Listening to NPR today on the way in to work, I heard someone say "Liberal Christianity is trying to domesticate God." And of course, I immediately wondered what it would be like if God were on a sitcom...
Domesticating God - Episode 1
Opening credit music-Interior living room-Front door opens
G - Hi, honey! I'm home! (insert studio applause)
H.S. - You created everything, you're always home! (canned laughter) Where have you been, you're late again.
G- Still trying to figure out how one minute Pluto is a planet, and the next it's not! Humans, can't live with them, can't flood them out. (canned laughter)
H.S - Do you know what your son has done now?
G - Oh, he does something, and now he's MY son? What happened?
H.S. - He ONLY upset his cousin. Little Johnny was trying to practice baptism, and Jesus kept running across the pool! (canned laughter)
G - (big buildup) Je-SUUUSSS!!!
J - Yeah, dad?
G - Up to your room, now! No supper! (beat) What are we having tonight, any way?
H.S. - Loaves and fishes.
G - Again? It's like that stuff just multiplies! (canned laughter)
J- I don't care about supper. I'll just turn my pet rock into bread! (slams door)
G - Je-SUUUSSS!
End Credit Music
Trying to give God human faults is nothing new. The Greeks took their stories to such lengths, that it was more like Days of our Lives, if one of the Brady's could throw a lightning bolt. Now, it is very true that when Jesus came to earth He was fully human, but unlike Days, he didn't give in to those human temptations, He, like His Father above, was Holy.
I've spoken much recently about God's love, but this is not a love that comes from weakness. It is available because of the Strength of God's Holiness. He loves, not because of anything we can do, but because of His grace. His Holiness can not abide sin, and the only thing that can erase that sin is His own pure, Holy being. Sinfulness cannot cleanse sinfulness. Only something completely Holy can do that.
That's the power behind John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave His only, begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In His Holiness, he became Man, that Man might dwell with Him in His Holiness.
"Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord, God Almighty.
Though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see.
Only thou art Holy. There is none beside thee.
Perfect in power, in love and purity."
Amen.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Prodigal
"While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." Luke 15:20
(If you've not read through this story in a while, it's in Luke, chapter 15. A Hallmark movie moment if there ever was one.)
A few years back, more than I care to mention, I wrote a song with a friend of mine, Ray Dilworth, called "Prodigal". The chorus went like this:
(If you've not read through this story in a while, it's in Luke, chapter 15. A Hallmark movie moment if there ever was one.)
A few years back, more than I care to mention, I wrote a song with a friend of mine, Ray Dilworth, called "Prodigal". The chorus went like this:
Prodigal - always trying to run away.
Prodigal - got to have things your own way.
Prodigal - got no place to call your own.
Oh, Prodigal, won't you please just come back home.
It's a funny thing, that we will often run from what we love, to achieve what we want. An independent, self-reliant, call your own shots kind of living, because we fear the bonds that love creates will hold us back. Then, when the brass ring we chased after turns green, we think the bonds of love we ran from could never be strong enough to return to. Broken forever, with too much pride or guilt to ever be bonded again.
But that's no how true love works. True love isn't based on "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours". The son in the story no longer felt he was worthy of love, but love isn't based on worth. The father had spent every day at the gate looking for his son, but giving him the choice to run away or run home. When he saw him, still a long way off, did he wait for him at the gate? No, he ran to his son! Did he tell him everything he did wrong, make sure he was good and sorry? No, he gave him a robe, and rings, and sandals, and put on a feast!
Maybe we don't come to God because we fear what He will do. The term "wrath of God" comes to mind. But then we are forgetting "a clean and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise". (Psalm 51:17) Turn to God, and his arms will embrace you in love, not crush you into submission. There is no greater joy in the heart of God, than to see a child come home. And the retuning child is robed in His deep, never-ending love, not lashed with a whip.
Oh, Prodigal, won't you please just come back home?
Friday, August 19, 2016
An Open Letter
Dear God,
Hi it's me. Can I bend your ear for a minute? First, I just want to thank you. You've saved my life so many times. I should have died when my arteries blocked up, but you saw me through. Ten years later, cancer tried to finish the job, but it was no match for you. In every trial, every darkness, your light continued to shine, even if I couldn't see it. Your arms embraced me, even when I couldn't feel them. Your love never failed me, even when I felt no love for myself or anyone else. You are faithful, even when I am faithless. To say you are steadfast seems a very weak way to describe your unchanging love. Yet your love is steadfast, and does not depend on me. While I was still in sin, you loved me. While I was in the womb, you cared for me. From before the world began, you determined to save me; from sin and from myself. I am blessed beyond my worth, because you have deemed me worthy.
So why does my heart still feel despair? Why does darkness still come? Why does my soul cry out "How long, O Lord, how long?" It is not because your love has changed, but my vision has turned. If I choose to look at the darkness, then its darkness I see. If I look to your light, then darkness must flee. Help me to focus on your light and love. Help me feel your warmth, when the coldness of the world encroaches. Help me to shout your name in praise, even when my voice is the only one I hear. And when I finally see your face, I will remember that is was there all along, even when I would not see.
Your child,
Mark
Hi it's me. Can I bend your ear for a minute? First, I just want to thank you. You've saved my life so many times. I should have died when my arteries blocked up, but you saw me through. Ten years later, cancer tried to finish the job, but it was no match for you. In every trial, every darkness, your light continued to shine, even if I couldn't see it. Your arms embraced me, even when I couldn't feel them. Your love never failed me, even when I felt no love for myself or anyone else. You are faithful, even when I am faithless. To say you are steadfast seems a very weak way to describe your unchanging love. Yet your love is steadfast, and does not depend on me. While I was still in sin, you loved me. While I was in the womb, you cared for me. From before the world began, you determined to save me; from sin and from myself. I am blessed beyond my worth, because you have deemed me worthy.
So why does my heart still feel despair? Why does darkness still come? Why does my soul cry out "How long, O Lord, how long?" It is not because your love has changed, but my vision has turned. If I choose to look at the darkness, then its darkness I see. If I look to your light, then darkness must flee. Help me to focus on your light and love. Help me feel your warmth, when the coldness of the world encroaches. Help me to shout your name in praise, even when my voice is the only one I hear. And when I finally see your face, I will remember that is was there all along, even when I would not see.
Your child,
Mark
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
A Poem For My Dad
A slight diversion on this post. These words may be an acceptable poem, or just the ramblings of a sleep depraved man. Hope you enjoy.
Danny Boy
I rose from a restless sleep.
A melody followed from dream to wakefulness.
A familiar tune, one of my Dad's favorites, mine too.
Played on a trumpet; smooth, clear, tempo rubato.
Like an ocean tide rushing to the shore, then
Reluctantly, slowly, retreating back to the depths.
And I laughed, because my Dad hated the ocean.
Yet the ocean is my haven of rest..
The same melody ran through us both, yet rarely
In sync with each other.
When I heard a trumpet, he heard a guitar.
When I rushed, he slowed.
When I slowed, he rushed.
Still, it was the same, beautiful song.
My family all have variations on that tune.
Some rock, some country, some bluegrass,
classical, even jazz.
Some improvise until you can barely hear the tune at all.
On the surface, a symphony of noise rising to the heavens,
Till the angels cover their ears.
But underneath, the melody stays strong and true.
And I love it.
Danny Boy
I rose from a restless sleep.
A melody followed from dream to wakefulness.
A familiar tune, one of my Dad's favorites, mine too.
Played on a trumpet; smooth, clear, tempo rubato.
Like an ocean tide rushing to the shore, then
Reluctantly, slowly, retreating back to the depths.
And I laughed, because my Dad hated the ocean.
Yet the ocean is my haven of rest..
The same melody ran through us both, yet rarely
In sync with each other.
When I heard a trumpet, he heard a guitar.
When I rushed, he slowed.
When I slowed, he rushed.
Still, it was the same, beautiful song.
My family all have variations on that tune.
Some rock, some country, some bluegrass,
classical, even jazz.
Some improvise until you can barely hear the tune at all.
On the surface, a symphony of noise rising to the heavens,
Till the angels cover their ears.
But underneath, the melody stays strong and true.
And I love it.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Is There Anything Good?
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8
I've always had a bit of a sarcastic streak in me. It helped me survive my educational years, elementary, middle school, high school. I was too puny to do much damage physically, except to myself, so my mouth was my weapon. as I get older, I see it still exists in me, but now threatens to turn me into a grumpy old man. The kind that sits in a chair on the porch, yelling at kids to get off my lawn, or complaining that everybody mumbles now, can't anybody speak plain English! Worse yet, I see the world today, with its violence, hate, and just pure evil, and I want to just give up on the world, go find a beach somewhere, and wait for Jesus to just pick me up on His way by. (Come to think of it...I DO think about the beach a lot! My happy place...)
So, where was I...oh, yeah. So what's a guy to do? As in most cases, the opposite of what the world does. Don't act like I can't see the bad, that would be ignorance and a lie. Do focus on the good...true, honorable, pure, lovely, commendable, excellence, anything worthy of praise. Spend more energy finding good than evil. The process is more rewarding, and less ulcer inducing. Even to a grumpy old man like myself.
Is it easy? It is not. It takes work, and focus, and failure, and trying over and over again. In Philippians 4:9, Paul goes on to say "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you" See the word "practice"? (I hope so-it's in bold print! Oops, there I go again!) Practice means a continuing effort.
I don't claim to do this well, or sometimes, even at all, but thank God that He is there to remind me. I would much rather try, with God's help, to look at the world and others on their "good sides", than to live and participate in the same hate I see all around. This is something special. This is looking through God's eyes, and only He can lift away that veil of hate so that we can see. Because only His eyes see truth, good and evil. But He turns His eyes away from lies, and toward love of His children. All of them.
Look to Jesus, who sees us through love, then find that love in others - and think on THESE things. And when it seems too hard to see, remember "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
I've always had a bit of a sarcastic streak in me. It helped me survive my educational years, elementary, middle school, high school. I was too puny to do much damage physically, except to myself, so my mouth was my weapon. as I get older, I see it still exists in me, but now threatens to turn me into a grumpy old man. The kind that sits in a chair on the porch, yelling at kids to get off my lawn, or complaining that everybody mumbles now, can't anybody speak plain English! Worse yet, I see the world today, with its violence, hate, and just pure evil, and I want to just give up on the world, go find a beach somewhere, and wait for Jesus to just pick me up on His way by. (Come to think of it...I DO think about the beach a lot! My happy place...)
So, where was I...oh, yeah. So what's a guy to do? As in most cases, the opposite of what the world does. Don't act like I can't see the bad, that would be ignorance and a lie. Do focus on the good...true, honorable, pure, lovely, commendable, excellence, anything worthy of praise. Spend more energy finding good than evil. The process is more rewarding, and less ulcer inducing. Even to a grumpy old man like myself.
Is it easy? It is not. It takes work, and focus, and failure, and trying over and over again. In Philippians 4:9, Paul goes on to say "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you" See the word "practice"? (I hope so-it's in bold print! Oops, there I go again!) Practice means a continuing effort.
I don't claim to do this well, or sometimes, even at all, but thank God that He is there to remind me. I would much rather try, with God's help, to look at the world and others on their "good sides", than to live and participate in the same hate I see all around. This is something special. This is looking through God's eyes, and only He can lift away that veil of hate so that we can see. Because only His eyes see truth, good and evil. But He turns His eyes away from lies, and toward love of His children. All of them.
Look to Jesus, who sees us through love, then find that love in others - and think on THESE things. And when it seems too hard to see, remember "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
Thursday, August 4, 2016
God Is Steadfast - In Spite Of Us
Well, its been two weeks since my last post. Anybody miss me? Anyone...? Hello...? Is this mike on...?
As I've mentioned before, spiritual discipline and consistency have always been a shortfall of mine. I'll work and work and reach a spiritual plateau, and instead of pressing on, I sit on my good intentions and rest.
"I don't have to read my Bible today, God understands."
"Don't have time for that devotion today, but me and God are tight, so it's cool."
I don't have to write a blog Every week, blah, blah."
While these are just mine, I'm sure others can fill in their own scenarios.
Why do we do this? Why do we set our eyes on the goal, then stop halfway through the race? Is it because we don't have a true view of the goal?
Jesus is our goal. To be one with Him is our goal. We know that in our human selves this race is for a lifetime, but we turn our eyes to ourselves, off of Him, sit in the middle of the track and say "See how good I am?".
From a legal standpoint, two laws would be enough to cover. "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and your neighbor as yourself." (Dut 6:5) (Lev 19:18).But we can't love God fully, and turn to ourselves and our own understanding, and we can't love others properly, because most of us don't love ourselves properly. We are to put ourselves in God's care in bad AND good times. We are to love others with the same forgiving love with which God loves us. But when we step out of focus with God's love, we can no longer give that to others. These two are interdependent of each other.
Not to worry though. Even when we turn from Him, His grace is more than enough to allow us to re-turn to Him. You see even though we are not consistent, His love and grace ALWAYS are! Focus on Him is the key. Empty ourselves completely to be filled with Him completely. To reach a point where we see others with God's loving eyes, and other see God's love in us. Something I admit to failing daily, and daily needing God's grace to restore me. But even as inconsistent as I am, God is steadfast forever. Amen.
If you get a chance, read through the book of Romans this week. Maybe a couple of times. Paul says it so much better!
As I've mentioned before, spiritual discipline and consistency have always been a shortfall of mine. I'll work and work and reach a spiritual plateau, and instead of pressing on, I sit on my good intentions and rest.
"I don't have to read my Bible today, God understands."
"Don't have time for that devotion today, but me and God are tight, so it's cool."
I don't have to write a blog Every week, blah, blah."
While these are just mine, I'm sure others can fill in their own scenarios.
Why do we do this? Why do we set our eyes on the goal, then stop halfway through the race? Is it because we don't have a true view of the goal?
Jesus is our goal. To be one with Him is our goal. We know that in our human selves this race is for a lifetime, but we turn our eyes to ourselves, off of Him, sit in the middle of the track and say "See how good I am?".
From a legal standpoint, two laws would be enough to cover. "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and your neighbor as yourself." (Dut 6:5) (Lev 19:18).But we can't love God fully, and turn to ourselves and our own understanding, and we can't love others properly, because most of us don't love ourselves properly. We are to put ourselves in God's care in bad AND good times. We are to love others with the same forgiving love with which God loves us. But when we step out of focus with God's love, we can no longer give that to others. These two are interdependent of each other.
Not to worry though. Even when we turn from Him, His grace is more than enough to allow us to re-turn to Him. You see even though we are not consistent, His love and grace ALWAYS are! Focus on Him is the key. Empty ourselves completely to be filled with Him completely. To reach a point where we see others with God's loving eyes, and other see God's love in us. Something I admit to failing daily, and daily needing God's grace to restore me. But even as inconsistent as I am, God is steadfast forever. Amen.
If you get a chance, read through the book of Romans this week. Maybe a couple of times. Paul says it so much better!
Friday, July 22, 2016
New Wine in Old Wineskins
And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:22
This week has seen the Republican Convention start and end, and next week will be the Democratic Convention. Both of these already know the persons who will be nominated to run for President of the United States. Rather than anything different, we seem to be given the same old, same old, party down the line rhetoric. Even that is more from the speech writers than the candidates or their chosen "character references". You would get more honest opinion on an episode of "Nashville" than what both parties are giving to the American People.
In this year, as I've watched the election process unfold, I've been reminded over and over of the George Orwell novel, Animal Farm. Those who promote freedom and change simply turning back to the old ways and making matters worse. All are equal, but some more equal than others.
This is not the America I studied in Civics class. We are not a country that is "of the party, by the party, and for the party". Only when we begin to behave and act as Americans, and not parties, will real change occur. I'm not knocking the party system. It serves a purpose and is relevant. But when the party becomes more relevant that the country, there is a problem. We've seen it over and again in stalemates in Congress, neither side moving because of "Party Lines", and true communication is lost. As is true resolution.
So once again we've put new candidates into the same old party structure. We elect a party, not a person, and refuse to listen to the other party regardless of what they may have to say. The old wineskin of this party parity is about to burst, and Americans will be the ones to suffer for it.
Be sure that when you cast your vote, you think not just of yourself, but of those who may be in a different situation than you. Think of the needs of ALL Americans, as this coming President is the president of ALL Americans, not Republicans or Democrats. This is the thinking that will reform the party system, by putting it in its proper place. This is the thinking that will create serious debate to find serious solutions. Party loyalty has created a nation of sheep led by sound bytes on television with no notion of the full context. Break the mold. Study, learn, listen, question. Then vote. Not for a party, but an Idea. An idea that Lincoln was correct when he said this was a nation "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Soap box rant over.
This week has seen the Republican Convention start and end, and next week will be the Democratic Convention. Both of these already know the persons who will be nominated to run for President of the United States. Rather than anything different, we seem to be given the same old, same old, party down the line rhetoric. Even that is more from the speech writers than the candidates or their chosen "character references". You would get more honest opinion on an episode of "Nashville" than what both parties are giving to the American People.
In this year, as I've watched the election process unfold, I've been reminded over and over of the George Orwell novel, Animal Farm. Those who promote freedom and change simply turning back to the old ways and making matters worse. All are equal, but some more equal than others.
This is not the America I studied in Civics class. We are not a country that is "of the party, by the party, and for the party". Only when we begin to behave and act as Americans, and not parties, will real change occur. I'm not knocking the party system. It serves a purpose and is relevant. But when the party becomes more relevant that the country, there is a problem. We've seen it over and again in stalemates in Congress, neither side moving because of "Party Lines", and true communication is lost. As is true resolution.
So once again we've put new candidates into the same old party structure. We elect a party, not a person, and refuse to listen to the other party regardless of what they may have to say. The old wineskin of this party parity is about to burst, and Americans will be the ones to suffer for it.
Be sure that when you cast your vote, you think not just of yourself, but of those who may be in a different situation than you. Think of the needs of ALL Americans, as this coming President is the president of ALL Americans, not Republicans or Democrats. This is the thinking that will reform the party system, by putting it in its proper place. This is the thinking that will create serious debate to find serious solutions. Party loyalty has created a nation of sheep led by sound bytes on television with no notion of the full context. Break the mold. Study, learn, listen, question. Then vote. Not for a party, but an Idea. An idea that Lincoln was correct when he said this was a nation "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
Soap box rant over.
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