Staying in Tune
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD ~Jeremiah 29:11
At one point last year I gave my brother directions for putting new spark plugs in his car. After putting them in his car was running worse than before. Spark plugs now-a-days come “pre gaped” which means the space between for the spark is already set at the right spacing for the car they are made for. I never trust a machine, and so I told my brother to check the gap before putting each one in. I had forgot to mention pre-gapping to him so when he went to buy the plugs and the guy behind the counter told him they were already ready to put in he thought he had scored and avoided one step.
Obviously the gap was off just slightly on at least one of the plugs, causing his car to not run properly. We’re talking about just millimeters between functioning at 100% and undriveable. It’s amazing how the timing can be off just slightly like that and force everything in the wrong direction. Yet when that little plug is aligned to the right specs the entire car runs smoothly.
It can be extremely frustrating when something happens in your life and you don’t understand why. As a small example, I’ve never really wanted to be involved in computers but I’m good at it and its the door the Lord swung open for me. I’ve often been frustrated with my place and how I can use my skills for the Kingdom.
About 6 months ago, in earlier January, I scheduled a trip to visit my friend here in Denver. The Red Sox were playing interleague games against the Rockies and I always enjoy seeing them play in other stadiums. I bought tickets to go as soon as they were on sale. Having a job working from home my plan was to work from his apartment during the day and hang out at night.
Flash forward two months and I lose my job. I have to take another contract in Boston, no more working from home, no vacation time. Not looking good for my trip but I plug on with the anticipation that I will go. As June rolls around and I get more comfortable in my role and with my boss it becomes apparent I will be able to go as planned. Around the same time I got an offer to head to South Africa in October for a couple weeks for some volunteer work with the Lausanne Movement. Super excited, I headed out to Denver for my much needed vacation.
The guy who is to be my boss for my volunteer work sends me an email asking to have a conference call and go over what we need to get me up and running. As I am now in a new time zone I let him know and tell him I’m available any time. Some time later he responds back…he lives in Denver, not far from where I am. What would have been an hour on the phone going over some training turns in to a two hour impromptu meeting at a local starbucks. I was able to meet him, talk about God and the amazing timing, and go over the training. A few times during our time he would show me something and say “we just started this piece, hopefully I can get you up to speed on it.” and I would have to interrupt and tell him I had just done the same thing for another client.
I planned a trip 6 months in advance and the Lord knew I’d be there for a specific reason. He knew I’d be taking that volunteer job, knew my boss would be in Denver, and knew the skills I would need to take it on. I’ve been in “training” for this volunteer position for over two years and never knew it! His timing is perfect, never out of sync. And when you continue walking in His path the roads not always paved and easy but your car runs smoothly.
I’m analytical and constantly wondering what my place is or why I’m doing this particular thing or that particular thing and what affect it’s really having on the overall scope of life and His Kingdom. To finally see pieces get put together; Pieces that have been laid out over such a long period of time causes me to go speechless.
That’s how big my God is.
Clarity Coming Down
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; ~Isaiah 40:31
I don’t fly very often but when I do I generally fly at night. The atmosphere seems quieter and I usually nod off until we land. On the rare occasion that it is day time, I’ve had the unfortunate circumstance of bad weather and cloudy skies. All this translates in to me not being able to see outside the window and enjoy the view.
Friday as I took an early morning flight to Denver the skies were clear across the country and the weather was beautiful. As I settled down in my aisle seat I realized no one was sitting in my row. I slid over to the window as we prepared for takeoff and watched through the small opening. Ascending through the sky I watched the boats in the harbor get smaller and smaller until they appeared as small specks on the horizon.
Throughout the flight I occasionally peered out the window at the landscape below. Everything was fuzzy. I could see shades of green and tans, and lines which seemed to be roads cutting through the country but clarity wasn’t there. I couldn’t make out the details and intricacies of trees, cars, buildings, or people.
I nodded off for several hours until the pilot came over the speaker to tell us we were about to make our descent. Again, sliding over to the window, I spent the remaining time staring out that little window watching the landscape change. Lower and lower, my eyes became clearer to the world below. I was able to see things for what they were, no longer blurred by distance.
When we put our hope in Jesus and Him alone He takes us to new heights. Here we experience peace about the troubles we are facing. The hectic and often frustrating world seems so far away as we bask in the glory of the Lord. We are soaring on wings like eagles, as Isaiah said. My problems don’t seem so big anymore, but appear like tiny specks on the horizon, fuzzy and hard to make out.
In Matthew 17 Jesus takes Peter, John, and James up the mountain where He is transfigured. Basking in the glory of God Peter blurts out “it is good for us to be here, let us build shelters”. But those shelters don’t get built. While it certainly is good to be in the presence of God like that we are called to be in lights in the world(Matthew 5:14) and so we must come down.
As the landscape was getting clearer staring out that window it hit me that coming down from that high with Jesus gives me clarity in my problems. Sure they are the same size, but I was flying so high He showed me how big they were to Him, which isn’t very big at all. And as I came in for a landing it was smooth and I was safe, just like He promised.
fuzzy lines
hola friends,
i had a brief, but great, conversation with my friend jeremy yesterday when he visited my workplace. we were talking about the bible and some of its apparent contradictions. since jeremy is the pastor of his own community in hingham i will not speak to anything he said, but as you might assume, i am not too shy to let the world wide web know my current thoughts on the matter.
a little background to start…i have, for a few years now, come to embrace the teachings, life, death and resurrection of jesus as the benchmark for which my life should be patterned (of course i fail. of course i cannot do it on my own). this is certainly not anything groundbreaking, but when it first occurred to me that jesus actually meant for us to take his word seriously my whole life changed.
as one who grew up in the evangelical tradition, i received (not so much from my parents) this idea of a grace that covers all of my sins and that doesn’t really require a whole lot of me.
**disclaimer** i must say that simply because i “received” this message does not mean that this teaching was necessarily preached everywhere.
it just seems to me that inherent in mainstream american evangelicalism is this overarching theme of cheap grace. ‘jesus died so that i can have life, and live it however i want.’coming to the realization that this wasn’t jesus’ message was a life-changing event for me. thank you dietrich bonhoeffer!
background over.
today, i am constantly finding myself in conversations defending the view that we, as disciples, take our marching orders from jesus. there are things that he taught his followers that seem so clear to me that aren’t necessarily as clear to others. as a result i have come to learn a much needed virtue…patience.
the most glaring issue for me (and one that seems most central to the life and teachings of our lord) is the teaching that we are to love and forgive our enemies, not only on a personal level but on a national level as well. i’m still not sure how people are able to separate these into two different realms. unless i’m mistaken, aren’t all nations made up of individuals?
folks will often quote romans 13 or some obscure passage in the old testament (where god is destroying his enemies) in an effort to counter, what seems to me, to be the very clear teaching of jesus to not only love our enemies, but to pray for them and even serve them. many of these same people also seem to fear that i am guilty of a heresy for preferring the teachings of jesus over a verse, taken out of context, in the letters to the romans or the corinthians.
in these situations i am usually called a “red letter christian,” meaning that i take the words of jesus as paramount over the rest of the bible. i just have to ask this one question. if i am guilty of being a red letter christian, what are the people who prefer romans 13 over matthew 5 to be called? black letter christians?
now i’m not sure that can be accurately described as a red letter christian, since i hold the entirety of scripture as the revelation of god. but i do believe jesus to be the image of the invisible god. and i do believe he came to give us life and show us how to live it, not simply to forgive us so that we can live and think however we see fit.
i have learned to approach these apparent fuzzy lines with grace and respect for others who don’t share the same views as i do. however, i am still convinced beyond doubt that jesus meant for his disciples to be of one mind on issues such as these. i don’t think he took love lightly, and i don’t think he intended for his followers to either.
though this debate will rage on until kingdom come, i think it is important in matters of apparent contradiction, that we find in the scriptures, to take seriously the things that jesus taught very plainly. he is not only our savior, he is our lord. he taught us to march to the beat of a different drum. just read matthew 5-7 if you don’t believe me. we are the light of the world my friends. we far too often disappear in the darkness when we adopt eye of and eye as our method of response.
it’s time for love and mercy to be the mark of his people once again.
-dave-
Keep Digging
Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones. ~2 Kings 3:16-19
My pastor used the above passage in his sermon last week and while it wasn’t so much “in passing”, it definitely wasn’t the focal point of his message. Yet, like that piece of sidewalk gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe that you just can’t seem to scrape off, it just keeps sticking in the forefront of my mind. I wonder how many times I’ve read 2 Kings and more notably how many times I’ve just glossed over this as another story about a prophet of God doing prophet things without actually stopping to think about it.
On a side note: I have a tough time with the Old Testament a lot of times and find myself almost reading it like a drone on occasion, with my mind off in la-la land. This sort of hit me hard that there definitely is a wealth of information(which I did know already) there if I take the time to really dig.
If you read through these blog posts you’ll see evidence of a life just like yours. Ups and downs, trials and triumphs and right now is no different. While I’m going through some things on my own, those around me seem to be going through equally hard times. It’s a tough pill to swallow when you want to help those in need but need to take care of yourself too. The stress can be overwhelming and it’s easy to feel dried up and frustrated.
Make this valley full of ditches. A pretty simple statement, monumentally powerful in it’s own right. I’m in a rut, I’m struggling and grasping with issues and the Lord says “Keep digging!” I was reading this passage on the train, jotting down notes as I went, and I wrote “Don’t walk away from the problem, hit it in the face with a shovel!” Extreme? Maybe, but for me the point is you can cower and walk away from the problem or you can hit it with the full force of the power of God. Keep digging!
But digging can be monotonous and tiring. How long do you dig? When does the frustration become so overwhelming that giving up seems like the best and most realistic option? As a typical guy I want the problem fixed NOW, yesterday would be better, but reality tells me these things take time and there are leassons to be learned. Maybe you’ve been dealing with the problem for a couple days, maybe it’s been 30yrs, or a lifetime. Verse 17 of 2 Kings 3 tells me how long to continue and the answer isn’t easy: until it’s complete. He says you’re gonna be dry, you’re gonna be burnt out. There’s going to be no breeze to cool you down, no rain to soak up your problem but your valley will be full of water and you will drink. What a great picture. Struggling and scratching and crawling through a problem when you feel there is no end but keep digging, keep trusting in God and let him fill your valley and reward your faithfulness. Let him quench your thirst, for those who drink of Him shall thirst no more(John 4:14)
Out in Denver they have what’s called the “fourteeners”. It’s a group of 14,000ft mountains in the rockies. Nearly impenitrable most of the year due to heavy snow capped peaks, they are passable for but a few months in the middle of the summer. And maybe thats how you feel, if you just wait it out they’ll be an opening at some point that you can pass on through. Verse 18 spells it out. “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD”. Your gigantic mountain is but a small ant hill to the Lord, trampled under his sandal. There is no waiting needed, don’t sit on your butt and hope for safe passage. It’s easy for Him!
With the Lord you will take down every wall Satan has built up. You will tear the very fabric of possibilities. Supreme confidence is yours as you walk in the shadow of His wings. Verse 19 then confirms this. You will overthrow the fortified city, cut down the trees, and stop up the springs! That power is the Lords.
There is a beaver dam in Canada which can be seen from space. It’s nearly 2,800ft long and they estimate the beavers started working on it sometime in the 1970’s. That’s a looooong time to be trying to plug a hole. Yet they don’t give up and keep on filling it in. It wasn’t built in a day and whatever struggle your entagled with won’t be instantly fixed. The blueprint is there in 2 Kings 3: dig. keep digging, allow the Lord to fill you, recognize that it’s easy for Him, and move in step with Him as you take down the walls. Hit that thing in the face with a shovel.
Impassioned Prayer
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. ~Psalm 147:3
Lord, I don’t understand.
My heart is heavy and my eyes burn. I hear the rain falling outside my window and wonder why it’s falling on everyone. Will it stop?
I’ve always known that pruning was painful and I’ve seen some light pruning over my years but nothing like this. Your shears are cutting deep and further back than I’ve ever seen. Many it seems are falling prey to the pleasures of this world. You’ve pruned and they’ve withered and fallen away.
Satan has tricked us, each in our weakest point, in to believing there’s nothing better. He’s drawn on our selfishness and brought us to places where our desires are fulfilled. When will You call them back home? Will You call them back home?
I’m a broken man, a man who sees no place here for his head. I’m not who You need me to be. I’m afraid. Yet You call me to something greater. Why me?
I have only known some for a short time but my heart breaks as though I have known their love for years. My heart gets attached so quickly and I wonder how You deal with millions breaking Yours. The ache makes it worse. I can’t sleep at night as I wrestle with the confusion.
What is your plan? What is the goal of all this? I know I can never understand all that You are or all that You are doing, but it can’t hurt to ask.
You’ve given me gifts I don’t deserve, blessings without strings and I’ve come to be humbled. Please pour me out. As my roots strive to grow deeper help me to withstand the pushing and pulling. Help me to bear fruit in all seasons. Give me strength to help others even when I feel lost and empty myself. Use me as you see fit and restrain my lips from grumbling and complaining. I commit myself to Your will. I am wholly Yours.
Lord, I don’t understand. I don’t understand what you are doing inside of me. I don’t understand why everyone seems to be falling apart. But I trust You. In the midst of all this chaos, I trust You. Thank you for listening to me in the middle of the night when no one is around.
Amen.
Confusing Peace
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus ~Phillipians 4:7
I saw it in her eyes as I slowly made my way down the line at the wake. It’s not something you can really put your finger on, not something that you can tell someone how to get or explain when you see it. I can only quantify it as “You know it when you see it”. Her eyes weren’t empty. She had just lost her son at 17 to a terrible disease but there was life still there as our eyes met.
For someone who has witnessed this themselves, and has taken part in this peace, the words that come out next aren’t the words that someone at a wake would normally hear. They are no longer words of condolence so much as words of thanks, praise, and adoration. Words that acknowledge a God who knows what He is doing and a place that transcends anything here on earth.
I’m certainly not saying she wasn’t sad or didn’t miss her son. I’m not saying I wasn’t sad about missing my friend. But the peace of God surpasses understanding and I could spend 5,000 words trying to explain it here and not do it any justice.
Some know I am going through a few major trials right now, things I thought I’d never deal with. And it’s not easy. What ever problem you are dealing with in the moment certainly seems like the biggest and impossible to overcome. But I realize that what needs to be leaned on is the Word of God. Proverbs 3:5 tells me: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. And so I try, every day, to trust a little more.
With each finished trial comes a little more trust in the Lord for all things, a little more understanding of my place in this world, and a little more realization that He always has my best interest at heart.
A lot of Christians feel like the peace mentioned in Phillipians 4:7 is a right, that they should just have it because they asked God in to their heart one day. The verse is used a bit out of context far to often, when we only read it and not the verses that wrap it. Before it, in verses 4-6 it says: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Rejoice in the painful trials you face(1 Peter 4:13). Notice that the verses don’t say “When going through a trial God pours peace all over you like hershey syrup on ice cream”. It says “everything, by prayer and petition”. All He wants is for us to seek Him and when we do, He brings us comfort that is unexplainable. I’ve glossed over one piece of this chapter often, “The Lord is near”. How often I get in to a trial and Satan convinces me the Lord is somewhere else, busy with someones bigger problem. But the more talking I do to the Lord, the more peace He pours on me and the closer I am to Him and He to me. He is the grace and peace which cover me.
Secondly, the verses after 4:7, Phillipians 8-9 say: “if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” He says hey you know what, don’t be anxious, talk to me about everything. And after you are done put what I say in to practice as well. Don’t sulk and get caught up in earthly pleasures that can bring quick satisfaction but think about things that are excellent and praiseworthy. Think about things which bring glory to Me.
Out of all that, the peace of God will be with you. It is not a gift you just get, but it is free. If you abide in Christ, if you talk to Him, and if you keep your mind on the things of God, that peace will come. It will look odd to others, it may even feel odd to you. As you soak in it you’ll be glad you followed the entire command of Christ in Phillipians 4: 4-9. I know for me, it’s helping a ton.
killing with integrity
i saw this sign on a church yesterday: “do you remember them? do you remember jesus?”
at first, since i’m a little dense, i had no idea what the sign was saying. then, my lovely and brilliant wife explained to me that it must have something to do with memorial day.
the sign reminded me of a question that i was recently asked by a fellow peace-seeking friend of mine from school. he asked me if killing another human being could ever be done with integrity. what do you presume i said??? probably not what you think. i said, “sure it can. adhering to a sense of morality doesn’t necessarily mean it’s christian morality.” he was thinking the same thing.
i believe it is most certainly honorable to fight and die for something you believe in with all of your heart. many people who have given their lives in the name of political or economic freedom throughout the centuries have done so for the sake of others, and we have certainly benefited from their sacrifice. however, is this the same morality that we have been called to as people carrying our crosses? in my opinion, the answer is an emphatic NO!
christian ethics have an entirely upside-down way about them. which is why following christ, oftentimes, seems strange and even wrong to folks who claim jesus as lord. think about it. when someone takes my jacket i should give them my pants? if someone pushes me around i should willingly offer them a clean shot at my face? this sounds ridiculous. but it is at the center of what it means to be a disciple of jesus christ.
can we really talk about the sacrifice of soldiers in the same breath as the sacrifice of christ? is wielding a weapon of war against an enemy in any way like christ’s self-sacrificing death for his enemies on the cross? we may be able to affirm the integrity of a man or woman fighting and dying for a cause in a kingdom of this world sort of reality, but integrity and honor look quite the opposite in kingdom of God reality.
one more gripe. i’ve often been called liberal or even cowardly for having these views. i hate to think that jesus was cowardly when he taught and lived this way, and would really like to know how taking jesus seriously and at his word lends itself to having a liberal view of scripture. just a thought.
-dave-
Lausanne Open Forum
On Tuesday night I was lucky enough to attend on of the 12 open forums across the country hosted by the Lausanne Movement. If you don’t know about Lausanne you can read more about how it was formed on their about page. These “12 conversations, 12 cities” were set up to generate awareness of the upcoming CapeTown 2010 Congress. This is the third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelicalization.
Headlining the panel included singers Derek Web and Sara Groves, author Os Guinness, and the co-founder of Bloodwater Mission Jenna Lee
Some times you feel disconnected from reality in your desires. Amongst some close friends and in a Bible study I attend there is talk of getting out within our communities, about going through this world “to heavy” and on needing drastic social change. But at least for me there is this overwhelming sense that we’re traveling this road alone. From a distance it certainly appears that other issues are taking precidence such as wars, immigration, and laws. To hear Christian panelists from around the country speak on the very desires our small groups have been talking about was confirmation and a new connection that we aren’t alone.
There were a couple of great points I’d like to mention:
- Materialism and the gifts of God
- The younger generation
- Community
“America has confused what God’s gifts are.” -Jena Lee Jena went on to say that the people she would speak to in Africa feel pity for us because when it rains, they know it’s from God, and when they harvest crops they know they are from God. Meanwhile, we sit here in America and complain when it rains and take it for granted that we can go to a store and by all the food we want.
The subtler things are doing us in, it’s not the larger issues Os Guinness added. And Sara Groves mentioned how we’ve perfected the comforting of ourselves in America. It’s true that we as Christians really focus on this really big topics but fail to address smaller things that are slowly eating away at our foundation. We’ve become comfortable and complacent in our lives, happy where we are and content to just “go to heaven”.
Don’t get caught up in generationalism.” -Os Guinness I think this was one of my favorite points of the night. This idea that young people aren’t ready or intelligent enough to lead the way. He went on to say that we aren’t listening to the younger generation on innovative ways to create change and advance the Kingdom. I couldn’t agree more. It’s time to pass the torch and face the fire. Enable this younger people and empower them. Their ideas matter and each of them can change the world but we tend to discourage them by not listening in our ignorance rather than building them up and challenging them to make a difference.
Grab hold of how others see Jesus so you can grow and understand Him more. -Sara Groves This point struck me in that if you read between the lines, what she is really saying is “embrace each other, you need each other”. I took this away as the main point driven home throughout the night. It was mentioned over and over again. We desperately need to start working together, but also trusting each other, sharing with each other, and confiding in one another. We have no chance of growing individually if we cut ourselves off from everyone.
A great point made by Os Guinness as things wrapped up was this: “In modern society there is nothing harder than genuine community”. I would take it even further and say that Satan has so individualized us and saturated us with ipods, and tv shows and me first mentalities that community is almost impossible to harness. I believe in our hearts we want it but when we get close and things get tough we severe the tie and we have to start all over. We aren’t willing to risk much but want to reward.
All in all I had a great time, and learned a lot from hearing their different view points. If you can get out to one of the other open forums I highly suggest you do. It was well worth it.
