Before we get started... I AM DONE WITH DIVINITY SCHOOL!!!!!!! Okay, I had to get that out of my system. But it is actually a pretty good segue for what I am talking about today. In the midst of wrapping up my divinity school career and in light of the easter season, I have been thinking a lot about the trials that we go through... and no. I am not trying to liken myself to Jesus, no worries =)
This final semester in school has been horribly tough for me. Between getting sick, injured, my computer crashing, my car breaking, identity theft, and trying to do two jobs, ministry, and three classes, I about crashed a few times. Especially last week when my thesis was due. I could have done my job, ministry and school no problem, but everything else seemed to come out of no where and it happened in a freakishly weird fashion.
This makes me wonder: What is it that causes trials in our lives? Is it God testing us? Is it Satan testing us? Is it a natural course of events? Is it a result of our own sin? Is it all of the above? It is difficult to answer.
So when I look at the life of Jesus, he HAD to die for us. Yes, he willingly took it upon himself, but as he prayed in Matthew 26:39 in the garden of Gethsemane it was obvious that he did not like the idea. I also think of how his disciples (with exception to John) were executed for their faith. It was not like they were doing anything truly heinous, they were helping the hurting, healing the sick, casting out demons, etc. So why did they face trials if they were righteous? The truth is, that often times it is doing God's will that draws the wrath of Hell.
A professor shared with our class a few weeks ago that often times you can tell the magnitude of an event by the amount of spiritual warfare involved with the circumstance. I am paraphrasing what she said, but it gets the point across. In my life, I have had a significant amount of spiritual warfare lately. The reason why I received it is because I was doing what was right. I realized these past few years it has been the same way. When I became a chaplain candidate, it took 13 months when it should have been a two month process... and yes, I received a lot of negativity for my pursuit.
I also had to think back to Easter eight years ago. It was probably the darkest year of my life. I had a lot of things go wrong (enough to overwhelm a normal human) and I about gave up on my faith. The next year, everything crystalized for me and I found my calling. So what I realized was that Satan was trying to come against me and destroy me before I could reach my potential.
So this is what I want to leave you with this week, when you receive trials that seem out of the ordinary, know that someone is trying to stop you. Someone who fears what you may become. And never forget Psalm 91.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
What Sports Taught Me About Religion
It is not often that I get ideas that combine two of my favorite things to talk about, but I think I hit the jackpot today! As March Madness winds down and football approaches draft time, I get excited because the sports world is abuzz with all sorts young guys who are finishing their college careers and have aspirations of going pro. This is one of the two most important times for General Managers (GM) in sports.
Being a long suffering Clevelander I am, I get especially excited as we mutter phrases such as “wait for next year” and “this coaching staff will be different.” More often than not, the regimes are very much the same.
When I look back at the past few years of the Cleveland Browns, I find that they always hire bad GMs. One major role of the GM is to find the right players to fit the system of the coach, who they trust will be successful in said system. The past few people with the Browns did not do that, which is why they are not very successful. One of them had a tendency and get talented players irregardless of the system that they are familiar with, which did not work since they were not good in the Cleveland system. The other one brought in an excessive number of guys that he was familiar with, even though they were mediocre. In the process, he retarded the growth or got rid of guys who could have helped the team, but he did not know them. So you now understand why the Browns are not so good.
I find that the church is similar. If we as leaders do not make a concerted effort to bring up people under us who could be successful in a system that they are good at, then we will be hurting the efforts of the church.
In my Spiritual Formation class, we have been learning about living in your strengths rather than your weakness. One illustration that I really liked from class last week was the idea of writing with your weaker hand. If I spent my life writing with my left hand all the time, yes, you would know what I am writing, but it is not as natural as my right hand. Living in your strength is much the same.
This is why I have always been committed to helping someone figure out who they are. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pastors out there who should not be pastors. Even in the church, there are people who want to be doing something but it is not their strength. When I become a pastor, my hope is that I will be able to see what individuals are capable of and be able to provide them with the leadership they need to become the best at what they are good at.
When I think of this, I think about how Jesus’ ministry worked. The twelve disciples that he picked were not the elite religious leaders of the day, but they had their purposes with in the group. They did not need to be elite for that time, because God was bringing “fools” to humble the “wise”. They also had Jesus to immitate, so that was extremely helpful. They also used his teachings and the Old Testament to keep them on track.
This is why I want to encourage leaders to be careful about who you bring in to ministry. The collateral damage can be severe, I know because I have been on the receiving end of misplaced leaders. Meanwhile, if you are reading this today and have no intention of being a leader in the church, do two things for me. Take the time to understand your unique abilities, and make sure that whoever is over you knows what they are doing so that you may grow properly.
Just like my team that starts out with great hope but always falls short, churches that are not have wise leadership will not get very far. Lets be concerted about helping those around us reach their full potential at what they are good at.
Being a long suffering Clevelander I am, I get especially excited as we mutter phrases such as “wait for next year” and “this coaching staff will be different.” More often than not, the regimes are very much the same.
When I look back at the past few years of the Cleveland Browns, I find that they always hire bad GMs. One major role of the GM is to find the right players to fit the system of the coach, who they trust will be successful in said system. The past few people with the Browns did not do that, which is why they are not very successful. One of them had a tendency and get talented players irregardless of the system that they are familiar with, which did not work since they were not good in the Cleveland system. The other one brought in an excessive number of guys that he was familiar with, even though they were mediocre. In the process, he retarded the growth or got rid of guys who could have helped the team, but he did not know them. So you now understand why the Browns are not so good.
I find that the church is similar. If we as leaders do not make a concerted effort to bring up people under us who could be successful in a system that they are good at, then we will be hurting the efforts of the church.
In my Spiritual Formation class, we have been learning about living in your strengths rather than your weakness. One illustration that I really liked from class last week was the idea of writing with your weaker hand. If I spent my life writing with my left hand all the time, yes, you would know what I am writing, but it is not as natural as my right hand. Living in your strength is much the same.
This is why I have always been committed to helping someone figure out who they are. Unfortunately, there are a lot of pastors out there who should not be pastors. Even in the church, there are people who want to be doing something but it is not their strength. When I become a pastor, my hope is that I will be able to see what individuals are capable of and be able to provide them with the leadership they need to become the best at what they are good at.
When I think of this, I think about how Jesus’ ministry worked. The twelve disciples that he picked were not the elite religious leaders of the day, but they had their purposes with in the group. They did not need to be elite for that time, because God was bringing “fools” to humble the “wise”. They also had Jesus to immitate, so that was extremely helpful. They also used his teachings and the Old Testament to keep them on track.
This is why I want to encourage leaders to be careful about who you bring in to ministry. The collateral damage can be severe, I know because I have been on the receiving end of misplaced leaders. Meanwhile, if you are reading this today and have no intention of being a leader in the church, do two things for me. Take the time to understand your unique abilities, and make sure that whoever is over you knows what they are doing so that you may grow properly.
Just like my team that starts out with great hope but always falls short, churches that are not have wise leadership will not get very far. Lets be concerted about helping those around us reach their full potential at what they are good at.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Am I Worth Reading?
Let me start out by asking this… if you had to read your life as a story to someone, would it be worth reading?
If all of our lives were told as stories and we were characters in our stories, I think it would be interesting. Would you be the character that lives to provide for the good of others or will you be the character that does not want to do anything uncomfortable? Will you be a character filled with travels and adventures that most dream about or will you be the one dreaming that you wish you could have done that? Will you be able recount some of the awesome people that you have met and helped shape your life and that you helped shape them, or will you just talk about celebrity gossip?
I thought about this a while ago. If Jesus just stayed where he was and just sacrificed himself on the cross without healing, teaching, and doing miracles, that would have been a boring story. But instead, we have four different accounts of his life that highlight four different perspectives. He did some pretty awesome things, and if it was never written, we would not have known about it. We are the same way. If we do not talk about the amazing things that God is doing in our lives and we do try and engage the world that we live in, our lives will be bland. People will fall asleep reading our books!
So what I want to encourage you to do today is to step out and live your life like it is a book worth reading. People love stories. They love to hear how God impacted you, how you met your spouse, what foreign places you have seen, etc. But you can never have those stories if all you do is sit at home and watch TV and let the rest of the world pass you by. Now is the time to take a job you always wanted. Now is the time to do something you never thought you would do. Now is the time to get to know someone you always thought was interesting (not always relational). The point is, you have to get out and do something.
In order to include people into your life, you have to have a life to speak of. So let me ask you again, if you had to read your life as a story to someone, would it be worth reading?
If all of our lives were told as stories and we were characters in our stories, I think it would be interesting. Would you be the character that lives to provide for the good of others or will you be the character that does not want to do anything uncomfortable? Will you be a character filled with travels and adventures that most dream about or will you be the one dreaming that you wish you could have done that? Will you be able recount some of the awesome people that you have met and helped shape your life and that you helped shape them, or will you just talk about celebrity gossip?
I thought about this a while ago. If Jesus just stayed where he was and just sacrificed himself on the cross without healing, teaching, and doing miracles, that would have been a boring story. But instead, we have four different accounts of his life that highlight four different perspectives. He did some pretty awesome things, and if it was never written, we would not have known about it. We are the same way. If we do not talk about the amazing things that God is doing in our lives and we do try and engage the world that we live in, our lives will be bland. People will fall asleep reading our books!
So what I want to encourage you to do today is to step out and live your life like it is a book worth reading. People love stories. They love to hear how God impacted you, how you met your spouse, what foreign places you have seen, etc. But you can never have those stories if all you do is sit at home and watch TV and let the rest of the world pass you by. Now is the time to take a job you always wanted. Now is the time to do something you never thought you would do. Now is the time to get to know someone you always thought was interesting (not always relational). The point is, you have to get out and do something.
In order to include people into your life, you have to have a life to speak of. So let me ask you again, if you had to read your life as a story to someone, would it be worth reading?
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Can I Take Care of What I Have Already?
This idea just came to my head about ten minutes ago. I was thinking about buying something, and then I thought “have I even been a good steward of what I have already?” This stopped me in my tracks, and I realized that I could be quite a bit better than I already am.
When we look at scriptures, one of the most prominent stories is the one about the faithful servants in Matthew. In this story, the master rewards the faithful servants for what they have done with their talents (money unit, not actual talents, but it works well for correlation). Meanwhile, the servant that buries his money gets punished for not trying to utilize the talent (mind you, he had just one talent, compared to 5 and 10 like the other two).
I think about my life in the same way. I have been given a certain amount of resources, and God wants me to utilize those. When we prove to ourselves that we are good keepers of those resources, we will have the confidence to use more resources wisely.
When I look at this parable, know that the two with more talents were given the amount that they were probably because they were reliable in the past. The way the master blasts the one talent servant is telling for a few reasons…
-he was given one talent for a reason, because it was low risk, meaning that he did not want to risk too much on that servant.
-he did not understand the master, because the master looked for effort, results were secondary.
-fear clouded his vision, as he mentioned the master as being harsh.
With this in mind, am I a good steward of what I have? I have been thinking a lot about this subject, and how it plays into my life. If I can not take care of the money that I have right now and if I blow it on stupid things, why should I be trusted with more money? I am fairly low maintenance, but I know that I could be more frugal.
What about marriage? People talk about it all the time, but I often wonder why they want it so bad. If they feel that entitled that they deserve a particular person and are that impatient about it, what makes you think that they will be selfless and patient with another person? Can we take care of our own hearts, let alone the heart of another person’s entrusted to us? Needless to say, being a steward of another person/family is a heck of a lot different than being single. Right now, I have shown that I am mature enough but I am not sure that I have the time with school or a job that can support my family. When I demonstrate that I can take care of myself, then I will feel confident that I can take care of others.
What about where I live? Yes, it would be nice to have a big new house, but do I really need it? Can I afford it? Isn’t a used house just as good? Am I able to take care of the apartment/room that I am living at currently? This goes the same for churches. Do you really need a brand new huge building, or is it more of a want? As a friend of mine said, “God must only be in new buildings, because so many churches are trying to build new ones.” There is a lot of danger in this idea, as I have seen first hand with a church almost lost its building since the congregation shrunk to the point they could not sustain their payments. Houses and churches are very similar in that case, and the best way to avoid foreclosure is to live within your means. With me, I hope to buy a used church (ie, The Catholic church is closing buildings left and right) to run my church out of. As for a home, if I ever owned a big house it would be so that I could run ministry out of it. Then again, I grew up in a small home and have lived in dorm rooms or other people’s houses for the past 11 years, so “big” might actually be small for all I know! But right now, I have to be a good steward of my education so that I may get a job so that I may afford the luxury of a house.
What about my education? Yes, I get good grades. But am I am able to translate it from book smarts to practical smarts? Am I dedicated to learning even if a grade is not on the line? Honestly, I do not have any guarantees that I can get a job when I get out of Divinity school. I am confident that I will be able to, even if it does not pay. But If I am faithful with a small job, that will lead to a bigger job.
I just included a few topics above, but I think it is great food for thought. If we can not take care of a few trees in the orchard, why do we expect that he will let us have the entire orchard? I definitely do not want that responsibility. Some people might feel that I am not leaving room for the Holy Spirit to do great things, but I plan so that if the miraculous does not happen, that I can still execute what I feel is God’s plan. But at the end of the day, when calls on me to give account for what he has entrusted me with, I hope he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
When we look at scriptures, one of the most prominent stories is the one about the faithful servants in Matthew. In this story, the master rewards the faithful servants for what they have done with their talents (money unit, not actual talents, but it works well for correlation). Meanwhile, the servant that buries his money gets punished for not trying to utilize the talent (mind you, he had just one talent, compared to 5 and 10 like the other two).
I think about my life in the same way. I have been given a certain amount of resources, and God wants me to utilize those. When we prove to ourselves that we are good keepers of those resources, we will have the confidence to use more resources wisely.
When I look at this parable, know that the two with more talents were given the amount that they were probably because they were reliable in the past. The way the master blasts the one talent servant is telling for a few reasons…
-he was given one talent for a reason, because it was low risk, meaning that he did not want to risk too much on that servant.
-he did not understand the master, because the master looked for effort, results were secondary.
-fear clouded his vision, as he mentioned the master as being harsh.
With this in mind, am I a good steward of what I have? I have been thinking a lot about this subject, and how it plays into my life. If I can not take care of the money that I have right now and if I blow it on stupid things, why should I be trusted with more money? I am fairly low maintenance, but I know that I could be more frugal.
What about marriage? People talk about it all the time, but I often wonder why they want it so bad. If they feel that entitled that they deserve a particular person and are that impatient about it, what makes you think that they will be selfless and patient with another person? Can we take care of our own hearts, let alone the heart of another person’s entrusted to us? Needless to say, being a steward of another person/family is a heck of a lot different than being single. Right now, I have shown that I am mature enough but I am not sure that I have the time with school or a job that can support my family. When I demonstrate that I can take care of myself, then I will feel confident that I can take care of others.
What about where I live? Yes, it would be nice to have a big new house, but do I really need it? Can I afford it? Isn’t a used house just as good? Am I able to take care of the apartment/room that I am living at currently? This goes the same for churches. Do you really need a brand new huge building, or is it more of a want? As a friend of mine said, “God must only be in new buildings, because so many churches are trying to build new ones.” There is a lot of danger in this idea, as I have seen first hand with a church almost lost its building since the congregation shrunk to the point they could not sustain their payments. Houses and churches are very similar in that case, and the best way to avoid foreclosure is to live within your means. With me, I hope to buy a used church (ie, The Catholic church is closing buildings left and right) to run my church out of. As for a home, if I ever owned a big house it would be so that I could run ministry out of it. Then again, I grew up in a small home and have lived in dorm rooms or other people’s houses for the past 11 years, so “big” might actually be small for all I know! But right now, I have to be a good steward of my education so that I may get a job so that I may afford the luxury of a house.
What about my education? Yes, I get good grades. But am I am able to translate it from book smarts to practical smarts? Am I dedicated to learning even if a grade is not on the line? Honestly, I do not have any guarantees that I can get a job when I get out of Divinity school. I am confident that I will be able to, even if it does not pay. But If I am faithful with a small job, that will lead to a bigger job.
I just included a few topics above, but I think it is great food for thought. If we can not take care of a few trees in the orchard, why do we expect that he will let us have the entire orchard? I definitely do not want that responsibility. Some people might feel that I am not leaving room for the Holy Spirit to do great things, but I plan so that if the miraculous does not happen, that I can still execute what I feel is God’s plan. But at the end of the day, when calls on me to give account for what he has entrusted me with, I hope he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Condemnation or Conviction?
So one day I was standing outside of my house, and my neighbor walks up to me. Mind you, she did not know me very well, but she thought that she was doing me the biggest favor in the world.
“I do not know where you stand with Jesus, but you should have this.” She commented to me, as she handed me a small booklet with what appeared to be people walking into hell. A bible tract! Not sure how to respond, I looked at her quizzically and then handed it back.
“Thank you very much, but I am a Christian. I actually go to school at Regent and am studying theology. You could probably give this to someone else.” I replied, trying to be as polite as possible. But the short Latino lady wanted nothing to do with my excuses.
“That means that you should take this! It would not hurt as a refresher.” Dumbfounded, I took her doom and gloom tract, wished her well and promptly placed it in my car. Her resolve grew stronger knowing that I was a student at Regent.
I got into my car, and thought about how we are perceived as Christians. In general, I can understand why people would not want to come to church. My mind begins to shift to the way in which the evangelists at the Virginia Beach oceanfront operate. I remember a time in which I witnessed them up on boxes telling homosexuals that they are going to hell. I was very torn in the moment as I watched the crowd heckling the men who were condemning them. They were teaching from the Bible, but there was no love or grace in the message, just condemnation.
So now I wonder, if this is all that a homosexual knew of Christians, why would he or she want to go to any church? The answer is they wouldn’t, because they figure that they would get yelled at about their lifestyle. There are few things that feel worse than putting yourself out there to meet new people and getting rejected before they even get to know you. Logically, it makes sense that they would be preemptive and avoid getting rejected and feeling condemned before it starts.
I also think of people who have had hardships or made bad choices. Someone who has had an abortion will probably keep her choice a secret if she went to church, or she would just avoid church all together to avoid any situations. I am glad that churches are now trying to help these people, instead of simply protesting and making the person feel worthless. They have worth, but they just made a bad choice.
As the church becomes increasingly aligned with the Republican Party, how would a Democrat feel in a church that is very pro-republican? I have heard too many people claim that Democrats can not be Christian, and I find that assumption to be insulting. I have known many Christians who were democrats, and they did not support every idea. Having grown up in a swing state, I understand how it would be a dangerous move to endorse one side fully and risk ostracizing the other. From another perspective, if an anti-Democrat message were spoken in Chicago, where the Democrats have dominated for years, that pastor would ostracize a lot of people.
I guess what this comes down to is whether we are condemning people or convicting them. Jesus convicted people, through his actions they were compelled to leave their self-destructive life styles behind. Matthew/Levi was practically a thief, Simon the Zealot was a religious extremist, and chances are Simon would have wanted to kill Matthew due to his affiliation with the Roman government. That is the power of Christ convicting them.
Condemnation, on the other hand takes someone’s hope and makes them feel as if they are not good enough. If someone feels as if they can not add up, they will try to get as far away as possible.
One of the greatest indicators is how we feel when we walk away from someone. If you feel drained and worthless, chances are you were not convicted. If you feel hopeful, then more than likely you were convicted. Conviction is not always pleasant, because sometimes the pruning that happens in our lives is not always the best. But in the end, it is for our growth and our health. I have learned that from experience. So in closing, can we remain committed to helping give people life, instead of giving them death?
“I do not know where you stand with Jesus, but you should have this.” She commented to me, as she handed me a small booklet with what appeared to be people walking into hell. A bible tract! Not sure how to respond, I looked at her quizzically and then handed it back.
“Thank you very much, but I am a Christian. I actually go to school at Regent and am studying theology. You could probably give this to someone else.” I replied, trying to be as polite as possible. But the short Latino lady wanted nothing to do with my excuses.
“That means that you should take this! It would not hurt as a refresher.” Dumbfounded, I took her doom and gloom tract, wished her well and promptly placed it in my car. Her resolve grew stronger knowing that I was a student at Regent.
I got into my car, and thought about how we are perceived as Christians. In general, I can understand why people would not want to come to church. My mind begins to shift to the way in which the evangelists at the Virginia Beach oceanfront operate. I remember a time in which I witnessed them up on boxes telling homosexuals that they are going to hell. I was very torn in the moment as I watched the crowd heckling the men who were condemning them. They were teaching from the Bible, but there was no love or grace in the message, just condemnation.
So now I wonder, if this is all that a homosexual knew of Christians, why would he or she want to go to any church? The answer is they wouldn’t, because they figure that they would get yelled at about their lifestyle. There are few things that feel worse than putting yourself out there to meet new people and getting rejected before they even get to know you. Logically, it makes sense that they would be preemptive and avoid getting rejected and feeling condemned before it starts.
I also think of people who have had hardships or made bad choices. Someone who has had an abortion will probably keep her choice a secret if she went to church, or she would just avoid church all together to avoid any situations. I am glad that churches are now trying to help these people, instead of simply protesting and making the person feel worthless. They have worth, but they just made a bad choice.
As the church becomes increasingly aligned with the Republican Party, how would a Democrat feel in a church that is very pro-republican? I have heard too many people claim that Democrats can not be Christian, and I find that assumption to be insulting. I have known many Christians who were democrats, and they did not support every idea. Having grown up in a swing state, I understand how it would be a dangerous move to endorse one side fully and risk ostracizing the other. From another perspective, if an anti-Democrat message were spoken in Chicago, where the Democrats have dominated for years, that pastor would ostracize a lot of people.
I guess what this comes down to is whether we are condemning people or convicting them. Jesus convicted people, through his actions they were compelled to leave their self-destructive life styles behind. Matthew/Levi was practically a thief, Simon the Zealot was a religious extremist, and chances are Simon would have wanted to kill Matthew due to his affiliation with the Roman government. That is the power of Christ convicting them.
Condemnation, on the other hand takes someone’s hope and makes them feel as if they are not good enough. If someone feels as if they can not add up, they will try to get as far away as possible.
One of the greatest indicators is how we feel when we walk away from someone. If you feel drained and worthless, chances are you were not convicted. If you feel hopeful, then more than likely you were convicted. Conviction is not always pleasant, because sometimes the pruning that happens in our lives is not always the best. But in the end, it is for our growth and our health. I have learned that from experience. So in closing, can we remain committed to helping give people life, instead of giving them death?
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Junk in the Trunk
One thing that I have always tried to do is meet the practical needs of my friends. It is something that I genuinely take pleasure in doing. The basis of this story involves me helping a friend who had a practical need. She did not have a car, so I asked her if she would like to borrow mine to get groceries. She agreed, and I let her borrow my car for a few hours so she could run to Wal-Mart.
As I met her at her apartment, we began to unload my car. Much to my dismay, I saw her pop open my trunk. “NO!” I thought to myself, as I saw her groceries neatly tucked in around all the random junk in my trunk. I immediately became apologetic and said that I was sorry that she had to see that mess.
“Whatever, dude. It’s your trunk.” She said to me, probably confused at my reaction to her seeing my messy trunk. We went inside and loaded everything into her refrigerator and then went to meet our friends. I eventually calmed down about her seeing my trunk, and I began to think about how ridiculous my thought was.
Looking back, I can now see how our lives are sort of that way. I tend to put my stuff that I do not want people to see in my trunk, and keep the main part of my car clean. Out of sight, out of mind. But if someone were to open up my trunk, they would see what I really have. It can be scary at times, and I felt vulnerable when I realized that she could see my mess. She did not care that I had junk in there, she was just happy that I loaned her my car and she was grateful for that.
I have to think about my own trunk now, and realize that I accumulate a lot of “stuff” in there. Some of it is mine and I bring it in there, but a lot of it are things that others put in there and I have to remove. The first question that I have to ask is, “can we sort out what is not our from what is ours?” When I begin to look at my trunk, I find that a lot of the garbage was placed there by other people.
What I have done over the past few years is find ways to leave behind that stuff when I find it. I identify whose baggage it really is, and then give it back to them or dispose of it. Our cars do not run as efficiently when they are loaded up.
The other detail is that I had a friend who reacted kindly to my mess. Do we have people in our lives that can look at our mess, and still hang around? More so, if you need them, can they help you sort out the mess and send it back to the rightful owner? Often times, we feel like we have to have everything together and in order or else people will look down on us. The truth is, that some people will do it. But they are not true friends. They have their own junk that they have to get rid of! We all have stuff back there, so no one is above another person. It might look different, but it is all junk.
Finally, do you have the courage to go to the back and sort out what is back there? It is easy to pop the trunk, and throw something in there without looking. But we all know what happens to something in dark areas, it begins to get worse. That is why it is important to be careful of what you put into your trunk, and to keep it clean. It can be embarrassing or painful at times to do it, but remember that you will feel a lot better about yourself after it is done.
So if you have free time this week, my hope is that you can do an inventory of your trunk, and try to identify what needs to be there and what does not need to be there. It is always interesting to see!
As I met her at her apartment, we began to unload my car. Much to my dismay, I saw her pop open my trunk. “NO!” I thought to myself, as I saw her groceries neatly tucked in around all the random junk in my trunk. I immediately became apologetic and said that I was sorry that she had to see that mess.
“Whatever, dude. It’s your trunk.” She said to me, probably confused at my reaction to her seeing my messy trunk. We went inside and loaded everything into her refrigerator and then went to meet our friends. I eventually calmed down about her seeing my trunk, and I began to think about how ridiculous my thought was.
Looking back, I can now see how our lives are sort of that way. I tend to put my stuff that I do not want people to see in my trunk, and keep the main part of my car clean. Out of sight, out of mind. But if someone were to open up my trunk, they would see what I really have. It can be scary at times, and I felt vulnerable when I realized that she could see my mess. She did not care that I had junk in there, she was just happy that I loaned her my car and she was grateful for that.
I have to think about my own trunk now, and realize that I accumulate a lot of “stuff” in there. Some of it is mine and I bring it in there, but a lot of it are things that others put in there and I have to remove. The first question that I have to ask is, “can we sort out what is not our from what is ours?” When I begin to look at my trunk, I find that a lot of the garbage was placed there by other people.
What I have done over the past few years is find ways to leave behind that stuff when I find it. I identify whose baggage it really is, and then give it back to them or dispose of it. Our cars do not run as efficiently when they are loaded up.
The other detail is that I had a friend who reacted kindly to my mess. Do we have people in our lives that can look at our mess, and still hang around? More so, if you need them, can they help you sort out the mess and send it back to the rightful owner? Often times, we feel like we have to have everything together and in order or else people will look down on us. The truth is, that some people will do it. But they are not true friends. They have their own junk that they have to get rid of! We all have stuff back there, so no one is above another person. It might look different, but it is all junk.
Finally, do you have the courage to go to the back and sort out what is back there? It is easy to pop the trunk, and throw something in there without looking. But we all know what happens to something in dark areas, it begins to get worse. That is why it is important to be careful of what you put into your trunk, and to keep it clean. It can be embarrassing or painful at times to do it, but remember that you will feel a lot better about yourself after it is done.
So if you have free time this week, my hope is that you can do an inventory of your trunk, and try to identify what needs to be there and what does not need to be there. It is always interesting to see!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thoughts on Miracles
I have struggled with a few things in my life, and one of them has been faith. Not the kind of faith that makes you feel that God is there, but the type that believes that he can and will do great things for you. Being that many of my friends and colleagues are the type that believe heavily in the power of miracles and healing, I have gone through life with a few disabilities wondering why God has not healed me of them. Sometimes I have received harsh words and noticed that they look down on me because of it.
For those that have known me at points in my life, they know that I am not the type to sit there and wallow about what should be. In fact, if you are close to me, you probably have heard me say that what is and what should be are two different things and those that demand what should be will be very disappointed with life. That being said, I have always mourned the death of what should be, and then I picked myself up and pursued what is in front of me so that I may seek the best life possible. I have always dealt with my deficiencies that way.
A few years ago, a religious person walked into my life and told me, “God wants you to be healed, accept that now.” I believe that I can be healed by God, but is it his will? They tell me that it is his will, and they quote scripture. They seems to make sense, so I allow myself to be prayed for, what’s the worst that could happen? What I do not anticipate is that the worst happens and I am told that I do not have faith, because if I had faith the size of a mustard seed, God would heal me. So obviously, my salvation is hanging in the balance of my ability to get healed. There is a lot of pressure, especially considering that they are not willing to listen to logic.
So fast forward to last Thursday, when I went to a service and yet again was not healed. Some people were healed, others were not. I did not take it as a slight from God, I just wondered how that works. I maintain that God has his reasons, and I was able to discuss how I felt with others, and I received a few good points that I would like to highlight.
A girl that I recently befriended talked about how in Daniel that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fire for not wanting to worship the gods or statues of Nebuchadnezzar. Before that happened, they said that they believed that God would save them, but if he didn’t, that they would die not worshipping the kings statues or gods. This made me think about how people often times base their faith on what God can do for them. The three men were committed to God, and that is what was important. It did not matter that God did not rescue them (but he did), they were committed to him regardless of his actions.
I then spoke with one of my better friends in Divinity School, and had a good talk with her. I mentioned that the service was hard for me because of my history unhealthy churches, but I really liked the message and I cannot argue with what God has done with this woman. My friend knows my health history, and as we talked she told me that I AM a miracle. I was really uncomfortable and was dumbfounded, so quickly changed the subject! But I realized that even though I am not necessarily being blessed, I am able to bless, inspire and encourage others because of what I am going through and overcoming.
The last conversation was with another more recent friend that I have made. As we talked about the conference, I mentioned that little miracles happen all around us. I mentioned that it is much like baseball, where most people only want to see homeruns but could careless about a well-played base hit. The base hits happen and can be very effective, but people generally only acknowledge the base hit when the game is on the line. Because of this, no one is really looking for anything but the homeruns. I have a tendency to look for the little miracles, the unexplainable acts that happen before me daily.
This being said, the three major points I would like to ask are this…
If you do not receive a major miracle, will that impact your faith?
If you are receiving a miracle that you want, do you think that maybe it is because you could be blessing more people else in the process?
Are you looking for the small miracles in life?
So miracles happen every day, but are you waiting for a conference to come or are you looking for them as they happen around you?
For those that have known me at points in my life, they know that I am not the type to sit there and wallow about what should be. In fact, if you are close to me, you probably have heard me say that what is and what should be are two different things and those that demand what should be will be very disappointed with life. That being said, I have always mourned the death of what should be, and then I picked myself up and pursued what is in front of me so that I may seek the best life possible. I have always dealt with my deficiencies that way.
A few years ago, a religious person walked into my life and told me, “God wants you to be healed, accept that now.” I believe that I can be healed by God, but is it his will? They tell me that it is his will, and they quote scripture. They seems to make sense, so I allow myself to be prayed for, what’s the worst that could happen? What I do not anticipate is that the worst happens and I am told that I do not have faith, because if I had faith the size of a mustard seed, God would heal me. So obviously, my salvation is hanging in the balance of my ability to get healed. There is a lot of pressure, especially considering that they are not willing to listen to logic.
So fast forward to last Thursday, when I went to a service and yet again was not healed. Some people were healed, others were not. I did not take it as a slight from God, I just wondered how that works. I maintain that God has his reasons, and I was able to discuss how I felt with others, and I received a few good points that I would like to highlight.
A girl that I recently befriended talked about how in Daniel that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fire for not wanting to worship the gods or statues of Nebuchadnezzar. Before that happened, they said that they believed that God would save them, but if he didn’t, that they would die not worshipping the kings statues or gods. This made me think about how people often times base their faith on what God can do for them. The three men were committed to God, and that is what was important. It did not matter that God did not rescue them (but he did), they were committed to him regardless of his actions.
I then spoke with one of my better friends in Divinity School, and had a good talk with her. I mentioned that the service was hard for me because of my history unhealthy churches, but I really liked the message and I cannot argue with what God has done with this woman. My friend knows my health history, and as we talked she told me that I AM a miracle. I was really uncomfortable and was dumbfounded, so quickly changed the subject! But I realized that even though I am not necessarily being blessed, I am able to bless, inspire and encourage others because of what I am going through and overcoming.
The last conversation was with another more recent friend that I have made. As we talked about the conference, I mentioned that little miracles happen all around us. I mentioned that it is much like baseball, where most people only want to see homeruns but could careless about a well-played base hit. The base hits happen and can be very effective, but people generally only acknowledge the base hit when the game is on the line. Because of this, no one is really looking for anything but the homeruns. I have a tendency to look for the little miracles, the unexplainable acts that happen before me daily.
This being said, the three major points I would like to ask are this…
If you do not receive a major miracle, will that impact your faith?
If you are receiving a miracle that you want, do you think that maybe it is because you could be blessing more people else in the process?
Are you looking for the small miracles in life?
So miracles happen every day, but are you waiting for a conference to come or are you looking for them as they happen around you?
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