tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46078903373991154612024-03-13T01:17:23.334-07:00Ponderings and Observationshittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-78084131982031270352022-04-20T10:35:00.002-07:002022-04-20T10:35:40.947-07:00Imitator This Sunday I am preaching at a local country church and here is my sermon for anyone who is interested
We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know brothers and sisters beloved by God that he has chosen you because our message of the Gospel came to you not in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full convictions; just as you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you ow what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place y our faith in God has become known so that we have no need to speak about it
1 Thessalonians 1:2-8
One of my favorite movies of all time is the Shawshank Redemption, primarily because it has two quotes that have stuck with me. The first one is more of a gut punch and it is “get busy living or get busy dying.” My other favorite quote is from thecharacter Andy Dufresne is that “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and not good thing ever dies.” The Apostle Paul talks about hope, along with faith and love quite often. The most famous place where these themes can be found is 1 Corinthians 13. This chapter is often dubbed as the loved chapter and has been recited at more weddings than we can count. In this passage Paul tells the three things that will remain are faith, hope and love. Paul doesn’t disagree that hope is a good thing, but Paul makes the argument that the greatest of the three is love. An outpouring of Godly/holy love is the basis for how God operates and we should follow in the same suite, So my question is, how does faith, hope and love play into being an imitator of Christ.
So lets lay a little bit of ground work on what it means to be an imitator. One definition of being an imitator is that we copy someone elses behavior or actions of someone else. How often does a younger sibling copy the actions or words of an older sibling? Or, how often do we by the same products or use the same products or have the same stances of social issues that our favorite athletes, actors, athletes have or use. I remember one time I saw my dad and brother standing off in the distance with their back to me and I had a hard time telling who was who. They are about the same height, similar body build and the same walk. I could argue that my brother is a clone of my dad. The crux of being a clone or an imitator is that we become so like the other person that we don’t know where one ends and the other begins. I know I will give us this warning, we imitate or become the people we wither spend the most time with or who has the biggest and loudest voice in our life. So we should be careful of who we let into our lives and gives us advice.
So what does faith have to do with being an imitator? The most basic truth is that we have to believe in who we are imitating to be true and that what they have is worthy to be doing or imitating. Faith is believing that there is someone or something out there that is either better or cooler that we are or are becoming and we want it that said characteristic in our life. Whether it is a characteristic like peace, or joy, to a talent like photography or computer skills, we put faith into those people who have the characteristics/talents we want and we imitate them for better or worse. How many people who want to become a better writer, read the author they respect or idolize and find every video or article they talk about writing, and then they put it into practice. Eventually we become their disciple because we write in their style. It would be like if were a big CS Lewis fan and I read all of his work and started to write in some of his themes and styles, that would make me his disciple. Faith is realizing that something is true and should be imitated, or it at least looks like fun and we want to give it a try and see where it takes us.
Hope is more than just wishing something will come true. I can hope that the Vikings can go and win the Super Bowl, but it is something that I am not going to hold my breath over. True or Biblical hope is knowing something will come true because of past performance. Biblical hope is rooted in experience and it is also rooted in trust. It is trusting God providing on His promises because He has come through on His promises before. If God does not come through on His promises, that would make Hm a liar, and if He is a liar, that would not make Him God.
As I am wrestling how hope and being an imitator come together, I have come to this conclusion. Hope differentiates between being an imitation and an imitator is that an imitation is something that is fake and is based on smoke and mirrors. Being an imitator is being the real deal. When I think of this, especially the smoke and mirrors part, I think of imitation crab. It is different fish meat stuck together and we pretend it is crab and we use it for salads and other food dishes. Imitation may taste like crab, but its not crab. Its kind of like saying something taste like chicken. Even though it tase like chicken, it is still not chicken. It is false imitator. Real hope separates what is fake and wont last, and then focuses on what is real and will last. Hope is imitating what is good, holy and Godly. This kind of hope gives life to us and those round us along with joy and encouragement. False hope or imitation, destroys life, is destructive to us and everything around us and it kills joy.
How love and imitation go together is we imitate out of a sense of wanting to and not because we have to. I know there are times where doing dishes or loving that neighbor or family member can be more of a chore and it feels like a have to. I get it, not all of life is roses and that we only get to do the things that are easy or that we want to do. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. The Holy Spirit is not only an encourager, but also a convicter, and at times gives us that push in the back. We can not imitate God or become Godly on our own. This is where the Holy Spirit comes along side us and pushes us, walks with us and even leads us to have our image restored. The Apostle John tells us that God is love, and if we are to imitate God, we are to love like He loves. This means that we are to grow up, have standards, and follow the two greatest commandments, which are to love God with all we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The reason we should be obedient to God is two fold. The first one is that that He elected us to Him so that we can a relationship with Him. We can have a conversation about election all day, but the way I see it, God elected a way for us to have a restored relationship with Him and that is through Jesus and His work on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. We just have to take that free gift. God gave us the opportunity for a new life filled with riches that we can not even imagine and a restored relationship with Him. We just need to accept that free gift and live it out. The second part is that we are obedient to God not because we have to, but because we want to. Love is doing something without obligation or fear, but out of a wanting to do it and with complete sincerity. It means that there is a relationship, and the Apostle John tells us that God is love and everything He does is because He loves us. We should reciprocate that love back to God and to others. I will mention this again, we can not do this on our own, but its something that God has to come in and change us through the work of the work of the Holy Spirit
So where does the rubber meet the road and what are we suppose to be imitating. A good place to start is found in Galatians 5, where Paul tells us what the Fruit of the Spirit is. It is such things as love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. If we are to take a look at this list, it is a realization that these traits fly in the face of human nature. When we imitate these things and we allow God to work through us. When we imitate these things, it changes our character and our outlook on life. When we imitate these things, its not so that we can be noticed or to get a good job, but it is to make God known.
To close out, Paul gives us two things to ponder. The first one is that when we become imitators of God, we will face persecution. When we imitate God, we are stating that the world does not have all the answers and what it has to offer is down right crappy and there is a better way. It is not always the easiest way, but the end results are better. Our outlook on life will change, and joy will come easier in difficult situations because we know that God will take care of us and protect us. We might not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future.
Finally, when we follow the example of Christ, it makes the work of the people before us not in vain. We are responsible to those who came before us by taking what is true and living it out. Being an imitator is taking our life and sharing it with all those who we come in contact with so that they may know what is true and that they can have the same joy that we have. Being imitators is doing or saying nothing spectacular, but it is being obedient to Gods calling and living our life of love so the world may know that there is a better way
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-6392632128645111842021-10-17T18:15:00.000-07:002021-10-17T18:15:26.781-07:00AbramNow the Lord said to Abram Go from your country and our kindred and your fathers house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed
So Abram went as the Lord had told him and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy five years old when he departed Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son and all their possessions that they had gathered and the people that they had acquired in Haran and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem to the oak of Morch. AT THE TIME THE Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and sad to your offspring I will give this land. So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pithed his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on still going towards Negeb
Genesis 12:1-9
There are several things that have caught me off guard with Abram in this story. The first one is that he was a heathen or non believer and had no connection with God. Abram may have had connections or worshiped one or multiple gods or deities because of the polytheistic culture that he was in, but worshipping the Creator of the Universe may not have been on that list. Living in a polytheistic culture is like shopping the hair care aisle at Target or Wal Mart. You have multiple shampoos and conditioners for every hair style, color and scent to keep one cross eyed for a while. So for a random god to break through to and give the promise that God did, was probably just as weird if a bottle of shampoo spoke to us in the aisle of Wal Mart
The other thing that has caught my eye about Abram is that he wasn’t a spring chicken anymore. According to our story, when he picked up and left to follow God, he was 75 years old and according to the Bible, he was a wealthy person with a lot of flocks of animals and servants to care for those animals along with his wife. I wonder if Abram ever thought of telling God that he was too old and to wealthy to be moving everything that he has to someplace he has never been, no matter how great Gods promises were. I wonder if Abram wanted to tell God no because he had money in the bank, his bills were paid and he was comfortable where he was at. To bring it a little closer to home and in this century, do we tell God no because we are striving to live in the comfort of the American dream. Its owning our own home, having a good job with some sort of retirement plan and a group of friends that we can go out and do things with. In this lifestyle, we wont get dirty for the wrong reason, getting uncomfortable is a sin and everyone we surround ourselves with either looks, thinks or acts likes us, or some combination of the three. So how do we be like Abram and say yes to God when He calls out of our comfort zone to a someplace new.
My first thought is that when God calls us to some place new, we might not be making the move half was across town, the country or the world, but we get to stay where we are. Now, God does call people to move location for various reasons, and we need to be open to the leading of His Spirit, but before we change location, how often does our character our outlook on life need to change first. What if it is God calling us to develop one of the Fruits of the Spirit that is found in Galatians 5:22-23. These fruits are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. The beauty of this fruits is that there are no laws or rules against these and all of these fruits are suppose to be present in a believers life. Is God calling us to develop these fruits so they are more present in our lives. Here is an example, I can be rather snarky and most of the time I mean in fun, but I have come to realize that snark can not only rob the joy out of others, it can rob my joy also. So if I want more joy in my life and stop stealing the joy out of other peoples lives, I either need to limit or to get rid of my snark.
God also might be asking us to change our approach to something. The definition of insanity is that we keep doing the same things the same way and expecting different results. What would it look like for us to change our approach to a difficult situation or relationship. How about in a relationship that is strained, seeing things from their perspective? Ot how about stop being so defensive or offensive and just listening? When we are in a tough situation, we have to know if it is a hill worth dying on or if we have to pack up and walk away. Sometimes winning the battle will cost us the war.
My second observation is that when God gives us a promise, we need to respond in trust and obedience. Trusting someone is sometimes us giving up our rights to be right and to be in control. How often do we or control over to God and yet we try and take it back when we don’t like the way things are going or we want to do our own thing? Trust and obedience comes down to being a living sacrifice. In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul commands us to be a living sacrifice and to be holy and acceptable to God and that we are not suppose to be conformed or to take after this world. In essence, being a living sacrifice, or obedient and trusting is a form of worship. This form of worship is something that happens day in and day out and not just Sunday mornings or during a Bible Study. Obedience is not only a daily thing, but more often than not, it is moment by moment thing. Here is an uncomfortable, yet freeing truth, when we are a living sacrifice, this means that we are not our own anymore and that we belong to God. When we become fully Gods, our nature starts to change and we become more like what God created us to be, which is holy and blameless. Call it maturity, sanctification or being filled with the Spirit. The goal is that our nature reflects God in everything we say and do.
Here is the problem with being a living sacrifice, is that the sacrifice lights to get off of the altar and do its own thing. How often do want to get off of the altar so that we can live a life that we deem a little more comfortable or not be ridiculed as much for holding to and sharing Godly principles on todays issues. Do we get off of the altar because it is to hard, or to uncomfortable. Being on the altar as a living sacrifice means that God has the keys to all the rooms in our life and we can hide things from Him. How often do we hide things from God or others because of shame and at times we enjoy keeping things a secret or two. Throughout Scripture, sin and secrets often are related to night time and darkness and the truth is often referred to as light. To be honest, the secrets we hold, will come out eventually and we often cant control when they come out or how they come out and even the damage they cause. So or best bet is that we become and stay a living sacrifice so that we may point other people to the truth and grace of Jesus Christ.
My third observation is that when God wants to move and do things, is often either way to late or way to early in our book. We are either settled into our routine and don’t want to be pulled from our current lives, or that we are ready for God to move and He is rather silent. God has the big picture in mind and He sees and knows things that we possibly can not even dream of. This is what can make trust and obedience so difficult, but it is also remembering that if God can create the universe, He can handle our lives as well.
A part of this waiting scenario really plays into the Abram story. Within the framework of the Old Testament, ones family and lineage is important. How one passed on their name, legacy and wealth is through their offspring, especially their oldest son. At the time of this story, Abram and his wife were still childless and they were not getting any younger. So Gods promise to make Abram a great nation had to of caught his attention, because that means he would have a son to further his legacy. I think there are several things that we can learn about Gods promises to Abram and about God,
The first one is that even though He did create everything, after the fall and when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, God did not have a group of people to make His name known to or for the people to reflect His glory to the world. With God providing Abram and Sarai a son, that God will have a people and a people will have their God
The second idea is this idea of blessing and curses. Whoever blesses Abram, will be treated well by God, and who ever treats Abram poorly will be cursed. My initial thought is that you don’t mess with Gods people, or there will be trouble to pay. I don’t think its our job to exact Gods vengeance for Him because He is big enough to do it himself. I think how we treat others is a reflection of how we see God and what our relationship with Him is. The more we seek and experience Gods grace and truth, the more likely we are going to share it with the people around us.
To wrap this up, I think that there are some similarities between Abram and this church. God is calling us out of our comfort zone and to move to reach out to our neighbors and friends. Sometimes moving is not so much about location as it is as mindset. The question is that do we get uncomfortable enough to move and to grow, or are we comfortable being where we are and wither becoming smelly and stagnet, or worse yet, regressing and becoming immature.
I will close with this. I was in my first week of seminary and I was feeling that I was in over my head and that I was drowning. I had a friend tell me that I could do it and that God was there guiding me there and that He would get me through it. God did and I was reminded of the famous John 1 passage where the Word was God and the Word became flesh. This means that Jesus came to earth and but on skin and bones and he dwelt among His creation, showing us that there is a God and that He loves us and there is a better way.
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-64408979296916708702021-06-02T18:05:00.005-07:002021-06-02T18:05:37.369-07:00Truth
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Truth:
that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality</span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, <span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px;"></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">“You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for
this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone
who is of the truth listens to my voice.”</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-26812" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">38 </span></sup></b>Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>John
18:37-38 ESV</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">When I hear the term truth, the famous dialogue from the
movie <i>A Few Good Men</i> comes to mind.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It is where the Tom Cruise character demands the Jack Nicholson character
for the truth and the response from Jack is the famous line of “you can’t
handle the truth.” Truth tends to be a popular topic, ranging from promoting
ones truth, to calling out a political party and how they don’t know what truth
is, even if it came and slapped them along side of the head. I just finished up
the HBO historical drama <i>Chernobyl</i> which is about the 1986 nuclear plant
explosion and aftermath in Russia.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>At the
end of the last episode, one of the main characters gives the speech that when
truth is forgotten or altered, it gives us a distorted sense of reality and
eventually we no longer know what to believe or who we are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The final punch line in the movie is that
when truth is forgotten or manipulated, it creates a debt, and that debt will
need to be settled.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It often is not pretty
and has dire consequences for forsaking it and not living by the universal truths
that God has laid out before us. Here are some observation I have made about
truth that I think will be helpful.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first observation
is that truth is that there is no such thing as my truth and your truth,
because not only does it lead to a moral relativism with no concrete standards
of right or wrong, but it also leads to divisiveness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One just has to take a look at our political
climate since last November with the Presidential Election.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Both sides are digging in to their foxholes
with their agendas and launching ammunition of distrust, name calling and
finger pointing to the other side.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This
divisiveness often grows larger as time goes on and we eventually will cut off
all relationships with people who disagree with us, or we participate in the
civil war that is going on in social media along with where we work, worship
and at the dinner table.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I will leave
you with this thought on my truth.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It could
make us think that it is our Constitutional Right that we are not wrong and
that we can never be wrong, no matter how faulty our reasoning or information
is/<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My truth often sees things one way
and only gains information from sources they agree with, supports their cause
and comforts them. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
observation about truth, especially Gods Truth, doesn’t care about
feelings.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If you know anything of or
follow the conservative author and media personality Ben Shapiro, you know one
of his famous lines is that “facts don’t care about feelings,” and the same can
be said for truth.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Or if you think in
song titles, the group Boston, song <i>More Than a Feeling </i><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>because Gods truth is objective and not
subjective.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Generally speaking, people
turn to things that make them happy or somehow lets them escape reality.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This why I think so many of us struggle with
some sort of addiction issues, is because we want to be happy, or not face the reality
that the truth is pointing out.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Truth is
that big spotlight that shines on areas in our life that need to change, or improvement,
or an action that we either need to stop doing or start doing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Truth helps things us see things as they
really are and what they could be, and not what we want them to be.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So here is my question, if truth was about
comfort, would we ever change? </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third observation
about Gods truth is that it is absolute.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It doesn’t care about culture, time period, or your gender.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It applies to everyone.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As much as we try to get out of it, it is
impossible to run from, because it will eventually come and catch up with us
and the longer we avoid it, the worse the consequences are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Absolute truth is like gravity, cause no matter
what we do, it still brings us back to earth.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Eventually that airplane is going to come out of the sky and land, due
to a lack of fuel or some sort of mechanical issue.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When God created the earth, He set up some universal
guidelines for it to operate and from collapsing into utter chaos.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Absolute truths is the blue print that God has
given us on how the world should work and how we should live and interact with
each other. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we don’t read or fail
to abide by this blueprint, things are sent into chaos, and we become so
calloused that we start doing things that are right in our own eyes and not God’s
design.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My fourth observation is that cultures change and people
don’t.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Ever since Adam and Eve ate from
that apple and were banished from Eden, the struggle has been real.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are constantly wanting to do things as we
see fit, because we think we know as much as God and we can do as good of a job
if not better than what He is doing right now.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>No matter how often rules are changed, or added, or social programs are
out there to combat the ills of society, we still make stupid decisions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The ways may have changed, but how often do
we try and diminish or take down others, so that we can elevate ourselves, or
find ways to escape reality.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I could be
wrong, but when we lose Absolute Truth, not only do we break off our
relationship with the Creator, but we damage our relationship with other people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When there are no absolutes, people lose
value and often become a pawn in a game.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>How often do these pawns become forgotten or disposed of to either meet
some sort of need or to cover up some sort of pain or inconvenience.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fifth observation
is that when we deny absolute truth, or push it down the line, when it comes
back, the consequences are messy, ugly, and often deadly.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>According to the movie <i>Chernobyl </i>the
reason why the reactor exploded was because of a neglect of rules and because
of a known design flaw that people new about but did nothing about.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It could be something as simple as unpaid
child support leads to jail time or the loss of certain privileges.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we start denying or avoiding God’s
absolutes, there will be consequences. They could range from relational issues,
jail time, to financial to health issues.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Eventually our poor choices will have eternal consequences.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The one thing that I am starting to realize
is that God’s absolutes have more than just eternal consequences, but they have
eternal hope.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God’s absolutes bring
peace, understanding and it builds solid relationships.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God’s truths are designed to bring things
together.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God is about order, peace, trust,
and being in communion with others and Him.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Our truth promotes chaos, war, bitterness, and a lack of trust and
understanding.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know it’s a long
time coming, but lets finally hit that Bible passage that I started with.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The story comes from the Gospel of Johns
account of the Passion.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I encourage all
of you to read Johns version of the Passion of the Christ starting in chapter
14.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Quick history on this passage, which
is that the Passion of the Christ takes place over the Jewish holiday called
the Passover, where they remember their Exodus from Egypt. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Jewish leaders got tired of Jesus healing
and challenging their authority.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus
also claimed to be one with God and King.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Within Jewish ,tradition, that is
blasphemy punishable by death.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Since
they were under Roman rule, they could not execute anyone, so they had to spend
some political coin to the Romans to show that Jesus was a heretic and deserved
to die.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is what lead to the famous
meeting between Jesus and Pilate.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>With
Pilates famous phrase of “what is truth” he was washing his hands of the
situation, and condemned Jesus to death so the Jewish people could live their
truth and have a criminal released from death row.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When truth becomes subjective, chaos becomes
the law of the land, responsibility is optional and there is no such thing as
maturity, value and dignity of the creation goes out the window and it becomes
a free for all. </span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-57641886932655224002021-04-15T15:18:00.001-07:002021-04-15T15:18:11.595-07:00Anger
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Anger-<span style="color: #202124; margin: 0px;">a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility</span>
</span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><sup><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">21 </span></sup><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"> “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You
shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable <sup>)</sup>to judgment.’ <sup>22 </sup>But
I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother<sup>[</sup></span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%205&version=ESV#fen-ESV-23257c" title="See footnote c"><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">c</span></sup></a><sup><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">]</span></sup><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"> will be liable <sup>)</sup>to judgment; whoever insults<sup>]</sup>
his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will
be liable to the hell<sup> </sup>of fire. <sup>23 </sup>So if you are
offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has
something against you, <sup>24 </sup>leave your gift there before the
altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your
gift.</span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Matthew 5:21-24 ESV</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This section of Scripture comes from Jesus
teaching from the section of Scripture known as The Sermon on the Mount.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This section is found in Matthew 5-7 and has
two distinct things that I find cool.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The first one is that this sermon is very applicable.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus is explaining how one lives out their
faith on a day-to-day basis and covers all the essential topics, such as anger,
divorce, lust and many other things.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Jesus uses the phrase “you have heard it was said,” to refute the
understanding of the day of the common practices.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Instead, Jesus explains how where are
treasure is buried is important, or the meaning of taking oaths and how our
word is important.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second cool thing
I found is that this sermon was not for the masses, but it was a teaching moment
for His disciples.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus had become a
big deal and people were following Him around to see what He was going to do
and say next.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, Jesus was
giving an in-person TED Talk to His disciples and the crowd was just eves
dropping and finding out what His message is?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Anger can be a ticking time bomb, especially
for those of us who like to cram it down and not admit to it, and then it comes
out and bad times or takes forms in unhealthy addictions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I will be up front, I think there is Godly
anger and things should make us mad like human sex slaves, domestic violence,
child abuse and a host of other things, but this is not where I am going.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I am going down the trail that anger can be
self-destructive and ruin our relationships with God and others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think there is a reason why Jesus made the
connection between anger and murder and here is some observations on this. </span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My first observation is that we think our
anger some how will change other people’s actions, intentions or speech.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we get angry enough and we throw things
and shout really loud, people will change.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>In the last year, in Minnesota, we have had two police officers charged
in the deaths of unarmed Black men.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Following these deaths, there have been protest, marches along with
looting and destruction.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Both sides have
drawn a line in the sand and are yelling at the other side to change their ways
and there is a lot of words of anger and pain thrown at both sides by both
sides. I think the crux of this anger comes down to two major points.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One, is that both sides feel that they are
not being heard, which only intensifies the yelling and hatred.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This
anger tries and change intentions of ones actions, speech and how one sees the
world. We are trying to murder their intentions so they can be change to think
and look like us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often are we angry
with other people’s intentions and biases and we forget to check our own? </span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation is that we often fail
to see that other people have value and are created in the image of God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often does our anger belittle people or
treat them as second class citizens? Our anger often gives us a sense of
arrogance and that we are better than another person or group of people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We think our way is better and we try and
beat other people into seeing things are way or that people somehow are to
serve us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This anger often leads to us
belittle them, taking every chance to destroy or kill their self-worth, honor
and character.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We tend to manipulate the
message to make them look like the bad person and that we are always right and
our intentions are always pure, or at least purer than other peoples.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third observation is that anger tends to
leads to alienation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often does our
anger cause us to either shut down and be non-responsive.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Instead of attacking, we pull back and we
break off all relationship with that person.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We don’t discuss what is the matter.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We would rather kill the relationship take care of the problem.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Is there that one family member that when the
two of you are together it gets rather quiet and the temperature in the room
drops about twenty degrees.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Someone has
let the hate and anger build up so much, that whatever was the issue is, has gotten
bigger and often out of out of control to the point that the original story is
no where to be found and we have manipulated our hate and anger based on lies,
and half truths that we told ourselves or have listened to.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we let it fester, it will only get worse,
and the truth gets more watered down until it vanishes. </span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often in our anger do we have
conversations and we forget to invite the other person we are angry with into
the conversation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It could be a running
conversation in our head or we are venting to someone else about our said anger
towards a particular person or group of people.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Here is something that I have noticed in my own life when I do this in
my head, my victory is always great and that the other person does not stand a
chance and my justifications are always right and theirs are always wrong.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we vent to another person, we tend to do
it to people who see things are way, or we try and manipulate them into seeing
things our way.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So when we do this, it
often leads to two results.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first
one is that our anger is some surface level feeling that is covering up
something deeper, such as guilt, shame or even remorse.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second one is that we are killing any
chance of fixing what the issues that are leading to anger because we will not
confront the issues or anger in a healthy way</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fourth observation is that how often to
we try and pay God off.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can not be in
right relationship with God and hate our brothers and sisters.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God commands that if we are going to be in
right relationship with Him, we have to take care of our anger and hate issues
with the people we interact with on a daily basis. When we have offended
someone, or mistreated them, it is our responsibility to go and seek
forgiveness and start the reconciliation process. I think we need to seek
peace, peace and understanding in our relationship with others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence we need to listen to understand
and not listening to respond.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we
listen to respond, we are about portraying a certain message or look and it is
often not the message that is needed or wanted. Seeking reconciliation takes
courage, guts and it wont happen overnight.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I don’t know if any of this makes sense, but
I hope so.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I will leave you all with
some closing thoughts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one,
there is a difference between Godly anger and human anger and we need to know
the difference.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second one is that
God is the only one that can change hearts and attitudes no matter how much of
a keyboard warrior we are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have our
responsibility in the process, but God is the lead person that can make it
happen.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My final thought is this and it
is a paraphrase of a quote from the movie by Denzel Washington’s character in <i>Remembering
the Titans</i> which is</span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">We might not all like each other, but we will respect
each other</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">If I could
change this quote up a bit, I would change out the word respect with love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Like and love are two different things, and
God calls us to love each other with His love and the only way that is possible
is through His grace and a changed heart.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>If we were left to love on our own, our love becomes conditional or
contractual and that is not love, it is obligation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The difference is that love is doing
something because we want to and obligation is a sense of have to or being
forced to.</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Questions to Ponder</span></b></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>How much of our anger issues come from a lack of trust?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Is there a particular person you need to have a personal conversation
with instead of carrying </span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>One on in your head with them?</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Why do we make hate more tolerable than murder?</span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-54528693540812608932021-04-02T17:35:00.001-07:002021-04-02T17:35:13.206-07:00Fickle
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Fickle-
<span style="color: #202124; margin: 0px;">changing frequently, especially as regards one's
loyalties, interests, or affection.</span> </span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">12 </span></sup></b><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast
heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.</span></span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-26582" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px;">13 </span></sup></b>So they took branches of palm
trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”</span></span> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-26583" style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px;">14 </span></sup></b>And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it,
just as it is written,</span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">15 </span></sup></b><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">“Fear
not, daughter of Zion;</span></span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><br style="box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;">behold, your king is coming,</span><br style="box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">sitting on a donkey's colt!”</span></span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">John
12:12-15 ESV</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I remember being in a New Testament class in
college and we were going over this passage and it struck me that the nation of
Israel was singing Jesus praise on Sunday and by Thursday night, they were chanting
crucify Him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I remember asking the professor
why the such quick turnaround by the people, and his response was because
people are fickle.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That comment has
always stuck with me and the years since, I have noticed how people can be
fickle, myself included.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So here are my
few observations on what it means to be fickle.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My first observation is that fickleness is
often a result of not having a backbone.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>People who tend not to have a backbone tend to change their opinion like
the weather.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Some people are so bad, that
if you don’t like what they are spouting or standing for, talk to them after
they are online for twenty minutes researching any hot button topic.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not having a back bone could mean one of two
things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one is ones reasoning
and logic skills are so underdeveloped that they jump from one reason to
another.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This source of reasoning comes down
more to flash and what is appealing or popular rather than truth or fact.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second reason is, is that people care
more about what other people think.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In
essence they want to be liked by a particular group of people, so they adhere
to the ideas of the group.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence it
is group think and we do it so we have some form of validation and respect even
though it is fake. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation about fickleness is
that how the minority can change the whole dynamic of the group.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>With the Triumphal Entry and Jesus, the
religious leaders wanted Jesus gone, preferably dead, but at least not causing
waves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They were doing it because they enjoyed
the status with the Roman Empire.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They were
free do as they please as long as they minded their own business and didn’t cause
any trouble.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They saw Jesus as a threat
to their peace, comfort and status with the Roman Empire.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The religious leaders started a smear
campaign against Jesus, causing people to question His authority and their way
of living.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When seeds of doubt and lies
start getting planted, how often do we seek the truth, and how often do we
become the conspiracy theorist.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We tend
to take those seeds of doubt and lies and with it until we find something else
comes along that sounds better.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Fox News,
CNN and just about every other news and satire outlet make millions doing this.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is how they are able to stay on the air,
because they know the news they promote may have a kernel of truth to it to
make it believable but twist it in such a way that the facts are long gone and
it leaves people divided and in shouting matches online or in person. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third observation about fickleness is who
do you trust.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our beliefs and actions
show ourselves and a world that is watching who or what we trust.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do we only trust ourselves, the mob mentality
of culture or the wisdom of the Creator.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>If I am going to watch a Jerry Bruckheimer movie (director of Top Gun,
Armageddon and others), I know there are going to be big explosions,
questionable acting and a few naughty words.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>When you trust someone or something, you are letting them or that thing
speak into your life and impact it in ways that could bear eternal
consequences.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we trust ourselves and
pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, it leads to an unhealthy self reliance
that is not good or Biblical.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Relying on
others to what we think can lead to group think which can be dangerous.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Also, others are humans too, just as sinful
and fallen as we are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The only way to go
is trusting Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not only is He the
author and perfector of the faith, but He is the Creator which means He has
authority over all.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we are fickle,
we tend to lead ourselves and others astray, no matter how good our intentions
are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus is the only one that can give
us a firm foundation to stand on and we don’t have to go jumping from idea to
idea because He doesn’t change.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Cultural
truths changes with the generations but the Truth of Jesus never changes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How it is presented may change, but the core
message stays the same, which is that there is a Creator that loves us, and
creation, no matter how fallen or self destructive we are or can be, we are
worth redeeming because we are created in the image of God and that is worth
redeeming. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 8px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I will finish off with this quote that is
attributed to such people as Alexander Hamilton, Peter Marshall and
others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That is “if we don’t stand for something,
we will fall for anything.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not being
fickle means that we stop being so gullible and we grow up and mature.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We use the brain that God gave us to reason
things out, while listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit and following
that lead.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That backbone is not bowing
down to the ever changing culture and sticking to the time tested truths that
God has set up before the earth was created.</span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-31872402278867105522021-04-01T18:08:00.000-07:002021-04-01T18:08:14.503-07:00Commitment
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Commitment:
<span style="color: #202124; margin: 0px;">the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause,
activity</span>;</span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Then Jesus told them
plainly, <span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px;"></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">“Lazarus
has died,</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px;"><span id="en-ESV-26527" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">15 </span></span></span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">and for
your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us
go to him.”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span id="en-ESV-26528" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">16 </span></span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">So
Thomas, called the Twin,</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><sup data-fn="#fen-ESV-26528b" data-link="[<a href="#fen-ESV-26528b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 6pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2011&version=ESV#fen-ESV-26528b" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;" title="See footnote b"><span style="color: #4a4a4a; margin: 0px;">b</span></a>]</span></sup></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"> said to his fellow
disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”</span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">John 11”14-16 ESV</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Let
me ask an important question and that is, what is your commitment level?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>No matter what we are involved in, work at,
or participate in, we have a commitment level.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The levels vary anywhere to totally committed or all in to you not
wanting to touch it with a twenty foot pole.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Our commitment level often determines our effort level and our attitude effort
are high and we go at it with full gusto.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>There are times when we may not want to do it, but we still give it all
and get it done.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the people I
follow on Insta Gram is Farm Fit Mamma (I think her real name is Amanda) combines
fitness and the farm life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>She is so
dedicated that she puts out motivational and informational videos to show how
she goes about how to eat and exercise.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>She even created online groups to provide encouragement and
accountability to other woman to want to make lifestyle changes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The opposite side of this laziness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The only way something gets done is because
one has to do it, and is just avoiding the consequences.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It tends to get done half assed and these type
of commitment are the people are usually the last ones in and first ones
out.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If they can get someone else to do
it, they can find some great excuse why it didn’t get done.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lets explore several different kinds of commitment
that are found through out the New Testament that I think are worth looking
at.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Now this is not an exhaustive list
and there probably more, but these are the ones that are jumping out at me
right now.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one
an apathetic commitment.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can see this
in our Scripture passage above and the Thomas is the perfect example of
it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Lazarus, who happens to be a
follower of Jesus and also a dear friend has died, and for whatever reason
Jesus waited a few extra days to go to Lazarus house.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thomas statement is telling, because he
probably heard the rumors and the gossip that the religious leaders wanted Jesus
to at least disappear or even die.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thomas
statement is telling because he was telling the world that yes, he was
committed to the cause of Jesus, and will do what is required of Him, but don’t
ask him to go above and beyond.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think
the apathetic commitment is all about the have to and not want to or there is
some sort of expectation by themselves or others that they do this.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There is no joy, happiness, and they are there
either because they invested to much, or they can’t find anything better because
they don’t try. The phrase “I’m here” applies to this form of commitment. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
form of commitment is the flash.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These
people get excited about a cause and show their loyalty to it, either until
there is some sort of adversity or the fuel runs out.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They either do not count the cost of the said
commitment, or they are not wise with their time and energy and they burn
out.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The perfect example of this is the
Apostle Peter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He told Jesus that he
would follow Him anywhere even to death.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>When it was time for the rubber to hit the road and Peter was following behind
Jesus during His trial and beatings, Peter flat out denied knowing Jesus three
times.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence they are there until
it cost them something great and then they are out.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To paraphrase the famous line from the <i>Bad
Boys</i> movie trilogy there is no riding together and dying together because someone
ends up jumping out of the car. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The third form
of commitment is a silent committed.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>They are committed, but they don’t want anyone to know, because they are
afraid of the backlash and consequences.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>These type of commitments usually lurk in the background doing things
and often are never seen or heard from, but you see there work.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The perfect example of this Joseph of
Arimathea and Nicodemus, <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>they were apart
of the religious leadership and if they privately went to Pilate to get the
body of Jesus so they could bury Him in a new tomb before the Sabbath.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>were caught burring Jesus in a new tomb,
there would have been at least a bad social stigma attached to them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This kind of commitment, people are often
more worried about reputation than character.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The fourth
form of commitment is all in.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I wish I
had a better name for it, but this type of person is committed to the cause,
does not matter the cost and they perform their duties to the best of their
abilities.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It often goes from being
forced to do it, wanting to do it, to needing to do it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The all in commitment is not about me and
look what I am doing, but it is about the cause.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Most of these people go unnoticed and never get
fully recognize for the work they do.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>One Biblical example of this is Simon of Cyrene.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know this might be a stretch, but here me out.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus was so weak where He could not carry
His own cross, so Simon did to the place where Jesus was crucified.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There has to be some sort of commitment level
to publicly carry the cross of an alleged anarchist and who everybody wanted dead.
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Being
committed sometimes mean doing something that isn’t popular and you will get
scorned for.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think of Rosa Parks who
was suppose to sit at the back of the bus, but chose to sit up front and chose
to show the value that all people have, and not just a particular groups of people.
</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To finish up
this blog, being fully committed means that we bear our cross.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means that at times we do things, that aren’t
easy, fun, and counter cultural and we will be mocked for.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are all fully committed to something, is
it being lazy, apathetic, or all in.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In
essence we are all obedient to something or someone, and is that to ourselves,
others, or God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There is only one that
provides the endurance, strength and adds value not only to our life but also
the lives of others, and that is fulling bearing our cross and being obedient to
what God has called us to do.</span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-29515284692292784842021-02-18T14:20:00.003-08:002021-02-18T14:20:46.112-08:00Scapegoat
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">capegoat:
<span style="color: #111111; margin: 0px;">a person who is blamed for the wrongdoings,
mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency</span></span></b><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">.</span><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><sup><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"> </span></sup><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">“Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself
and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. <sup> </sup>Then
he shall take the two goats and set them before the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span> at the entrance of the tent of meeting. <sup> </sup>And
Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span> and the other lot for Azazel. <sup> </sup>And
Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span> and use it as a sin offering,<sup> </sup>but
the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span> to make atonement over it, that it
may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.</span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Leviticus 16:6-10 ESV</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first
Monday after the NFL Season ends is known as Black Monday, because this is when
a number of head coaches and general managers are fired for their team’s
performance.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the reasons they are
fired or let go is because the owner can’t get rid of the whole team, so the
coach and or general manager becomes the scapegoat for the team’s bad record
and or performance.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This just isn’t the
case for football, but this will happen to just about every coach in every team
sport at every level.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence coaches,
especially head coaches are hired to be fired.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Coach Dean Smith is a rarity to coach the University of North Carolina Men’s
Basketball Team for decades and retire on his own terms.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Scapegoats just don’t happen in sports, but
they also happen at jobs, within churches, and even within friends and families.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So lets explore how a Scapegoat ties into the
Lenten Season and Easter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first concept
is that when there is a Scapegoat, there is a guilty conscience.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Guilt means that we realize that responsible for
the mess we are due to our actions, words, attitudes and even our lack of
action.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means that we realize that there are consequences
for our actions and that relationships are, at best damaged, to broken beyond
repair.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think guilt can cause that
famous fight or flight response. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether
we stick our head in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong, or we it forces us
into action.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence we play the blame
game or scapegoat someone into the responsibilities and consequences of our
poor decisions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think there is a third
option for guilt, but more on that later. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To expound on
the blame game, why should we take responsibilities for our actions when we can
make someone else responsible for them and we can make them face the
music.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we blame a sitting
president for an economy or blaming the pastor of a church for the church not
growing and for younger families moving to the bigger church down the road? It
is never our fault because it is always someone else’s actions, attitudes or
words that causes the problems or not finding the right solutions to fix all of
our problems.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blame always tries to minimize
our guilt if not get rid of it completely.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
concept of a scapegoat is this idea of alienation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we blame or scapegoat someone, we are termination
the relationship somehow.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think one of
the reasons we do this is that we feel guilt in what we have done or said to
that person so we alienate them so that we don’t have so see them and either face
the music and or be awkward in their presence.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>I think the biggest reason why we alienate people and send them of off
to the relational desert is that they are paying the price for our guilt and
for our actions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Guilt needs to be
atoned for, and scapegoating someone means the debt, guilt and consequences are
being placed on that person or group of people.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>How many of our relationships have died because we blamed people for our
bad decisions or for our lot in life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Killing
a relationship is sometimes easier or more convenient than actually doing the
hard work and taking the responsibilities for our actions. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The third
concept of scapegoating is this idea of peace.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>In his book, <i>The Mosiac Atonement</i> Josh McNall makes two great statements
and the first one is. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The
scapegoat succeeds in delivering a measure of peace. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">In essence this statement is right, the reason we
scapegoat is to appease our guilty conscience.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We often will try to do anything and everything, except the right
thing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We will even throw <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>people under the bus if it makes us feel
better.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As I wrestled with this section of Josh’s book,
I came to realize that this peace is only temporary.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When it starts to fade, we try to find other
ways to sooth our soul and to clear our conscience.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think this view of peace is not only means
a lack of strife and conflict, but it also means that we are happy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>True peace means doesn’t always mean we are
happy and that conflict is always absent or minimal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>True peace is our response to when things are
not going well.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Josh’s second
observation is this</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">First
we lynch our scapegoats, then we worship them</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">We are all created to
worship something and we tend to worship what makes us feel better.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We worship scapegoats we are placing the guilt
and consequences that belong to us on them and we think we have skirted around
the consequences, guilt and responsibilities of our action or inactions. This
is me thinking out loud, I think we scapegoat and worship anything that
absolves us of any responsibility to grow up and that masks our guilt and
shame. This form of worship often leads to unhealthy relationships and even
addictions to various things, such as food, alcohol, technology.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we mask our guilt an shame, it takes us
down some really dark roads and have some ugly consequences until it we grow up
and deal with them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The fourth concept
of being scapegoat is the idea that the scapegoat is innocent of what the are being
blamed for.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The only way they could bear
the transgression and the blame is if they were innocent of said action or
words.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Biblically speaking, the only way
for guilt to be taken care of and dealt with is by the sacrifice of an animal
with no blemishes. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Within the Old
Testament, t here was a \yearly feast where the High Priest would sacrifice a perfect
lamb for the sins for the nation of Israel and the blood is what allowed the people
to go before God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>All the sins of the
nation were placed on the other lamb and sent off into the wilderness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence the only way for our guilt to be
properly taken care of is for it to be placed on someone or something that has
not sinned</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>\To finish up
this blog, the passage that we started off with foreshadows Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus is the ultimate scapegoat, to where He
bore our sins and guilt so that we may be forgiven.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus was alienated to a hill outside of the
city limits of Jerusalem and died a brutal death on the cross.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>His death took<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>care of our guilt and shame issue once and
for all.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As the author of Hebrews puts it,
Jesus sacrifice is the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, Christ death, paid the price for
our guilt and His resurrection made sure that we can over come our sin and guilt
and that we don’t have to continuously live in it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-10961715531003032422021-02-11T13:16:00.003-08:002021-02-11T13:16:59.861-08:00Waiting
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Waiting:
</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">the
action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or
until something else happens </span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">27 </span></sup></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"> Why do you
say, O Jacob,</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;">and speak, O Israel,</span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><i><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.esv.org/Is49.14" title="[ch. 49:14]"><span style="color: #72abbf;">h</span></a></span></sup></i></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">“My way is
hidden from the </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="17" style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="17" style="margin: 0px;">L</span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="17" style="margin: 0px;">ord</span></span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">,</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="25" data-ref="23040027" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><i><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><a data-passage="Isaiah 49:4" href="https://www.esv.org/Is49.4" title="[ch. 49:4]"><span style="color: #72abbf;">i</span></a></span></sup></i></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">and my right
is disregarded by my God”?</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="33" data-ref="23040028" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">28 </span></sup></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"> Have you
not known? Have you not heard?</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="33" data-ref="23040028" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">The </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="10" style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="10" style="margin: 0px;">L</span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="10" style="margin: 0px;">ord</span></span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"> is <i><sup><a data-passage="Psalm 121:4" href="https://www.esv.org/Ps121.4" title="[Ps. 121:4]"><span style="color: #72abbf;">j</span></a></sup></i>the everlasting God,</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="33" data-ref="23040028" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">the Creator of the ends of the earth.</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="33" data-ref="23040028" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">He does not faint or grow weary;</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="33" data-ref="23040028" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><i><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><a data-passage="Psalm 147:5" href="https://www.esv.org/Ps147.5" title="Ps. 147:5"><span style="color: #72abbf;">k</span></a></span></sup></i></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">his understanding
is unsearchable.</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="16" data-ref="23040029" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">29 </span></sup></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"> He gives
power to the faint,</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="16" data-ref="23040029" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">and to him who has no might he increases
strength.</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="13" data-ref="23040030" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">30 </span></sup></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"> Even youths
shall faint and be weary,</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span data-last-offset="13" data-ref="23040030" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>and
young men shall fall exhausted;</span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="32" data-ref="23040031" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">31 </span></sup></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"> but <i><sup><a data-passage="Psalm 103:5" href="https://www.esv.org/Ps103.5" title="Ps. 103:5"><span style="color: #72abbf;">l</span></a></sup></i>they
who wait for the </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="7" style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="7" style="margin: 0px;">L</span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"><span data-offset="7" style="margin: 0px;">ord</span></span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"> shall renew
their strength;</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="32" data-ref="23040031" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">they shall mount up with wings <i><sup><a data-passage="Exodus 19:4" href="https://www.esv.org/Ex19.4" title="[Ex. 19:4]"><span style="color: #72abbf;">m</span></a></sup></i>like
eagles;</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="32" data-ref="23040031" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;">they shall run and not be weary;</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span data-last-offset="32" data-ref="23040031" style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">they shall
walk and not faint.</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #514d47; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Isiah
40:27-31 ESV</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we live
in a society that has microwave dinners, instant coffee, Insta Pots, and drive
throughs, we have come to embrace the mantra of waiting stinks.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Especially when we are waiting for an
important answer or test result, waiting can be painful, heart wrenching and it
just plain painful.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I would place a bet
that we are all waiting on something, whether it is for a pandemic to be over,
being able to gather with friends and family, a job that pays that actually
pays the bills, or for a child to come out of a tough phase.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we are in this stage of life, we often
have a hard time seeing the big picture.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We are either so focused in the day to day or the moment to moment that we
often become reactionary.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence we
are responding instead of being proactive.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>In essence we are to busy cleaning up messes instead of preventing them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think there could be a space and time
between moving from being reactionary to being proactive and its called waiting.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here are some ideas to remind ourselves when
we are waiting. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first idea
is our posture.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When I think of posture,
I think about how we sit and our body language.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Body language is a big deal in non verbal communication and how people perceive
us and how we interpret things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If a
friend is talking to us about something important and we are sitting on the
couch, with our head down and our body slouched, we are portraying that we don’t
care.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We also probably miss what is
being said misinterpret what is being said on what we do hear.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Posture is about anticipation, and if we are
not anticipating, we are likely to miss the opportunity, or to mess it up.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Just like an Olympic runner gets into their running
stance in anticipation for the starter gun to go off for their race, we should
be the same way.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Proper posture is
preparing ourselves for the moment, so when it does come and the starter gun sounds,
we can take off running.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Apostle
Paul tells is in 1 Corinthians 9 that we are to run the race with purpose and
for things that are eternal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The only
way to do this is to be ready for what God has called us to do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
idea is laziness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence holy
waiting is not laziness is based on apathy or down right sin.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The apathy part comes in is that we know the right
thing to do, but we don’t have the motivation or desire to do what is right. We
would either have someone else do it for us, or we don’t care enough and if it
does get done, oh well, because it was important.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence we would rather take a pill or
have surgery to lose weight without doing the hard work of exercising and diet
change.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This has disastrous
consequences, because we ae digging ourselves a deeper hole and has serious
consequences.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Those consequences keep
compounding when we do not deal with them.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
part is laziness as sin.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We know what we
need to do, but we do something else.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If
God commands us to wait, we get tired of waiting and then we come up with some
thing to do that looks Godly but its not what God has called us to do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The story of Abraham and Sarah come to
mind.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God promises them a child in their
old age and they get tired of waiting.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>So Sarah told Abraham to sleep with her slave so that they could have
their child.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This was culturally acceptable
when the wife could not bear children, but this is not what God had in
mind.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Gods plan was to use Sarah, not
her slave and there were consequences for said action.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How much of our laziness is based on not
wanting to take risk and wanting to be comfortable?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>During times of waiting God is calling us out
of our comfort zone and to take risk Godly and appropriate risk. In essence laziness
is the antithesis of holy waiting </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The third
idea is that waiting is preparedness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What
I mean by this is that during this time, God is preparing us for what is
next.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This often means character refinement,
whether it is removing something that is ungodly or installing something that
is Godly or what is needed in the next phase of life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This also could mean a time of healing and or
rest.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are times when as people, we
need a break, not to do nothing, but to refuel and to recharge.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God knows our specific needs and to use a
tech term, during this time, God is providing an update on us, and holy waiting
is taking this update and putting it into practice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Even the Apostle Paul did some holy
waiting.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>After his conversion in Acts 9,
he disappeared for about three years, before he began his public ministry and
missionary trips.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God was preparing him
during this time to boldly proclaim the Gospel. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The fourth
idea of waiting is alienation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>During this
time of waiting, we often feel that we are in the valley and God is nowhere to
be found.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are two truths I think
we need to remember.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one is
that God does not abandoned us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our
faith is like a tree, the only way for it to grow and for the roots to grow deeper
is for a dry season to come.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The lack of
rain forces the roots to dig deeper to find water, and when it is found, the
tree will grow.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The deeper the roots,
the more sturdy the tree is and less likely it is to be blown over in a storm.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>That’s the same way with our faith, the more sturdy
or mature our faith is, the less likely we are fall to heresy and things that
are false.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, we learn who we
are and what our purpose is.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
part of this is that the valley provides grass and nourishment.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We all love the mountain top experiences, but
here is the thing, the nutrition and air is rather thin up there.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we stay up there to long, we will either suffocate
or starve to death.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Basketball players
like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan are known for being two of the best and
most decorated basketball players of all time with a work ethic that was really
hard to match.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What got them there is
spending time in the gym putting up the countless shots, running the countless
drills, and spending time in the weight room. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What got them their awards, praises, and
endorsement deals was during their time of waiting during the offseason was
spent working on becoming better.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our relationship
with God and our growth and maturity is more important than any job.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This doesn’t mean we all should go live in a monastery
and pray all day because our emotional, spiritual, and physical growth and
maturity will affect who we become and how we live our life on a daily basis
and how we interact with others and perform our duties.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The fourth
idea is focus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It allows us to find out
what is important and what is enjoyable and needs to go away.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, holy waiting is spring cleaning
for our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is allowing God to
find those things that are not so attractive or down right ugly in our lives
and either remove them or do a total makeover.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>When this happens, we tend to become focused on what is important.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is where we start to develop a plan and
how we are going to execute it. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is learning
to to thirst for righteousness and learning to seek God with everything we
have. My hope and prayer is that our holy waiting can be summed up in the third
verse of Matt Redman’s song <i>Better is One Day</i></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My heart and flesh cry out</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">For
You, the living God</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Your
Spirit's water to my soul</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I've
tasted and I've seen</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Come
once again to me</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I
will draw near to You</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span jsname="YS01Ge" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I
will draw near to You</span></span><span style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To finish up
this blog, I will end with the passage I started with. For those who wait on
God, our strength will be renewed and we will not grow weary or fain of doing good.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This time of waiting, we learn not to rely on
ourselves but to rely on God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To quote
John the Baptist, He must increase and I must decrease. </span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-28128866031339697652021-02-01T17:18:00.003-08:002021-02-01T17:29:22.973-08:00Temptation
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Temptation:
</span></b><b><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">the desire to do
something, especially something wrong or unwise </span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God,
command these stones to become loaves of bread.”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;">4 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">But he
answered, </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">“It is written,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">but by
every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;">5 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Then the
devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;">6 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">and said
to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">and</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">“‘On their hands they will bear you up,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">lest you
strike your foot against a stone.’”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;">7 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Jesus
said to him, </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">“Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the
test.’”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;">8 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Again, the devil took him
to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their
glory.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;">9 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">And he said to him, “All
these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;">10 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Then
Jesus said to him, </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">“Be gone, Satan! For it is written,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">“‘You shall worship the Lord your God</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">and him
only shall you serve.’”</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Mathew 4:3-10 ESV</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Temptation is something we all face and it is
part of living in a world that is fallen and having a free will to make our own
decisions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Temptation has often been
displayed by having an angel on wone shoulder and the devil on the other
pleading their cases on the decision we should make and how we should move
forward.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Bible passage above comes
right after Jesus baptism.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I consider this
Jesus coming out party.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Spirit
comes down in the form of a Dove and the heavens open up and God proclaims that
Jesus is His Son with whom He is well pleased.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Before we dive into the issue of temptation, we have to look at
something that is important.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How do we
balance this idea that Jesus was fully man and yet He was fully God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So here is the rhetorical question that books
could be written about, did Jesus divineness prevent Him from sinning, or since
He had the power of God in Him, He was able to say no to the temptation so sin?
<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>At the end of the day, this is one of
those mysteries that we will not fully comprehend until heaven, but it is still
something we need to wrestle with because it has implications of how we do life
and how we read, interpret the Bible and how we view God and others.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first observation about temptation is
that is not a complete falsehood or lie, because if it was, our chances to be
swayed by such an idea would be zero.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It
is like someone trying to get us to believe the sun rises in the west and sets
in the east.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We all know that this is
not the case and we can easily refute this lie and temptation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why temptation is so appealing is because it
takes the <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>half truth and either twist it
to make it look like the real deal with all the bells and whistles, and it
mysteriously leaves out a portion of facts that are essential.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In the passage above Jesus uses the phrase
“it is written” three different times.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Jesus realized that Satan was either taking the Bible out of context, or
just omitting things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Temptation sets
out to distort the truth to make something look different than what it really
is.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Temptation is all about manipulation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It takes the truth and distorts it in such a
way that it makes it false.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation about temptation is
this idea that it challenges who or what we value.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Yes, the core of temptation is challenging who
and how we worship.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Temptation moves our
focus from what we are currently focused on to something else.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>No matter how cool the bells and whistles
are, how often is the temptation leave us feeling empty in the long run.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, temptation over promises and
under delivers.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is where the fear
of missing out (FOMO) really comes in.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Temptation comes in and convinces us that if we don’t take this
particular opportunity, we will miss out on a great opportunity.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Or it drives our fear of commitment because
we fear if we commit to something, we can not do something else that comes
along that is either greater or cooler.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Temptation and FOMO is often based on deception and not complete
reality.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I call this the social media
effect.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The whole picture is not being
presented and often only the side that gets the most likes or support gets shared.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The hard work or the consequences are never
shared or blown out of proportion.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third observation with temptation is
that it often takes us farther than we want to go, keeps us longer than we want
to stay, and has a price we don’t want to pay.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>How often does one night or a stretch of giving into temptation and bad
decisions leads to horrible consequences.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Whether it is a night of heavy drinking that leads to a DWI or something
worse, to saying or something that isn’t nice or correct to a significant
person in our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These things could
and often do cost us misery, along with time, and we could lose money, respect,
a job, or even a relationship.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here is
the thing, when we give into temptation, we can’t snap our fingers and things
will be back to normal and everything will be fixed and back to normal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If things are to be fixed, it will take time
and a lot of hard work, which we have to be willing to do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>More importantly, we need to seek forgiveness
from God and those who we offended and afflicted pain to.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Hard work doesn’t matter if forgiveness and
turning from our ways is not involved. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fourth observation on temptation is that
temptation is all about our ego and it destroys our perspective of who we are
and especially who we are in God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Temptation
either inflates our ego and tells us that we are better than we really are and
gives us a sense of false confidence. It is thinking that we don’t need God and
that we have the talents and goodness to do what we need to do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The flip side of the coin is that we are
unworthy and that we do not deserve love, respect and that others are better
than us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Both sides of this coin often lead
to some form of addiction to power, greed, self loathing and other things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, temptation seeks to destroy us
and everybody around us, no matter the cost. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fifth observation is that temptation is
not sin.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Temptation does not become sin
till we act on it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One can try and live
their lives without facing temptation, but this mean we won’t be getting out of
bed in the morning and even then I am not sure it will work.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence temptation is asking us to embrace
the half truths and lies that this world has to offer and make them our
own.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I am not sure where to pout this,
so I am going to put it here, In the Bible, the Epistle James (1:13-18) tells
us that God does not tempt us, but those temptations come from our sinful
desires.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When temptation does show up
and tries to bring us away from God, God does provide a way for us to overcome
this temptation and not fall to it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When
we face temptation is a chance for us to say no to the temptation for us to
draw closer to God and submit to His love and goodness instead of going down
the path of pain and self-destruction.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We
really can not talk about temptation without talking about Satan.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether it is the story of Job or the passage
above, Satan is the driving force behind temptation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Satan whole goal is not for us to follow Him,
but it to make sure that we do not follow God and not have Him the Lord and
Savior of our lives. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Satan has received
his punishment and his goal is to bring everyone down with him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There is a discussion of free will when it comes
to temptation and I will save that for another blog.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To finish this out, temptation challenges us
to hit the easy button and take the easy way out. Whether is fulfilling a need
for self-reliance, authority, or worship of self in some way, its goal is to
tear down and destroy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In John 10:10, Jesus
tells us that the thief (Satan) comes and uses temptation, seek, destroy and to
kill, and that He Himself comes to not only give life but to give it abundantly.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In all reality, it’s a choice of two paths,
and which one are we going to travel?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I
am not sure if Kenny Rogers was referring to temptation when he sang this, but
it applies, we have to know when to hold them, when to fold them, and when to
walk away and when to run </span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-35171854199428722112020-12-16T15:44:00.003-08:002020-12-16T15:44:42.833-08:00Grattitude
<p align="center" style="line-height: 16.9pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; margin: 0px;">Gratitude: </span></b><b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0px;">the quality or feeling of being grateful or
thankful </span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">O Lord, open my lips,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">and my
mouth will declare your praise.</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span id="en-ESV-14708" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">For you
will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">you will
not be pleased with a burnt offering.</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span id="en-ESV-14709" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">a broken
and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.</span></span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;">Psalm 51:15-17 ESV</span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Segoe UI",sans-serif; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This section of the Psalms comes from one
of the most famous confessions in the Bible.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>This chapter deals with King David’s confession of adultery with
Bathsheba and having her husband killed to cover up his transgression.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The famous words of this Psalm is found in
verse 10;</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Create in me a clean heart oh God</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And renew a right spirit within me</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">To
be fair, this whole section of the Psalm is littered with talk about what is an
appropriate sacrifice.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sacrifice is not
only our position and how we interact with God, but also our position and how
we interact with others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So one might be
thinking how does sacrifice and gratitude go together.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I hope to get there by the end of this blog
and just a heads up, it might have something to do with worship. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My first observation is this, God is not
only implying but telling us that we can not buy Him off.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>No matter how hard we try, whether it is
through our tithe, doing “Godly” things, or not doing something that is
ungodly.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Spoiler alert, since God
created everything, He already owns it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We
can not give something to God He already owns because it is already His and we
are to be good managers of what He gives us.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>If we were able to buy God off, it means two things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one is that He isn’t fully God and in
incompetent.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This also means we have
more power and authority than we need, deserve, or are able to handle.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second idea is that it makes us manipulative,
only doing and giving things for our own benefit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sure there could people out there who are truly
ultraistic, but at the end of the day, most if not all of us are in it for what
we can get out of it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we could buy
our way to God or His love, how many of us would beg, borrow, steal or just
flat out lie to get what we want, no matter if it is with God or others?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My gut feeling is that we have already tried
that and eventually it catches up with us in a bad way. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation about gratitude is
that it is about accountability.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Gratitude
is more than just being grateful or giving thanks.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Accountability is admitting to mistakes, growing/maturing
from them, and doing what we are responsible for.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When King David was confronted by the Prophet
Nathan about his adultery, David could of pulled out his king card and had
Nathan disposed of too.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Instead, David went
and he responded to Gods rebuke of his actions and sought forgiveness for what
he had done.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He also owned up to the
consequences, and was a father to the son he had with Bathsheba and the family
strife that continued through out the rest of his life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Accountability is doing the things we know
we should do, Whether it is how we spend our money, to what we eat, being a
good spouse to ones significant other, being a parent to ones children.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Accountability is more about being proactive
than reactive.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are always going to
be things that catch us off guard, but when we are proactive, and seek to take
care of things that are within in our control, life tends to go better. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third observation is that gratitude is
more than just the gifts and actions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Don’t
get me wrong, actions, along with gifts/sacrifice along with the words that we
speak are important, but the more important thing is our attitude or the
condition of our heart.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we
do or say things as a form of self protection or to make us feel better?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As people, we tend to do or say things to
provide either some sort of diversion so people do not see our weaknesses or
those spots that are really sensitive.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Or how about when we do things to gain some sort of good karma and to
try and right something we did that we feel guilty or ashamed about.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we do this, we fall into two traps.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one is that we make ourselves out
to be better people than we really are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It
is more about the show, and less about the go.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>In essence, we try and impress people with our words, actions and our
gifts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>At the end of the day, we fall
down exhausted because no matter what we do or say will ever be enough. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Then we will become burnt out and jaded, <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second trap is that we try and cover up
some sort of guilt.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Trust me on this,
the guilt and shame will never go away when we do this, and it will send us
further into depression and the spinning will keep getting faster.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fourth observation is this, gratitude is
more than giving gifts or doing good works, or saying thank you.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God doesn’t want our gifts or our words, not
that these are unimportant, but He wants us fully committed to Him and His
calling.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Gratitude is not only being
thankful for what others or God has done, but it is the giving of our whole
selves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means the good, bad and
things that we do not want to see the light of day.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because of free will, we can decide whether
we disown God and suffer the consequences, or embrace Him and His will.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can call it many things, such as holiness,
perfection, sanctification, Christian maturity, but at the end of the day, It
is allowing God to restore His full image in our lives and for us to be fully
present not only with Him but others also.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I will leave you with this.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>True gratitude not only requires, but demands
a response.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is where worship comes
in.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Worship is more than just singing a
few songs and hearing a sermon and then walking away to live our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When God is fully shaping us back into His
image, we live our lives differently.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Its not that these actions saves us, but it is a response to what God
has done and is doing in our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our gifts
and sacrifices can not save us, but it is a response to the one who can and
that is Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our worship, gifts, and even
our sacrifices should point back to God the Creator of all and to Jesus, the
author and perfecter of our faith. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What are the things we do or say that hide
habits, hurts, and the unspeakables? </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In our accountability, are we reactionary,
or proactive?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we try and earn our salvation? </span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-55312710633578048662020-12-04T13:14:00.000-08:002020-12-04T13:14:07.390-08:00Advent
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Advent;
the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event</span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Comfort, comfort my people, says your God</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and let her cry</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">That her warfare is ended</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">That her iniquity is pardoned,</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">That she has received from the Lord’s hand</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Double for all her sins.</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">A voice cries;</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Make straight in the desert a highway for our God,</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Every valley shall be lifted up,</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And every mountain and hill made low</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The uneven ground shall be level,</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And the rough places a plain</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And all flesh shall see it together</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Isaiah 40:1-5 ESV</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I was at a
local park recently and seeing the bare trees and the light snow on the ground
got me thinking.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My smart thought was
that even in the barrenness of winter, there is still a beauty in nature.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I have noticed that with the snow on the
ground and the bare trees, things seem to echo a little more and I can hear
things not only more clearly, but often things that are far off can be heard
like the whistle of a train horn or traffic on a distant road.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can see through the woods better because
the leaves are not acting as a shield or cover for things that reside in the
woods.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It got me thinking what does this
idea of barreness affect our lives, but play into Advent.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My first
observation is that this idea of bareness forces us into this fight or flight
concept.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can either fight the
bareness of our lives by changing habits, such has praying harder, reading self
help books or the Bible more, to attending small groups, and even seeking
counseling.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>None of these things are bad,
but in our fighting are we keeping the real issues at arms length and not
addressing it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>For me, I can eat less
and exercise more to lose weight, but it still doesn’t deal with the issue of
that I find comfort in food because it doesn’t tell me no.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The flight concept is either not recognizing
the problem or doing nothing about it because it is to hard.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we not deal with a problem
because it is to hard, or we have to change something that we hold dear, or
admit that we are just wrong.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know I don’t
like to be wrong and how can I be wrong if I don’t admit to it. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation
is that sometimes we just need to embrace the suck.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If 2020 has taught us anything, that is
embracing the suck is necessary.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It does
not mean we throw are hands up in the air and doing nothing, because that adds
to the mess.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Instead it is moving forward,
picking our battles, and extending grace to ourselves and others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Embracing the suck forces us to be in the
present and the here and now, and not fast forwarding to 2021.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To paraphrase my favorite narcissistic television
doctor, Gregory House, things change and its not always for the better.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A presidential election hasn’t made things
better and I am not so sure a change in the calendar year will provide the
change we are looking for, but what can make it better is our attitude and how
we treat others and ourselves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do we
extend grace, love and truth, or do we extend, hate, bitterness and anger? </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third
observation on why bareness can be beautiful is because we have the opportunity
to embrace our own humanity.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means
that we have the ability to recognize the good in our lives, and things that
are not so good.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we embrace our own
humanity, we can embrace not only how others see us, but how God sees us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means that those areas in our life that
are painful, we can start to deal with them.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Whether it is a relationship or expectations that have not been
fulfilled, we can take a look at those and start the healing process.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we embrace our humanity, we realize just
how selfish we are and how our disobedience and sin has altered our
relationship with others and with God.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Thankfully God forgives and He can make all things new.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So one might
wondering what connection bareness has to Advent.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Being barren has the connotation of
expectation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>With bareness, we can either
expect that things will stay the same and nothing will change, or there is the expectation
that things will improve and that spring and new life will eventually
come.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Advent is the same way, because it
is about expectation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Advent is about
the expected coming of the promise Messiah.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The nation of Israel held on to the promise of the Messiah will come and
make things right.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Messiah did come
in the form of Jesus being born in the manger.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Just like the nation of Israel, we are in the season of Advent right
now, expecting Jesus to come back again. This time when He comes back, it is to
gather His people and commune with Him eternally.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Advent is not only about preparing ourselves
for the coming of Messiah, but also embracing and sharing Gods grace, joy, hope
and love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions to Ponder</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What does it mean to embrace the suck?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How does our expectation inform us on how
we live? </span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-45605202637099577782020-11-11T18:30:00.002-08:002020-11-11T18:30:14.877-08:00Creator
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Creator</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">:
<span style="color: #202124; margin: 0px;">A person or thing that brings something into
existence</span></span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-26036" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></sup></b>He was in the beginning with God.</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><span id="en-ESV-26037" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">All
things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was
made.</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><span id="en-ESV-26038" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">In him was life, and the life was the light of men.</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-26039" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></sup></b>The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.</span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">John 1:1-5 ESV </span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When I think of the word
creator, I often think of someone who is often good with their hands at
building or making things, or someone who is talented musically.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A creator could be someone like the Spanish artist
Pablo Picasso, who was so talented with a pant brush that his paintings are known
all over the world and often go for absurd prices. Or a creator can be someone like
my grandfather who was always tinkering and building or modifying
something.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The classic definition of a
creator is someone who can make something great out of nothing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As humans, we need things like paint, paint
brushes and a canvas to create something because we do not have the capability
to create something beautiful or even destructive out of thin air.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The only person that can create something out
of nothing is God, and a prime example of this is the first two chapters of
Genesis.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The big Latin word for this is
Ex Nihilo, which literally “out of nothing.”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>So God is the only one who can create something out of nothing and call
it good.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here are some observations about
being a creator. </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My first observation is
that God is eternal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One needs to be in
existence before they can create.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This
is why I chose John 1 as our passage, because it shows not only that God is eternal,
but Jesus and the Holy Spirit are eternal and a part of the creative
process.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Being eternal means that one
has no beginning and no end.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To be
honest, being eternal means that one has no beginning and no end.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is like being on the plains of Western
Kansas, where one can not see the beginning or the end of it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God the Father also, works in conjunction
with the Son and Spirit to create and it helps dive into the mystery of the
Trinity.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It shows that the Son and Spirit
are eternal and equal with God the Father and not created beings.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can dive into the Jehovah Witnesses and
the Arianism Heresy another time, but in order to create, one needs to be present
to do so.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So here is a
rabbit trail, if one is basing their hope on evolution and everything starting
with a big bang, wouldn’t their need to be particles or something there to combust
to have a big bang moment.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means
what where we live, things we take comfort in and people we have interactions
with, not only has a begging by some random lucky explosion, but it also has an
ending with nothing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It makes life that
we live pretty bleak and meaningless, because what we take comfort in or worship
eventually will fail us and can not get us out of the predicament we find
ourselves in.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There is a Christian form
of evolution where God created things or got things going, and then He took His
hands off and let things run their course.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>This not only makes God a Deist where He creates and walks away, but
also it could make Him a narccacistic thug who enjoys watching us destroy
ourselves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation
is that God creates because it is a part of His nature.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God is God and He can do things as He
pleases.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of Gods characteristics is
that He wants to be in relationship.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God
the Father created the heavens and the earth because He wants to share the relationship
He has with the Son and Sprit with all of creation. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is Gods nature to share the relationship He
has within the Trinity with all of creation.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>God desires to dwell among His people and for Him to be our God and for
us to be His people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This could make God
out to be needy, which He isn’t, but instead God creates to show His
goodness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What makes God not needy is
that He is willing to let people go and do their own thing if they don’t follow
His standards.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The thing that is in Gods
nature of being a Creator, is that He realizes that with in relationships, it
is a two way street.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God can and has
provided a way to be in relationship with Him, but it is our choice to take
that offer.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God does all the heavy
lifting, but we have to follow in obedience and faith for the relationship to
work,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we don’t we suffer the
consequences and eventually the relationship is cut off.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third
observation is that God the Creator not only cares for His creation, but there
is a pecking order within the created order.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The Trinity is at the top of the pyramid and has authority over all and
is eternal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we go back to the creation
story, we find out that what sets humans apart from all other creation is that
we have a soul.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>From my understanding of
it is that our soul is actually God breathing life into our bodies.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What makes us different is that we are
created in the image of God and the rest of creation does not have this
distinction.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means several things,
the first thing is that God put us in charge of all creation and to care for
it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This does not mean we own it and we
can do whatever we want, or we fall into pantheism and saying that God is in
the created. Even though God created everything, not everything has his stamp,
or breath.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is reserved for us as
people, and that means how we care for and manage Gods creation says a lot about
who or what we worship.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>A side note, the
created things are for us to use and to manage, and not to worship or consider
it equal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here is the thing about being
created in Gods image and having a soul, it means even though our bodies age
and become wore out, our souls don’t.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Eventually are bodies will return to dust and our souls will go to
eternity and receive Gods fair and just judgement. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fourth
observation is that God cares for His creation.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>I know I have tried to weave this idea throughout this blog, but I think
it is something we need to wrap our heads around.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Especially during a pandemic and a hateful
election season.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Gospel of Matthew
shares that if God cares for the sparrows and cloths the flowers, how much more
will He care for us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Psalmist declares
that God knitted us in our mother’s womb, and knew of us before we even
did.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God does not abandon His creation,
we might not get what we want, but we will always receive what we need.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our goal should not just be a person created in
the image of God, but also becoming a child of God and there is a difference.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Being a child means that we as the created
are submitting to Gods authority and being transformed by His power on a daily
basis.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is probably off topic, but
God doesn’t want us comfortable and safe, but He wants us to rely on Him and to
step out of our comfort zone.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means
that we don’t do things that are stupid, but we do things that are risky.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To wrap things
up I will leave you all with these couple of thoughts.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one is that since God is creator,
not only can He create things, but He can make all things new.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>No matter what we have done, or where we have
been, God can and is willing to make things new and restore us, not only now,
but for eternity.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let me close with this
Psalm</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">May the glory of the </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant: small-caps; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> endure forever;</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">may the </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"> rejoice in his works,</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span id="en-ESV-15604" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">who looks on the earth and it trembles,</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">who touches the mountains and they smoke!</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-15605" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></sup></b>I will sing to the </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"> as long as I live;</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">I will sing praise to my God while I have being.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-15606" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></sup></b>May my meditation be pleasing
to him,</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">for I rejoice in the </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;">.</span></span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Psalm 104:31-31 ESV</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions to Ponder</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What does our meditations
and or prayer say about our wants and desires?</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we worship the
created and not the Creator?</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What does Gods actions
say about His nature?</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-84073793952088232682020-11-04T18:05:00.000-08:002020-11-04T18:05:16.320-08:00Sacrifice
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Sacrifice:
an act of offering to a deity that is precious and requires the death of the
victim on an altar; the destruction or surrender of something for something
else </span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Sacrifice and offering
you did not desire—</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">but my ears you have opened<sup data-fn="#fen-NIV-14532c" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-14532c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2040&version=NIV#fen-NIV-14532c" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;" title="See footnote c"><span style="color: #4a4a4a; margin: 0px;">c</span></a>]</sup>—</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">burnt offerings and sin offerings<sup data-fn="#fen-NIV-14532d" data-link="[<a href="#fen-NIV-14532d" title="See footnote d">d</a>]">[<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2040&version=NIV#fen-NIV-14532d" style="box-sizing: border-box; min-width: 0px;" title="See footnote d"><span style="color: #4a4a4a; margin: 0px;">d</span></a>]</sup> you did not require.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span id="en-NIV-14533" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></sup></b>Then I said, “Here I am, I
have come—</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">it is written about me in the scroll.</span> <br />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span id="en-NIV-14534" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">I desire to do your will, my God;</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">your law is within my heart.”</span></span></span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Psalms 4o:6-8 NIV</span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></b></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">When I first read the first this passage, two things came
to mind.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one is the famous
Micah 6:8 passage of loving mercy, doing justice, and walking humbly with our
God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This passage gets quoted all the time
and it implies that our faith requires some sort of action.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence there is some sort of standard of
how we are to conduct ourselves not only with God but also with others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second thing that came to my mind is the
Old Testament sacrificial system.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not only
did the nation of Israel bring gifts to the altar to recognize Gods goodness
and protection, but they also sacrificed a spotless animal for the forgiveness
of sin and so they could maintain a right relationship with God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is where the Day of Atonement comes in
where the Hight Priest sacrificed a spotless sheep for the sins of the whole nation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It got me thinking that God has a standard of
not only how we interact with Him, but how we interact with others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here are some observations I have made. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My first observation is that God can not be bought
off.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we try and use good
works or deeds to get on Gods good side.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It could be that we lead a small group, be a sponsor in some sort of
recovery program, to dropping an extra twenty bucks in the offering plate/online
giving.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This sort of sacrifice comes
down to two things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one is
that we are trying to make ourselves look better than what we are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We are trying to distract God and others from
our issues,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>addictions, and our quirks.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, we are trying to earn our way
into heaven.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second thing that this
form of sacrifice brings is this concept of karma.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we do more good things for God and others
than bad, this means we will get into heaven.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It does not work this way with Christianity, because we can not earn our
way into heaven.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we could, Jesus
death and resurrection is pointless. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To
borrow a little Marin Luther, salvation comes through grace, faith and Scripture.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My second observation is that intentions matter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we sacrifice something to get
what we want.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This often is a form of manipulation,
because we are holding dirt on someone and we will release it until we get what
we want.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, we are using people
to get things, and this is not very Biblical.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We often forget about truth, honesty and integrity, because we are more concerned
about stepping on people to get what we want.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Is it destroying people get a job promotion or pay raise at work?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Or is it destroying the Ex so the family for
friends will like you more than the other person.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>True sacrifice is where our intentions is
based not on the giving or the giving up of something, but point ourselves and
others to the throne of Jesus.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My third observation is that sacrifice is relational.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My question is, can we truly give up
something great, if there is not relationship.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>I think that is the direction of the Micah passage.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our sacrifices either do not carry as much
weight or becomes pointless if there is not a healthy relationship.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we are only in relationships based on what
we can give and receive from each other.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It is seeing people as things or transactions and not people made in the
image of God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This business way of doing
life often makes us, lonely, jaded and bitter because we often feel that our
sacrifices that we put out is greater than what we receive.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This sacrifice is more of what I can get out
of life than what I can give.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My fourth observation is that true sacrifice requires
not just a part of us but all of us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In
the passage above, I think that God is railing on the Israelites because He wasn’t
getting all of them. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They only had one
foot in the boat, and the other foot was out to bail just in case things got
bad or uncomfortable.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our sacrifices become
meaningless if we are not all in.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God is
telling us through David that He wants all of us or nothing at all.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This reminds me of the Movie <i>Happy Gilmore</i>
where Adam Sandler’s character gets into a fight with Bob Barker’s character.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often are we like Sandler and become
frustrated with God and ask Him if He wants a piece of us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Bob Barker’s character responds, “I don’t want
a piece of you, I want the whole damn thing.”<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>When something only has are partial attention or commitment, how often
do we get wondering eyes and start looking else where and doing other things
that distract and cause trouble with co and others. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">To wrap up, when we sacrifice or give ourselves completely
to God, our outlook, intentions and relationships all change for the
better.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, it is a realization
that everything is Gods to begin with and that sacrifice is giving everything
back to God, including our whole lives.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>This is when we become a living sacrifice and not only does Gods power
through the Holy Spirit change us from the inside, and empowers us to do great
things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Thins changes how we view and interact
with people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This only happens when we commit
to God and His laws and desires become ours.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Here is a warning, when we are living sacrifices, it is easy to get off
of the altar.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is where grace and forgiveness
comes in.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions to Ponder</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What makes it difficult to be a living
sacrifice?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How do our intentions affect our
relationships? </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What is that one thing that God is calling you
to give up or to step out on?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why do we desire to manipulate God and or
others?</span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-36924076473502472542020-10-22T17:59:00.004-07:002020-10-22T17:59:55.103-07:00Vengeance
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Vengeance:
<span style="color: #222222; margin: 0px;">punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an
injury or wrong.</span></span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">6 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">O God, break the teeth in their mouths;</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">tear out the fangs of the young lions, O </span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;">!</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-14787" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">7 </span></sup></b>Let them vanish like water
that runs away;</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-14788" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">8 </span></sup></b>Let them be like the snail
that dissolves into slime,</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.</span></span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span id="en-ESV-14789" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">9 </span></sup></b>Sooner than your pots can
feel the heat of thorns,</span><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: content-box; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!</span></span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Psalms 58:6-9 ESV</span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As I am reading through the
book of Psalms right now, one of the themes that I am picking up is this idea
of vengeance.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Often it is King David praying
to God to unleash His vengeance on either his or the nation of Israel’s enemies
for doing them wrong.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Vengeance is not
only a very strong word that provokes a lot of emotion, but often is a theme in
books, movies and even songs.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Vengeance
is one of the major themes found in the book <i>The Count of Monte Cristo</i>
by Alexandre Dumas.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The theme of the
book is where the lead character Edmond Dantes gets unjustly thrown a life sentence
in prison.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>During his sentence, Edmond becomes
bitter and filled with vengeance to destroy the people who put him there.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>After being thrown off a cliff and surviving,
he develops a different persona and beginning to lie and use the people around
him to get what he wants and that is vengeance. Here are a couple of ideas or
assumptions that come along with this idea of vengeance.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My first idea of vengeance
is that is the assumption that we are on the right side of history and on the
right side of the issue.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There is no way
we can be wrong on this issue because we have reason, facts, experience or some
famous person backing our thoughts or ideology.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>What becomes problematic is that no matter how wrong we are or how faulty
our logic and reasoning are, we still think we are right.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we get this way, we become hellbent on
being right, especially when it is a hot button topic like the presidential
election, immigration, gun control or any other issue that is big or small.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think when one so hellbent, there is a good
chance that </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">we can’t see the forest through the trees and all reasoning and
logic, common sense and discernment can be thrown out the window.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because we are more concerned making people
pay than being holy.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second idea of
vengeance is this assumption that we are not only on Gods side, but we also speak
for God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Through out the Bible, there are
people who think that God is with them, but in all actuality, God is no where
to be found.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>King Saul was about to go
into battle and he was afraid, so he prayed to God for comfort and direction,
but God did not respond, even though God put Saul in that position.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Saul had abandoned Gods ways and in the time
of need, God was no where to be found.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Saul
disguised himself and consulted a sourer to bring back the Prophet Samuel back
from the dead so could gain some sort of direction and comfort.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When Samuel came back, Saul was found out and
he got an earful.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Vengeance often leads
us down the road to thinking that God is on our side and He is giving us His blessing
to perform our actions to either get justice or to make ourselves feel better
and in all reality, God has no part in it.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third observation is that
vengeance is based more on feeling than on fact.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are facts involved, but it is how those
facts make us feel.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often those
facts we hold on too, are distorted, or incomplete or just down right
false.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often is our vengeance based
on hurt, fear, or anger.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These are all
valid emotions, but when they become the sole basis for action, truth becomes
subjective and can be ever changing depending on who we are interacting with
and the situation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We do whatever makes
us feel good and whatever feels like what the appropriate response is.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have to take the advice of the 80’s band
Boston and life has to be more than just a feeling because if was, we take the Kelly
Clarkson approach and ruin a cheating ex boyfriends brand new four wheel
drive.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fourth and final
observation about vengeance is that we base our lives on the creed eye for an
eye.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The argument against this if we did
this, the whole world would go blind.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The thing with vengeance is that it often continues to build, because the
response to our vengeance is often vengeance, and then we have to respond with
something greater and it just continues to escalate.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This often leads to generational hate,
distrust and even alienation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This often
moves from person vs person vengeance to a group of people vs another group of
people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The extreme case is Archduke
Franz Fernidinand of Austria being assassinated and different world powers supporting
their allies and World War I breaking out, which lead to World War II.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To wrap things up, here
is the problem when we become consumed with vengeance, it leaves no room for
grace and forgiveness. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We either play
the victim card and don’t take responsibility for our part, or we become jaded
an hateful, and nothing we do satisfies us and we keep doing the next thing hoping
we can find peace.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I am fully aware that
there are and needs to be consequences for one’s actions and there need to be
healthy boundaries in place and they can be difficult to put into place and
keep, but there is another way.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Moses
put it this way in Deuteronomy 32 that vengeance belongs to God and He alone
will vindicate His people because God takes care of His own<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>His people are those who do justice, love
mercy, and walk humbly with Him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 17pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">“</span><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Oh, God,”
said Monte Cristo, “your vengeance may sometimes be slow in coming, but I think
that then it is all the more complete.”</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><b><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions To Ponder</span></b><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Is there a difference between our justice and
Gods?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What is the biggest
struggle to waiting for God to provide justice?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Does vengeance turn
into hate?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do we ever think we
are doing Gods business and He is with us, yet God is nowhere to be </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #3f3743; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Found?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-17060384939911794222020-10-08T18:13:00.002-07:002020-10-08T18:13:43.017-07:00Ressurection
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Resurrection: </span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">the action or fact of resurrecting or being resurrected; (in
Christian belief) Christ's rising from the dead.</span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 8px 0px 0px; text-align: center;"><sup><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">21 </span></sup><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not
have died. <sup>22 </sup>But I know that even now God will give you
whatever you ask.” <sup>23 </sup>Jesus said to her, “Your brother will
rise again.” <sup>24 </sup>Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in
the resurrection<sup> </sup>at the last day.”<sup> 25 </sup>Jesus said to
her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes<sup> </sup>in me
will live, even though they die; <sup>26 </sup>and whoever lives by
believing<sup> </sup>in me will never die. Do you believe this?” <sup>27 </sup>“Yes,
Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is
to come into the world</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;">.”</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">John 11:21-27</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The resurrection is what differentiates
Christianity from every other world religion.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>God shows His love and authority over creation through the power of the resurrection.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The only reason the resurrection is possible
is because of Jesus death and ultimate sacrifice on the cross that defeated sin
and death.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The resurrection is what
gives us hope and the promise of eternal life, which allows us to commune and be
in God’s presence for eternity. Here are some thoughts that I have been wresting
with on the idea on the resurrection</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My first observation on the resurrection
that with no resurrection, there is no Christianity.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the biggest arguments that is used
against Christianity is that Jesus didn’t actually die.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He came close to death on the cross to the
point of unconsciousness but He didn’t die. This line of thinking makes Christianity
out to be a hoax, and that Jesus was a mere mortal who eventually died a
natural death.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Essentially with no resurrection,
there is no Christianity and we have to redefine our views on God, miracles and
eternity.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The other part to this thought is that if
Jesus did make the ultimate sacrifice on the cross, and did not rise from the
dead, we are still in trouble.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus sacrifice
may have taken care of the Old Testament sacrificial system, but we are still stuck
in sin.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus death gives us forgiveness
for our sins, but His resurrection is what gives us the power over sin and
death.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence we don’t have to keep
banging our head against the wall and continue to live in sin and making poor
decisions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation that it is hard for
someone or something to be resurrected if it is not dead.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether it is life itself or a particular habit/characteristic,
it can not be brought back to life if it still has a heart beat.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Death can mean the loss of something or
someone important and it even means that there is pain involved.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we pull a Martha and blame God
for not showing up in time to fix or to protect us from something?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we try and keep something alive,
whether it’s a relationship, an activity or moral character that we try to keep
alive because we do not want to go through the pain of loosing it and having it
die off.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What makes death and
resurrection so hard is that there is something that we need to change, and
changing is not our strong suit.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third observation is that we all have
thoughts, attitudes, actions and speech that need to not only go away, but to die.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These are characteristics that take the focus
off of God and places it on ourselves and or others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These things either get us into trouble, or
is not what God has called us to do.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Either way, these things either causes us to sin.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These characteristics often drives wedges
into our relationship with God and or others, which causes alienation and even
eternal issues if left unattended for a long time.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Resurrection comes in when these attitudes
die and go away, something takes it place and are they holy things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If a smoker gives up smoking , but turns to
food, not only is the addiction not dead, but one is trading breathing issues
for diabetes and a heart condition. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Resurrection
means that the dead is gone and new life is being formed.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is replacing the destructive things in our
lives with the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is things like love, patience, kindness, and
self-control.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Resurrection is Jesus
providing a way for it to happen, and the Holy Spirit indwelling in us to make
it happen because this is something that we can not do on our own.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>At salvation, we get all of God, and whether
you call it maturing, growing in grace, or sanctification, this process is God
getting all of us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is where we give
things over to God and He makes us a new creation. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fourth observation is the idea that
resurrection is different than recessitation.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Going back to the story of Lazarus, Jesus did show His authority and
Lazarus was raised from the dead.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What
makes recessatation different is that Lazarus died again.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we get to heaven, Lazarus will be there,
but we have to realize the only way we are getting off this earth is either
through death or if Jesus comes back, and death is the most popular option right
now.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Jesus was resurrected because He didn’t
die again, but ascended up into heaven and is sitting at the right hand of God
the Father and will come back again to judge the quick and the dead.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My final observation and probably my favorite
is found in the letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian
church.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Paul emphatically proclaims: </span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Death is swallowed in in victory</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">O death, where is your victory</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">O death, where is your sting</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">The sting of death is sin, and the
power of sin is the law</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">But thanks be to God, who gives us
victory through </span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Our Lord Jesus Christ</span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I Corinthians 15:54-57</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">This
shows that God gave Jesus authority over all and that we can have hope not only
in the future for eternity, but this hope extends to the here and now because
of the resurrection.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I have said it
before and I will say it again, Jesus is not only our hope, but He is the resurrection
and the life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means He has
authority in the future but He is in the business of making all things new in
the here and now.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This only can happen when
we accept His grace and make Him the Lord of our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means that we come under His authority
and we participate in what He is doing in the here and now. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions
to Ponder</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What are those things in our lives that need
to die? </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What are those things that need to be
resurrected in our lives?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why do we struggle with death?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we play the blame game?</span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-49784092507162568562020-09-09T17:35:00.000-07:002020-09-09T17:35:37.999-07:00Blame
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Blame-
to assign responsibility, a fault or wrong</span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">There he (Elijah) went
into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span> came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”</span><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span></sup></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">He replied, “I have been very zealous for the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span> God Almighty. The Israelites have
rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death
with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.</span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px 48px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">I Kings 19:9-11</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">It seems like 2020 is the year of the blame.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often are we blaming this year or the
COVID Virus for things that have been canceled or have gone horribly wrong.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether it is the loss of jobs, sickness, death
rates on the rise, relational issues to our favorite events being
canceled/postponed and or changed.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Are
we really blaming the virus or the year, on our <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>political leaders for either not caring
enough, or micromanaging to the point of being a dictator.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think there is a portion of all of us that
blame God for allowing/creating the virus and then not healing those who have
gotten sick and died.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Someone or
something has to be held accountable for the mess we are in and it can’t be
me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This could be why we fight with our
loved ones, kick the dog and turn to vices to escape which turns into addictions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In all reality its playing the victim card
and God is somehow to blame.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To
paraphrase an NT Wright quote, from his book <i>Evil & The Justice of God</i></span></p>
<p align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">“How
often do we want to put God on trial for the evil in the world and to find Him
guilty only to find out He has already served His sentence.”</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first
observation about blame is that it is feeling based.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There is nothing wrong with feelings and or
emotions, but when they become more important than facts, this is when we have
a problem.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often when we are angry, we
say or do something that we end up saying something we regret to we care
about.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, emotions can tend to
take the moment to the extreme.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know
when I am hungry, and I don’t have any groceries, I tend to go through the fast
food drive through and my order can be quite large, which is not good for my waist
line or my wallet.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, when we
let our feelings take control, we become reactionary to what is happening to and
around us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence we are losing control
of being rational, level headed and making solid decisions goes out the
window.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When this happens, we should
take a step back and breath.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have to
look at the situation and find out what is fluff and what are the real issues
that are going on and what are responsibilities are in the situation. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
second observation is that the victim cards gets played.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often are we like Elijah an proclaim that
we are the only ones left. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not only has
everyone else abandoned the cause, but they are out to get me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The phrase “why is everyone picking on me” comes
into play.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The victim card often plays
into a self-righteousness attitude that is really dangerous.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It comes across as I am the only one who is
doing it right and has kept the faith.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How
this comes about is we justify our thoughts, words and actions along with
demonizing what others have said, done, or thought.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think we elevate our intentions, actions
and speech, by trying and making them Godly while hold other people to a
completely different standard.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In
essence the blame game puts us an others in two different camps because we use
two different standards.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we
hold ourselves to a lower standard than other people or vice versa?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The victim card often creates a dichotomy of
two different standards that is just not healthy. The first standard is the one
I meet and is relatively easy to meet and I am the only one who knows this
standard.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The other standard is the one
we place on others which is usually impossible to meet, especially when we don’t
tell them about it and we still hold them to it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We get bitter when they don’t <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>meet it. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The third
observation to the blame game is that truth becomes very subjective.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When truth becomes subjective, we tend to divide
ourselves into different camps and we point fingers.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The easy example is the American political
scene.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As we are gearing up for the presidential
election in seven weeks, people are gathering in their camps along with
pointing fingers and calling each other nasty names.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Why groups tend to rally around subjective
truth is that it makes them feel good, proves their point (no matter how much
the facts get skewed) and it turns into some sort of rally cry.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Its aim is also to destroy the other group
and sometimes it is done in not so nice ways.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Whether it is a smear campaign or discrediting them with things that are
not completely true or holy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is often
taking an element of truth and distorting it beyond recognition.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the hot button topics of today is the
movement to defund the police.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Only so
much money and law & order will help, the change that is needed in our
communities. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The real change starts with
the nuclear family.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is where solid Biblical
standards are taught and lived out on a daily basis.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Just remember, what is being taught and lived
out <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>at home will be public policy in the
next generation. So are we teaching things that are worth learning and being
taught, not only now, but for generations to come and even for eternity?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
fourth idea of blame is accountability.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Accountability is a good thing and we all need to be held accountable for
our speech and actions.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The one thing
with the blame game is that we often become the judge, jury and even
executioner.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we feel that either we
or someone we care about has been wronged, someone needs to pay.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God is an easy target, because if He is all
powerful, He could of fixed it, or prevented it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we become judge and jury, we essentially
giving ourselves the authority to decide the other persons fate, which is often
sticking the nails in the coffin. This often leads to vigilante justice, and we
become so hell bent on being right that we often leave a path of destruction. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Going back to that NT Wright quote from the beginning,
when we find out that God has already paid the price through His suffering,
death and resurrection, this means we have to look in the mirror. When we
assign blame, we are assigning guilt, and more often then not, we have blood on
our hands. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is an uncomfortable
truth that we have to face and deal with.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It is owning up to what we have done seeking forgiveness/restitution and
changing our ways.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here
is my final to thoughts for this blog.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The first one is, there are times where we need to get our head out of
our ass.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Toe put it more politely, we
need to see the forest through the trees.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Let’s go back to Elijah for a minute.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>After got his chest cleared, God reminded Elijah who He was and that
Elijah was not only one left.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There were
others who did not bow down to Baal and who are still seeking Gods face.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Just like Elijah, we needed to be reminded that
its not all about me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second thought
is that there is a difference between blaming and discernment.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Blaming looks to destroy and discernment
looks to correct and build up. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What are those things we blame others or God
for?</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Does our blaming ever become vindictive or uses
vigilante justice? </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do we ever distort truth to proof a point or
to make us feel better?</span></p>
<br />hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-14106864149451384922020-08-13T19:15:00.002-07:002020-08-13T19:15:30.831-07:00Faith
<p align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Faith: </span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">complete
confidents or trust in someone or something; strong belief in God or the doctrines
of religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof</span></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"> </span></b></p>
<p style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">8</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"> Then the word of the LORD came to him: <b>9</b>
“Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed
a widow there to supply you with food.” <b>10</b> So he went to Zarephath. When
he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her
and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” <b>11</b>
As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of
bread.” <b>12</b> “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t
have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a
jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my
son, that we may eat it—and die.” <b>13</b> Elijah said to her, “Don’t be
afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread
for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for
yourself and your son. <b>14</b> For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel,
says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry
until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’ ” <b>15</b> She went away and
did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the
woman and her family. <b>16</b> For the jar of flour was not used up and the
jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by
Elijah. </span></p>
<p align="center" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">I
Kings 17:8-16</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><sub><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></sub><span style="line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In America,
if you want to see faith, go to any baseball game and watch the fans of the
home team when they are loosing a close game and it is bottom of the 9<sup>th</sup>.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>People break out the rally caps, stand on
their feet, clapping and cheering that someone from their favorite team will
come through and push across the winning run.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>I can have faith and believe that Nelson Cruz will hit a walk off home
run for the Twins, but there is more to it than me believing in Nelson’s Cruz
ability to hit that game winner.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether
it is the pitcher throwing a hittable pitch, to Nelson not only swinging the
bat, but making solid contact with the ball, to even the wind blowing the right
direction.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think that there is more to
faith than just about believing in something, because if there isn’t, is our
faith really worth having and it will eventually alienate us. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first
idea is that faith is something that is continuous.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Faith is not something we get at church this
one time and then stick in in our back pocket.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>In essence it is not a merit badge that we obtained once for doing
something great and it will stick with us for the rest of our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Faith calls us to use it on a daily
basis.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If our faith is going to stick
around and grow, it is something that needs to be developed.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To quote Allen Iverson, “Were talking about
practice, not a game, but practice.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We
have to do more than just talk about having faith, but we have to embody it and
it becomes <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>a major part of our fabric
and who we are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To have faith or to be faithful
is not a switch we can turn on and off when we feel like it, having faith, is something
we do on a daily basis because it is who we are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
idea of faith is that it will call us out of our comfort zone.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Faith will take us places we never imagined,
meet people that are not even on our radar, and do things that scare us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the toughest things about faith is
that it often calls us to things that make us uncomfortable or we don’t want to
do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How this looks is that we are
following the Holy Spirits leading in what we should do, where we should go and
what we would say.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Most people whether
we realize it or not go by the creed of birds of a feather flock together.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, we spend the most time with the
people who look like us, think and act like us.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>When we are faithful and obedient to the Holy Spirit, we will interact
with people who don’t look, think, or act like us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The third
idea is that faith takes trust.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know
this is a no brainer, but how easy is it for us to trust anyone but
ourselves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I would venture to guess that
most of us may have a few people we trust completely, but that’s about it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I even think we take this distrust into our relationship
with God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we not trust God
because we have been hurt before, or we think we can do it better, or even because
He might call us to do something that we absolutely do not want to do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think faith with God, we put away the “yeah,
but” or the “I will do anything but that” mentality.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Faith in God does not put conditions on God
or what He calls us to do.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Faith should
lead to complete obedience, and not what I want to do. In essence it is vulnerability
with God.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
fourth idea of faith is that it is messy.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>When we live a life of faith, we are going to get dinged.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>People are going to take advantage of us, say
things that are not true and even just be down right vile.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The other side is that we may not always hear
God clearly or that our issues and sin get in the way, and we have to suffer
through the consequences of those actions.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The other part of this is that when we have faith, that means we are
being transformed and change is never easy.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>In all realty it can suck.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>None
of us like to change, and there are even a group of us who don’t want to change.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Faith and change go hand in hand and it is
messy most days. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
fifth idea of faith is that God will provide what we need. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Just as God provided the miracle through Elijah
in the Scripture above, He will do the same for us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God provides for our needs and when we need
them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Everything is Gods to begin with
and He is the owner of a thousand cattle on thousand hills.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God knows what His children need and will
provide it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If God provided everyone
with the winning lotter ticket, our trust will move from in God to ourselves. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we trust ourselves, most of us will
become hedonistic and often end on a path that leads to gluttony and
destruction. Faith is about who do we rely on.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Is ourselves or others, which will lead to heartache and dysfunction, or
do we trust God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We may not be rich by
the worlds standards, But God will provide for us what we need when we need
it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Our faith should lead to exalting God</span></p>
hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-19706738362722274042020-04-15T18:23:00.001-07:002020-04-15T18:23:43.535-07:00Embrace
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Embrace:
</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">hold (someone) closely in one's arms, especially as a sign of
affection.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">accept or support (a
belief, theory, or change) willingly and enthusiastically</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-align: center;">
<b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;">5</span></sup></b><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"> </span></sup></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">This
is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light,
and in him is no darkness at all. <b><sup>6 </sup></b>If we say we have
fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the
truth. <b><sup>7 </sup></b>But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son
cleanses us from all sin. <b><sup>8 </sup></b>If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. <b><sup>9 </sup></b>If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. <b><sup>10 </sup></b>If we say we have not
sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">1
John 1:5-10 ESV</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There
are countless ways people show affection to each other and one the more common
ways is through the giving of hugs.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In
my book, there are three types of hugs that are universally acceptable and
given.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first one is what I call the
guy/bro hug.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is a sign of a mutual
knowing and respect for each other.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
intimacy varies on this hug based on the two guys giving it, but there still
signifies a relationship.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The second
kind of hug is what is affectionally called the side hug.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I call this one the church hug, because of
how often it gets used on Sunday mornings or Wednesday night youth groups. This
hug usually shows sone sort of relationship with the other person, while
keeping proper boundaries.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The third
form of hugs is what I call a bear hug and by far my favorite hug.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Not only do these hugs show a rather deep
intimacy and even vulnerability.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These
hugs are not given out to just any one or at any time.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These hugs are often given in times of great
celebration or great sorrow and should not be taken lightly.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Another
word for hugs, is embrace, and the Apostle John is asking us a very important
question in his first Epistle.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
question is, are we embracing light, or are we embracing darkness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One question is asking, are we growing as a
child of God by growing in grace and becoming holy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Or are we walking away from God and
fulfilling our own wants and desires.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We
can not be embracing both at the same time, because they go together about as
well as oil and water.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So lets take a
look at the natural consequences of embracing darkness.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Embracing
darkness can and will lead to a dichotomy.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We may say that we have a relationship with God or that we are good
people, but our thoughts, actions and or speech do not back this up.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Its like a guy telling his wife that there is
no one else but her, and yet they go “window shopping: while they are grocery
shopping on a warm summer day and then they happen to tell their guy friends
about what they saw.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can not love and
be committed to one thing or person and yet dream of another situation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we get to have those situations, they
never ever meet the hype of our dreams and eventually we will start wishing for
something else and we start to set fire to everything we touch and we become
broken and bitter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Embracing
darkness will lead to vigilante justice.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>In essence, we become one of the main characters in the movie Boondock
Saints. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The premise of the movie is that
the main characters go around killing the mobsters and gangsters that the law
has not been able to convict. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of my
favorite quotes of the movie is, “you go around killing people who you think
are evil, don’t you think that is a little weird, a little psycho.”<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we become vigilantes, ones view on
goodness, feelings, actions, and speech all become subjective can change like
the weather.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, we define what
is true and this truth often leads to what benefits us or how our enemy can
suffer.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we become vigilantes, any
form of healthy relationships will go out the window, and we the only person we
trust is ourselves and that doesn’t look good some days. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Embracing
darkness often leads alienation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This
means that the possibility of walking away or ruining any good relationship we
have is rather high.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know when I am
fighting alienation in my life, I tend to become secluded, I think that people
suck and that life sucks even worse.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It’s the why everyone picking on my syndrome.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we embrace this form of darkness, we
tend to pick up some nasty habits and what we struggle with, gets even
worse.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It could be that we are eating or
drinking way more than we should, our truth for others really is just plain
snark and mean spirited.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It often leads
to a deep depression filled with bad choices that have terrible consequences
that could take years to dig out of.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So if
embracing darkness leads us down a dark road and that the truth is not in us,
as people, we should embrace Gods truth, or light.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here is some things of what it looks
like.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Embracing
the light means confession. As I have heard it said, confession is good for the
soul.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When some people think of
confession, is from the Roman Catholic tradition of going before the priest and
confessing our sins so that we receive some sort of absolution.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Confession
is admitting that we have not met Gods standards.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Confession and accepting Gods forgiveness allows
us to be a child of the light.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This
allows Gods grace to come in and to change our heart and our outlook on
life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When this happens, we do, think
and speak differently.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Embracing
the light also is being committed to Gods Word.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It is spending time reading the Bible and time in prayer.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we are going to grow in Christ and bear
His image, we need to spend time with Him.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>How do we know what God wants and desires unless we spend time with Him
and listen to what He has to say and applying it. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Embracing
the light also means that we are also means that we are yielding to the Holy Spirit
and obey His prompting.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The Holy Spirit
guides us and leads us in the areas where we need to change and provides the ability
for us to change.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we were left up to
change ourselves, it wouldn’t happen, but through the leading and the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, our wants and desires and even our character
changes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is the process of Gods Image
being restored in us.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To
wrap up, when we embrace the darkness, we essentially become Heath Leadger’s Joker
and we bring chaos not only unto our lives but to the lives that we come into
contact.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence we become morally
bankrupt.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we embrace the light, we
bring peace to ourselves and with God, but we also give this to the world who
desperately needs and wants it. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions to Ponder</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do
we follow the Holy Spirits prompting? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we become
what we embrace, is what we are embracing worth while? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do we become
what we are vigilant against?</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-5640470453624782672020-02-20T11:29:00.000-08:002020-02-20T11:29:02.172-08:00Unwritten
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">UNWRITTEN:</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Not expressed in writing;
oral, traditional</span></b><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">9 </span></sup></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">My heart
is broken within me;<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">all my
bones shake;<br />
I am like a drunken man,<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">like a
man overcome by wine,<br />
because of the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span><br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">and
because of his holy words.<br />
</span><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;">10 </span></sup></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">For the land is full of adulterers;<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">because
of the curse the land mourns,<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">and the
pastures of the wilderness are dried up.<br />
Their course is evil,<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">and their
might is not right.<br />
</span><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;">11 </span></sup></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">“Both prophet and priest are ungodly;<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">even in
my house I have found their evil,<br />
declares the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span>.<br />
</span><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;">12 </span></sup></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Therefore their way shall be to them<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">like
slippery paths in the darkness,<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">into
which they shall be driven and fall,<br />
for I will bring disaster upon them<br />
</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">in the
year of their punishment,<br />
declares the <span style="font-variant: small-caps; margin: 0px;">Lord</span>.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Jeremiah
23:9-12 ESV</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I just wonder how many of us have unwritten rules not
only for ourselves, but for others as well.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Think of these things as codes of conducts on how one should behave and
how to interact with others.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>You can not
find said rules specifically stated in any state or local laws or religious
texts, but every culture and country has them, and they are often a personal or
group interpretation of stated rules and how they are implied.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Knowing these rules, we find out what someone
values, like civility or not wanting to be offended <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>by not talking politics and or religion,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Being a baseball fan, one has to learn the
unwritten rules of the game, like not stealing when having a big lead, not
bunting for a hit to break up a no hitter or perfect game.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When these things happen, feelings get hurt
and someone usually gets a fastball in the small of the back in the form of retaliation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Over
the last two months the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox have been in the news
for stealing signs electronically and then banging on trash cans to let the
batter know what pitch is coming.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
Astros won the World Series in 2017, and the Red Sox won in 2018 and many in
baseball thought that the teams cheated their way to a championship.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In baseball, one of the unwritten rules to my
understanding is that it is ok to try and find out what the pitcher is going to
throw, but when teams start using trash cans and electronics, many people in
baseball say its gone to far.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>People
have lost jobs over this, fines have been handed out, and even the call for the
teams to rescind their championships and the players rescind their bonuses and
serve a lengthy suspension.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Many players
have taken to social media to call the Houston Astros a bunch of cheaters. When
the Atlanta Braves player Nick Markakis has the quote of</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">“its damaging to
baseball, its anger.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I feel like every
single guy over their needs a beating.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">The scary thing is that he isn’t the only
player to come out and say something like this and, for everyone who has come
out and said something, I am sure there are more who haven’t said anything but
feel the same way.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So what can we learn
about unwritten rules and the dangers of them.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
first thing we can learn is that unwritten rules are very subjective.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>They often very from culture to culture and
from generation to generation and even person to person.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Some players like to celebrate home runs by
doing a bat flip or admiring it for a few seconds in the batters box to admire
their moonshot.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Others players think
those actions are not only showing up the other team, but it is a me before
team attitude.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Its really hard to put
rules to paper when they vary from person to person and situation to
situation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think why we like our rules
subjective is because when we get into questionable situations, it allows us a
little bit of wiggle room to get out much damage,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When anything is subjective, especially
rules, they are often based more on feelings, experience, or what we can get
out of it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When things are left to
subjectivity, things can change quicker then the weather and at best truth is
compromised. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
second thing we can learn from unwritten rules is that we can become
vigilantes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we become vigilantes,
we are never wrong, its always someone else’s fault and some person or team
becomes the villain.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we become
vigilantes, we see life through only one lens, and we expect others to see life
through that lens and it doesn’t matter of age, skin color, where one is from,
or cultural history, and there is only way to see and live life, and that’s my
way. How often do we become vigilante over one from of worship, a particular
Bible translation, or whether we are in the Reformed or Arminian theology
camp.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are battles worth fighting
and hills worth dying on, but we have to watch out because if we are not
careful, we will at least lose valuable relationships, if not become dinosaurs
who wont change.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have enough
discernment to know what is personal preference and what is actual Truth. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
third thing we can learn from unwritten rules is that it often creates a scare
crow.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we look back at our passage
from Jeremiah, God is not only putting the nation of Israel on blast, but He is
taking the prophet and priest out to the woodshed.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The priest and prophets were creating
scarecrows by either taking Gods word and either perverting it, or completely disregarding
it and creating something else to fit one’s selfish desires.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The scarecrow looks Godly but, in all
reality, it is all fluff and is more concerned with looking the part than being
the part.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we spend any time in Gods
presence, God will call us out on this and deals harshly with is if we don’t
stop pretending. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To
wrap things up, how often do our unwritten rules turn into a slippery slope
that cares more about damaging our relationships and our character instead of
building both up.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In the New Testament,
the Pharisees created a bunch of rules that were really impossible to meet
because they thought these rules would make them more holy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In all reality, these rules were drowning
them in self-righteousness. In essence unwritten rules are designed to make us
look better and is all about what we can do and control.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;">Here are some questions to ponder:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Are our unwritten rules designed to make ourselves loo better, or to
handcuff others?</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>How do we differentiate between personal preference and Gods truth? </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Do our unwritten rules protect or hide areas where we need to grow?</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-5840538052492608252020-01-22T19:05:00.001-08:002020-01-22T19:05:33.174-08:00Dependency
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Dependency:
</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">a
dependent or subordinate thing, especially a country or province controlled by
another.</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And he called the twelve together and gave them power and
authority over all demons and to cure diseases,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><span id="en-ESV-25295" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom
of God and to heal.</span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-ESV-25296" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></sup></b>And
he said to them, <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="margin: 0px;">“Take
nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not
have two tunics. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>And whatever house you
enter, stay there, and from there depart.</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-ESV-25298" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></sup></b>And wherever they do not receive
you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against
them.”</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-ESV-25299" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span></sup></b>And
they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing
everywhere</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; margin: 0px;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Luke 9:1-6</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When I think of the word dependency, one of the first
things that come to my mind is the show Law & Order: SVU.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is where Detectives Munch and Finn walk
into a crime scene where there is someone who has been battered by their significant
other.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These battered people won’t leave
because they think they have nowhere else to turn, a distorted view of loyalty
or are afraid of what will happen to the children.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The other view of dependency that I often
find myself thinking is what is that one thing that we can not live without no
matter how much damage it does to our health, relationships, or bank account.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether it is alcohol, drugs, food, or that
morning cup/pot of coffee.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we do not
get those things, are day is often ruined and or we make a concerted effort to go
out and get that one thing to fulfill that need.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As much as dependency is a bad thing, here
are some ideas where we can reclaim it and have a healthy relationship with dependency,
and yes this does sound like an oxymoron.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><b>Depenncey as Humillity: </b>One might ask how does
humility and dependency go together because these two words can bring up definitions
of being run over, not having any self worth, or not promoting ones talents and
accomplishments or the number of likes/interactions to a social media post.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think we are this way because we are such
reactionary people and we demand others and ourselves to react and over react
to every situation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Social media and the
24 hour news cycle plays into this hysteria really well, because its always
having information at our fingertips to react too. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This leads us to the belief that we have the
right to be offended and to become a member of pitchfork nation when something doesn’t
feel right.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do not get me wrong, there
are things that are offensive and that are worth getting offended over and this
often leads to change. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So, humility is knowing who we are, knowing who we belong
to, and living in this reality.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Humility
is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means we know what our talents are, what
our weakness are and learning and growing from our mistakes.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>True humility is not lying to ourselves or others
and being honest with ourselves about our current situation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is not making things out to be greater or
worse than they really are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is taking
off our mask and seeing things for what they are, and this is really tough,
because we all have hurts, biases and egos that are either damaged or inflated
that play into our mindset and affect how we view our life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Humility is allowing people into our lives
and being honest with each other, along with knowing when to ask for help and
we have to put on the big kid pants and go out and do it. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><b>Dependency as Trust</b>: This is a big one because I
think trust is more than just saying “I trust you” to family and friends and then
we try to take the control of the situation and things getting messing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Its like doing a group project and when things
get delegated, we do our responsibilities, plus someone else’s because we don’t
think they will do it or will do as good of a job as we would.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Trust is having someone else’s best interest
in mind and them having our best interest in mind also and living life together.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>An example of this is that at my favorite coffee
shop, I have a cool running political conversation with one of the baristas. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We sit on different sides of the political aisle,
but we value relationship and being able to converse about the hot button
topics such as impeachment, right to life, or second amendment rights.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the cool things about these ongoing
conversations is that she is from a younger generation, so she comes at things
differently.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Trust is also vulnerability, and I know I have hinted at
this earlier, but vulnerability is allowing people to see us in our greatness
and in our mess.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Vulnerability is a two
way street. A person is equally vulnerable to you as you are to them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know that there are people who are open
books, no matter who they are with, which can lead to issues, but are we
willing to open ourselves up to others to celebrate the good stuff, cry with
the scary stuff and to be challenged to cut the crap and to grow up</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><b>Dependency as Expectation:</b> If you ever have seen
fire hydrants being flushed, you know it is a lot of water that comes out
rather quickly. This is what living a committed Christian life is about that we
live life full blast and we do not sleep walk through it. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When Jesus sends out the disciples out, He
told them to bring nothing with them but the good news of the Gospel.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When the disciples did this, they were
dependent on God to provide for their most basic needs, such as food, clothing
and lodging.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When they did this, God
showed up in a mighty way, people were healed, people and the Kingdom of God
was proclaimed.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>True dependency on God
is realizing if that He doesn’t show up, we are going to fail and fall flat on
our face.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is not having that back up
plan in case God doesn’t show up.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Dependency
is trusting God will show up. Through prayer and worship we get to know what
Gods heart is and what He is calling us to do.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Dependency is not irresponsibility.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It is like the person who gets told by three different people at different
stages of the flood that they need to evacuate, and yet doesn’t because they think
God will save them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When they get to
heaven, they blame God for not saving them and yet God did show up three
different times.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Trusting God means that we will get mocked by the world because
the standard of the world is different than Gods.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The worlds version of dependency is pulling
ourselves up by our boot straps and plowing people over if necessary to get
things done.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is self reliance and
that will always end very badly.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Godly
dependency is not taking control from God, but allowing Him to work through
us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is scary as all get out, when we
allow God to work through our weaknesses.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>If we did it out of our strengths, do we really need God in our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>God doesn’t want a piece of us, he wants the
whole thing, the good, bad and the ugly.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I finish with this story.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I was in college and they were selling roses
for some fundraiser.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I bought several
roses for a group of guy friends who had an impact on me during that year.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I thought it was weird and uncomfortable buying
a couple of guys red roses.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Some time
later, one of the guys told me how much he appreciated that gesture and it
meant a lot to him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Questions to Ponder></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What is the point of expecting God to show up
and yet having a back up plan?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;">
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do we value being right over
being in relationship?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How do we keep a proper view of
ourselves and not get to high or low?</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-83283367893596406692019-09-17T14:47:00.000-07:002019-09-17T17:44:58.529-07:00Evil<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Evil:
</span></b><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">profound immorality and wicked</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;">20 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;">Woe to those
who call evil good</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;"></span><br />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;">and good evil,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;"></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">who put darkness
for light</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;">and light for darkness,</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;"></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">who put bitter for
sweet</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />
</span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;">and sweet for bitter.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;"></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span id="en-NIV-17761" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">21 </span></span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;">Woe to those who are wise in
their own eyes</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;"></span><br />
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "courier new"; font-size: 5pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"> </span></span><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;">and clever in their own sight.</span></span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot" , serif; margin: 0px;">Isaiah 5:20-21</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
problem of evil is one of those issues that we can sit and talk for hours on
and we will walk way more confused than when we started.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The problem of evil often causes us to
question the goodness of God and if He is really all powerful to prevent it and
why would He allow it.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This lead me to
reread NT Wright book <i>Evil and the Justice of God</i> and it is one of my
favorite books of all time and it will be a book I will revisit within the next
couple of years.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This book isn’t the end
all be all on the subject, mostly because the book would go on forever, but Wright
did make a couple interesting points in his book that I have been wrestling
with. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first
observation is how often do we as people go with the ideology that people are essentially
good, and when evil does happen, we are shocked, and our said response to the
evil is blown out of proportion.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>An example
of this is could be the basketball player Magic Johnson.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>All throughout the 80’s he was one of the best
basketball players on the planet, always had a smile on his face and very
personable and seemed to be well liked by everyone who ever met him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>All this came tumbling down when he came out publicly
of having HIV/AIDS and he abruptly retired from basketball.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He did try and make a come back as a player,
but he received a lot of backlash for having the disease and he was called many
names that are not are not worth repeating. This doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t
of faces any consequences, but how often do our reactions tend to be on either
extreme.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are times when we live in
the extremes will get us into trouble and not be able to see the picture
clearly or respond appropriately.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often
when we hear or see evil, is our response appropriate to what is said or done,
or how often do we blow things out of the proportion.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We tend to break out the pitchforks and gain the
mob mentality against said evil and our actions become just as aberrant as the original
sin.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Pick a topic any of todays topic
that gets people blood flowing, whether it is mass shootings vs the 2<sup>nd</sup>
Amendment, or government sponsored health care, vs fiscal responsibility and
small government.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Each side tends to
pick up their pitchforks and attacks the other side like they are a bunch of
clueless idiots who belong in a different century or just need to be voted off the
island.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These issues need to be
discussed and dealt with properly, but I was taught by my mom calling someone a
poopy head or butt sniffer is not the best way to go about business.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Maybe we need to learn how to attack the argument
and not the person, but so often we demonize the person for the beliefs they
hold and don’t address the issues at hand. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The flip
side to NT Wrights observation is the idea that when evil does happen, we
become so numb to it, that we just don’t care.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>We become like Eeyore, and drudge along thinking that we can’t change
anything.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As Christians, this often
leads to the prayer for Jesus to return by the end of the day or for Him to take
us home immediately.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is essentially
throwing in the towel and saying that my God isn’t big enough, strong enough or
willing to change things here on earth so we want Him to get us out of this hell
hole.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This often leads to apathy and not
care about anything except for getting what is ours and what we deserve.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third
observation on evil is how often do we use the distraction factor.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As parents, how often do you distract the
kids around Christmas time so you can go hide and or wrap Christmas
presence.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think we not only do this
with modern day issues, but with the issue of evil itself.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we avoid talking about what is
really going on by talking about the weather.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Most of the issues we face today, whether in education, gun control, or
health care, is not so much about how we educate, whether the 2<sup>nd</sup> Amendment
is applicable for today, or whether we have the right to choose what sex we are,
the right to end life at any age or condition or any other number of health
care related issues.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often are our arguments
based on how they make us feel or how they will benefit us somehow and not so
much on whether they are right or wrong.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
I would feel remissed if I didn't mention that there is such of a thing as abhorant evil. Whether it's concentration/internment camps, slavery, abortion, murder, racism among other things. These are often generational and affect several generations after. This evil often happen when we turn a deaf ear to God the Creator and we do what we want when we want. To use the famous quote, for evil to succeed, good men (and women) do nothing. Maybe we need a lesson from German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who stood up to the Third Riech when it wasn't popular and he need up dying in a concentration camp for his stance and actions. There is evil that needs to be dealt with no matter the skin color, nationality, or party line.<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To bring
it home, evilness is an action, but more importantly, it is a condition of the
heart. Do we aim to serve ourselves or do we bow down to and accept Gods grace
and authority through faith. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Actions do
matter, just because I cold caulked someone for a good reason doesn’t mean
there isn’t going to be any repercussions. We can do wonderful things with bad
intentions and vice versa.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Getting back
to our Isaiah passage, what is our definition of good.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If our definition of good is not Gods
definition, we are in trouble.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Isaiah tells
us God does not look favorably on those who do good in their own sight because
there will be consequences for our actions. Sometimes evilness is us turning
everything on its head and living to our life by our own standards.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we are left to our own accord, bad thoughts
will lead to bad speech, which leads to bad actions which leads to bad
character. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence evilness often
prevails when become morally bankrupt and our definition of good changes like the
sea. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18pt; margin: 0px;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Full disclosure,
we can not have a discussion about evil without discussing the devil.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Biblically speaking, He is a tempter, an
accuser and a liar.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To paraphrase a CS
Lewis quote, the devil doesn’t try and convince us that God doesn’t exist, but
that God doesn’t matter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is where self-reliance
and self-gratification comes in and takes the place of God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We become the god of our own destiny and it
is all about how I feel and what I want.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Feelings are important and we should pay attention to them, but making
them the end all be all can lead to disastrous results. The devil realizes that
he has lost, so he is bringing everyone down with Him that He can. By the way,
to say the devil made me do it is just bad theology along with canceling out
our free will and Gods power and authority. I think there are three responses
to evilness that will be addressed later post.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The fist one is do we run and hide and pretend it doesn’t exist? Do we
use humanism, and try and make better laws and work to better ourselves (or
evolve) to deal with evil? Or do we submit to Gods authority and have His grace
change our heart along with our attitudes/intentions and how we see things so
that we can go out and change the world?</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-39611699057439856272019-08-29T15:40:00.001-07:002019-08-29T15:40:26.894-07:00Authentic
<br />
<div align="center" style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Authentic:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">of undisputed origin;
genuine.</span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "&quot",serif; font-size: 9pt; margin: 0px;">9 </span></sup></b><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is
good.</span></span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-NIV-28256" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">10 </span></sup></b>Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one
another above yourselves.</span> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-NIV-28257" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">11 </span></sup></b>Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your
spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.</span> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-NIV-28258" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">12 </span></sup></b>Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction,
faithful in prayer.</span> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-NIV-28259" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">13 </span></sup></b>Share
with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: center; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="en-NIV-28260" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">14 </span></span></sup></b><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Bless
those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.</span></span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-NIV-28261" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">15 </span></sup></b>Rejoice
with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.</span></span> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-NIV-28262" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">16 </span></sup></b>Live in
harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with
people of low position. Do not be conceited.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; text-align: center; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span id="en-NIV-28263" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;"></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">17 </span></span></sup></b><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Do
not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of
everyone.</span></span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span> <span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-NIV-28264" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;">18 </span></sup></b>If it is possible, as far as it depends on
you, live at peace with everyone.</span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Romans 12:9-18 </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I was in a meeting this
week and a group of us were discussing Biblical Sexuality and how the world does
not embrace or adhere to the Biblical standards on sex and maybe even
relationships.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the things that
kept coming to my mind during our conversation is the word authentic, because
this just may be the only way we can reach a hurting world and to show them
that Gods plan for our relationships is not stuck in the stone age or old
fashioned, or even bigoted, but it is the only way we can have a growing
relationship with each other and with God. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My first observation
about being authentic is that our relationships both romantically and
friendship needs to be more than a feeling.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Yes, we can use the famous Boston song as a reminder, because I know at
least with me, my feelings can be a roller coaster and they can vary from day
to day.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we base our life on
feelings, it makes life subjective.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We
do whatever makes us happy or feel good.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>If robbing a bank or punching someone in the face is going to make me
feel good, nothing should stop me from doing it and I should be free from the
consequences of doing such things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we
based our relationships solely on feelings, it makes them shallow and it makes
us a consumer.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we become consumers,
it’s about what I want and when I want it, and if I do not get it, I cam and will
go elsewhere.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I am not saying we should avoid
our feelings, but we can not let them run or ruin our lives. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation on
being authentic is that we are in it for the long haul.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of my favorite books of all time is <i>The
Same Kind of Different as Me</i> by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the concepts that has stuck with me is
when Denver ask Ron if he was a part of a catch and release program or if Ron
was in it for the long haul.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How many of
our relationships are we in is to either get something or to provide something
and when the business transaction is done, we move on.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How many times do we do this, especially with
people we do not agree with?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We either
just stick around till we either share the Gospel, there is some sort of
conversion, or some other moment and then we either walk or run away.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I understand that there are some
relationships that run their course and they are in our lives in a particular
season for a particular reason.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether
it is college friends, or people we work with, or for some other reason, those
people are in our lives for a short time.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>I am not talking so much about this.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>There are people in our lives that are in our lives for the long haul,
and those people are usually easy to identify.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Are we willing to speak honestly with these people and are we willing to
listen to them also, especially when they are sharing the hard truths with us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can either stick around and embrace the
truth, avoid the conversation or just walk away. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The third observation
about authenticity is honesty, not only with others but with ourselves
also.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we spew a message
that we may or may not believe, but we know that this message will face the least
resistance or make us feel that we belong with a particular group.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Its like living in Boston and hating the
Yankees, but secretly we have a severe man crush on Aaron Judge and the Steinbrenner
family.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know that this may seem trivial,
but I think that our culture is starving for some honesty and real talk.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I do not think we need to be lighting people
up with Godly retribution because we can, but being honest with grace will go a
long ways, even if we do not know the answer.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can talk all day about
being honest with other people all day long, but how often are we completely honest
with ourselves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here is a news alert, we
can not be honest with others until we get honest with ourselves and God.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Anything else is just half truths and
immaturity.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So here is my question, are
we not honest with ourselves and or God because we are afraid of the answers or
because we are lazy and we do not want to grow up?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I am sorry, we can not be Peter Pan and live in
his imaginary world because that world is make believe. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fourth observation
about authenticity, especially when dealing with the hard stuff like Biblical
Sexuality, is that it takes vulnerability.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>When we are vulnerable, it gets messy fast and that we have nothing to
protect us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think that when we are vulnerable
with, ourselves, others and God, we are admitting that there is such a thing as
Truth and that it is not subjective or based on cultural or personal thoughts,
whims or feelings.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we are
vulnerable, we are admitting that there is a right and wrong and there is a
standard that we can actually live our lives by.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But here is the thing about Truth, it is
still true and there is a standard to live by whether we are vulnerable or not or
agree even with it or think it is a bunch a garbage.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Because of sin and our disobedience, our ways
and Gods ways are not the same, and the sooner we realize this and correct it,
the better off we all will be. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Vulnerability means
that when we have conversations with people we do not agree with, we try and
live at peace with them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know that
this is not always possible, but we need to stop seeing the other side as a
bunch of idiots, but as people who are created in Gods image, and who are
sinners just like us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means we
listen not to respond, but to understand.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>I was in the doctors office recently and it was one of the first doctor
appointments in a long time where I felt like I was heard.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This didn’t mean I walked away with answers,
but being heard can make all the difference in the world.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we seek to understand, we can respond appropriately
with Gods grace and with His love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In
essence we become the Rick Astley song <i>Never Going to Give You Up</i> and
that we are not going to tell lies, let each other down, or give up on each
other and desert each other? </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">So here are some questions to ponder:</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do we listen to respond or are
we listening to understand?</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Do we ever have the desire to Rick
Roll people and leave them out to dry?</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Is our relationships and or
truth about feelings or is it based on something that is more concrete?</span></span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-45183169838933771092019-07-18T15:19:00.000-07:002019-07-18T15:24:56.097-07:00Grief<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Grief-</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">A
deep sorrow, especially caused by someone’s death</span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><b><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">14 </span></sup></b></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who
are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-ESV-29601" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;">14 </span></sup></b>For
since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God
will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-ESV-29602" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;">15 </span></sup></b>For
this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are
left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen
asleep.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-ESV-29603" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;">16 </span></sup></b>For
the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice
of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-ESV-29604" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;">17 </span></sup></b>Then
we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <span style="margin: 0px;"></span><b><sup style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span id="en-ESV-29605" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; word-spacing: 0px;">18 </span></sup></b>Therefore
encourage one another with these words.</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I Thessalonians 4:14-18</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the biggest stories of the baseball season so far
is the unexpected death of the player Tyler Skaggs.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It sent shock waves across the baseball
community and it was national news.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One
of the things this story did is bring grief back into the national spotlight
and how people and teams deal with it, especially when it is unexpected.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of the cool things that the Anaheim
Angles did in their home game after Tyler’s death was turn it into a memorial
service not only for the team, and the fans, but it was a way to rally around
Tyler’s family in time of grief.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Tyler’s
mom threw out the first pitch, the team wore Tyler’s number and the pitching
staff combined to throw a no hitter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
coolest part about the night was when the players went out to the pitching
mound after the game and placed their jersey’s on the mound and took a team
picture. Tyler’s unexpected death has gotten me thinking about grief a lot lately
and here are some things I have been working through. </span></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The first thing I have come to realize is that grief is
messy.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I wish grief could be settled by
a good cry, a strong hug and a couple pictures of cute puppies.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Unfortunately, grief does not work this
way.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As I have listened to stories of parents
who have lost children, grief is messy and it gets ugly.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There are good days, and then there are days where
they just want to shut down and cry because their grief causes so much pain and
hurt.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think what makes grief so messy,
is that we are confronted with a wide range of emotions, such as anger, bitterness,
sadness, and depression. The messiness comes in because we can not keep those
emotions in check and they tend to spill out into our every day life those emotions
messes with said life. </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Another thing I have learned, grieving online can be really
messy and down right hateful, especially when someone famous dies.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Doing things online and through social media
can be helpful, but it can also add fuel to a very destructive fire.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Earlier this year when the progressive Christian
blogger and writer Rachel Held Evans died from a sickness, the internet trolls
came out to play.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There were the people
who loved her and her theology, and others who despised her theology and it
seemed like those two camps were sparring with each other and it got ugly and
plenty of names were called.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We tend to
only see people for either their issue or for what they stand for or against and
not as people, this is a very dangerous place to live.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This leads us to treating each other as avatars
and the things we do and or say we think that we shouldn’t have to have consequences
for. When we do this, we tend to forget to look in the mirror and account for
our won actions, thoughts, struggles and actions. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>If we believe in the Bible and that it is true,
we all are created in Gods image and God called His creation good. </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second observation is that we should never ever grieve
alone.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know there are many ways to
grieve, but doing it alone should not be one of them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This does not mean that we should be in the
town square in sack cloth and ashes, but grieving with others is
essential.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When the Angles found out the
death of their teammate, they gathered together, shared stories, vented, and shed
a lot of tears.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether you do this with
others who have the same shared grief or you find a person or a group of people
to journey with through this time is essential.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>There are times when can share their feelings and thoughts along with
being able to sit in silence with someone.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>I know there are times where I really didn’t want to talk, and yet I wasn’t
comfortable being alone either.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is
being comfortable with where we are at and in our own skin, to where we can and
even do this with others. To use a Simon and Garfunkel song title, the <i>Sound
of Silence</i> can be a good thing and very healing. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think what being #familystrong is all
about.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We all want to be family when
life is good, but when life gets difficult, family sticks around and isn’t afraid
to listen, cry, and share truth with us, not matter how difficult it is.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third observation with grief is that we will never be
the same.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The loss of a spouse, child,
marriage or whatever dream we have held on to will leave a big wound. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One of my favorite sayings is that scars tell
cool stories, but in order for those scars to tell stories, we have to let
those wounds heal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Apart of the healing process
is realizing that there is going to be a new normal.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Chances are, we are going to look at life from
a different perspective and approach relationships differently.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I will be honest, finding a new normal sucks,
because it takes work, understanding and a whole lot of grace.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Whether it is a change in life style because
of some sort of medical issue, not going to baby showers because it reminds you
of the children you can not have, or any other sort of issue.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As much as we wish things would go back to
the way they were, I am not sure if that is healthy and here is why.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is saying that whatever event we went
through either did not happen, or that we are avoiding the consequences of said
event.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we avoid or minimize/maximize
grief it will get us into trouble real fast.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>The new normal might mean that our relationships will change and that we
will lose some friends and even gain new ones.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Just don’t be afraid to change. </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My fourth observation
with grief is something that C.S. Lewis mentioned in his book <i>A Grief Observed.</i><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>He draws the correlation between fear and grief.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This got me thinking that how often fear may
join grief and how often fear causes panic, questions and even in ability to do
things.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we are grieving, fear often
takes us down the road of questioning our relationships, how we do things, the
existence of God and His goodness. If we still believe that there is a God, He becomes
a thug that does cruel things for His own enjoyment. Fear can also cause us to
pull back, lack trust, and become a little darker with our humor and outlook on
life.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This form of fear will cause us to
become self reliant, jaded and bitter. </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let me close with this, grief and grieving are apart of life
and I think we need to do it well.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I
think how we can tell if others and even ourselves will get through this episode
or season of grief is where we find our hope.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>As the Apostle Paul laid out in the passage I started with, if you are a
follower of Jesus, we should not grieve like the world grieves.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means that we actually have hope for a
future and because of Christ work on the cross and His resurrection, things
will be made right for eternity with His return. To my knowledge, hope is the
only thing that can go toe to toe with grief.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>There are days when grief will try and be a destructive force, but our
hope in Jesus is the only thing that can get us through the season of grief <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>For those of you are not followers of Christ,
you can have this same hope of eternity with the Creator.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This does not mean that every day will be
sunshine and puppies, actually quite the opposite, but God will be there guiding
us and leading us through it all.</span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-24238765065755065802019-07-05T15:31:00.000-07:002019-07-05T21:00:25.399-07:00Integrity<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Integrity:
the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral uprightness</span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">The wise of heart will receive commandments,</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">but a babbling fool will come to ruin.</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">9 </span></sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> <i><sup><a href="https://www.esv.org/Pr3.23%3BPr28.18%3BPs23.4%3BIs33.15-16" title="ch. 3:23; 28:18; Ps. 23:4; Isa. 33:15, 16"><span style="color: #72abbf; margin: 0px;">r</span></a></sup></i>Whoever
walks in integrity walks securely,</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">but he who makes his ways crooked <i><sup><a href="https://www.esv.org/Mt10.26%3B1Tm5.25" title="[Matt. 10:26; 1 Tim. 5:25]"><span style="color: #72abbf; margin: 0px;">s</span></a></sup></i>will be found out.</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">10 </span></sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> Whoever <i><sup><a href="https://www.esv.org/Pr6.13" title="ch. 6:13"><span style="color: #72abbf; margin: 0px;">t</span></a></sup></i>winks
the eye causes trouble,</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">and a babbling fool will come to ruin.</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">Proverbs 10:8-10 ESV</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How many of us have witnessed a press conference or watched a YouTube clips of some famous person issuing some sort of apology for
something they said or did.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>These clips usually
end with some sort of phrase of “this isn’t really who I am as a person” or “how
they will try and do better in the future”.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>It seems like most of the apologies are scripted, insincere, and more
about damage/image control than being actually sorry for said stupid actions or
speech. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Sports columnist Rick Riley penned
a satire column a number of years back giving athletes a guide on how to apologize
for their said transgression and how they were going to be better people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I know we are all people and we all do and
say stupid things, and we need to own up to them without giving some sort of
canned and insincere apology.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We have to
do better than doing or saying something and then just asking for forgiveness
later, because when we do this, are we really sorry?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think this issue might have something to do
with our integrity and how we live our life.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -30pt;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: -30pt;"> </span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-indent: -30pt;">One of the more popular definitions
of integrity is what are we doing when no one is looking.</span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: -30pt;"> </span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-indent: -30pt;">There is truth in this definition and I think
it tries to make our personal and public life a little more streamed lined and
that we do not come off as a hypocrite.</span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px; text-indent: -30pt;"> </span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; text-indent: -30pt;">I
think one who strives to live a life of integrity cares for not only what they
do when no one is watching or listening, but takes these things into consideration
and lives them out also.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -30pt;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
first one is the idea that our intentions matter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The classic question is that if our
intentions are good, but we still do the wrong thing, are we still good.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, if we steal from drug dealers to
give money to those who are needy and that have been affected by addiction, we
don’t have to do any jail time because our intentions were pure and we actually
helped people.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Doing something wrong, no
matter how good our intentions are, is still wrong unfortunately.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is something that I have struggled with
because in one aspect, it takes out vigilanty justice of <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>us giving people what we think they
deserve.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Knowing myself, I know I can be
really biased towards people both for the good and bad, and it is often because
I wear rose colored glasses and I know I am not the only one who struggles with
this.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We tend to take sides based on who
we like and our own biases.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can not
always judge intentions because we do not know what the other person is
thinking and how often people put out smoke screens to hide what they are
really thinking or what their real intentions are.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Throughout all of Scripture, it reminds us
that as people we may look at outward actions, but God looks at the heart.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can not use a smoke screen with God, and
knows what our true motives and actions are and we reveal them.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -30pt;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
second part about integrity is that how often do we do the right thing, but for
the wrong reason.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Even doing the right
thing for the wrong reason is still wrong, because it often us meant for some
sort of personal gain.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>How often do we
do something for the pat on the back, or to get some favor, or just to make
ourselves look better.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This is more
about the show and lest about the go and it makes us a used sales car
person.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The only reason integrity and
character is in our vocabulary is because when we use those words, it makes us appear
better than what we really are? .When we have to start justifying our actions
to God, ourselves, and even others, we might have a problem.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we start justifying, we tend to care
more about our own wants, feelings and whims. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Some guy named Jesus calls this being a white
washed tomb.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We can look all pretty on
the outside but we are dead and rotting on the inside and we stink spiritually
and morally. Eventually it will catch up with us. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -30pt;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The
third idea is that when start to do what we want and justifying it, it means
that absolute Truth and morality are being thrown out the window.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When we are left to our own whims, morality and
absolute truth becomes subjective, integrity doesn’t really matter.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This means that life is a free for all and we
can do whatever we want to when we want to.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Call me old fashioned, but integrity that is not based on something that
is not true and always changing<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>isn’t integrity,
but arrogance.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>It is arrogance thinking
that we know how to live our lives and how dare other people tell us how we should
live our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>To wrap it up, some guy
by the name of Jesus told us that He was the way, the truth and the life, and
that not one gets to the Father but through Him.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In essence, our integrity is rooted
in the Truth of Jesus and who He says He is, and because Jesus is the dedfinition and embodiment of objective Truth and He never changes. </span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Questions:
</span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Is our integrity based on whims or a
set standard?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -30pt;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>When
we do something wrong, are we sorry for the action or for getting caught?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 20.25pt; margin: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -30pt;">
<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Even
though its wrong, what makes the subjective lifestyle so appealing?</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4607890337399115461.post-3150695709859480822019-06-06T13:21:00.000-07:002019-06-06T13:21:29.916-07:00Hope
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Hope</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">:
<b>a feeling of expectation, and a desire for a certain thing to happen</b> </span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">7 </span></sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> Sing to the </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">L</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">ord</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> with thanksgiving;</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">make melody to our God on the lyre!</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">8 </span></sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> He covers the heavens with clouds;</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">he prepares rain for the earth;</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">he makes grass grow on the hills.</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">9 </span></sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> He gives to the beasts their food,</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">and to the young ravens that cry.</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">10 </span></sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> His delight is not in the strength of
the horse,</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">11 </span></sup><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> but the </span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">L</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">ord</span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"> takes pleasure in those who fear him,</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;">in those who hope in his steadfast love.</span></span><span style="color: #514d47; letter-spacing: 0.15pt; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Psalms
147:7-11 ESV </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here
is a question for you all to start off with, if we did not have hope, would
life be worth living.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We all have hope
in something or for something because hope often brings meaning and certainty to
our lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We hope in God that He loves
us that He will provide for us.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We hope
that our significant others will be there at the end of the day for us or that
our children will be better than we are.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Or that the Twins will keep winning and won’t find some way to epically
crash their way out of the playoffs.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So let’s
explore hope and find out if it is different than optimism.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Let’s start with one of my favorite movie
quotes from <i>The Shawshank Redemption</i> with Morgan Freeman and Tim
Robbins.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">“Remember
Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best thing, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">And
no good thing ever dies”- Andy Dufresne</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So here
is my first question, is hope really the best thing.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I do admit that hope is important and life would<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>be really boring and even pointless if we did
not hope in or for something.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I am
reminded of what the Apostle Paul has to say in I Corinthians 13, that faith, hope
and love remain and the greatest of those three is love.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think what the Apostle Paul is reminding Andy,
Red, and the rest of us is that hope is important, but our hope and faith
should come out of our love for God and others.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Love is central to who God is and show He interacts with His creation. Our
response should be that the basis of everything we do is out of love for God
and Gods creation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>This love can only
come from God, because our love is fickle and narcissistic.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Eventually our love will dry up and we will
end up a grumpy old person who yells at people to get off their lawn.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Gods love is the only reason we can have true
hope and have faith. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My second
question is that are there two different types of hope?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>What I mean by this is there is the hope that
God gives that will never default or fail us and then there is human hope.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We hope that the big free agent signing will
lead our team to the promise land, or that the new job will provide financial
security for the family, or that a change of scenery will change our attitude.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Here is the thing of it though, athletes will
underperform, get hurt or there will be a better team, there is nothing wrong
with taking the higher paying job, but if it is just a cash grab for toys and
status, no amount of money will make us secure or happy, and often a change in
attitude requires more of a change in perspective than a change in scenery.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>So are the things we chase have eternal value
or are they here today and gone tomorrow? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My third
question is, what is the different between hope and optimism?<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I look at it this way, this is where hope
and faith mingle together.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>True hope is
based on something concrete and is often based on relationship.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>One can have hope because the one that made
the promise has come through before and their word is true.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can hope that the sun rises in the east
because that is what it does and it never alters.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>The same is with God, we have the Bible and
the story of the living saints to know how God is faithful.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can hope in God will come through now and
in the future because He has in the past.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Optimism is different because we have nothing to base it on, or we are wishing
that it will happen, but there is no guarantee it will come true.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can be optimistic that it will be nice out
on my birthday in October, but I have not concrete evidence it will be.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I relate optimism to a four year old being on
a sugar high, it may be fun, free flowing and all fun and games in the moment,
but eventually there will be a crash and it will be very ugly and messy with a
lot of clean up and maybe even some damage control. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My
fourth question is that does our hope cause us to look forward? <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>As Christians, we all hope for heaven and that
is a good thing to hope for and it will come true.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>But here is the thing, are we so heavenly
minded that we are no earthly good.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Heaven is a place where things will be put back in order, but here is
the thing, hope begins the process now of transformation.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>True hope means that I don’t have to stay a
jerk, and that I can love those who are jerks back to me.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Now I am all for healthy boundaries, but
Godly hope means that Gods grace is big enough to change us now to become more
Christ like.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Call it spiritually
maturity, sanctification, growing in grace or what ever other name people call
it, the point is, true hope is allowing God to change us, even the parts we don’t
want Him to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>My fifth
and final question is that can an authentic hope only come through valleys and
trials? <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>There is a quote from a book I
read by Jurgen Multmann which is “Lamenting is grief that is anchored in hope.”
There are such things as Godly grief and lamenting and they each deserve their
own space but they both play into Godly hope.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>Here is my observation, the people who often have the unshakable and unmovable
hope have been through hell and back.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>We
al have heard stories and know people who have been punched in the gut, and
have seen or experienced things that no person should ever experience, yet they
still believe in the goodness of God and His plan for their lives.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I think we are really vulnerable in these
situations and forces us to put up or shut up.<span style="margin: 0px;">
</span>These situations force us to take a look at what we really believe and
sort out what needs to be developed and held on to, what really is not that
important, and to find those things that just need to go away. </span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I
will close with this story.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Horatio
Spafford is the author of the Hymn <i>It is Well with My Soul</i> and the basis
for this hymn is after loosing all of his property in the great Chicago Fire of
1871, he sent his family by boat over to Europe for a little R&R and to
assist in the ministry of the famous evangelist/preacher D.L. Moody and he was
going to join them after he finished up some things in Chicago.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>During the trip over, the boat sank and his
wife was the only one who survived from his family.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>After receiving the news Horatio got on the
next ship to head to Europe and he asked the captain to sail by the place where
his children perished.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>After sailing
past the spot of the wreckage, he could of told God off, but instead he penned his
famous hymn.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>In closing, here is the
third verse of that hymn and the real reason we have hope.</span></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My
Sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought</span></i></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">My
sin, not in part, but the whole</span></i></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Is
nailed to the cross and I bear it no more, </span></i></div>
<br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Praise
the Lord, Praise the Lord o my soul</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Questions to Ponder</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Is our hope based on what we can do our what God can
do through us?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Is our hope based on just getting out of our mess, or
being transformed into a new creation?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">What are those things that we rely or hope in that
eventually fail us or leave us out to try?</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">How does hope and trust go together?</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>hittinggthelongballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07398732079383144980noreply@blogger.com0