~ mouthpieces ~

Ephesians 4:29 has been burned into my mind.  The Youth Pastors of my high school days spent countless hours trying to will us to comprehend the importance and depth of the words contained in this one verse.  Thankfully (and gratefully!) for me, their often frustrated toil has paid off.  This one verse that connects to so many others in The Holy Scriptures has truly been written on my heart.  Of course it does not eman I am perfected in this area… far from it.

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." (NASB)

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (NIV)

"Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift." (Message)

People try to interpret these words to their sinful, selfish favor at times… just as they throw out the phrase "the Bible tells you not to judge!" (a partial truth at best).  This section from Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary says it well:  "It is the duty of Christians to seek, by the blessing of God, to bring persons to think seriously, and to encourage and warn believers by their conversation. Be ye kind one to another. This sets forth the principle of love in the heart, and the outward expression of it, in a humble, courteous behaviour."  The Bible is not telling us to cringe and flinch away from conflict or uncomfortable conversation when it is helpful.  It is urging us to make sure it is helpful.  It is imploring us to watch our mouths.  It is instructing us to keep it clean - this section of scripture speaks clearly about dirty jokes, swearing, gossip, slander, and all sorts of hateful and vindictive speech.

If you are going to speak for God, you BEST speak like God.        

"Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, Christians have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect." Ephesians 5:4

~ know work, know rest ~

Back to the Ten Commandments… and borrowing froma theme from a book I am currently reading:

"Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to GOD your God. Don’t do any work–not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days GOD made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore GOD blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day." ~~ Exodus 20:8-11

Rest and the Sabbath are inseparably linked to work.  You cannot appreciate or understand one without the other.  For example: how do you know what the dark is without the light?  One proves the pther, some have said.  If you do not know the value or importance of meaningful work, how can you appreciate the rest which is an important part of the Sabbath?  If you do not rest, how can your work hold the same meaning without becoming a burden?  This is of course the model God has given us… God worked, God rested.  God still works, and we work…

I am not saying this is the only and most important truth about the Sabbath… just that it is something to think about.  The Sabbath is centered around thinking about our Lord and His work in the world, past, present, and future.  It is a day to be kept Holy.  All I am saying is that the link between work and rest is there.  It is valuable.  It appears to be one of the ways we are made in God’s image.

~ crooked deep down ~

An old medieval saying goes something like: "God draws straight lines with crooked sticks."  The meaning is simple… the imperfect, sinful people around you are the ones which the Lord will use to do His work.  Liars (Abraham), cheaters (Jacob), blasphemers (Peter), murderers (Moses, Paul), complainers and excuse makers (Moses again), adulterers (David)… this list of evil activities is also the list of some of our Heroes of the Faith.  See Hebrews 11.

They all fell short of the Glory of God, as do we, but they were willing to accept forgiveness and hold fast to who their God said He was and did not shy away from speaking about it.  No one is perfect.  Yes, there are high standards that we are held accountable for working towards… but not one of us meets the standard.  That’s why the grace shown to all of us flawed believers is so necessary.

God bless the ministries and lives of the "flawed and the willing."

~ what’s next ~

Sometimes you have a period in your life that was so good that you begin to unravel when it ends.  You wonder "what’s next?" with a sense of dread or impending disappointment because, in your mind, nothing could ever stack up to what you have just been blessed with.  Let’s put it in plain language… You doubt.  You experience twinges of unbelief.  This is not a good mindset.

Of course, the end of something good is worth grieving over, and the fact that your doubt is wrong thinking does not in any way lessen the value of what is lost.  But it can’t remain your mental direction if you are to stay healthy.  Physically?  Sure.  Spiritually and emotionally?  Without a doubt.

What is coming next may not be the green pastures you just came from, but it is the land that God wants you in… so long as you are walking where He leads you.  Remaining past your time is just as pointless as wandering off to sulk somewhere south of God’s destination for you.  Go where He sends you.  No matter the location, you are guaranteed that you will have a Guide and Companion who is sure of the route.

Allow for change.  Pretend for a moment that you are not the center of the universe and you may just find out that you are, indeed, not.  Be willing to trust that God’s plans are exactly what is best for you… they are "what’s next."

~ good ~

I write a lot of melancholy stuff.  Some of the topics have been haunting me for years… not this one.  This one is new and light.  Upbeat and uncharacteristically un-thought-out.  It is ok to be happy, in fact, most normal people find it quite enjoyable (even desirable!) to be happy.  So I will attempt to try it on for size.  Sure, I joke a lot and use sarcasm as a sixth sense… but that isn’t the same as "happy."  Humorists are often the saddest people you will ever meet.  But before I go down that road too far, here’s what I wanted to write about:

Goodness should be a part of the Christian’s life.  Or perhaps more acurately, the recognition of goodness should be.

People complain about the rain… we often associate the rain with trials in our lives and use it for an analogy of general badness.  Today, I am thankful for the rain — as God causes it to fall on the righteous and the wicked alike; as it reminds me that God will never again flood the entire earth; as I remember who sends it.  I live in Oregon, so of course I am also thankful for the green around me, which the rain is partly to thank for.  Ben and Robin Pasley wrote:

"Many men will drink the rain
And turn to thank the clouds
Many men will hear You speak
But they will never turn around" 

I want to give praise where it is due.  The clouds are not responsible any more than the invisible (and completely non-existant) Mother Earth.  No, it is Father God who deserves that awe and wonder for the rain.  Today the rain is making me remember the Lord God.  The Ego Eimi, the I AM, who is able to make the rain fall, and to calm the storm and stop the rains.  That control is exceedingly good for all of us.  Jesus asked… "what is good but God?"  One thing is for sure and implied in Jesus’ question (which was really more of a statement)… God is good.  I am thankful for that goodness.  I am thankful for the rain.

Psalm 8

A David psalm

 ¹GOD, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

 ²Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;

    toddlers shout the songs

    That drown out enemy talk,

    and silence atheist babble.

 ³I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,

    your handmade sky-jewelry,

    Moon and stars mounted in their settings.

    ⁴Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,

    Why do you bother with us?

    Why take a second look our way?

 ⁵Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,

    bright with Eden’s dawn light.

    ⁶You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,

    repeated to us your Genesis-charge,

    ⁷Made us lords of sheep and cattle,

    even animals out in the wild,

    ⁸Birds flying and fish swimming,

    whales singing in the ocean deeps.  

 ⁹GOD, brilliant Lord,

    your name echoes around the world.

~ we are what we live ~

Some people are great communicators.  They can talk circles around the smartest of their peers, sometimes even if they have no practical, first-hand knowledge of the topic.  They can go for hours on hiking, auto-body repairs, guitars, politics, and, yes… even God.  Some folks just have the gift of conversation and communication, and they can sound downright informed on almost every subject under the sun, and possibly including the sun (mass, distance from the Earth, temperature, solar flares, etc.).  Test scores may reveal the true shallow depth of their knowledge, but in the real world of coffeehouse discussion… they are almost untouchable.  Perhaps it is their charisma.

Some of these people are certified geniuses when it comes to the theories of Christianity.  Systematic theology, classic authors, history, denominational differences… they have it all down.  Of course, these are not bad things to have down, but without any application or intent to properly respond to the knowledge… it would be better for them not to know any of it.  Why?  We are held accountable for what we know.  If you know it is wrong to punch someone in the face during recess, you will be punished more severly than a first-time offender.  If you don’t know, there is usually more leniency.  and you  There is a step in every Christian’s life that must be made after we/they "know" about God.  It is to do something about it.  To change our lives.  Drop the game-face and play the game.  James writes in the first chapter of his book: Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!  

You have probably heard the phrase "you are what you eat."  The implication is that if you eat nothing but junk-food and get no healthy nutrition, your body will suffer and become, well, junk.  If you eat healthy, you have a much better chance of being healthy.  That’s just simple. 

What you do shows more about what you believe than what you say you believe.  You are what you live.  Life catches up with you.  Live poorly and you will gain the consequences that go along with that life.  For those of us who call ourselves Christian… let’s make sure we are what we say we are: doers of the word, and faithful believers in the Way of life that Jesus made complete through His life, death, and resurrection.

Why is it easier to talk about what Christians believe or what they do than how they live?

Eugene Peterson: We can talk about a belief, formulated as an idea or doctrine, without participating in it. We can talk about an action, a behavior, objectively without engaging in it. But the actual way we live cannot be objectified or intellectualized — we are what we live.

~ a confession based on the original Top 10 list ~

I love David Letterman’s sense of humor.  This post has NOTHING to do with Dave and will not be funny… However, his nightly top 10 lists started me thinking about God’s top 10 list… the Ten Commandments.  I will be posting some on the Ten Commandments over the next few weeks.

A Confession Using the 10 Commandments

~ keep the color in Christmas ~

This Christmas, as many signs, radio ads, and people around you are calling to "keep Christ in Christmas…" remember these two things:

#1 You cannot take Christ out of Christmas for the believer… as CS Lewis put it, "A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell."  Jesus can’t be stolen from us.  He cannot be banned from our hearts.  To me, picketing and posting signs to keep Christ in Christmas is like going to the beach and screaming at a child with his pail and shovel, begging him indignantly not to empty the sea.  The ocean is quite capable of sweeping the child away with a flick of its hand… but but the Pacific is not intimidated, the ocean is quite big you know, and doesn’t feel the need to destroy the boy.  In fact it quite enjoys the company.   

#2 Unbelievers should not be expected to care if Christmas is reduced to happy holidays… Jesus is not the center of their lives.  The manger holds little to no significance for them.  However, it is our job (our commission) as followers of Jesus’ Way to offer them the opportunity to care, not to antagonize them.  Can you see Jesus picketing?  Ridiculous.  If Christians spent half the time and a third of the money they devote to catchy slogan-trinkets and yowling at cameras… well, they may just win some people over and change a few hearts to realize that Christ cannot be removed from Christmas.  Christians are salt and light.  Only a foolish exegesis would contend that the purpose of the salt and light is to blind unbelievers long enough to throw salt in their wounds.  Be flavorful this Christmas.  Try being a preservative.  Add some color to someone else’s life…  

PS ~ It is not my intention to discourage anyone who feels that the "keep Christ in Christmas" signs are important and worthwhile.  All I want to do is to make you think… and hopefully help you to settle in the security of an Eternal God whose significance is not tethered to a secular-progressive worldview.  The nations can rage.  Their opposition to The God of the Bible is nothing new and changes nothing in His plans.  Their campaign against Christ also holds no power over His people, aside from what His people allow.  That was my point.  If you have the signs, like the signs… love the signs… that is fine with me so long as you understand that the bigger concern is making sure the Christians of our world do not forget their God.  Believers are the ones who need to keep Christ in Christmas in their own lives and the lives of their Brothers and Sisters. 

Merry Christmas.

~ christmas past, present, and future ~

Something struck me about Christmas as I was thinking about the earlier post on CPR and the Trinity.  Good things come in threes… I have heard that before and I am not sure why the phrase stuck in my head while thinking about Christmas, but it did.

Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, was pretty powerful in its depiction of Jesus’ suffering… but I felt like it was missing important aspects.  What about Jesus’ life before His sufferings?  And more importantly, what about His life after His sufferings?!?

Thinking about the importance of Jesus’ birth this Christmas season, I think it is important to remember that you cannot (or should not) separate the equal importance of His birth, death, and resurrection.  Christmas should be a reflection on all three aspects.  The miracle of the virgin birth would have meant nothing if Jesus had sinned during His life.  His sinless life and crucifixion would have been incomplete and ultimately finite if He had not been raised from the dead, giving us the gift of eternal life.

So do not think it innappropriate if you hear a song about His death this advent season.  Easter and Christmas are inseperable in their value and power.  They are the required bookends to hold up the library of the perfect life loived by the babe in the straw.  Like the Trinity, one is not more important than the other: virgin birth, sinless life and blameless death, and miraculous resurrection. 

~ a restoration prayer of sorts ~

Lord, much have you given me.  More than my six-year-old mind could have ever imagined, sitting in our tiny home, which would soon be reposessed.  Grant me the perspective and momentum to finally leave those years in the past, where they belong.  Help me to see what is now and what is ahead, with appreciation and wonder. 

Forgive my arrogance… my prideful way of continuing my life as if it were mine to do with as I will.  My selfishness that drives me to please myself, all the while feigning concern for others.  Do I have concern for others?  Yes.  Do I place their needs above mine?  Seldom.

Erase my sins against you.  Write your forgiveness on my heart in the darkest of inks.  Place in me a thankfulness for this grace… a thankfulness that moves me to explain the process to those who do know You.

Restore my relationships.  Rebild my bridges, long since burned.  Tear down my walls, falsely offering protection.  Bless my family and friends. 

Praise to you, God the Father, spinning our world on your finger… causing the sun to rise so that we can be productive and active.  And for causing it to set to give us needed rest after many crushing defeats and tiring victories.

Praise to you Jesus the Son, for allowing your skin to be torn and your blood to be spilled so that we can enjoy fellowship with the Triune God.

Praise to you God for your Holy Spirit… guiding our hearts and minds into all holiness.  Amen.

~~~~~

I don’t know why I decided to post this.  It is personal… it is particularly unpleasant stuff.  But I posted it for all to read.  The picture is a scrap of the book of Romans and I thought it was appropriate… Paul has been plainly speaking to me through that book. 

~ Left or Right… they’re both Wrong ~

Let’s not deceive ourselves folks.  There is no American political party that is worth putting God’s stamp of approval on it… plain and simple.  Neither the Democratic party, nor the Republican party is more "christian" than the other.  Neither party is truly interested in God’s way of doing things, and although I could be very wrong, I don’t think the God of the Universe leans particularly one way or the other on raising taxes.

I guess I am just bored of the debate between Christian friends, and sick of the "right-wingers" calling the Republican party "more Christian," all the while demonizing Democrats.  Am I a Democrat?  Not by a long shot!  Am I a Republican?  Nope.  I used to be very in to politics, but I have sort of lost the taste for it.  I still follow politics, but I guess I do not have anything beyond a passing interest.  I do not "bleed red" or "bleed blue," so-to-speak.  Well, actually, OK… I guess I do bleed red, but not because I am a red-state fanatic.  You know what I mean.

I think it is important to support your community and vote wisely, with your Christian conscience.  You should definitely pay your taxes… even Jesus talked about that bit of political controversy.  Make the time to be a responsible citizen.  But I cannot devote my life to America in the way I once thought I wanted to. That, of course, is in NO way a jab at our armed services.  They deserve a great anount of respect for being willing to give up their lives for their civilian brothers and sisters.  That sort of sacrifice is given high honors in the Bible itself… look it up. 

I used to long for Capitol Hill and Washington DC.  Now I am glad I never pursued it… not because the jobs are ignoble or evil.  I guess I would rather pour my energy into other things.  And I am ready for politicians and ideologs to stop attaching the name of God onto their political endeavors.  It should take more than someone giving soundbytes about their faith to convince you of it.  And we as Christians should be more interested in and carve out more time to learn about the "lion and the lamb" than the "donkey and the elephant."  I am a registered Christian.

end of rant.

~ comfort ~

I can’t find it.  I have been looking, but I just can’t find it.  I have been scouring the bible in an attempt to find some form of justification or support for the obsession I have with comfort.  Comfort food.  Comfortable shoes.  Comfortable cars.  A MORE comfortable car than the last one.  Comfortable blankets, throw blankets, blankets that I do not use and must do nothing but keep the furniture comfortable.  Clothing technically designed to regulate airflow and vapor transmission… i.e. keep them comfortable.

Of course I am not alone in this.  America is very much about comfort, just look around.  Sandwiched between the news breaks about hurricane relief and homeless people struggling with the cold will be the inevitable Hummer commercial, where you can buy this tremendous vehicle for a tremendous price (financially and environmentally).  Or perhaps it will be the diamond commercial where the couple is taking a second honeymoon in some distant land and the husband presents his wife with a brand new multi-thousand dollar ring.  Just because.  I have no idea what happens to the old diamond ring, but I do know that husband scored SERIOUS points.

How about at church?  Leadership who avoids conflict at all costs until it is too late and it boils over, scalding far more people than need be.  Or the sermons which are skillfully crafted to preach the Good News.  Or at least the parts that don’t offend people too badly… we’ll leave out the divorce parts, because, face it, lots of congregants probably are divorced… probably shouldn’t talk too much about homosexuality either, we don’t want to be "spewing hate"… maybe we should lighten the heavy handed teaching on materialism and storing treasures here on earth, afterall, we have a sound-system that costs more than many people’s houses.  Etc. etc.

Comfort isn’t all bad, I recognize that.  God often offers comfort to his people in various ways: deliverance from foes and oppressors in the person of God the Father, deliverance from sins in the person of Christ, deliverance from ignorant and superstitious ways of following God in the person of the Holy Spirit (the Comforter), and deliverance from the lonely struggle to live a Godly life on our own in the Body of Believers. 

In the beatitudes (arguably the greatest sermon ever delivered) ,  Matthew records, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  God puts a high price on the comforting of His people… but I do not believe these two are the same types of comfort.  One is selfish, the other is personal.  One is temporary and dependant on circumstance, the other is internal and dependant only upon the favor of God.  The comfort we crave in this country is not the same comfort I see The God of Israel going to great lengths to bestow upon His people.  No, I am concerned the comfort we covet is of the lesser variety… which is also mentioned in the Bible, by Jesus Himself:  "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort."

~ he walked with God ~

The book of Genesis talks about Enoch, a man who walked with God for hundreds of years.  Genesis also immortalized Noah as a righeous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he (also) walked with God. 

Galatians talks about the difference in our lives before we "know God" and "now that we know God."

The book of Titus writes about a people "claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good."

1 John states "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."

I love the quote by Einstein inserted into his image above.  What a great way to live your life.  Now, I can’t tell you with any certainty whether Albert really meant what he said, or if he had the same affection for those words that I do… or even the same interpretation of their meaning.  What I can tell you is that I do not demonstrate the reality behind the statement in the way that I wish I did.

• If knowing God is truly central to life, and I believe that it is, then why don’t we as people act like it? 
• As believers in the Christ, the incarnate Son of God, there should be an inner drive to read the Scriptures to know our Father.  To get inside His head.  To hear what He has to say. 
• There should be an insatiable need to be in prayer, privately and publicly, to communicate our need for Him and the wisdom, faith, grace, and direction that He offers through the Holy Spirit.

I don’t see these items as vivdly in the Christian world around me (or in myself) as I do in the scriptures.  Why do you suppose that is?  I DO see it… but it is more like a glimpse of a secret reality than it is a staple of the Christian life.  Why?  What is wrong with us as a Body?  What is wrong with me?  Have things just changed?  Have they changed for the better… or worse?

~ friendship ~

So.  What does friendship have to do with innertubing down a snowy hill?  Nothing and everything.

REAL friends are willing.  Does that sound like an incomplete sentence?  It may be, but it is a complete thought.  Friends are willing:

1. To do something as silly and pointless as innertubing because they know that the pointless things are anything but pointless.  They are part of the ties that bind us together… they are experiences that stay with you and help to connect the dots between "who is this friend?" and "why do they mean so much to me?" 
2. To do something brave and lock arms with you and careen head-first down whatever hill you need the extra support or courage to conquer.  They are willing to put themselves at risk in order to enable you to meet success.
3. To tell you that this particular hill is not one you should attempt.  Real friends will try to stop you from self-destructing simply to satisy your pride or lust for adventure.

Innertubing may not be the key to the back-door of the universe… but it sure helps to keep the hinges oiled.  Thank you to my good friends; the black & white crime fighting team, the beef-stik, uncle jeffy, et al.

~ do it yourself spirituality ~

First off, I am guilty of this myself… so no nasty letters to the editor.

I love this picture.  Once again, I love cooking…  Something about the old-school cooking training taking place in this image makes me homesick for something I have never known.  To get this kind of community-based learning you’d have to spend a fortune going to cullinary school, well, at least if you want a good quality cooking edumacation.

Same goes for a solid spiritual education… you have to go to Seminary, or at least a reputable bible college.  Our liberated American world revolves around money, so it goes to figure that being trained up spiritually would cost a pretty denarius.  And it does.

This may be part of the inspiration behind the “self-taught theologians.”  Who knows.  I have noticed that the idea of a close personal relationship with God has somehow become a personalized thing.  “Me and Jesus against the world and all the powers of darkness.”  The New Testament does not present this view.  The community of believers are just that… a community.  I am not Catholic, but the Catholic respect for the universal church makes more biblical sense to me than the American Evangelical autonomous idea.  The dependance on one another in the faith lines up with the scriptures more so than the “who needs anyone else, I have Jesus” mentality.  The BODY of Christ, people.  If God wanted a bunch of individual body-parts crawling around independantly, doing His will… well, He would have been making a zombie movie (which I would definitely go see, by the way). 

Speaking of cooking… have you ever had a really good stew?  Or chicken soup?  Well they would be awful if it werent for the symphony of flavors “all in one accord.”  Water and carrots?  Gross.  Beef and flour?  No thanks.  When you have the proper mixture of beef, carrot, water, onions, flour, salt, pepper, celery, and all of the other ingredients in a good stew… and they are all in the same place as the chef intends them to be… that’s good eats.

No one needs rogue carrots declaring that they are fine on their own, they don’t need a stupid restaraunt to tell them what good food is.  All they need is The Chef.  “Carrot and Chef against the world.”

The Chef disagrees because He knows that plain carrots are only good for so long.  He also knows how well carrots mix with a host of other flavors.  His goal is a complete meal, not a snack.

So, my questions are… what happened to a community effort to grow in the Faith?  Are there still well-trained theologians teaching because it is their calling, not because they can make a lot of money at a prestigious university?  Where do the amateur chefs and new brides go to learn how to cook?

~ reach out and touch someone ~

Long distance is hard.  The curse of friends moving away just after becoming close and dear to you takes its toll.  Friendships crumbling over worthless pursuits such as pride, control, favoritism, and all manner of foolishness leave scars.  Scars that manifest themselves as bitterness, hesitancy to serve others, reluctance to trust new friends.  Sin makes your heart confused about who your Master really is and can convince you that you have no right to offer help or prayers for anyone else - you end up focusing on nothing but your own shortcomings.

God’s people are to pray.  There were no if’s and’s or but’s.  Sin can certainly complicate your prayer life… but it should not scuttle it.  The guilt and shame felt at that moment is designed to lead you to repentance.  Yes.  Repent again.  Make the relationship right then set yourself aside for a moment and pray for someone else.  Do you have a friend who struggles in the same area you do?  Pray for them… ask the God of the Heavens to intercede on their behalf.

If you see something someone needs to work on, tell them.  Will it be easy?  Are you guaranteed that they will be excited about hearing the criticism?  Is there any certainty that they will change the perceived problem?  No, no, and no.  But it is the right and Biblical thing to do… not to mention the truly caring thing.

The point to all of this is that people are worth the effort.  They were worth God’s time and they certainly are worth yours.  There is no greater distance than that from fallen Earth and perfect Heaven… but somehow it wasn’t too far to go for the imperfect people you pass on the street.

~ a simple thank you ~

I have been feeling low lately… disappointed in people… defeated even.  Today I made a decision, though: thankfulness to God.  Doesn’t sound like a decision?  It is.  Abraham Lincoln said "most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  Happiness and thankfulness are very different principles of life, but the dedication to being happy, and the decision to be thankful… well, they are not dissimilar.  I have made up my mind to be thankful… and I am quite sure God will open the grey clouds over my head to reveal some new truth — or more likely, strengthen the truths I already hold dear.  Because if every cloud has a silver lining, it can only be because God’s glory is hidden behind that cloud, and the silver lining is all we can see of it.  I don’t care if that is "cheesy."

I am thankful for the grace I am shown each day… for my wife… my job… the Word of God… for David, Collin, Greg, and all of the bunch… for Jeff and Aaron… for more than I can write.  I don’t know why I forget that sometimes.

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him — Job 13:15

~ unfair ~

Life can seem unfair.  Sometimes on a regular basis.  Read the Psalms… they are full of frustrations over life not being fair; cries to God for deliverence from unfair circumstances, rants over the apparent success of the wicked - and the destitution of the just, pained prayers wondering if God has turned His back on the writer because of the circumstances they find themselves in.

We can find apparent inequities in our own world… we don’t need the Psalms to show us that life can throw a wicked curve-ball.  Look at our ravaged Gulf Coast, or Guatemala, or the victims of the earthquake ravaged southern Asia.  Murderers loosed from prsion early for "good behavior."   A man stabbed while trying to break up a fight - a fight that was not his own.

I was thinking about that last example… I was reminded of Jesus Christ.  Killed for a fight that didn’t need to be His… He certainly didn’t start it.  Don’t deceive yourself, Jesus, the incarnation of God, came here to fight OUR fight.  The fight over sin and death that WE as people started with Adam and Eve.  Is this a simplistic example and analogy?  Sure.  That’s fine with me… it still rings true.  God did not start the fight — but He most certainly finished it.

Another example: Suffering for Christ’s name is pretty much a given if you are an obedient Christian.  Not fair.  But inevitable.  Paul promises that trouble will come to the obedient, and he proceeds to give us a long laundry list of unjust punishments and trials he lived through.  The Prophets were killed for their obedience.  The Disciples were almost all martyred.  Believers are still martyred. 

As I look at the world around me and wonder where "Lady Justice" is and how long of a vacation she is planning on taking, I have to remind myself…life is not always fair and just - but God is.  Or is He?  I am quite thankful to God that I do not receive the justice I call for on others.  The grace that covers me is not justice, don’t be fooled, it is merciful and undeserved.  There will come a day when justice is poured out a efficiently as the great flood in Genesis 6… God’s justce will be swift and final.  But we can not be haughty about it, the only reason anyone will be on God’s side and not receiving the judgement is because One Man finished a fight He did not start.  And that was not fair.

~ in season ~

I love food.  I love cooking, eating good cooking, watching good cooking on television… anything food-related will probably be of interest to me.  And although I have become quite accustomed to using canned, prepared, store-bought ingredients — nothing beats fresh, in-season ingredients.  Fruits and vegetables are always better fresh; they particularly shine when they are in-season, because that means they are more likely to be fresh.  As we all learned in school, apples are in-season in the Autumn.  So if you buy apples in June, they are not in their right season and have probably been artificially kept "fresh" or grown in scientifically engineered environments… so not truly fresh and in-season.  Unless they ahppen to be some of the fantastic varieties of apples from New Zealand such as the Pacific Rose (which has flipped seasons from us) which I encourage you all to try… But now I have entered into food-dork land and have plainly moved away from any meaning.  Back to the point… I promise I am making one.

2 Timothy 4:2 – Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

The Apostle Paul is making (at least) a couple points here. 

ONE - be prepared to preach the Word of God at all times.  Whether you feel "fresh" and "in-season" or not.   Opportunity knocks when it pleases.  Don’t wait to put your make-up on before answering the door.  This of course assumes that you know what you are preaching… so study up. You may not feel like you are "in a good place" to be preaching anything… but God may ask you to do it anyway.  I suppose relying on the Holy Spirit is more important than my mood on a particular day… right?  If we aren’t feeling praticularly shiny and fresh, can’t we rely on God’s Holy Spirit to shine through that?  

TWO - Teach and preach plainly and truthfully.  Do not censor the Word of God so as not to offend your "audience."  Remember, as Kierkegaard proposes, God is truly the audience, and we "perform for" and are judged by Him alone. People need to hear solid teachings (meat and potatoes) that point to Jesus as the Messiah and the son of God, not junk-food.  Do not tickle-their-fancies to win points.  You may gain favor with them, and miss out on the favor of God.

These are just thoughts I had.  Who knew something like this could spring out of watching the Food Network?