So which is it?

Could it be that my prayer for wisdom, or that God would fix our car, or that He'd miraculously give us a new one, or that he would "fix" our situation, comes out of a heart of doubt rather than trust?

Through this little trying time and really all throughout our dark summer, we've been trying our best to trust God. We have asked a million times: "what does it mean to trust God?"

So Angela and I read this passage this morning:

John 7 (The Message)

1-2 Later Jesus was going about his business in Galilee. He didn't want to travel in Judea because the Jews there were looking for a chance to kill him. It was near the time of Tabernacles, a feast observed annually by the Jews.

3-5His brothers said, "Why don't you leave here and go up to the Feast so your disciples can get a good look at the works you do? No one who intends to be publicly known does everything behind the scenes. If you're serious about what you are doing, come out in the open and show the world." His brothers were pushing him like this because they didn't believe in him either.

6-8Jesus came back at them, "Don't crowd me. This isn't my time. It's your time—it's always your time; you have nothing to lose. The world has nothing against you, but it's up in arms against me. It's against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions. You go ahead, go up to the Feast. Don't wait for me. I'm not ready. It's not the right time for me."

9-11He said this and stayed on in Galilee. But later, after his family had gone up to the Feast, he also went. But he kept out of the way, careful not to draw attention to himself. The Jews were already out looking for him, asking around, "Where is that man?"

It's odd to say but it was really Eugene's comments about this passage that spoke to me:

Unbelief is impatient with God's ways. The counsel of Jesus' brothers stemmed not from their trust in him, but from their doubts about him. But Jesus will not be hurried, and he will not be pushed.
A Year With Jesus: Daily Readings And Meditations by Eugene H. Peterson

If Mr. Peterson is correct, than there is a good chance that when we approach God and ask Him to come through on our prayers, it may be because we don't actually trust Him - like the disciples in the passage. We doubt he is able and we approach him with a "cummon, I gotta see it, show me what you got" attitude, like the disciples in the passage.

What does that mean for us right now with our car and making it through life in general? I think it means that to trust is to wait on His timing. There's no hurry to figure it all out or fix everything. It's kind of odd but there is a sense of peace that comes with it.

So today I pray as Eugene Suggests:

Do it your way, Jesus, and in your time. Give me the gift of patience to wait, the gift of courage to persevere, and the gift of faith to believe that you do all things right. Amen.

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Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die

I just finished reading Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven But Nobody Wants To Die or the eschatology of bluegrass by David Crowder and Mike Hogan. In fact, I finished it within three minutes of writing this sentence and the one previous - all this to say, the following thoughts will be my gut reaction.


Well first of all, I don't contemplate dying, the soul, heaven or hell much. I think about it occasionally, in different forms but I don't contemplate it. Which surprises me cause death has brushed my family and friends, I co-lead a church that "should" be concerned with the state of man's soul, I have conducted a few funerals and have committed the dead to the dust of the earth (graveside service).

When I think about "how I think about" death, it usually is in the context of: "God, it would suck if Angela died" or "what would I do if one of my boyz died" or "what would life be like for Angela if I died" and then I don't want to think about those things anymore. But then I do, but the thoughts are usually accompanied by an ache and I think the ache is my understanding that death is a reality. The ache is that knowledge that I really don't know how long Angela, the boyz or I will continue to draw breath. That I am not in control of that and at it could be at any time I may loose someone. The ache is also the realization that I don't deserve life (this may need some explanation but for now, I am talking about the sin-state of man) and though I am thankful for it, it can be taken. And what this all boils down to then, is the fear of what comes next.

You see, the Bible is not really clear as to what comes next. That's what these two guys want us to know: that no one really knows what the soul is, and what happens to it after we die. Yeah, we have our theories: we don't really have a soul; that we have a soul but it dies when the body dies; when you die, your soul goes to sleep, that when the body dies, the soul leaves the body and resides in the presence of God; that the soul leaves and spends some time in purgatory (place where the soul cleanses itself before final judgement; and more theories I don't care to explain (p. 172-176).

Honestly, I don't know why I shared that in particular. I think what I was trying to get to is that Christians have spent little time thinking about such things and as a result, we paint for ourselves a misguided picture of heaven:

- It will be better
- There will be no problems
- There will be no sickness
- It will be peaceful
- We will be in the presence of God and/or Christ
- The cripple will be healed
- We will see friends and family that have died before us
- We will be eternal
- There will be humor
- People in heaven will be recognizable as they were in life
- There will be Angels

p. 176

The authors point out that very little of this is actually in scripture.

Now that I typed that, I can't remember why I brought that up.

Ok, so I guess the point of the book, without giving it away is that we do have a soul, we will all feel the weight of death, we all will die, but because of the death of the human son of God, WE WIN! Death has no victory!

There is more to it than that of course. . . They talk a lat about bluegrass . . .
It may be interesting to note that David Crowder released their album A Collision, which is all about the struggle with death, long before they thought of writing this book. In fact, the death of Kyle Lake came shortly after the release of the album and it is his death (close friend of David and Mike) which had a huge influence in writing the book. And it was Kyle Lake who was instrumental in seeing the A Collision album released before he died.

If you haven't checked out the album, you should. It is weird - a fantastic piece of art in my opinion. And now I understand and appreciate that album so much more after reading the book.

And like the album, the book is weird too. It has insecure humor, weird stories, IM conversations, illustrations, and lots of footnotes. If you are an academic, probably not the book for you (they reference Wikipedia quite a lot).

So those are my gut reactions. Perhaps I will write more as I ponder more.

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Application

Where did this idea of Application come from? Where did we get the idea that we must "apply, apply, apply" the scriptures. I was having an intense conversation with someone over the beattudes, again, and this person was constantly saying: "but I gotta know how to apply it." He was taking each verse, such as "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy" and insisting that he needed to know how to apply it to his life.

Now I am not saying making applications are wrong but must we always read scripture with intention that we must apply what we read to our lives right now? The trouble for me is that I am still wrestling with the beattitudes. I feel that Jesus was stating a fact in this "sermon" rather than imploring that everone needs to be these things or else, know what I mean?"

So it is not that I am looking for an excuse to not be merciful, I definitely want to be that, but what I want to know is where did we get the idea that we must "apply" everything? Where did that notion come from? Who influenced our thinking this way?

Perhaps you may point to 2 Timothy 3:16 which says: "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting and training in righteousness" and say that is why we must apply it. Ok. But must we make applications with such vigor?

I am just tired of having to respond by doing something all the time. I am weary of it. What I really want is for God to speak through the scriptures to tell me who I am. To tell me how much he loves me and values me. I don't get this when I read for application. I usually feel guilty that I don't measure up or could ever measure up. I seem to always read scripture through the lens of "so what should I do now?" And when I do that, I am overwhelmed with the weight of having to do something - usually something I can't do, by myself at least, or without the Holy Spirit, which is what I have end up trying to do.

* * *

So I think this tension in me - applying scripture vs. just listening to scripture - is a result of me being in the crossover between our modern and post-modern generations. The modern part of me tells me that I must measure up to a standard and do, do, do while the post-modern part of me wants to rebell agains that complusion. And for no particular reason that I can tell, other than I want to rebell. Or maybe it i wrong.

And where does this all bring me? No idea. If you've been confused by what you just read, I am more confused than you.

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Quotes

2 sweet quotes I never want to forget:

"He is the God of deal with it now. Why? Simple. Because later is about me, and now is about everyone else." The Last Next Best. Mark Steele. Relevant Megazine. Nov/Dec 06 p. 56.

The bold is what I want to remember. There is a lot contained in that phrase. This speaks directly to my "always lookin to the future" complex.

The other quote I heard last night on that extreme homemakeover show. It's that one with Ty, I think his name is. The one where they basically build a house for well deserving family. The dad that died of cancer from yesterday's show was known to say "Lots to think about. Nothin to worry about."

Maybe I should add another quote, from scripture. It's one that I think is most often misunderstood. I'll throw it on the pile:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:6-7 (NIV).

So you tell me, what is the common thread in these three quotes?

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It begins at Creation

One of the best things I have read in a long time:

... Perhaps the most common imbalance in American evangelicalism is to overemphasize the Fall. Consider the typical evangelistic message: "You're a sinner; you need to be saved." What could be wrong with that? Of course, it's true that we are sinners, but notice that the message starts with the Fall instead of Creation. By beginning with the theme of sin, it implies that our essential identity consists in being guilty sinners, deserving of divine punishment. Some Christian literature goes so far as to say we are nothing, completely worthless, before a holy God.
This excessively negative view is not biblical, however, and it lays Christianity open to the charge that it has a low view of human dignity. The Bible does not begin with the Fall but with Creation: Our value and dignity are rooted in the fact that we are created in the image of God, with the high calling of being His representatives on earth. In fact, it is only because humans have such high value that sin is so tragic. If we were worthless to begin with, then the Fall would be a trivial event. When a cheap trinket is broken, we toss it aside with a shrug. But when a priceless masterpiece is defaced, we are horrified. It is because humans are the masterpiece of God's creation that the destructiveness of sin produces such horror and sorrow. Far from expressing a low view of human nature, the Bible actually gives a far higher view than the dominant secular view today, which regards humans as simply complex computers made of meat-products of blind, naturalistic forces, without transcendent purpose or meaning.
If we start with the message of sin, without giving the context of Creation, then we will come across to nonbelievers as merely negative and judgmental. After and extended trip through Africa (described in Dark Star Safari), the writer Paul Theroux said one of the saddest moments in his journey was "hearing a young woman [missionary] tell me that she was heading for Mozambique and adding, 'They're all sinners, you know.'" Theroux concluded that missionaries only make people "despise themselves."* We need to begin our message where the Bible begins-with the dignity and high calling of all human beings because they are created in the image of God.

Nancy Pearcey Total Truth: Liberating Christianity From Its Cultural Captivity. pg. 87-88.

*Paul Theroux, interview by Susan Olasky, "Agents of Virtue," World, March 15, 2003.

For some reason, I have lately taken an interest in the study of worldviews and how they develop, particularly the North American Christian worldview. I think it is because I have become to realize how out of whack mine is. Or maybe it is because I think most other Christian's worldview is out of whack and I am resisting becoming one of them. Either way, I know I am going to be challenged and stretch. I think it is up to me how far I'll allow myself to go and that scares me because even though I like the idea of changing, I don't know how far I will allow myself to go.

Anyhow, this quote is one example how Christians have wrongly have viewed humanity and sin through a distorted lens.

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Question:

Are the "Beatitudes" found in Matthew 5 limited to Christians only?

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