Sorry, you can't

While we're all young we want to change the world. We see the injustices and oppression our world doles out on people and we think we can change it. We're told stories through our childhood about the heroes who stood up and changed the world. Our parents want us to aspire to heights they never reached. Who doesn't want to be a hero?

I'd be lying to you if I told you I didn't want to be a hero. I want to change the world. I want to wake up the sleepers to join the cause. I want to right the injustices. Yet, I know better.

I think of David (the psalmist). He's king, and yet he can't change the world. He still screams out to God to right the injustices he sees. Obviously, some of his psalms were written before he sat on the throne, but he had still been anointed. He knows better. He's crying out to the one who can truly change the world.

I'm not saying we can't physically do things that move our world to a better place. I'm just saying that if it's our idea and our own motivation it will fail. God is good at that; making sure he receives the glory he is justly due. It's a good thing, for us, that we can't change the world. We already mess it up enough. Only God can redeem this world and he has already put that in motion. It's done and is coming to fruition.

I'm saying we've got a few things required of us when we are made aware of these injustices.

1. Crying out. Throughout biblical history this is the number one way injustices are righted.

2. Be changed. We, too often, try to change others/the world when God is trying to change us.

3. Be an instrument. I know I said we can't change the world, but God can through us. Each person willing to be used by God changes the world. Usually only a little at a time and in imperceivable amounts. This is why the kingdom is here...... and coming.

It's expensive

It's all about giving what you have. When you do it's multiplied. Therefore; it is not about what you have given but what God has done. He will always take the glory. This is as it should be. It keeps us humble and draws people to himself. A great example of this is the boy who gives the fish and loaves when Jesus feeds the 5000. This was likely the boy and his family's lunch and may have have lasted them a couple days. Knowing full well he would probably be in trouble when he got home, he gave away what little he had. He trusted God. His faith allowed this miracle to happen. Even though his contribution seemed minute in his mind he willingly gave it all. God could have sent Mana again from the sky, but there was a willing servant in this boy. He took the gift freely given him and made it more than enough for the crowd.

God doesn't need us to be rich monetarily. In fact he asks for our all over and over. I would assume this applies to all. He wants our all not because he needs it but as an assurance of faith. He knows our heart but we are physical beings. Our physical selves need to give a show of the value which they place on something. It's for us as much as it is for God. We see this in the parables of the kingdom of heaven. A guy sells everything he has to buy a field in which he found treasure. How much is the kingdom worth to you? Are you willing to leave all you have, all you hold dear? Is the kingdom that valuable to you? It will cost you all this and more. Jesus said we don't build a house without knowing it's cost. Why would we commit our lives to something without knowing what we were getting into. Recent evangelistic efforts hid this from people. We told them come, say a prayer, and go to heaven. The cost of grace is free, a gift. But the cost of discipleship, of following Jesus, is great. It'll cost you your life. Everything about your old life and ultimately your physical life will be lost. This is traded in for the abundant life and ultimately the eternal life with God. Jesus says those who strive to keep their life will lose it, but those who lose their life will find it.

Dancing in the moonlight

What would it take for you to dance?

To abandon all pretense; to buck off the rules?

Why do you love your laws?

Wouldn't it be better to dance with your groom?

Would you just listen to your groom?

Shouldn't he be your master under this moon?

Isn't the music he plays for you?

Why can't you just let him lead you in this dance?

Is it the security your leaders provide?

Do you really trust the sedative they feed you?

Do you think your groom will forget about you?

After the sacrifice he made to free you from those rules?

Will you fall for the whores?

Have they fooled you with your grooms name?

You can't really be so mistaken, can you?

Is it because it's easy, are you that scared to work?

Would you prefer a waltz?

Isn't your groom worth the time?

Don't you see how much he loves you?

Won't you just go dance with him in the moonlight?

MMMMM, Tea

In my last blog I believe I used the phrase "steeping in the scriptures." I got to thinking about what that phrase could mean and how it related to our pursuit of Christ.

When tea steeps it is immersed in hot water. The hot water, by way of being in direct contact with the tea, ends up taking on the characteristics of the tea. Color, flavor, and nutrition are all affected by the tea. The water becomes something other than what it started out as.

When we are steeped with the words of God, we take on its characteristics. These are the roots put down by the river of which scripture speaks. The words of God permeate everything we do, but notice our lives must be the right temperature for it to really have an effect on us. Jesus relates this in a parable about soil types and where seed is scattered. Try brewing tea in cold water or even in lukewarm water. It doesn't work. If you allow yourself to be steeped in the scriptures, you will be changed. You will take on the characteristics of the scriptures, and by default the characteristics of Jesus.

Discipleship is steeping in the Word. Being immersed in scriptures will color all that you see. When you can see everything through the filter of scripture the voice of God becomes clearer.

Hefty, Hefty, Hefty.... Wimpy, Wimpy, Wimpy

I don't have a lot of time so this will probably be short, sweet, and to the point. I hope so, at least, because if I wander to much it won't have a point...

Do you remember those commercials for the Hefty trash bags? I was thinking about Bonhoeffer and how tough his faith had to be. I realized that his faith was typical of the martyrs and probably some of the other giants of the faith. The ultimate realization though was that he drew his strength from the Bible. You don't hear him refer to this author and that author too often. Sure he has a few scholars to whom he refers, but it's minor. No, he quotes the Bible over and over again. In Life Together he won't back down from major prescriptions of scripture.

This is very counter to most of the sought after authors of our day. Each one quotes five others who quote each other who've drummed up five others who support their position. Now don't get me wrong, I think God speaks through a lot of today's authors, but we've got to be steeped in the Word to pull the right instead of the wrong out of the books.

All I know is the more scripture I read the more God talks.... Through everything at that point. He talks through relationships, books, scriptures, life experiences, music...., etc. He only talks, though, if we've learned to recognize his voice through the study of scripture. We must get to know him before we can recognize his voice amongst the many others.

That's it. Gotta work. If I think about this later I'll have another post. Mind is working overtime right now.

I want it difficult

Why do we continue to try to make Christianity easy for people?

I've heard Christians I well respect make comments that we should not glorify being poor. I just have a hard time listening to Jesus' many words about devotion to him and think we can be anything but poor.

My sister recently quoted verses on her facebook. "Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not aboe to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, "'This man began to build and was not able to finish."' Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. Ge who has ears to hear, let him hear.'"

Off the top of my head there are some others, also. Jesus tells the crowds if anyone wants to be his disciple they must first go, and sell everything they have, and give it to the poor, then come and follow him. He tries to discourage those trying to follow him by saying birds have nests and foxes have holes but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. The rich young ruler wants to know what he must do to be saved and Jesus replies go and sell everything you have and then come and follow me. He adds on to the laws these people already have. He tells them they cannot divorce, if they divorce they've made their wife and adulterer, and if anyone marries a divorced woman he is also an adulterer. Go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, if someone asks, give. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Be more righteous than the hypermoral. When someone asks for your coat, give them your shirt also. Whatever bodypart causes you to sin, cut it off, for it's better to enter God's kingdom without a bodypart than to be cast out because of it.

Basically, what Jesus has to say is hard. Hard to do, hard to hear. I've heard to many people explain away whatever commands they don't want to follow. Jesus warns us early on, and over and over.

"I'm not calling you to a life of luxury. I'm calling you to die with me. Take up your cross. Your torture device. Come love people even though it hurts. Throw off all that hinders. Money, pride, possessions. It turns out you can only have one master. I died so you could choose what that master would be. I want you to choose me, but I'm warning you. It ain't easy. I'll ask more from you than you have to give. Just when you think you've given all you can and can't make it any further, I'll ask you to keep giving and keep following. You can't do it. period. You aren't capable. I am. That's why I ask this. I'm capable, therefore I can get you there. Submit. Become a slave willingly to me, so you don't have to be enslaved in sin anymore."

I'm tired of easy. I'm tired of doing it myself. I'm tired of people trying to make this easy.

When it's easy we don't need Jesus. He didn't come for the healthy, but for the sick. Guess what. We're all sick. We're all dying. Some of us are just willing to admit it and admit we need help.

I'm choosing to die with you, Jesus. This Lent will remind me to die daily. I will die daily so the impossible is possible. I will die to my will so that I may follow yours. I will kill all the self to allow you control.

Make me a servant. Humble and meek.

Fat and Happy

Make a man fat and happy and he will only worry about how he can stay fat and happy. Take away what makes him fat and happy and he will fight with all he has.

Babylon (or the empire that just won't die)

I've been reading again. Go figure. I'm not sure I'm gonna get all my thoughts out on this subject but I'm gonna try. I've been reading "Jesus for President", by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw. I've had a lot of these thoughts for a while now but never got the chance to write them down. They started talking about Revelation and the thoughts reared their ugly head again.

The United States is Babylon. There I said it, but Rome was Babylon, too. The writers made some good points about how Babylon is described in Revelation, and they related them to Rome. Most of these points ring true for the US also. I don't want to get into great detail about how the US is Rome is Babylon, maybe in a future post. I just want the thought to be out there. Let you chew on it for a bit. Look it up and ponder the possibility of it.

What I want to talk about is the Church. I want to talk about the Body of Christ. I want to talk about the people in the US that think the US is: heaven, paradise, the kingdom of God. They may not voice this opinion for fear of being labeled a blasphemer, but they live as if they believed this way. I read a post on Internetmonk about "Are American Christians "Persecuted?"." I think the answer lies in the fact that we've been sleeping with the enemy. In better terms we have been intoxicated by Babylon's wine and are sleeping with the whore. So are we persecuted? I think you're only persecuted by your enemies and we've willingly drank her wine and hopped in bed.

I believe we would do well to follow John's advice. He tells us to come out of Babylon. From what I just read, the language implies pulling out before climax during sex. He has us pegged as having an adulterous affair and is calling out for us to abandon this love affair. We participate in the economies that create sweatshops, oppression, and war. If we stood up and refused turn a blind eye on the injustices our country creates; If we started living Jesus' politics the government would be fearful that it had lost its power and would turn on us in persecution.

I think the apostles in Acts were responding to the empire they lived in. They lived together, ate together, worshiped together. I think it was a statement that we're in this world but not of it. I think they were refusing to be ruled by anyone but God. I think they were living God's kingdom in the midst of Babylon, and I believe we can and are called to do the same. The early Christians stopped being persecuted when the Roman empire made it the religion of the empire, but the Roman empire stopped being persecuted by the church, also. Babylon will always feel threatened when confronted with the kingdom of God. It will fight it unless it can get it to conform, because in conforming it has become subdued. This is the fight we are all called to and this is the battle of Armageddon.