Tuesday, April 22, 2008
a fantastic poem
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master;
If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run --
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!
-Rudyard kippling
Monday, April 21, 2008
reflections on community...part. 2
what is it about getting close to someone that scares us?
isn't it funny that we are designed to live in community, designed by god to deal with life together... its all over the bible... yet, when we get close to that, we get scared... we freeze... it locks up.
is it wrong to think that we are designed to live in community? is it not possible? is the conflict good for us?
i am a firm believer that we are designed by God to live in community with others... that it is a fault of the fall of man and of our broken world that we build these barriers around us, that we push back when others push foward.
Scripture tells us that we are meant to be living life together... rick warren says in his book The purpose driven life "life is meant to be shared... god intends for us to experience life together".
Galatians tells us to "share each others troubles and problems, and in this way we obey the laws of Christ". All over the bible there are times when people come together to share burdens, to live life together. its seems funny to me how we are so consumed with becoming INDEPENDENT, when if you look at scripture, even the life of Christ, you see that life is not an independent adventure... just like a sports game, "there's no I in team".
if this is the way we are supposed to live, why is it that when we get at all close to someone, our first initial reaction is to freeze up... push away?
sometimes i underestimate the Devils handiwork... and that is definitely not a good thing.
isn't it funny that we are designed to live in community, designed by god to deal with life together... its all over the bible... yet, when we get close to that, we get scared... we freeze... it locks up.
is it wrong to think that we are designed to live in community? is it not possible? is the conflict good for us?
i am a firm believer that we are designed by God to live in community with others... that it is a fault of the fall of man and of our broken world that we build these barriers around us, that we push back when others push foward.
Scripture tells us that we are meant to be living life together... rick warren says in his book The purpose driven life "life is meant to be shared... god intends for us to experience life together".
Galatians tells us to "share each others troubles and problems, and in this way we obey the laws of Christ". All over the bible there are times when people come together to share burdens, to live life together. its seems funny to me how we are so consumed with becoming INDEPENDENT, when if you look at scripture, even the life of Christ, you see that life is not an independent adventure... just like a sports game, "there's no I in team".
if this is the way we are supposed to live, why is it that when we get at all close to someone, our first initial reaction is to freeze up... push away?
sometimes i underestimate the Devils handiwork... and that is definitely not a good thing.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
curl up...
i often wonder if God is at all happy with the way the world is working... if he is sitting up outside of time (while he is also all around us) and he is looking around at the world and i wonder if he is shaking his head at all of the pain, or the stupidity, or the people turning their heads away from him... or if he is noticing above the bad, all of the good. all of the people who turn to praise him, all of the people who turn to give him glory above the glory of themselves, above the glory of their nation, above the glory of their family, above everything else.
it had to be a hard thing for Jesus to do... to stare blatantly at peter, who would be tray him, or to stare blatantly at Judas, who would betray him, and say "Follow me", 'cause he knew they would fall. or how hard it had to be for him to look into the eyes of the people who were calling out for him to be crucified and who were spitting on him, or kicking him, or thinking thoughts of disgust and ridicule toward him... and not get that feeling in his chest to disassociate and run away, or better yet to not call down fire from heaven and let his wrath be shown and completely destroy those who turn away from him... all the while knowing that the people who were doing these things were the very people whom he came to die for.
the very notion of Him coming to this world for the sole purpose of dieing is still unfathomable to me.
one year ago my grandfather, a great loving honest man, died suddenly of cancer in his liver and up and down his spine, leaving us, his family, in a whirlwind of aftermath. yesterday i went to the funeral of my great-grandfather, who died from complications from Alzheimer's and diabetes. today, a guy i knew in high school was killed and his twin brother was badly injured, to the point of heavy hospitalization and surgery. last week i got word that another one of the guys i knew in high school died of a drug overdose, and tonight i heard of another high schooler that took her own life last week.
and i often wonder in the middle of this... is this really what God had in mind? is this really something that god sits around and looks at and shakes his head in approval, or in apathy and just watches happen and says "oh well... they'll learn eventually"?
'cause if He is that kind of a god, i dont want to serve him. if He is really a god that just sits there and lets things happen to people like this, or sits back and watches all of the hurt in the world and apathetically says that in the end it will make sense... i dont think i can do this.
it is so easy for me to fall into a pattern like that... seeing all of the hardship and pain in the world... all of the crap and hell the people go through... Jesus wasnt kidding when he said that in this life we will have pain. life is so hard sometimes.
there are times that i dont even want to get out of bed in the morning. that i dont want to take another breath for fear of it hurting too much, that i dont want to stand up anymore for fear of being pushed over and overwhelmed by the weight of my own little world.
Me and David are reading through Romans right now, and its so funny that when paul wrote this book, he wasn't writing it in response to a letter... he hadn't even been there, but it seems like he is giving so much specific information and almost addressing concerns for the hardships of Christians and the questions that we tend to have.
In chapter 8 of his letter, after talking about how the spirit of God helps and moves in us and through us and for us, paul says this small but hugely profound phrase: he says "and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose".
in all things, God works for the good of those who love him...
for the good...
its funny to see that passage and look around at the people who love God and yet still go through crap... sometimes the most un-imaginable hurt that a person can think of. and yet we have this promise, that God always, ALWAYS works for the good of those who love him... sometimes it is so hard for me to understand that... in my life i have had pain, and in the middle of it i dont want to think about how God will use this, i dont want to think about how life will be better, and how its a great thing to be in the hand of God, because in the midst of all of that... it sucks. it really really sucks, and it hurts, and all i can think about is how much i dont want to feel the pain anymore, how much i just want it to be over, how much i want this life to be done with so i can go home...
sometimes all i want to do is run to God and fall into his arms, and have him hold me... hold me while i cry, hold me while i shake with hurt and brokenness... to just hold me, bearing off the wait of the world and giving me rest... finally.
in all things, God works for the good of those who love him...
in all things...
a few chapters later, in chapter 11, a t the very end there is this passage, commonly referred to as the "doxology" ...look at what it says:
33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
35"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
36For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
i think that, God right now, while looking around at the hurt and pain in the world, hurts too... because this is not what he has planned, and because his creation is hurting... his children are hurting, but he also not just sitting there like a little kid pouting... he is pouring out his spirit, giving us peace and understanding and comfort and love and joy.
see... God knows the party thats coming, when the dead are raised, when He wins, when he finishes everything and every knee bows and every tongue says that Jesus is Lord... he knows how great that will be... for he is wise and immense in knowledge... but he also cares and loves his children... with a love that never fails.
it says at the end of Romans chapter 8, one of my favorite promises of all of scripture...
"For i am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor daemons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation, will be able to separate us from the love of god that is in Christ, Jesus our Lord."
and the God that reigns at the end of time is the same God that says to you "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace."
it had to be a hard thing for Jesus to do... to stare blatantly at peter, who would be tray him, or to stare blatantly at Judas, who would betray him, and say "Follow me", 'cause he knew they would fall. or how hard it had to be for him to look into the eyes of the people who were calling out for him to be crucified and who were spitting on him, or kicking him, or thinking thoughts of disgust and ridicule toward him... and not get that feeling in his chest to disassociate and run away, or better yet to not call down fire from heaven and let his wrath be shown and completely destroy those who turn away from him... all the while knowing that the people who were doing these things were the very people whom he came to die for.
the very notion of Him coming to this world for the sole purpose of dieing is still unfathomable to me.
one year ago my grandfather, a great loving honest man, died suddenly of cancer in his liver and up and down his spine, leaving us, his family, in a whirlwind of aftermath. yesterday i went to the funeral of my great-grandfather, who died from complications from Alzheimer's and diabetes. today, a guy i knew in high school was killed and his twin brother was badly injured, to the point of heavy hospitalization and surgery. last week i got word that another one of the guys i knew in high school died of a drug overdose, and tonight i heard of another high schooler that took her own life last week.
and i often wonder in the middle of this... is this really what God had in mind? is this really something that god sits around and looks at and shakes his head in approval, or in apathy and just watches happen and says "oh well... they'll learn eventually"?
'cause if He is that kind of a god, i dont want to serve him. if He is really a god that just sits there and lets things happen to people like this, or sits back and watches all of the hurt in the world and apathetically says that in the end it will make sense... i dont think i can do this.
it is so easy for me to fall into a pattern like that... seeing all of the hardship and pain in the world... all of the crap and hell the people go through... Jesus wasnt kidding when he said that in this life we will have pain. life is so hard sometimes.
there are times that i dont even want to get out of bed in the morning. that i dont want to take another breath for fear of it hurting too much, that i dont want to stand up anymore for fear of being pushed over and overwhelmed by the weight of my own little world.
Me and David are reading through Romans right now, and its so funny that when paul wrote this book, he wasn't writing it in response to a letter... he hadn't even been there, but it seems like he is giving so much specific information and almost addressing concerns for the hardships of Christians and the questions that we tend to have.
In chapter 8 of his letter, after talking about how the spirit of God helps and moves in us and through us and for us, paul says this small but hugely profound phrase: he says "and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose".
in all things, God works for the good of those who love him...
for the good...
its funny to see that passage and look around at the people who love God and yet still go through crap... sometimes the most un-imaginable hurt that a person can think of. and yet we have this promise, that God always, ALWAYS works for the good of those who love him... sometimes it is so hard for me to understand that... in my life i have had pain, and in the middle of it i dont want to think about how God will use this, i dont want to think about how life will be better, and how its a great thing to be in the hand of God, because in the midst of all of that... it sucks. it really really sucks, and it hurts, and all i can think about is how much i dont want to feel the pain anymore, how much i just want it to be over, how much i want this life to be done with so i can go home...
sometimes all i want to do is run to God and fall into his arms, and have him hold me... hold me while i cry, hold me while i shake with hurt and brokenness... to just hold me, bearing off the wait of the world and giving me rest... finally.
in all things, God works for the good of those who love him...
in all things...
a few chapters later, in chapter 11, a t the very end there is this passage, commonly referred to as the "doxology" ...look at what it says:
33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34"Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?"
35"Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?"
36For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
i think that, God right now, while looking around at the hurt and pain in the world, hurts too... because this is not what he has planned, and because his creation is hurting... his children are hurting, but he also not just sitting there like a little kid pouting... he is pouring out his spirit, giving us peace and understanding and comfort and love and joy.
see... God knows the party thats coming, when the dead are raised, when He wins, when he finishes everything and every knee bows and every tongue says that Jesus is Lord... he knows how great that will be... for he is wise and immense in knowledge... but he also cares and loves his children... with a love that never fails.
it says at the end of Romans chapter 8, one of my favorite promises of all of scripture...
"For i am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor daemons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation, will be able to separate us from the love of god that is in Christ, Jesus our Lord."
and the God that reigns at the end of time is the same God that says to you "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace."
Thursday, April 03, 2008
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