Counting Your Blessings

It made me happy that as Amanda and I started planning for 2014, we were able to come up with wins from 2013 easier than the loses and heartaches. It was a good reminder of how great a year 2013 was, despite not everything always going the way we wanted.

Of everything that happened in 2013, the obvious big one is that Amanda and I got married!!!

Naturally we threw a crazy awesome party! It's what we wanted. We wanted people to have a good time. And while I can' speak for everyone there... I had a great time!

We then flew over to the island of Santorini in Greece. Oh my goodness... Amazing!!!

Great food, beautiful landscapes, super relaxing. It was a great 11 days and I can' wait to go back!!!

One of my favorite things to happen this year was a new family tradition. Every year we do a Christmas gift exchange among the siblings over the age of 18. It's not really secret Santa because everyone knows who got who. But I had a brilliant idea this year... What if we chose who we were getting a gift for... Draft style! As one can imagine, it was an instant hit. But I couldn't have predicted how awesome the experience would be. Being the first year of the draft, we all drew numbers for our draft position. We had a big board to write down our picks, a Santa hat to wear as you were drafted... It was a lot of fun! We're thinking of ways to improve it next year. But I think it's a success that's here to stay!!!

I read through the Bible chronologically this year. I came away with some deeper insights into the character of God. His heart for the poor, orphans, and widows is evident all through the Old Testament bit was one of Israel's big downfalls. It gives some credence and background to James' statement.

2013 was a great year. I'm super excited for what 2014 has in store!

Loving Your Enemy is Hard

Imagine the moments we miss out on because we refuse to love our enemies. The bible is full of stories of people, just like us, who didn't want to do what God was calling them to do because they had a problem with the people God was calling them to. 

The book of Jonah is all about the lack of love for one's enemies. God calls Jonah to go to Nineveh and Jonah decides that this plan of God's is not for him. Why? Because Jonah knows that the Ninevites will repent and turn from their sins and God will forgive them and not destroy them (Jonah 4:1-3). Jonah knows that God's heart is to see people turn from their sin so he can show grace and compassion and forgiveness. And Jonah doesn't want to see the Ninevites receive grace and salvation. He'd much rather see them destroyed. Jonah did deliver God's message to the Ninevites, but he wasn't happy about it or their repentance. 

Ananias didn't want to go to Saul. He knew Saul's reputation and why Saul had come to Damascus. He probably would've been content to let Saul sit wherever he was and be blind. But then he would've missed out on being a part of what God was doing and what God was going to do. Ananias heals and baptizes Saul and instantly, God had changed Saul. 

"Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagoguesthat Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah." (Acts 9:19b-22)

Of course those Jews were skeptical of Saul and tried to kill him. Loving your enemies is hard. Even when you can see they've been changed. 

Peter was a little hesitant about meeting Cornelius but he couldn't deny that God was at work. 

^"Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right." (Acts 10:34-35)

"While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues^[b] and praising God.

Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”  (Acts 10:44-47)

Loving our enemies is almost never easy. If it was easy, they wouldn't be our enemies. That why Jesus added "pray for those who persecute you." Because he knew loving our enemies wasn't going to happen without prayer and help from God. But the result can be the miracle of seeing lives transformed and saved. God wants to see people healed and transformed and saved and living their life to fullest. And if we're harboring bitterness and are unwilling to show love to our enemies, we'll miss out on what God wants to do. 

Child Like Faith Reinvented

Child like faith... I had a thought that maybe we've hijacked this term and watered it down. I just wonder if we've taken out part of what it means to be a child.

Sometimes when I want to be annoying (that happens), I will just ask my wife, or mom, or... well pretty much anyone, why. Over and over and over again. Why? Why? Why? No matter what the answer is, my response will be the question why.

Kids ask more than why obviously, but kids ask a lot of questions. And I just can't help but feel like having faith like a child means more than just believing that's it' true because someone older and wiser than us told us and believing even though we can't see it. Shouldn't it mean that we're always asking why? Should it mean that we're always asking questions, continuing to try and learn more and more about God and his character and what his word really means? Shouldn't child like faith mean always believing and forever asking questions to learn more?

I think the disciples had this. Sure, Jesus would get on their case from time to time for not understanding (because eventually your questions should move to knowledge and get you asking new questions) but he was always wiling to answer their questions for an explanation of his parables. And I'm sure Jesus would get annoyed for having to answer every time the disciples "what does that mean".

Questions are ok. Questioning is essential. Because we can't grow and learn if we aren't asking questions.

For the sake of His Name.

God can use anyone. He's God. And I'm grateful for that. Because I know God has used me when in all honesty, in whatever various season I was in, I'm sure I wasn't the best "choice" for being God's hands and feet. But he choose me anyway. And I've learned a lot about God in those situations. A lot about His sovereignty and grace.

A couple weeks back I posted on Facebook:

"The Israelites weren't God's chosen people because of anything they did. They were God's chosen because of God and the faith of a few. In the same way we aren't children of God because of anything we've done. We are children of God because of the obedience of Jesus Christ."

The people of Israel were God's chosen because of God. They were God's chosen people in spite of who they were. 

Near the end of Ezekiel God is talking about reclaiming His people and restoring His Name and holiness. It's a beautiful description of God using us in spite of ourselves. 

“Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes." (Ezekiel 36:22, 23 NIV)

I like this reminder on a couple of fronts. First and foremost it's a great reminder that it's not about us. God wasn't bring the people of Israel out of captivity for their sake. It was for the sake of His holy name. When God is moving and doing stuff through us, or in spite of us, it's for His name and His glory. 

Secondly, it's a great reminder that God can still use us and do things in spite of our sinfulness. Again, because it's not about us. It's about Him. And using us to bring Him glory in times when we're at less than our best (which is most the time) should be a reminder to be careful how we judge others and should help serve us on to strive to become more and more who God is calling us to be. 

And lastly, as the theme continues, it's about God. And not people. We accuse people of doing very damning things in the name of Jesus. We don't like so and sos theology. Or their views on x,y, and z. They don't do church the right way, or say the right things publicly, or endorse such and such. We get frustrated with people who make public declarations in the name of God that we disagree with or cringe at. And some of those are worth cringing at. But we need to remember that they're our family. Like them or not, you don't get to choose your family. And if they've accepted Christ and are following Jesus, they're family. And God can use people we think are misguided, just as much as he can use you or I. 

Love. Think. Speak.

It was about two months ago that I watched The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the first time. I loved it! More importantly, it inspired me to read The Chronicles of Narnia again.

There was a line in The Magician's Nephew that grabbed me. As Aslan is finishing bring Narnia to life, and has just "woken" a group of animals to consciousness he says

“Awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.”

I wrote the line down. It just stuck with me. It made me think. 

Love. Think. Speak. 

Brilliant. 

In that order. Love. Think. Speak. 

I think too often we speak. If we're lucky we think first but more often than not, we speak. It's our reactionary speaking where we do the most damage, when we're the most hurtful. 

But I love the order in which Lewis puts these three. Love. Think. Speak. 

Jesus said the world will know he belong to the Father because of our love for one another. The great commandment is Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, strength and to Love your neighbor as you would love yourself. Love. 

In all things we need to act first with love. Don't rush to judgement, but act in love and compassion (Ya know, like Jesus did). And then think, pray. Take our time to make sure we speak in wisdom and with the truth of Christ. And than, speak. Speak in kindness. Even in discipline and rebuke, come with the love and compassion of Christ to help set the course on the right path and not to damage and hurt. 

Words Not to Take Lightly

Amidst Amos' prophecy to Israel about their upcoming exile and doom and gloom is this passage in Amos 5 which grabbed my attention. It's something to pay attention to. 

"There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground. He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the Lord is his name. With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin. There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth. You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine. For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil. Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good, maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says: “There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail. There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord. Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light— pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" ~ Amos 5:7-24

God is not impressed with Israel's sacrifices of religiosity. He doesn't want their worship because they have not followed him fully. They have oppressed the poor and innocent. There is no justice in Israel. 

Just something to think on this morning.

We Were Made For You

Amanda and I saw Third Eye Blind on Saturday. It was supposed to be the B-52's but they cancelled and Third Eye Blind stepped in. It was fun to go and see some live music. I'm not a huge fan of Third Eye Blind but I know enough of their material to enjoy myself. Not my favorite live concert experience but glad I got to see some live music.

That's not the point of this blog.

I was struck with a thought while people watching during the show. As a people, we were made for worship. As I watched people sing their hearts out, with arms out raised as they sung along to songs about hurt, pain, depression, getting high, and the best nights of their lives, I was sad. As I watched people around me it was like watching a worship service where there was no hope. People pouring their hearts out in songs of despair.

We were made to worship to the Creator but without knowing the Creator, we worship other things. imagine that passion, energy, and intensity put into the things of God; towards bringing hope, peace, reconciliation, justice, and love. We were made to be in relationship with God and worship him.