Book Review:
Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your Identity in Christ by John MacArthur
"Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong; that is your oath."\
-Balian of Ibelin - Kingdom of Heaven.
There was a time once, when chivalry was the standard men lived by, when Sir was a title with meaning and weight behind it, not just a term of respect that future son-in-laws call their potential father-in-laws. A time when the pen was not mightier, but swords ruled, it was a sign of wealth and status. It was the best gift that could be passed on from father to son. A time when a a good man was defined by his character, valor, honor, and chivalry. When you owned whatever you did either good or bad, and took the consequences. A time when the greatest compliment any man could receive is to have someone who knew your father say to you, "you are your father's son".
Could you imagine that comment today?
Would any guy these days take it as a compliment?
What has happened to men that we no longer take that as a compliment?
Many books have been written about this topic. The problem with fathers, sons, and the relationship or lack there of between them. Being a true man, and a man of God. These are important topics. This is not to say that there weren't these problems in medieval times, but can you think of any man you know, yourself included, and myself included for that matter.
Who doesn't want their own son to take that compliment like gold?
I want my son to take that compliment as the best compliment he could receive.
So what do we do? First we must learn to live like real men of God, following kingdom principles. Be men of honor and valor. Respected by men and God alike. Chivalrous and upright. King David command's his son Solomon and all men on how to be men. "Now the days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon his son, saying: "I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. And keep the charge of the Lord your God: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;" (1 Kings 2:1-3).
What kind of man will you chose to be? Will you follow the Lord, and walk in the ways of a righteous man, a godly man? Or will you walk in the ways of this world, and not be the type of father your son wants to be come, the type of father who draws a violent and negative reaction.
What will your legacy be?
Will your son want to continue it?
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Joshua 1:9
"What makes Christ glorious, is an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies."
- Jonathan Edwards
Often times in life there are reoccurring themes, those things that just seem to constantly come to the surface. The first few times this theme presented itself in my life, i brushed it off. i believe that is something that we often times do, we tend to think its the other people who have a problem, not ourselves. The theme continues to knock on my door however, it cannot be ignored, it must be accepted in, and even if grudgingly we must allow it to chisel away at our exterior, when this happens more of God is revealed in us and potentially through us.
i have always said that one of my greatest strengths is also my greatest weakness. i am for lack of a better term, a passionate person. Always have been, and always will be. When this passion is properly controlled, and harnessed, it can be very dangerous for the Kingdom of Heaven. However, if i let my passion get the better of me, go uncontrolled, look before i leap, etc. i potentially become very dangerous for the domain of darkness. Just like any other emotion, on its own passion is not sinful, it is only when we let ourselves be controlled by that emotion, when Satan is able to use it against us.
So how do i keep myself from being controlled by this emotion, and learn how to control it? Find a role model and work to pattern my life after how they handle it. Jesus is called the Lion of Judah, and for good reason, He is God, and has all power and authority on heaven and earth. He could have easily done away with any of his opposition, done anything that he wanted. But he didn't. In his book "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ," John Piper has a chapter titled "The Lion and the Lamb," in this chapter he discusses all the ways in which Jesus lives out the perfect juxtaposition of these two diverse excellencies. It doesn't seen possible to be both a Lion and a Lamb. To be a Lion-like-Lamb, and a Lamb-like-Lion. Jesus knew how to control his passion, yes he turned over tables and drove people out of the temple with a whip that he made, but it came out of righteousness. He chose to become the lamb of Judah, instead of the Lion to give us all life. There is no greater example. Being a Lion is a good thing, but being a Lamb-like-Lion is a Godly thing. So we must "rise and rise again, until lambs become lions," but always be a lion the way that Jesus was, and never the lion that Satan tried to get him to be.
" The Lion of Judah conquered because he was willing to act the part of a lamb. He came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday like a king on the way to a throne, and went out of Jerusalem on Good Friday like a lamb on the way to the slaughter. He drove the robbers from the Temple like a lion devouring its prey. And then at the end of the week he gave his majestic neck to the knife, and they slaughtered the Lion of Judah like a sacrificial lamb."
- John Piper Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ
"The Knight is a man of blood and iron, a man familiar with the sight of smashed faces and the ragged stumps of lopped-off limbs; he is also a demure, almost a maidenlike, a guest in hall, a gentle, modest, unobtrusive man. He is not a compromise or happy mean between ferocity and meekness; he is fierce to the nth and meek to the nth."
-C.S. Lewis (The Necessity of Chivalry)
[disclaimer - this is a male focused blog. nothing against you women though]
David and Goliath might be the most famous, and oft paralleled story there is, with the one exception being the story of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. War movies use this story line with out fail, and for good reason. Our lives can be viewed from this same story line. We like to be able to put ourselves in the roles of our favorite heroes; Maximus Decimus Meridius, Aragorn, William Wallace, Balian of Ibelin, Robin Hood, King Arthur, etc. We want to be the brave hero, the one leading the charge, the one fighting the battle, winning the heart of the beauty, and embarking on an epic adventure, where we discover who we are and what we are made of. We want to be the one who gives the speech that compels our fellow men at arms to victory. We want to be the ones to stand defiant in the face of our enemy or oppressor. Rightfully so i believe. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a hero, a knight, a conquerer. In fact we are called by Christ to be this person, this man. For God's Kingdom, and for the other people in our lives.
Romans 8:37 tells us that we are more than conquerers in Christ. What empowering words. Ephesians 6 gives us the armor we need, and Romans 8 tells us we are more than conquerers. What this means is that we can be that hero that we see in popular culture movies, and we can be the hero's we see in the Bible. David, Jonathan, Samson, etc. War epics run rampant through out the Bible. How can we be this hero though? How can we be more than a conquerer? In each of these accounts the hero, is at some point empowered, anointed, or knighted. Looking at the original story line we can see this very clearly; 1 Samuel 16 tells us the story of David's anointing "So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power." (1 Samuel 16:13) as we know David then goes on, through the power of the Spirt of the Lord to defeat Goliath. It must be stated that David was the youngest son, of one of the weakest families of the weakest tribe of Israel, in other words he was one of the very last people most would have expected to do this, and be anointed king. David was knighted for service in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus does this exact same thing with the 12 apostles he gave them power and authority (Luke 9) Jesus then anoints all who call themselves Christian's with the "great commission" in Matthew 28 when he gives all authority in heaven and on earth, to fulfill his commandments and make disciples as we are going of all nations.
Ephesians 6 tells us to take up the "Sword of Spirit, which is the word of God.". When a man is knighted his is given a sword, to signify the event, and the change that has taken place. When you are knighted, you become much more than you were before, you have power, and authority, you are respected and feared. In Acts, the people are baptized by the Holy Spirit, David is anointed and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him. We are compelled by Paul to take up the Sword of Spirit. When you become a Christian, you are baptized by the spirit (not making any statement about when this officially happens). You are in other words knighted by Christ for service in the Kingdom of Heaven. This means you have within you the ability to be the hero you wish you could be in the movies, or in the Bible. God has anointed you as his gladiator, his warrior, his knight, we are made more than conquerers. We are called to live indestructibly. We must, as Marianne Williamson said, liberate others from their fears by being as powerful as we are capable of. God has a plan for us, a purpose he has placed us here to fulfill, and until that is achieved we are indestructible. This is the way those great heroes lived, with an understanding that they were indestructible and that they liberated, empowered, and often knighted others to live up to their potential. And we live Kingdom centered lives. We constantly fight the intense battle that we are intrenched in, we are storming the Castle and taking ground for the Kingdom.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, you have been anointed, and Knighted. You have been given the Sword of Spirit, your name now has a "sir" in front of it, denoting you are a Knight in God's army. You have been given that authority. We must remember that we cannot do it alone. There are many others in the battle as well. They are our allies and will stand shoulder to shoulder with us, fighting until the end. But we must deliver the motivational speech, that God delivered to us through our actions daily. We must liberate others, by living indestructibly, through faith not fear.
"[True knights] are both gentler than lambs and fiercer than lions, in such a wonderful and peculiar way that I am very nearly incapable of deciding what I think they should rather be called, monks or knights, unless I should perhaps more appropriately name them both, since they apparently lack neither, neither the monk's gentle disposition nor the knight's fierce strength. What can be said, but that this is the Lord's work and a miracle in our eyes."
- (Bernard of Clairvaux, De Laude Novae Militiae)
[disclaimer - this is a male focused blog. nothing against you women though]
David and Goliath might be the most famous, and oft paralleled story there is, with the one exception being the story of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. War movies use this story line with out fail, and for good reason. Our lives can be viewed from this same story line. We like to be able to put ourselves in the roles of our favorite heroes; Maximus Decimus Meridius, Aragorn, William Wallace, Balian of Ibelin, Robin Hood, King Arthur, etc. We want to be the brave hero, the one leading the charge, the one fighting the battle, winning the heart of the beauty, and embarking on an epic adventure, where we discover who we are and what we are made of. We want to be the one who gives the speech that compels our fellow men at arms to victory. We want to be the ones to stand defiant in the face of our enemy or oppressor. Rightfully so i believe. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be a hero, a knight, a conquerer. In fact we are called by Christ to be this person, this man. For God's Kingdom, and for the other people in our lives.
Romans 8:37 tells us that we are more than conquerers in Christ. What empowering words. Ephesians 6 gives us the armor we need, and Romans 8 tells us we are more than conquerers. What this means is that we can be that hero that we see in popular culture movies, and we can be the hero's we see in the Bible. David, Jonathan, Samson, etc. War epics run rampant through out the Bible. How can we be this hero though? How can we be more than a conquerer? In each of these accounts the hero, is at some point empowered, anointed, or knighted. Looking at the original story line we can see this very clearly; 1 Samuel 16 tells us the story of David's anointing "So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power." (1 Samuel 16:13) as we know David then goes on, through the power of the Spirt of the Lord to defeat Goliath. It must be stated that David was the youngest son, of one of the weakest families of the weakest tribe of Israel, in other words he was one of the very last people most would have expected to do this, and be anointed king. David was knighted for service in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus does this exact same thing with the 12 apostles he gave them power and authority (Luke 9) Jesus then anoints all who call themselves Christian's with the "great commission" in Matthew 28 when he gives all authority in heaven and on earth, to fulfill his commandments and make disciples as we are going of all nations.
Ephesians 6 tells us to take up the "Sword of Spirit, which is the word of God.". When a man is knighted his is given a sword, to signify the event, and the change that has taken place. When you are knighted, you become much more than you were before, you have power, and authority, you are respected and feared. In Acts, the people are baptized by the Holy Spirit, David is anointed and the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him. We are compelled by Paul to take up the Sword of Spirit. When you become a Christian, you are baptized by the spirit (not making any statement about when this officially happens). You are in other words knighted by Christ for service in the Kingdom of Heaven. This means you have within you the ability to be the hero you wish you could be in the movies, or in the Bible. God has anointed you as his gladiator, his warrior, his knight, we are made more than conquerers. We are called to live indestructibly. We must, as Marianne Williamson said, liberate others from their fears by being as powerful as we are capable of. God has a plan for us, a purpose he has placed us here to fulfill, and until that is achieved we are indestructible. This is the way those great heroes lived, with an understanding that they were indestructible and that they liberated, empowered, and often knighted others to live up to their potential. And we live Kingdom centered lives. We constantly fight the intense battle that we are intrenched in, we are storming the Castle and taking ground for the Kingdom.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, you have been anointed, and Knighted. You have been given the Sword of Spirit, your name now has a "sir" in front of it, denoting you are a Knight in God's army. You have been given that authority. We must remember that we cannot do it alone. There are many others in the battle as well. They are our allies and will stand shoulder to shoulder with us, fighting until the end. But we must deliver the motivational speech, that God delivered to us through our actions daily. We must liberate others, by living indestructibly, through faith not fear.
"[True knights] are both gentler than lambs and fiercer than lions, in such a wonderful and peculiar way that I am very nearly incapable of deciding what I think they should rather be called, monks or knights, unless I should perhaps more appropriately name them both, since they apparently lack neither, neither the monk's gentle disposition nor the knight's fierce strength. What can be said, but that this is the Lord's work and a miracle in our eyes."
- (Bernard of Clairvaux, De Laude Novae Militiae)
Like to read? Want to get into reading? Wish you didn't have to pay for books? Well there is this awesome website where you can get free books in exchange for reviews of the books you read! I hope that some of you will take advantage of it. THANK YOU BOOKSNEEZE!!!
The face of Mariner's baseball will never be the same. The man who started it all, who called the very first pitch, and painted such a magical story of baseball in the Pacific Northwest for 34 years, Dave Niehaus passed away today (Wednesday Nov 11, 2010).
It's weird how you can feel like you know some one you have never met before, you get to know the real person when they are in the business of sports broadcasting. Their personality is displayed with every word, with ever catch phrase, and with how they responded. Phrases like "My Oh My," "That ball will fly away," and "Get out your rye bread and mustard grandma it's Grand Salami time," will forever been etched in the minds of all those who followed Mariner baseball from its inception in 1977 until the last pitch of the 2010 season.
He is a legend, a true broadcasting great who will forever have a soft spot in our hearts. I don't believe there ever was or ever will be a greater supporter of Mariner baseball. We have streets named after players, and we affectionately call Safeco Field "the house that Griffey built," Dave deserves a momento as well. He might be at the top of the Mariner's legend's list, or just behind Griffey and Edgar, but he definitely belongs with the likes of Bone, Sweet Lou, The Big Unit, Dan the "Man", Dave Winfield, and a handful of others.
My Oh My, Mr. Niehaus, baseball will never be the same with out you. You were truly one of the greats, and for all of us who heard you we were blessed. Thank you for sharing your gift! You will be missed.
Jesus told them "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'move from here to there' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."
-Matthew 17:20
Currently Aaron, the pastor of Real Life on the Palouse, the church i attend is doing a sermon series entitled "The Gospel of the Kingdom," the focus of this series is on living out Kingdom lives. No matter what you do with your life vocationally you must live out the Kingdom, for the gospel is not just about salvation but about Kingdom living. The sermon series is about applying Kingdom principles, all the things God calls us to live out in the Bible, to our every day lives.
We are called by Jesus to "make disciples of all nations as we are going" paraphrase of the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). So how does this all tie together? For myself, the connection came when Aaron started explaining the point behind the new sermon series. There is this guy who came up with what he calls the 7 mountains of culture, which are basically the 7 areas of influence that drive culture and society, they are Religion, Family, Education, Government, Media, Arts & Sports, and Business & Technology.
(disclaimer: what follows is not "inspired" it is my own personal hermeneutics and theology. So feel free to take it however you choose.)
As soon as Aaron mentioned the seven mountains and the fact that each of us is called to one of the different mountains, and that God has wired us to truly thrive in that setting, an that each of our callings is unique I though of the verse about moving mountains. We must remember that serving God does not require entering vocational ministry, but it might, for me that is my mountain. That is how i am called and designed to serve the Kingdom. But for most people that is not their calling, nothing wrong with that. With in that mountain there are specific spheres of influence, we are called to champion that sphere for the Kingdom of Heaven, to advance the Gospel, God's mission, and make disciples as we are going. The cool thing is that when we find that sphere God grants us an amount of authority. We must step boldly into it and accept this authority, if we don't Satan will take it. So i thought to myself, maybe this is what Jesus meant by moving mountains? Maybe he meant mountains in a metaphorical sense, and that if we live out our lives through faith and Kingdom principles we can move those "mountains" for God, we can make them Kingdom centered instead of worldly centered. How awesome would that be? What an awesome legacy to leave, what a Godly way to "Out live your life".
So what ever your mountain is, climb it with confidence and faith in the Lord, step boldly into the authority that God has given you. To do anything less would be to sell God, the people around you, and yourself short. That is exactly what Satan wants.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
-Marianne Williamson
"God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called"
i just recently finished reading Max Lucado's most recent book entitled Out Live your Life, a truly fascinating and challenging book. Each page is engrossing, and convicting. Its the type of book that leaves you with a heart ready to impact the world, and a heart broken at all the ways you haven't yet. Sometimes it seems almost overwhelming, but if taken one step at a time, this can become a transforming life challenge.
Out Living your life isn't just a pithy title, it is an outright challenge, and a biblical one at that. We are called to leave a lasting legacy for God's kingdom on this earth. i must confess the failure to leave this kind of legacy is my deepest fear, "what if i don't out live my own life?" i often wonder in a state of dissatisfaction and contempt at my inability to live the life Jesus calls me to. The best thing about this book as that the idea of self-service is never considered, it is all about serving God, so inspiring.
This fall i have been volunteering as a football coach at Pullman High School, and have asked on many occasions to the players i interact with daily "what kind of legacy they want to leave?" Clearly this centers around football and the answers are as expected. However, i am also a leader for Real Life on the Palouse Fierce Youth - Pullman; along with my gorgeous girlfriend Devon, and our friends JT and Kelsey (recently wed), and some of the players are also come to our weekly small group and the question shifts focus. What i am trying to do is get them to have the same focus on the field as they do off, and vice-versa.
As my dear friend Leandre Daniels will readily attest to football is not forever, and that your life is about so much more than the activities you are involved in. It is the influence and impact you have in that circle of interest, either seen or unseen, that is what truly defines us. It is not just how we chose to respond when we are standing atop the mountain, in-fact it is more so how we respond when we are down in the valleys, when everyone else would understand if we surrendered. Your legacy is not defined in a single moment, but in the entire span of your life.
Our legacies are about how we as individuals lived Kingdom lives, about the times we stormed the cave, and the way we stood against Satan's strongest attacks. Our legacy is ultimately not even about us, it is about God's work in and through us. It is about how God uses us when we bow before him and say "your will be done, not my will". The legacy is about how present and real we make the Kingdom of Heaven in our daily lives. The good news is; it's never too late to alter your legacy, no matter what you have done in the past you can change it through God's redemptive and forgiving power. The question is will you let God, shape you so that you can out live your life?
Here is my challenge, read this book one chapter a day, read God's word each day, and spend ample time in prayer about how each chapter is meant to speak to you, how you are supposed to respond to the challenges with in it. Then respond to those challenges, and see how God works through you when you embrace his Kingdom, and his will. Dare to out live your life through the Kingdom of Heaven. Dare to truly know God.
"What man is a man who does not make the world better?"
(please leave feedback and comments, thanks)
“When he who hears does not know what he who speaks means, and when he who speaks does not know what he himself means, that is philosophy” - Voltaire
i am a philosopher, by nature, by choice, by major, by all conceivable connotations. This was something i stumbled upon quit by accident, but i quickly learned that i have always been a lover of wisdom. Conversations with those who are wisdom giants to me is inspiring and enlivening! Being able to pass on even a small piece of wisdom to anyone is a treasured moment. Not for the sake of saying look what i thought you, but to know i was used by God in that individuals life. Because it tells me that my greatest fear is nothing to be feared, that God uses the broken and unlikely. It is so incredible to know that God is weaving you into someone else's story for His glory. It is an on going and ever evolving story that we learn more about each day as we experience it and live it.
That is part of what i love so much about Philosophy, much of what you believe becomes more clear as you write and as you speak. At least this is the case for me. i cannot count the number of papers that i have completely scrapped on the last page because i realized i wanted to go a completely different rout. This is very much my story of school, went in determined that i was going to become an architect, ha, that lasted less than a semester. Then i wanted to be a sports broadcaster, lasted a semester. One year down and two majors gone, but i had tasted philosophy for the first time and i was hooked. Most of the time i ramble until i complete a coherent thought, but that is what philosophy is. It is discovering what you believe and why you believe it, exploring all of life's deepest questions and developing thoughts, and then thoughts on thoughts. It isn't about the answers, never was, never will be.
Not about the answers, puzzling to most i assume. Especially if you understand the Greeks, the fathers of philosophy; the stoics, Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, et. al. The Greeks are linear thinkers, all about discovering the right answer, which is how most of the world thinks now. This is to be contrasted with the circular thinking of Hebraic culture where the focus was on asking the right question. All of this i am positing to you to ponder is leading up to what i meant to write this thing about in the first place.
More of my story, in middle school and high school i hated english. Didn't get the point of it, didn't really understand it, wasn't interested in reading stuffy old boring literature. Enter Sam Ford, high school soccer coach and english "educator". Took integrated communications from him senior year. Learned more about life and what literature really was from him than many other people. Incredible educator! Basically i never would have considered the idea of writing a book, in-fact, i would have laughed at it. i always looked at writing a book as a pride thing, someone thought what they had to say the rest of the world needed to hear. No longer look at it that way, thank you philosophy. For me, writing a book is all about formulating my thoughts, it would really be for my own personal benefit. If someone decides its worth reading then good on them. Maybe one person will benefit from it and that would make it all worth while. Any way, i am going to write a book. what about you ask? you will have to wait to find out, because i don't even know yet, and it will indeed change direction at least once.
If you are still reading, thanks for paying attention to my rambling, for "listening". If you know me, you know i do this frequently when it something that i am passionate about. Maybe now you have a better understanding of me. In any case, i love thinking and wisdom, and i love thinking about thinking. Maybe now you might. :)
Happy philosophizing!
"Cogito ergo sum"
i have shared before about my love for storms, especially lightning storms, but tonight as i am watching the storm i cannot help but simply be awestruck by the awesome power and complexity of God. Lightning is easily one of the most incredible and fascinating things you will ever see in nature. There is no way that it could be anything but a creation of God, to reveal some of his insurmountable and unimaginable power. Thank you Lord for creating lightning to reveal yourself to people!
There is a worship song by Casting Crowns called Praise You in this Storm, that is definitely one of my favorites. As i sit here and listen to the wind howl, the rain beat against the windows and the lightning fill the sky with brilliant sparks of purple and blue i cannot help but think of that song, as well as Job. Job is such an incredible story in the Bible! It is so powerful and moving, and carries one of the best messages that you will find. The message goes something like this, even if absolutely everything is taken from you, no matter how "good" you are, will God be sufficient? [thank you Devon and your love of devotionals and desire to know God deeper daily for helping bring this point to light! :)] Job's answer despite the repeated times that Satan tries to convince him otherwise is a resounding and steadfast YES, GOD IS SUFFICIENT! Incredible. Remarkable. Inspiring. To think that even when it seems as though one thing that i only half heartedly enjoy is taken from me, i tend to throw a fit, one that would most certainly shame a spoiled two year-old. We all ask Why me God? Why do i deserve this? Let me tell you these are the wrong questions. Jesus took on the most excruciating suffering ever imaginable. He was crucified [one of the most painful forms of death], and while this happened he became the full embodiment of all sin, from Adam and Eve to the most current sin in your life or any ones life. That's right all of it, even for those who are not believers, he took on that sin and destroyed it[through his resurrection], which means if you want to you can feel the redemptive power of trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. As a result of taking on sin, what happened to Jesus? Well, God was forced to separate himself for Jesus, for God is perfectly Holy, meaning he can have no part of sin. No one ever has or ever will suffer more than Jesus.
So what Does that mean for you and me? How are we supposed to respond to suffering? Well not in the way that you would think. Paul explains to us how we need to respond to suffering. First in Romans 5:3-5, where we are told that we must rejoice in our sufferings. Sorry, what? You read that correctly rejoice in our sufferings. Along with the list of things that are the result of suffering as mentioned in the passage we can also see what importance this has in Philippians 3:10, when Paul tells us that in our sufferings we will find fellowship with Jesus. That's right our sufferings is where we find fellowship!
For all of you out there who want to know Jesus on a deeper more intimate level, it's time to embrace suffering, tribulation and trials when they come. This doesn't mean to go out and find them, but what this does mean is that when they come, and they will come that you need to embrace them and know that through this time God is not only shaping your character for things He wants you to accomplish in His time, and that you are developing a deeper love relationship with our Savior. WOW! How incredible is that? More incredible than a lightning storm after a hot summer day! So that is why no matter the storm that i am weathering in my life i will always worship and serve God, because i know that through it i will be a more complete version of the man he created me to be, for the role he created me to fulfill. There is nothing more incredible than that!!
Thank you God for storms, both literally and metaphorically. You work in truly amazing ways. i cannot help but be brought to my knees in contrition at the mere thought of who you are, for that is worship, and that is surrendering to you.
"Christ has not only spoken to us by his life but has also spoken for us by his death."
-Soren Kierkegaard
To most of America tomorrow represents another day to get presents, to buy candy, and to have a feast. A chance to partake in that age old tradition of searching for the eggs that had been died sometime earlier in the week, search for eggs hidden by the "Easter Bunny". But what do these symbols really signify? It represents a chance for corporate head honcho's to benefit from age old traditions that they started. It represents pagan rituals that worshipped fertility gods and goddesses in the spring so as to bring good fortune, good crops, and good living. In reality what most of America celebrates today is not actually Easter... what it celebrates is capitalism and paganism. That is sad.
Now I am not necessarily saying that all the traditions that we have associated with Easter are wrong, for we should celebrate this day, this event, this miracle! What we are celebrating is the most important and miraculous and amazing event in history! Nothing surpasses the Cross, nothing compares, nothing! Easter and for that matter Good Friday, which is indeed very good, are not about death, they are about life about LOVE! Easter is a celebration of the most loving and gracious act that has ever been committed and for that matter it deserves to be CELEBRATED! And celebrated well, with joy and with love, lots and lots of love. Not so much with candy and eggs, and annual sales that coincide with this holiday.
Easter, especially to those who call themselves a follower of Christ, those who are fully enveloped in a deep, personal, intimate, knowing love relationship with our Lord and Savior, must cease to be a holiday and become once again a Holy Day, a day where we focus solely on the saving power of the cross, and the love not the nails that held Jesus in place. For this is the very foundation of our belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Without the cross it means nothing. With out the greatest type of love, that is "laying down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). Jesus tells us this, and then guess what?! He does it, in the most brutal, ruthless, painful, and humiliating way that man has ever created. He took it all, all sin (past present and future) and paid the only sufficing penalty, a sacrificial death, the ultimate sacrifice. In that moment the Lion of Judah, became the humble lamb, and for this reason yes indeed we should celebrate, but a Holy Day, not a holiday. We must celebrate the love, the sacrifice, the gift, the redemption, the salvation, not the traditions, the sales, and the pagan rituals that have weaseled their way back into popular culture.
God gave up His Son so that we could have life. Who are we to mock him with whimsical traditions and practices, with placing Jesus on the back burner? Who are we to decide what it is that is worth celebrating? Who are we to forget God and focus on the material, the flesh? We must remember what is important, what it is all about, Jesus' death and more importantly His resurrection. His irreplaceable sacrifice and unrequited, unconditional love. The Greatest expression of love the world will ever know. "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." - 1 John 3:16
"To a Christian, Easter Sunday means everything, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ."-- Bernhard Langer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Books
Currently Reading:
- Wild at Heart - John Eldredge
-
Next Up List:
- The Hole in our Gospel - Richard Stearns
- The Dream Manager - Matthew Kelly
- A Million Miles in a Thousand Years - Donald Miller
- Father Fiction - Donald Miller
Recently Read:
-Out Live your Life - Max Lucado
have questions about a book or blog just leave a comment. thanks
