Boxes Pt. 2

Do you put yourself in a box ? People in church do. In the world. Everywhere people are boxed up and tucked away and safe-or so it seems. A lot of times we confine ourselves because at one time or another we got hurt. A plan failed. To please a certain establishment. We lock away potential that elsewise touch the lives of hundreds and thousands-many for an eternity. Churches put themselves at enmity with God when they box themselves up. They do it by tradition-I'm sure you have heard it before."We've done this outreach every year." "Some people in the church aren't comfortable with this...". Or the never failing-"But we have always done one for Christmas this year-we're going to have one!" A lot of churches don't believe in speaking in tongues because they are afraid to step out. Christians weaken themselves when they put themselves away to be safe. Look, it isn't safe to put yourself in a box. It produces a life that is not lived out by God's mandate . It fails to bring to life a divinely ordered plan and wedges in a chasm between you and your Creator. Israel tried to base their relationship with God in the area of tradition. They tried to confine God in a box. They put themselves in a box. They thought they were safe. They weren't and God was not pleased with them.
God has a plan for your life. It's a plan that cannot and will not fail no matter your age or where you came from. When you take yourself out of the box in what you were comfortable in you then realize how cramped you were in that box. There was no freedom in that box. You were claustrophobic. But, when you emerged out of that box and opened yourself to God, your world became His. Your plans became His plans. Your life is hidden in Christ-the only hiding place you'll need to run to. In Him,there is no failure. So, get out of that box your in and begin to live again- God's waiting for you to come out.

Boxes Pt. 1

Boxes. They come in all shapes and sizes. You can give almost any toy imaginable to a kid but give him a cardboard box, they'll be set for life. We use boxes for storage. But let's ask ourselves a deep question. Do we put God in a box? The answer more or less can be yes. You say how can that be? We all do from time after time. Israel struggled with the concept of keeping God confined in a box when all along He yearned for an intimate, deep relationship with them . Israel satiated themselves by building a big shiny box made of gold and silver,and marble. They thought that a nice curtain of seacow hide could conceal their best kept secret until Christ's death tore that curtain in half-(read the story!). The next question is why. Why do we confine God in a box in our lives, in our churches, and in our world? Pride and fear. Pride is that we don't want our own weaknesses and invulnerability to be seen by others-we want to fit in like everybody else-Israel did the same thing. Instead of being soley ruled by God, they instead sought to have a king like everybody else around them. Pride is wanting to elevate ourselves above everyone else because of a life lived with short self esteem and God esteem. Fear. We sometimes fear that if we allow God to inhabit our lives openly, He'll expose our darkest sins, our weaknesses. We would have to give up something we cherish or He may ask us to go to Africa or something of that matter.
Jesus had something to say about this. He told a parable of a man who had been given a talent to use so what do you think he did with it? He buried it. He hid it from the whole world. He thought he would be wise to confine it and not use it. He felt safe and secure. He ended up burning in hell for an eternity because he disobeyed God. When we try to put God in a box or confine Him to fit our little mold, we end up condemning ourselves. We miss out on one of the greatest journeys a person could ever embark upon- a intimate relationship with God because we are afraid to let go. Our churches lack the evidence and the intimacy of the presence of God because we want to feel safe in our emotions and attitudes. We don't want to go out on a limb so to speak. In church history however, It has tried to play it safe with religion-Israel tried to incorporate pagan worship with God-It failed-miserably. In the end, we put God in a box because we want to have control. People in church tend to want to have the final word in various matters because their faith don't match up to the Word.This requires faith and the willingness to completely surrender our whole lives to God. We must be completely vulnerable in His presecnce. The Word tells us that in His presence is - fullness and joy! You want peace and stability? Do you yearn for something more in your relationship with God? Then get Him out of your box and discover what it truly means to be in fellowship with Him.

Wet Feet

Tonight, I was taking out my little pail of compost from the kitchen outside to the compost bin. It wasn't too cold and it wouldn't take long at all so me, being lazy just slipped on my flip flops and took off with only my socks,flip flops separating my feet from the snow. It wasn't too cold and some of the snow had melted but I still got wet and cold feet. It kind of made me reflect on a time about over two hundred years ago. Just about this time in fact. The place-Valley Forge around 1776-1777. A rag-tag group of men were huddling in near frigid sub-zero cold. Most of them not wearing stylish starter coats like we do or Carhart snow pants and thermal underwear.No.They were cold,freezing ,destitute. Many not even wearing socks;those that did was just like swaddling strips of cloth were hungry, tired and Christmas was coming. No coffee, tea, cookies, egg nog. They were fortunate to have maybe soup or stale bread- if they could muster it. Many died just from the cold never living to see the outcome of the grand conflict that would purchase their freedom from English tyranny. Today, we can celebrate Christmas freely in a land that thanks to a few men with a grand vision a fool's errand to some others. To celebrate the Master of Liberty in a land of liberty. That liberty came with a price. And many that endured that winter at Valley Forge insured that with their lives reminds us of when our Redeemer-Jesus came to this earth to set us free,we also remember those before us that gave their lives so that we may enjoy the liberty to celebrate under freedom's wings. Thank you and may we never forget that.

The intelligence of Intellegent Design

Oh whoopeee! The media have a new phrase for us- intelligent Design! Wow! What a concept. For some of us it is a definition for creationism. But Godforbid we shouldn't say creationism-that would point to the evidence of a supreme being or a higher power or maybe-God. Boy, that would be crazy because if in fact there is a God, we would have to be accountable to Him and all our "fun" would have to end and soforth.Yep. That's what your world, your nation is thinking- really right now. But you know what, our society has made themselves look more foolish than wise. Intellegent Design. Think about that phrase for a moment. What does it mean to you? It is saying that there is a higher power at work right now. It is saying that this power formed and shaped this whole universe. It's mind and capabilities far exceed our own. It transcends time, space, and dimensions. This power I am referring to is God. Gee, the world is actually giving God the credit and they don't realize it.Intellegent Design over a stupid, hypothetical educated guess , you decide but for me, I'd rather be wise than foolish. Creationism Rocks!

As the Smoke Clears..

Ok. Now that everyone who has read my last two blogs and have checked their vitals to make sure they are alive after their ticker stopped I want to extend an explanation for the rage. Everyone gets frustrated. I do. I get extremely frustrated: and I was for the last few days. I apologize for my unrighteous indignation but not for my convictions. There is a time to be angry you just have to do it right- God's way-righteous indignation. Productive anger that can produce a positive end result in your situation you may be facing involving a person or circumstance. This is something I need to work on because sometimes I can fly right off the handle and go off and say things that can do much more damage than attribute to a solution to the issue(s).The church. Yes, it's got problems. But hey, its the only boat that's afloat that is worth the adventure .Is my church the only church with problems? NO. In a kingdom that is advancing even as we speak, the war rages in our sacred corridors. Battles over our souls in the unseen realm that affects our common everyday life. God's Word remind me that we are to not grow weary in doing good-and that means in our anger we need to hold our ground and not lose it in blind rage-I am reminded of a phrase - Anger is just a letter away from Danger...

More griping...

Another thing that I'm tired of hearing is relentless banter and less of what needs to be spoken more. I'm sick of the constant saber-rattling of "the time is short". Now, don't take me as a scoffer of the last days that the scriptures have warned us about. But, I believe we can get so caught up in warning people that we fail to give the instructions on how to live now so when Christ returns, we won't have any regrets! I believe there is-now more than ever,a time to sound the alarm-Christ is returning!! But let us not strain our necks so much from from looking up that we fail to be able to look around at the work set before us to hasten His return. We need a more relevant and "in your face approach" - get to the point!! Leave the mindless chatter to philosophers and theologian's. Look at the amount of "Christian-ashtrays" in churchs-you know what I'm talking about! We need to hear preaching of Victory over sin; stress the importance of the body of Christ; deal with the daily journey of a believer; talk about the relationship between God & man in a more simple, yet meaty relevant approach! I guarantee things will happen-awesome things!!

"Religion" sucks...

Ok. Before you get the pitchforks and the torches, stay with me. Lately I have had such a negative regard towards church - its lost its purpose and real meaning- especially in these last days. I don't understand certain people. I don't understand pastors and what they say sometimes. It grates me and drives me nuts. I haven't lost my faith in Christ but my faith in the church, that is of a wholly different matter. I think it stems from a lack of organization to allow ministries that are effective to breath and the ones that aren't to choke off and die. Pruning the vines. Tradition. We tend to think that if we do some sort of outreach every year-not change one jot or tittle, as long as the place is jammed on that certain event, we made an accomplishment. Where are those masses the rest of the 364? Can't we break out of the nutshell and try something different? God Forbid! We gotta have a ministry for every social discrepancy instead of teaching and preaching victory in the believers lives in the meantime until the rapture. My belief is this, if you can teach and build up your congregation to live out Christ's life in their personal life outside the front doors of our church, why then would we need ministries? We are the body of Christ-we could get the job done without an organization to hide behind. Organized chaos called 'worship' will never lead the people to the inner sanctuary. Leadership and the congregation have lost the concept of the powerful presence of God. We've been acting like a bunch of wannabes-we wannabe a church when we need to be the Church-period.

Two Treasures

You want to be successful? Want everything you could ever imagine? Yeah, I know that I am pushing the envelope but I'm writing this to make a point. In the first chapter of 2nd Chronicles chapter 1, Solomon was asked by God, now that Solomon's throne was established in Israel, what he wanted-God asked him what he wanted! What's God asking you? Anyway,Solomon's reply was that he would be given - wisdom and knowledge to rule His people. What!? Are you crazy!? Wisdom and Knowledge? What about riches and women and stuff-alot of stuff? NO. He asked two basic things-Solomon searched the depth of his heart.Wisdom and Knowledge. He knew ruling Israel would be a difficult task. Restoring God's temple in order to fellowship with His people at that time would be a most arduous mission. With that wisdom and knowledge, He was one of the most wisest men on earth and the temple he had built the most remarkable sites ever built for God.What's your task? What's your mission in life ? What are you dealing with now? The greatest treasures you can ask of God to be successful in your life are two simple things to confound those elusive obstacles are wisdom and knowledge.

WHAT!?

I was listening to the radio the other day . The dj was talking with Bob Hoskins-founder and leader for the " Book of Hope" bibles being distributed throughout the world.There was a time long ago in the midst of his work for the Lord when he went through-catch that- a very dark time. He ,all of asudden lost sight in his eyes. But God, did an awesome miracle and Bob regained part of his sight back. Well, if that wasn't enough he was diagnosed with a level 4 cancer. The doctors pretty wrote him off to die shortly. But wait there's more. Bob said after receiving the news, instead of asking God why?, He said: "Ok God, What? What is this for ? What are you going to do through this cancer?" It gets better. During the duration of this ordeal Bob said he would fill his room with nothing but praise and worship music 247! The cool thing here is that he was healed of the cancer but here comes the clincher...
After that, Bob made a trip to Vietnam and met with a top general in the ranks .He then shared with the general his bout with cancer and how the Lord healed him. Turned out the general had cancer also and was healed by God as well.As a result, the two became close friends and because of that, Vietnam has opened its doors for "Book of Hope " to be distributed to hundreds and thousands of Vietnamese who have never heard about Jesus.Bob said that he thanked God for that cancer because through that journey, millions may be saved for eternity.

ALL ABOARD...

I've just watched the "Polar Express"-well, at least four times counting the times I watched with my kids. Anyway, the premise is this magical Christmas train taking these kids to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. They are all of different racial and economic backgrounds-rich and poor; smart and not so smart. There are perilous mishaps that take place on the journey to Santa. I tell you this, in spite of all things that went wrong the trip was in a word :magnificent. And in the end the moment when Santa appears makes it all the worth while. Our life is like that train . It's a trip . A trip that all races and nationalities can embark upon. You can be filthy rich or dirt poor-this journey is for you. And in the end, there is Jesus-waiting for you. The trials and tribulations that we will face on this journey will be worth it when we see Jesus! It's not about riding the train- it's getting on board that counts.

Welcome to the DUH Zone...

I don't get it. Except for the fact that we are living in the last days and that we live in a society trying to deny its existence is soley contingent upon God and God alone. The church has played games struggling to play it politically safe and yet be Biblically relevant at the same time. Wake up. Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 and you get the picture. It's about love. It's about God's love. God is love-He is the author and grand designer of love; not this world or Hallmark greeting cards-God,Adoni is the author of love. That is what Christmas is about-love, true love.God loved mankind enough to send His son manifested in human form-childbirth to save us despite how we hate Him or fight against Him. If society fails to understand what both Easter and Christmas truly entail, we are in trouble people its CHRISTMAS-DUH!!!

Get Set, GO!

Alright! Thanksgiving is over... Yeah right knucklehead. The concept of a idea that Thanksgiving ends the day after really doesn't fly. Let me explain. It's the concept of being in a constant state of gratitude and appreciation for all of the things God has done for us us. Ceremonially, the pomp and circumstance pass through with all the food we ate the day before, but remaining thankful must continue.

Here's my list:
1- My wife and kids and our families- That we were all safe and sound
2-God-His divine protection and provision in the past year-"Way to go God !! "
3-Having loved ones like Lisa back in our lives
4-Having a home to go to. Heating,Cooling. Food to eat
5- Freedom- it ain't cheap so savor it and be thankful for it
I could go on and on but the point is if we begin a routine of reflecting on what God has done in our lives it makes us appreciate Him and life more and maybe we won't be such big selfish brats that we all tend to be from time to time. Well, now it's time to go Christmas shopping. On yor marks, get set, GO!

Eyes of "Frodo"

In "The Two Towers", Sam and Frodo run into Gollum, who is after his "precious". The hideous creature, deformed and twisted by his deep and dark desire and the spell that the evil Sauron placed on him to find the ring of power leads him to the two hobbits set on the quest to destroy the ring and save Middle-Earth. Finally meeting him, Frodo concludes to Sam "you know, now that I see him, I do pity him." When Christ saw Israel as they were-a flock of sheep with no shepherd, he was moved to compassion-even to the point of weeping. Sometimes when we see people with the same compassion as Jesus did, we can draw to the same conclusion as Frodo-"now that I've seen them ,I take pity on them..." We live in a lost realm-a world without a shepherd,without a clue. We struggle with the fact that we were once lost and in despair like those around us. Instead of judging them maybe we need to take pity on them, they need Jesus and we're the only Jesus they may hear or see.

Cleanup

In the last two days at work my supervisor and I have tried to clean our department up. As you know, in my line of work involves dust. A lot of dust. So, everyone with an air nozzle blowing stuff off at the end of the day doesn't necessarily take out the dust- it moves it somewhere else. It ends up under the tables and along the walls behind material leaning up against it and accumulates- a lot. Plus,there's just junk laying around that needs to be discarded. It looks a lot better now and hopefully we can keep it that way. Our lives can be like that. We can let stuff build up in our lives that can hinder us and make one ineffective. Sin is a major and chief contributor to the mess. If we let sin accumulate in our lives and in our thought patterns, it weakens us and eventually destroys us. That's when we call on Christ for His redemption. We need to allow God's Spirit and Jesus' blood to penetrate us and to sanctify our inner being-in case you haven't realized-we're at war right now. Flesh versus Spirit. I still deal with my own inner war- Are you?

Good Music

Okay, a more pleasant topic than before. In the last two days, My music consumption has been consisting of mostly classical music.I have a Beethoven's greatest hits cd and it has been a pleasure to listening to it on the way to work and back. It takes me back to several years ago taking a Music Appreciation class at JJC. In the teachings, Classical is oftentimes referred to as "absolute music"-the purest form of music that there is. I definitely agree with that definition. Classical is timeless and solid. In the midst of the digital age we live in , Classical is still enjoyed and well listened to and makes great movie soundtracks-thanks John Williams! God's Word is just like classicsl music. It's purity derives from the fact that its God's own spoken Word-pure!Absolute! The Word never needs to be revised to fit man's standard for to say, nor does it need to be altered into some form or another. God's Word is timeless, yet maintains its relevance today more than ever. Imagine, a book written by the same author that spoke the entire universe into existence and created the world in six days-AMAZING!!!!

End of an Era

It's been awhile but I'm back. It has been five -count them five whole years that I have served on the church board. Pastor Mark asked me the other day " how's retirement going for you? " I jokingly replied-" Hmmmmm I don't know." You know it is funny to realize you have been involved in a ministry for a certain amount of years and not realize it. Deaconship has had alot of its ups and its downs. In conclusion, it is a hard ministry to be in. Your'e on the frontline with the pastor and you and your family get shot at by the enemy as well as the pastor's. All I want to say is that it's over.I hope I has somewhat of a positive impact amidst all of the frustration and discouragment and all the happy moments to.

Good Treasures

Yesterday I received a blessing from God.For awhile we've been seeking God for help in our finances. God has poured out His generous favor out on us. It's so cool and awesome to know that once again His living word proves that "He shall provide all our needs according to His riches in glory" . You know, it may not always be in a manner that we may see fitting for our agenda, but His ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are not as ours. God created the earth in six days; you think He knows what's best for us? That's a real no-brainer.

Christmas

Oh no Art! No you're not going to-oh yes I am. If any of you know me well enough, I love Christmas. And Christmas is coming!!! YEEEEEEHAAAAA!!! If it wasn't for Jesus there wouldn't be Christmas-Theology 101. We wouldn't have insanely cool or corny decoration and don't forget the lights. On SpongeBob Squarepants, SpongeBob first learns about Chrrrriiissssstmasss (Go watch the episode) and begins the process of being prepared for Christmas and Santa. He gets all of Bikini Bottom caught up in his childlike banter. Well, the point I'm making is that the last few years I've not had the silly, sappy spirit that I usually have. This year I think that is going to change. Leah and I have wondered how are we going to afford Christmas this year with things pretty tight. Well, can we afford not to have Christmas ? As parents we want to be able to buy the best and the coolest stuff for our kids. Or, investing vast amounts of money and electricity on lighting up your neighborhood (don't misread me that stuff is cool). I think the concept of Christmas transcends far beyond what we see-It's sacrifice. Yeah, we think of that at Easter. Christmas? of course. It's God coming down as a man to end up being nailed to a cross and three days later rising from the dead so that we all could have a fellowship with Real, Living God that loves Christmas as much as we do. Christ is Christmas. WOOOHOOO!!!!!! You know what, we're going to have a Christmas no matter what. It's all good.

The Unshakable Kingdom

Kieth Green said on one of his live recordings"If it took our Lord Jesus only six days to create heaven and earth and over two thousand years since He left to go and prepare a place for us... Man, this place is a garbage can compared to heaven... ". Wow! What a concept. But you know sometimes we get so accustomed to our wonderful " junkyard " we live in . We get so attatched to this old world and all the things entailing it, we forgot that there is a Kingdom that awaits us. An unshakable Kingdom. One that is alive and well. A Kingdom beyond our fathomization. Sometimes I get so frustrated with work, with church that I miss the whole concept of being " in this world and not of it ". If my citizenship is in this wonderful kingdom, Then the work before me was already accomplished by our King. This Kingdom is advancing, moving forward and has already been established. It has conquered and destroyed the kingdom of hell yet always waging war over souls. As His majesty's servant , I need to be more aware of the Kingdom I am part of look to Him for hope and guidance and strength.

BAM!!!

It's so cool when I'm trying to figure something out on my guitar. After awhile playing the lick repetitively, KAPOWWW!!! I nail it down. The famous chef Emeril adds a clove of " gaaaahhlic " to his famous dish and BAM!!! That came from constant research and discovery. Times of failed experiments and frustration. Persistence. It's the key to success. It is knowing that the product in front of you isn't finished yet. My life is a ongoing continuing project. I haven't arrived yet.God is still working on me. Every day He reveals a little more of the grand design He has laid out for my life. In realizing that, I need to get less frustrated when I fall flat on my face.God isn't finished with me yet. In His Word it says... "Let He who began a good work in you perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ..." . This product is not done I am still under construction. Hey! It took Thomas Edison 700 filaments (experiments) until he got the right one for the first electric light bulb.

The Gospel According to Star Wars...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away ...
Yeah! I love Star Wars. One of the reasons why I love Star Wars is that you can relate alot of the themes such as good versus evil or the light side of the force or the dark side. The lightsaber, just like the Word of God to the Christian, is the jedi's primary weapon. There are alot of analogies to Star Wars that I see that relates to my faith. I've seen myself like Anakin struggling in the ways of the force like I struggle in my faith in my journey with Christ. Good and evil.Good always triumphs. It's awesome to know that God is the real " force " behind everything. He surrounds us, binds us, and He holds the galaxy together. It is an encouragment to know that regardless of what is happening in our lives, God is in control. He is on the throne and is the Ruler of all the Universe! May His "force " be with us all!

Amazing Grace...with a doubleshot of espresso.

A while back, I had heard a message about the grace of God at work in our lives. So many times we all take His grace for granted-so do I. So on my way to work, I was pondering about it. I tried to describe what His grace is likened to-(try this sometime) something precious and dear to you. Coffee is a beverage I prefer to use. I love coffee(and no it isn't just the caffeine principal) I prayed "God Your grace is like the aroma of fresh ground coffee"- you know what I'm talking about as you pass by a coffee shop or frequent one. It's AWESOME! It's pleasant, it relaxes the spirits after a rough day in the world. It's available for our taking. Grace is there for us. To save us, bring life to our weary bones. To protect us. That is why His grace is so amazing. This is the season where we reflect on the past year and its accomplishments. We also need to reflect and be even more thankful for His wonderful grace. Yeah, His grace is even more amazing than a Venti Vanilla latte with a triple shot of espresso a little light on the froth heavy on the vanilla syrup and topped with whipped cream. God's Grace...Enjoy!

Mission Control,do you copy?

So, where do I begin? How about,the beginning? Well, here I am. You know life can be extremely crazy. Once you think you have got it all figured out, reality comes and just messes everything up. It's like working on a puzzle. You just about got the thing put together-500 pieces; and then WHAM!! You discover you're missing the last piece or the last piece you anxiously hold in your hand, the sweat pouring from your brow in anticipation-doesn't fit. Your house is then filled with a blood curdling cry of NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Right now, I am looking at some puzzles that are quite messed up. I could really get bent out of shape about it and be bitter. No. It doesn't do any good. It will not change the situation. I know it's hard because we all tend to want to have CONTROL over our situations. But God wants to have control over our lives. He wants us to trust Him like a little kid. When we surrender to His will, the puzzles in life begin to make more sense.