Jesus Drives People Crazy

Jesus is an interesting character. After reading most of the book of John today, I remembered why Jesus drives people crazy. All throughout the book, Jesus is constantly challenging people, slipping through the hands of persecutors, going against the culture, doing the exact opposite of what people expect Him to do, and ultimately showing the world the life that a true, sold-out follower of God should live.

That's where the rubber meets the road, and where many of us end up slamming on the brakes. Whenever we can keep Jesus at an arm's length, occasionally reaching out to touch the hem of his garment, we're okay with Him being a part of our lives. We don't want him to be much more than that, though. It starts to get messy when Jesus asks us to walk with Him hand-in-hand to bring light into the darkness and redemption to a dying world. So we stand back and try to sweep our own messes under the rug and forget about walking with anyone else through theirs.

Jesus shows a different example. He actually does what we talk so much about wanting/needing to do. When people were hungry, he fed them. When people were thirsty, he gave them something to drink. When someone was getting persecuted, He stood up for them. When people wept over the loss of a family member, He wept with them. Then, to top it all off, before he is betrayed, beaten, and crucified, He prays for everyone. The writer of John also says at the end, "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." Paul writes in Philippians 2, "...Jesus,... though he was in the form of God, did not could equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself..." He was constantly seeking the next step He could take in service to others. 

A question I ask myself often is, "What if Christians, even a handful of Christians, looked at who Jesus is in the Bible, studied that, asked the Holy Spirit to reveal to them ways to become more like His example in their own lives, and did that every single day?" What if I, myself, did that every single day? I'm not much on "what if" questions, but that is one that I can deal with and be challenged by. If we're not striving to become more like Jesus, who/what are we striving to become more like? And is that worth it?

"What's in it for me?"

Hmmmm..... 

This is a question we hear spewing out of people's mouths at will, in almost any situation where one person is asking another for assistance. "What do I get out of it?" is a question that is nearly always the reciprocation to any plea for help, however large or small, as if that question were a part of the person's DNA. Then, the person asking for help either has a plan for how to repay the one helping him, or is probing his brain for any possible mediocre recompense that might satisfy the one he is indebted to. This "works based" culture leaves many people crippled because the work they do or the repayment they attempt to provide is never good enough for the other party, which leads to a vicious cycle of needing help from others (because everyone needs help from others at times), feeling like they can't repay the other person/party, and therefore not asking and suffering in their incapacitation. Sound familiar?

Where does this come from, though? Why do we have this raging sense of entitlement that billows over into our relationships with one another?

Numerous people have come up with some fancy, philosophical explanations to tell us the answers to those questions, but really it all boils down to one word. Sin. This is what puts us in opposition to the way God intended us to live. Sin, in a very basic definition, is the opposite of what God wants. So, how is wanting someone to give you what "you're due" sin, you ask? Well, it's complicated, and that in and of itself is not always sin. If you'd like to get a deeper explanation or have a deeper discussion, you can contact me here. For the sake of this post, though, I need to keep moving.

There are times when you must, and should, pay for things that you receive. It happens every day at the grocery store, gas station, restaurants, etc. For a second, though, think about when the last time was that you gave someone something and expected nothing in return. Whether it was an openly expressed gratitude or an anonymous gift, when did that take place? Has it ever taken place? Better yet, here's maybe a more applicable question. (You don't even have to be the one to initiate this one.) When is the last time someone asked you for help and you helped them, without asking for anything in return?

That question may not have the answer you'd like to share with the world. It doesn't have to stay that way, though. The next time you think that someone owes you or that you won't help anyone because you won't get anything out of it, think about this. God, THE God, came to earth in human form and sacrificed Himself on a cross and bore the sins of all humanity so that we could have the opportunity to live eternally with Him in heaven. What did he get in return? Broken, nasty sinners like you and me whose best gifts to offer are like filthy rags. Great prize, huh? I don't know about you, but that compels me to follow His example and attempt to lay my life down for His sake and the sake of others as well. Will you do the same?

Ogres Are Like Onions

There are many random scenes of many random movies that will be forever etched into my memory. 

This is one of them.

Layers. We all have them, but some are harder to get to than others. Cakes have layers; everybody likes cakes. Why does everybody like cakes? They don't have very many layers and the ones that they do have are fairly easy to deal with. You can just eat them right up, so to speak. Onions, on the other hand, have layers upon layers and these layers aren't exactly a "cake walk" to get through. To make it through the layers of an onion, you have to get your hands dirty, it can get smelly and nasty, and you will most likely shed a few tears in the process. Ogres are like onions. End of story. Bye bye. See ya later.  

The List...

We all have that list. It's that checklist of things where we say, "If I only had _______, ________, _________, and ________, then my life would be so much easier and I could better handle what life is throwing at me." Oh, the list. It may change from time to time. You may add a few items if you're life gets rougher than usual, or possibly (most likely never) take away an item that you believe has become obsolete. But... there's always the list.

Personally, I have fallen into this line of thinking many times and find myself dwelling on this idea more often than I should. I have even come up with my own list of things, which probably isn't much different from many other "wish lists" out there. Here it is (in no particular order). If I just had:

1.) my own car,

2.) a Macbook Pro,

3.) no more college debt,

4.) a wife,

and 

5.) a never ending supply of vanilla ice cream that didn't melt in the heat,

I would be much better off.

That's not too much to ask for right? Ok, that last one was just thrown in there for good measure, but how cool would it be to have ice cream that never melted and have it whenever your heart desired? For the rest of the list, though, I feel like I'm not asking for too much. I have perfectly logical and even honorable reasons why I could "better serve God" after having these items checked off the list. In my mind, the opportunities would be endless. There's part of the point. Things work out a lot better for me in my mind. 

The reality, however, is that I'm really just not very content with what God has given me and it's easy for me to compare my current situation to those around me who I believe to be "better off than me." "If I only had what they had," I grumble, "then I could do so much more." For some reason it's hard for us to just accept what God has provided for us and be thankful for those things. I, like everyone else, have ample reasons to be thankful for the blessings God has given me. This is not to say, "Oh, well at least I'm not as bad off as that person." It doesn't matter what that person has. It doesn't matter what I don't have. What does matter is that God has given each one of us gifts, talents, abilities, and resources (even if we sometimes think we should have more) that are within His plan for our lives, and He wants us, expects us even, to do the very best we can with what we have. 

Take a moment today to think about things you can praise God for and how you can use what you have been given to serve Him to the best of your ability. 

Beautiful Eulogy

This is a live recording of one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums. These guys speak more truth in 53 minutes (the length of the album) than most people do in a week, or longer. If you want to be challenged, taught, enlightened, strengthened, and just experience a unique artform in the midst of its most glorious intention, get this album. You can download it for free here. Braille, Odd Thomas, and Courtland Ubano join together to form the collaboration that is Beautiful Eulogy. If you want to hear more about their mission and the mission of their record label Humble Beast, check this out. You will be exponentially blessed by both if you have a heart for gospel proclamation and/or hip-hop music.



Below are the lyrics to the song from the above video:


There used to be a time when we were fine living life with no particular religious bend. Pretending to be our own gods inventing our own system of belief so as to not depend on anything other than our own self-governing consent. Defending an impending doom with no perceived need to concede or repent. Presuming our innocence in a sense dissent. The sting of death was only the inevitable end of everything we could never rightly understand or comprehend. We used to fear the unknown until God made himself known and atoned mending the relationship between God and men. Giving his life as a ransom for many when he died and ascended and in that one event the certainty of eternal death was circumvented. Making a way for the day when history stops and time suspends. Spending eternity in fellowship that never ends. We see the greatest expression of God’s love extended in the moment when those who were once enemies instead became God’s friends.


And when it's my time to go, go ahead and take me home. I know I'll be with you. I know I'll be with you. When it is my time to go, go ahead and take me home. Knowing that I'd rather go, I wanna be with you.


How sweet the Gospel sounds to ears like mine. Well acquainted with pain and strained relationships. Friendships that suffer from long distances, or even worse they get severed from something more severe. And He still hasn’t wiped away all my tears yet. My cheeks get wet every now and then. Even when I give my best, I know I fall short. I get scared when the ball's in my court. Focused on, my performance, wretched and poor. It makes the message more real when I preach it. I’m not there yet so I’m reaching, reaching for a goal, to stand before my King and be speechless. Then, never again, will I question if his grace is sufficient to cover my sin. Cause death is gone, and all the effects of, evil and wrong will be conquered when His kingdom comes. So this is my hope and my prayer. The air that I’ll breath in eternity with lungs that never fail me. If it pleases my Lord, and only by Your grace, use my life till it’s poured out for Your sake. Until then I’ll remain where You have me, with joy when I feel unhappy. And a peace that surpasses all my understanding, my life is in the hands of Your love everlasting.


And when it's my time to go, go ahead and take me home. I know I'll be with you. I know I'll be with you. When it is my time to go, go ahead and take me home. Knowing that I'd rather go, I wanna be with you.

A Realist

by: Janice Seney

I am not a dreamer

More of a realist,

Facing those things that are

Even though to others

They do not appear.

The reality of God's Word that

Will never pass away,

Is much surer and stronger than

Anything I can touch or others say.

So a realist I am

Walking - Living - Moving

And having my being in Him.

Sometimes people scold me for being "too negative" about certain things. My response is usually that I am a realist and reality is not always cupcakes and rainbows. It involves suffering, pain, and tears. "But you've gotta be more optimistic about things," they explain. Optimism and realism can go hand in hand if you think about what each of these words actually mean. Realism is looking at things unbiasedly as they truly are. Optimism is usually described as "hoping for the best" or "looking on the bright side of things". The truth is, the "bright side" or "best" that we are hoping for, is reality if you choose for it to be. The poem above is fairly high up on the list of my favorites. It encapsulates just about everything I believe to go along with the definition of a realist. Reality is truth and truth is found in God's Word and God's Word displays this "bright side" in Jesus Christ that optimists are longing for.


Romans 8:28 states, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Therefore, all things, a.k.a reality, are working together for the good of those who love God. Who are those that love God? In John 14:15 Jesus explains, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." So, for those of us who genuinely repent of our sins, believe in Jesus Christ, and follow Him in the way He instructs us to live, God is working all things together for our good. In that case, we can hope for the best because we are already promised to receive the best in ALL things. Here is the catch where most people get entangled, though. We have to believe in God's idea of what is best for us above our own ideas. We have to trust Him completely and know that, since His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9), He is always working all things together for the good of those who love Him. This even includes the suffering, pain, and tears mentioned previously. How much do you truly trust in Him and His Word?


May you be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus and may your faith and trust in Him abound.