Cultivate the enviornment.

In the beginning God created man and woman in His image then placed them in the garden. Not in the wild, but in a garden a cultivated place; a place where order was established from the beginning.

Why is it when we attempt something creative and new in the name of Jesus, people who regard themselves as Jesus fans are put off or threatened?

When did we get so familiar with the wild around us that forgot the possibility of what could be? If we as individuals resemble our Creator, could our creativity be one of those things?

My wife Andrea and her brothers look very much like their mother and father, and the brothers and sister favor each other as well. Why is it that as members of God’s family, we experience such a hard time seeing in each other a resemblance to Jesus? Simply talking about being related seems shallow.

After 10 years of marriage, Andrea and I are starting to look like each other. I think it has to do with behaving in a similar manor, picking up on the same likes and dislikes, and finding humor together. I believe that if we are given a long life here together, we will grow more and more alike as time passes.

The world and all things in it resulted from someone’s thinking, and I believe that we’ve not yet completed our part of the assignment. I feel that if we who follow Jesus would appreciate creativity as much as we do familiarity, we may grow a bit, coming closer to the heaven on earth we dream about.

Wisdom of Solomon

Just this morning I was I woke up to a report on gay marriage. I started thinking about what I believe on this divisive subject. I feel that community and relationships are foundational to my understanding of God. For me the Trinity: Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit is the ultimate form of community. Jesus uses this 'one' language when describing His relationship to the Father as does the apostle Paul when he talks about the relationship between a husband and wife. A complete new entity is formed by these unions and it seems that they are by design not to be divided.

In the old testament, there was a king Solomon who the Bible says was the wisest man that ever lived or will live. (Sorry Dr Hawkings) In the text is a story of two woman fighting over a child. Both mothers claimed it was theirs. To solve the conflict Solomon declared that the baby be cut in two. Once hearing his verdict the birth mother disavowed any claim to the baby. Solomon understood that because of this idea of oneness, who the mother was.

Is it possible that this baby gives the understanding to why marriage was designed to produce one flesh and can not be duplicated by same sex couples? Simply accepting this does not produce any sort of solution. If nothing else it divides us even further from each other and gives more force into the argument. If only Solomon was here now to help us diffuse the situation and bring order to this chaos.

In this world with a fallen humanity, and regarding our relationships with our same sex brothers and sisters, what represents the baby and how can it be spared?

If you had a vision...

If you had a vision clear enough that you knew where you were supposed to go, wouldn't you look for that man in your vision? I have been studying the apostle Paul. In the 16th chapter of the book of Acts, Paul is flopping about looking for direction and then has this vision. Then as you see him immediately get up and go, you never see him identify the man again.

As I have been looking for the answer it seems that no one in history seemed bothered by this. Is this just more evidence of my lack of faith? Paul knew he was from Macedonia, and that it was a man. He also knew that he was supposed to go. Do you suppose it was the man's voice? Earlier in the text it said he was first stopped by the "Holy Spirit" and then later, "the Spirit of Jesus". Do you suppose that he recognized the voice because he had heard it before?

Who's voice are you listening to? If the living Lord spoke to you would recognize his voice and then would you obey?

40 Days of Easter

This Easter I wanted to not only prepare for Easter through Lent, but to give the resurrection the same kind of 40 day attention. I have challenged our Fellowship to think about what kinds of things can they pick up for the King and Kingdom. It has been more of a challenge than I thought. It is difficult to know what things would be meaningful and not gimmicky.

So far I have decide to focus on the people I would say I love and yet seem to be the people who get the least of me. I am attempting to tell my wife and children I love then in different ways every day.
My wife Andrea seemed stunned that I wanted to know how I could be more Christ like to her. After 24 hours and several requests she told me to take a day off. Ouch...

So far what I have discovered is that by picking up just any old thing, its possible to do more harm than good. Who are the people you would say you love and what would being more Christ like look like for them?

40 Days of Easter

I am on the journey to become the man of my imagination. I can imagine a man of character and integrity. A man who's yes is yes and no is no. A man people can count on. A man I can count on. 

This Easter I want to commit to becoming that man. The first thing I want to do is make certain that my wife and children know that in spite of my real time stumbling and bumbling, I love them. 

In my imagination, a very scary place, I could continue to try and fail. I commitment for these next 40 days is to keep on trying. What are you going to do to extend the Kingdom?  

How far would you go?

This past Sunday I was retelling the story of Paul and Timothy in Acts 16. Here Paul asks Timothy a young man, to get circumcised in deference to the Jewish people they were looking to reach.
I wanted to have a tattoo artist come and give me a tattoo while I was preaching the message and when I could not get that done, (regulations) I wanted to show a video of someone getting a tattoo. That did not happen either. (Technical difficulties)

The question was how far would You go to extend the Kingdom? Getting a tattoo was not a new idea for me. I came very close a few years ago while speaking on 1 Cor 9, 'I have become all things to all people..."
We all have opportunity to stretch to reach people. For some the idea that I would get a tattoo was way over the top. For others it may be going into a bar or a club. I believe that with the freedom we have been given comes great responsibility.

How far are you willing to go to free others? Why would God free you first?

Tear your hearts not your cloths.

I was with a group of people involved in ministry and they were talking about how much transparency is too much. After I speak I am usually questioned about why I would tell people the stuff of my struggles. Even the way I frame the question is telling.
I feel that the more transparent I am upfront the more real God becomes. Jesus says, " I am the way, the truth and the life". I believe that we get the Way, and the Life and somehow miss out on the Truth. Every time I rely on fiction I obscure Jesus. I muddy the Way and rob myself of really Living. My walk reveals my heart and my belief in His ability to work all things together for our good.
I feel that it is easier for me to make a show of my transparency by tearing at my veneer and still miss out on the opening my heart. Follow me as I attempt to open my heart to the truth of who I am and Who is making me.