Escalators and other things that "go bump" in the heart

The other day I took one of my good friends to down town Indy for the first time. She had never been there before so naturally I took her to the Circle Center Mall. She was excited for the new experience, but as we parked in the lower level garage and approached the entrance to the mall, something came over her.

She stopped in her tracks, and I could see in her eyes the only thing she wanted to do was head back to the car and get out of there fast. I looked around to see if there was a creepy old man. .. Nope that wasn’t the answer. Then I checked my teeth . . . nothing there. I was stumped but then I saw what she was staring at.

The thing that was striking so much fear in my friend’s heart was a very simple set of escalators. There wasn’t anything new or tricky about them. They were plain old normal escalators . . . but there seemed to be something more going on . . . it seemed like these escalators held a power over my friend rendering her legs inoperable.

But I wasn’t going to let this escalator win . . . I mean it was an inanimate object . . . so I thought I could take it down. I would use my intellect and logic and I would defeat this possessed escalator and free my friend from it’s strangle-hold.

So I gently grabbed the back of my friends arm, told her it would be alright and we both got on the escalator . . . she didn’t breath for the 15 seconds we were on that “hellish” ride . . . but she made it . . . we defeated the evil beast
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When I was a kid I remember being terrified of an escalator. I vividly remember shopping with my mother, and her getting on the escalator, while my feet just wouldn’t move me on with her. I remember seeing her get further and further away; further down and further away. I remember balling and being so very scared.

Another thing I was scared of as a kid was sitting on the toilet. I remember watching one of those “real stories” TV shows, where they tell you unbelievable events that have happened that you should believe. The episode that scared me away from the toilet involved a giant snake coming into a family’s home through the toilet. Every time I had to “go”, I was worried a snake would come up and bite me. This was a tragic experience for me. (I still check the toilet for snakes today)

Indiana Jones has this famous fear of snakes. It seems like in every Indiana Jones movie or story he comes into contact with some huge snake, a ridiculous amount of snakes, or is trapped with snakes in a very small space. I remember the paralyzing fear that would come over him, at each of these encounters.

Fears are normal. Everyone has them. Everyone has some of them. There are even really cool names for very weird fears, like . . .

Aulophobia- Fear of flutes
Arachibutyrophobia- Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth (I suffer from this one)
Trichopathophobia- Fear of hair
Helmintophobia- Fear of being infested with worms (who isn’t afraid of this)
Chronophobia- Fear of time
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia- Fear of long words (oh the irony)
Phobophobia- Fear of fear (a little redundant ?)

There is pretty much an “official” sounding name for any fear you can think of. That’s how fear-ridden we are as human beings. Not only do we fear things, but when you put us all together there is at least one person who fears every different thing in life.

Fear has this crippling effect . . . just like my friend and escalators, my childhood & toilets, Indiana Jones & snakes . . . something strange happens when we are afraid. It is as if our fears overtake who we are and start making decisions for us.

Fear stops us in our tracks . . . and keeps us from doing what we want to do, or what we NEED to do.
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I have lots of fears right now in my life. Things that keep me from doing what I want or need to do. At times I really do feel crippled in how I live my life, how I interact with others, and in the way that I handle myself.

This summer it even has gotten to the point of being so overwhelming at times, that I really wonder where my fears hid me, because the real me is hard to find.

I decided a while ago, that I liked the old me better.

Knowing that my fears and insecurities were holding me back; I have been trying to keep my eyes, ears, and heart open to the spiritual realities about our fears.

And like with most things in life, before I realized it God started revealing exactly what I needed.
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There is this story of a time when Jesus was teaching a huge crowd. He was trying to communicate to the masses to avoid “the yeast of the Pharisees”, which was knowing what was right but not doing it (hypocrisy). Apparently either there was some uneasiness about this statement or Jesus just knew the hearts of the people in the crowd. Because he follows that statement with this one . . .

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”

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When I was younger I always thought this referred to the devil, but let’s not make that mistake here. The “him” is the one who sits in judgment on humanity. That means the one you should fear is God. You should be afraid of God.

I don’t know about you but for some reason that statement doesn’t sit well with me. It doesn’t seem like the God I know. There has to be some more depth to it. I mean I never saw Jesus and his followers running around being afraid of God or what he was doing. What I do see, is Jesus making simple yet tough statement that were very deep . . . that was just the way he liked to roll.

Fearing God is not a “new” idea. The books of Psalms and Proverbs mention fearing God (and the benefits of it over 70 times.

King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live summed up the purpose of life this way:
“Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

Now this is just speculation on my part but I think when Jesus was talking to this crowd, he was hinting at why we should fear God. He specifically says fear the one who after killing the body has the power to throw you into hell.

There seems to be an emphasis on God’s ability to judge souls . . . and that power is something we should fear.

This is more speculation on my part, but I believe there is something much bigger going on in our hearts when we fear someone or something.

This may seem like a stretch but take a minute to seriously think about it.

I think the reason we are told to only fear God is because in the end, when we fear something, in a strange way we worship it; and we are only supposed to five God our worship.

Think about it; if our fears paralyze us, and shape our decisions and behavior. If we give our fears priority to mold us and our lives; how is that any different from giving priority to God? The motivator may be different but the end result is the same. We are responding to something (God or our fears) saying through our actions, you are important and significant. You are significant enough to effect the decisions I make every day. In this way our fears become the object of our “worship”.

That is why we should only fear God.
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I have another friend who has recently taken on the challenge of conquering her fears and insecurities head on. I have been really proud of her. You see her wounds are very deep. She has been hurt, abandoned, and crushed by the people she cared most for in life. So when life does it normal routine of mixing things up, it is very hard for her to trust. In the back of her mind she fears those she loves most abandoning her once again.

She made the decision that she was not going to let these fears and insecurities control her life anymore. It has been an amazing thing to watch and be a part of; I truly have been blessed to be part of her healing process. And that is just it. It is a process. Fears don’t disappear overnight. And some insecurities can not be resolved without the help of others. It takes a ton of courage to overcome these fears and it takes a lot of love.

The Apostle John once wrote “There is no fear in love, for perfect love drives out fear”
That is the key to overcoming fear . . . to giving it up and not allowing it to control us any longer. We need “perfect” love to drive out the fears in our lives. I think this love obviously comes from God, but I also see a huge theme of Jesus’ teachings being his followers helping others heal. He calls us to help bring physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.

So thanks to my friend I think I have the courage to beat my fears, and I think I have the right people in my life to show me the perfect kind of love that drive out fear.

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The first step to driving out the fear in your life is to put it out there. It is to bring our fears into the light, instead of letting them linger in the dark. When we keep our fears to ourselves they tend to “go bump” in our hearts and cause us that paralyzing damage we discussed before.
So let me bring some of my fears into the light. Let me expose my insecurities for what they are and with the grace of God and the love of others around me, let the power they hold over me be broken.

*disclaimer - I am writing these things, not to have you refute any of them

(I realize many of my fears are irrational, but they are my fears none the less)

· I am afraid that no one could ever love me again
· I fear never being able to do youth ministry again
· I worry that I am too “outside the box”
· I am afraid that I am not really a “good” person
· I fear living a wasted life
· I am afraid that everything was my fault
· I am afraid that I will let you down
· It’s my fear that everything important to me will fall apart
· I am afraid I am letting God down
· I worry that no one will ever really “get” me
· I fear that I am a failure
· I am afraid I will miss my purpose

These are the things that “go bump” in my heart. And today I choose to not make them the priorities of my life. From here on I will live, breathe, and move in love; perfect love which drives out fear. I will surround myself with others who are seeking and living out God’s love. I refuse to believe the lies that fuel my fears and insecurities.

Today I choose to fear God, knowing that he is so much bigger and larger than anything and everything else in life. And by fear I mean I will let the knowledge of who God is drive me to live a life in response to all that he has done, is doing , and will do in me, through me, around me, and even in spite of me. The only thing I will “fear” is being separated from the One who truly gives me life.
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I hope that you can do the same. I hope that while you are staring your fears in the eyes, and feeling your legs lock, unable to move forward, that something changes.

I pray that God puts the people in your life that can gently grab your arm, whisper softly that everything will be alright, and then join you on the “escalator”. And together (with God and others) you begin the journey to defeating your fears and insecurities.

I also pray that today you can be a “fear” fighter in the lives of the people you care about the most. That you will be that person to show perfect love and drive out the things that paralyze those dear to your heart.

And the end of the day I pray that you can say in your heart, the words to one of my favorite songs . . .

“God above all the world in motion . . .

God above all my hopes and fears . . .

And I don’t care what the world throws at me now . . .

I’m going to be alright”

Don't be "that guy"

Don’t be “that guy”

Now “that guy” can be defined differently based on the situation in question . . . but one thing is sure you really don’t want to be “that guy”

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In college I knew the quintessential “that guy”. Let’s call him Jon. Pretty much in every situation imaginable Jon was “that guy”. He was “that guy” who would ruin the ending to a great movie. He was “that guy” who would make up obnoxious stories and claim they were true. He was “that guy” who would fall in love in a moment, and then practically stalk the girl he just met. Think up any social situation and He was “that guy”!

My favorite part (and I say that with sarcasm) about Jon’s “that guy” personality was when we would play sports. When it came to sports, Jon was “that guy” who always played by his own rules; but never the actual rules. He was “that guy” who would get irate when you claimed that he broke a simple rule of the game.

Playing sports with Jon was always interesting to say the least, because you never knew what rule he would make up, or what actual rule he would ignore entirely.

And at times his “that guy” personality would take over so you wouldn’t really know what game we were playing. For example we would be playing basketball . . . but with “that guy” it seemed more like football.

I don’t know if you have ever played sports with “that guy” . . . but seriously it is annoying.
I’m not a very patient person, and as soon as I could tell that “that guy” was turning our game of hoops into a tackle-fest . . . I knew it was better for me to walk away.

And I would always leave saying to myself, “Why did ‘that guy’ have to ruin everything, we were doing so well until he jumped in.”
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I struggle a lot with Christians. They frustrate me.

I used to say I was a Christian, but now I avoid the term, because I think it brings too much negativity into a conversation with someone who isn’t a Christian.

I like to call myself a believer . . . or a follower of Christ.

Christians do really annoying things . . .

For example the other day I saw on a tail gate of a truck a magnet of the 10 commandments. I half expected there to be an 11th commandment for “thou shall not tailgate”. Seriously, what is the purpose of that? If you are putting that on your vehicle to remind you of what you believe, then put it someplace YOU are going to see it. But really the whole thing is about broadcasting what you believe is right, and essentially forcing onto the drivers behind you . . . I think if I weren’t a believer, I might hit you just for putting it on your tailgate.

A few months back I saw a sign on a church marquee that said “And you think it’s hot here”. I was just taken back . . . if I’m not a believer, I read that sign and I think you are trying to guilt me into coming to church because apparently hell is going to be more miserable then the heat wave we are having, so that should motivate me to become a Christian. I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit, when I read that.

Or what about “those Christians” who go to places like rock concerts, abortion clinics, adult bookstores, gay clubs, and political rallies. They make signs and bring bull horns. It seems every word out of their mouths is about how they are right and everyone else is wrong. They scream about sin, evil, and wickedness.

If I were a non-believer . . . I wouldn’t listen either. I would ignore you too.

Do you see what I see?

Many times Christians are the quintessential “that guys” of society.

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I really try to avoid everything “christianese” in the world because of the “that guy” label that gets placed on anything “Christian”

I will be honest, sometimes (especially if I know someone has a negative experience with Christians) I don’t want to tell them that I am a Christian. I am not ashamed of Christ. But I am totally ashamed of the image that people get when they hear Christian.

So I have really tried to focus on Jesus.

Because I think he is the key to understanding God, faith, life and how they all work together.
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There is this story of a time where the Pharisees are trying to test Jesus. They ask him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replies “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and will all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

When Jesus is basically asked “Teacher, can you pick out the most important thing God commands us to do in the Old Testament?” Jesus response is singular . . . but also two-fold.

His response is simply . . . love.

The two fold love is to love God . . . and others.

It is like Jesus links these together . . . as if they are inseparable.

As if one is not complete without the other! That is to say, you can not really love God with all your heart, soul and mind without loving others. And the reverse is also true; you can’t really love others without loving God, because God is love.

Talk about making your head hurt . . . Jesus’ response is so complex; it is probably more complex than the Old Testament

So this is what Jesus says is important . . . so this is what I should do if I am a follower of Christ.
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I think we have a problem as Christians. I think just like “that guy” I knew in college we are playing by our own set of rules.

Somewhere in the past we decided what the rules were . . . we don’t smoke . . . we don’t drink . . . we don’t get divorced . . . we don’t have sex before we are married . . . we don’t _________ (fill in the blank)

Essentially what we have done is set up boundaries that are intended to help us “not sin”. And we have said if you are a Christian than you will naturally abide by these rules. This also has given us a clear picture of who is or who isn’t a Christian.

And while we have been doing this, we have (intentionally or unintentionally) created our own Christian sub-culture

We have our own little world within the world. We have Christian versions of everything we need. We have Christian books, music, t-shirts, bumper stickers, movies, stores, key chains, and food (Chic-fil-a). We have everything we ever need to keep ourselves entirely separate from the rest of society.

We have created our own little world in which we live and breathe and interact. We have made it so that we don’t have to venture out into the “pagan” or “secular” world.

While we think that creating this perfect little subculture has made life easier for us to be better Christians . . . in reality what our isolation has done is communicate to non-believers we don’t want them in our lives unless the look like us and act like us.

Now I’m not saying this is intentional . . . but it doesn’t matter if it is intentional or not.

It is what it is.

More than that . . . by isolating ourselves we have lost the message of what we are about . . . but we have made it very clear what we are against . . .

Think about it . . . do people know you are a Christian by what you do or by what you don’t do?

Do people know that you promote love, hope, and faith . . . or do they know you are against abortion, divorce, and homosexuality?

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I think this might be the greatest tragedy of the generation before us . . . and I desperately long to create a new future . . . centered around the greatest commandment . . . love.

We need to stop being “that guy” creating our own rules.

(I’m not saying that the current rules are bad rules . . . they obviously are helpful in living a good life, otherwise God wouldn’t have given us this life advice)

But our rules are not bringing us together with people . . . so we need to change the rules in which we live life, before they get frustrated and walk away wishing “that guy” wouldn’t have ruined everything.

You see when it comes down to it, for us the only rule that matters is love.

That’s what Jesus said . . . love God & love others.

You see at the end of the day. We are not the referees of life. We aren’t supposed to blow the whistle and tell people where they have screwed up and broken the rules. Let God do that.

We are the players . . . and the only rule we need to focus on is love.

When we play by our own legalistic rules all we do is chain our standards and expectations onto the gospel and try to force them onto unbelievers. The reality of what we are doing . . . is we are hindering the gospel.

Let the Gospel run unhindered in the lives of the people who don’t know God, let’s not strap it down or stop it from doing its life changing work. Honestly someone is not going to change their life because you tell them they should . . . they will change because they have had a supernatural experience with the living God that has left them forever changed!

We need to let God do his part, while we do our part!

Our part is loving others . . . that means caring more about people's hearts than we do the home life.

That means realizing that Jesus IS the only way to God, but YOU and I aren’t the only way to Jesus.

When we play by the rule of love . . . everybody wins.

When we do our part . . . when we stop being “that guy” . . . and just love others

then . . .

Love wins.

good at games

I am good at games. That’s the simplest way to put it. But in all actuality I think one of my spiritual gifts is being good at games. I am so good at games, that it has become a habit of mine to invent my own games. (i.e. apartment ball, pond score, foos-hockey, and unconscious duck, . . . to name a few). I am such a hard-core gamer that I even have what I like to call “competitive pants”

So naturally when I walked into the casa-de-tandy the other evening, I was pumped to see a stack of board games taller than a midget. I was excited . . . I was so excited I wanted to shout “Gaaaame on!”

The first game chosen was Scategories. The concept of Scategories I was familiar with but I had no previous experience. So I used my god given game abilities and after six rounds I only needed to use my scores from the first three to win. It was a solid victory . . . and naturally boosted my confidence in my “spiritual gift”.

So round two was another game I had never played . . . Mad Gab. Feeling the endorphins kicking in, I was confident that another victory lay at my finger tips. We switched things up and put the guys versus the ladies. A change in format would not stop my win streak. The men and I would come through victorious against the ladies.

Like many games . . . sometimes it takes a while to get accustomed to the nuances and strategy of the competition. So I wasn’t worried when we got off to a slow start.

We were getting 2 for every 3 the girls were getting. And while I will admit, it seemed like the girls were naturals, while the guys struggled to score some points, I still wasn’t worried
until IT happened . . . and from that moment forward I knew we were doomed.

SHY

NIECE SHEIK

ANNE’S HAL

AD

It was boggling my mind ! Why was someone’s niece messing with a sheik who had a bi-genderal name and was placing a personal ad ? (never mind that last statement)

If you have never played Mad Gab, the idea is to from some real phrase from these jumbled up words. It’s not an unscrambling of the letters, but it is more of a listening for the message behind the words.

I was so frustrated . . . I just kept repeating over and over again Shy Nice Sheik Anne’s Hal Ad . . . Shy Nice Sheik Anne’s Hal Ad . . . shyneicesheikanne’shalad !

Everyone was laughing and my team wasn’t getting anywhere close to the answer !

No matter how hard I tried the hidden phrase just wouldn’t pop out at me . . . all I could see was the sheik and he was laughing at me too !

So while I had gone into this bout with confidence, at the moment I was lost in the rhymes and riddles of the creative minds at Mattel Inc.
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I was reading the other day and my mad gab experience came rushing back to me . . .

I was reading Paul’s second letter to the believers at Corinth . . . this is what gave me my flash back . . .

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix out eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2.cor.4.16…18.niv

This passage is loaded with great stuff . . . but the thing that I have been thinking about is “seen vs. unseen”

I think it is really cool that Paul is trying to encourage this group of believers. We all need encouragement sometimes right. Let’s be honest. Just because you follow Jesus, that doesn’t mean life is going to be easy or perfect. (I personally believe that following Jesus, makes life much harder). But maybe that’s a problem in the church. They sell Christianity as a solution to all of life’s problems. But honestly, becoming a Christian doesn’t “solve” problems, it probably creates some problems.

In reality we all know what it is like to have a “terrible-horrible-no good-very bad day” . Many of us know personally what it is like to go through a devastating tragedy. And still many of us know what it is like to live with emotional, spiritual, psychological and or physical pain.
Bottom line . . . life is not easy. And it doesn’t even matter what you believe. Life is hard.
So when Paul is trying to encourage these people . . . really he is connecting with something that all people experience. Paul points out that on the outside everything is wasting away. But what is interesting is that at this point he is already working on this “seen vs. unseen” idea. Because he combats the visible frailty of life with the invisible renewing that God does in the hearts of his people.

Paul communicates to these people, that essentially no matter what you are going through in life, these troubles should be considered “light” and “momentary” when looked at through the eyes of the creator. Because when we look through God’s eyes we see that this life (what we can see) will be gone. But the Kingdom work that God is doing in the hearts of people everywhere . . . that will last forever. And heart work is unseen work.

So do you see this picture ? How the unseen is more valuable than the seen .

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So back to mad gab . . . the unseen is more valuable than the seen.

Can it get any more clear . . . I was staring at those words and repeating the over and over again . . . but I couldn’t see (or hear) the unseen meaning behind everything.

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so this passage and playing mad gab got me thinking . . .

I like to have things figured out. I don’t know about you, but I like to “have my finger on the pulse” of how things work, and what is going on. It doesn’t matter what the topic is. I would like to know everything about it.

I don’t like to be uninformed or left out of the loop.

Even when it comes to something simple like board games, I like to know everything I can about them. I like to know the rules, but even more than that I like to know the strategy.

You know like the unsaid rules to the game. I like to know the strategy that gives me the best chance of winning the game.

The same can be said of life. I like to know the strategies that are going to give me the best results in life. I like to know how life works, and then make the necessary adjustments to make sure I have the best life possible.

That makes sense right ? Everyone wants to have a good life. Everyone wants to avoid pain, and to find happiness. No one asks for tragedies and hardships. Everyone is looking for a life strategy that will help them avoid hardships, and encounter as many positives as they possibly can.
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So one question . . . if everyone is working toward finding happiness and avoiding pain . . .then why isn’t there some full proof strategy that will make that happen. I mean come one, we humans have been around a while, and we are pretty smart. Why isn’t there a formula for avoiding all of the crap in life ?

Why are there things like murder, rape, incest, pornography, alcoholism, disease, famine, natural disasters, divorce, suicide, genocide, and eating disorders?

Why does God allow all of these things to happen ? Why do these things happen to me and the people I know ? What possible good could come from all of these horrible things ?

Why did my friend’s father abandon her ?

Why did my wife leave me ?

Why did he keep going when she said no ?

Why did he die so young?

Why does she cut every night ?

Why does he hit her when he’s drunk ?

There are all of these awful things that we see every day. We are all affected by them in one way or another. They are things that we deal with every day. And honestly we can get lost in them. We can see these things happen over and over, like some vicious cycle. And yet we still don’t understand why.

Why God ?

“we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen”

That was Paul’s response to the hurt, pain and suffering the believers were experiencing.
You see it’s easy to get lost in the junk . . . it’s easy to get your eyes stuck on how bad things are and in the meanwhile miss what God is trying to do. You can miss what is going on behind the scenes . . . in the unseen realms.

So Paul wants us to focus on God’s view, not on the things we see.

Which although he doesn’t say this directly Paul is asserting a central pillar or key to following God. This key is the undercurrent for this entire passage.

Faith.

We are to have faith, first that there is more to life than what we see. Secondly, we are to have faith that what God is doing in our hearts (the story he is writing) is what is most valuable, and that while we may not understand it, it still is more important than what we are dealing with on the outside.
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So I encourage you today, that no matter how much you think you have figured out on the strategy of life, that you take faith in a few things.

-Have faith that God is passionately pursuing your heart. You may not hear it, feel it, or see it at this moment. But You are in a process of being renewed by God.

-Have faith that whatever hardships or tough situations you deal with today, God will not waste them. He wants to use them to develop you and your character to build his kingdom.

-Have faith that while you may not understand everything, God is in control and you can take comfort in the fact that He is God and you are not.

Live life today looking for the unseen, listen with your heart and just maybe God will reveal to you the mysteries of what he is trying to do in your life.

(oh and by the way . . . the answer was . . . Chinese chicken salad)

YOU

* so today I got off of work and felt the need to spend some time with God . . . i took a shower, then headed for my favorite God spot . . . here is what I wrote

YOU
I'm in that place again.
In this space again.
It's time to turn to YOU.

I thought you set the stage.
I was sure I had it made.
So I ventured on alone ; without YOU.

Everything seemed right.
Everyone was so nice.
Until it happened . . .
Where were YOU ?

I thought you didn't care.
Maybe you were never there.
But really I know . . .
I abandoned YOU !

Thought I could handle it alone.
Wanted to do it on my own.
Acted like I never needed YOU.

So I stumbled and fell.
Created a living hell.
Where I was seperated from YOU.

When I realized the truth.
It seemed too late to do . . .
Anything to reconnect with YOU.

You never gave up.
Although I was stuck . . .
Choosing to run from YOU.

It's all clear now.
I lost control somehow . . .
And gave everything over to YOU.

Here's What I've learned.
As this page is turned.
Today . . . all I need is YOU !

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I think we have all been in these situations where we question God, when we run away from Him, and when we return to Him.

i pray today is a day where you return to HIM is some way or another.

. . . and they were washed away

I worked as hard as I do every night. It's something I take pride in. I knew there was more to accomplish so I didn't even give a second thought to leaving when I had "put my time in". I was there to finish the job. So that is what I did. When it was over I was sore, filthy, and exhausted. But there was a certain sense of satisfaction as I passed through the motion censored doors. They opened as if I had commanded them to, like in some mysterious way they could tell by my sweat soaked shirt, my calloused hands, and my bloodshot eyes that I deserved a royal exit. I had earned at least that much.

And as I trudged to my truck, leaving all the cares of work and life behind, it hit me.
It was subtle at first. But then it hit me again. And as I looked up into the looming sky I felt a soft drizzle begin to fall on me.

It was in that moment that I became lost.

I spent the next hour in the bed of my truck. Sometimes laying, other times sitting on the tail gate. And as the rain picked up, I could feel it washing away the remnants of the job I have come to despise.

It rained so hard that I could wipe the dirt off my arms . . . and it didn't slow down. It just rained harder.

It rained so hard I couldn't distinguish between the rain and my sweat. I was soaked. And it just rained harder.

It rained so hard I couldn't smell the "pleasant" aroma of a hard nights work, all I could smell was summer rain.

Although it changed my condition . . . I just sat there in the rain.

The wind picked up. At first it wasn't too bad, small gusts here and there, enough to give you goose bumps (or goose pimples as my mother calls them). But then it started to blow, and it was cold. It was the kind of cold that chills you to the bone. It was blowing hard enough to shake the rain droplets that had accumulated in my beard, onto to the ground. But I could still taste the rain on my lips.

And I just sat there . . . taking it all in; enjoying every moment.

I saw people rushing into work as their shift started. It's funny how people avoid the rain. I saw umbrellas, ponchos, and newspapers used as protection. People parked closer and walked faster as if their actions helped them dodge the incoming water missiles.

Most of them looked at me, sitting in the bed of my truck, drenched apparently for no reason and they gave me that "Hey guy, you must be crazy" look.

But I just sat there . . . taking it all in. I didn't care what they thought; no one was going to ruin this for me.

It was like all of my cares and concerns . . . they were all washed away

As I finally got into my truck and peeled off my wet exterior, the only thought going through my head was that I couldn't have asked for a better start to my day.

___

I don't know about you. But sometimes life can seem pretty bleak. I mean I try to put on my "happy face" but if we were real and authentic we would put on our "this sucks" face.
Sometimes life can just seem to be so "not what it's supposed to be", that you wonder if God even cares - or if he exists -

Don't feel weird or bad for that . . . we have all felt that way at one time and it's likely that we will feel it again sometime.

_____

There is this famous passage / quote / saying or whatever found in the book of Jeremiah.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

You can find this passage all over the place . . . on journals, lawn decorations, pictures, at weddings and in gift shops on an assortment of various "unneedable" items.

Don't get me wrong it's nice . . . it's easy to remember and it makes me feel good about me and God. But I think we take this out of context and it loses so much of its significance behind it . . . so let me set the table.

BACKGROUND :
-God's people have rebelled against him and have served, worshipped, and sacrificed to other gods
-God sent Jeremiah to lead his people into repentance
-They didn't listen or follow Jeremiah's instruction
-So as a consequence of their disobedience God allowed the pagan nation of Babylon to invade and take all of Israel's key people (kings, queens, doctors, teachers, religious leaders)
__

So here is where God's people are . . . under the rule of a foreign nation and one which God has allowed to invade their country and take them away.

If I am a good Jew, life looks pretty rotten, and I am saying to myself "things were never supposed to be this way!" "Doesn't God care?" "Where is he in all of this?"

Then in comes our famous passage to the story . . . but this passage is part of a larger letter sent to God's exiled people in Babylon (you can find it in Jeremiah 29) But the General message . . . the overall idea that is communicated to the people is to embrace the new life that have IN EXHILE. God tells them this is a 70 year exile (most of your life), so enjoy it. Don't worry about the promise of restoration . . . I will still keep my word but in the mean time . . . make the most of today.

So that's part of the picture . . . but here is the second part . . . the passage doesn't end with "a future". It goes on . . . "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."

It is in this second part that God gives these people and us (I think) the key to living for today, even when life is at its worst.

First God basically says "so what if life stinks . . . this is your life . . . it's going to be your life . . . so you might as well make the most of it. Oh yeah and here is how you do it . . . you seek me . . . you make your life about pursuing me . . . and if you do this I promise you . . . you will find me and I will deliver you.

_____

So I was thinking about why sitting in the rain this morning was so special . . . so perfect and I think it was because I wasn't worried about anything negative that has happened to me recently. I was just enjoying the moment. I was forgetting the past and just appreciating God right there in the moment.

Rob Bell puts it this way -
"When we are holding on to how things were, our arms aren't free to fully embrace today."

I don't know if you are feeling like I have felt in the past but take comfort today knowing that no matter how awful life can be, that God doesn't want to waste today with you. Make your day about pursuing Him and He promises you'll find Him and He will deliver you.

And maybe he will take all your worries and wash them all away

there are two kinds of people in life

There are two kinds of people in life . . .


There are those people who make lists; and then there are those who don't.
Think about it . . . palm pilots and post it notes are huge. You can go to the store and find 1,000 different kind of post it notes, all different shapes and sizes. Palm pilots are so "now" that phones come equipped as personal organizers.


The "to do" list is even a featured function on all palm pilots


I am one of "those" people who makes lists. I drive the personal organization consumer frenzy.

Honestly I would like to think that I can function in life without using a list. I have even tried to convince myself of this by intentionally "winging it", but I have proven that I can not be trusted with a listless day. It just a day that goes to waste. Part of my compulsion with making lists is about organization; another part is that I am forgetful. But I think the biggest reason I make lists is because it makes life easier. Or at least it seems that way to me.


For example if I decide today that tomorrow I am going to have a bowl of kix and a banana for breakfast, then that settles it. Or maybe it's a bigger choice; like who I am going to spend my time with, or what I am going to do all day. If I decide before hand, then there are no issues. If left on my own, with no list in hand, I would probably spend every day eating pizza, drinking mountain dew, and playing video games.


You see what I mean . . . I can't be trusted.


Sometimes making those choices are just too hard !
___
Life is full of choices, some insignificant; like what you might have for breakfast.


Others are vastly more complex; like what will I do with my life. Or how can I make a difference ?


Recently I have been wrestling with some of these major life decisions, and honestly I have been pretty frustrated at times wondering why God would make things so complicated, or allow for so many paths in my life. I simply want to know what he wants so I can do it.
But life and God are never that simple are they ?


I wish I had a list from God so I could make sure I was doing what I am supposed to.
___
So as I have been on this journey trying to figure out my big choice, I have been reading through Jeremiah. The book is a complex and beautiful depiction of man's sinfulness causing his own destruction, while God restores man back and even better than before. It's pretty sweet!


As I was reading I came across this : "See I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death" – I stopped in my tracks . . . God offering a clear path . . .


Wait . . .


Could it be that simple ?


Could all of my decisions, all of my choices be made simply when thinking about life and death ?
There is passage in the book of John which says – The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroys; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.


Destruction & death or abundant life ?


One choice . . . could it really boil down to this ?


I think that maybe it just might.


What would happen if we started making our choices not based on our feelings, ulterior motives, hearsay, or interpretations ?


What if for a moment we forgot about logic and reason and simply asked . . . "does this option promote or give life to us and the people around us?" Or does this option take, steal or kill a piece of me or someone else ?


When you think about it our decisions really could be that simple.
In how we live life . . . do we give life or do we take it. Do we build up . . . or do we tear down.
Now THAT could make life a lot easier . . .


I wish God would have left me a personal list of things I'm supposed to do. He didn't; but if he did I'm sure the first thing at the top of the list would be


[ ] choose life

Pimp My Life

Have you ever seen the show pimp my ride ?

I used to watch it, just to see how the car in each episode would top the car from the previous episode in awfulness.

Oh yeah and then there was xzibit . . . how can you not love xzibit ?

Honestly I know hardly anything about cars, but I would tune in each week to see how crazy and out there and awesome the vehicles would become after they had been “pimped”.

And if you watch the show then you know, during the commercial breaks you wonder what your car would look like “pimped out”

but it would never happen to me . . . you know because they say pimping ain’t easy.

Pimp my ride may seem very random, but I saw a commercial the other day for the new season, and I was taking a stroll down memory lane, and it got me thinking about some stuff that has been bubbling in my head for a while.

So let’s get out our proverbial bubble wand and blow.
___

As mentioned in previous blogs, I am reading through Jeremiah. The last blog dealt with two big questions that Jeremiah asks, and asks often. They were two large themes. So let’s tackle the next big theme.

Restoration .

It’s a big word that sounds really important.

If you say it at church people might think you are really spiritual or something.

The dictionary defines restoration as the act of restoring (big surprise); renewal; revival; or reestablishment.

So do you get the picture ?

It’s like taking an old dresser and sanding it down, painting it, and putting new knobs on it.

It’s like sewing a hole up in your favorite pair of pants.

It’s like getting part for your car and replacing them.

That is restoration.

Let’s take a minute to look at a snapshot of Jeremiah and his situation.

So Jeremiah is a prophet – a spokesman for God. In this case, Jeremiah is one of only a few people who are true spokesmen for God. The other “prophets” out there are telling the people to do whatever they want and that includes worshipping other gods. A big no-no when it comes to Yahweh. At this point God’s people (Israel /Judah) are about to deal with the consequences of their sin.

And the consequence for them walking away from God, and to other idols is that God is going to allow another nation to take them into captivity. Basically they won’t be in charge of themselves at all; they will be servants, slaves, and the lower rung of society.

If you are a good Jew and you see this snap shot as it plays out, there is nothing you can say except that this is broken. This is not what God wanted for his people, and they way things are . . . it’s just not right.

It’s broken.

but that is not where things end. God has something more in mind.

Here is what he says to Jeremiah :

“don't miss this: The time is coming when no one will say any longer, 'As sure as God lives, the God who delivered Israel from Egypt.' What they'll say is, 'As sure as God lives, the God who brought Israel back from the land of the north, brought them back from all the places where he'd scattered them.' That's right, I'm going to bring them back to the land I first gave to their ancestors.”
-Jeremiah 16:14-15 (the message)

Did you catch that . . . God promised restoration.

He told Jeremiah even though the people are going to go through this, I am going to bring them back. I am going to restore them.

Wow . . . that’s all I can say. I mean seriously do you see how HUGE this idea is. Maybe you don’t . . . so think about it. God’s people deserved what they were getting . . . and they deserved to stay there in captivity. The deserved to be separated, to be cut off. They deserved their brokenness.

But God said . . . “ I will restore them”

That is the beauty of grace . . . it makes life not fair (thanks Relient K)

What makes this even more HUGE is that this is not some isolated event with God.

Paul describes it this way “if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone the new has come!”

This is a pattern. This is a characteristic that defines who God is.

God is in the restoration business.

It’s something he has done, is doing, and will continue to do.

And as I have been wrestling with this idea this week, I think it is much HUGER than we recognize.

Fact – here is the way the church (on a whole) views things . . .

We sin and that separates us from God. Jesus came and died to bridge that gap and take away our sin. We try not to sin, in order to be more like Christ . . . in turn to bring others to him.

That is basically how we view things. It’s a nice little equation. And I am not saying it’s wrong. I just think it is a little incomplete.

I don’t know about you, but for me there has to be something more, something deeper going on, than just some sort of transaction, where Jesus takes away what I owe.

I believe God is just so much deeper than that.

And as I read about Jesus and his teachings, it spurns me on to say that there is something more that God wants, than for me to be “saved”

There is something he wants to do with my life, with your life. Something specific, something meaningful.

And while I was having these thoughts this week, I read the following –

“God isn’t just interested in the covering over of our sins; God wants to make us into the people we were originally created to be. It is not just the removal of what’s being held against us; it is God pulling us into the people he originally had in mind when he made us. This restoration is why Jesus always orients his message around becoming the kind of people who are generous and loving and compassionate. The goal here isn’t simply to not sin . . . it’s not about what you don’t do. The point is becoming more and more the kind of people God had in mind when we were first created. It is one thing to be forgiven; it is another thing to become more and more and more and more the person God made you to be.”
-Rob Bell (Velvet Elvis, Chapter 4: Tassels)

_
So let’s finish the bubbling, and wrap this up.

God is like Xzibit (or how he used to be); they are both in the restoration business.
In each episode of Pimp my Ride they do two things:

1) They fix all the important stuff that needs fixing so the vehicle will work.
2) They put all the flashy stuff to make it “pimped” out.

In the end, they have a fully restored vehicle that everyone would like to have.

I think God wants to do the same thing.

God wants to pimp your life.

Not that he wants to give you all the flashy things, but he does want you to be who he created you to be. And whatever that is, it is special. It is specific. God know exactly who he wants you to be.

Maybe that is a scary thing . . . but for me it is exhilarating.

God has an awesome plan for me. He knows exactly how to use me to build and establish his kingdom best. And I don’t know about you, but I desperately want that life.

I want to live life to the fullest. I want to squeeze everything I can out of it, for God’s glory. I want to forcefully advance God’s kingdom.

I don’t know about you, but for that person to develop in my life. I need some restoration. I need God to fix the essentials, and give me all the special things I need to be who he created me to be.

I’m betting you and I are pretty similar.

I’m betting you need some restoration too.

If you do, then you can pray the same prayer with me today

“Lord, please pimp my life”

mall walkers

Mall walkers are intense.

If you are unfamiliar with the term . . . mall walkers are those people who go to the mall and walk inside the perimeter in order to get exercise. Most of the time these people are older and many times they are retired.

I have seen many mall walkers in my days. And every time I see them, I am amazed / scared at their intensity.

I know some mall walkers, and when I run into them in the mall, they are so focused they barely take the moment to recognize your presence.

I am afraid to know what might happen if you got in their way, or tried to stop them and talk to them.

The thing about mall walkers is they are focused. Each step is intentional. They have chosen to be there to exercise and nothing is getting in their way of accomplishing that goal.
I don’t think I will ever be a mall walker.

But mall walkers got me thinking . . . actually I had been reading . . . and things just started to connect.

___

So if you have been reading my blogs then you know that I have been reading through the book of Jeremiah lately.

And as I have been reading there have been some big themes that have been popping out.

1) Why do God’s people suffer?
2) Why do evil people prosper?

These are two big questions that Jeremiah wrestles with. Now before I go on, I don’t want to say this is how things always are . . . but this is how things were for Jeremiah, and that’s how things have started to connect for me . . . so that’s where we start.

Issue # 1 – why God’s people suffer?

So for Jeremiah the question of why God’s people suffer was answered simply
“because they have turned away from Me (God)”

The New American Standard Version paints this picture of “turning away” as walking away. I think that picture is extremely accurate for what happens.

Over and over again Jeremiah says that God’s people walked after things other than God, and that they chose paths which did not include God.

Big point: So one reason why God’s people suffer is because they have walked away from God and toward other things.

Issue # 2 – why evil people prosper ?

God answers this second answer simply as well.

“don’t worry about them . . . I will deal with them”

This isn’t the answer Jeremiah wants . . . because if God’s people are going to suffer, then it makes sense that those people who don’t love or follow God should suffer too.

But God reassures Jeremiah over and over again that He will judge the wicked.

Big point: God will deal with the wicked in his time, they will not go un-judged.

so let’s bring this all together . . . what happens when you put . . .

mall walkers , suffering godly people, prospers evil doers, and God?
_

I don’t know about you but I have felt like Jeremiah felt. Actually I can feel what Jeremiah felt right now in my life. I feel like my life is falling apart and I cry out to God and I ask why would you do this? Why would you let this happen to me ? Haven’t I always done my best to serve you ? Haven’t I done my best to live my life for you? Why do I suffer ? Or are you even there ?

I also look at the world, and even people in my life and wonder how God could allow them to have such a good life, when they don’t care what He says, or what He wants from them.
I know what these things feel like

So again I question . . . God where are you in all of this ?

I think we all do this . . . question if God is really there.
_

So let’s connect

When we call God’s presence into question we are really just vocalizing or realizing that we don’t feel close to God.

For Jeremiah God’s people were far from God because they walked away from him.

This walking thing is huge. Walking is an intentional thing. You don’t just randomly walk. Walking isn’t an involuntary action. Walking requires purpose. You choose where you are going to go, and then you put one foot in front of another until you get there.

Just like mall walkers . . . there is a purpose, a focus, a goal.

So why is it that God describe what happened to his people as their walking away ?

Sometimes we say that Christians have fallen away, or wandered from the path. Both of those phrases seem very “accidental.” Like you were just living your life for Jesus and then one day . . . oops . . . you accidentally were living for something else.

God describes the relationship, the dynamic as our walking away. Our purposeful choosing.
That changes everything . . . doesn’t it.

Let me be clear . . . I’m not saying that we sit around as Christians as say . . .” ok, tomorrow I am going to stop loving God”

But what we do, is we make active choices that go against God, and we think that we will be ok. That somehow we can knowingly choose against God, and it won’t be “a deal breaker” with him.
And as we make that choice against him, we take one step away from him, and then the next time we choose “not Him” we take another step, and another, and another.

The feeling of being far away from God has nothing to do with what God is or is not doing . . . but has everything to do with our choices, our lives, and what we are purposefully walking toward each day.

Rob Bell puts it this way,

“God is always present. We are the ones who show up.”

God’s point to Jeremiah was that, He had always and would always be God. Jeremiah didn’t have to worry about it. But what Jeremiah needed to do, was to walk toward God. And to encourage , lead , and direct his people to do the same thing.

_

So if you are feeling far away from God. Know this . . . you may have walked away. He is there. But maybe you aren’t. That’s not a great thing to hear, but healing comes from being honest with yourself. Maybe today you need to admit to yourself, and a close friend that you haven’t been walking toward God. But you have been walking toward other things (school, friends, job, bf / gf , popularity, video games, shopping, etc.)

That could be your first step back toward God.

Because as crazy as this life can be . . . it really is as simple as walking.
Take the step today toward God, then tomorrow take the next step. Then the next and the next.

Pursue God with the intensity of a mall walker, and you won’t have anything to worry about. God is there and he is doing his job. So let’s do ours, and walk toward him

For my King
-devin

Cheap Crap

Cheap Crap
When I was a kid I always looked forward to getting my allowance each week. I don’t know if you got an allowance as a kid, but when you are young anytime you get money it is huge deal. It’s like that 5 dollars is burning a hole in your pocket.

When you’re a kid and money makes you act that way, you end up buying a lot of cheap crap.
The dollar general/store/hut is your best friend.

Then you take all your goodies home, and within 2 days, everything is broken and worthless so you throwing most of it away.

Some things don’t change when you get older . . . adults still buy a lot of cheap crap.
Our culture kind of encourages it.

One of the greatest theologians of our time described our culture this way:
“If we don’t get cheap crap quick, then we are angry”

And where does all of this cheap crap get up . . . pretty much nowhere

___
So I was reading this story in Jeremiah yesterday and I don’t think I had ever read it before. It really stuck out, because it was such a weird story.

So here is the background . . . Jeremiah is God’s prophet to Judah. God has told Jeremiah to go to the people and tell them to repent, because if they don’t God will have to bring them down, to draw them back to Him. The people don’t listen to any of Jeremiah’s attempts to get them to repent.

So in this little passage (Jeremiah 13:1-11) God gives Jeremiah a little object lesson.

Check this out

Verses 1-6

1 This is what the LORD said to me: "Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water." 2 So I bought a belt, as the LORD directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: 4 "Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to the Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks." 5 So I went and hid it at the Euphrates, as the LORD told me.
6 Many days later the LORD said to me, "Go now to the Euphrates and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

So God tells Jeremiah to go hide a belt in a rock near the river.

Weird. Right?

But God is making a big point, let’s check it out.

Verses 8-11

8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 "This is what the LORD says: 'In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! 11 For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,' declares the LORD, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.'

Because they did not listen, because they relied on other gods, the people of Judah became completely useless.

Useless like the belt.

Completely useless like cheap crap.

___
As followers of Christ, we may think that if we are doing all of the right things, like going to church, reading the bible, and praying that we are doing all of the right things.

But in life it is so easy to rely on other things . . .

Maybe its another relationship . . . your mom, dad, siblings ? maybe a boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse ?

It could be a job ?

Or it could be a certain group of people like a sports team, band, or a social circle

Maybe even a role in life, like being a leader, or popular , or the funny person, the emo kid

Or whatever.
___
I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to be useless to God.

I remember what it was like to have cheap crap lying around . . .

I would have rather had stuff that brought me joy, that I could use to accomplish things, things I could be proud of.

I hope that you don’t want to be worthless to God . . . because he has instilled you with a so much worth. He has given you gifts, abilities, talents, and opportunities to use all of those.

But the choice is up to you !

Are you going to be cheap crap ? Or are you going to be something useful ?

I pray that you don’t waste your worth.

For my King,
Dev

Kazaa, burnt cd’s, and spiritual nostalgia

Kazaa, burnt cd’s, and spiritual nostalgia

Does anyone remember back in the day (1996-2000) when there were programs like napster, limewire, and my personal favorite Kazaa , where you could download music for free? Those were the days ! I mean seriously other than the fact, that we were stealing from millions of artists the entire idea was phenomenal.

So I was going through some of my burnt Kazaa cd’s and just taking a stroll down memory lane. You know a little nostalgia. So I decided I would throw in what I called my “Rage Mix” which was full of great songs by Rage Against the Machine. If you don’t know who Rage was; it will help to understand that the cd is chock-full of sweet guitar solos and rambling anti-government and anti-authority venom. (Perfect material for a High Schooler with an attitude.)

So I put this cd in my truck and was rocking it out for a few days; which is pretty typical for me. But it just so happens that I was listening to it on my way to church Sunday morning (what a way to prepare my heart for worship)(not!)

Anyways one of the tracks on the cd is a song titled “Know your Enemy”

That was ironic . . . because that was the title for the sermon that day, at Plainfield Christian Church.

Maybe God was trying to tell me something ?

I don’t want to go into the whole sermon, but there was some good stuff that I needed to be reminded of about Satan (and maybe you need reminding too)

1. Satan is a created being

Sometimes the devil is portrayed as the anti-god, like somehow he is the complete opposite of God. Many people view that he is equal to God, like he is yin to God’s yang, or whatever. But that is not true. Satan was a created being. (Job 38:4-7)(Isaiah14:12-15)

2. Satan is a limited adversary

This kind of ties in with the first point. But Satan only has limited power. We see in the book of Job that Satan has to ask permission before he does anything. And that if he was all powerful he would not have let Jesus die on the cross. (1 Cor. 2:8)(1 Cor. 10:13)

3. Satan is a defeated enemy

God has already won this battle. The Pastor used this illustration: “It is like Satan is the leader of a mob, and he is running things from inside his prison cell”. I really liked that mental picture. Satan is already defeated.

I don’t know about you, but these were helpful things to be reminded of.

And today I had another reminder as I was reading in Jeremiah 12. Verse 7 is God’s response to Jeremiah’s complaint and it says

“I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies.”

In this passage “the one I love” and “her” are representative of Israel or God’s people. The “enemies” are the pagans, and also the devil.

If we put ourselves into the context, as followers of Christ we are the ones He loves.
But I found this interesting . . . God doesn’t give us over to His enemy . . . the enemy is ours

Satan is not God’s equal enemy . . . he is our enemy. He is plotting and scheming to wear us down and take us out. He can’t beat God, so he has chosen to try and take away the ones that God loves.

Because of this we need to keep these things in mind (the following are from the sermon, mentioned earlier)

1. Don’t be arrogant because Satan is strong – (1 peter 5:8)
2. Don’t fall asleep because Satan is subtle – (2 Cor. 11:14)
3. Don’t be afraid because Satan is subject (Hebrews 2:7-8)

It’s amazing how a song off of a cd I burned in 1oth grade could help me see the kingdom picture . . . but that is just how amazing and creative and dare I say “cool” God is.

Know YOUR Enemy

-dev

Hey Spidy!

Hey Spidy !
if you are a huge movie goer like me then you know that this weekend marks the release of the much anticipated Spiderman 3 . . . it also launches us into a summer filled with blockbuster sequels (i.e. Shrek, harry potter, pirates, Bourne ultimatum)

so after realizing that I will be spending most of my “fun” money for the summer on going to the theaters, I figured I would share with you my thoughts about the movies that I do end up seeing.

Overall review .::. Spiderman 3 presents all the things we love about the Spiderman movies. The triumphant hero, the indestructible baddies, the unreal actions sequences, and of course the ultimate power of love to overcome all odds; all of these things are present. The focus of the battle within is a very strong element in this film which is different. It is something that resonates with anyone in any walk of life, and is a very strong piece of this film. Something that I loved which was added to this film was the “overtopness” which is seen through peter parker’s interaction with the alien symbiotic substance. I don’t want to give it away, but you will know what I am talking about when you see it. I’m glad they put it in the film; it gave it a more comic book feel. Bottom Line – Spiderman 3 was awesome! You should see it! and it got me thinking a lot about life and God . . . here is some of my thoughts about that

So the sub-title of Spiderman 3 was “the battle within” – a simple version of the plot being that a strange alien substance finds peter parker and bonds with him, and it amplifies parts of peter’s personality (only it’s the bad parts) so peter is faced throughout the film with different tough situations. Sometimes he chooses to be Spiderman and other times he chooses to be the black suited Spiderman.

There are some huge similarities between peter’s struggle and the struggle that we all face every day. If you are a Christian, then we deal and talk about this a lot. But if you are not, that doesn’t change anything because we all have a battle raging inside of us.

For the most part people are good. (I personally believe people who aren’t good, don’t have control mentally or have already lost the battle within) But the problem with our lives is that even though we are good, and mean well; there is a battle going on inside of us.

Some people call this the battle between good and evil, some call it the yin & the yang, it has many different names and is viewed in many different ways by all kinds of people.

The basics of this battle are this . . .

we want to be good people

we want to do good things

we don’t want to hurt others

we want to do what is best

but we are selfish

and we don’t always choose what right

sometimes we don’t realize what we have done until it’s over

we make mistakes and bad choices

bottom line .::. We want to do what is right, but we can’t

there was this guy named Paul who wrote about this dilemma, I think what he has to say is really powerful, because this problem is one that we all deal with, and I know I need a solution to this issue. Here is what he writes:

"I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

(romans 7:14-8:2 the message)

The reality is that the battle within never goes away entirely. There has been and always will be a battle for your heart. That’s why we talk about guarding our heart, because it is the wellspring of life. (It Came From Within). But Paul says, that God already took care of this problem for us. He sent Jesus to die on a cross, and take away our sins. (no matter how many times I say that, it just amazes me, that God would do that for me) He took away this black cloud from our lives.

I find it very interesting that Spiderman’s alter-ego wears a black Spiderman suit. The movie clearly present’s two different personalities. There is good Spiderman, and bad Spiderman.
The climax of the movie comes when Mary Jane asks Peter: “Who are you?” and peter responds “I don’t know anymore.”

And isn’t that the question “who am I”

Am I someone who chooses good or someone who chooses evil ?

This question should push us to make the choices that we need to make, even if they are tough choices, because sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same (the fray)
Jesus has taken away the ultimate consequence of sin (death) for those who choose to follow him. But that doesn’t take away our responsibility to make good choices now. It only makes the choices we make every day more important.

Don’t lose the battle that is raging within. Do the hard things, stay away from the things, or people that influence you to make bad choices. And take your responsibility seriously.
At the end of the movie, peter says . . .what makes a person is the choices that they make. And everyone has the choice to do what is right

Do what’s right

Fight for the heart of your king.

-dev

dirt

dirt

So this week I started my new job, working 3rd shift at Lowes.

It’s not that bad of a gig. Basically my job consists of unloading two 52 foot trailers, and then stocking a small portion of that during the night, so the next morning you can pick which of the 54 grills that I unloaded you think looks the best.

The only drawback to this job is that when I go home I am filthy. I don’t know if you have ever handled any small amount of cardboard. But cardboard might be the nastiest thing known to man. Cardboard is like a filth magnet. So when you are handling oh say 2,000 cardboard boxes in a night, a lot of that filth ends up on you.

The way I look when I get home reminds me of the picture above – (zoolander)

But I never realized how much I loved showers, and more than that soap.

It’s crazy how I can just watch the layers of dirt wash off of my hands and arms.

It is amazing how dirty someone can get in just a few hours. I get so filthy that it’s hard to breath. The best part of the shower is getting out and blowing my nose and realizing how much dirt got caught in my nose.
___
it is crazy how dirty a person can get.

Today I saw an ad for a new tv show called dirt . . . the premise of the show is about some media personality who goes around digging up dirt on people.

We all have our dirt.

We all have those things that we know were wrong, those things we are ashamed of. If someone was able to see our life uncensored as a movie, I’m positive that all of us would have scenes that we wouldn’t want anyone to see.

So there is a little bit of a problem . . . every day we come home dirty. We come home so filthy that you can see the layers of dirt on our lives. It’s in our hair, our eyes, our nose, our mouth. (it’s in our heart)

I know what it feels like to be filthy, and to desperately want to be clean.

Our lives need to be cleaned as much as our bodies do when they are dirty.

King David felt this need in the Psalms he wrote:
“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”
we have this deep need created inside of us to be clean.

Sometimes we try to clean up our lives, by being good, and being nice, and trying really hard to do more good than bad.

The reality is that no matter how hard we try we can’t clean up our lives.

God is the only one who can help us clean our dirty lives. He is the one who can clean us up.

So maybe today you but down the proverbial “religious soap” and turn to God and let him wash your heart whiter than snow.

Keep fighting for your king
-devin

p.s “I think I got the black lung pop”

waves

there is something magical about the ocean

if you have never been to the ocean, you need to go just for the experience . . .

you might hate it . . . but seriously there is nothing like it.

it had been almost 3 years since i had been to the ocean . . . far too long

i love the ocean, i might just move so i can be closer to it.

______

this past week I was in florida, visiting some family and taking a little vacation from the craziness that I call my life. It was a great time hanging out with my cousins and jut relaxing but more than that . . . it was one of the most spiritually refreshing experiences I have had in a while.

Over the last few days I was able to connect with God and clarify so much about who He is and about who He has created me to be. I realized that I haven't been true to the true self that God wants to create in me. I have sacrificed that for other things, and other people.

It kinda stinks that it took the waves to get me to understand these things. These things were right in front of me the whole time . . . but it took something more to get me out of my funk.
maybe you have never thought about it but I think that waves are very spiritual things.
the paint a very good depiction of life, and really make us think about how God works.
at first glance the waves look awesome . . . you run as fast as you can, and dive into the salty goodness. It is refreshing, it is moving, it is alive . . . your crew is with you. You are playing around, throwing a football, dunking each other, having chicken fights. Nothing could be better . . .

but sometimes the waves take control . . . and suddenly all the fun is gone. The break so hard against you that you lose your balance . . . sometimes you become disoriented. You lose sight of everything, and you desperately want to get your feet back on dry land.

_________

life is not very different. the waves look great . . . everything in our life seems great. We have those we love around us, and we are playing the game of life . . . doing what we want and enjoying every minute of it.

but then something happens, things shift and life isn't so much fun anymore. you lose control of your life and you wonder what happened ? All you want is for things to go back to the way they used to be.

but the reality is that once you have experienced the reality of the waves . . . you never look at them the same, they have a different quality . . . something has changed. Not that it is bad . . . it's just more real . . . it has more significance
____
sometimes I wonder why God lets us deal with the waves of life (especially those who love him, and are doing the best we can). I think there has to be a reason . . . he has to be able to use the experience.

as I sat on the beach this week I think i realized it. I was sitting in the ocean . . . grabbing handfuls of sand, and as the tide came in watching it wash away the dirt and reveal all of the beautiful shells.

what a powerful image . . . i think God lets us experience the waves to wash away the dirt; to get rid of the unnecessary things in our lives. The writer of hebrews describes Jesus as the "author and perfecter of our faith" . . . i think the waves are part of that perfecting process.

so when the waves crash in your life . . . don't forget that they have meaning . . . God won't waste them . . . he will use them to bring out the beautiful "shells" that he has given you, and wants you to discover.

so when the waves crash, don't be discouraged . . . your king has not abandoned you, he is working through the waves, so embrace them, ride them trust that the waves will reveal how awesome God is.

keep fighting for your king

-dev

time travel

So keeping with my hanging out with my nephew & nieces theme: this weekend I saw meet the Robinsons.
Which by the way is a very good movie . . . if you have the opportunity to see it in 3D I suggest you do so . . . definitely a nice touch, and you walk away with some sweet glasses . . . anywho
So since I saw the movie, I have been thinking a lot about time travel. (this is a big theme in the movie)(don't worry not gonna ruin it for you kids).
I have really been wrestling lately with our humanity.
You know that thing that makes sure we are unable to do what our hearts really want, because somehow we manage to screw everything up in the end.
Yeah that humanity.
I'm just like everybody else. I have regrets. I have things that I wish I never would have done / said / thought / experienced / etc. But I believe that I am an authentic person, and when I realize how bad I screwed up I do everything I can to make things right. (the tougher part is when you don't know that you have messed up)
Considering my life situation at the moment, I wish I could go back in time, and make better choices, knowing what I know now. But I can't . . . (at least not until Cornelius Robinson invents the time machine).
So I look back in hindsight and think, I wouldn't change anything . . . because at in those moments I acted on good will, I did my best with what I had to work with, and at the end of the day . . . knowing that our humanity makes us "sucky" to say the least, I was authentically being me, trying to honor God with my life the best I know how.
I really do wish there was a time machine, so I could go back and fix all the hurt that I have caused people.
but somehow I trust that God is so much bigger, and better than all of the "sucky-ness" that I (and we) can come up with. He's bigger than it, and He will deal with it.
so I have been trying to reconcile how I move forward . . . how do I live life today, and tomorrow, and the next day, and the next?
I was reading in the book of Jeremiah today . . . here is what God said to me.
Jeremiah 6:16
Stand at the crossroads and look;ask for the ancient paths,ask where the good way is, and walk in it,and you will find rest for your souls.
___
ask where the good way is . . . and walk in it
___
there is no going back, no time travel, no way to change the past, trust God today, trust who He has been, who He is, and who you know He will be . . . let him guide you in the ancient paths
keep fighting for the heart of your king
-dev

we do the hokey pokey and we turn ourselves around

So the first thing that I can really remember this morning was standing in a line, and then someone over an intercom, telling us it was time to get ready for the hokey pokey. . .

no i wasn't at a skating rink . . . and no this wasn't the twilight zone.

I actually spent half of my day at the Indianapolis children's museum. and there is nothing like starting your day off then doing the hokey pokey with a couple hundred little kids.

(tangent)
if for some reason you are thinking about having kids . . . your first step is to spend a day at any children's museum . . . it maybe the most effective form of birth control known to man . . . just food for thought.

(anyways)
so I went with my sister, and my nephew and nieces. It was really fun, and so much had changed since I had been to the museum. What I really enjoyed was watching my kids (Blake, Blair & Bree) enjoy themselves. Watching them discovering things, and putting on costumes, and being creative was such a good thing for me.
it made me think of this one conversation that Jesus had.

Matthew 18:1-6
1) At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2) He called a little child and had him stand among them. 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. 4) Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5) "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6) if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

_______
after I recall this story I always wonder what part of being like children was Jesus getting at. was it being messy ? was it about playing games ? was it about being cute ? or was it about something else ?

the common thing I have heard, and I'm pretty sure I heard it the whole time i was growing up was, that Jesus was talking about faith. That we need to have faith like children. Which most people who don't know God, see this as a blind faith, or an unreasonable faith. Then this leads into debates about what kind of faith we should have . . . but I have come to the personal conclusion (and I say personal because I'm not telling you to think this) that Jesus is not talking about faith.

there is something else I think he might be getting at.

there is a certain innocence that children have. you know what I mean, they haven't been corrupted. not that kids don't do bad things, I'm talking about a different kind of corruption. it is a corruption of civilization.

(i think) the reason jesus tells us to be like children to enter the kingdom is the same reason that at 9am there were 100 kids doing the hokey pokey.

their hearts have no been corrupted by the civilized-ness that we have created. When the hokey pokey started this morning the first thought in my head was "oh come on" . . . why was that. It is because i have been civilized. I have been told so many times, that I should act like my age or group up, or fit in, or don't stand out . . . that I have lost the innocence of being uncivilized.

maybe I am crazy but what Jesus' conversation stemmed directly from someone basically saying . . . Jesus how can I be the greatest . . . what steps do I need to do . . . what are all the right moves to get me to the right place . . . what is the right path . . . what is appropriate for me . . . this kinds of questions come from a conforming nature. This nature says how do i fit in and do the right things so I get what I want, or think is important.

I think Jesus wants us to live lives that are uncivilized. Lives that don't focus on fitting in, and "doing the right things" as much as he wants us to know him, and live OUR LIVES passionately for him.

you know jesus did more than answer the question . . . he went on to say that if you steal this innocence from someone, if you civilize them, then you would be better off drowning with a giant stone around your neck. (nice jesus) He was pretty blunt, about not stealing someone's innocence.

So this morning as I was looking very awkward about the hokey pokey, i noticed one of my nieces stopped participating. It was clear that she was thinking, I am too old to be doing this.

I think in that moment, my heart broke a little bit . . . I don't want her to loose that passion for life, and for living in the moment. so in that moment I decided to put my right arm in and shake it all about. I did the hokey pokey and I turned myself around

that's what it's all about.

a life tunnel

If you are like me then when you go on road trips you play games. Because no matter how fun the destination you are attempting to get to, the hours sitting in one spot turn out to be horrific if you can't make your own fun. I don't know what games you play, but I have played a lot of different games. And I'm not talking about the "hey lug your huge (original) game boy with the attachable night light " type of games. I'm talking about game that involve the group of people you are traveling with.

When I was a kid, my dad would play license plate poker with me. The way this game worked, was whenever a car was about to pass you, if it was your turn you decided if you wanted that license plate. And whatever was on the plate, those were your cards, and who ever had the best hand won. This game could last for hours. Another game we played when I was a kid, involved my parents telling us little tongue twisters or limericks and seeing if my brother or I could actually repeat them.

When I was in college I took a road trip to Florida for spring break. We took three vehicles and obviously walkie talkies. My favorite game, was when my friend marcus would get on the walkie talkie every 15 minutes and say "All is clear on the Eastern Front". I was one of the drivers so I found that to be quite enjoyable (everyone else didn't enjoy it as much). In my car we played a version of name that tune, and who could spot the weirdest people in the cars traveling around us. And of course whenever we came to a tunnel we would all hold our breath lift our feet and touch a piece of metal. Or some combination of the three.

I didn't play the tunnel game when I was a kid. Now that I think about it, I think it was because tunnel's were scary to me as a kid. They were dark, and cramped, and everyone in the car seemed a little more edgy when we were going through a long tunnel.

_______

today I was reading in Jeremiah. I was learning how God had called Jeremiah, and how basically God using him was a symbol of God saying "This is from me, not some guy" because Jeremiah was a nobody. I was kinda looking at an overview of the book, and realizing that when Jeremiah was going around doing his prophet thing God was using him to tell the people to repent from the wicked ways and turn to him, and then they wouldn't be destroyed.

but at some point God's message changed, it was no longer repent, it was because of the things you have done, Jerusalem will be destroyed but have hope I will restore those who are faithful to me.

At some point, it was decided that the Judeans were going to be taken from their homeland and there was nothing they could do about it. They had already missed their opportunity, and now their hope could only be found in God's restoration.

I was thinking about how this translates into my life today. . .

I think we all go through life tunnels. Times when things are dark, and life is scary and we have no control over what is going on. This is exactly what the Judeans were experiencing. They were in a dark tunnel while they were in exile in Babylon. And just like most tunnels they couldn't see around the curve . . . they didn't know how long this would last.

I am in a life tunnel right now . . . I didn't see it coming and once I was in it, I lost all control. I can't see around the curve, and I don't know how long this is going to last. But I am reminded of God's promise to the Judeans . . . he would restore them. There would be light at the end of the tunnel.

I don't know what life looks like in the light at the end of this life tunnel. But I do know one thing, God has promised to give the light. To restore my sight, relieve my pain, and ease my fears.

so today may you realize that as you experience your life tunnels (those dark times when you can't understand why, or don't think life could ever be good again) that your God is bigger than all the world can throw at you, and that he has promised you light at the end of the tunnel