I know that nothing at all in this life just comes randomly and without purpose. I also know that there is One who is behind, in and through all of the plans and purposes of creation as well as my little minute microcosm called life. However, I go about my day as if it is all random and that this One I profess faith in is somehow on Fourth of July vacation at the beach with everyone else I know.
Sitting over a bunch of yard sale stuff, desiring that sales would assist in funding a mission trip to NY, I just kick back expecting it to come, to all work out. I did not pray. I woke up at 6:00 totally grumpy. Really, I was up all night and arrived on the scene this morning with that same spoiled brat expectation that seems to run rampant in my life. Just now, 3.5 hours into this rather slow yard sale time, did I sort of mumble in my spirit: "Lord I need some help here."
I had just returned from McDonald's when a friend told me "the guy that just left, he didn't want anything, but said God placed it on his heart to give $5.00." Man I am a presumptuous spoiled brat to just come off all the time with such an attitude of entitlement that expects to receive blessings from God just because I woke up and showed up.
(as if turning my oxygen on another day is not enough)
Recently I told a counselor that I see: "I think all of my struggles in life and especially my relationship (or lack thereof) with God is because I am spoiled, I have a very unhealthy sense of entitlement, I learned over the years just how to get my way, and when I mess it all up the consequences are miniscule or non-existent. It is really a pretty lousy approach to life BUT at least I can see, as I did this morning, that God remains faithful in the $5.00 gift. That gift is an exact representation of grace.
My prayer as I jot these words is that somehow I would learn a lesson in this. Somehow, as a passage comes to mind at the moment, the truth of Eph. 4:7 - "But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift" would resonate deeply. Everything about grace is a gift, God is the Giver and the very best I can manage is to be spoiled and undeserving!
God help me to somehow be more responsive to You, more obedient to You, more faithful to You, not because I deserve it or am entitled to it, but because You are a wonderful Father who decided to give Your grace to me as a gift. Thank You for sending that $5.00 to make me see that You and You alone are the Giver and I can do nothing to earn your grace!
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Chosen
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. - John 15:16, ESV.
Jesus is our Immanuel because of the fact that He has chosen those of us that belong to Him. This passage must deflate spiritual pride in the believer. Not one single ounce of merit on our part allows us the privilege of resting in Jesus as a personal Immanuel.
If we have professed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior it is NOT due to a decision that we made. We do not just raise a hand and decide, based on free will, to pray a prayer for eternal life. It is impossible for us, as a natural being, to consider or receive that which is spiritually eternal in nature (1 Cor. 2:14).
As fellow strugglers on a journey toward eternity, we can take no credit, but rest in the truth that those who come to Jesus are in fact chosen to be there. We can celebrate the fact that the very creator of the universe calls us to Himself and grants us the gift of faith that enables faith.
Take joy in this truth for it is all of grace. It is a divine gift that is granted to us so that we can not only be able to believe in Him unto salvation but bear His fruit that will not spoil and therefore ask of the Father that He might give to us freely in the name and person of Jesus.
He clearly tells us here that He chooses and places us in the world to bear fruit. He is the author, sustainer and finisher of faith and life.
Father, if I have in fact been chosen, thank you. If I am not sure, please reveal yourself and your heart to me that I might know for certain today. It is my desire to bear your good fruit in the world and know that I can ask anything of you in the name of Jesus.
Jesus is our Immanuel because of the fact that He has chosen those of us that belong to Him. This passage must deflate spiritual pride in the believer. Not one single ounce of merit on our part allows us the privilege of resting in Jesus as a personal Immanuel.
If we have professed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior it is NOT due to a decision that we made. We do not just raise a hand and decide, based on free will, to pray a prayer for eternal life. It is impossible for us, as a natural being, to consider or receive that which is spiritually eternal in nature (1 Cor. 2:14).
As fellow strugglers on a journey toward eternity, we can take no credit, but rest in the truth that those who come to Jesus are in fact chosen to be there. We can celebrate the fact that the very creator of the universe calls us to Himself and grants us the gift of faith that enables faith.
Take joy in this truth for it is all of grace. It is a divine gift that is granted to us so that we can not only be able to believe in Him unto salvation but bear His fruit that will not spoil and therefore ask of the Father that He might give to us freely in the name and person of Jesus.
He clearly tells us here that He chooses and places us in the world to bear fruit. He is the author, sustainer and finisher of faith and life.
Father, if I have in fact been chosen, thank you. If I am not sure, please reveal yourself and your heart to me that I might know for certain today. It is my desire to bear your good fruit in the world and know that I can ask anything of you in the name of Jesus.
Immanuel
"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). - Matthew 1:23, ESV.
The book of Isaiah was written around 700 years before the birth of Christ. The passage in Matthew 1 is a repeating of the prophecy in Isaiah 7. The virgin birth and Jesus being the Messiah are foretold in Isaiah and recounted in the gospel of Matthew as the prophecy unfolds.
Certainly it is the most incredible of miracles that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was in fact impregnated by the Spirit of God (Matthew 1:20). Yet how much more miraculous it is for us as individuals that is 700 BC and again in around 50 AD, Jesus is named Immanuel, GOD WITH US!
Being one who has wrestled with addiction, adoption, sexual abuse, divorce, alcoholism and depression, it is fair to say that guilt and shame became a way of life. This pervading sense of not belonging plagued my early years and contributed greatly to my rebellion as a young man (which produces that much more guilt and shame).
But Jesus! I have learned to take claim of this portion of Matthew 1:23 to be extremely personal to me: Immanuel. As a matter of fact, the P.B. Fidler translation (not found in stores) reads "...they shall call His name Immanuel (which is translated GOD WITH ME!")
I can make it personal! This verse, this truth, can become specific and cause in me a great strength!
Lord Jesus please allow me to know You as MY personal Immanuel, GOD WITH ME!
The book of Isaiah was written around 700 years before the birth of Christ. The passage in Matthew 1 is a repeating of the prophecy in Isaiah 7. The virgin birth and Jesus being the Messiah are foretold in Isaiah and recounted in the gospel of Matthew as the prophecy unfolds.
Certainly it is the most incredible of miracles that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was in fact impregnated by the Spirit of God (Matthew 1:20). Yet how much more miraculous it is for us as individuals that is 700 BC and again in around 50 AD, Jesus is named Immanuel, GOD WITH US!
Being one who has wrestled with addiction, adoption, sexual abuse, divorce, alcoholism and depression, it is fair to say that guilt and shame became a way of life. This pervading sense of not belonging plagued my early years and contributed greatly to my rebellion as a young man (which produces that much more guilt and shame).
But Jesus! I have learned to take claim of this portion of Matthew 1:23 to be extremely personal to me: Immanuel. As a matter of fact, the P.B. Fidler translation (not found in stores) reads "...they shall call His name Immanuel (which is translated GOD WITH ME!")
I can make it personal! This verse, this truth, can become specific and cause in me a great strength!
Lord Jesus please allow me to know You as MY personal Immanuel, GOD WITH ME!
Monday, April 13, 2009
cans, puzzles and dots.
Just how cliche' does it seem to have become in saying things like "God has a purpose for your life!"? Look at the sales of the "Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. Yes, we are created to have a craving for purpose in our lives or we become depressed, disillusioned and discouraged. But exactly what do we mean when we talk about purpose? I have a nice Cross brand pen with the inscription Jeremiah 29:11 written on it, does that mean I know purpose? Not!
This note is my last 5 days, a "journey" for purpose.
Currently things are not good for me and many others when it comes to vocation and personal economics. In this time of need and frustration I have been doing my best to not only improve my situation, but seek Godly counsel in the process. Though I do not always do as well as I should, I believe firmly that in times of stress or distress, we need to seek counsel and wisdom from those Godly sources that we know and trust. In the last 5 days God has used friends, a Biblical counselor, teaching pastor, His Word and a few teachings on CD to get my attention and very specifically communicate with me.
The first "issue" at hand is the CAN. I have been influenced quite a bit by some very well intentioned leaders who come from within their own personal experiences in life to impose the way their lives have worked out to be a very "canned" version of how they think other people's lives should look. (this is not referring to absolute issues of character, morality, etc.) Don't get me wrong there is tremendous power in the victory and success of one's life being shared with another, but NOT when we come with a "canned" approach to the way we seek to help others. Just because one person's victory came through a certain set of circumstances and situations, that cannot always be considered status quo! When we do not give adequate attention to the backgrounds, experiences, hurts, habits, hangups, tragedies, blessings, etc. that makes of the tapestry of a unique person, we can hurt them in the process of trying to help.
We are individuals, all created in the image of God, but with Him being the Artist, the diversity is beyond human comprehension. I have had to see that one man's path probably will not be mine and I also must be OK with that!
So, no more canned goods when dealing with people. But what we can identify are pieces of the puzzle and how they might begin to fit together so we can avoid so-called purpose that is perhaps scripted or "canned" and go from the good in life to God's very best! We all have them! Pieces of the puzzle can range from family background, to education, to church home. The pieces include life and death. They encompass all of the uniqueness of the path God has placed us on and we have to see and understand where and how the pieces begin to fit. Not in a general sense, but in a very specific fashion if we are to know the abounding joy of being exactly where He wants us to be, doing precisely what He created us to do!
One of my favorite verses to share with people from the Bible is Ephesians 2:10 (but one of the hardest for me to practice). "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." I focus in on the word "workmanship" . The word here in the original language of Greek is poiēma and it is literally "a work of art". Now God, creator of the incredible and amazing (both words that are not adequate) of the Universe we live in has also created us as a piece of beautiful art. Now, if I really knew that deep in my spirit as I should, my life would be always bubbling with never ending joy. But I lose sight of how incredible this really is.
I have a puzzle in my apartment that is framed. Two ladies from a dementia unit at a nursing home gave it to me almost 20 years ago, and I still keep it on my wall. It is beautiful. It is a red barn that sits in a springtime field full of white blossoms with snow capped mountains as the backdrop. Beautiful! But some human created that puzzle. God, Creator of all things we can ever see that demonstrate beauty, designed the puzzle that is my life and yours and He plans for that puzzle to be completed. Consider how proud I am of my framed puzzle, yet it is no trophy of grace that has come from depravity to a demonstration of God's grace, love, mercy and power. Through Christ, that is who and what we are!
So I am pondering this puzzle thing all weekend and how I need to take a deliberate and concerted look at my life and how it all fits together. As of Sunday morning I am still undecided where I will attend for Easter since I am away from my home church. I choose a particular church in Sumter not having any idea what the sermon might be and it is on "connecting the dots" of our lives in order to see God in the past, present, and future. The message was almost an exact replication of Thursday's conversation, except using dots and not puzzle pieces. "OK Lord I know I am hard headed but I am hearing you here!" JUST DO IT!
What I have decided to do is attempt to create a puzzle on my computer that has individual pieces that I can tag in a word or two that will directly associate with a time, situation, circumstance, new life, death, work and ministry, education, family (just examples, no "canned" approach!) and visually put it together to become not only a marker of God's sovereign hand in my life, but what I need to see this moment and where it appears His will would take me in the future. I am expecting a life changing week or so. I am giving myself until next Wednesday the 22nd to get it together. Care to join me?
Please, though so important to follow the wisdom and counsel of those before us and around us, but never allow anyone the opportunity to make their personal experience yours (or mine) to the point of losing self. This has been so liberating for me! I am NOT bound to what God has done, is doing and will do in the next person's life. His plan for Philip B. Fidler is 1,000 times more wonderful, specific and artistic than I would ever consider for myself! I feel that it is only by embracing this truth that I can begin to connect, very personally, the pieces of God's puzzle for my life that includes all the wonderful intricacies that make me who I am in Christ and who He created me to be!
We all have unique spiritual gifts, talents, natural abilities, experiences, and lives. I am not you and praise God you are not me. But WE are who WE are because HE is who HE is! WE are the intricate work of the Artist who created all!
This note is my last 5 days, a "journey" for purpose.
Currently things are not good for me and many others when it comes to vocation and personal economics. In this time of need and frustration I have been doing my best to not only improve my situation, but seek Godly counsel in the process. Though I do not always do as well as I should, I believe firmly that in times of stress or distress, we need to seek counsel and wisdom from those Godly sources that we know and trust. In the last 5 days God has used friends, a Biblical counselor, teaching pastor, His Word and a few teachings on CD to get my attention and very specifically communicate with me.
The first "issue" at hand is the CAN. I have been influenced quite a bit by some very well intentioned leaders who come from within their own personal experiences in life to impose the way their lives have worked out to be a very "canned" version of how they think other people's lives should look. (this is not referring to absolute issues of character, morality, etc.) Don't get me wrong there is tremendous power in the victory and success of one's life being shared with another, but NOT when we come with a "canned" approach to the way we seek to help others. Just because one person's victory came through a certain set of circumstances and situations, that cannot always be considered status quo! When we do not give adequate attention to the backgrounds, experiences, hurts, habits, hangups, tragedies, blessings, etc. that makes of the tapestry of a unique person, we can hurt them in the process of trying to help.
We are individuals, all created in the image of God, but with Him being the Artist, the diversity is beyond human comprehension. I have had to see that one man's path probably will not be mine and I also must be OK with that!
So, no more canned goods when dealing with people. But what we can identify are pieces of the puzzle and how they might begin to fit together so we can avoid so-called purpose that is perhaps scripted or "canned" and go from the good in life to God's very best! We all have them! Pieces of the puzzle can range from family background, to education, to church home. The pieces include life and death. They encompass all of the uniqueness of the path God has placed us on and we have to see and understand where and how the pieces begin to fit. Not in a general sense, but in a very specific fashion if we are to know the abounding joy of being exactly where He wants us to be, doing precisely what He created us to do!
One of my favorite verses to share with people from the Bible is Ephesians 2:10 (but one of the hardest for me to practice). "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." I focus in on the word "workmanship" . The word here in the original language of Greek is poiēma and it is literally "a work of art". Now God, creator of the incredible and amazing (both words that are not adequate) of the Universe we live in has also created us as a piece of beautiful art. Now, if I really knew that deep in my spirit as I should, my life would be always bubbling with never ending joy. But I lose sight of how incredible this really is.
I have a puzzle in my apartment that is framed. Two ladies from a dementia unit at a nursing home gave it to me almost 20 years ago, and I still keep it on my wall. It is beautiful. It is a red barn that sits in a springtime field full of white blossoms with snow capped mountains as the backdrop. Beautiful! But some human created that puzzle. God, Creator of all things we can ever see that demonstrate beauty, designed the puzzle that is my life and yours and He plans for that puzzle to be completed. Consider how proud I am of my framed puzzle, yet it is no trophy of grace that has come from depravity to a demonstration of God's grace, love, mercy and power. Through Christ, that is who and what we are!
So I am pondering this puzzle thing all weekend and how I need to take a deliberate and concerted look at my life and how it all fits together. As of Sunday morning I am still undecided where I will attend for Easter since I am away from my home church. I choose a particular church in Sumter not having any idea what the sermon might be and it is on "connecting the dots" of our lives in order to see God in the past, present, and future. The message was almost an exact replication of Thursday's conversation, except using dots and not puzzle pieces. "OK Lord I know I am hard headed but I am hearing you here!" JUST DO IT!
What I have decided to do is attempt to create a puzzle on my computer that has individual pieces that I can tag in a word or two that will directly associate with a time, situation, circumstance, new life, death, work and ministry, education, family (just examples, no "canned" approach!) and visually put it together to become not only a marker of God's sovereign hand in my life, but what I need to see this moment and where it appears His will would take me in the future. I am expecting a life changing week or so. I am giving myself until next Wednesday the 22nd to get it together. Care to join me?
Please, though so important to follow the wisdom and counsel of those before us and around us, but never allow anyone the opportunity to make their personal experience yours (or mine) to the point of losing self. This has been so liberating for me! I am NOT bound to what God has done, is doing and will do in the next person's life. His plan for Philip B. Fidler is 1,000 times more wonderful, specific and artistic than I would ever consider for myself! I feel that it is only by embracing this truth that I can begin to connect, very personally, the pieces of God's puzzle for my life that includes all the wonderful intricacies that make me who I am in Christ and who He created me to be!
We all have unique spiritual gifts, talents, natural abilities, experiences, and lives. I am not you and praise God you are not me. But WE are who WE are because HE is who HE is! WE are the intricate work of the Artist who created all!
like a sheep (or a bull)?
"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (esv)
John Gill, the great theologian of the 18th century, wrote on this verse: " He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth."
If, we as Christians, are called to be Christ-like in our lives, how does a verse like this apply? There are perhaps many implications, but one in particular that relates to recent events in my personal live. Several weeks ago I was in a situation where I felt as if my back was against the wall. I had made some poor choices in a situation that was then discussed in a manner where I believed I was threatened. At the time I saw this discussion that took place as being underhanded and behind my back. I was wrong, but why not come to me? Why go to someone else about my poor choices.
I see it from a different perspective today and radical reconciliation and restoration has taken place. But what about the way I reacted? The mental image that comes to mind is the cliche of the bull in a china shop. Or perhaps like that of a rodeo bull. Yeah, lets take that analogy and run with it. It was like I had been placed within a chute, smacked on the rear end, and I began to snort, scrape my hooves and buck like a bull named Foo Man Chu. I was anything but Christ-like. Why, when I feel smacked, do I tend to immediately transform into a bull bent on the pursuit of self vindication? Get out of my way or else!
With Jesus as our example, He was being led off to the slaughter to be put to death for the "crimes" that you and I would commit. He was totally innocent, I cannot stake that claim. As Charles Spurgeon says, even our most righteous moments in this life are still stained and tainted with sin. Not so with Jesus, yet He did not become a bull, but a lamb! He did not buck, snort, stomp and rant, He humbly allowed himself to become a slaughtered sheep for you and I.
Man I tend to jump out there and shoot off at the mouth in defense of what I perceive to be a threat or if I feel my toes (or hooves) are being stepped on. If I truly take Christ as my example, a thousand things need to be changed in my life, but first of all I can be silent, allow God to be God, know that He can right all wrongs and that he does not need me to create more chaos and pain when the bull has been slapped on the backside!
Oh Lord help me to be rid of myself and willing to become more like You!
Friday, March 13, 2009
My Sin and the Vegas Strip
My own sin seems to parade before my heart, mind and soul like the neon lights on the Vegas strip! There is so much about my life I find disgusting. Yet with the mercy and grace of God available, at least I do have a distant hope for the type of radical change that I desire. Unlike the Vegas strip that may continue flashing in all it's glory, perhaps the bright lights of the sin in my life will fade into the distant horizon.
The "modus operandi", to continue in this analogy would go: "well I just want to go down on the Vegas strip to see the lights, but will not allow myself to....." Then the lights begin to call. I am there. I am standing in front of the place I do not want to go and know is not well for my soul, but yet I gaze and linger long enough to say "well maybe I will just go into the lobby and not....." I walk in. I am fascinated. It started with a glance, then a stare, then a decision to just scope things out a bit. In no time at all, I find myself broken, disgusted, and riddled with the guilt and shame of making so-called innocent decisions that all along I knew would be wrong.
There is an enemy of my soul who knows exactly how to flash the lights in the perfect rhythm than can lure me, specifically appealing to sinful desire. He knows the cadence that rapes my mind. I try to turn away, but the rhythm continues. It escalates and pulsates in a way that just feels irresistible. He knows me and my tendency to "enjoy" from a distance without an intention of being burned. I linger one second too long, and its too late.
Last night I heard a man say that he hates the way we tend to "pet the snake" just a split second shy of thinking the venom is coming. We end up bitten. We take the neon far too lightly. The lights are designed to draw and lure, but I find a way to excuse this. I "pet the snake" with the idea that perhaps I can avoid the strike at the very last second. It is so often too late and the anti-venom may save my life, but does not remove the necrosis in my flesh, the scaring of the wound, and the discoloration of the tissue that remains visible forever.
The apostle Paul says in Romans 13:14 " But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Just don't go there. Stop it! Do not even look at the snake or think you might enjoy the lights. Easier said than done, but nonetheless the solution. Stop with the compromise that feels good for a moment but in the end leads to death. God help me to just stay away. Help me to avoid the Vegas strip and the fascination with the lights when I know what is behind and beyond them. I know what they represent and I know where they may lead. Just do not go there!
They may be beautiful, but also deadly!
The "modus operandi", to continue in this analogy would go: "well I just want to go down on the Vegas strip to see the lights, but will not allow myself to....." Then the lights begin to call. I am there. I am standing in front of the place I do not want to go and know is not well for my soul, but yet I gaze and linger long enough to say "well maybe I will just go into the lobby and not....." I walk in. I am fascinated. It started with a glance, then a stare, then a decision to just scope things out a bit. In no time at all, I find myself broken, disgusted, and riddled with the guilt and shame of making so-called innocent decisions that all along I knew would be wrong.
There is an enemy of my soul who knows exactly how to flash the lights in the perfect rhythm than can lure me, specifically appealing to sinful desire. He knows the cadence that rapes my mind. I try to turn away, but the rhythm continues. It escalates and pulsates in a way that just feels irresistible. He knows me and my tendency to "enjoy" from a distance without an intention of being burned. I linger one second too long, and its too late.
Last night I heard a man say that he hates the way we tend to "pet the snake" just a split second shy of thinking the venom is coming. We end up bitten. We take the neon far too lightly. The lights are designed to draw and lure, but I find a way to excuse this. I "pet the snake" with the idea that perhaps I can avoid the strike at the very last second. It is so often too late and the anti-venom may save my life, but does not remove the necrosis in my flesh, the scaring of the wound, and the discoloration of the tissue that remains visible forever.
The apostle Paul says in Romans 13:14 " But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Just don't go there. Stop it! Do not even look at the snake or think you might enjoy the lights. Easier said than done, but nonetheless the solution. Stop with the compromise that feels good for a moment but in the end leads to death. God help me to just stay away. Help me to avoid the Vegas strip and the fascination with the lights when I know what is behind and beyond them. I know what they represent and I know where they may lead. Just do not go there!
They may be beautiful, but also deadly!
Monday, January 26, 2009
25 Random...............
25 Random...........
1. In recent years I have become a huge fan of sushi and absolutely love smoked eel.
2. A triple shot vanilla latte' is by far my favorite coffee drink.
3. My very first "car" was a Jeep.
4. I went to Clemson basketball camp 7 years in a row.
5. I have always wanted to be the teaching pastor in an inner-city church plant.
6. I am much more comfortable haning out w/ the homeless that most "normal" people.
7. People whose lives revolve around materialism and social status drive me nuts.
8. Orange is my favorite color.
9. I am at a point in my life that I struggle w/ being alone and desire a partner in life.
10. Studying the Bible has been a real passion for me in the past, but I've been slipping.
11. My faith, though wavering far to often, is so much my life!
12. Like my buddy Michele I do NOT see how people make it through life w/out Jesus. I cannot imagine my life w/out HIM.
13. Rachel and Aaron Shaw are two people that I respect so much in life and look up to greately!14. Emotional insecurity is something that I still struggle with more than I care to admit.
15. Though I don't always live it, I believe 100% that obedience to God's Word is the way of true life.
16. Two nights ago I dreamed I was hanging out with and singing with Jerry Garcia.
17. I love the islands and have been numerous times to the Bahamas and Virgin Islands.
18. Surfing is something I have always dreamed of and never accomplishd.
19. My mantra in life is: When my passion for my purpose outweighs my desire to make poor choices then LIFE happens!
20. When it comes to my personal theology I am very much a Calvinist and believe firmly in unconditional election.
21. My favorite musicians are U2, Willie Nelson, Chris Tomlin and the David Crowder Band.
22. Prayer is the one aspect of my Christin life that is the most lacking.
23. I just love football, live and breathe the Clemson Tigers!
24. I was adopted by the 2 greatest parents ever!
25. My Dad and my Brother are two of my heroes in lfe.
1. In recent years I have become a huge fan of sushi and absolutely love smoked eel.
2. A triple shot vanilla latte' is by far my favorite coffee drink.
3. My very first "car" was a Jeep.
4. I went to Clemson basketball camp 7 years in a row.
5. I have always wanted to be the teaching pastor in an inner-city church plant.
6. I am much more comfortable haning out w/ the homeless that most "normal" people.
7. People whose lives revolve around materialism and social status drive me nuts.
8. Orange is my favorite color.
9. I am at a point in my life that I struggle w/ being alone and desire a partner in life.
10. Studying the Bible has been a real passion for me in the past, but I've been slipping.
11. My faith, though wavering far to often, is so much my life!
12. Like my buddy Michele I do NOT see how people make it through life w/out Jesus. I cannot imagine my life w/out HIM.
13. Rachel and Aaron Shaw are two people that I respect so much in life and look up to greately!14. Emotional insecurity is something that I still struggle with more than I care to admit.
15. Though I don't always live it, I believe 100% that obedience to God's Word is the way of true life.
16. Two nights ago I dreamed I was hanging out with and singing with Jerry Garcia.
17. I love the islands and have been numerous times to the Bahamas and Virgin Islands.
18. Surfing is something I have always dreamed of and never accomplishd.
19. My mantra in life is: When my passion for my purpose outweighs my desire to make poor choices then LIFE happens!
20. When it comes to my personal theology I am very much a Calvinist and believe firmly in unconditional election.
21. My favorite musicians are U2, Willie Nelson, Chris Tomlin and the David Crowder Band.
22. Prayer is the one aspect of my Christin life that is the most lacking.
23. I just love football, live and breathe the Clemson Tigers!
24. I was adopted by the 2 greatest parents ever!
25. My Dad and my Brother are two of my heroes in lfe.
segment
Recently I have had the topic of not only segmented society, but a segmented church that keeps coming up. Of course this "issue" is also one that pops up in dealing with our individual selves and especially how we as people approach others. I think the real deal, the heart of the matter, with society, the church and ourselves is a "but they are not like me" or "thank God I am not like them" mentality. That type of mindset is toxic.
A recent example happened a few days ago when I was attending a meeting about the homeless situation in Greensboro and how the emergency shelters can help. I encountered some attitudes there that were not at all intentional, but still a reality. It reminded me that even those who do have a desire to help still have this separatist mentality and in volunteering want to help "those people."
Now, on a more personal level. I struggle with being accepted. Since my childhood I have been one to crave acceptance, validation, etc. and that opened me up to all sorts of peer pressure and terrible choices. It led to experimentaion with all kinds of unhealthy junk.
So what does all of this with society, the church and the individual have in common? The answer is in Acts chapter 10. I went for a nice run in the woods today and was praying as I ran. I just simply asked the Holy Spirit to do whatever He needed to do in my heart to make be a better listener to Him and to be able to listen more when I pray and not talk so much (as I tend to do most of the time). The prayer was answered and I was reminded very personally of the following verse: "The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."" (v. 15).
I needed to hear this as a "word" specifically for me because I do question myself and continue to fear rejection. Granted the primary context of this verse is God's "reversal" of Levitical dietary laws, but the Lord was also dealing with Peter on how He looked at other people. The Spirit used the verse to remind me that I am His, no matter what I may or may not do, or regardless of how I may "feel" about myself at times, that HE has made me clean. HE has made me pure and neither I nor anyone else is to question that.
The same appplies to the way I view, you view or we view members of our society or within our churches. It is God who makes us clean and the person I think may not measure up (or when I think I don't measure up) is just as clean and pure and righteous in God's sight as the so-called holy ones among us. The bottom line is that the cleanliness, purity and righteousness of Christ makes it all the way that it is and nothing else! IT IS WHAT IT IS, AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF JESUS! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU AND IT'S NOT ABOUT ME. IT IS ABOUT HIM!
A recent example happened a few days ago when I was attending a meeting about the homeless situation in Greensboro and how the emergency shelters can help. I encountered some attitudes there that were not at all intentional, but still a reality. It reminded me that even those who do have a desire to help still have this separatist mentality and in volunteering want to help "those people."
Now, on a more personal level. I struggle with being accepted. Since my childhood I have been one to crave acceptance, validation, etc. and that opened me up to all sorts of peer pressure and terrible choices. It led to experimentaion with all kinds of unhealthy junk.
So what does all of this with society, the church and the individual have in common? The answer is in Acts chapter 10. I went for a nice run in the woods today and was praying as I ran. I just simply asked the Holy Spirit to do whatever He needed to do in my heart to make be a better listener to Him and to be able to listen more when I pray and not talk so much (as I tend to do most of the time). The prayer was answered and I was reminded very personally of the following verse: "The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."" (v. 15).
I needed to hear this as a "word" specifically for me because I do question myself and continue to fear rejection. Granted the primary context of this verse is God's "reversal" of Levitical dietary laws, but the Lord was also dealing with Peter on how He looked at other people. The Spirit used the verse to remind me that I am His, no matter what I may or may not do, or regardless of how I may "feel" about myself at times, that HE has made me clean. HE has made me pure and neither I nor anyone else is to question that.
The same appplies to the way I view, you view or we view members of our society or within our churches. It is God who makes us clean and the person I think may not measure up (or when I think I don't measure up) is just as clean and pure and righteous in God's sight as the so-called holy ones among us. The bottom line is that the cleanliness, purity and righteousness of Christ makes it all the way that it is and nothing else! IT IS WHAT IT IS, AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF JESUS! IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU AND IT'S NOT ABOUT ME. IT IS ABOUT HIM!
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