All for King Jesus...

Last night Jenni and I were looking at the stars and talking about God's promise to Abraham. Rich Mullins always said that one of those stars was lit just for us. We talked about God's promise to Abraham, that through him many nations would come.

This morning I started thinking how that promise really did not come about through Abraham, nor through Isaac, but it came through Jacob. Each of them was promised that the covenant made with Abraham would be fulfilled in them.

We do not hear this type of covenant again from God until David comes onto the scene and then it is promised again a very similar type thing, that his kingdom shall pass down and never be removed.

God has been playing this game of chess with the end game in mind all along. The entirety of Israel's history was deliberate strategy on the part of God to bring the messiah Jesus into the world to deliver mankind from the bondage of sin. Understanding this we can see why it was Jacob's direct lineage and not Isaac or Abraham's (both had sons that were not part of the fullfillment of God's promise - Abe had Ishmael, Isaac had Esau but all of Jacob's children became the nation of Israel) was the lineage through whom God choose to bring forth the nation of Israel. David was chosen because the DNA he carried was the DNA of the savior.

It makes me wonder how God is directing the flow of humanity in our world in order for Christ to return again.

More from "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day"

Talking about Gordon MacKenzie's book orbiting the Giant Hairball and a section on workshops he led in elementary schools.:
"MacKenzie would ask the kids upfront: 'How many artists are there in the room?' And he said the pattern of responses never varied.
In the first grade, the entire class waved their arms like maniacs. Every child was an artist. In the second grade, about half the kids raised their hands. In the third grade, he'd get about ten out of thirty kids. And by the time he got to sixth grade, only one or two kids would tentatively and self-consciously raise their hands."

Matthew 18:3
"And he said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'"

I wonder...

I was thinking this morning about regret. I wonder if we regret more the things we do in life that are failures or the things we never did and wish we would have. I think of all of the students who have graduated from High School under me, and how many of them say, "I wish I would have taken the time to share Jesus with people." None of them say, I wish I wouldn't have gone to that party, although they probably wish they hadn't - what sticks out to them are the things they could have done for God, but were afraid to.

Quotable Quotes from the book "In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson

So I've been reading this book and here are few ideas or quotes from my reading today that really challenged me and inspired me:

"Maybe a relationship with God doesn't simplify our lives. Maybe it complicates our lives in ways that they should be complicated.
All I know is this: Marriage complicates my life, Kids complicate my life. Pastoring a growing church complicates my life. Wealth will complicate your taxes, and success will complicate your schedule. Thank God for complications." (pg 85)

Speaking about Corrie ten Boom a Nazi concentration camp survivor:
"Corrie used to speak to audiences about her horrific experiences in the concentration camps, and she would often look down while she talked. She wasn't reading her notes. She was actually working on a piece of needlepoint. After sharing about the doubt and anger and pain she experienced, Corrie would reveal the needlepoint, She would hold up the backside of the needlepoint to reveal a jumble of colors and threads with no discernible pattern. And she'd say, "This is how we see our lives." Then she would turn the needlepoint over to reveal the design on the other side, and Corrie would conclude by saying: "This is how God views your life, and someday we will have the privilege of viewing it from His point of view." (pg. 98)

Life Expectancy

Do you think that life expectancy in our day and age should really be attributed to Medical advances or should the decline of the infant mortality rate be attributed to Medical advances. I am pretty sure that people who survived birth and childhood in past centuries lived into their 70-80's, but when you try to average it out and have to include deaths at birth it brings the average life span down a bunch. I was thinking about this because the bible mentions people who had long life spans outside of the first few chapters of Genesis. Anna is a great example. Anyway. I always thought as a kid that our medicine had made some spectacualar leap for mankind by creating the perfect anti-death agent. It turns out that we are just more proficient at delivering babies - no small feat in itself, but quite different from making someone live who would have lived 30 years live for 80. Just a thought...

New Testament - Old doubts...

Last night I was thinking about the New Testament. I was thinking just how outlandish it all is. The idea that God would put on skin, that He would walk around, that He died and that through that our sins are forgiven and we are redeemed from an afterlife spent in hell. I thought about the idea that He was then raised back to life after being for 3 days, I mean, His heart had not beaten for three days, rigamortis had set in, he was , . It is all so unbelievable. What I started thinking about is how there are so many other documents that record events that are just as spectacular or at least similar in their miraculous nature, that we simply discount as frauds. The book of Mormon is one that comes to mind readily.
Here is what I realized. The New Testament is different from all other Manuscripts of this type. It is a set of documents that were all written in the same span of time that the events took place. Let me explain it this way. People live for 60-90 years. Jesus died in the early 30 AD's. The new Testament was all written before or up to about the 80's. This means that a maximum of 40 years had surfaced between the latest writings of the New Testament and the of Jesus. THIS MEANS: that the reports of the New Testament were testable. Individuals could have read the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, and simply gone and talked with Nicodemus or Zacchaeus and asked if they had really witnessed Jesus in the manner the gospels record. No other document that I can think of has this same kind of "testability" to it. Joseph Smith wrote about things that had supposedly happened in the past. There is no way we can go and ask someone, did this happen. But early observers of Christianity had this luxury. It is no wonder the church grew by leaps and bounds in those early days. People in Jerusalem had seen all that had happened, they had heard reports and they were asking themselves, "what does this all mean?" Along comes Peter, he does a bit of preaching and explains the "Good News" and THOUSANDS accept Christ. It is no wonder. They accepted because it filled in the blanks for what they had witnessed.

Uzziah & Esau. to the cross.

I have been thinking about these two guys in Israels history. Esau gave up his birthright for a single meal. The present moment seemed so important and enticing that he gave up all the future held for him for a bowl of soup...
Uzziah had lived a righteous life. He was a good king for Israel, yet towards the end he became so proud of himself that he assumed the responsibility of the Priests and went himself to sacrifice before God. He was given a skin disease for his foolish pride.
It is so easy to look from the outside of this history and make judgemental calls. I imagine it is much harder to be in the situation. I wonder if Paul was able to identify more with the broken participants of Israels history as much as he was able to identify with the giants of the faith (2 Corinthians 12). I feel the need to constantly remind myself that there are meals out there that will tempt, but the birthright is worth too much, the battles that have been won in my life are not due to my own diligence and fortitude, but they are all the power of the Cross. I am worthless, Christ gives me worth...

Ezekiel Ramblings

I have been reading Zeek lately.  Some of it fly's right past me, but other parts are really sticking.  Last night, I was really struggling, I didn't really want to read the Bible.  I just wanted to read the books I've been getting into.  I was just about to give in and leave the Bible on the night stand, when I thought, "why would I read Bill Gates or Andy Stanley, when I could read the God of the Universe?"  So, I opened up Zeek and started reading.  I read about how God was fed up with the shepherding that the Israelites leaders had been doing and how He Himself was going to come and be their shepherd.  I began thinking about Jesus being the "Good Shepherd", about how Matthew said that Jesus had compassion on people because they were helpless and like sheep without a shepherd, and how Jesus asked Peter to feed His Sheep.  I could see Jesus being the direct fullfillment of this prophecy spoken in Ez. 34.  How God Himself showed us how to lead, how to love, how to have compassion.  It was just super interesting and a really cool study.  When it was all done with, I realized that if I had given in and not read, I would have missed it.  I would have missed seeing my savior fulfill a prophecy that was way before His time. 

Boy, I know I have missed so many other things because my mind has been distracted or my heart was just in other places.  I want to be sold out.  I want to be a world changer through Jesus.  As a teen I thought all of those things, I desired them all, but it was in immaturity, not really knowing what it takes, how hard it is, how life can subtly turn you.  Now I think them and think, "the only way is through the strength of Jesus".  I am not much by myself...  Not much at all...

Business @ The Speed of Thought...

I have started reading Bill Gates book, Business @ The Speed of Thought. I am very intrigued by how many of his predictions have come true. He wrote in 1999 and was predicting the ways that we would use digital resources in the future. It was really interesting to me. I suppose much of the reason his predictions were right was because they were not predictions at all, but his vision of where technology needs to go. This is an interesting look at how one man and a company with the right vision and resources can literally direct an entire nation and effectively the world.
Gates' point of the book is the in order to be effective in business, you must be able to respond immediately to the information that is being compiled about your company, customer base, and products. I think most businesses have incorporated most of his ideas into the way they do business. I now do all of my banking on-line, as do a lot of people my age. Not only am I personally connected with my bank and information immediately, my bank is also collecting data and able to get real time feedback from me on processes that work well or poorly.
What strikes me is about this book, is how much thought and time goes into business dealings. How much effort and emphasis. How much data and information. Businesses can now run at a fluid pace because they take the time and effort to collect data and put pressure on themselves to be at the top of their game. And for what? Money? Success? To put out a better widget? I am still trying to assimilate all of this, but I am asking myself, how do we do a better job as the whole-salers of grace to this world? How do we keep up? How do we not just keep up, but lead out? I'm not totally sure, but I know we must deal with these issues. The culture is becoming so fluid, we must find a way to flow with and ahead...

What is it in Worship?

Yesterday I was feeling a little down, so I picked up my guitar and my newest worship CD and started practicing some of the songs. As I sang to God and let the words of these songs penetrate my heart, I could feel healing coming about. It is interesting how placing your thoughts on God can wipe away other thoughts and feelings. It is intriguing how His prescence can heal you. Usually I am so focused on feeling sorry for myself that I forget to set my eyes upon the author and perfecter of my faith. He is the only place where true safety occurs, I will place my hope in Him!

Salvation Stipulation...

I was recently asked, "at what point is a person saved?". It was one of those theoretical questions that you feel like you can only give a heretical answer to. The underlying question this person was asking was, "Does baptism really have anything to do with salvation?". We talked about it and came to no great conclusion. I told him I view salvation as a process, not a one time event. It is a matter of repenting, believing, confessing and baptism. All these things do not happen every time all at once. So, if someone dies before the process is complete, are they saved. I would probably say yes, but for those of us alive, does that mean we can neglect the process, I would say no.
What it got me thinking about, and the reason for this rant is the idea of the word "saved" we Christians like to throw about. The idea that we accept Christ and are, at once, presently translated into a new person - we are longer on the recieving end of God's punishment stick. Our talk about being saved is as though it is a present reality a current occurence. Our idea of the word is tha "I am saved" (meaning I am currently, presently saved from sin), the scripture, on the other hand, talks about salation in the idea of "those who are being saved" (2 Corinthians 2:15), as far as I can tell, and I certainly will leave room for me to be wrong, salvation is a future tense reality, not a present occurrence in our lives. Hebrews 9:28, speaking of Christ's sacrifice to take away sin says "and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." 1 Peter 1:9 says "for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (The emphasis in both verses is mine). It seems that salvation is a life long process that we are all rending ourselves through until the day of Christ or our final breath on this earth. Does this mean that as believers we are no different? That no change has actually taken place in us? I would say not. We have become the dwelling place of God on earth. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, those who are believers, He is our deposit until the day of that salvation (read 2 Corinthians or follow this search link). This means that God is freeing us from sin and yet we are bound by it. This means that we still hurt, still die, still cannot understand, and we still see as though we are looking into a foggy mirror. There is a day when salvation will come on a white horse and he will have his name tattooed on his thigh. His sword will protrude from his mouth and once and for all we will be healed.
So, when is a person saved? When they die...

A philosphical question and a question of philosophy...

As Christians, we are constantly trying to get rid of those elements of society that function in an immoral manner - porn on the web, violence in video games, sex in TV and movies, etc. My question is for those "free willers" out there, those Armenian brothers:
If God is a God of choice, desiring that individuals chose him, then why do we try to rid an individual of choice? Let me clarify, why do we try to rid ourselves of the negative choices in life?
Do we make for stronger Christians if we remove any possibility of sin?
Do we make for better Christians if we take away any chance of falling away?
Will grace abound? Is our job to clean up society and remove temptations? (I am not talking at a personal level, I am talking at a corporate level).
Someone might well then say, "what choice do we have but to get rid of immoral things, they corrupt, kill, maim and smell bad." Of course they do, they are immoral because they are in direct opposition to the things of God (which tend to smell quite peculiar and tantalizing). But is getting "rid" of this societal corrosion really the answer? Even God left Adam & Eve with a choice, he left them the chance to be immoral. It has always boggled me how much time we Christians put into banning, badmouthing, and breaking down immoral activities only to have five more pop up in their wake. I have long felt that, if anything, we loose ground in this fight. Perhaps, we do not gain ground because our struggle is not meant to be against imoral "things". Perhaps, God has never desired a moral nation or people, but an obedient, loving community. Perhaps, He cares much more about the condition of our souls than the language on our lips (fixing the first will lead to a rebirth in the former).
This is why Christians being involved in the working of politics and schools, homes and businesses, is of the utmost importance, because we must find a way to give a choice to the masses. We must make sure that the world not only has sex, drugs, and rock n' roll to chose from, but that they are able to see and chose the grace that can be found in a relationship with Jesus... If we make clear what is wrong but leave out what is right, we only make for moral people. I am about changed lives, not moral people...

FWD: I feel so... Dirty.

by: Emily Dangdiddilydo Dodge
" the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being"
-Genesis 2:7

When I read the first few chapters of Genesis it's quite similar to me watching one of my favorite movies.
I love watching Robin Hood Men in Tights. I well never grow tired of it... ever. In fact.. now that I've mentioned it, I'll probably watch it tonight.
Anywho... While I watch that movie it's easy for me to just let everything fly by me.. because it's so redundant and I almost have every line memorized.
It's the same when I read Genesis. It's a story that I've been told since I can remember. I've read over the chapters several times. It's easy for me to just think.. "why, this is pleasant, I enjoy it". And not really pay attention.
But last night when I was reading, Genesis 2:7 popped out at me, and it really hit me. Harder than any Mel Brooks Quote... believe it or not. :0)
"formed the man from the dust of the ground" Are you kidding me??? Dust isn't even good enough to be dirt. Atleast people like dirt... you can do stuff with dirt, grow things and plant and walk on it. Dust is just there, an annoyance.
How easy it is for me to forget just where I came from, and who I am.
Why is it so easy to forget who God is? To blotch out all that God has done and continues to do. As if it's not a big deal.
It's hard for me to get over myself. Wether I'm complaining about how bad things are, or taking pride in something I've accomplished. It's stupidity.

Without God, I am nothing but Dust.

Thoughts Spawned by a Rabbi

So I have been listening to this podcast by Rabbi Mintz in New York. They are very interesting. The class is a study in the history of Jewish and Rabbinic Law. I have learned a lot and been very interested. It has been interesting in the way an art gallery full of replica paintings would be interesting. It is like seeing an origional and yet not having the same depth or character as the origional. I mean no disrespect. It is after all a study of the history of Law not of Yahwey. What the Jewish law makers set out to do after the period of the judges, kings and prophets was to take the torah and explain it. They did this through the Talmud and the Mishnah. These documents set out general explanations of the law found in the pentatuch (the first five books of the Old Testament- their only testament or covenant). What happened was, they Jewish community, after returning from exile, no longer had prophets to tell them what God wanted. They had a temple where they could sacrifice to him, but all they had to live by was the previous prophetic message, the law of Moses, and the oral tradition (said to be handed to Moses on Sinai and passed on orally). The early pharisees, the predisesors to the Rabbi's, would take a law like "You should keep the Sabbath holy", and they would say, "Ok, we understand that we need to keep the Sabbath holy, and that we are not to work on the Sabbath, but what constitutes holy and work." The Talmud and the Mishnah are authoritative works that define these types of open ideas. The Mishnah was created in the early 200's ad and it is the written oral tradition, the Talmud came shortly after and it is a commentary of sorts on the Mishna, it not only contains the tradition, but seeks to define the tradition even more by presenting differing Rabbinical arguments. An example of a law in the Torah that needed this kind of definitive process in more recent years is that they were not allowed to start a fire on the Sabbath, this was considered work. So, in modern days the Rabbi's argued and debated whether or not you could flip a light switch or not on the Sabbath, because when you flipped the switch they were not sure whether you were starting a fire or not. These laws are the replicas I spoke of in my annalogy. We are quick to dismiss this kind of legalism, but it comes out of a deep respect for God, it comes out of trying not to overstep what God has commanded. But as Jesus would say, you uphold your traditions and forget the great things of God's law, love and mercy. At the time of Jesus these laws were still in an oral form and you would go to a Rabbi to get his take or argument, his "Talmudic" type saying. When Jesus comes he takes the oral tradition and the teachings of the Rabbi's and turns them of their heads. He says in Matthew 23 some harsh words concerning they way they handle the law of God, vs 23-24:
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."
You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. It is such beautiful imagery and such fierce words. Jesus is attacking a not just a tradition, but something they believe to come from God on Sinai with Moses. He might as well have spit in their eyes. But, that is not the point of what I am saying although I do like to watch a good fight. What I am saying, I guess what struck me about listening to this Jewish Rabbi talk. Was just how little any of it had to do with God himself. The whole enterprise became so focused on the law that it forgot the lawmaker. It became so rigid in principles it set out that it could not conceive of a God who went beyond their principles. The tradition was to be fluid, it was to change with it's context, but it was always about the tradition, never about God, not really. I mean, that is what most of the prophets are screaming out. That is what Jesus came to rail against. This is why we needed a new covenant, because in the old, the law that was to only be a school teacher became the stumbling block... Anyway. This was very interesting to me, hope it makes sense. It is very long, and probably needs editing to make sense seeing as how it is 7:14 in the morning, but alas, I am to lazy and I figure you can grasp my meaning without me fixing my mode... Hah, I hope so anyway...

Sing Songy..

Wish washy, pish posh, ding dong, sling shot, billy goat... These words all come to mind this morning. Mostly cause I like the way they roll off the old tongue. I wish thoughts rolled out of your head like words roll from your lips. I am a thinker, not a great thinker, not a mediocre thinker, just a plan ol simple, can't get it out of my mind thinker. I analyse and criticize and chew and swallow and chew again. Sometimes this is a good thing, keeps me finding new ways to do things. Sometimes this is bad, keeps me from doing anything. Sometimes it makes me dwell on what needs no dwelling. And sometimes I can't help but look at the moon and wonder about all the grandness of God who shines a light even in the darkness. This morning it is my darkness that needs the light. It is not the kind of darkness the scripture speaks of, rather it is some sort of uncertainty some mystery within that seeks to break forth. There are ages and times when you deal more closely with these things. Where your inner man trys to break it's bonds and the Spirit within trys to free you. I think 28 in the winter must be one of those times for me. I will not bemoan this time, I will not grieve its existence. It is good to be at unrest and unsettled. It is good to not trust yourself. It is necessary for freedom and faith, belief and undoing. My darkness, my void, my inside man only seems to focus the light for me. I may not see God much clearer, but now I see that He can be seen clearer. And so I will let the good times roll, free my lips to sing songs and my heart to praise with lifted hands. I will find power in truth and justice, in Gods honor and glory and grace...

Not Who I Am...

I woke up early this Christmas Eve. My thoughts were not on gum drops and little babies but on what I have become. I don't know if Christmas is a good time to take personal inventory or not, normally a thing left for New Years, but I have and so I will.
I couldn't stop thinking that my spirituality has been beaten and bruised and because of this brutality I have not been the man I should be, not for God, not for Jenni, not for the students in my ministry (I am not looking for accolades so please don't tell me how wrong I am). It is not as though I have abandoned any of those three or others, it is more like I have been choosing easy routes. Churches can be messy places, having people in them an all. Sometimes what should be is a far cry from what is, and when you are young and idealistic and run into those walls of resistance and messiness, it can really throw you off course. I have literally not done things in my youth ministry in the past few years because I have said "it is not worth it". Not, "it's not worth the time," or "worth the effort", "money", "sacrifice", etc. the "it" is the putting my neck on the chopping block in order to maybe share the gospel with a few kids. Doing something that might rock the boat a little bit, not for the sake of rocking but for the sake of the gospel.
Realizing that my bruises have left me a bit broken is one thing, but beginning to choose the path less trodden is another. I want every area of my life to be centered around Christ like compassion and service, often times it is centered around Kent like desires and complaining... I need the renewal of the Spirit of God, I need the Christ Child to smile on me and heal my brokenness. I need the self-control and servant heart that only God can deliver. I don't know that big changes are necessary, rather, small changes - after all, life is lived in the details with rare moments of grandness and beauty.
Well, how is that for confession and repentance.

Jesus does Hosea

Hosea 2:19-20
I will betroth you to me forever;
I will betroth you in righteousness and justice,
in love and compassion.

I will betroth you in faithfulness,
and you will acknowledge the LORD.

As I read Hosea today, I could not help but see the picture in Revelation 19 of the wedding of the Lamb!
In Christ this prophecy of Hosea's will be fulfilled.
It is quite a thing to be caught between these two passages, awaiting the day when to two will become one. New and Old mesh into a single thread of prophecy fulfillment!
The passage in Revelation says that the "bride has made herself ready." She is adorned in white, a white that claims its color from the righteousness of the saints of God. She is beautiful and he has come to sweep her off her feet. I love the idea that she has made herself ready. She is indeed, expecting his return. If Christ is the fulfillment of Hosea, the church should be the fulfillment of those words of readiness. We should be a beautiful bride dressed in white, a white that is not of a righteousness of our own that comes from the law, but that which is by faith! So put off your jealousy, fits of rage, grumbling, gossip, back biting and all sorts of evil and dress again in the clothes given to you at the time of your death and resurrection in Christ!
Our suitor has gone to prepare a place for us, but mark His words, He will come back again!

It would be so nice, to grow old with you...

Last night I preached on the story surrounding the birth of John the Baptist. I realized shortly before I got up that the last time in the history of Israel when an elderly couple got pregnant was with good ol Abraham & Sarah. Through their child Issac and his child Jacob, would come the whole nation of Israel. The first covenant between God and man came from the birth announcements sent out by this old couple. We fast forward a couple thousand years and again we have a barren elderly couple who has faithfully followed the Lord. Except this time their child will usher in the new covenant not through his bloodline, but by his preaching and pointing people towards the messiah. I think it is as if God is saying, "this covenant I am now bringing will be similar in form to the old but will far surpass it in every way..."

Broke Bread

I understand the desire in churches to return to the pattern found in Acts, whatever that may be. One thing that is interesting to me is Acts 2:46-47 where it talks about the believers meeting to break bread in their homes, this follows vs 42 where they speak of devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 46 starts by saying "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts...". Every day. I wonder if this is the reasoning behind Catholic Mass every day of the week. These folks lived in community with one another. As the church we do not hold to having a true fellowship like this. I wonder what would happen if we began to devote ourselves to a more full living out of the early church's pattern?
If I had a time every day for my students to gather together, would they? Would adults? Should we? I'm not sure yet...

32 of 72

This past weekend, Friday - Sunday I drove for 32 hours in a 72 hour time span... We went down to Pharr, TX. (we were right north of the pool) for Jenni's grandparents 50th. It was a good time and it stretched my manhood for driving. I did all of the driving except for 2 hours from Medicine Lodge to there and back. The whole way down and back when people were sleeping I listened to Mark Moore sermons, they were really good, very challenging (worth the listen, especially the series on Revelation)...
I had a lot to think about as I drove, I will try and articulate some of my thoughts later...