Traffic Waves & Turkey Legs

I often say one thing and mean something else; I have even recently said that I say the right thing the wrong way far too often. Sometimes I just use the wrong word, and sometimes I use a word that doesn’t describe the fullness of what I mean. Knowing I struggle with this, I have tried to expand my vocabulary. I have found that there are some words that can be misconstrued to mean more or less than that same word means in a different situation. For example, if I were to say that is a big cat. I mean that the cat is large for a cat, yet I use the same word to say that is a big planet. It is big, big for a planet. A cat and a planet are in different leagues from each other size wise, yet I use the same word to describe them. I hope this makes some sense.

Thankfulness is an interesting dynamic. Think about it, we are thankful for someone holding the door open for us, and yet we use the same word for someone who has saved us from drowning. We say thank you to someone that passed us the butter, and we say thank you for someone that has donated a kidney to save our life. Thanks can be lost in translation at times; sitting down to a dinner to celebrate thanks can take on a whole new meaning. It can become far less than it is intended to be. I wonder if that has happened to our society?

The two things that thanks can be described as are gratitude or relief. I wonder which of these we relate to this nearly buried holiday we call thanksgiving. Is it a day that we celebrate the relief of something that we don’t have to endure or if it is gratitude in some way of something that has happened to us. Either way, the word certainly fits the intended idea of the holiday. However, I wonder if we have almost “dumbed” (Which by the way is not a word) it down because it isn’t something that we really think about, rather it is a common courtesy to say if someone opens a door for us.

Is thanksgiving nothing more than a wave to someone that has let you in front of them in traffic?

I don’t want to beat a dead horse, we all have had the guilt trip laid on us about being thankful, but what I do want is just a different look at thanksgiving. A lot of us may feel that there is so much wrong with our lives, and I don’t want to be so arrogant to say that there isn’t, but I know that there are people around this world that have it much worse. I believe the institution of this holiday, warts and all, is true relief and gratitude for the survival that our forefathers had.

I hope you have a blessed thanksgiving. This is by far my favorite holiday because I do try to take time to feel the relief and gratitude. I find that I, too often, go through life without it.

These Clouds Are Not God’s

For me, one of the best and easiest ways to sit back and worship God is to watch clouds. I am a bit of a daydreamer anyway, but when I look at the clouds, the horizon, the way the sun paints them, the way the sun shines its rays down through them. I just feel this sense of, “I am with you.” Wash over me. Maybe it sounds weird, maybe it is, but watching clouds often takes tension from my body, calms my heart, quiets my mind, and re-focuses me. I can’t tell you how often I am running late, or headed to a meeting, or fretting over time constraints of some sort (some self imposed) and I look up and feel the presence of God with me, and bringing me back down from the mess I love to consistently throw myself into.

I sat back yesterday and began to think about various things, as my random mind does. I was thinking about the freedom I have recently felt. I have felt release from numerous religious rituals, non-biblical rules, and guilt induced and ruled religion that others, and by proxy, myself have placed on me. How to dress while at church, you must act a certain way, you must live up to expectations, you must, you must, and you must. If I didn’t do any of these things up to expectation, I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. So much so that it crippled and disabled me and stunted my spiritual growth for years. A person has a beer; they must be bad, because beer is bad. I don’t know where that comes from, but it is an unspoken rule in so many churches, and many others like it.

I can’t tell you how many other things that I have been freed from in recent months. I can’t tell you the basis for some of the empty ritualistic rules that people are expected to live up to. I can’t tell you why we seem to emphasize living by these rules as opposed to listening to the Spirit of God and even God’s Word. I can’t tell you why we allow things that are taboo, such as gluttony, but we battle against silly things such as types of music, the requirement of a pastor wearing a suit and tie, keeping coffee in specific places in a church building, and many others. What I can tell you is this…

…God is not in these clouds.

These clouds are not God’s at all.

When I started down this pathway I began to wonder if I was just being rebellious, and I found out I was. Not against God, but against a tribe of the church that would love to see the church (as a whole) operate as a machine rather than an organism. Machine clouds vary from organism clouds. A machine likes straight lines, structure, and is a very linear thing. That isn’t always bad; there is a place for all of those things. However, an organism does have some structure, however, it allows for some flex and groove as God would allow.

To say that God in is like a machine is a very narrow focus.

We limit Him when we say it must be this way or else? Think of some of these stories we read in His Word. Abraham and Isaac, taking your son on top of a mountain to sacrifice him? Noah, building a boat that is about a third of a mile long? Gideon fighting an army of 250,000 with a mere 300 men. Any of these sound nice and clean and linear?

God loves to reveal Himself to us in various ways, for me I see it in the clouds (among other things). We must be careful to not operate in a guilt controlled, overly structured, narrowly focused, and impersonal way. That does not allow much room for a very large God to operate in all His fullness in your life.

Peace to you all.

Sometimes I might suggest some Scripture, please don’t think I am necessarily trying to lead a Bible study…rather, think of it as me suggesting a wine with your steak, having said that feel free to read over Hebrews 11

Love and Brimstone

This past weekend I was speaking at our retreat, our topic was basically being connected to God. I started off with talking about God’s desired connection with us, and that led me to the first two chapters of Genesis. What I found in those chapters was what I believe rather revealing to the love that God has for us and the heart that He has towards us.

I have heard from various places that there are tribes of Christians that believe the problem with the world today is that there is not enough of the “fire and brimstone” mentality in sermons and in reaching out to the world. The mindset there is that they don’t believe people understand that if they don’t change they will go to hell. Therefore, it is our job to inform them through propaganda. From my experience this does very little except show that you have an agenda that if others don’t follow you, they will be placed in the worst possible place that anyone can imagine.

Very effective.

Does the thought ever get out there that God doesn’t want that? It seems like that mindset throws out the idea that God almost wants that for people who don’t follow Him. This paints the picture of the thunder bolt wielding god ready to zap people. I don’t know what god you follow, but that is not the true God. I guarantee it. That may not mean much to you, and I do believe God is a God of justice and that there will be a reckoning, however, the true God wants nothing more than to be connected to you.

If you read the first few chapters of the Bible, you see how carefully God designs man. How with everything else God speaks things into existence, but with man, God kneels down on the earth He created to carve man out with His own hands and then breathes the breath of life into man. Nothing else in the whole universe can say that. He walked with mankind, and talked with them, He gave the earth and all its beauty to man. Sure sounds a lot like a god that can’t wait to be separated from his to me (note my sarcasm). When mankind broke the relationship, instead of forever separating us, He put into motion a plan to reconnect us.

While we can’t Barbie doll-ize God (from a past blog), we can tell that His great desire is to be connected to us, through that connection, glorify Himself as He reveals Himself and His love to and through us. When we understand the plan that He has laid out to reconnect us, without condemning us, and He does all the work. We accept Him and live an open life for Him to have control, and as we lay our life down and search for Him He meets us. From what I have seen in Genesis, there is a loving God that has a desire to be with us. I see that there is justice in how He must deal with us when we become disconnected, but I also see that He is full of grace and a desire to re-connect us.

A brimstone driven god does not depict the true God well.

Having said that, if you have encountered that agenda, I apologize because there is a way to handle truth and I believe the way that it was handled with you is not the full truth, only a selective part. I would encourage you, as well as any who have not encountered this agenda, that God loves you and wants to talk with you and be with you. If you are of the mindset that we need to push that sort of propaganda of judgment, I encourage you to forget your pre-conceived notions and then re-read your Bible. If you truly drop those notions, I believe your theology will get rocked.

May God, the true God, bless you. I pray that today is a day that He reveals a new truth about Himself to you. Search for Him, you will find Him.

**I do not dispute the concept of judgment, I dispute God’s desire for judgment.

Helping with High Heels pt 2 (The Art of Missing the Point)

Yesterday I began talking about how our society as a whole seems to miss the boat when it comes to the rest of the world. I talked a little about the heels I saw in the box that were donated for people who didn’t have shoes. I spoke of how impractical heels were to people who had nothing and had to walk to polluted water as well as a few other topics that heels seem to be a poor resolution to the problems they may face. I would like to continue with that flow of thought as I enter into the topic for today.

Does the church have a similar problem? Do we try to “help” people in impractical ways? As I read and study, recently, I have seen the actions of the biblical church look much different than the current actions of the church. I don’t want to rehash some of the things I have gone over in the past. However, let’s look at how the church helps? If you attend church, what are some of the programs or encouragements to your attendees that the church has? What have we done personally, I mean do we really need someone to point us in a direction? Don’t we see need on our own? How do we respond?

It isn’t my intention to bash the church, I love her, but I see why we see the American church waning.

When I was heavier, I had a person I know that I saw (ironically at church) every week. Without fail, there would be a comment about my weight and how I had gotten bigger. “Eating too much good food, eh?” or something along those lines, every week. Before our daughter was born, this same person would ask, “When are you two going to have a kid? Don’t you think it is about time?” I know that this person meant nothing personal by this; I know that they had no malicious intention. However, is that what I needed to hear? This person had no idea of the struggles I had, no idea we even had the ability to have a child. Does the church come across this way with how we handle people in need? Whether it is physical, spiritual, emotional, or whatever kind of need…how are we coming across?

Was I heavy? Yes. Could I have had a child? Yes. Was what was said wrong, per se? No, it was truth. How well would you say it was handled? We, as believers, have truth we are the ones who are here as a part of the plan to reveal this truth to the world. How are we doing it? Are we approaching it with impracticality?

Heels are shoes, people in Africa need shoes, so here are my heels. Do you see the issue with that?

I am not in any way suggesting we don’t “give” out the truth of Christ, I am suggesting we do it in a way that meets people in their needs. Pushing an agenda was never what Christ intended. He wants us to love people, draw them close in this love that they so desperately need, and in that the Truth will come forth naturally.

Rebuke without love is judgment.

Judgment drives those in darkness deeper into the darkness; love will draw them into the light. Speak the truth…in love. Meet people as Christ did when He went to those who were cast offs in His culture. I think the church has too often recently been “helping with heels” when there are more loving and practical ways to reach this hurting (more than ever) world.

I hope this makes sense, may come across as a bit of a ramble.

Peace to you all.

Helping with High Heels pt 1 (Ignorance Is Bliss)

I was walking through the mall yesterday and decided to stop with a friend and get Starbucks. While waiting I noticed a big box where Starbucks is collecting shoes for people around the world that do not have shoes. My friend looked also and noticed that in the box, which was nearly empty, there were a pair of what I would call flip flop heels. They had the straps like a flip flop but they also had heels. I began to laugh because I am imagining some lady in Africa or in South America that has to walk 5 miles to get water for her village and someone handed her these shoes.

How very impractical.

I think, from my limited perspective, there are a few lessons here. The first one I will mention is our limited world view. We, as Americans, are very sheltered in our understanding of this world. We have missed the boat with understanding what necessity is and what a spoiled desire is. Here are just a few stats from some of my recent travels…

-There are over 1,000,000,000 people in this world that don’t have drinking water…that’s a billion people. It is just water, and they have to walk 10-20 miles a day to get what they can get. What water they can get is stagnant, bacteria filled, shared with animals (and all that comes from them), and even then there isn’t very much water. This causes villages not to have school for their children because the kids job is to go and get the water, which is an all day job. No schooling, the cycle continues, no hope, no growth, just sickness.

-Sex trafficking is a huge industry in this world. In fact it is a $32,000,000,000 industry, yes that is in billions again. 27,000,000 people stuck as slaves in this industry around the world. Girls in many countries are asked to service between 40-50 men a day. The average age of these girls? 14 yrs old. If you think, yes, but we have so many issues to deal with here in the U.S., you are right because sex trafficking is HERE. In Ohio alone there are over 1,800 people trafficked a year. In Ohio. It isn’t just Ohio; it is all over the U.S.

-There are people without shoes, people starving, people who have ailments but no ability to get medical help. I heard a story recently of a man who went on a medical trip to Africa to help the many people that needed various medical attention. They went into the biggest soccer stadium they could find, began treating people and filled up very rapidly. They had to turn people away, they had helped over 5,000 people, but hadn’t scratched the surface. As the man continued to talk, he mentioned that one family that he had to turn away had walked for over a month…A MONTH!

I don’t think we get it. I don’t think I get it.

I don’t want to overwhelm anyone with all of this, that isn’t my intention. I just want us to think as we close in on this season that we sit and gorge on all sorts of goodies, which I am not condemning, that we also maybe take this time that we sit down with friends and family to think of ways we can make things a little better somewhere. Just a thought, I have gone on long enough.

Tomorrow: Helping with High Heels pt 2 (The Art of Missing the Point)