A Q/A for the Soul?

What are you doing, in obedience to the Word of God, that positions you for either God or total collapse?

God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:5

“The Comforter gives a sweet and plentiful evidence and persuasion of the love of God to us, such as the soul is taken, delighted, satiated withal. This is his work, and he doth it effectually. To give a poor sinful soul a comfortable persuasion, affecting it throughout, in all its faculties and affections, that God in Jesus Christ loves him, delights in him, is well pleased with him, hath thoughts of tenderness and kindness towards him; to give, I say, a soul an overflowing sense hereof, is an inexpressible mercy.”

John Owen, Works (Edinburgh, 1980), II:240.

I ask you, do you know this truth as reality?
Is the "love of God" as real to you as say the ground under you?
Is God's care towards you a delight in your soul?

Happy is the rock we stumble over?

What kind of happiness do you seek? why are we bad at choosing those things that make us happy? Dan Gilbert has an answer?



Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the modern notion that people are miserable if they don’t get what they want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don’t go as planned.
The function, he biologically, locates in the frontal lobe is what for hundreds of years ethicist and philosophers have called "moral consciousness." It has two aspects critical conscience and imaginative consciences. Critical is the function of the “frontal lobe” that allows you to look at yourself objectively (to a degree). Imaginative is the ability he speaks of as the way we can project possible outcomes or do mental experiments in our heads. The first is just a base comparison with our slandered of judgment (the absolute of our faith) and the second functions is more complex. It depends our personal beliefs and ideas about the world, people, ect, to generate scenarios we then draw conclusions from.

Dan a psychology professor at Harvard clams our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong -- a premise he supports with intriguing research. Mr Gilbert current research is on the question is our common assumptions about what will make us happy are often wrong -- is supported with clinical research drawn from psychology and neuroscience.

why believe in others

Viktor Frankl's own profound experience as a holocaust survivor created a deeper need to search for meaning. When one has lived a generally balanced life with the usual struggles to succeed and survive there isn't 'such' a great need for deep, meaning and 'life' enquiry unless you are inclined that way. Commonly, It's when people are faced with something terrifying and possibly life damaging or threatening that they have to contemplate their own fate and for many, the meaning of their existence regardles of their age.

The degree of 'need for meaning' depends on how profoundly people are affected by their experiences. In 1972 post hippiedom was a sponge still absorbing the shock of WW2, Vietnam, terrorism and nuclear threats, creating much existential enquiry. Materialism and the sheer volume of other distracting factors since the 80's has desensitized people who are in general, in the absence of direct, personal threat, or educational requirements, more focused on just getting on with their lives. Here is a little clip by Viktor Frankl on Religion and Ultimate Meaning 1990

What is not the christain worldview..

In Genesis 1, we have the foundation for what is often called the biblical worldview. It gives us a picture of reality. The mater of fact way it shows reality stands diametrically opposed to various human philosophies. In regard to these popular human theories the believer takes his stand not on the shifting sand of human opinion but on the bedrock of the Bible.

1. In Opposition to Atheism  "In the beginning God"

2. In Opposition to Polytheism "In the beginning God"

3. In Opposition to Pantheism "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." The separateness of God and matter.

4. In Opposition to Materialism "Let us make man in our image" Man is like God, possessed of a spiritual nature.

5. In Opposition to Evolution "After his kind" The expression occurs twelve times. It locks each "kind" into its own category.

6. In Opposition to Naturalism "In the beginning God created" Matter is not eternal, nor is man a machine.

7. In Opposition to Nihilism "And God created... and God said... and God blessed" Man is more than a machine, determined or capricious, operating in a meaningless closed system.

8. In Opposition to Existentialism "And God said" (ten times), "and God saw" (seven times), "the evening and the morning were" (six times). "And it was so" (1:30). There is a historical basis for faith. The Bible does deal with concrete facts.

Interpersonal Conflicts, logic and wisdom

Logic and conflict are not considered terms that are used together. Most personal conflicts lack logic. But conflict is not without logic. Conflict as a universal concept is logical.

Syllogism is a type of logical argument. One proposition, the conclusion is inferred from two other propositions or premises proven to be true. Aristotle, a smart but old and dead Greek thinker, defines syllogism as "a discourse in which, certain things having been supposed, something different from the things supposed results of necessity because these things are so." Everyone known, two wrongs don’t make a right – Aristotle clams two rights can’t be wrong. They can tell us some new, a truth hidden in the truths. This is helpful in understanding why peopled seem to have a hard time getting along.

1. Humans are relational creatures

2. Humans are selfish creatures

3. Humans will have relationship comfits.

I once heard of two sisters not talking for 10 years over how to cook collard greens. I have also heard of families ripped apart because of deeply hurtful behavior from all members and I have personally seen the destruction rout by careless words and selfish actions. When conflict becomes a war of roses is it possible to rise above? I think so but it take determination driven by love. In this age, we may have to live with the inevitability of conflict but we can learn how to overcome it? Here are some principles that guide our action in conflict:

1. Accept whatever means God may use to make me more humble and therefore more dependent on Him, no matter how damaging to my reputation or ambition.

“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)

2. Be quick to repent of known sin in your life, and sincerely express the desire for repentance to those who are concerned, even if there is blame on the other side.

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:19)

3. Painful accurately in the words about yourself, even if it embarrasses or condemns you and at the same time don’t be intentionally and unnecessarily hurtful or demeaning to others.

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight.” (Proverbs 12:22)

4. Seek to genuine passion for God and others a goal of life. Authentic Affection for God and others should be our greatest ambition no matter how deeply I have been hurt.

“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)

5. Remember anxiety is an insipid enemy. It is an internal sign to prompt me to pray and to build up my faith by seeking God’s perspective found in reading the Bible carefully and constantly.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:8)

6. Leave all vengeance to God, who sees and evaluates with perfect clarity and judgment.

“Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. . . . If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21)

7. Forgive from the heart any time asked to forgive, without analyzing whether the offending person is worthy, or has perfect motives, or is adequately repentant.

“Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” (Matthew 18:21-22)

8. Life is about gratitude so be thankful in everything, and rejoice in the Lord always.

“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.” (Philippians 3:1)

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

9. Don’t let the devil get his jollies at the expanse of your relationships.

“. . . so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:11)

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” (Romans 16:20)

10. Grace is found at the bottle -

“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:5-7).

The Gift

From the TED talks we have a gem from branding guru Stacey Kramer. It is three minutes long and inspirational in its brevity and its punch.



Sometimes God's gifts to us come in odd packages. We don't know why but we learn he has more than just our confort and pleasure in mind. Nobody wishes for adversity but sometimes it’s a profound teacher.

REsoLusions...

The video clips is from a YWAM (Youth with a mission) training in New Zealand. The speaker is Graham Cooke and I think his words are spot on. These words will make you think - I met a group of YWAM guys and gals when i was in Turkey. (not the same group as in video) They gave me hope for the next generation. A radical bunch - that had just finished six months on a Kaboos (Jewish commune) in Israel near the west bank. Next to the danger of being bombed or shot by PLO - they gave themselves to serving the Jewish people in doing all the dirty jobs(you don’t want to know). Radical gospel kids.. Makes me want to be one again... I hope this video does for you what they did for me.

Hack Haiku

I was think about Neighbor Love this morning and reread the parable of the Good Samaritan. As I meditated on the teaching, i thought i would write my thought in haiku.  In the words of Martin Luther King the good sameritain is a story of "radical unselfishness" and gives us a true north for when circumstances ask more of us than we think we should give. Below is a picture of the actual road from Jerusalem to Jericho.

The Good Samaritan in Haiku

Two pass by

Self-righteous distance

Better things to do

One on the way

One in a ditch

empathy into action - heals

Risks his safety,

Destroy his schedule,

To become dirty, bloody?

Why help another?

Jesus smiles -  

"Go and do likewise"!



 

Signs of Transendance

When someone takes a Sunday drive in the south you are bound to see a church. Often you will also see church signs that read:

"Free Trip to heaven. Details Inside!"

"Try our Sundays. They are better than Baskin-Robbins."

"Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!"

"When down in the mouth, remember Jonah. He came out alright."

One of my favor and most ‘Baptist’ not to mention ‘ambiguous’ church sign is , “People are like tea bags -- you have to put them in hot water before you know how strong they are.” I am sure they were going for thought provoking.

For most, these signs give us a good chuckle and I understand, I chuckle but often on the heels of my laughter was a haunting shadow. When the smile faded I found myself silent in a wordless melancholy. My heart was unsettled to deep for articulation. It was the silence discomfort of knowing something is as it ought not to be. When such shadows roll in over my heart it has been my custom and curiosity to ask ‘why’? 

The death of tragedy

Hearts are like tea cups they are what they hold.  It is a truth of human existence. To know the content of a person’s heart, one must look at the words of his mouth and the works of his hands. We pour out the substance of our hearts in unguarded word and unconscious deeds. This is true of an individual, and it is true of a culture. To know what a culture values, you must consider what it makes and what it proclaims. The heart of a culture can be measured by its message and fruit. That means looking at its art, architecture, music, poetry, and prose. This is why pop-culture is not just trivial but teaches us something at the heart of a modern culture.

Just like hearts, culture is not static. Change is a constant. Over time, value shift and things change as culture follows the deep drives of the many. In the 1800’s when the evangelists of modern science converted our culture with the allure of technological marvels, this had a repeal affect in our culture. One aspect rocked by this was literature. As modernism took hold, what we read and wrote began to change rapidly. The literature that flourished in the pre-modern age no longer suited people who believed that they were merely highly advanced animals, and that history was nothing but a chain reaction of natural cause-and-effect.

“It is a noteworthy fact that high tragedy began to disappear from the literature of our Western culture at the end of the seventeenth century, which was the very time that science first staked out its great claims,”(1) wrote Richard Weaver.

I did not realize till I studied it in graduate school but drama and morality are closely linked. Comedy and tragedy are moral categories to the degree they are human categories. They express, in varying ways, what it means to be human. Yet they can loose their moral footing if human experience is watered down. For example, tragedy is only meaningful if man is a moral being struggling against things beyond his control. We can feel the pathos when the finitude of the tragic hero is placed against the infinite or unalterable fate of His life. As the hero is asked, “what will you do with the days you have been given?” The audience or reader is drawn to the same question. You see, drama is moral for it asks more of us than our entertainment.

Modernity with its faith in the evolutionary process and trust in human ingenuity made this a silly idea. It says, “What force is more powerful than the scientific mind? We can make our own world.” In this way, science promised salvation from tragedy with its daily march toward a bright future. This cult of progress and its gospel is proclaimed ever time you turn on PBS. And just like the only people that watch PBS, the elite and intellectuals are the only ones fully given to this way of thinking.

By the end of the 18th century, “Man still had enough human ground to stand on for satire, however, and the following century was the great age of satire.”(3) Jonathan Swift in England and Mark Twain in American were respectably, satirist par exultance of this age.  Swift's Gulliver's Travels was a "REVELATION' of satire; Opening the eyes of many to the plight of the desperately poor. Satire is about misdirection and indirect communication. The satirist gets you looking in this direction so you don’t see the truth till you’re faced with the weight of it. Satire is critical. It is a type of criticism, and at the heart of criticism is a set of values. What is at the heart of excellent satire; a moral principle with a keen eye, a creative mind and a sharp pen. The satirists, as a moralist, prodded men to be responsible, to choose the good and laugh at evil. But by the beginning of the19th century, satire waned as the scientific view of man waxed. Facts replaced truth, opinion replaced facts, and opinions multiplied like rabbits, until indifference upstaged criticism and took its place.

The 19th became the 20th century and culture needed something more entertaining and less convicting. So out of the boredom left beyond after the victory of indifference the modern novel was born. The modern novel was an innovation that replaced satire, and it quickly reflected the modern view of man as an organism reacting to his environment. novels were “increasingly chronicles of the abnormal, the aberrant, and even the criminal.”(4)  Comparing these novels to the pre-modern fairy tale, G.K. Chesterton observed, “The fairy tale discusses what a sane man will do in a mad world. The sober realistic novel of today discusses what an essential lunatic will do in a dull world.”(5)

Despite these retreats before the advance of science, a germ of reverence remained. Literature continued to take man seriously, and continued to hint that things were not quite right with the world. Ironically, this was its undoing. Enter the comic strip, and the deception of the pleasant:

Whoever thinks he knows how the world ought to be feels a certain melancholy that it is not so. In all great art therefore there is a certain pessimistic overcast . . . But what occurs when life is made not the subject of a critique, but an occasion for relaxed joyousness and animal abandon? . . . the mass everlastingly insists that the world be represented as pleasant . . . I suppose that the truest index to this mentality is the comic strip, whose offenses . . . it would be impossible to number. But present in all of them is the unrelenting demand that the world . . . accord with our humor. . . [man] wants a pleasing fiction . . . what he wants is deception.(6)

Entertainment is the new rhythm of life. Now, even churches use comic slogans on elaborate marquees, promising to the world that life inside really is just as “pleasant” as the rest of our comic-strip culture. We have lost tragedy because we have lost ourselves in the enjoyment of ourselves. The glory of the Greek tragedy was that it forced men to ask themselves, what kind of life did they make in the days given them? What passion ruled their heart? What song defined them? The lamented truth in most English classes rises over why everyone dies at the end of a tragedy. This sad confusion is because we are people who forget all die! We have lost the plot of our own story make this grand narrative called life into our own personal three part play. We forget that death reminds us we should live for something bigger than ourselves.

The loss of tragedy and the thirst for a pleasant life poisoned our vision of what God is like. We see him with a white beard old man sitting on a cloud, reminiscing about how things use to be? Or some dotting granddad that gives you all the candy you want even if it makes you sick and never spanks you even if you need it. We form a mental image of him in our image and not as he reveals himself to be.  He thinks and acts more like humanity than deity. In short, the modern picture of God is of a nice God. It’s a sad true; we have exchange a living God for a pleasant lie.

In modern culture many have given up a great big God for a travel size image of deity.  In The Trivialization of God: The Dangerous Illusion of a Manageable Deity, Donald W. McCullough lays the blame where it should be. He puts words to the melancholy of my heart:

Visit a church on Sunday morning - almost any will do - and you will likely find a congregation comfortably relating to a deity who fits nicely within precise doctrinal positions, or who lends almighty support to social crusades, or who conforms to individual spiritual experiences. But you will not likely find much awe or sense of mystery. The only sweaty palms will be those of the preacher unsure whether the sermon will go over; the only shaking knees will be those of the soloist about to sing the offertory.

    The New Testament warns us, "offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire" [Hebrews 12:28-29, NRSV]. But reverence and awe have often been replaced by a yawn of familiarity. The consuming fire has been domesticated into a candle flame, adding a bit of religious atmosphere, perhaps, but no heat, no blinding light, no power for purification….When the true story gets told, whether in the partial light of historical perspective or in the perfect light of eternity, it may be well revealed that the worst sin of the church at the end of the twentieth century has been the trivialization of God.(6)

Modern man is less than a worshiper for we makes much of his laughter and in so doing trivializes the absolute.  and Annie Dillard once asked "Why do people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute?" She goes on to lament:

        On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of the conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning...

The answer is best captured by McCullough when he writes:

    We prefer the illusion of as safer deity, and so we have pared God down to more manageable proportions. Our era has no exclusive claim to the trivialization of God. This has always been the temptation and the failure for the people of God. Pagan gods have caused less trouble than the tendency to re-fashion God into a more congenial, serviceable god.(7)

So back to the church signs, I don’t think they are some great evil. I think they are what they are, signs of the times. They speak more than chuckles they tell us where we are at in this journey. They point out, although indirectly that we need to seek God as God. If we feel the disquieted unrest in our hearts, they can act to direct us to the problem, our little view of God. 

So Let us not trivialize God. So our laughter does not cruelly suffocate our joy. He is big we are small. Instead of narrowing the gap between God and man, let us enjoy every light-year of its breath-taking, infinite width. Let us delight in our rightful, lowly, place before our mighty, transcendent God. The drama of life is in His grandeur filling our eyes, His greatness filling our hearts! All pleasures gain their sweetness in the ‘thank you’, left behind after greatness fills a heart! Only a big God makes life sweet.

So Let us not trivialize God but behold God as God. He is the main character in the drama of life, so he should be ever before our eyes. Constantly and consciously beholding a big God means the journey is never boring. It means our lives are in a drama bigger than your little stories. Only a big God can write the history of man and the details of our lives for his glory and our good. If we behold him and read our life as God has authored it, we can find joy in the ordinary and safety in God. If we read our lives as he has authored it, we will find our good is not always our delight but our delight can always be in His glory.  The story he is writing with our lives is not about our happy ending but what we did with the days we where given. So I ask, what are you doing with the days you are given? What are you living: a comic-strip life or a life filled with the purpose for which God created you?

End notes

--------------------------------------

1.) Richard M. Weaver, Visions of Order (Bryn Mawr: ISI, 1964), 146.

2.) Ibid.

3.) Ibid., 147.

4.) Gilbert Keith Chesterton, Orthodoxy (London: Hodder & Stoughten, 1996), 12.

5.) Richard M. Weaver, “The Humanities in a Century of the Common Man,” In Defense of Tradition: Collected Shorter Writings of Richard M. Weaver 1929-1963,  ed. Ted J. Smith III (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2000), 380.

6.) Donald W. McCullough, The Trivialization of God: The Dangerous Illusion of a Manageable Deity (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1995), 12-13.

7.) Ibid. 13

The Path to Happiness from the world of business analysis.

Below is a flow chart of happiness. what is a flow chart? A flow chart is a visually depiction of a process. Frequently used in business, a flow chart provides a common reference point for those involved in a project or procedure. It is also a helpful point of reference to find errors in a process or project. So we have a tongue in cheek flow chart on a universal of human nature the search of happiness. I like to call it the "the universal exploration for hope driven by an unbearable lightness of being." but that is just me.. SO, are you Happy?

 If the simplistic order left you nauseated or the flow chart didn’t fix things for you? Perhaps this one below will guide you to contentment.  (use zoom on your browser to read your path)

This one is FO my DADDY!

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

DAD is bad! (Yes, in both ways "Bad" is understood). for all the funny and tacky, kacky, that permeate the daddy culture: we got to give them props.  

YOU KNOW, Ephesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and positive way. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. Harsh, unreasonable conduct towards a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. The word “provoke” means “to irritate, exasperate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done by a wrong spirit and wrong methods—severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness, cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. Such provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. A wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness.

The positive part of Ephesians 6:4 is expressed in a comprehensive direction—educate them, bring them up, develop their conduct in all of life by the instruction and admonition of the Lord. This is the whole process of educating and discipline. The word “admonition” carries the idea of reminding the child of faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities).

The Christian father is really an instrument in God's hand. The whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which God commands and which He administers, so that His authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart, and conscience of children. The human father should never present himself as the ultimate authority to determine truth and duty. It is only by making God the teacher and ruler on whose authority everything is done that the goals of education can best be attained.

THE ONE IS FOR THE MOTHERS

Mommy Rhapsody from Church on the Move on Vimeo.


JUST GOOD FUN - for the Queen fans out there and those lovers of Wayne and Garth, and MOM!

YOU KNOW, Being a mother is a very important role that the Lord chooses to give to many women. A Christian mother is told to love her children (Titus 2:4-5), in part so that she does not bring reproach on the Lord and on the Savior whose name she bears.

Children are a gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5). In Titus 2:4, the Greek word philoteknos appears in reference to mothers loving their children. This word represents a special kind of “mother love.” The idea that flows out of this word is that of caring for our children, nurturing them, affectionately embracing them, meeting their needs, and tenderly befriending each one as a unique gift from the hand of God.

Several commands are directed towards Christian mothers in God’s Word:

• Availability – morning, noon, and night (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
• Involvement – interacting, discussing, thinking, and processing life together (Ephesians 6:4)
• Teaching – the Scriptures and a biblical worldview (Psalm 78:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:10; Ephesians 6:4)
• Training – helping a child to develop skills and discover his/her strengths (Proverbs 22:6) and spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 12)
• Discipline – teaching the fear of the Lord, drawing the line consistently, lovingly, firmly (Ephesians 6:4; Hebrews 12:5-11; Proverbs 13:24; 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15-17)
• Nurture – providing an environment of constant verbal support, freedom to fail, acceptance, affection, unconditional love (Titus 2:4; 2 Timothy 1:7; Ephesians 4:29-32; 5:1-2; Galatians 5:22; 1 Peter 3:8-9)
• Modeling with Integrity – living what you say, being a model from which a child can learn by “catching” the essence of godly living (Deuteronomy 4:9, 15, 23; Proverbs 10:9; 11:3; Psalm 37:18, 37).

SEX Slavery - the sad truth

Many people living in more affluent, civilized parts of the world are unaware and sometimes overlook the social injustice taken place towards children and sex trafficking. If you don’t know, here is the know: Sex trafficking is big business. For example, a new police survey reveals, up to 18,000 females, including girls as young as 14, are working in brothels across Britain after being smuggled into the country. Sex slavery is the second largest money maker for organized crime closely behind illegal drugs. Christian and non-Christian groups are facing the evil head on. Groups such as “The Blind Project” are fighting this trend by raising and improving the lives for sex trafficking victims by providing education, rehabilitation, and jobs. Other groups are entering the Lions den and freeing women and children from dealers that enslave them. All are concerned individuals who aim to protect women and children from the sex trade industry. Below are two videos on the issue. One is a various testimonials in animation that portrays the experience of women who are sex trafficked from Eastern Europe to the UK.

As a Christian such evils must be stopped. Scripture is clear and conscience bear witness against such a great evil.
The prophets call us to stand up for the mistreated and oppressed. Now my point, I have a friend (we will call him Angel-A) who is going into a country to free those caught in this industry of flesh. So if you think about it, pray for the father’s protection is over him, the Son’s gospel to be lived out, and the Spirit’s power to be presence. He flies out on Thursday. Thank you.

The 'getting your feet wet' Guide to Navigating Life Skillfully (Part II)

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
                                                                   Deuteronomy 29:29

This text teaches two aspects to the human understanding of God’s will. There is the revealed will. They are the things revealed and written down in scripture like the 10 commandments and the teachings of Christ. Then there is the secret will God’s knowledge of what will happen absolutely. While we have glimpse of the secret will as a general rule it is understood to be unknown to us.

It follows that when we make a ethical decision, because we don't know the secret will of God, we often don't know the consequences of our actions (like an ethical version of the butterfly effect). No matter how well-intentioned we may need to guard against hubris (pride). We should always understand a little error to be in our good works. A person who knows there need for forgiveness and assume some wrong in the doing of good is the person who will never stray far from the gospel. And hubris, as the ancient Greeks taught, can destroy us. We need only look at the Pharisees.

Reinhold Niebuhr prayer was for this kind of humility. The prayer was longer than just what is often used. The whole prayer is a deeper look into wisdom, courage and serenity as outlined in the life of Jesus. Take a moment to jump into the prayer you just might find yourself in a ‘calf deep’ puddle of the presence of God. 

    God, give us grace to accept with serenity

    the things that cannot be changed,

    Courage to change the things

    which should be changed,

    and the Wisdom to distinguish

    the one from the other.

    Living one day at a time,

    Enjoying one moment at a time,

    Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

    Taking, as Jesus did,

    This sinful world as it is,

    Not as I would have it,

    Trusting that You will make all things right,

    If I surrender to Your will,

    So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

    And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

The will of God our aim in navigating life skillfully, sometimes it can be a daunting task. We desire to do wrongs sometimes other times we forget to do right. In the end, we can’t be sure of those things clearly laid down in scripture. One theologian’s description of politics is telling as to how this difficult task can feel. ‘Politics is the art of finding approximate solutions to basically insoluble problems.' Ethics can feel like ‘finding approximate solutions to basically insoluble problems.”  But like all Christians we are sure God will help us in our journey if we understand the biblical mandates (revealed will) and give our whole selves in worship to God. Paul explains it as a reasonable response to Christ’s work of redemption.   In Romans 12:1-2, he writes:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

So to know we must grow. As we journey with God through this world we are transformed and equipped to test and approve God’s will. We are transformed into the image of Jesus. Jesus is our picture of one who navigated life skillfully yet that disturbs me because he got killed! What that tells me is the will of God is a dangerous place but a place where resurrection life also dwells. This brings me to three thought on the life of Christ that can form our hearts to know the ‘deep magic’(as C.S. Lewis would say) of the secret will of God

1. Jesus’ prayer life was humble and honesty how much more should our prayer life. In praying “God, give us" we imply that we understand we can not do it alone, replete in the word "give” is a humble acknowledgment of the emptiness of our hands and the limitation of our reach.  In prayer we give recognition before God and go on record against ourselves that we have failed and need help. Confessing we truly have natural limitations and spiritual weakness, that our actions have been wet with pride and stained through by sin. In this way, Prayer is a testimony against ourselves where we give witness to our spiritual pride and go on record that we have committed the treason of self-sufficiency.

2. Wisdom in the life of Jesus is seen in his God-soaked vision of the world. Wisdom also called Prudence stands with justice, fortitude and moderation as one of the four cardinal virtues in Christian ethics. This virtue is the exercise of sound judgment in practical affairs, a sound judgment that comes from the fear of the Lord. In Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10, the fear of the Lord is called the beginning or foundation of wisdom. Fear to the Hebrew did not mean terror but more respect and awe. the modern idea of hero worship comes closes to the Hebrew idea. So fear or heart felt respect for 'who God is' is the begins of wisdom. This implies a new perspective from which we see the world and our lives. Wisdom then is seeing our lives and the world by the light of God.

If we compare 'prudence' and its worldly counterfeit 'cunning' we can gain some clarity. The difference between the two is found in the way one sees the world. The Christian understanding of the world includes the existence and nature of God, moral order of the world and moral implications of human actions. In this context, prudence is different from cunning in that it takes into account the supernatural good. For example, take the decision of persecuted Christians to be martyred rather than deny their faith. A Christian considers the choice prudent. From the point of view of a non-believer pretending to deny their faith could be considered prudent but it is only cunning. Some have supposed that the wisdom a person possess can measured by some basic criteria.

    * A wise person has self-knowledge.

    * A wise person seems sincere and direct with others.

    * Others ask wise people for advice.

    * A wise person's actions are consistent with their ethical beliefs.

Wisdom brings with it a "spiritual clarity” about life that gives discernment to know what we can change and what even with all our best effort we can not change. 

3. Jesus prayers were deeply theocentric. Loving God is good. Being devoted is better. Seeing all things in light of God is best. it is interesting to note that all three virtues, wisdom, serenity and courage can only be functional if God is at the center. Serenity is only possible if God is seen as sovereign and in control. Courage is sustained in the face of adversity when our confession is “if God be for me who can be against me.” In wisdom it is clearly in seeing God for who he is and how he made the world to work that we gain the discernment to know when to act with courage and when to accept with serenity. 

The 'getting your feet wet' Guide to Navigating Life Skillfully (Part I)

There I stood calf deep in water. How did I get there? Let me rewind. It was a rainy Tuesday morning. I was a senior in college and had just finished one of my last finals. The sun was just coming out after a week of muggy weather. It was like a scene from a Disney movie minus the talking cartoon animals. The burden of papers and tests gave way to the freedom of no more deadlines and the open hope of tomorrow. I felt as if I could breathe again and with each breath I became as light as air. Had I been in a Disney movie I would have broken into song that this point but I restrained my Disney drama until I saw the small puddles of water. The lightness of freedom tickled my sense of social decorum till I was overcome by joy. I dropped the keys to my will and my inner child came out to play. As I walked I kicked and splash in the puddles. Then it happened, with a hop I planted both feet in the middle. *plump* of a Calf deep puddle!

--------

God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

This little prayer is well-known for its use by 12 step programs like Alcoholics anonymous. It is more than a 12 step program but a door into how to navigate life skillfully. It was written by theologian and ethicist, Reinhold Niebuhr. In reflecting on this prayer, I found it was like my puddle much deeper than I thought. Let me take a moment to air out some of thoughts.

Reading a prayer remind us of our needs this one is no different. It teaches three needs we should always bring to god if we wish to navigate life skillfully. The first is the need for wisdom. Modern man struggles with his addiction to power. No matter the flavor it takes, physical, sexual, political, relational, and intellectual; we live in an age when power and the striving for it define the collective consciousness of a generation. I think most people understand the necessity of distinguishing between the courageous and the foolish uses of power. Because of this I think we are reluctant to recognize that power can bring about necessary change, but that it can also have brutal unintended consequences. We intuitively know we need wisdom to distinguish the changeable from the unchangeable. Wisdom brings with it a "spiritual clarity” about life that gives discernment to know what we can change and what even with all our best effort we can not change. It is an insight that brings clarity to a situation. This insight comes from God but is very much practical and always ethical.

The second is the need for serenity amidst powerlessness. Life, by definition, is bigger than us all, naturally experienced as a mystery. It is the human experiance to live within a world that often over takes us. Moments when the systems and movements of this world are bigger and stronger than we can control. Yet in the filing cabinet of our egos we often loose this memo. No man can slow the tide nor spread their arms wide to stop a wave. They are bigger than us just as life is bigger than us. Many posture themselves as if that can capture the wind or fight the rotation of the earth. It is good to remind ourselves some things just can't be changed.

Serenity is God's gift to the powerless. What is serenity? Serenity means quite simply a state or quality of being serene. Serene is from the Latin serenus meaning "clear, cloudless, untroubled" Serene is a word used to describe a person marked by a utter calm and unruffled repose. When we accept things with serenity we accept them because of the beleif that God is acting in the bigger than us event to make us a better person. It is not cliché to say we can let things make us bitter or better. The key to such an acceptance is vision; seeing God as big and people, your situation, all other things as small. To the degree the sovereignty of God plays into your vision of the world is the degree you’re free from despair and anxiety.

While being powerless is no fun, hope in the middle of a powerless moment is liberating. Living in serenity opens us to know our true size and slowly brings us to feel at home in our own skin. Acknowledging with serenity the 'greater than us' things of life and resting our life in a greater sovereignty than our own is a path back to ourselves. In a day of technology and modernization, human accomplishment and ingenuity, accepting with serenity the inevitable of life in light of a sovereign God can be a path to remain authentically human in a plastic age.

The third need of every soul is courage that comes through the power of faith. Personally, I know of many that lack the courage to change. We live in a Prozac nation. Where people choose drugs over courage in the hope that power can be prescribed. While the proper use of medication is needed, even in the psychological community. We should never think that such means are ends in themselves. The better prescription is a little courage that rises from faith.

When things can be changed where is the courage needed to take hold of the moment? It comes from within the deep places of eternity through the grace of God and rises out of the human heart. Courage is a moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. Rabbi Abraham Heschel called courage born of faith a notion of "spiritual audacity," and Niebuhr considered it a “touch of daring”. As both men saw biblical faith requires an element of courage. Faith needs courage for without courage faith is history repeating itself ad infinitum. Without courage convictions are useless. Without courage communion is lifeless. Without courage life is as predictable as it is questionable. Why do something again and again if you have no clue to its meaning? And what does something really mean if you have no clue to its purpose in your life. Sometime the courage will lead you to go against the grain and cultural trajectory of the present moment. Calling into question what men have set in stone. I pray my faith has a touch of daring and is expressed as a spiritual audacity in the face of injustice and even in the mirror. For the most courageous act we can do is look honestly at our hearts. We need courage to make such honest appraisals of the self. It is hard to judge the heart but not impossible. We can when we place God's standard before our eyes (the bible, Jesus example, 10 commandments), put our ego in timeout, and love truth more than comfort. Such times of reflection are painful and take on the character of a funeral dirge but like every funeral Jesus encountered it to will end with a resurrection.

On the day, I made my faithful leap people all over the world were making leaps of their own. Some made their leap in stating 'Hi my name is', followed by the words, 'I'm an addict'. Some with courage fueling the way leap into Thai sex dens to steal back children caught in the illegal sex trade. Some leap to there knees and for the first time in a long time confessed, 'I can’t do it on my own.' In the midst of pain and loss, some leap to grab hold of God's healing love the only things rich enough to sustain a wondered spirit. In all the leaps there is hope and hope can light any path darkened by powerlessness. As, I walked home with wet socks and a smile. I thought the day was special not because of my silliness nor the sunshine but the way knew life was worth it even in the rain and joy was worth it even with wet socks. So I prayed a simple prayer "Thank You, God! I'm alive!"

The Realtionship Between Doctrine and Ethics

In “The doctrine of God and theological Ethics,” a collation of papers from a conference held at King’s Collage, London. In the introduction editors Alan Torrance and Michael Banner (No! Middle name is not Bruise) give an analytical framework for doctrine and ethics. They outline four ways of understanding the relationship between Doctrine and ethics (synonym categories includes, “Theology and Morals" or "Beliefs and Behaviors").

The first is a relationship of doctrine and ethics. This view assumes that ethics are prior to theology. Following Kant, it holds that what we do informs what we believe. The most extreme form clams that theology ultimately collapses into ethics because "statements about what God is and what God does are really to be treated as statements about what we should be and do" (p. 2). Such thinking assumes a humanistic view of religious knowledge thus theological thinking goes from reality to God.

The second view is a reversal of the first, in this view doctrine is prior to ethics. Following Bonhoeffer and Barth, ethics is an elaboration of doctrine and "no autonomous ethical principles can function as determinants of doctrine's character and content" (p. 3). Theological thinking goes from God to reality. Doctrine is understood as the systematic and logical articulation of revelation and from they description of the world doctrine gives ones ethic in the world can be discerned.

The third view understands the independent nature of ethics and doctrine. They are not prior to or subordinate to one another, but as having quite different spheres or concerns, with no necessity of conflict.  In doing theology and doing ethics different questions are asked. They can be complicacy in there conclusions but think through questions from different perspectives. Ethics is rooted in reason and theology in revelation. God gave doctrine and God gave the law, both are revelation but law is a retelling of the natural law. This view is represented variously by quietism, pietism, and some natural law theorists (pp. 3-4).

The fourth view is the most open. It observes the relationship between doctrine and ethics is a messy one. It affirms the validity the above three view and clams that in reality, the way doctrine and ethics relate to one another is more complex than the prior three views hold independently. Doctrine and ethics are interdependent and interrelated at varying points. Thus the challenge of this forth position is to extend beyond a mere criticism of the other three positions, and to deliver positive content (p. 5). This position clams that in reality all three above views make valid points. 1.) Behavior does readily and reinforces beliefs. Further that on occasion some doctrines can be seen to have context exclusively rising from reason and experiance. 2.) Logically and cognitively understood, beliefs direct behavior. If God is a God of relationship then doctrines informs ethics. 3.) Beliefs and behavior can be contradictory. Behavior does not causally follow as a way of necessarily ones beliefs. Beliefs only act as categories of discrimination.

We can understand this relationship by using an analogy to the marital relationship.

1.    Ethics to Doctrine is like matriarchy. Wife to husband.
2.    Doctrine to Ethics is like patriarchy.  Husband to wife.  
3.    Doctrine and Ethics is like egalitarian relationship. Husband and wife think independently of one another but can come to the same conclusions.
4.    Reciprocal relationship between Doctrine and Ethics is like complementary relationship. Husband and wife are different and compliment each other in different ways.

I Think My Wife is a Calvinist

"I think my wife is a Calvinist"




This is a funny little ditty but a little long.. 

Your VIDEO feed of the month.

The theme this month is fun side of Idolatry! Particularly the  American church's focus in ministry! AND how American culture makes being a christian more about getting a church-tan. (Remember this is all for fun and conviction)





what iF worship were like an NBC game?


Church ministry in America

A Testamony Fresh oil: the Christian’s PHD

I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
Psalm 92:10b (KJV)

Imagine if you will a picture of a sun scorched land. Made arid and parched by the wind, dry and deselect by the ever consistent gaze of the sun. A picture so captivating just gazing on it makes your mouth dry. This is the picture I have found my heart in. Not by way of the Spirit’s discipline or the Son’s illusion of distance but as a kind reminder of the one thing I crave to live in. The one thing I have known in the shadows of days gone by. The only thing that makes me possible, that me that I know I can be, that me I am called to be. That one thing – and I have lived without it for what seems like so long.
The other day, I spoke with a friend in this conversation one phrase echoed in my heart. It reminded me of this lost reality. Like a doctor, his statement cut to the core diagnosing my heart’s deepest want and need. “That had oil on it!” My heart has ached and longed for wet days, to many words dry and brittle, too many sermons fueled by everything but fire! I want to read Ephesians again and cry like I did when with wet heart the truth of God’s choosing of me shook me to the core. He chose me, a poor boy who openly defied him. A bastered was called son. A broken useless pot called a precious possession of God. Yes, and I cried tears of unspeakable joy, with “how” on my lips and oil on my heart.

Many do not know nor do they understand, “Dawson can not be explained without the presence of the anointing.” Many see a brain – but they do not know the little boy of 19 reading on an 8th grade level. A little boy in love with God’s book but agonized over it, phrase by phrase, sentence by sentence. Frustrated and needy, a boy prayed, “Lord help me to read!” and in one year, reading one book, I found myself reading like a college freshman. I really am nothing without His help. When it’s not there it’s like working double for half the results. Many see a personality - A quick wit and charming banter can cover up much when life gets to close. Others see a jokester – to this one I say, “Hale to the clowns, for their masks are the laughter of others.” Anyone can cover up weakness, with the paint of a quirky way. Anyone can paint a smile on there face just to hide the weakness of there soul. I have learned that all three: intellect, personality, and entertainment are all counterfeit anointings, and seductive ones at that. They promise power but stop just short of fulfillment. They are to be channels for the anointing, tools we use not idols we follow, for they will never give the power needed. Many church bow at their alters, pay homage to their priests. When all the while God is waiting for people to just be themselves, week and needy, and find grace where grace can be found. Where are the artisans of life? Where are the people who have learned the art of being themselves?

I know me, I know the tortured soul I am me. I know the deep depths my sin can dive too. I know the pain and chaos I can stoop too. I also know, by way of a gracious God, the journey I am to live. Only in glimpses, mine you, but glimpses that keep me moving on.

I will say it. I want to be somebody but not as the world measures it. Some may call it dilutions of grandeur. I call it faith, not the faith to be famous on the contrary I only want to be known of in heaven and spoken of in hell. In the words of an old Cammen’s call song, “This world has nothing for me, and this world has everything, all that I ask for and nothing that I need.”
Honestly I have put in too much time! I can’t stop now! I am motivated by a force outside myself. Grace moves me! If I’m good at something, it is because I have worked my butt off to take hold of it! Yet, to take hold of anything it must be with oily hands. His grace must be present for me to accomplish anything. I am not even determined without him – I have learned in resent days that determination without the anointing is like a blast of hot air from opening an oven. It dries out all in its path. And so I long for the sweet oil, fresh and new. I long to see hearts changed and barren lands burst forth with life. I long to see a nation set free! I will live again in his anointing and not have to be given the hard reminder of a dry heart.

This is my education, My Christian PHD, which means POOR, HUNGRY and DRIVEN. I like how Paul, explains the place where His heart and God’s anointing intersect.

1 Cor. 15:10 (KJV)
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

I like how the message translates it.

1 Cor. 15:10 (MsgB)
But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven't I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn't amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it.

That verse brings me to tears – every time I read it. I jump right in the words and find myself lost in its pages. When the work looks daunting, when I feel my brilliance burn bright as a 10 watt bulb, when quiet whispers fill the room as I read aloud, I will confess to myself, “by the grace of God I am what I am” For he fills my heart with fresh oil and uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise!

Remember fresh oil is for all, but it is not free, freely given but at a cost. May we all see our hearts softened by its tender application! The cost is a journey to ZION – that is a journey of trusting in only the LORD’s provision and relying on only the LORD’s protection. What I am saying is just this; I dare you to live dependant. Only then we will be the people of Jeremiah 31:12 and he will be our God.

Jeremiah 31:12 (MsgB)
The people will climb up Zion's slopes shouting with joy,
their faces beaming because of God's bounty—
Grain and wine and oil,
flocks of sheep, herds of cattle.
Their lives will be like a well-watered garden,
never again left to dry up.

Practically Spiritual : Breathing Prayer

Practically Spiritual : Breathing Prayer
The brilliance of a candle when the night is dark, the radiance of the moon in full illumination, these are some things that are best known in contrast. Our hearts are the same. We often do not recognize the subtle ache of its call until in utter hunger we are turned to hear. The echoes that call from the inner caverns of our heart are of another’s voice. A wholly other calling us to come and see, sit and eat, to enjoy a moment of sweet fellowship. This week I was reminded of the call as I talked with a new friend. She spoke of her morning ritual. A holy rite bought by blood, and given by grace. She told me that before she began the day she sat in silence, only for the time it took her to drink a slow cup of coffee. She would just sit with coffee in hand and just breathe. Those moments for her were special for she did not sit alone. Abba was near. As she spoke I was reminded of the 14th century eastern orthodox monk E. Kadloubovsky, who wrote that we should “have memory of God in place of breath.” Her breath made rich and caffeinated memories.

Many in this day do not take time to breathe and be near. This simple exercise is actually an ancient method of praying. Some have called it being prayer others call it breathing prayer. Paul states we should “pray all the time, asking for what we need, praying in the Spirit on every possible occasion.” (Eph 6:18 jb) The word “Spirit” which refers to the Holy Spirit is the Greek word punuma literally translated breath or wind. This shows us a fundamental aspect of His ministry to us. He helps us breathe prayer and be prayer. As we sit with Abba he fills us, he fills the air we breathe and we for an instant experience life. That rejuvenating moment that prepares us for a day of unknown possibilities. We are positioned to pray all the time with a heart that has already gained the fresh air of grace. I have found that when we take that moment to be prayer and abide with abba the day is transformed. Not all at once but in little movements. Our hearts become accustom to this life giving fresh air and long for it throughout the day. At a stop light, while waiting in line, when you become upset or impatient, we gasp for it. We must train ourselves to “just breathe” as you did that morning. Train yourself to know the light of life and be filled with his breath even as your enemies are posed to still your hope. Just breathe and know that grace is already given for every possible occasion. Hope is present, breathe it in and be filled with the light that expels darkness.

Heyschius a 5th century teacher wrote, “ceaseless prayer keeps our mental air free from the dark clouds… and when the air of the heart is pure, there is nothing to prevent the divine light of Jesus shining in it..” remember, the song we all know from childhood. Its truth still rings true even today, “this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” The secret to shining throughout the day is breathing in the morning. I know this to be true for my friend has an indelible weight of glory resonate in her. I have come to learn and respectfully honor that it is “the divine light of Jesus shining” in her. We should all take a lesson from her example. Tomorrow as you rise from your slumber and prepare to meet the day, pause, fill your lungs with grace, and Breathe.