaning he doesn’t prefer one persons status over another) – and I need to not be either. Lord, help me to view EVERYONE as you do – a prodigal child, deeply loved, yet gone astray, with a desire more than anything else to restore the relationship and to pour out your love.
Amen.
- Location:Pioneer Square
- Music:"A King, A Kingdom" Derek Webb
"I'm always environmentally-friendly," I replied.
"Oh, then you've heard of Greenpeace..."
I didn't have time to get into a discussion, but my mind kept the conversation going as I rushed for my train... I thought about how, if I'd had more time, I'd have shared with him how I think environmental stewardship is a very important thing, but how there are causes out there which I think are far more important: human suffering, hunger, homelessness, human trafficking... You see, I feel that the environment is a very crucial issue, and I don't want to leave a dirty, worn out world to my children. I love taking them camping or hiking in places where mankind hasn't spoiled yet. I think we're supposed to stop people's casual littering, reckless disregard for nature, and reduce air pollution. But in the end, if we don't live to enjoy it what's the point of keeping the world "green"?
Which brings me to my bigger concern - that most of the people alive today are going to Hell and they don't even realize it. Maybe at this point, the fellow would have written me off as a religious wacko, but my brain thought of something else. "I can tell you care about your cause. You're out here spending your time trying to engage people who are all about their own tasks, and most of them probably won't stop and give you the time of day (yes, like me, thank you conscience!)... you're doing a great thing... so answer me this - Do you consider yourself to be a good person?"
"Yes," would be his reply.
"Can I test you then? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever looked on someone lustfully? It's been said that 'he who lusts after a person has already committed adultery with them in his heart.'"
"Yeah, I've done those things," the guy would say.
"Well then, according to your own admission, you are a thief and a liar and an adulterer. And assuming there is a God who made all this world around us that you love so much, you've just admitted to breaking three of the so-called Ten Commandments. There are seven more."
He stands silent. "Now if I were a good judge in a court of law, and a murderer was standing before me, with all the evidence stacked against him, I couldn't very well let him off, and continue to call myself a good judge. The Bible says that one day God will judge all of us, and each one of us will stand before him. So will you, as an admitted thief, liar and adulterer, be innocent or guilty?"
My hope is he'd be honest and true to his conscience and say "Guilty."
"Does that concern you? If so, God did something about it. He doesn't want to condemn you to eternal punishment. He loves you, and because he loves you so much, two thousand years ago, he sent his Son Jesus to die for you, to take your punishment himself, to spare you from eternal Hell. But it's a free gift and you just need to accept it. Just trust God and ask him to forgive you of your sin, and turn from your sin and follow Him. Find a Bible and read it... but if not, just think about what we've talked about. That's all I ask..."
- Location:Kent Station
You see, as is probably pretty easy to figure out, I work for a company that produces award-winning training videos. And some of our key topics are respect and harassment. I also live in probably the most liberal city in one of the most liberal states to the left of the Mississippi River - Seattle, Washington. And for all the things I put up with as a conservative in this town, one thing I have always admired about folks in Seattle, and have been raised to believe since before I can remember, is that you don't mock someone because they're different. In today's world, that has a fancy name: intolerance. And intolerance is expressed by harassment.
How much do you think I could get away with, especially if I was a very public personality in this town, if I made derogatory slurs at the homosexual population? If I used off-handed slurs - commonly referred to in this day as hate speech? I'd certainly lose a lot of friends, maybe even my job... What if I started making racial comments about African Americans? I'd be labeled a racist bigot and get beat up.
What would happen if I started using all sorts of colorful names for Jews? BAM! I'm anti-Semetic. A big no-no anywhere, and one that would get me blacklisted faster than anything.
SO WHY IS IT that for some reason, it's acceptible, and heck, a pretty popular thing to do, according to Tina Fey and the rest of Hollywood these days, to make snide remarks, jeers, condescending speech and other harassment towards Christians? She said, while playing Palin on SNL, that rather attributing climate change to global warming, "It's just God hugging us closer?" and "Todd and the kids went to that crazy evolution museum", just to name a few jabs.
Now, I'm all for freedom of speech, but how far do you think that freedom extends? Can I start making jokes about Jews and Muslims? NOT IN SEATTLE! NOT IN AMERICA! And you know what? I wouldn't - because as I said, I've been raised to not be prejudiced, and I'm thankful for that. So why is it okay to harass Christians, media-people? Why is it okay to make fun of Jesus, and more than that, why do we not speak up when people do offend us?
I'll tell you why. Because Jesus told us to expect it. He said "The world will hate you because of me." He also said "When someone strikes your right cheek, turn your left to him also." If you think about it, if you're facing someone and you intend to hit them, odds are you are right-handed. Which means, if you took a swing at them, you'd be hitting their LEFT cheek first, not their right. If you were to strike their right cheek, as Jesus was saying, you'd have to backhand them - a humiliating insult in any culture. That's what happens to us when people drag our faith through the mud for their own enjoyment. We're told to turn the other cheek and take it... THAT's why we don't fight back so much.
But it doesn't make it any less offensive to a Christian. So let me ask you a question: Are you going to call a black person a primate (like Darwin beleived)? NO. Are you going to make slurs about Jews like a neo-Nazi? NO. How about calling an Arab a name based on his cultural head-dress? I DON T THINK SO.
So for all your claims to be tolerant and accomodating of all beliefs and the basic goodness of everyone... why don't you catch yourself next time you tease someone for beleiving Creationism, you hypocrite. Why don't you stop yourself from using the name of my God as a curse word, something you wouldn't do with your own mother's name. Why don't you pony up, and really admit that you aren't as tolerant as you claim to be.
That's all I have to say.
- Location:Ortin'
- Mood:
aggravated
I’ve heard Hank Hannegraaf say on several occaisions, the question isn’t whether or not God predestines, but rather ON WHAT BASIS.
Because for Jen and I, the scripture we just read was Ephesians 1:4-5, which reads “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…”
So since the Bible obviously declares that God predestines, we can’t argue with that fact. But as Jen said, “Does that mean he said ‘Okay you and you and you will be saved, but not you’?”
Simply put, yes and no. I think we cannot say that God, if he’s infinitely merciful, will mandate that certain people will go to eternal punishment and separation from him, and that those people never had a chance. After all, the Bible also says “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to eternal life”.
But remember, at the same time, God is outside of time as we know it. Since he’s omniscient, he knows what will happen long before we did, even “before the creation of the world”. I like to picture the call of the Holy Spirit in our lives as a phone ringing. Sometimes the call comes early in life, sometimes it comes later. If we chose not to answer, the phone will ring again – but God forbid we refuse to pick up the phone before our time runs out. God will always extend his offer of forgiveness to us while we have breath left in our lungs, but one day his patience will run out, the day of our death, which he also knows the date of. That’s where our free will comes in – do we pick up that ringing phone and answer the call, or do we ignore it stubbornly? "For it is appointed unto men ONCE to die, and then, the judgement."
And also, since God is omniscient, he knows which of us will answer his call, and sadly those of us who won’t.
I had the idea yesterday of predestination being something along the lines of an airplane, the destination of a flight has been determined before hand – predestined – so it’s our choice whether we get on that plane heading for Chicago or Tokyo or wherever it says. I can tell my child to get on that particular plane to visit his grandfather, but it’s my child’s choice whether he obeys me or not. I want him to go to his grandfather’s house, of course, but that kid has the free will to go where he wants. And if he gets on that plane, I know he’ll get to the right place. God’s a little different – there isn’t an “if” with him, because he knows what we’ll do. He doesn’t make that choice for us, but he knew ahead of time which way we’d chose. He know which of us will become Chrisitans and which won’t, so that verse in Ephesians is speaking directly to Chrisitans, and simply acknowledging the fact that God knew that the Christians in the Ephesian church (to whom the letter was specifically written) and the rest of us believers would come to him, and that he had plans for us since thousands of years before we were even born.
Things like that just blow my mind. And that’s why I can worship an infinitely merciful, loving and just God, who, though he isn’t willing that any of us reject him, knows that unfortunately some of us will.
- Location:On the tracks outside of Safeco Field
- Mood:worshipful
- Music:"Small Enough", Nichole Nordeman
“So take this offering and make it whole
Set me on the road that leads me home,
Let me walk as one fixed upon the goal,
Even though I’ve got a thousand miles to go.”
The first line of that chorus reminds me of our calling in Romans to be “living sacrifices” – basically that our lives would be lived unselfishly and for God, but more than that, I’m reminded of the story of Cain and Abel. If you’re somewhat familiar with the story, you know that Cain mudered his brother Abel… but that’s not what I’m getting at.
Before that happened, each of the brothers brought God an offering from the work of his hands – Cain was a farmer and Abel raised livestock. Now even before God set in place the system of animal sacrifices for Israel, he ordained the first sacrifice for covering Adam and Eve’s sin by covering them with animal skins… so Cain and Abel had to know how they and their parents related to God. Abel brought the best animal from his flock and offered it to God, and this pleased God. Cain’s offering somehow displeased God – maybe his vegetables were the worst of his crop, we don’t really know. But I think it was because Cain chose to come to God on his (Cain’s) own terms… rather than trading crops to his brother for an appropriate sacrifice that God ordained, he thought he could come to the Lord on his own merit…
How often do we do the same thing? We think that “God”, if he’s out there, can be reached through helping other people. We think that we can get to “heaven” by being good, or by meditation, or by reading more “holy” books, or sadly, as some folks think, by flying airplanes into buildings to kill innocent citizens of a country they hate. We’re all more like Cain than we’d like to admit.
Remember, Jesus said “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through me.” (emphasis mine). Now as stubborn people, of course that just sounds SO INTOLERANT. Who is JESUS to make that sort of claim, and why should we believe it? What’s wrong with me doing my own thing, living my own life, doing more good things than bad, and being a good person?
Plenty. Because that’s what Cain did. But when he heard that God decided not to be “tolerant” (because if anyone can, it’s Him), Cain couldn’t take it, and jealously killed his brother. He wanted to come to God on his own terms, not the way God wanted him to.
And if you really study the claims Jesus made, from the most authorative books on his life (The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – who actually lived with the guy or knew those who did), you’ll come to the conclusion that C.S. Lewis did. That there are only three possible responses to Jesus’ claims of divinity: that he was either a liar (in which case none of this really matters at all), a madman (but who would willingly, selflessly die for an obvious lunatic) or he was telling the truth.
Now, for a backwoods carpenter who lived two-thousand years ago out in the desert to have had such a profound influence on all of human history, it seems quite a stretch to think he was simply mad or the greatest liar who ever lived…. Which leaves only one option. He is who he said he was – God. And if that’s true, then logically, we can only come to him as he said. His way. Not our own.
Now as for the rest of the verses of that song, “Let me walk as one fixed upon the goal, Even though I’ve got a thousand miles to go,” that simply tells me that as a Christian already, we’ve still a long ways to go before we could be considered “perfect”. It’s not only a warning that we should never act “holier than thou” towards anyone who doesn’t believe in Christ, it’s a warning that we’re not as far along in our spiritual growth as we think we are.
Every day we need to check ourselves – that our eyes (and thoughts and actions and words) are fixed upon our goal of heaven, and be sober to the fact that every one of us, while we still are drawing breath, still have a thousand miles to go when overcoming our sin and becoming all that God wants us to be.
I know I have a long ways to go, but God, give me endurance and help me overcome everything that stands between you and I. Amen.
- Location:Somewhere in South Seattle
- Mood:
thoughtful - Music:Hiding Place - Jars of Clay
As that song says, "There must be something else to get me through this semi-charmed kinda life..."
When the problem was pointed out to me, I knew I needed help. I'd stolen things. I lied. I lusted and was a slave to pornography. And all these things weighed on my conscience, though I'd be loathe to admit it. Each of these "sins" were things I'd be ashamed to tell my friends or family, yet I willfully did them. That meant something to me.
So when I heard the news that God could take me, as messed up and flawed as I was, and forgive the things I'd done that I wasn't proud about, and that He could clean me up and use me just seemed too good to be true.
You see, I wasn't raised in any church. Sure, I went with my best friend next door now and then when I was really young, and his family would invite me, and I think some very basic things were ingrained in me. Not to steal, not to lie, not to use God's name as a swear word... and basically, that there really was a God out there somewhere.
My family believed in God, though we didn't "practice" any religion... Judaism, Islam, Christianity, etc. I grew up, had fun, went to school, got a job... just your typical American boyhood, I guess. I guess that's what you call "agnostic"... knowing there's something out there, but not knowing what. I was an inquisitive person - I studied science, evolution, played with a Ouija board, and bought into the "whatever makes you happy is what's important" mentality that seems to be everywhere in this country, particularly with parents in the Baby Boomer generation, and me being a Gen-X'er. I was dissatisfied with the status quo, but felt a residual "sense of entitlement" probably picked up on from the Boomers in authority over me.
But God started working in my life as I got older, though I didn't know it at the time. After seeking meaning for a long time, I started dating a girl who turned out to be a Christian. There was a spark in her life, and in her mom's life, that I didn't have... they went to church because they wanted to, not because the parents felt obligated to do so. So as a result of our dating, I started going to church too... you know, to be the supportive boyfriend type.
And do you know what? Even though I didn't immediately make a confession of faith, the Gospel message (that I was created by God for a reason, but because of the sin in my life was separated from God, and the only way to be reconciled to him was to accept Jesus' life for my debt I could never ever pay) made total sense to me. It was the answer I was looking for in so many places, but could never find. The simple truth that all I had to do was "let go of the wheel" and give God control of my life, seemed so easy, yet so hard at the same time. We men don't like to be told that we can't do it. We don't like to be told that we need help. Especially when we're in our mid-twenties and think we can take on the entire world...
It sounded so easy though. So much easier than the lie out there that "your good deeds must outweigh your bad...". So much easier than what I was exposed to going to a Mormon church as a teen - that you had to get rid of ALL sin if you even want a chance at "forgiveness" (the gift of forgiveness didn't make sense if you have to earn it).
So there it was, the answer to what I questioned all growing up... "why are we here?" "what's the purpose of being alive?" "what's the point of all this, if all I am is an advanced monkey that came into being from a tadpole in a gooey sea?" All I had to do was accept it.
I wish I could say it was that easy. Every Sunday, after the sermon and the altar call where I remained in my seat, as I left conflicted and wondering and wanting and torn... Months later, my girlfriend was participating in a drama called "Final Destiny" - which showed various scenarios of young people making life decisions, and responding or not responding to God, and then being unexpectedly killed... a young fireman doing his job, a kid playing around with drugs, a young lady having had an abortion and being killed in an accident, and a young kid who's friend were reaching out to him with God's love, but he kept saying "Maybe later, I want to live a little"... that one really spoke to me. After leaving the church, the young man was unexpectedly killed in a car accident, and he had missed his last chance at salvation. Now he stood condemned, when all he wanted was more time. THAT WAS ME.
At the end of that program, I was up front, finally letting go of the wheel and giving my life to Christ. Finally giving into the stirring that the Holy Spirit (I realize now) was doing in my life - the persistant ringing of a phone that I finally had the guts to answer. I gave my destiny, my purpose, the right to be the boss of my life, over to Jesus once and for all.
Thank God that I wasn't killed in a car accident before that night - because that kid's story (in the drama) would have been my story too.
Since that night, since I learned what it really was to be a Christian, now I know what it is I was MADE FOR. To worship and glorify my Maker in everything I do. It is my mission to share his message of forgiveness and purpose with others - young people, aimless or confused people, those wondering like I was, "why am I here?".
As a creative person, I know that a creator does not create anything without a reason for doing so, and if we stop trying to think up other explanations and just look at the obvious world around us, we will see that we are the most complex and amazing creations that God has made. That we are created for more of a purpose than just "being here."
Michelangelo carved his "David" for a reason, painstakingly with his own hands for years - he didn't just discover it on a beach somewhere, fully formed by random chance, and washed up by the sea.
And logically, neither did we. You are far more than just something that went "from the goo, to the zoo, to you." You were created, did you hear me? CREATED. Built and designed and crafted for a purpose. And even though we're like pottery full of cracks, if we just yield our lives to God and acknowledge that HE is the one who made us, He will be faithful to patch those cracks, and to use us for what we were really made for. To carry his truth, his message, his love and forgiveness, and to pour it out for those who need it. It's the most selfLESS thing we can do.
- Location:Outside a coffee shop in Pioneer Square
- Mood:
hopeful
I heard on the radio this morning a host and a caller discussing how we still need to be in a "9/12" mentality and not a "9/10" mentality, where unfortunately we as a nation may have slipped again. Sure, we grow weary of a seemingly winless war... we know that Iraq was a side issue in the larger War on Terror (which from a theological standpoint, I think it's unrealistic that this endless war will ever conclude), but still - Iraq was necessary to set people free, and in the grand scheme of things, is it better for us to say "the laws we made up forbid us from getting involved in other peoples problems" (sounds like Star Trek, huh?), or is it more noble for us to ignore the man-made boundaries of nations, and as a one human race, stand against tyranny and oppression, and fight for freedom and the right of every person to excercise their free will in the face of dictators with no regard for their own people? I'd hazard to say the latter.
The second time I stopped along my walk, was as I caught a glimpse of the huge flag hanging at half-mast at the Federal Building. I wondered to myself, are we any closer to stopping al Qaida and their aims of human destruction today, than we were seven years ago? I admit, I was feeling a depressed "no"... but my opinion changed when I received this newsletter in my inbox from Joel Rosenberg, the author and political commentator/consultant:
(Washington, D.C., September 11, 2008) -- During his military tribunal at Gitmo, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM)-- al Qaeda's chief of external operations until he was captured in Pakistan -- admitted that he was not only responsible for the 9/11 attacks. He also the mastermind of "second wave" attacks and other mega-attacks in the United States, Israel and around the globe.
In a written statement given to interrogators, KSM went on to confess no fewer than thirty-one separate terrorist attacks. Some had already been carried out. Others were foiled by U.S. and foreign security forces, or by the fact that KSM had been arrested. Each provided a sobering insight into what Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network really want.
1. I was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center Operation.
2. I was responsible for the 9/11 Operation, from A to Z.
3. I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jews, Daniel Pearl….
4. I was responsible for the Shoe Bomber Operation to down two American airplanes.
5. I was responsible for the Filka Island Operation in Kuwait that killed two American soldiers.
6. I was responsible for the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, which was frequented by British and Australian nationals.
7. I was responsible for planning, training, surveying, and financing the New (or Second) Wave attacks against the following skyscrapers after 9/11:
a. Library Tower, California
b. Sears Tower, Chicago
c. Plaza Bank, Washington State
d. The Empire State Building, New York City
8. I was responsible for planning, financing & follow-up Operations to destroy American military vessels and oil tankers in the Straights of Hormuz, the Straights of Gibraltar, and the Port of Singapore.
9. I was responsible for the planning, training, surveying, and financing for the Operation to bomb and destroy the Panama Canal.
10. I was responsible for the planning, training, surveying, and financing for the assassination of several former American Presidents, including President Carter.
....[NOTE: For the full list of KSM's confessions, see weblog]....
The Ultimate Objective
As horrifying as these operations were, however, they pale in comparison to what al Qaeda has been praying and planning for a decade at least: acquiring weapons of mass destruction - ideally nuclear weapons - to be used against the United States to kill between four and ten million Americans.
Asked in 1998, for example, if al-Qaeda had nuclear or chemical weapons, bin Laden told Time magazine that "acquiring weapons for the defense of Muslims is a religious duty. If I have indeed acquired these weapons, than I thank God for enabling me to do so." The timing of that statement was significant, for 1998 was the year that Pakistan tested nuclear weapons.
Since then, many more disturbing details have emerged about bin Laden's feverish hunt for WMD and his deep-rooted belief that Allah has commanded him to use them to kill Christians and Jews. In the summer of 2002, Suleiman Abu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti-born spokesman for al Qaeda posted the following statement on the internet: "Al-Qa'ida has the right to kill four million Americans, including one million children, displace double that figure, and injure and cripple hundreds of thousands."
In May 2003, al-Qaeda unveiled a fatwa or religious ruling from a leading Saudi cleric that sanctioned the use of nuclear weapons against the U.S. and permitted the killing of up to ten million Americans.
"By some estimates, there is enough highly enriched uranium in global stockpiles to construct thousands of nuclear weapons, and it is safe to assume that there are many individuals who would not think twice about using such weapons." FBI Director Robert Muller told a conference on nuclear terrorism in 2007. "The economics of supply and demand dictate that someone, somewhere, will provide nuclear material to the highest bidder, and that material will end up in the hands of terrorists. Al Qaeda has demonstrated a clear intent to acquire weapons of mass destruction. In 1993, Osama bin Laden attempted to buy uranium from a source in the Sudan. He has stated that it is Al Qaeda's duty to acquire weapons of mass destruction. And he has made repeated recruiting pitches for experts in chemistry, physics, and explosives to join his terrorist movement."
Former CIA Director George Tenet was skeptical, at first, about how seriously to take bin Laden's WMD threats. But over time, he became a believer. He is now absolutely convinced that bin Laden's top priority is to acquire nuclear weapons and detonate them inside the United States.
"Of all al-Qa'ida's efforts to obtain other forms of WMD, the main threat is the nuclear one," Tenet stressed. "I am convinced that this is where [bin Laden] and his operatives desperately want to go. They understand that bombings by cars, trucks, trains, and planes will get them some headlines, to be sure. But if they manage to set off a mushroom cloud, they will make history. Such an event would place al-Qa'ida on a par with the superpowers and make good on Bin Ladin's threat to destroy our economy and bring death into every American household. Even in the darkest days of the cold war, we could count on the fact that the Soviets, just like us, wanted to live. Not so with the terrorists. Al-Qaida boasts that while we fear death, they embrace it."
Never forget the evil done to us seven years ago today. Never get fogged about the evil that will be done to us if we get distracted and confused.
- Location:911 western ave, Seattle
- Mood:Somber
So now I'm thinking our lives are a lot like a garden. We plant many different seeds, and each one of those seeds can grow into something different. If we plant seeds of joy, then we will see joy blossom in our lives... but next to that, it's more than possible to plant rows of anger, resentment, fear... all of these equally 'aggressively growing' things that will spread and choke out the good fruits.
As much as we take joy in watering the seeds of grace, peace, self-control, for some reason we are compelled to water those angry weeds, those evil-speaking weeds, those selfish weeds, those sarcastic weeds, those weeds of rage and malice that, like it or not, bear fruit that we harvest too.
Me, I let the guard down and let one of those weeds bear fruit last night, and in a moment of weakness, got both angry and lost control of my words towards my son.
I guess our choice is to stop ourselves from watering the weeds when we are inclined to do so. To concentrate on ONLY watering the good plants, and let the other ones wither and die. Unfortunately, that's harder done than said.
But thankfully, the more we practice patience and forgiveness, the easier it comes, and the easier it is for our family to practice that same forgiveness. He forgave me, I forgave him... but still, those weeds are there waiting for their next watering.
Lord give me the strength to ignore and kill off the weeds in my life, and to be a model to my family of self-control and a wellspring of life.
"For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks" Matthew 12:34
- Location:Orting
GO OUTSIDE!
Complacency. Luke warm. Asleep. These words mean death to a church, and death to a Christian. And they fly in the face of our calling to “go into all the world and make disciples” – to be an agent for change in the culture immediately around us, and further out.
Jennifer and I have really been discussing this a lot lately, and I really believe that God might be trying to tell us something – both personally and for our church body as a whole. And maybe to anyone from another church who happens to read what I’m writing this morning.
We recently brought the kids to a tween rally, and learned when Jesus was only 12 years old, his first recorded words (in Luke 2:49) were “I must be about my Father’s business.” I’m not saying this because I got caught up in the moment, nor am I saying it’s the latest, greatest thing, a sure fire formula for Jesus. In fact, I won’t even mention the name. But I really hadn’t thought about that scripture aside from the context of our children until this morning.
Jen and I look at our work for the Lord. What is it that we are doing for Him? I personally am proud to say that I teach Children’s Church – introducing the next generation to the truth of God and what really matters. It sure sounds like a noble calling, doesn’t it? But do you want to know what that REALLY looks like? More often than not, I don’t think to even look at my lesson until late Saturday night. I don’t give God the time I should, and by extension, I sell short my class by not giving THEM the time THEY deserve either. What kind of a teacher is that? I know if my kids’ teachers at their school did such a thing, I surely would speak up and have them transferred to a class where the teacher actually cares about the children under his or her guidance.
Let me continue. Downstairs, we read a bible story that encourages us to bookmark a passage of scripture, but never actually read from it. That being said, we do read or have the children read from the Bible because we feel that it’s important for the kids to do. Maybe the writers of the curriculum think kids aren’t expected to understand what the Word says – never mind the whole “faith of a child” and “the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these”… We’ll make a craft or two, and play one or two silly games. Now I know, there is spirit behind it, and there is value in just spending hands on time with the little ones, and they need “spiritual milk” before “meat” but really… Are the kids in our church being challenged to “be about their father’s business?” Are the kids and teens told to GO OUTSIDE like the Great Commission commands? I know I don’t encourage them as often as I should…
And what about the rest of us? Are we (and by “we” I mean specifically our church, but you might also take this as the Body of Christ in general, though that’s not my point)… Are WE so afraid that we’ll “get dirty” that we continually HIDE our collective lamp under a BUSHEL?
You know the stories about Peter. He was the impulsive disciple. But you know what else? At least he DID something. Peter was the one who stepped out of the boat and onto the waves when all of the other disciples were content to sit there and watch. I’m beginning to think that OUR CHURCH is like one of those “unnamed” disciples in the boat – more interested in sitting and watching others answer God’s call to “get out” rather than making waves, IF we even chose to move at all. Most of the time it seems to me that we’ll look ashamedly away, or be quick to write off God’s activity as “charismatic whooping and hollering.” But here’s an interesting thing. Jesus didn’t tell one of those disciples who sat still in the boat that upon THEM the church would be built (I know that the Church is built on the foundation they all laid, but that is not the point either).
If we want to see growth, to see spiritual activity, and not the same old complacency week in and week out, we ALL need to GO OUTSIDE – not just learn what someone ELSE is doing in Brazil or Utah or Oregon City. Not only sit inside and send cards to those doing the work, or read email updates for those doing the work and say a quick prayer for them. Those are all important, but we could all do more.
In our church, we have a men’s group. I hesitate to say “men’s ministry” because I don’t think we really minister to all of our men aside from an invitation to breakfast when the stragglers make it to church, and we don’t mentor and train up our young men as we should. But that’s another story… My point is we get together once a month (not all of us – but some) and we have breakfast together. Once a quarter we clean up a road. We do a very applicable and relevant study that helps us be better Christian men. And we pray for our home missionaries. But what else should we be doing? For one thing, we should be casting the vision for our church. We should be “OUT THERE” getting dirty for Jesus and fighting against the advances of the enemy. But not everybody shares the same vision. We’re complacent to not do too much too quickly. We don’t want to give too much of our one Saturday each month. Granted, we do help out maintaining the church grounds and building now and then, that’s fine. But again, it’s inward.
I hate to say it, but aside from Vacation Bible School time and the Special Olympics (youth group) my church is inwardly focused ALL TOO OFTEN. Throughout this whole time, the lyrics from that song keep passing through my head:
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
Now don’t get me wrong. I love my brothers. I love my sisters. I love my pastor. I LOVE MY CHURCH. And Jennifer and I don’t have plans to find another church, unless of course that’s eventually what God wants. We are all well grounded in our faith, but at the same time, we seem to be stuck in a rut. Sometimes you need to stir up the pot, that’s all I’m saying. Sometimes you need to jostle somebody awake as they’re falling asleep. I hate to say it, but I’m really reminded of Revelations 3 when Jesus is speaking to the church in Sardis:
“I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. WAKE UP! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.”
I do NOT think our church is dead – and theirs wasn’t either – the verse said “what remains”.
Maybe when Jesus tells them to obey what they have received and heard, he wasn’t just condemning toleration of sin, but rather, spiritual complacency. And maybe that’s our problem. Now the Laodicean church was told that they were luke-warm. Specifically, they thought they were self-sufficient. I don’t think that’s the case with New Hope. But I do think we get luke warm to the things of God all too often. Our outreaches are few, and for some reason, they tend to be pushed to the side when someone has a good idea – an idea usually planted by God himself. What are we doing now? When someone calls us for help, we give them a box of leftover food, or the things in our pantry we would rather not eat. A jar of Borcht has been there for over two years. But can we be doing more? Can we really shine our light in a more personal sense?
You may have heard that the kids in Children’s Church are starting to visit the elderly residents next door. Hopefully they’ll get used to reaching out and showing Christian love outside of these doors. That’s our prayer. But we can’t leave it up to the kids alone. We believe that New Hope is being called to reach out, and hopefully in this coming year, there will be a stirring of everyone’s hearts in this room – a conviction that “if we are the Body, that our feet WILL be going.” I don’t have an idea of what that definitely means yet, but if we always do what we’ve always done, our young people will continue to fall away, our children won’t be encouraged to go on missions trips because of cost or inconvenience or I hate to admit it, apathy toward the Lord, and while with a new building our numbers might grow, the real point is to see growth going OUT rather than coming in. (Let me just say how excited I was to learn that Lisa is raising money for a missions trip to Mexico. I hope we can all encourage her and support her in that.)
Maybe we ALL need to GO OUT, however the Lord leads us, and whatever way we can, and get a little dirty for Jesus - to get busy and get our shoes a little muddy and our hands a little sore. To flex spiritual muscles that we’ve let get flabby. To really climb out of the boat. To go out FROM church rather than always going “to” church. To really BE ABOUT our Father’s business.
In the book “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby, the author encourages us, if we want to really know God and know what he wants for us, all we have to do is LOOK where God is at work around us, and join in. I encourage everyone here to make that our goal this next year. Let’s use the gifts and desires that God has given us to spread the Gospel in our neighborhoods and to the ends of the earth, and to find where God is at work already, and to GO OUT and join him.
I don’t want the Lord to ever say that our church is dead. Let’s not sufficate and let our light burn out under this bushel of a building, old or new. Let’s let it shine out there where it belongs.
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in ONE BODY; and be thankful.” Col 3:15
Complacency. Luke warm. Asleep. These words mean death to a church, and death to a Christian. And they fly in the face of our calling to “go into all the world and make disciples” – to be an agent for change in the culture immediately around us, and further out.
Jennifer and I have really been discussing this a lot lately, and I really believe that God might be trying to tell us something – both personally and for our church body as a whole. And maybe to anyone from another church who happens to read what I’m writing this morning.
We recently brought the kids to a tween rally, and learned when Jesus was only 12 years old, his first recorded words (in Luke 2:49) were “I must be about my Father’s business.” I’m not saying this because I got caught up in the moment, nor am I saying it’s the latest, greatest thing, a sure fire formula for Jesus. In fact, I won’t even mention the name. But I really hadn’t thought about that scripture aside from the context of our children until this morning.
Jen and I look at our work for the Lord. What is it that we are doing for Him? I personally am proud to say that I teach Children’s Church – introducing the next generation to the truth of God and what really matters. It sure sounds like a noble calling, doesn’t it? But do you want to know what that REALLY looks like? More often than not, I don’t think to even look at my lesson until late Saturday night. I don’t give God the time I should, and by extension, I sell short my class by not giving THEM the time THEY deserve either. What kind of a teacher is that? I know if my kids’ teachers at their school did such a thing, I surely would speak up and have them transferred to a class where the teacher actually cares about the children under his or her guidance.
Let me continue. Downstairs, we read a bible story that encourages us to bookmark a passage of scripture, but never actually read from it. That being said, we do read or have the children read from the Bible because we feel that it’s important for the kids to do. Maybe the writers of the curriculum think kids aren’t expected to understand what the Word says – never mind the whole “faith of a child” and “the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these”… We’ll make a craft or two, and play one or two silly games. Now I know, there is spirit behind it, and there is value in just spending hands on time with the little ones, and they need “spiritual milk” before “meat” but really… Are the kids in our church being challenged to “be about their father’s business?” Are the kids and teens told to GO OUTSIDE like the Great Commission commands? I know I don’t encourage them as often as I should…
And what about the rest of us? Are we (and by “we” I mean specifically our church, but you might also take this as the Body of Christ in general, though that’s not my point)… Are WE so afraid that we’ll “get dirty” that we continually HIDE our collective lamp under a BUSHEL?
You know the stories about Peter. He was the impulsive disciple. But you know what else? At least he DID something. Peter was the one who stepped out of the boat and onto the waves when all of the other disciples were content to sit there and watch. I’m beginning to think that OUR CHURCH is like one of those “unnamed” disciples in the boat – more interested in sitting and watching others answer God’s call to “get out” rather than making waves, IF we even chose to move at all. Most of the time it seems to me that we’ll look ashamedly away, or be quick to write off God’s activity as “charismatic whooping and hollering.” But here’s an interesting thing. Jesus didn’t tell one of those disciples who sat still in the boat that upon THEM the church would be built (I know that the Church is built on the foundation they all laid, but that is not the point either).
If we want to see growth, to see spiritual activity, and not the same old complacency week in and week out, we ALL need to GO OUTSIDE – not just learn what someone ELSE is doing in Brazil or Utah or Oregon City. Not only sit inside and send cards to those doing the work, or read email updates for those doing the work and say a quick prayer for them. Those are all important, but we could all do more.
In our church, we have a men’s group. I hesitate to say “men’s ministry” because I don’t think we really minister to all of our men aside from an invitation to breakfast when the stragglers make it to church, and we don’t mentor and train up our young men as we should. But that’s another story… My point is we get together once a month (not all of us – but some) and we have breakfast together. Once a quarter we clean up a road. We do a very applicable and relevant study that helps us be better Christian men. And we pray for our home missionaries. But what else should we be doing? For one thing, we should be casting the vision for our church. We should be “OUT THERE” getting dirty for Jesus and fighting against the advances of the enemy. But not everybody shares the same vision. We’re complacent to not do too much too quickly. We don’t want to give too much of our one Saturday each month. Granted, we do help out maintaining the church grounds and building now and then, that’s fine. But again, it’s inward.
I hate to say it, but aside from Vacation Bible School time and the Special Olympics (youth group) my church is inwardly focused ALL TOO OFTEN. Throughout this whole time, the lyrics from that song keep passing through my head:
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
Now don’t get me wrong. I love my brothers. I love my sisters. I love my pastor. I LOVE MY CHURCH. And Jennifer and I don’t have plans to find another church, unless of course that’s eventually what God wants. We are all well grounded in our faith, but at the same time, we seem to be stuck in a rut. Sometimes you need to stir up the pot, that’s all I’m saying. Sometimes you need to jostle somebody awake as they’re falling asleep. I hate to say it, but I’m really reminded of Revelations 3 when Jesus is speaking to the church in Sardis:
“I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. WAKE UP! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.”
I do NOT think our church is dead – and theirs wasn’t either – the verse said “what remains”.
Maybe when Jesus tells them to obey what they have received and heard, he wasn’t just condemning toleration of sin, but rather, spiritual complacency. And maybe that’s our problem. Now the Laodicean church was told that they were luke-warm. Specifically, they thought they were self-sufficient. I don’t think that’s the case with New Hope. But I do think we get luke warm to the things of God all too often. Our outreaches are few, and for some reason, they tend to be pushed to the side when someone has a good idea – an idea usually planted by God himself. What are we doing now? When someone calls us for help, we give them a box of leftover food, or the things in our pantry we would rather not eat. A jar of Borcht has been there for over two years. But can we be doing more? Can we really shine our light in a more personal sense?
You may have heard that the kids in Children’s Church are starting to visit the elderly residents next door. Hopefully they’ll get used to reaching out and showing Christian love outside of these doors. That’s our prayer. But we can’t leave it up to the kids alone. We believe that New Hope is being called to reach out, and hopefully in this coming year, there will be a stirring of everyone’s hearts in this room – a conviction that “if we are the Body, that our feet WILL be going.” I don’t have an idea of what that definitely means yet, but if we always do what we’ve always done, our young people will continue to fall away, our children won’t be encouraged to go on missions trips because of cost or inconvenience or I hate to admit it, apathy toward the Lord, and while with a new building our numbers might grow, the real point is to see growth going OUT rather than coming in. (Let me just say how excited I was to learn that Lisa is raising money for a missions trip to Mexico. I hope we can all encourage her and support her in that.)
Maybe we ALL need to GO OUT, however the Lord leads us, and whatever way we can, and get a little dirty for Jesus - to get busy and get our shoes a little muddy and our hands a little sore. To flex spiritual muscles that we’ve let get flabby. To really climb out of the boat. To go out FROM church rather than always going “to” church. To really BE ABOUT our Father’s business.
In the book “Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby, the author encourages us, if we want to really know God and know what he wants for us, all we have to do is LOOK where God is at work around us, and join in. I encourage everyone here to make that our goal this next year. Let’s use the gifts and desires that God has given us to spread the Gospel in our neighborhoods and to the ends of the earth, and to find where God is at work already, and to GO OUT and join him.
I don’t want the Lord to ever say that our church is dead. Let’s not sufficate and let our light burn out under this bushel of a building, old or new. Let’s let it shine out there where it belongs.
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in ONE BODY; and be thankful.” Col 3:15
I know that after sharing the letter, Pastor Brent came over and talked with me. He encouraged me that our church does have a vision, it just takes people actually listening to God's call before they get moving. Here's Brent's most recent message, which I think was his best message ever. You could definately feel the Holy Spirit bringing conviction... at least I could. What am I doing to "work the harvest"?
- Location:ortin'
- Mood:
impressed
updated 1 hour, 26 minutes ago
SAN FRANCISCO - In a monumental victory for the gay rights movement, the California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage Thursday in a ruling that would allow same-sex couples in the nation's biggest state to tie the knot."
Personal politics aside, isn't it reassuring to know that the WILL OF THE PEOPLE can be overturned by four judges? How many people live in California? About 36.5 MILLION.
And I thought this was a democracy. Now which part of this whole thing is "unconstitutional" again, because I'm confused?
(And in case you're curious, it doesn't matter to me if gays call themselves married. I'm of the opinion that marriage is an institution of God, not of the US government, and the last time I checked, God didn't take his orders from the California Supreme Court... I can call my McDonald's cheeseburger "filet mignon" but that doesn't make it so.)
- Mood:
confused
I love this part of my job! Prop design is probably the most fun because it's always something new - not always dvd labels, dvd wraps, and menus. Created for Media Partners
Coincidentally, today is also the National Day of Prayer. (And I bet you didn't know this - it's also the day celebrated for Jesus' ascension back to heaven, after he stayed on earth 40 days after his ressurection!)
Anywho, since I'm a Christian I feel oblidged to join in the NDOP even though I usually can't attend any big festivities because of work and my commute.
Seattle is very different from my home town of Orting - during the day, I can see no evidence at all of the National Day of Prayer, and have yet to see anyone publicly praying downtown, but I do see protesters waving signs about labor conditions, free trade, politics, the war in Iraq, take your pick. Now, I personally agree that the war against Iraq LEGALLY shouldn't have happened because of the Constitution of the US, but I also support the President in his decision to stop a terrorist leader before he could kill more than just his own people. I want our troops to come home as much as the next guy, and I'd much rather see an environment of peace around the world rather than people killing each other for the power-hungry leaders of their nations... but I'm also a Christian, and by that, being grounded in the Bible, I know that there will never be the world peace these folks are crying out for as long as men are in control - "as long as the nations rage". Men simply don't have it in them to willfully get along - there is too much selfish ambition, greed, fear, mistrust, and a desire to control others to make it possible.
There isn't going to be world peace until Jesus returns to earth and establishes HIS kingdom (coincendentially, NOT a democracy). I'm not against the rights of anyone to protest- that's what makes America still a great place to live. And I'm all for free speech, but I don't believe that by joining a crowd of angry Americans and waving banners and freaky puppets, that any of the goals they are seeking will happen any sooner. Mob mentality just isn't my thing.
The good thing about today in Seattle, though, is that once I made it past the massive crowd of protesters, I walked up to the federal building. And here I started a new tradition for myself. I walked up to the flagpole in the courtyard, past the slew of police officers unopposed, and simply and silently laid hands on that flagpole and prayed. Prayer for our nation and it's sin, prayer for our leaders, prayer for our election, prayer for the dead unborn, prayer that eyes would be opened in this city, county and state, and a whole lot more stuff... and it's hard, because as much as I think our nation has been chosen to spread the Gospel through the abundant wealth God has poured out on us, I see the USA slipping further and further from God, and I need to remember that my first and highest allegiance is not to a man, a country or a flag, (as Derek Webb observes...) it's to a KING and a kingdom.
So it was a heavy time of prayer, but you know what? Since the rest of Seattle was busy protesting away from that flagpole, I was left alone with God. And really, that's for the best.
At the end of my time of prayer, a refrain from a song I was listening to this morning popped back in my head:
"My God, My God, Why hast thou accepted me, when all my love was vinegar to a thirsty King?
My God, My God, Why hast thou accepted me, it's a mystery of mercy
and the song, the song that I sing."
Even though we try to do good, individually and as a nation, still we let God down every day. Yet he still blesses us! Why? Because God still loves us, and I believe, God still has a plan for America. Regardless of democrats, republicans, conservatives, liberals, etc. None of that matters when you trust that God has everything still under control, even though from our perspective down here, nothing makes sense anymore)
- Location:Seattle
- Mood: contemplative
- Music:just what's in my head
Well I am a burnt offering.
Crawling off the altar, and back into the fire.
And with my smoke-filled lungs I cry out for freedom,
Lock and chain myself to my rotting desires,
and i hate the stench, but i swallow the key.
And with it stuck in my throat, can you hear me? Can you hear me?
The reason I love Caedmon's Call is for lyrics such as these - they are smart, relevant, convicting, and extremely poetic. Not to mention, you always learn something new about God. Let's take a look:
Paul commends us in Romans chapter 12 to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God, but as Rick Warren observes, the problem of a LIVING sacrifice is that it doesn't stay put. That's the picture I see here... we give ourselves and our old lives as sacrifices to God - we die to our desires and take up His desires. And we should stay that way, but as any Christian can tell you, we don't stay "still" on the altar. We constantly run back to our sinful ways even though now that we're saved, we know better. But "as a dog returns to his vomit, so does a man to his sin" you know. A couple pretty graphic word pictures, I agree, but more often than not, that's how God speaks to us, to wake us up from thinking everything is hunky-dorey. Sometimes we need to be offended, to realize how much our continual sin offends God. I for one know I'm guilty of this every day. Like Paul also says "the things I want to do [for God] I do not do, and the [sinful] things I don't want to do, I do! O what a wretch I am!"
Anyone who ever said being a Christian was easy certainly never was desperately aware of their own sinful nature, and how much discipline it takes to truly follow the Word of God.
Which brings me to the next lovely graphic picture in the song, the image of chaining ourselves to a corpse. Ah, How pleasant.
One particulary disgusting form of execution practiced by the Romans was chaining a condemned person to a corpse and withholding food or drink, until the person either died or resorted to cannibalism. One word, ICK. But really, it's not too different from how we treat our sin nature, which while in Christ we are set free from the power of sin's penalty and given the power to overcome, we are still confined to the natural, sin-cursed flesh (take that as sinful nature and desires) which now war against the Spirit within us. Even as a Christian, we still willfully sin as we "drag around" this corpse (our old life and desires, in a spiritual sense). And like the song says "though I hate the stench, I swallow the key" - we voluntarily walk back into sinful ways we know better to avoid. And when that key, the freedom so easily offered to us, "lodges in our throats", we choke on the fact that we do that the ability and the desire to overcome, and we feel guilty that we still sin and let Christ down.
Thank the Lord that like the story of the Prodigal Son, even though we are filthy and greedy with sin, we recognize that God is merciful, and that he will always welcome His children back to him with open arms, because he loves us more than we can ever know, even though we offend him daily. Hourly. Minutely. (is that a word?)
All that to say, I love this song, and even more than that, how I love the grace of my God, who gave HIS LIFE for me on a cross, and bore the penalty of MY sin, as well as every one else who will ever read this. How encouraging it is to know that even if you were the only person who ever lived and who ever sinned, Christ still would have died JUST FOR YOU.
Awesome.
- Location:seattle
- Music:Coming Home - Caedmon's Call
And at the same time, Jennifer got the idea to add a couple little ones to our family too! They're just a little more "fluffy":
They don't have names yet, but I'm pushing for "Terri" and "Aki" or "Nugget" and "Drumstick" ;)
- Location:at my desk
- Mood:
blah - Music:it was erasure, now it's quiet.
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