Should It Interest You

I will be neglecting this blog for the next year or so (I may even take it down), but if you're interested, I will be using another one. They will mostly deal with C. S. Lewis, but I anticipate some (at least) will be good.

Happy reading.

I've Got an Idea...

I'm sitting on my front porch right now in the middle of an unexpected downpour. I've heard that a measure of the adequacy of your porch is that you can sit on it in a storm and stay dry. Looks like mine could be a tad bit bigger but, here I was about to soak in the atmosphere as I worked when I had an idea. I live in an old neighborhood, the sort with houses older than my state's senators and trees leaping up at least seventy feet.The big magnolia across the street is probably responsible for my house being five degrees cooler in the summers there's so much shade and, in a storm like this, you see the wind in the trees with all of its violence and speed.

All of this commotion reminded me of Romans 1:19-20, that the invisible things of God (namely His eternal power and divine attributes) are clearly seen us in the things which have been made. I thought, "What can I learn about God through this storm? What does nature reveal about Him, here?" Read Ps. 19:1-6:

The heavens declare glory of God,
and the Sky above proclaims His handiwork.

Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.

Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.

In them He has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Ps. 19:1-6, ESV)

How do you think David came up with those opening lines? I'm guessing he did something quite simple: he stopped and looked. For today's assignment, I'd like you to do the same. Pick something in nature which you observe today (whether it's the sun (as David did) or the heat in Phoenix or the breeze) and reflect on what that tells you about God. Journal that out. Stop, look, ponder, record - it's that simple. In doing so, you'll be following in the footsteps of the saints of old in soaking in the clues which God has left not so hidden in our world about who He is. Enjoy.

Now I see

If someone asked you where you start in terms of getting wisdom, you know what to say, right? You know, even if you’ve forgotten the reference, that it’s ‘the fear of the Lord.’ Now, in your journal, write out what that phrase means. Your answer must be at least 2 sentences long.

Next, read through the following passages/verses and write out AT LEAST one aspect of the fear of the Lord highlighted in that portion of scripture. Take special time to clarify how the fear of the Lord is illuminated in Ps. 34. Write these out in your journal as well.

Ps. 19:8-9

Ps. 34:11-22

Ps. 111:10

Pr. 1:7

Pr. 1:27-28

Pr. 2:4-5

Pr. 8:13

Pr. 10:27

Pr. 15:16

Pr. 15:33

Pr. 16:6

Pr. 22:4

Pr. 23:17

Acts 9:31

2 Cor. 5:10-12

Now, as before, write out what the fear of the Lord is. Why is it the beginning of wisdom? How should it affect a normal day?

Lastly, write out what the fear of the Lord may look like as:

1/You go to Starbucks and its crowded,

2/You take a walk during a cool evening, &

3/You visit the dentist

I hope your day is filled with wisdom.

Psst.

I hate some of the things I’ve done in life; I just hate them. I’ve done stupid things, selfish ones, malicious things, and greedy ones. And so have you. I have proof. Proof which will blow your cover for good and, with what you’ve done, you’ll never be able to live it down, publicly recover, or ever be able to pretend to have a flawless past, unbesmirched of your own shameful deeds.

You are exposed. We all know what you’ve done.

What’s your internal reaction to this? If you had none, imagine this scenario:

You are at a family wedding - your own. The ceremony is over and you’re at your special table in the reception hall filled with your life’s most significant people. You are content and overjoyed, awash in the elation of the day and its company. Your jokes are funny, all the food good, the music - either comical or fitting - transitions the night perfectly and, for the briefest of moments you toy with the thought that you may be experiencing a crumb from heaven’s table. “Feel this,” you tell yourself, “Ponder it in your heart and treasure it there like a gold-banded tribute to the joy of this new bond. Remember this.” Your eyes are closed in contented rapture and your smile, impossible to hide.

Your phone buzzes, alerting you of a text, “I know all of it that you’ve done. Every shameful thing in life your responsible for doing and the whole room is about to be let it on it and find out how bad you can get, deep down.” As you read in shock, the author approaches the toasting mic with drink in hand. There’s no time. He starts to speak.

Now, what is your reaction? Try to put yourself in these shoes, to feel your stomach fall out, straight to the bottom. What is your reaction to the room hearing how dark you can be, deep down.

If the first reaction is panic, mine too. But whatever your first reaction would be to the exposure of your worst thoughts and deeds to your most significant people, what does it tell you?

1. Does it show you secretly feel a need for others to affirm you for you to feel worth something?
2. Does it show that you know the value of a good reputation and hate to lose it?
3. Does it mean that you know that, regardless of how you feel about these things, you anticipate a lot of headache?
4. A combination of the above?

Think about that for a moment, maybe all day. What does this tell you about yourself? Also, what does the gospel have to say to both the situation and your reaction?

Let me suggest one perspective on the way the gospel works in situations like this. My discipler in college is and was an itinerant speaker. At one conference, a somewhat corrosive young man approached him and asked, “I have it on good authority that you’ve done these bad things (listed them) in your past and I’m prepared to tell this entire room (of 400 people). What are you going to do about it?” Without a moment’s pause he approached the microphone and got the room’s attention, “Excuse me, excuse me everyone. This man here is prepared to tell you some bad things I’ve done. I’m going to give him the microphone and, when he’s finished, I’ll take it bad and fill in any he left out.” With that, he offered the floor to his accuser. Refusing, the man whispered, “You’re crazy!” My discipler, with stampede in his eyes, responded, “No! I’m free. I’m free and I won’t be blackmailed by sin.”

Resolve in your heart that you won’t, either. But, to make it more than just a hopeful wish, think back again to your past sins being exposed for all to see and ask yourself, “What does the gospel have to say to this?” It’s one of the best questions you’ll encounter.

The Limited

I got to sit in on the filming of some promotional videos featuring our LIVE speakers. Now I know why the attendees from those conferences have such good things to say about them; Deb Bell’s second session was Oswald Chambers-esque. She responded to a question about coping with the homeschooled highschooler who feels like she’s missing out on the life in a traditional school setting. Deb shared a story from her own family which she prefaced with (something like) this, “You know, we often think of God’s blessings coming through the opportunities He opens up, but we need to help our kids see that sometimes, it’s the limitations which are the greatest gifts.” Just so you got it: Not always the successes, but also the limitations.

We watched a satirical biography in church a few months ago about a Christian named Kevin who is always happy as life always works out for him. For instance, though he lost his keys, in looking for them, he found a couple hundred dollars in the couch (and the keys, too). When times were tough at work, he not only kept his job but got a promotion. Kevin’s clouds are so silver-lined that he regularly has to polish them. The point of the video was that the Christian life isn’t always one of immediate blessing, that sometimes we don’t even see how things work out for the good and it is disingenuous to portray the Christian life as if we did.

I discussed that video with a friend this past Sunday. We affirmed that it would be wrong to deny the reality of prolonged aches and unanswered problems, but that it’s quite true that everything does work out for the good (cf. Rom. 8:28-30) - and we are the chief examples of this. We couldn’t have gotten into worse situations than to fall away from God and live in rebellion against Him, yet, here we are, bound for heaven and, ultimately, worked out for the good. I saw an image online today which said, “Everything works out in the end. If everything isn’t worked out, this isn’t the end.” It gives me hope that when my life includes a limitation or a loss, God may have the object of future thanks waiting within them.

I want you to read a prayer which was in my devotion yesterday. I say read it only because it’s quite a daunting series of requests and I’d hate for you to ask God for this sort of treatment without thinking about it. Nonetheless, it touches on powerful ways God uses even the worst things we can see, the worst things we can be, for the good of those who love Him. Pray it if you dare.

O persistent God,

deliver me from assuming your mercy is gentle.

Pressure me that I may grow more human,

not through the lessening of my struggles,

but through an expansion of them....

Deepen my hurt

until I learn to share it and myself openly,

and my needs honestly.

Sharpen my fears until I name them

and release the power I have locked in them and they in me.

Accentuate my confusion

until I shed those grandiose expectations

that divert me from the small, glad gifts

of the now and the here and the me.

Expose my shame where it shivers,

crouched behind the curtains of propriety,

until I can laugh at last

through my common frailties and failures,

laugh my way to becoming whole.

- Ted Loder, Guerrillas of Grace

Middle Children

I always have great conversations with my college friend, Curt. One weekend, as we were taking a small road trip, he said this, "I feel like I was born in the middle. Like everything got started without me ever having time to get ready." For instance: he never chose to be an American or in the 21st century; have blue eyes or be the baby of the family; to be artistic or left-handed. For him, it's like he has been dropped into a play and handed lines, but never got to choose the role and let alone have any idea what is going on in the story. Against his analytical and engineering inclination, he was never allowed to figure anything out in time to be fully ready for life

Curt's situation is our situation and in the middle of doing our best to learn, to know, to make the wisest decisions we can, life hurtles at us - past us - completely unconcerned with our readiness. Here it is - caught in the middle, as it were - that we find ourselves at almost every parcel of life. We can't figure everything out and we cannot safeguard every decision from failure... or pain.

And I must think that this is how some of the disciples felt the day after Jesus died on the cross, when He was dead and buried along with all of their hopes and dreams and faith.

"He was supposed to lead Israel."
"He should have called down fire from the sky or angels from the heavens."
"He was just getting going; getting a following; becoming important and powerful! If only this hadn't happened. He was just in the middle of becoming king!"

These may have been some of these discouraged thoughts swirling down through a disciple as the last drop of hope left him and his plans dried up in the drain. And if the plans of those disciples had been the ultimate ones, our hopes would have gone down the tubes with his.

Life comes at us and interrupts us, right in the middle of those very things we are getting towards finishing; those things which mattered most. And it is here, immediately in this complaint, that we must notice a contradiction - we cannot have it both ways: either we can bemoan that, much against good manners, Life comes and disturbs our interests and projects OR we've come in the middle of something else, someone's project, and interrupted the interest of another. The contradiction is not that both are interruptions, but that there cannot be both a Master story (into which we're dropped) AND that our own personal story is the Master. One must override the other.

The huge consequence of my own story not be the Master story of my life is this: if I'm in the middle of someone else's story, and that Someone Else dropped me here and is working on plot and character development, then this changes the weight of everything. If my plans and efforts start to fail, for instance, this is a plot twist, not a tragedy. If loss or glory comes my way, this isn't ultimate defeat or triumph, but Him making the story more interesting

The questions all of us humans must face are:
1. I know I'm a character, but is there an author?
2. If there is, can I trust Him?
3. If I can trust Him, how does that affect the way I see what happens to me?

Curt is right, this does feel very much like we've been dropped in the middle of something else which was going on, so what does that mean for us? Well, what say you? Answer these questions (in your journal, perhaps) and think about how this changes things or leaves them the same.

I Was Listening 'Cause I Wanted To

I went to a Switchfoot concert last night. Switchfoot, if you don’t know, is one of the bigger acts on the Christian music scene today. Though they’ve been around for a while (over a decade), their popularity and notoriety leapt up with their album The Beautiful Letdown with national radio hits like “Dare You to Move,” a song about seizing life while you can.

The night was beautiful; the crowd, small but lively; and the pairing, perfect - (1) a mixed audience of racing fans (did I mention NASCAR put this event on?), youth groups, and sundry wanderers in with (2) Switchfoot’s hopeful, carpe diem emphasized lyrics and California-flavored rock. Who knows who was in the crowd. What made this potential oil-and-water emulsion so perfect was how the lead singer (Jon Foreman) would introduce his songs as “this is one about grace” or “this is a song about freedom.”

The introductions matched the lyrics; here are some of the themes of their songs:

• Life is more than (fill in the blank). Life is still worth living.
• I’m standing on the edge of everything I’ve never been before. I’m on fire when He’s near me.
• I’ve made a mess of me, I wanna get back the rest of me, I made a mess of me, I wanna spend the rest of my life alive
• (I want) More than fine, more than bent on getting by, more than just OK.
• This is your life, are you who you want to be?

What made this such a great mixture was not just that he’s speaking to Americans who hear of freedom often, it was that he started in with universal virtues and agreed upon goods. We all know we need forgiveness at times, we all want to be free, we all care about love. We all agreed with him that those things were important. So when Foreman and the band came out as a high-energy group, when they made jokes and had a ready laugh, when they seemed unafraid and free, we felt comfortable with them and welcome. We all agreed with Foreman’s starting points (love, freedom, etc.) and we wanted to be there with the band and, what happened?

We all listened to what they had to say.

And, in this, I take note of two things:

(i) People enjoy being around those who enjoy living; it’s a necessary condition. You can still enjoy life and people not prefer your company, but you’ll never have an invitation because of your demeanor if it is a constantly glum one, devoid of hope, and too serious to laugh.

(ii) Today we still are willing to talk about universal themes (like beauty or sacrifice) and those are great things to highlight in our conversations. What Switchfoot tried to do from a stage I can do over a fence or across a table. I can hold out things that are good and, if appropriate in that conversation, move to important other things which are related.

One of my favorite speakers is Ravi Zacharias. He gave a talk at a UN meeting a few years back and discussed four needs we all find in life, the need for justice, for forgiveness, for love, and for the good. As he talked, he referenced common experiences and compelling stories from the international scene. And then he closed with this picture: that the only place in all of history where we find these four needs intersecting is the Cross of Jesus Christ. The response was phenomenal. He could have approached the talk differently, but I’m not convinced it would have been any more effective.

So, today and for some of your tomorrows, I’ve got two things for you:

(A) Listen to what you hear discussed around you. People are talking about beauty, justice, love, family, mercy, and power everyday. How comfortable do you feel in talking with them about those things and letting the conversation go to God?

(B) Are you enjoying the life you have been given? I’m pretty sure that there are enough things to cause thankfulness for all of us to at least produce a meek smile, if not more. If life seems hopeless today, if it seems that gray clouds don’t come with silver linings anymore, stop. Reflect. And be thankful.