A World Asleep

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This month (July), I have the real privilege of teaching a class on film and theology at my church. I've been a film buff for a long time and any chance I get to mix theology and the arts is one I cannot pass up. I plan to show a movie to my class and make spiritual observations about the film's content and mix in what the Bible says about the subjects we discover. I chose a rather obscure 1990 movie, Joe versus the Volcano, but even though the film is one of Tom Hanks' lesser works, it may be one of the most introspective films I've ever seen. A fairy-tale comedy, it makes observations about the value of life, the omnipotence of God, self-sacrifice, and how all three interact with each other. I love this line from the film, uttered by the female lead:

"My father says almost the whole world's asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says only a few people are awake. And they live in a state of constant, total amazement."

I love this line because it draws a line between two kinds of people: those walking in darkness and those walking in light (having been freed from the darkness). Here's how Saint Paul described what Patricia, the female lead, may have been referring to:

"The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." (2 Cor 4:4, 6)

This class is gonna be fun.

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A Recipe for Restoration

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Every now and then I come across a nugget of Scripture that strikes a chord in my heart. Usually, it is something I did not know was there -- a verse, a phrase, even a word. Usually it is in the Old Testament, long thought by many to be inferior to the New in regards to its rich theology. Tonight I was inspired and strengthened by words penned 2700 years ago by Isaiah. After prophesying against rebellious Judah, the prophet wrote in chapter 30:

"Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.

O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. Although the Lord has given you bread of privation and water of oppression, [He], your Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher. Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. And you will defile your graven images overlaid with silver, and your molten images plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing, [and] say to them, “Be gone!”

Then He will give [you] rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread [from] the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plenteous; on that day your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture."

You know, the Lord never turns a deaf ear on those who call out His name. In fact, He's not even waiting for you to say the right words. He's just waiting, "in eager expectation" as David would put it in Psalm 5, for you to long for Him! Will you? Will I?

If you do... He's got a bunch of things He's gonna do for you.

• He will answer your emotional prayers.
• He will show Himself to you
• You will hear Him speak to you. It's that voice in the back of your head giving you counsel, Isaiah implies.
• You will know the will of God so you can follow it, right or left
• You will be motivated by His grace and His compassion to get rid of His competition
• And you will have prosperity

I love it! Isaiah later says that God will give you songs in the night and gladness of heart. I'm waiting for those songs! Will they be new ones or will they be old favorites? Radio tunes or church songs? Or both?

How fun!

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Quotable

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"The most important thing about you is what you think about God."

-- A.W. Tozer

I love this classic Tozer quote because it hits the theological nail on the head. Everything we do in this life reflects what we believe about God — whether saved or unsaved. Even the atheist acts upon his or her belief about God. What we think about God determines what we think about ourselves, other people and our circumstances. Who is God? What is God? Where is God? How does God exist, if he does exist? Every human being has to answer these questions at some point in their lives. They may not do a thorough investigation or seek spirtual counsel, but they answer them, whether in silence, awe, or a raised fist.

Tozer nailed it. The most important thing about us is what we think about God, for it drives all that we say and do.

Be God's!

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Of Near Misses and Tight Spots

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Of Near Misses.....

It always amazes me how many near-misses I've had in my life. Just a few weeks ago I was almost drilled in the side of my car by a teenager driving as pick-up truck. Yes, almost. I was driving down a four-land neighborhood road when the young man pulled up to a side street stop sign and rolled into my lane of traffic. He never stopped. I swerved. A near miss.

Last Wednesday a powerful storm pushed through Flower Mound, knocking down trees and downing power lines. I was without power for nearly two days. After the storm was over I surveyed the damage to my rental property. There were a lot of smaller twigs strewn about and some medium-sized branches down in the frontyard. The backyard was a different story. A huge pile of trees and branches lay in my yard, snapped off by the winds and piled up. The branches were very big and looked very healthy. I struggled to move a few this evening. One of them intrigued me. It had fallen off a tree near the house and landed no more than 10 feet from my living room. Another near miss!

I praise the Lord for my near misses. Each time they happen I'm reminded that the Lord is my High Protector — the One who has my back. And I believe He would have watched out for me even if the branch had fallen through the roof. Indeed, I guess He is also the God of Near Misses!

Of Tight Spots...

I've never worn jewelry. Oh, I've had a few watches through the years but what I'm referring to are necklaces, bracelets and rings. Last Saturday, I tried on my very first ring, a wedding band at Gordon's jewelry. It was strange to wear it in the store. To be honest, it felt quite restrictive. After all, my ring finger was used to being free! But it being a wedding ring and all, I guess it's only fitting that it should feel different. My life is like my ring finger. I was single and free before I asked my gal to marry me. No strings were attached. Like my finger, I never had the restrictions of engagement or marriage. But like my finger, I didn't realize what I had been missing. So as I tried on the ring I did so willingly, because my life now is not what it was before I popped the question. One person is gradually becoming two persons and we're gradually (sometimes, painfully) becoming one person.

Back to my finger... we found a great 6mm ring and purchased it at the store. I had my finger sized for the first time and then we were told the ring would be back mid-week. It arrived on Thursday. Today we went back to try on my new ring. It didn't fit! It was too small. So it has to go back to wherever it goes and either I get a new one or it somehow gets expanded.

Maybe it's a sign! Maybe not.

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The Christ Who Is

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"We need to follow the Christ who is rather than the Christ we want."
-- Brent McKinney

I love this quote from Brent, one of our pastors at Crossroads. He made it a long time ago in a staff meeting and when I heard him say these words I wrote them down immediately. We were discussing the old way of "doing religion" versus the grace and mercy Jesus introduced. So often we (and I) want to believe that Jesus was somehow more tame and philosophical than radical. The Gospels portray Jesus not as some great moral teacher who wants us to achieve the best for ourselves and be happy, but instead they reveal Him as a just God who demands that we be holy but gives us the grace when we fail to be so — and we will always fail. The conclusion of our staff discussion was that we need to study our Lord not based on our culture or personal preferences but based on the truth of God's word. Who was Jesus? What did He say in the Bible? What did He do? How were people affected by Him?

I'll confess that some of the things He had to say are hard to accept. Many are hard to understand. But Jesus is the person of the Gospels, living and active yet unchanging.

What Jesus do YOU follow?
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How Far Would You Go?

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How far would you go to follow Jesus? What would you be willing to sacrifice? WHO would you be willing to sacrifice?

"And Jesus was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?" (Luke 9:23-25)

I joked with Megan today as she was on the phone with her mother that we were going to sell everything, live in poverty, and move to a reservation in New Mexico. We had just met with her financial planner to organize our finances and her mother was wondering how the meeting went. But that got me thinking. IRA's, bonds and investments are fine and all, but what if Jesus asked us to sell everything we have, leave our comfy jobs, and move out to someplace we never thought we'd be? What if God handed us the keys to a two-bedroom hogan (a traditional Navajo dwelling), and opened a door to teach music to poor children? Would I do it? Would Megan?

Rich Mullins did. And when he died in 1997 at age 41, that was his life. He had given up his apartment in Wichita, Kansas, moved to Window Rock, Arizona, and was teaching music and art (and the Gospel) to the poorest of the Navajo children. His music made him a millionaire. God made him a missionary. And he found the greatest fulfillment in his life under the Arizona and New Mexico stars.

So how far would you, go, my fellow American? Would you choose to drive a beat-up Oldmobile and wear the same wardrobe for a whole year? Would you make a move to another state without knowing the cost of living there first? Would you consider such an action irresponsible? Or would you consider it irrefutable?

The world's system runs on stocks and securities. It runs on life insurance and health insurance, and those things in themselves can be really good things! I like savings accounts and plan to add on to what Megan has already started. After all, as a man I feel responsible to take care of myself and my wife, leaving her in the best financial condition if the Lord called me home. I also want to make sure we are the best stewards of God's money as we can be.

But if the God of my money calls me to follow Him someplace on earth, I will leave my tax collector's booth behind and walk behind Him (Luke 5:27-28). I will will my nets and my studies, my fields and my worldly responsibilities. And not feel irresponsible. God trumps money. Every time (Matt 6:24).

How far would you go to follow Jesus? What would keep you from heeding His call?

Be God's!

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Afraid of the Dark

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Snoopy is my hero (as is creator Charles Schulz). Here's a classic Peanuts clip I discovered in my newspaper archives that illustrates yet another wonderful spiritual principle. Click on it for a larger size.
Why is it that we are so afraid of the darkness of night? Why do we sometimes spend sleepless nights listening to the sounds outside our bedroom window and imagining a wide array of menacing meanies? Read John 11:9-10 and 1 Thessalonians 5:4 for spiritual context.

God bless Snoopy.

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Quotable: Marriage and the Will

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This one on marriage comes from a book I'm reading, "I, Isaac, Take Thee, Rebekah" by the great Ravi Zacharias. I'm learning its truth first-hand right now as I prepare to enter my own marriage.

"How do you harness the will? First by recognizing that dying to yourself is an act of the will. You must choose to lay down your life in the best sense of the term. You surrender your will to the will of God by an act of commitment and in the power of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. That is the indispensable beginning. No one likes to begin life with a funeral. But in a sense, that is where marriage begins. You choose to die to yourself and to bring to life a new affection."

I am not the man I was when Megan and I started dating. A lot has changed in me. A lot of pride has been crucified. I have willed to lay down my life in many areas and there are many more that have still to die. And they must die. I'm sure Megan has had to lay down a lot of things, too.

You know, our marriage on August 1st may be the death of our former lives, but it is also the birth of a new life. A new affection. And it's going to take the continual laying down of both of our lives to make it a great affection.

Our Master said, "Greater love has no man (or woman) than this, that he lays down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Learning to give up one's life is yet another key to Growing Young.

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