New Podcast! - Don't Follow Jesus

Title almost speaks for itself...almost!

Don't Follow Jesus Podcast

Thoughts or questions please share them here.

In your Father's arms...

One of my favorite memories as a kid was water skiing with my dad around the lake.

What was special about it was it was before I could ski, so the only way the two of us could water ski was with him holding me in his arms - while holding the rope and maintaining balance.

Out there on the lake it was just the two of us skiing.

If we talked, I don't recall - we didn't need to, the moment was special enough.

If we ever fell, I don't remember.

If we did, it must not have ever bothered me because I remember it being such a thrill!

Sure it was "dangerous", sure I could have gotten hurt...but I had COMPLETE trust in my dad.  He was Dad, and I was in his arms - in his arms I truly believed no matter what, I would be okay.

If I hadn't have trusted Dad, I would have never had that the opportunity to ski with him like that.  I would have missed out on something special.

Can we say the same when it comes to God?  Do we trust him the same way?  Completely...willing to give complete control over to him?

I know I don't.  Not as often as I would like to.

God calls us into many situations that, at first glance, may appear "dangerous" or "scary."  We might get hurt: emotionally, financially (how we view money), spiritually (we might lose a deeply held belief), etc.

We may even "lose" something: friends, comfort, our perceived "safety", status, religion...

Yet, we must trust that despite what we see with OUR eyes, God is calling us into a special experience meant just for us to share with Him.

Sometimes I believe we know EXACTLY what God is calling us into, we just hope that he'll offer us something a bit more safe.

If we just hold out long enough.

Yet, it has been my experience that God is far more patient that us, and while he will offer us other experiences: they aren't necessarily "safer."

I trusted my Dad completely, and still do - God?  eh...that, I must admit, needs (quite) a bit of work.

But I am learning, and growing to trust God...and it only happens when we take that first leap of faith.  God's arms are waiting, ready to catch you and take you on an experience that you will never regret and never forget...you just need to JUMP!

And when God let's go of the rope and you both ski gently close to the dock, you'll never be the same..

"...Our daily bread."

When you pray the Lord's prayer and get to "give us this day, our daily bread" do you really believe that?  Are you really asking for ONLY your daily bread.

I haven't and I don't.

We certainly don't as a culture.  We are a culture of "more" rather than a culture of "enough."

We want more.  I want more.

I don't want my daily bread, I want my weekly bread, my monthly bread, yearly bread, enough bread that I can tuck some away, bread to fall back on, bread insurance to replace my bread if I lose my bread in a fire or if it's stolen, I'll even gamble some of my bread if it means that I might be able to win MORE bread, I'm jealous if others have more bread than I do, or if their bread smells better, or is better looking, or makes better sandwiches, I've left jobs I have loved to ones I tolerate for more bread, I even have a couple of cards that allow me to act AS IF I have bread - for a nominal interest charge, I trade my bread for junk, for crap, for stuff  that within a year after purchase I'll wonder why I bought it in the first place, I have a garage sale to sell said stuff for small amounts of bread so I can make room for more stuff that I buy with my bread, if someone asks me for bread sometimes I pretend I don't have any on me - they might use my bread to buy something I don't think they should have, after all...it's MY bread right?

Next time I pray "give us this day, our daily bread" I'm going to wonder: do I really mean it?

Book Review - Reggie

"Born as a result of a heart-wrenching decision made by his then sixteen-year-old mom, Reggie offers hope and inspiration to those who are stuck in the despair of their broken beginings and are crying out for help." - Back cover from Reggie

Reggie Dabbs’ book doesn’t read exactly like a zero to hero book. Surely, one could argue that being the result of a twenty dollar one-night-stand (as Reggie was) might be considered starting from zero. And for a moment in his life, Reggie DID consider himself just that.
But one day, Reggie realized that he wasn’t a zero. That he was a child of God and that despite what others may think, or how they saw him, he was loved.
Sounds simple, yet sadly that’s isn’t the case for many kids born into similar circumstances; or worse.
That knowledge of being loved, loved by Jesus kept Reggie on a path that now allows him to share this knowledge of love with the kids of the world.

As you read, you’ll find various cross roads for Reggie, to take a different road would have meant a different future - a different outcome. Reggie could have easily become another statistic: either counted among the dead, or imprisoned.
But Reggie didn’t. Reggie knew of his value, his TRUE value, because he knew his Creator. And through this book Reggie offers you the chance to learn about this love as well.

While geared more toward teens, Reggie is book for all who need to remember, that despite our past, our failures, our faults, we are loved by the one who created us.
 
(I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)

A Look at Suffering - Part Ten - Putting It All Together

So what exactly does all this mean?

Well, for one it means that faith is tougher than we might have first thought - though we usually learn this an even harder way.

It also means that we are more important than we tend to give ourselves credit for.  Yes we are to be humble, and serve, and not put ourselves first, but that doesn't mean we don't have a battle to fight!

God wants, dare I say NEEDS, our help - okay, so in the end he doesn't, but he does ask for our participation.

As my Grandpa would say: participate, don't be part of the problem.

Sometimes by sitting out, or staying away, or letting go and letting God we are inadvertently being part of the problem.

We aren't meant to sit this one out.  We are in the game, we all have a role, a position to play.

Why is there suffering?

Because there are agents and people that are out to do evil - and succeed.

What can we do?  We can fight back.

Our weapons?

Prayer and love.

I know, not the weapons I would chose either, but in all honesty they ARE the most effective.  Perhaps not in the short run, but in the long run - in the run that counts - they are VERY effective.

They are the weapons Jesus used.  And if they are good enough for him...

We want to be Rambo and mow down the bad guys one-arming an M-60...maybe that's just me...But that's not what we are asked to do.  We are asked to do something much, much, MUCH more difficult - I think you know what that is.

And while this won't answer why anyone suffers for any specific reason, I hope that it gives you a bit broader perspective on God and why in general people suffer and how we can and do effect what happens in this world - maybe even the world to come.

Take care.

"You'll get 'em next time!"

It's baseball season once again.  And as proof that God's favorite sport is baseball I offer you this post.

There's an often said, though not so famous phrase said in baseball.  Most people if they've played baseball have heard it, often said it, though outside of the game you're not likely to hear it.

It's most often said when a batter strikes out.  As they make their way back to the dug out, one or two of their teammate will slap them on the back and say, "You'll get 'em next time!"

Unfortunately, because this phrase has been said so often, for soooo many years, it's lost it's luster a bit.  But let's buff it a little bit and take a look at it.

"You'll get 'em next time!"

What a fabulous phrase - and I don't call ANYTHING fabulous.

There are two great points in this phrase.

1) Next time.

Next time!  Yes, there is a next time!  I may have struck out at this at bat, but there will be a next time, a next at bat, another opportunity!

Oh, sure, it may not be in the given game i have struck out in.  Might not be in the next game, if I'm not in the roster, nor will for sure be in the same league or with the same team...but there will be a NEXT TIME!

2) You'll get 'em.

Said flippantly it doesn't mean anything, but if said with a true heart it tells the person, the batter - I know you are capable of more and I have faith that you will do better next time.  But it's not in a condemning way, but in an encouraging way!

You CAN do better, and I bet you WILL!

You CAN get a home run, or a double...I've seen you do it, I have faith you WILL get 'em! Next Time!

We do this, say this because we know they didn't MEAN to strike out and we have seen them do better and know that they WANT to do better and are just as disappointed, if not more so at themselves than we could ever be, so we try to help pick them up.  We don't want this strikeout to affect the rest of their game, they are a part of the team, we need them to be at their best, just like they need us to be!

We might even remind the hitter when they knocked the cover off the ball off the pitcher before and other times they came through at the plate.

One thing we don't do though, is yell and chastise them.  We don't scream at them saying, "How in the hell could you have done that!  You know we needed that hit!  What were you thinking?  Great, now I don't get to hit until next inning!  It's not like you haven't hit the ball before!  Did you even TRY to make contact?"

Of course not...what good would come of that?

Yet, isn't this what we do with our walk with Jesus?

If not just ourselves, to others?  Even if it's just in our head?

I know I have...and still do from time to time.

I shake my head at someone and say, "why did they swing at that pitch?"  "Why did they do THAT?  Clearly that wasn't a good thing."

Sometimes, given the right mood, I might even go about pointing this out to them, and explaining where they went wrong and what they needed to have done and how they could have done it far better than they did because they clearly weren't paying attention or praying about it so God would want me to point these things out to them, I'm just holding them accountable for your actions because if I don't, they might not be aware of what they did wrong.

Is that what Jesus taught us to do?

No.

The job of the coach is to work with each player on what they are good at and what need practice on...WE on the other hand have quite a bit different job: we are to DO OUR BEST and to CHEER each other on and pick each other UP when we are down.

Jesus is our coach...let's let him do his job and let's focus on ours.

So let's start patting each other the back and say, "You'll get 'em next time!"

After all, isn't that what we'd want to hear ourselves when WE STRIKE OUT?

Yes.

So have faith, keep your head up, because I believe YOU WILL GET 'EM NEXT TIME!

A Look at Suffering - Part Nine - What Can We Do?

The Sea of Ambiguity, Boyd calls it.

Paul said it was like looking through a glass darkly...

In other words: we catch glimpses of what is going on, what is happening in the world and in the "world" around us.

Through the other posts, we have discovered that there is more going on than what we see...more than we could possibly know or understand.

Evil exists for many reasons...for many other, hidden, reasons God can't stop the evils from happening.  Nor can he stop the suffering.

Evil is easy to see when it happens to other people, suffering is harder to explain when it happens to you.

But we know it is NOT God's will that evil exists, and persists, nor suffering.

There is much at work, causing and effecting much of what goes on in the world, and whether we can point it our or not - we too, add to this confusion...especially when we stray off our path of following Jesus.

But, in the midst of all this confusion, ambiguity, and darkness is there anything we can do?  Do we even make a difference?

The answer is: YES.

And it's so simple, we overlook it more often than not.

Boyd puts it like this, "There is one more extremely important variable that conditions God's activity in any particular situation."

That variable is PRAYER.

When I first read this, I almost poo-pooed it right off.  Prayer?  Really?  I know I should pray and I do...but then I began to think...why should I pray?

Just to talk to God?  Tell him my wants and needs? (like new tires)  To learn His will for my life?

While they are good, they aren't IT as it comes to prayer.

Prayer has been touted as something that helps us, change us.

God doesn't need our prayers...we need do.

After all, would a truly all-powerful God need anything from us?  Most of us would answer: no.

But Boyd states that this, "variable is about the kind of world God decided to create."

In the previous posts, we only skimmed the surface as to what kind of world this is, the world He created.

Boyd continues, "Scripture teaches that God created a world in which he has significantly bound himself to the prayers of his people."

Jesus seems to agree to this point.  He does teach us a certain prayer: the Lord's Prayer.

In the Lord's Prayer we pray to God that his will be done "on Earth as it is in Heaven."

This would seem to imply, or only make sense, if God's will WAS NOT being done on a consistent basis.

Not only that, but as Boyd points out, Jesus wants us to pray as if God doesn't want to answer our prayers. (Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8)

Obviously God wants to hear our prayers, but to command it, there must be a good reason...evidently, we might hold a bit more sway than we first thought.

But, we might then ask, why would God created such a world that prayers effect what he can/can't do?

Boyd explains it as this: "Prayer is simply the spiritual side of our morally responsible say-so."

In other words, what we can physically change through our actions (free will) we can spiritually effect as well through prayer.

Does that mean that all our prayers will be answered as we wish?

Of course not...in fact, the prayers God seems to answer seems again...arbitrary at best.

But why?

Why would, does, God answer one prayer over the other.  More to the point, why does God seem to answer flippant prayers by non-pious, non-church going folks, yet won't answer a heart felt, knee-bent, crying out prayer of say...me?

This is another unanswerable questions in terms of specifics.  In general,  it is because of all the other variables taking place...all the other prayers, the other people, the other angels, the other demon, the other you-name-it.

There is much going on in this cosmic war.

But through the authority of Jesus, we can and should have faith that prayer, ALL PRAYER moves God's will further along.

However, we may never see this either.

Perhaps our prayer WAS answered, just not in the way that we would like it to be answered, or expected it to be answered.

Again, specifically, for a certain situation we may - most likely won't - ever know.

But, for me, that is a hard pill to swallow.  Not because I don't believe it, but because I don't like it.

Yet, this is the world that God created.  A world full of risk...and love.  And reluctantly I would agree that it is worth the risk.

Boyd goes on to list 9 variables as it pertains to prayer.  I won't go into them, but I will list them.

1.  God's will.
2. Faith of the person being prayed FOR.
3. Faith of the PEOPLE praying for.
4. Persistence of prayer.
5. Number of people praying.
6. Human free will.
7. Angelic free will.
8. Number and strength of spirit agents.
9. Presence of sin.

Most of these, I'm guessing, you can immediately see how they might affect our prayers.  Others are a bit more complicated.

But we must always remember:  this sea of ambiguity that we are living in, this dark glass we look through is NOT completely because of our fallen world, but because our of FINITE knowledge.

That is: our knowledge while here on earth, does have limitations.

Perhaps on the other side, we'll get a clearer picture...at least, we can pray for that.