my faith is not a cage. my faith is a catapult to see a world beautifully composed of differing people and opinions.
my faith is not a crutch. my faith is a catalyst in my everyday interactions with people and situations.
to care more. to love more. and to serve more.
to judge less. to hurt less. and to be jerk less.
reblogging from my personal tumblr. yeahhh, I did it.
//chet
Belinda Carlisle was onto something.
This post was originally much longer, with an introduction paragraph and a funny anecdote about Michael Ian Black and his painfully honest standup routine on how he (and the rest of the world) views Christians. More of this in a follwoing post. I’m reexamining things in my life and stepping out of my Christian comfort zone. It’s a humbling experience to view ourselves from the outside. It isn’t always pretty. Even more humbling is experiencing the emptiness in the people around us. Have I/we forgotten this? So I’ll jump right in:
How are we to expect our friends to grasp a perfect God in an imperfect world?
Rhymes with Streams.
Dreams.
We talk about dreams a lot, but I am not talking about dreams we have when we sleep. These dreams I speak of take place when were awake.
These dreams in your life may be labeled by you as aspirations, or maybe its just the end goal of your passions. Hobby might even be the word that comes to mind when I start talking about dreams, aspirations, or passions and the elements that fall under such titles.
Today, unlike tomorrow (well…maybe tomorrow), I will be proposing a train of thought that you may or may not want to jump on. The ride is free (of money), but it will cost you a few active, lively brain cells.
Do you know what its like to have a dream? Do you have a dream right now? Do you know the feeling of seeing exactly where you want to be, but not exactly how to get there? Do you believe with all your heart that your dream is from God, but still don’t see how you are going to there from where you are right now? Well you are not alone. Nope, not at all.
Obviously the reason you see where you’re going, but not how you will arrive there from where you are is because of faith. The author of Hebrews reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God. When God gives us dreams it is not for us to see where were going and then say “Peace out God! Thanks for the dream!”, but it is rather for us to see where were going and then place all of our faith in Him to guide us.
Dreams never become reality over night. Dreams become reality over a lifetime of faith in God. Many of us have either had this dream our entire lives it seems, or at least since very shortly after encountering God in a life-changing, eye-opening way. **AT THE END OF THIS BLOG IS A THOUGHT INSERTED HERE**
Moses is no exception. He is only 5 or 6 sentences into his first encounter with God (at the burning bush) when God gives him the picture of where he’s going. God tells Moses who he is, then what He hears from His people, and then tells him about this land that “flows with milk and honey”. This land is the Promised Land. Moses is probably only a couple minutes into his first encounter with God when he is already given a glimpse into to what God has in store for him.
I must note that from this initial encounter Moses and God continue having encounters until the day of Moses’ death.
We are very familiar with all the crazy steps that Moses takes from this burning bush experience. From the signs and wonders he shows Pharaoh to the plagues to the Red Sea splitting, all this crazy stuff. Moses was shown where he was going and then the rest was him putting all of his faith in God for the journey to get there. Unfortunately for Moses, he never reached the Promised Land due to poor choices made on his part (like disobeying God, that’s a big no-no).
A dream is nothing until it is lived with 100% faith in God. Don’t ever question where you are just because you don’t see how this will get you on the path to where you’re goin. If you are confident that you are where God wants you to be, then believe me, this is a huge step in being on the right path to get to where you’re going.
//Andrew
**My personal opinion is that God gives us this dream when He creates us, or when He originally thought of us. This means that when we receive it, it was really there all along the only difference is we are now seeing it.(This is at the bottom to emphasize the fact that this is only a thought of mine, and it doesn’t add or take away from this blog)**
"Nuclear Family. Nuclear War?"
On the Bridge 9 Records message boards there was a thread titled, “What Made You Decide to be Straight Edge.” Or something like that. It was a relatively new thread but there were already several pages of responses. I said my piece about being sick of all the Christians I went to high school with drinking and partying and then I went back to read other people’s responses.
It was beyond sad how many people claimed edge because of families ripped apart by drugs and alcohol. Fathers that went in and out of prison. Mothers who committed suicide. Brothers who died in drunk driving related accidents. Sisters who threw their life away for the party scene. Now, I could write about the dangers of substances. But you know that. I could write about how claiming edge is great but faith is even greater. But you know that too.
I do want to write about something that I and so many others take for granted: family. I was raised in an obscure family setting where both of my parents loved each other, we sat around a dinner table every night and ate and talked, I never once went to afterschool care or played more than one sport and when I did, my dad coached and my mom was at the games. We rarely watched television and I never played video games. One hundred percent of my mom’s salary went to paying for me and my sister’s Christian school education-which I hated then but am grateful for now- and my dad was almost always home before dark.
There is a difference between religiously oppressive and spiritually supportive. We were the latter. We were weird.
Your family may not have been like that and may have been great. Every family is different but the point is: we were a family. We are a family.
Yesterday, our minister gave another, per usual, amazingly down to earth lesson about prayer. There was an invitation. My mom went forward. This was strange because for me, I know no other person who spends more time on her proverbial knees than my mom; a “prayer warrior” by definition. I grew up watching her (and my dad) pray. As a kid, it frustrated me to no end that we would spend the ENTIRE 30-45 minute drive to school in prayer. But I watched and I listened and I learned.
And when I saw her go forward, knowing that of all the people seeking prayer this Sunday, it should be me; I broke down. And I am not a natural crier. Not since, Air Bud.
After spending sometime with the youth of our church, from 5k to 12th grade, I can see an immense difference in kids who have different home lives. The Word has much to say about families, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers. I know of the few people that read this, most have grown up in great families. Don’t take that for granted. That is all. Nothing theologically deep or profound. Just that.
//chet
*The title comes from an old punk song I remember digging when I was in middle school. Can’t remember who it’s by though.
The "God Card."
Every where around us people are using the “God Card.” Whether it’s ending/entering/avoiding relationships or justifying heinous crimes or wars, the God Card is the ultimate ticket in/out/around/and everything in between any situation imaginable. The subject matter of “prophecy” in the modern world is something I have been wrestling with for quite sometime. Digging through Scripture. Watching people around me. Listening to those who claim to have a prophetic voice and ear.
In my time in the Word, I find it fascinating the amount of structure given to this Spiritual gift. The amount of painstaking writing given to how dangerous those who falsely use it are. This is serious business. The amount of time spent emphasizing the importance of Love over all the spiritual gifts. Nevertheless the prophetic voice remains there. It’s in the Bible and has a purpose.
For me personally, and I emphasize the personally, I think the Biblical notion of prophecy has been tainted by the overuse and more importantly misuse by the “crazies” out there. Crazies who drop the terms “prophetic dream” ”prophetic word” “prophetic worship” ”prophetic vision” at the drop of a hat. It takes the God inspired awesomeness out of it.
The crazies who use “God’s voice” as a way to skirt around relationships. Crazies who continue to predict the future and continue to be wrong.
The crazies who have manipulated “God’s voice” to pursue personal feelings and desires…HEY THAT’S ME!
There is an excellent article on Relevant Magazine’s web page by Andrew Schwab on the phrase, “But God told me…” It has helped me gather my own thoughts and see them stated coherently in written form.
“Wouldn’t life be easy if God just opened the clouds and told us the answers to these questions every time we were stressed? But most times we don’t get an audible answer. Other times we receive the answer we don’t want to hear, not through a “word” but through circumstances.
“One problem with any ‘God told me’ statement is it becomes immediately divisive. Someone says that God told them that you’re not doing this or that right. Well, if you disagree then you are immediately placed in opposition to God; or at least that person’s view of what God’s will is.”
Now, let me say this, in conclusion: I do believe that God can speak to us. He can do anything he wants, of course. I just don’t think it’s nearly as often as people claim, as evidenced by all the misuse and failed prophetic claims.”
But I would be doing you an injustice if I only picked a single quote or tried to sum it up. Please, go read it. No matter what sentiments you have on the matter. I’m still wrestling.
Read it HERE.
//chet
Grace is anarchy.
Grace is anarchy.
Chew on that for a moment. Go ahead. This blog will be here when you get back.
Paul wrote, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are no longer under the law but under Grace.”
Grace is anarchy. Complete and total freedom from the tyranny of sin. Freedom from sin and freedom from guilt. This is liberation theology. Grace is for us what the exodus was for the enslaved and oppressed sons of Abraham.
Our sin is our Egypt. Grace is our fire in the sky.
We often talk of Grace, but even the most “relationship-over-religion” preaching pastor will spend more time on the “catch-22” of the following verses: to live righteously. It makes one wonder…
“Is there Grace for me?” the sixteen year old who just had an abortion and to ashamed to tell the very people who are supposed to be Christ to her in this world.
“Is there Grace for me?” the quiet and well behaved kid who is addicted to pornography but too afraid to hurt his reputation.
“Is there Grace for me?” the kid who had always thought himself better than the porn addict or the desperate teenage girl but realized he is no better, and none worse, than the two.
There is Grace! It is sufficient!
and “sin will no longer have dominion over you.”
It is not a commandment, but a promise. And it is anarchy.
To become a slave to righteousness is not an impossible challenge from a God waiting to prove you wrong, but a privilege
to accept our faults
to renounce shame
and to move on.
I often asked myself if my acceptance of God’s Grace and brief swim in baptismal waters counted, since I continued to sin. Surely not, I thought. But this conclusion was fallacious and based on a misunderstanding of the anarchy of Grace. God’s grace is sufficient and it set me free.
Yet there are those who believe their sins are too great. This is contrary to the God of Grace whom Paul wrote “wants to save EVERYBODY.”
The liar. The thief. The whore. The addict. The arrogant. The worthless. The rich. The poor. The murderer. The sick. The hurt. The joyful. The you. The me.
God does not remember your sins. Brush your soldiers off.
Embrace the anarchy.
//chet
The Hope (these six words)
“The hope I have in Jesus.”
Such a simple phrase. Nothing too profound or deep…on the surface.
Its more than a phrase to me, more than a sentence to me.
These six words are the padding that protects me from the fall of a bad day. This bad day might consist of: me messing up & feeling guilty, or me being the blunt end of someone elses mess up & feeling hurt.
This line scrolls through my mind and I find peace. The chaos inside settles and my breathing becomes normal again.
Why?
When I see these six words in my mind, it is not like everything is all of sudden made better. It is where I let these six words take me if I chase them.
Aboard this six word train there are some stops that I always make, but others that are always new. Lets take a look shall we. I hate to call these stops I always make routine or basic, because they are very important stops. I almost always first remember what Jesus did for me, a Gentile, a sinner. He came to this earth and died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for my sins. Through Him I have life, eternal. That’s comfort.
The next stop is the love that God has for me. He sees me as one of His own, and cares for me in every way. The small things and the big things, He cares for them.
After these first two stops I then head in a direction that will take me where I need to be for that day or week.
I used to never see Jesus as a source of hope. Even now I still have days where I forget all about that and try to get through things alone. Bad days come and we all have our little things we do to push through them or make them go away.
My little thing was always music. I would pop in some of my favorite tunes and just stare up at my ceiling as I lay there. This would sometimes calm the chaos, but not settle it. After I started engaging in a serious walk with Jesus, my hope slowly started to be placed in Him. That’s where I find peace and rest.
The hope I have in Jesus can get me through anything.
//andrew
I am loved. I am eternal.
I am a sinner. And I am a beggar.
I am a fool. And I am a coward.
Yet
I am a bride. And I am loved.
I am a stranger. And I am eternal.
//chet
an appropriate response to pat robertson.
Yesterday, I along with thousands of other people was enraged at Pat Robertson’s comments about Haiti in this time of turmoil. I posted an article and status update on facebook about his comments in which I said, in fewer words, that Robertson embodied everything wrong with evangelical Christianity. Minutes later I deleted the post. A new year’s resolution of mine was to post fewer controversial updates. And far be it for me to be the judge of such a statement. Forgive me.
Besides that, I left work angry and bitter towards Robertson and the people who hold his view. That’s not the God I worship. Angry and bitter. This is a lesson as much for me as it is for Mr. Robertson.
I just hate to add fuel to the fire of why an unchristian world would hate Christianity more. As Relevant Magazine simply put it: “Pat Robertson does not represent the majority of Christians.”
My sister sent me this link this morning: Donald Miller’s intelligent, compassionate and appropriate response to Pat Robertson. I don’t want to use Exist as a link feeder, but this is too good to pass up. Because the truth is, I add to that fire too.
Read Donald Miller’s Response to Pat Robertson’s comments about Haiti, HERE.
//chet
take some time to donate aid for the earthquake victims of Haiti. not all of us can travel there, but we can all give and pray. visit mercycorps.org to give.
//chet
