Prompting to obedience

Yesterday I had the opportunity to share my beliefs with a man who is in the late stages of cancer. At his home and with his hair removed from the chemo therapy, I spoke to him in the most genuine way possible with an apology for asking such a bold question.

Upon speaking to him, I gestured that he was likely in for a longer road than I can even imagine, but I was concerned about him and where he stands with his faith. With a beer and huggy in hand, he tells me that he appreciates where I am headed, but he isn’t really that interested in doing anything like that. He says, “I do know where I am going.” I said, “Oh, you do.” He remarks, “I am going down.” Not knowing if he is referring to the ground or hell, I look puzzled and respond with, “Where is that?” He nods, “I reckon I am going at least six feet down anyway.” I try to recover with another plea of genuine concern for him assuring that it isn’t a trick to get him to go to my church or be a part of anything, but he again responds with, “I appreciate you telling me this, but I am fine.” He mentions a part in the movie Gran Torino, and says that if I ever have the opportunity to watch the movie remember him during the preacher scene. I stood helpless and speechless.  

The fact of the matter is that the man is not fine. His face and skin color are whiter than notebook paper, and he cannot hardly walk around his own house, but he was not open to what I had to say. Unfortunately, this man will likely die in the coming months. His heart is hardened to the truth, and if he will ever be saved God will only know for now.

The part I had to play only took about five minutes. I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to speak to the man, and I simply obeyed the best way I could at the time. I do not know if the Lord will ever save him, but I do know that those five minutes were a short road of obedience I had to travel. Sharing your faith through personal evangelism is not easy. Often times, it is really uncomfortable. But rest assured, if you share the Gospel, the success is in your obedience and not the person’s conversion. That is God’s job. I ask you to walk the road of sharing your faith. I promise if you are obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, you will not walk alone.

The tree, temptations, and you

I ran across this intersting quote today. Tell me what you think! I find it interesting that trees were used to let the people decide between sin and obedience. This constant reminder gives us life today in the form of photosynthesis, but took life in the Garden of Eden. Irony.

“Most people would like to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch.” – Robert Orben

Do you think Orben was right?

life is a blur

I sit here today thinking of the brevity of life. I remember sending my firstborn to his very first day of school, and now he is 13. Weird. Good. Challenging. And very true. My daughter Gracie and I are very close. Will we always be? I don’t know, but I want to know. I remember holding her in my arms as an infant. The relentless crying, rank diapers, and bottles are all fresh in my mind. I blinked and now she’s 6. You can’t have tomorrow back, so live for today.

Where has the time gone? I ask myself this question. What about me? Have I lived? I try to be  a lot of things to many people, but am I really living as Christ would have me live. I love my life. I just wish it would slow down so I could make out the images that are blurred before me.

Gut check

I am grieving because another great day of the Catalyst experience has passed.

Today, I present the question of how or why? Or possibly, how and why? I’ll let you choose. Has mediocrity and ritual forsaken greatness from mere redundancy? Have you gotten so good at doing what we do to think about why we do them? The how is the place that you operate in. The how is what you do. The how in many ways identifies who you are not only in the church culture, but also, at home and work.

Oh, the why! The why is the fuel that makes the motor run. It is the nutrients that nourish the blood. It is what identifies what you do, and how you do it? Thewhy separates people, but connects people. The why has divided families. In several ways, the why identifies who you are. It is your identity. It is your core. It is what holds you together. What’s the why, Christ!

The conundrum lies when how we live is not driven by the why. We all do things out of redundancy and complacency, but why do we do those things? Have we spent so much time spinning our wheels instead of figuring out where we are going? Life is too short to not live on purpose. By that, I do not merely mean your schedule. If you have a faith system, why do you believe in it? If you have a faith, can you defend it? Do you have a strategy for raising your kids? Do you have a plan for the next time you will get away with your wife (alone)? Is there a consistency in your words and deeds? If no, then your how and why are jacked up. Make a change. Make a stand. Figure it out. Ask the tough questions? Get a clue.  

Please for your health and benefit, make sure that your how matches up with your why? Be able to tell someone about it. Be able to pass it on to the next generation. Life is too short to have a passive existence that is filled with status quo mediocrity. Check it out, please.

Tamed or Dangerous?

Today, as I sit in my hotel room at Catalyst, I came across a passage from a book that intrigued me. The book is entitled, Wild Goose Chase. It made me think, and I believe it will for you too. The question I pose to you is, “Do churches do to people what zoos do to animals?” I want it to sink in, so read it again, “Do churches do to people what zoos do to animals?”

I am aware that this is a gross generalization that can be taken either way, and I am wanting to hear a balance of opinions.

God loves justly?

This is an age old question, “How can God be both a god of love and justice?” For the human mind that seems like an oxymoron, but the Scriptures reveal otherwise. Going on the premise that God is love according to 1 John 4:7-21. God cannot be a loving God without us having a sense of His justice or knowledge of right and wrong that dwells in the hearts of humanity.

 

People often try to reconcile a position of either God is a god of love or he is a god of justice, but not both because they simply haven’t accepted or heard what happened on the cross at Calvary (Matthew 27:33). Our human perception will only allow us to have knowledge of so much. God’s omniscience and omnipotence are for too vast and complicated to understand with our finite minds. By Jesus dying on the cross, God has revealed that ultimately justice (moral purity) will prevail. In essence, grace prevailed due to divine justice. Romans 6:23 NIV, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The wages of sin are required because God’s justice, and the gift of Jesus Christ is the ultimate act of love. Thereto, God’s love and grace is extended because God is just.

 

This has a far reaching quality. In that, God wants us to realize that there is right and wrong. Subsequently, there are consequences for wrong actions. There is a payment that needs met due to the penalty of sin (i.e., justice). Continuing, God’s love wins, in that, in the desire for humanity to be made whole again; he sent Jesus to be the atonement of our sins and iniquity. The sometimes mocked but always poignant verse in the book of John (3:16), “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” is further proof of God’s loving moral purity. God’s desire for us all is to be morally pure, so the elimination of sin allows the reconciliation to occur. Thus, there is continuity in His love for us and the moral purity that he requires and exudes himself.  Chad

God as I see Him

Have you ever wondered why it is that God loves you so much?

God’s immeasurable love has brought me from the depths of despair. When I was younger, I used to try to fit in wherever and whenever people where around. I would work a crowd trying to find a common bond or connection with people to feel better about myself. At that time, I thought I was the most screwed up kid with more baggage than Clampets on their way to California. My inner struggle to belong was masked with an abrasive and user personality that was never quenched. Whether looking for it with a bottle or a crowd of people, I had no direction. Meaning lost. Love vanquished. Direction challenged.

My home life as a child was challenged to say the least, but somehow I was always able to see through the bad situations and cloudy times. My parents divorced when I was young. Their relationship left me in the middle of a custody battle that evoked bitterness and strife on all fronts. I couldn’t stand to be around them; I felt resentment within me; yet, I couldn’t explain it!

When I became a father, I was awakened to the depth of my own hurting whenever I first held my boy some 12 years ago. I peered into his eyes and knew for the first time the unconditional nature of love is possible. In a fleeting moment it seems, I was changed forever. The evidence of unconditional love within me caused me to rethink my own existence. I received salvation through grace at the age of 21 years old; it was this moment in time that has forever changed my past, present, and future. Yes, it changed my past. For some unexplained reason , other than the Divine, I was able to forgive my family of the past that they had subjected me to. Forgiveness is always possible no matter the rage and bitterness you may feel.   

This change within me has been an on-going transformation that has simply allerted me to the errors in my life. These errors are yet proof that God is real. My relationship with the Lord is better than yesterday. With God’s grace, I will continue to overcome life boundaries and limitations leaving deposits on people instead of always taking withfdrawals. God’s love makes it all possible. The bible says that God is love, and I believe it. I could tell you every reason why God shouldn’t love me (humanity), but have evidence of that love to counter every claim. Love wins… always.

a night at the demo

To whom it may concern:

I am making my semi annual blog to appease all my fellow bloggers out there. I had the absolute best fourth of July ever. I would like to tell you that the fireworks were great, but that is not going to happen. Mainly, because I didn’t see any to speak of. Instead, with the prompting of my in laws, we went to the most red neck back woods event that humanity has ever created… the demolition derby. I will say that I have a little red neck in my blood, but not to the level that I witnessed this past weekend.

We drove for a couple of hours awaiting this grandiose time at the Demo. After an enjoyable ride, we neared the fairgrounds with eager anticipation. As we approached the sign, I could taste how good the food was going to be; I could just imagine the excitement of the crowd cheering every crash. Then. 

We finally approached a dilapidated sign that was adjacent to a building built at the end of the century (the 19th century). I was looking around like Erckel in the octagon (UFC humor). I peered around the corner, but couldn’t get a good view. Then, … behold the glory of the demolition derby track. Exhilarating.

My family, with deep roots in demos, has come to expect a higher more sophisticated level of the demo as it were, but we would be let down. After starting an hour later than advertised, consisted of two heats of about 15 cars total trapped in an enclosure that would fit into an infield of a little league diamond. At least their was some enjoyment… the fans. Brother, sister, husband and wife (one could not really differentiate). And yes, the mullet was in full force. A father and son mullet tandem. I almost cried. Seriously. 

The MC spoke out of a can of corn with string attached to it. A microphone would have been better, but in that part of the state I’m not sure they have electricity yet. An amazing feature was the honest excitement of the crowd. Perplexing.

I was a trooper. I hung in there. I took one for the team.

I am a man that has come to enjoy the finer things in life.

Demos rock, and so does the man who passes on the legacy that is the mullet. Peace.

Rob vs. America?

Rob Bell has a generations ear, and this is what he is telling them.

“If you are a follower of Jesus, a middle eastern man living in an occupied country who was crucified by the global military superpower of his day, and the leader of the global military superpower of your day, in celebrating victory and occupation of a middle eastern country, quotes hymns in the military victory speech about Jesus, if you are a Christian, this should make you nervous.
The Bible is a story of people living on the underside of military super powers.
The Bible comes to us from a small minority of peoples, who are conquered peoples.
So when you read this story, and you read this book, as a citizen of the most powerful empire this world has ever seen, you may miss some of it’s central ideas.
Because when it says some trust in chariots but we trust in God and you have 42.8 percent of the worlds weapons, You’re the one with the chariots.
My interest is in how we understand the story of the scriptures, and in some way separate the cross and the flag, just long enough to make sure that we haven’t bought into somethings that are the very type of things that Jesus came to set us free from.
- Rob Bell

Wow, he is not afraid to address political and social issues is he. This statement may be a little off key. The obvious distrust in the war has resulted in making an analogous statement that doesn’t seem to hold water. Understandably, the war is a major problem today. We are desperate for some resolve, but Rob Bell was out of place in comparing the US to the other nations that oppressed the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel was spiritually complacent, and the other nations (Romans, Babylonians, and Assyrians) were instruments to cast judgment on Israel; this done in hopes that they would realize the benefits they could have as the covenantal people if they would place their trust in Yahweh.

The wars of the Old Testament and Intertestamental Period, clearly, should not be a spring board of comparison with today’s war. The connection between church and state can be a bit intertwined for Christians [a major social problem]; the important thing to remember is that we are Christians, first, and then affiliates of a political party somewhere after.

I think it is a good time to sing, “Proud to be an American.” As a friend pointed out today, maybe “being [proud] Americans” is exactly the problem; this begs the question,”Why are we busy fighting ourselves, and not the enemy, Satan?”

By the way, I proudly served in Clinton’s Navy from 93-97 (and did not inhale). Now I serve a much higher authority, God.

I can see both sides, and it hurts to be losing on both war-fronts.

closer still

Wow! I made it. The week has been full to say the least. This week has really tested my endurance. Marla and I had an awesome thing that happened this week though. After a prompting, Marla persuaded me to fix my thoughts on one thing that we should pray about. I was to go into the other room and be alone [seeking His direction]. She, MJ, was to be in the other room doing the same. Ironically, I needed a sound  room with noise suppressors, while she needed the kitchen with pandemonium going on around her. She ministers daily at a preschool so apparently she is used to the chaos.

We, independently, asked God for one thing to pray about. I have deeply rooted faith in God, but this area is really a struggle for me. What happened was incredible. We never discussed anything before the session of prayer; we hadn’t been talking about anything specifically. Yet, when an allotted time was up we each had a word from God that fit together perfectly. In some since, the two words had the same meaning or purpose. We were blown away by the power of the spoken prayer, and the hope that it brings. 

What prompted this was a book that she is reading by John Eldredge called Walking With God. Ashamed, my prayer life is quite challenged by my personality and persistence to keep…doing. As a believer, husband, Dad, minister, and Seminary student, life can get simply overwhelming. Gratefully this is just another example of the grace of God superceding my inabilities and subsequently allowing me to realize that he is close.

If you have a story like this, give me a comment or a crazy God story!