What do you think of when you see a little blue bird?
If you are anything like me, two things pop up.
1. The insanely addictive and life consuming game ‘Angry Birds’, which I recommend everyone immediately stop reading and find a way to get.
Or
2. Twitter.
I admit, I was a reluctant ‘tweeter’ at first. My allegiance lied with Facebook. But much like a Sith Lord, the bird slowly swayed me. It started with a simple tweet in October of 2008, and then slowly picked up steam to at least 3 tweets a day. Now…I love it.
People often ask me, “What makes twitter so different from Facebook?”. And it’s simple: I follow who I want, when I want. However, it’s a completely different social media outlet than any other I have experienced or used, and it’s not just because of the simplicity of it. It’s more about how I use it.
This first occurred to me when I ran into someone the other day that I follow on twitter, but has a ton of people who follow them. I’ve never met them in person, but here I am, confronted with acknowledging my own stalkerish ways, or quietly tweeting about them or at them indirectly. I mean, what’s the rule with that kind of stuff? Is it sketchy to walk up and talk to them? Does that automatically make them feel weird or does it give a sense of healthy admiration?
On my end it’s kind of unsettling at first to when you meet someone out of the normal confines of the initial relationship. You almost catch yourself forgetting who they are or asking “What are you doing here?” as if they weren’t allowed in this public forum in the first place.
But back to it, the thing that bothers me about how I use these social networks is how they honestly translate to much of my spiritual life. Often times, it’s like I’m ‘following’ Jesus. I think you know what I mean. I may be secretly adding/dropping Him because He’s tweeting to much, or tweeting things that I disagree with. Don’t get me wrong, I think twitter is a great forum for discussion on a wide range of thoughts and ideas, but how many times have you found yourself saying “If you follow me, I’ll follow you. But if you don’t follow me or give me a Follow Friday shout out, I’m dropping you…that is, until you do give me the shout out, then I’ll just @reply you” Or we treat it as if it’s more important that people are following us than the quality of people we follow.
We treat out faith like a tweet. I know this seems cheesy or whatever, but it’s really true. There’s just enough distance that we can give an impression of vulnerability and openness, yet we constantly hold people at an arm’s length like an older sibling picking on the younger.
“Are you guy’s friends?”
“Well, yea. I mean, I follow them on twitter and they follow me”.
Sometimes, we get more used to communicating with the people in our lives via a social network we forget that they are actually living. Sometimes we treat our faith as a social network or book club that meets on Sunday’s to talk about the thing that happened that one time, or the thing that one guy did, rather than treating it as something that is “living and effective, sharper than any two edge sword.” (<- I stole those words from someone way smarter and holier than I)
You see, our spiritual life is far more than a 140 typed out characters of goodness that we read or say, it’s living out a goodness of character in everything we do. It’s easy to tweet about the Church changing, or needing to live our faith more radically. It’s hard to stop typing and start living. That’s what the world needs: witnesses of faith, not just on a computer, but on the streets.
I’m not perfect at it, but I do try. I pray that this Lent, God moves in me in such a way that I longer just follow online or when it benefits me, but that I actually begin living my love for God in the way I type, eat, live and relate. I pray that other Christian's might join me in never having to wonder what it would look like if I ran into Jesus in modern times at the local coffee shop, because I've already run into Him on the street, and know Him through my relationship of prayer and worship.
1 Corinthians 10:31 ‘So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.’
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
lent
Houston. Texas.
One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and lived. Despite the pro's, there are a few cons though. (and for all you non-Texans, only a few cons) Like bugs.
I hate bugs.
Roaches pretty much own Houston. So do mosquitoes. But the one bug that comes and goes with no seemingly apparent care is the June bug.
Last night as I enjoyed a beverage with my friend and wife, I realized how many June bugs were starting to appear. In droves. Now, if you aren’t really up to date on what this bug is, no worries. I’m not entirely sure either.
But as I sat there, I noticed one thing. They don’t seem to be smart. See, this particular bug was on it’s back. So being the good St. Francis wanna be I am, instead of crushing him and ending his seemingly futile life, I flipped him over. Then he would walk, not outside where he would be safe from my insatiable desire to play with bugs, but closer towards me.
Then he flipped himself over again, except this time he tried to fly. Once he got close to me again, (because, let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to get out of my chair for a bug) we repeated the whole silly process. This continued four more times.
How dumb is this bug??? Why won’t he just fly the right way? Why does he keep playing with death from the white, hairy giant???
Then, in one of those “learn something about your self” moments God gives us, or we make up, I realized that this was a great representation of what I would be entering into the next day.
How many times in my own life do I just keep flipping myself on my back? How many times do I keep walking that fine line between those things that will kill me in the most ultimate way, and the freedom that is just mere steps away?
Lent provides me an opportunity to not just walk towards that open door, but run to it. The Church, in all her wisdom, gives me a deeply intentional, soul searching time. A time to examine what God offer’s me, and what the world offers me.
It’s during this time that everything is put in perspective. The things that bring death scream louder and harder than ever before. They are literally clinging to their life. Our fasting has a purpose. We aren’t giving up things to simply feel better about life, or look better, or develop healthier habits. We are killing those gods which steal our affection.
It’s very similar to what happened in Moses, except we experience it every year.
A lot of the time, we look at Moses in the perspective of the 1998 smash hit “The Prince of Egypt”, or Heston’s Rendition with a gnarly beard (which was real according to my research). However we think of those movies, or hear the story, there is an important aspect that we completely miss!
You see, it’s easy for us to look at the Ten Plagues as bad things from a good God, or as God showing His power, but there is a deeper meaning. Each one of the plagues was a direct attack and death-dealing blow to the god’s of the Egyptian people.
The god of the river?
The god of the harvest?
The god of the sun?
The supreme living god, pharaoh?
All struck down by the One true God. Not just to say he can, but so that His people would be free to worship him and no longer worship false gods. These other gods stood in the way between God and His people, and when you mess with the bull, you get the horns! (heyo!)
God’s people had forgotten him, because they began to be blinded by these other gods of the Egyptians. It’s not like it happened all of a sudden, but over their time there. First, things we actually ok. Then they progressively got worse. Then they claimed that God had forgotten them, when it was actually they who forgot Him.
Not only did he display His power and remind them who He was, but he also used a mumbling, murdering coward to do it. Eventually, they remembered, and many Egyptians fled with them, now free to worship him. He actually rescued his people from the slavery of Egypt, as well as the slavery of idol worship and false god’s.
All that mattered to God was his people, and that they would be free to worship him.
It’s during this time of lent that we kill all our gods and see which God can truly rise from the grave. It’s during this time that we see what we worship most in our lives, and what needs to die in order that we might rise.
One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and lived. Despite the pro's, there are a few cons though. (and for all you non-Texans, only a few cons) Like bugs.
I hate bugs.
Roaches pretty much own Houston. So do mosquitoes. But the one bug that comes and goes with no seemingly apparent care is the June bug.
Last night as I enjoyed a beverage with my friend and wife, I realized how many June bugs were starting to appear. In droves. Now, if you aren’t really up to date on what this bug is, no worries. I’m not entirely sure either.
But as I sat there, I noticed one thing. They don’t seem to be smart. See, this particular bug was on it’s back. So being the good St. Francis wanna be I am, instead of crushing him and ending his seemingly futile life, I flipped him over. Then he would walk, not outside where he would be safe from my insatiable desire to play with bugs, but closer towards me.
Then he flipped himself over again, except this time he tried to fly. Once he got close to me again, (because, let’s be honest, I wasn’t going to get out of my chair for a bug) we repeated the whole silly process. This continued four more times.
How dumb is this bug??? Why won’t he just fly the right way? Why does he keep playing with death from the white, hairy giant???
Then, in one of those “learn something about your self” moments God gives us, or we make up, I realized that this was a great representation of what I would be entering into the next day.
How many times in my own life do I just keep flipping myself on my back? How many times do I keep walking that fine line between those things that will kill me in the most ultimate way, and the freedom that is just mere steps away?
Lent provides me an opportunity to not just walk towards that open door, but run to it. The Church, in all her wisdom, gives me a deeply intentional, soul searching time. A time to examine what God offer’s me, and what the world offers me.
It’s during this time that everything is put in perspective. The things that bring death scream louder and harder than ever before. They are literally clinging to their life. Our fasting has a purpose. We aren’t giving up things to simply feel better about life, or look better, or develop healthier habits. We are killing those gods which steal our affection.
It’s very similar to what happened in Moses, except we experience it every year.
A lot of the time, we look at Moses in the perspective of the 1998 smash hit “The Prince of Egypt”, or Heston’s Rendition with a gnarly beard (which was real according to my research). However we think of those movies, or hear the story, there is an important aspect that we completely miss!
You see, it’s easy for us to look at the Ten Plagues as bad things from a good God, or as God showing His power, but there is a deeper meaning. Each one of the plagues was a direct attack and death-dealing blow to the god’s of the Egyptian people.
The god of the river?
The god of the harvest?
The god of the sun?
The supreme living god, pharaoh?
All struck down by the One true God. Not just to say he can, but so that His people would be free to worship him and no longer worship false gods. These other gods stood in the way between God and His people, and when you mess with the bull, you get the horns! (heyo!)
God’s people had forgotten him, because they began to be blinded by these other gods of the Egyptians. It’s not like it happened all of a sudden, but over their time there. First, things we actually ok. Then they progressively got worse. Then they claimed that God had forgotten them, when it was actually they who forgot Him.
Not only did he display His power and remind them who He was, but he also used a mumbling, murdering coward to do it. Eventually, they remembered, and many Egyptians fled with them, now free to worship him. He actually rescued his people from the slavery of Egypt, as well as the slavery of idol worship and false god’s.
All that mattered to God was his people, and that they would be free to worship him.
It’s during this time of lent that we kill all our gods and see which God can truly rise from the grave. It’s during this time that we see what we worship most in our lives, and what needs to die in order that we might rise.
Friday, March 4, 2011
restoration
Restoration.
What a weird word. We don't really have a great understanding of what it means. When was the last time you restored something? Typically, if something breaks or isn't working, we just purchase a new thing. Why work on restoring something when someone else can fix it for us? Why have to learn why that thing broke in the first place? Why waste our time in learning how it was supposed to work in the first place?
Scripture often talks about restoration of God's people, but maybe not in a way that we think.
The Greek word for restoration is "Katartizo", which when literally translated, means "the setting of a bone"
Ouch. When was the last time you heard someone say "It felt great to get that broken bone set". The one time in my life that I have broken a bone and got it set, I let out a yell that would make your local opera singer blush with envy, and that was just my finger.
That word drives home a better understanding of what God does when he restores. He literally sets in place something in our lives that was broken, and often times, that's going to hurt.
God is merciful. God is Love. Don't get me wrong in that. However, when we are so attached to something in our lives that is harmful to our soul, it is going to literally (and maybe even physically) hurt when it is removed. How many times have you met someone struggling with an alcohol or tobacco addiction claim that it's easy to quit? How many people do you know have stopped committing their habitual sin or unhealthy habits at the drop of a dime?
Though our culture would claim that we should avoid pain and suffering in order to maximize pleasure, God would say otherwise. Suffering is a vehicle for holiness. I'm not saying that we should purposefully walk around breaking each others arms and claiming that it's "for the kingdom", but when we avoid suffering, we may be running away from a means of holiness in our lives. It is precisely then that our suffering becomes redemptive and we become sanctified.
God doesn't restore aspects of our lives in order to punish us, but rather to take away those things which would step in between Him and our heart. There's nothing He desires more than us, but sadly, we can't often make the same claim. When restoration begins in our lives, we are fundamentally changed. We are changed for a purpose. Externally we look the same, but something is different internally.
Peter uses this word "restoration" when referring to being restored or equipped for a purpose or work. When God restores His people, He does it holistically and in time, but also so that they will be fruitful. We are called to be a part of the restoration of the kingdom, but not on our own. For the most part, what we think we need isn't really what we need. The Father knows all our needs better than we do, the Son shows us the way to the Father, and the Spirit equips us to to move deeper and closer to the Father's heart; all to achieve a better understanding of need and want. What we want is temporary. What we need is eternal.
When we deny the fact that we are in desperate need of restoration, we effectively turn away from God using us in His plan for restoration of ourselves, and His kingdom. If we deny the fact that we need restoration, we deny the fact that we need a God. In a sense, we are trying to set a bone that has broken without having any knowledge of how to. If I go to a doctor who sets my bone the wrong way, chances are I'm not going to go back to Him. Furthermore, if I am surrounded by bad doctors and find a perfect one, I'm going to tell everyone I know the way to find Him. Once we begin to live in this restoration, we have no other choice than to spread the fact that we weren't aren't able to restore anything on our own but we know who can.
The funny thing is this: we aren't something that needs to be replaced or discarded, but sanctified. We are made in His image and likeness, and that gives us a special dignity that can't be taken away or ignored. In acknowledging this, we begin to see our restoration more fully as we become One with the eternal, thus mirroring who He is to the world. In allowing the Father to restore us, we learn why He wants to restore us, and what He restores us for, both temporally and eternally.
How is God restoring you today? What purpose do you think He is restoring you for?
What a weird word. We don't really have a great understanding of what it means. When was the last time you restored something? Typically, if something breaks or isn't working, we just purchase a new thing. Why work on restoring something when someone else can fix it for us? Why have to learn why that thing broke in the first place? Why waste our time in learning how it was supposed to work in the first place?
Scripture often talks about restoration of God's people, but maybe not in a way that we think.
The Greek word for restoration is "Katartizo", which when literally translated, means "the setting of a bone"
Ouch. When was the last time you heard someone say "It felt great to get that broken bone set". The one time in my life that I have broken a bone and got it set, I let out a yell that would make your local opera singer blush with envy, and that was just my finger.
That word drives home a better understanding of what God does when he restores. He literally sets in place something in our lives that was broken, and often times, that's going to hurt.
God is merciful. God is Love. Don't get me wrong in that. However, when we are so attached to something in our lives that is harmful to our soul, it is going to literally (and maybe even physically) hurt when it is removed. How many times have you met someone struggling with an alcohol or tobacco addiction claim that it's easy to quit? How many people do you know have stopped committing their habitual sin or unhealthy habits at the drop of a dime?
Though our culture would claim that we should avoid pain and suffering in order to maximize pleasure, God would say otherwise. Suffering is a vehicle for holiness. I'm not saying that we should purposefully walk around breaking each others arms and claiming that it's "for the kingdom", but when we avoid suffering, we may be running away from a means of holiness in our lives. It is precisely then that our suffering becomes redemptive and we become sanctified.
God doesn't restore aspects of our lives in order to punish us, but rather to take away those things which would step in between Him and our heart. There's nothing He desires more than us, but sadly, we can't often make the same claim. When restoration begins in our lives, we are fundamentally changed. We are changed for a purpose. Externally we look the same, but something is different internally.
Peter uses this word "restoration" when referring to being restored or equipped for a purpose or work. When God restores His people, He does it holistically and in time, but also so that they will be fruitful. We are called to be a part of the restoration of the kingdom, but not on our own. For the most part, what we think we need isn't really what we need. The Father knows all our needs better than we do, the Son shows us the way to the Father, and the Spirit equips us to to move deeper and closer to the Father's heart; all to achieve a better understanding of need and want. What we want is temporary. What we need is eternal.
When we deny the fact that we are in desperate need of restoration, we effectively turn away from God using us in His plan for restoration of ourselves, and His kingdom. If we deny the fact that we need restoration, we deny the fact that we need a God. In a sense, we are trying to set a bone that has broken without having any knowledge of how to. If I go to a doctor who sets my bone the wrong way, chances are I'm not going to go back to Him. Furthermore, if I am surrounded by bad doctors and find a perfect one, I'm going to tell everyone I know the way to find Him. Once we begin to live in this restoration, we have no other choice than to spread the fact that we weren't aren't able to restore anything on our own but we know who can.
The funny thing is this: we aren't something that needs to be replaced or discarded, but sanctified. We are made in His image and likeness, and that gives us a special dignity that can't be taken away or ignored. In acknowledging this, we begin to see our restoration more fully as we become One with the eternal, thus mirroring who He is to the world. In allowing the Father to restore us, we learn why He wants to restore us, and what He restores us for, both temporally and eternally.
How is God restoring you today? What purpose do you think He is restoring you for?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)