Chasing the rain

As I headed home today from speaking in Hot Springs, I gazed over the dusty hood of our Sequoia to the unfolding road beyond. Asphalt changed to concrete and back to asphalt from county to county. 95 degrees outside, a bank clock gleamed.

Somewhere southwest of Arkadelphia, the roads became wet, evidence of a recent rain. Slicing through the teasing steam vapors, I saw dark clouds over the tops of pine trees. I wondered, would I catch the rain? I was driving leisurely, listening to Mercy Me’s new CD, Coming Up to Breathe. Highway 8 is a two-hander at many places. S-curves and a few “tummy-tickle” hills contribute to the feeling that the highway department was drunk when they laid out this stretch.

The Sequoia’s tires laughed at its hood. They were enjoying the rare moisture. I heard the other day that more than 60% of the country is experiencing draught conditions. Yet, here was evidence of rain. The smell of fresh rain on a hot day wafted through the vents. I continued chasing the rain.

The lyrics to one song in particular suddenly made the wet-tires-dry-hood paradox deeply spiritual. The song is called “Bring the Rain:”

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I’ve gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It’s never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what’s a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy

“But if that’s what it takes to praise You, Jesus, bring the rain.” As the stripes flashed by, seemingly being eaten underneath my front bumper, I lfited my tinny voice to sing the chorus. Whatever it takes to praise You, Lord. Bring it.

Somewhere around Fordyce I caught the rain. My hood was cleansed. And so was my spirit.

Stuck on stewardship…

Stewardship keeps coming up in conversations around me. It may be one of the most exciting things I get to talk about – really. Let me explain why.

Back in 1992, I married my best friend, Carolyn Brooks. She was a freshman at Ouachita in 1989; I was a senior. She refused to date me because, well, I had dated a lot at OBU. In fact, when I met her, I was dating one of her friends. Needless to say, our romantic relationship took a long time to develop, and as a result, we experienced an amazing depth and richness to our friendship before romance was ever a factor.

After marrying, we moved to Garland, Texas where I served on staff at First Baptist Church as a youth intern. It was a storybook time in our lives – in spite of Caro having recently undergone treatment for Hodgkin’s Disease. However, in the midst of the excitement of working with youth, living in a great, amazing house (another story for another day), we entered a prolonged and somewhat heated debate about finances. It went something like this:

Jeff: “We have to pay our bills before we “tithe.” God understands that; why can’t you?” (The reality was that I had several thousand dollars in credit card bills when we married. I had sold my share of Advantage Advertising and ended up having to forgive the debt of the guy who bought it when he was unable to make the business work. However, that had not stopped me from spending a lot of money with the assumption that the money was going to come in… Got the picture?)
Carolyn: “I don’t care what you think. We’re going to give 10% of our income to our church. I’ve always done this, and God has always been faithful.”
Jeff: “You’re absolutely crazy. You’re being so legalistic. We live in an age of grace. God expects us to pay our creditors.”
Caro: “NO, God expects us to honor Him with the firstfruits of our lives, whether that be money, time, or talents. There is no option here. I’m not budging.”

It was not just a stalemate. It was a checkmate.

So I did what any good husband would do at this point. I let her have her way so that I could prove how wrong she was. My thinking went something like this:

I’ll be glad to write this stinking check to the church. I’ll write it and just watch as we can’t pay our bills at the end of the month. Then I’ll smugly point out to Carolyn just how wrong she was, but in a gentle-twisted-sadistic way. I’m gonna love being right on this one.

Imagine my shock and incredulity when we reached the end of that first month, having written a fairly sizeable giving check, (in my eyes, any amount over $20 here or $50 there to the church was extremely generous; I was shocked at how much 10% was and was already planning on pointing out what that money could have done for us had we not given it to the church) to discover that we had money left over… Oh no. It couldn’t be.

Carolyn was incredible about it. No “I-told-you-so” dance or smug attitude. I figured it was a fluke and set out to prove my point the next month as we wrote our giving checks first, before paying our bills. 4 weeks later, however, it had happened again. All bills paid – in spite of having given so much (in my eyes) to the church.

To make a long story short, it was only a 3-month skirmish in our marriage. It couldn’t even be classified as a battle because I never got to fire a shot. Caro was right. Period. God could be trusted to take care of our finances when we worshipped Him with them first. At the end of that year, not only had I been converted into a giver, but we were completely out of debt. Several thousand dollars of debt.

That’s why stewardship is exciting to me. It’s an opportunity for me to tell people who aren’t there yet how amazing it is to witness your life being renovated from the inside out when we become stewards instead of owners. You see, owners clutch,protect, and depend upon their possessions; while a steward uses, gives, and manages another’s possessions. It is really all about your worldview.

If you consider that all you have is yours because you’ve earned it or deserved it, then you are an owner. If you consider that all you have has been given to you and that you have the privilege of managing what you have, then you become a steward.

For years I was an owner; however, after having spent the last 13 growing as a steward, I can honestly and passionately say that I will never go back. It’s not like I have “mastered” stewardship. Stewardship, rather, masters you. It requires constant vigilance upon your attitude, because ownership can sneak back into your life.

I find that it is not only Christians that have learned the amazing concept of stewardship and generosity. A quick tour through the best financial courses or books on money management today reveal that it is a world-wide, established, and proven principle. When you live on less than you make, giving a percentage, saving a percentage, and establishing a lifestyle of generosity, you become much happier, peaceful, and purposeful about life.

For Christians, I encourage you to check out generousgiving.org, particularly their page on excuses why people don’t give. In addition, Randy Alcorn’s amazing little book, The Treasure Principle will encourage you and set you on the right path. For a more secular approach (but with many of the same conclusions, I would get Peter Block’s Stewardship: Choosing Service over Self-Interest.

Learning to worship God with your possessions, time, and money through stewarship is one of the most exciting stages of growth in a person’s life. What God does in your life as a result is even more amazing. I mean, who are we, that He should stoop to bless us? He could command obedience. Yet, He chooses rather to bless it.

In the Old Testament, the Israelites had gotten stingy and forgotten the Source of all life. Malachi the prophet addresses them:

“I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.
“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse?the whole nation of you?because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.

I am so thunderstruck by God’s offer to allow us to test Him in our giving. He practically begs us to. He desires that people see that He is faithful to His Word and that living a life of generosity and worship is far better than living a life of selfish ownership.

I also noticed the implication that when things we not going right for the Israelites, it was because they had failed to surrender to God their “tithe” – their willing love offerings to Him. The pests had started devouring their crops as a form of discipline from the Lord. We do not give to God in order to be blessed by Him, but in order to bless Him. It is an act of joyful worship. However, the resultant blessing from Him is established, firm, and promised.

So many folks wonder why their finances, homes, or businesses are a mess. I wonder if they have ever considered that they may be under some kind of discipline due to their lack of worship through stewardship. It’s not that they cannot afford to give; they can’t afford NOT to give.

I love the passage in Deuteronomy 8, where it’s revealed that the Israelites had long-lasting loafers during their 40 years in the wildnerness:

“Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.”

God is able to make your dishwasher go an extra mile if He so desires. I am confident that when we put God first in our finances, we experience prolonged provision and personal peace. It is vitally important that we acknowledge Him as the Source of what we have and who we are. When we cling to our things and our dollars as owners, it’s as rebels who refuse to worship the Ultimate Giver.

When the Israelites first returned to Israel after being captive in Babylon for 70 years, they were quick to establish their own homes and cultivate lifestyles of personal comfort. While they lived in relative ease, however, the work on the temple went undone, as did the service of ministry for lack of attention and the people’s giving. After some time, however, the prophet Haggai shared this message from the Lord with them:

“You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with
holes in it.” This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.”

In other words… it was no accident that these people who put their own homes first had begun to experience breakdown in their livelihoods (crops), their personal effects (clothes) and their income. They were working harder than ever, but they had nothing to show for it. God had created a no-win situation for them, in order to get their attention. I encourage you to read Haggai 1 in this context.

I’d love to hear from any of you who have proven God faithful through your humble stewardship and generous giving. I’d also love to help anyone who “ain’t there yet.” The important thing is beginning somewhere.

Again, check out generousgiving.org – they have a wealth of resources for everyone – wherever you are on this journey.

Reading group anyone?

Justin over at radicalcongruency.com is forming a reading group. Stop by and see if it interests you. I signed up and am intrigued by how this will work out.

Active wondering…

Doug Pollock wrote an article over at Christianity Today a while back that is compelling as it relates to Christians sharing their faith in Christ with people who have not affirmed Christianity either as a faith or a religion. It is a call to respect people’s thoughts and opinions, while at the same time gently helping them to respect yours. He calls the process active wondering. It seems to be the difference between hitting someone with propositional truth ("Hey you, Jesus died for your sins.") and dialogue about faith.  Here’s a quote from the article:

Active wondering means intentionally formulating open-ended questions
that tap into the interests of others or what they’re concerned about,
and it requires us to start where people are, not where we’d like them
to be. When we wonder out loud with someone about what’s important to
him?his life, career, family, etc.?we create an open, safe and
non-judgmental forum for authentic dialog. People are invited to search
for their own answers; they’re naturally stimulated toward spiritual
seeking. Wondering sends the message: "I notice you, and your thoughts
matter to me." And by extension, "Your thoughts matter to God."

Go browse the article. I’m wondering what you think?

Tallskinnykiwi is a blog that I stop by occasionally. More and more bloggers that I enjoy reading have linked to it. Stop by and check it out. It may be a candidate for Notes "Off the Path" link. Tell me if you think so. He has a reivew of a new book that may be convincing me to burn my next Amazon gift certificate on it, unless someone wants to buy it for me or send me theirs. It’s called Reinventing Jesus. Check out his post about it here and then toodle around his blog. You’ll be glad you did.

Here is a motivational map to pray for persecuted Christians:

I found it over at freedomhouse.org.

Can you handle the truth?

Proverbs 27.17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” That’s exactly how I’ve been feeling about Andy White. Unfortunately, neither of us are getting rich from our constant outlinks to each other’s blogs.

You’ve got to stop by, however, and read his post and watch the accompanying video clip from A Few Good Men. That is, if you can handle the truth…

I’m Older than God, Part 2

Before you get started with this entry, here are some related ones where I mention Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton.

• A New Kind of Christian
• I’m Older than God, Part 1

Chesteron. Thank God for him. A self-described (and nearly brilliant) pagan at age 12, he was a full-fledged agnostic by 16. However, his journey led him into philosophy, and as he observed and spoke and wrote about life, he came to what at first was a discomforting conclusion: Christianity explained the realities of life. In 1908 at age 25, this truly brilliant Brit wrote of his unfolding spiritual discovery and how it led him to orthodox faith in Christ in a book called Othodoxy.

I had just dropped off our Connecticut mission trip team Saturday a.m. I headed to Mardel’s in Little Rock with a friend. I almost bought a book about philosophy. I can’t remember the title, but it was on clearance – only $4. I may regret it, but as I opened it and perused its innards, two thoughts capsized my bargain-induced impulse. First, my head immediately started hurting as my eyes crossed on a plethora of words that I had to do phonics to even pronounce. Secondly, I realized that while I could probably plow through the book like a sweaty farmer, I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy or even be able to apply much of it. So I sadly put it back and walked out empty-handed (a rarity for me at a bookstore).

Tonight, I did choose another book on philosophy – Chesteron’s  Orthodoxy. I normally can’t stand dry, philosophical tomes, and since his isn’t, I am actually relishing the turn of every page, the digestion of each paragraph. It reads like a philosopher-linebacker. He’s donned pads and isn’t afraid of getting in your face. You never know when you’ll get knocked down with a brutal, but amazing observation about life. And it’s extremely applicable.

Take for instance, some of his conclusions about the impotency of philosophy itself in his chapter Eternal Revolution.  He explains in disquieting rationality that the reason his generation of England seemed to stall in its “progress” was just that – they became more focused on progress and evolution (of ideas, institutions, etc.) than they were committed to reform. You’ve heard that “change for change’s sake” is not good. Chesterton puts it like this:

“Reform  implies form. It implies that we are trying to shape the world in a particular image; to make it something that we see already in our minds. Evolution is a metaphor from mere automatic unrolling. Progress is a metaphor from merely walking along a road – very likely the wrong road. But reform is a metaphor for reasonable and determined men; it means that we see a certain thing out of shape and we mean to put it into shape. And we know what shape.”

He explains that during his day (hauntingly similar to ours) philosophies and competing worldviews had pretty much resulted in the stalemate of reform. Nothing was changed because there were so many competing ideas of the times. It was almost like societal constipation.

He said, “The modern young man will never change his environment because he will always change his mind.”

That is what struck me the most. For it was almost 18 years ago, while a college student, that I devoted my life to a principle regarding faith. It goes something like this: a love relationship with God is vitally more important than a religion with God. I have devoted, in one way or another, the rest of my life to communicating and living that principle, which I believe is truth. Jesus said, If you love me, you will obey my commands.”

Find something you’re willing to die for. Reform will come. Today’s young man (or woman) “will never change his environment because he will always change his mind.” It’s not a recommendation to be unyielding in personal conversation and preference. It’s an injunction against pursuing every trend and philosophy, embracing every new thing  that comes along. Root yourself in timeless truth. Then grow like an oak.

I remember being told one time that becoming a campus collegiate minister in Arkansas was not even a lateral move… as if one’s being called to a new ministry or location necessitated a larger ministry and accompanying benefits. This was said by someone I greatly respect and still do, but I believe was said in one of those conversations that flow much like diarrhea. You can’t really control what comes out. (no, I don’t know why there are already two references to bowel problems here) I believe and hope that he either immediately forgot the idiocy of the moment or that he later regretted and hoped that I forgot it or forgave it. I didn’t; I did.

The reason that conversation has stayed with me is because I eventually made the decision to come to Monticello based on my belief that my love relationship with God was more important than a religious system and its benefits. I knew that God was calling me (an intensely relational experience) to Monticello, Arkansas. Yes, it was a pay cut, and yes, it probably in many ways took me out of the loop of the megachurch and potential opportunities and recognition. However, at the time it was as simple as this: I loved the Lord and wanted to go where He was calling me. Period.

That was in 1995. It has been a blessed, though not untroubled, faith walk ever since. My encouragement to all of you who like to read, digest, and deliberate (as I often do as well) about what’s hot and what’s not is to remember that true reform does not come from much talk, but from – and I steal the phrase unashamedly from Eugene Peterson here – a long obedience in the same direction.

The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails?given by one Shepherd. Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. (Ecclesiastes 12.11-12)

Connecticut or bust…

This post will be the featured post for a while as we
continue to raise money for the trip. Newer posts will be posted
underneath it.

Update (7/4/06): We all weighed in last night. I weighed 186. Two and a half measley pounds for the trip. I’m going to continue shooting for 180, but in the meantime, if you pledged money or would like to donate, please use the Tip Trough to the right or the Paypal button below.

We need about $800 by this Saturday, when the group leaves.

Update (7/06/06): We have received every bit of money we need for the trip!!!!! THANK YOU!

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Funeral freshman

In our small community of 10,000, there were two deaths over the weekend. One was Jordan Newman, a 24 year-old guy who died in a motocycle accident, after having just gotten the cycle the same day. The other was Martha Tucker, an 87 year-old woman who had been to the Newman’s home on Saturday, helping with things and who had a car wreck on the way home, killing her. Jordan was a member of First Baptist, while Mrs. Martha was a member of Journey.

Two deaths. Two families. Many friends.

After delivering the message at Mrs. Martha’s funeral today and helping serve lunch to the family at Journey (still meeting in the Wal-Mart shopping center here in Monticello), I arrived home exhausted but surreally content.

I served as a campus minister to collegians for 8 years at the University of Arkansas at Monticello before helping start Journey, and since I have been in ministry (almost 20 years!), I’ve never had to do a funeral. Before today, I was a funeral freshman. That’s highly unusual. I’ve spoken at gravesides and presented eulogies, but until today, I never was “the preacher.”

Meeting a family in the middle of their grief is a daunting task. It was not one that anyone, much less me, is ever truly prepared for. However, all day today I had the calm sense of God’s abiding presence and power. The family was deeply grateful, and I was truly moved.

I was exceptionally proud of the people of our church who brought food, helped with details, sang at the funeral, provided lunch and dropped by to visit family so often over the past few days. From what I understand, although their hearts are a little empty tonight, their fridge is full.

People – created by God – are not just earth-occupiers. They are time-bound gifts. I’m grateful for having known both of those who have stepped across spiritual thresholds this past weekend. May their lives continue to resound with vibrancy to those of us with ears to hear.

The Salvation Army

I’m a complete idiot.

Yes, I knew that William Booth founded the Salvation Army upon the tenets and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I had ignorantly assumed (a prominent attitude in the States, I’m afraid) that it had been neutered of much of its evangelistic and Christian base.

Enter a link from headphonaut’s nanolog to the Salvation Army. After a few minutes of wandering through it, I was humbled and grateful for their work. They’re not just bell ringers. Like I said, I’m an idiot.

Guilt-free peace

I finished the 10-week Bible study I’ve been doing yesterday, and as always after completing something like that, I was somewhat at a loss to know where to go this morning to focus my devotional thoughts and quiet my mind before God. I resorted to a trick I learned from Donald Whitney. He advocates taking a Psalm a day and a Proverb a day. Whatever day of the month it is, look up that Ps/Pr. Since the book of Psalms has 150 chapters in it, you skim the Psalm to see if it catches your heart/attention, and if not, add 30 to the number of it. For instance, this a.m., I looked at Psalm 25, but then went to Psalm 55, where I camped out.

Anyway, I was struck in Psalm 55 but just how much I could not relate to the first half of the chapter:

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger. My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.

As I began to reflect and meditate and pray through the passage, I discovered an interesting perspective developing within. Initially, I began to think like this… "I’m so worthless. I live in peace without persecution or threat to my health or family due to my faith. Yet there are thousands of believers across this planet today experiencing horrors and humanity-destroying grief. I’m such a loser. How can I be so selfish as to just skip over this Psalm and think ‘it doesn’t apply to me?’"

However, it seemed as if the Lord stepped in during this moment of self-flagellation and gently and lovingly reminded me of something… It was He that created me to live in this time and place. It was He that placed me in a country where we have these freedoms. In His Sovereign choice, I was placed here, for this day, for this hour, and for the benefit of the larger Kingdom. What right do I have in wallowing in false guilt?

My prayer response went something like this:

Thank you, Father, that I live in peace. Let me not feel guilty about it but praise You for Your grace and mercy and sovereign choice. Let me not seek persecution or condemn Your bride here for its lack. At the same time, let me not avoid it or excuse Your bride from compromise. Help me to understand better what my expected role and mission is in the global church when I live without fear of opposition or pain as a result of my faith in You.

This prayer and other thoughts led me to begin praying for the persecuted church, for my brothers and sisters in Christ around our world today who are being mocked, ridiculed, stolen, raped, tortured, and slaughtered because of their firm and vibrant faith in Jesus Christ.

I’ve provided some links below for you to begin learning more about the persecuted church. I’d also recommend you pick up Randy Alcorn’s excellent novel Safely Home which compellingly leads you into the world of the Chinese underground church.

BTW, I’ve got one, but am looking for nine others to do an online Bible study that I plan to write. It will be 4-5 weeks long. Comment below if you’re interested!

Links to help you learn, pray, & intercede:

• persecution.org – contains news and info about world sites of persecution
• Voice of the Martyrs – tracks events and occurrences around the world and lists needs
• Prisoner Alert – tracks those in prison unjustly and details prayer needs
• Persecution Blog – amazing list of resources in right hand link column for further info
• Open Doors – an excellent ministry detailing current needs with a proven track record
• Release International – amazing way to track persecution globally
• Persecuted Church Blog
• Compass Direct – news organization dedicated to following Christian issues around the world
• World Net Daily – another Christian news source

Sorry to drag you into my personal world of introspection today, but I truly hope it will help us to:

1. Be thankful for where God has us
2. Intentionally and purposefully live in ways that connect us with our world
3. Intercede daily on behalf of the persecuted
4. Live sacrificially – whether that means going, giving, or laboring regularly to alleviate suffering wherever we find it

Made for another place…

If you’ve spent any moments which have unexpectedly turned to hours surfing the net in the past month, you will readily identify with this entry, I hope. When I get up from my desk after a long time on the net – whether blogging, researching, playing, or interest-surfing – I tend to feel somewhat frustrated with myself for “wasting” time.

Although I’ve learned, been inspired, encouraged, challenged or entertained in those monitor-staring moments, I still feel like life would be better lived with human interaction. I appreciate lurkers who eventually comment and encourage me, and I also appreciate the direct emails from folks who have been encouraged by my blog or something, so all is not a “waste,” but there remains this unsettled feeling about having spent so much time in front of a machine.

Then there is the gnawing sense that there is just too much out there for me to get my little brain around. The net is endless for one person to process, and it’s growing by milllions of pages daily. The sheer immensity of information available is boggling. I have a deep thirst for truth, for knowledge, for understanding, and when I stumble across things that are beyond my own intellectual level on the net, I marvel at my minute mind. It’s humbling.

There is so much out there! So much to take in, read, understand, grapple with, digest, assimilate, know, taste, see, climb, swim, give, and experience… I grieve deeply that I CANNOT plumb the depths of creation. I will NEVER be able to climb Mt. Everest
or see a fraction of the beauties of this planet. Untread valleys and islands abound on this planet, and I will not be their Columbus. At 38 years old, there are a few things I could passionately set my mind and body to accomplish while I’m still able and perhaps achieve them. However, by doing so, I will naturally rule out the option of thousands of other high pursuits.
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The Goal of our Troubles…

This is not original to me today. I just completed Day 3′s assignment in Week 10 of Beth Moore’s The Patriarchs. Only two more days, and I’ll be finished. I’m considering an online Bible study blog at this point. I’m going to write it and invite participants. Let me know via the comments if you’re interested. If I get 10 who will commit to a 4-5 week study, I’ll do it.

In Genesis 48, we read of Jacob’s blessing on Joseph and his two sons. Scripture records that Joseph had arisen to greatness in Egypt, becoming Pharoah’s right-hand man. He had two sons there, and named them Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph’s life had not been a bed or roses. Talk about a dysfunctional family. Sibling rivalry had resulted in a brush with death as his brothers decided against a murder plot in favor of a money plot. They sold him. Plain and simple. (Some of you… don’t get any ideas here!) They decided to gain from their father’s loss (Jospeh was the favorite son). For 20 years, they kept the plot secret, although Jacob suspected something was rotten in Canaan…
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Doped up…

I’m sure to get some flack from this, but it’s been on my mind for a while. I stumbled across Al Mohler’s blog entry today called, “Are We Mere Chemicals? Happiness as a Prescription.” I encourage you to read it and the findings there. However, let me jump off the high dive here and hope there’s water in the pool.

Our society is over-medicated. No one can dispute that. Unfortunately, no one wants to deal with it, especially if it affects them personally. Me? I’m probably on the other end of the spectrum. I refuse to take an Advil unless someone else can hear the pounding in my head. When it becomes a matter of “disturbing the peace,” I pop a pill to avoid a ticket. (Now if only the bozo’s who drive by my house late at night with their bass up and their woofers thumping would abide by that as well!)

But here’s the deal… I think there are bunches (my technical term for an embarrassing amount) of people who are popping pills that have actually been prescribed for them for things ranging from depression to mood swings to anxiety to sleeplessness to… Well, you get my drift. Far be it from me to point out that most doctors receive incentives from pharmacuetical companies to promote their products. And practically speaking… you’re a doctor. A patient comes in. You have to see them. They describe symptoms that you know full well don’t have to be treated by meds but can be. You also know full well that meds won’t address the long-term problem or deeper issues going on inside. But you don’t have time to truly “fix” this patient. Nor do you want the headache caused by an angry patient who thinks they need meds when you tell them they just need to get a grip.

So it’s a terrible Catch-22.

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Believing vs. Seeing

A friend sent this to me yesterday. Amazing. Try it.

If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, you will only see one color, pink.

However if you stare at the black”+” in the center, the moving dot turns to green.

Now, concentrate on the black “+” in the center of the picture. After a short period, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see a green dot rotating.

It’s amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don’t disappear. This should be proof enough, we don’t always see what we think we see.

Dilbert: Blogging about God

I’ve been a fan of Scott Adams for a long time. He’s the creator of Dilbert. Not only does he draw one of the funniest comic strips ever, but he also finds time (daily) to blog. On top of that, he responds to emails personally. Wow. Considering that many of his blog entries will have 300+ comments, that’s amazing.

N-E-WHO, Scott has been blogging in recent days about religion. In today’s entry, he asks how people know which prophets are legitimate and which ones are looney tunes. I don’t think Scott claims any particular faith, but his blog has provoked some amazing, fresh, and respectful dialogue.

Hats off to Scott, for presenting such honest questions on his blog and being willing to provide a forum for many different view points to interact. The Truth is out there…

BTW… there’s a great interview on Souldish of the Ebay Atheist...

The Ebay Atheist… Sold!

Hop on over to Justin’s blog and read about the avowed atheist on Ebay who auctioned off his willingness to attend church… It’s an amazing story that’s getting national media attention.

Passion Week Blog

I’d like to invite any and all of you to check out the Journey Church Passion Week Blog! We’ll be posting and commenting each day of Passion Week!

Comment here if you’ve been there!

The Gospel of Judas (re)Discovery

I’m going to begin keeping a running track of informative articles about the re-discovered Gospel of Judas. There are important implications for Christ-followers today. While being open-minded, let’s also not be open-ended. There were strong reasons that the early church vetoed the Gospel of Judas.

The Gospel of Judas was condemned by early church leaders as heretical, as was that of Thomas and Mary. Here’s what Irenaeus (c. 135 – c. 200) said about it:

Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury. For Sophia was in the habit of carrying off that which belonged to her from them to herself. They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas. [Refutation of All Heresies I.31.1]

The early church was very aware of other writings about Jesus that had their own "spin" much as we encounter today. The fact that this has been the only parchment found to date of the Gospel of Judas (in contrast to thousands of parchments and fragments of the other New Testament documents) should cause us to pause. Just as modern-day works of revision fade from the scene quickly due to their unreliability or political agenda, so too have older works faded from the scene which were not regarded as truthful, valuable, or honest. I find it somewhat humorous that this "missing piece of the puzzle" suddenly offers up Judas as not being a traitor, and not just being a good guy, but actually the only disciple that really gets it. Yea. Read the text.

With all that being said, I am definitely fascinated. I hope you are too. It means that our world is once again alit with a flame of interest in Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity. Sieze the day and share how much Jesus means to you!

Links and references of interest:

• Actual text of Gospel of Judas – It contains far more weird, gnostic stuff than the media is letting on.
• New York Times – very balanced piece
• Scott McKnight’s blog, Jesus Creed is beginning an ongoing look at these findings. VERY good! A MUST visit. He has since added Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
• Wikipedia’s article
• Mark Robert’s commentary – This is excellent and references the source materials available on National Geographic’s website (which in and of itself is amazing! You’ve got to go to the timeline and explore it!). Mark has been writing a long series on the Da Vinci Code.
• Ben Witherington’s blog Part 1, Part 2
• More info than you’d ever want at The Coptic Gospel of Judas
• Mark Daniel’s blog

Oh, and get ready for the marketing campaign! Judas stuff galore. Oboy. I can see it now… WWJD? all over again. With a twist.

Follow the money trail…
Mark Roberts made this astute observation on his blog article listed above…

You may wonder why the National Geographic Society has waited to this
moment to release the document and to air the television program. James
Robinson offers what I believe to be a telling insight. In the AP story I mentioned earlier,
Robinson " speculated the timing of the release is aimed at
capitalizing on interest in the film version of "The Da Vinci Code" ? a
fictional tale that centers on a Christian conspiracy to cover up a
marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene." There’s no question in my
mind that this is part of what lies behind the timing of the release of
the Gospel of Judas and the related television program. This is good
marketing.

Again, I would encourage you to use this "news" as a wonderful opportunity to dialogue with others about your faith. The media is actually helping you! Be informed about the Gospel of Judas, but be passionate about what the Gospel of Jesus has done for you.

More to come…

Answered Prayers = More Struggle

I’m still going through Beth Moore’s Bible study, The Patriarchs, though my attempt at a blog study didn’t fly. Recently, as I was reading day 1 of week 5, I was struck by her commentary about Genesis 25.21-22:

Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The LORD answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the LORD about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.

There are so many observations that could be made here. Husbands, are you praying deeply, fervently, and regularly for your wives? When you are not seeing an answer to your prayers, do you persist, pleading? Do you know WHO to pray to or to turn for help? Do you believe that Creator God answers prayers and cares about you?

But none of those powerful implications are what really snagged me. It was her comment, “Once our prayer is answered, our tendency is to expect smooth sailing.” Wow. Guilty. That’s me.

I want to encourage you to remember that when God answers a prayer and you see the fulfillment of something you’ve been deeply praying would come to pass, that it is just the beginning. God has more road in front of you. We tend to regard answered prayers as stop signs with God. When we receive what we’ve been asking, our short-sighted, earth-bound vision wants to simply stop there and revel in the reception of our request. But our God sees much further; He sees the end from the beginning; He has intricately woven all of reality into a tapestry with interconnected intricacy.

What we pray for and receive most often becomes only the beginning of our path. Our answered prayers also become our struggles and an example for others to consider. Rebekah’s answered prayer led her to a confusing, difficult pregnancy, and then to a peculiar prophecy.

Don’t allow your current struggles to cast a negative light on the fact that your own prayers have been answered in some way. What is worth praying for is worth struggling through, both before and after. Though your perspective is limited, trust the character, wisdom, and love of God for you. He is still weaving.

A little self-flagellation

I have no idea why David’s blog entry hit me the way it did several weeks ago. In it, he listed a series of character flaws that he had observed about himself. Such raw honesty and authenticity has continued to haunt me. I’ve had this nagging sense of need for self-disclosure. I have no idea why.

But here goes…

Things that are wrong with Jeff… by Jeff

• Overly critical
• Frequently forgetful

I can’t believe Texas got beat by LSU, can you? That’s just crazy! … Oh wait. Sorry… Where was I?

• Passion projector -I simply mean that many times I want people to feel as passionately as I do about things, about Christ, etc. and I tend to “project” that expectation of passionate living onto them. When they don’t live passionately, the first quality on the list begins to emerge.
• Gadget addict – this drastically affects my spending habits…
• Compulsive
• Detail hater – I am actually a great administrator and planner when I stop everything else I’m doing and focus. But that is rare. Usually, I have 13 brain projects going on at a time, leading to…
• Scatter-brained
• Hyper-focused – I have no idea how I can be both this and scatter-brained. All I know is that when I get going on something, whether a project or overall vision, I’m like a pitbull. It’s hard for me to see or pay attention to anything else. The crazy thing is that any interruption can pretty much sideline me from productivity if I’m not careful. (That’s one reason I don’t answer my cell phone a lot. See here.)
• Naive
• Anti-institutional to a fault – borrowed this and the next two from DB
• Awfully self-critical
• No off-switch for my brain
• Occasional delusions of grandeur
• Ambivalent planner – I think a lot of this comes from my deep belief that God has His own agenda and as a disciple of Christ, I am to discover and contribute to God’s agenda and His kingdom rather than my own. However, it often feels like I’m “flying by the seat of my pants.” 2 Corinthians 5.7 says, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” So much of my life is profoundly directed by faith that many times, I have no idea what I really want. Does that make sense?
• Awkwardly ambitious – I do want my life to count. But I struggle, obviously, with how to do that in the most Christ-honoring way. It’s the whole “first shall be last, last shall be first” conflict.
• Emotionally needy – Dangit. I thrive on encouragement. Who knew?
• Priority confuser

OK… enough’s enough. I think I could go on, but you get the picture. After posting my personality tests and all, I guess I have to be open now to your comments about my weaknesses. Feel free to add to the list; just be sweet about it.

And if for some strange reason, you find this exercise hauntingly compelling, I encourage you to do your own self-examination.

Oh, and Dave… try to post something next time that will lead me to self-exaltation, OK?