The Sound of Scott

About Me

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:57:56 -0500

I’m always updating this statement on my Facebook, but I think this describes me best right now:

I’m a teacher by day, student by night and pastor by both. I’m a movie watcher, story writer and a tea connoisseur . I’m a thinker, a theologian and a musician. I’m a dreamer, believer, and a child at heart. Creativity is my passion, people are my mission, and Christ is my great reward.

A Poem/Prayer For Fall

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:30:00 -0400

Oh Lord,

God of the harvest,

Let us find ourselves like trees,

enveloped in the mist of your love.

May our leaves be festive,

full of color and life,

even as they fall to the ground.

Help us,

to let go of the things we often hold tight to,

and allow them to be carried away,

by your gentle breeze.

Allow storms to test our strength and revive our roots.

Grow us tall,

that we might be the climbing place of children,

broad,

that we might be shade to the weary.

From root to leaf be our sustenance,

until the day we are cut down.

But even then,

use us as lumber.

A Mirror of the Past

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 02:09:44 -0400

As I was transferring blog posts over from Wordpress to Tumblr I took some time to read some of my old posts. Most of my blogging was done in 2007 and a little in 2008. It wasn’t that long ago, but it’s amazing how much I’ve changed between now and then. At the same time, it’s also interesting to see how much I haven’t changed.

I sometimes stop and wonder how exactly that works… our sense of identity mixed with a perpetual forward motion. We’re always growing and changing yet we still retain our sense of self. We always feel completely mature, but we always look back and see how much we weren’t.

What is it that stays the same? Interesting…

Lost Season 1

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

These are some of the moments that captivated us, made us laugh, cry, and believe in the extraordinary. When looking back on the show these are some of the moments that stand out in my mind as being the reason we’re all addicted to Lost.

Pilot: The opening scene… Jack running around

Pilot: Kate sowing up Jack’s wound

Pilot: Kate screaming from behind the bamboo… Hiding from the monster

Pilot: Lock plays backgammon with Walt

Tabula Rasa: Hurly listening to his walkman… Locke gets Walt’s dog back

Walkabout: Locke standing up for the first time on island after we see him in wheelchair

White Rabbit: Locke talks to Jack about destiny and purpose… “I looked into the eye of the island and what I saw was beautiful.”

Confidence Man: Kate reads Sawyer’s letter

All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues: Jack pounds on Charlie’s chest to revive him after being hung by Ethan

All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues: Locke predicts the rain while out with Boone

…In Translation: We learn about Jin’s situation working for Sun’s father. He comes home and washes the blood from his hands after saving a guy

…In Translation: Sun stands on the beach in her swimsuit and experiences her first moment of freedom

Numbers: In his hilarious flashback Hurley tells a guy on a ladder to get down

Deus Ex Machina: Locke pounds on the hatch door and a light comes on

Do No Harm: Boone dies. Claire gives birth

Exodus: Doctor Arzt blows up at the black rock

Exodus: Sawyer tells Jack about his father’s message before he died

Exodus: The raft launches! Walt is kidnapped

The Things We Continue

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Make sure you read my post on The Things We Start before reading this one…

So why do we start things we don’t finish?

I had this conversation with a friend a few months ago. We boiled it down to this. People need outlets for creativity. Every time something new comes along we see it as an opportunity to be creative… and yes this applies to twitter. How many times have you thought, “I hope people like this status!” We find ourselves trying to creatively express our inner being through all kinds of different mediums. Even if your status update is just something funny, it might be saying something about your character or the way you look at the world. What do your status updates say about you?

You see, creativity is all about expression. The trick is to find a healthy pattern of creative expression. Without a healthy outlet for creativity we will find ourselves jumping from one thing to the next… stopping the things we’ve started. Here are some things that I’ve found helpful.

Creativity is about Time
Everyone, weather they think so or not, is creative. We all want to reveal who we are through things we create. This is a natural part of our being. If we don’t intentionaly create space for creativity we will find ourselves feeling dry. God not only created space in his life to create, but he created space and time itself!

Creativity is about Breaks
We have to be careful not to let our creativity take control of us. When all you’re focused on is creating a product it’s easy to push your self. “I have to finish this now!” It’s ok to take a break and come back to whatever you’re working on later. You don’t have to spend days on end working on something creative. At some point it gets to be work and not fun. Set aside times where you can be creative for a while and then pause until the next time. God spent six days creating and on the seventh he rested. Take time to enjoy what you’ve done so far.

Creativity is about Process
When you’re creating you don’t have to think about how other’s will view what you’re doing. Creativity is all about taking the time to be you and enjoy how God made you along the way. It’s ok to mess up and make mistakes. If God didn’t enjoy the processes of creation he could have made everything instantly, but instead he took his time to enjoy himself along the way. He took moments to say, “It is good.”

Creativity is about Excellence
Whatever you’re doing, even if you’re not good at it, I think you can still be excellent. That may not make sense at first, but let me elaborate. You’re end product might not seem good to others, but if you put real effort into it you will be able to enjoy your creation. Your creation will be a natural reflection of who you are. God didn’t just slap humankind together, he made us in his image. This took time, thought and care. People can criticize your creations all they want, but if your heart was in the process then it is good!

God’s plan for creation included a moment in which he created a small child… Christ… God with us… Emmanuel. God created himself (crazy thought) so that he could redeem and rescue the world. What a creative plan from a creative God! I hope that this Christmas you will find yourself inspired by God, the creator to set aside some time and partner with him in a creative and new way. God is working on you and through you, and he won’t stop.

I wish you a very creative and merry Christmas!

The Things We Start

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Why do we start things we don’t finish?

Over the past few years I’ve tried to write a book, host a podcast, run an online business, design an iPhone app, and who knows what else. They were all great things, and really fun, but I didn’t finish one of them! How come?

And that got me thinking… It’s not just me. We all do it. Even social networking goes through patterns of starting and stopping.

Does this look like your life?
– got on myspace
- got a new email address
- got on facebook
- started a blog
- started subscribing to blogs
- deleted myspace
- played with facebook apps
- blocked facebook apps
- got another new email address
- got a twitter page
- stopped blogging
- consolidated emails
- stopped tweeting
- signed up for google wave
- and here we are…

Ok… so maybe this looks familiar now. (at least I hope I’m not the only one)

So why is it that we continue to follow this pattern? Perhaps it is a sign of something deeper going on inside of us. What do you think?

Government and Morality

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Preface
I’m just going to guess that every blog that I write between now and the election will be highly controversial, but I’m not trying to be divisive in anyway. I’m writing these political blogs because it is extremely important for us as Christians to be completely honest and transparent when it comes to our convictions and beliefs. Only through honesty can we engage in civil discussions on how we as the body of Christ can make the world a better place. I’m very open to discussion and I hope you will join me as I wrestle though the big issues of government and faith.

Part I: The Ten Commandments and a Christian Nation?
(And this has nothing to do with courthouse buildings.) People say that we are a Christian nation founded on Christian principals, but what does that really mean? I don’t really know the answer to that, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that some people think that the moral code of America derives its roots from principals found in the Bible. So I suppose a good starting point would be the Ten Commandments. Let’s look at each commandment and how it plays out in our society.

No other Gods besides our God.
This is really the opposite of America because we believe in religious freedom. Everyone has a choice to worship any God they want and they receive the same rights as everyone else.

Don’t have any idols.
Well unfortunately consumerism and our self centered society encourage us to have all kinds of idols… even “American Idols”.

Don’t misuse the name of God.
Well aside from people’s foul language, we put His name on our money which is used for all kinds of evil. I wouldn’t want my name on anyone’s blood money.

Remember the Sabbath.
Sadly even most Christians, including myself, do not make this a priority. America is about work and profit and getting ahead in the world. We definitely don’t honor God with our time.

Honor your parents.
The Cosby show was probably the last show to really send this message.

Do not murder.
This is an interesting one. Everyone in the entire world agrees that murder is wrong… unless of course you’re dressed for the occasion. We say it’s wrong to take a life, but if it’s in the nation’s “best interest” then we will do whatever it takes. I’ll be writing more about this when I address the issue of war in another post.

Do not commit adultery.
This one is looked down upon… yet look at the divorce rate.

Do not steal.
We may actually agree on this one depending on how you view taxes… haha.

Do not lie.
I think I already mentioned that we’re talking about politics. Everyone is encouraged to lie in America if it serves in the best interest of others.

Do not covet.
I believe that one of the understated goals of the United States government is to stay on top of everyone else. They have missiles? We better have more.

Part II: Who gets to be the judge?
So I think it’s safe to say that the ideals of America are not as “Christian” as we’d like to think. Here’s something interesting: A lot of people seem to believe that people who are gay are not entitled to the same rights as everyone else, because they live in sin. Well if that argument is true then we have some bigger problems. If you believe that the Ten Commandments are true then it’s probably safe to assume that breaking any one of them is a sin. So under this belief anyone who believes in another God is sinning. (And I believe this of course.) So in supporting religious freedom we are actually supporting a violation of the first commandment. Religious freedom is a fundamental conflict with the Ten Commandments. So for some Christians you can maintain certain rights as long as you follow some of the rules. Now of course I believe in the Ten Commandments and also support freedom of religion at the same time, but I’ll explain how this works later on.

But first, what does this mean?

Let me first say that there are many grey areas here, and I can’t really address everything. Basically I don’t think that we can truly call ourselves a Christian nation. Even if we were at one time, we certainly are not anymore. I also think that morality cannot and should not be dictated by the government. The truth of the matter is that people will act on their own morals despite any law given by the government. If the government asks you to do something which is immoral you won’t do it. In the same way, if the government allows something that’s immoral to be ok you’re still not going to do it. For example: If the government made all drugs legal you probably wouldn’t do drugs if you had a moral objection. Or if the government said that reading the Bible was now against the law, you would probably do it anyway. The point I’m trying to make is that people will act on their own beliefs despite any effort by the government to control them. If you want to do something you will do it. Ultimately God will be the judge of those who do wrong. Our place is not to condemn evil doers, but to offer grace and forgiveness. God is a God of justice, and I believe that everything that is wrong in the world will one day be made right by Him and Him alone.

Part III: Freedom
The great thing about God is that he tells us the truth. He shows us what is right and what is wrong, yet at the same time he doesn’t force anyone to believe it. The Bible says that we are all created in the image of God. The reason that we all agree that murder is bad is because God thinks that murder is bad. The heart of God has been imprinted on the consciousness of humanity. The problem for a lot of people is that without the Holy Spirit they have trouble discerning it and acting on it. So there are things that we can all agree on, and there are things that we will have to disagree on for now. But basically, if are supposed to be like God then we should not force our beliefs on others through the medium of the government. Instead we should allow people to have freedom; the freedom that God gives everyone to choose life or death with their every decision. There are of course problems with this, and these are still issues that I’m wrestling with. A lot of my ideas are still a bit underdeveloped… like what this practically looks like and how it applies to some specific issues. For example: Is murder a moral issue or something more? Murder should be illegal, but on what grounds? Because morality cannot entirely be separated from government I hope to share my thoughts on some specific issues in more detail in the weeks to come.

Part IV: The Election
All of these things play out in different ways as it relates to endorsing a candidate. I’ll be posting more specifically on candidates later on, but I recently decided that my vote is going to Barak Obama. The first reason that I support him is that he isn’t trying to enforce “Christian” morality on the people of America. At the same time, he is a Christian and will probably face moral conflicts on a daily basis. His faith in God will always influence his decisions, but he will also keep in mind the freedom of Americans. The last thing that we want is for a “religion” to run this country. Blaise Pascal once said, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” Remember the crusades? There are many dangers when we mix politics with people’s interpretation of Biblical morality and principals. Ultimately I find myself resonating with the words of Derek Webb when he said, “My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country or a man. My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood. It’s to a King and a Kingdom!” He also said, “We’ve never had a savior on capitol hill.” Ultimately we have to live out Christ’s teachings no matter what happens in the government. At the same time, I cannot stress enough the importance of voting and getting involved in the political arena. Read up on the candidates and vote based on your convictions and beliefs.

The Choice

Mon, 12 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Every day we have a choice. Every choice we make puts us on a path. Every path either leads to blessings or curses. Blessings lead to life, while curses lead to death. Death is the end, but life leads to more life. So in every moment of every day we have a choice to choose life or to choose death. And God is life. Life flows from God. To truly live is to have Christ at the center of our lives. All too often we forget this. We fall. We live distant from God. We choose death. But God in his grace, the great shepherd of the sheep, reaches out his hand, calls us by name, and restores us back to him. It doesn’t matter how far we stray. He is always there. At the start He was there. In the end He’ll be there. With the rising of the sun anew day dawns: another chance to follow him into the lightor hide in darkness. You have a choice. Who will you listen to?

“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
- Deuteronomy 30:19-20

{Choose God. Choose Life.}

My Cry

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:9

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
-Genesis 2:17 (NKJ)

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”
-Genesis 3:4 (NKJ)

She took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
-Genesis 3:6(NIV)

God says, “Do this and die.” The serpent says, “No you wont.” And yet we choose death. I don’t get it! Why were we deceived? Why did God create the serpent? Why did God allow us to be susceptible to evil? Why did the story of man have to have a conflict? Couldn’t God have created us as holy and perfect beings to live with him forever from the beginning? I just don’t get it.

And so we were doomed to die, but God came as a man to remove the curse of death. Why wait until that moment to do it? Why have a curse at all if it was going to be removed? And now that the curse is removed we have a chance to enter into life, yet some still choose death. Even those who choose life still find themselves half dead sometimes. Why is that?

I don’t understand why everything happens the way it does. I don’t understand why the path of God has to be so narrow. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to follow such a great God. I don’t understand why I can have a thirst for God one week and in the next week push him to the side.

I’m afraid the wisdom of Solomon himself wouldn’t be enough to answer any of these questions. There’s so much I want to know. There’s so much I don’t understand. There are so many things about God that I just don’t get. I pray this phrase from Psalm 119…
“May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word.”

I know nothing… but I’m ok with that. All I do know is this:

It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,

to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,

to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.

For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.

How great are your works, O LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
Psalm 92:1-5

And may you find hope and comfort in these words which were spoken to Daniel:

Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
Daniel 10:12

Capturing Shadows

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

I’ve been reading a lot in the book of Hebrews lately and there are some amazing passages in which the author talks about the things of this world, and how they are merely a shadow of the things to come. Some of our most sacred, divine moments are merely a taste of Heaven. What a thought!

The book of Psalms says that Man is like a breath, and his days are like a fleeting shadow. Over and over again this thought is echoed throughout the scriptures. For some reason the other day I just couldn’t get this idea of shadows out of my head. A shadow is an interesting thing. A shadow shows the outline of an object but lacks the color, detail and depth of an object. A shadow can’t think for itself; it’s merely bound to the will of the one who casts it. And of course the shadow is generated from an object or person which is in the light. When we talk about the concept of foreshadowing it’s the idea that you get a small glimpse of the thing to come. Often times in movies we get to see a character’s shadow before we actually see them. But the shadow itself isn’t enough; we want to see the character fully illumined so we wait and watch in suspense.

While we’re here on earth we can’t see God in his fullness, but we do get glimpses of Him as we grow in our awareness of his presence. It’s as if we live in his shadow, anticipating the fullness of his glory to come. In his shadow we find rest and protection. (Psalm 91, Psalm 17) In his shadow we sing. (Psalm 63) The shadow is not God himself, but merely a rough outline of who he is. Unfortunately many people ignore God’s shadow and instead embrace the darkness of sin and the world. A shadow in the dark cannot be seen, but God sent us a light so that we may illuminate the world to reveal His shadow. Matthew 4:16 says, “the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

The Light of Lights has descended from realms of endless day to illumine and guide us. So may you run away from the shadow of death and run towards the Light of our Savior. And as you run towards the light may you also find yourself resting in the shadow of His wings.

Secret Divine

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

There’s a secret I must tell…

The scripture reading in Lectio Divina the other day came from Matthew chapter six. Christ is speaking and he tells everyone how they should approach the disciplines of their faith. The main ideas I see here are that our time with God is supposed to be genuine and from the heart. We’re not supposed to be drawing attention to ourselves, but turning the attention to God, which may mean being alone. It’s in this secret place, in the shadow of the temple where God reveals himself to us. It’s a very humble thing to worship God and be completely alone. My mind began to wander off on several tangents as we continued reading, but it all came back to the text. I began to think about the metaphor of the two roads. There’s the wide road which leads to destruction, and then there’s the narrow road which leads to God. I started to think that maybe there are actually three roads, and one of them is a secret. Imagine it like this:

First there is the wide road to destruction. This one is obvious. It’s the way of the world, and the easy way to get what we want here and now. Now for the second road… This road appears to be leading toward God, but it’s very narrow. To follow this road you must be perfect in every way, and earn each step as you go. This is what I would call the road of the Pharisees. It’s the road of most modern religion too. Obey these things, make yourself look as righteous as possible and you will be walking on this path. For many people this road begins at the cross, but I’m not sure where it leads. The third road is much harder to find because it is a secret. This way begins in the shadow of the cross and moves forward along winding roads into secret places which are hidden from the other roads. This road is one of grace and pure intentions. It’s on the secret path that God shepherds us into his arms. This way moves slow and it’s often hard to see, but you don’t have to be an Olympian to trek it. The best part of this road is that it is in the shade, and we have help moving forward, even when we feel like we can’t go on.

I think that many times we make a big deal about which path we’re on. We might be on the secret path, but then we jump up and down and say, “Hey everyone! The path is right here!” and we mistakenly get people on the second path instead of the third. How much more effective would it be to go up to someone and say, “There’s a secret I must tell…” and then take them by the hand to the secret path. I think it becomes far more sacred and far more personal. What if the gospel was meant to be a secret? I think that if we tried to keep the gospel a secret that we would actually have more Christians in the world. I mean look at the church in China. Secret churches are everywhere! That’s gotta be exciting to be a part of. The best secrets are the hardest to keep. If we treat the message of Christ as a secret, and hide his word in our hearts then I think we will see one of the greatest resurgences of the church in the history of the world.

The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom have been entrusted to you. So may you remember that God rewards what is done in secret. May you walk the secret path, and may you share the greatest secret of them all: Jesus is the way.

As Long As It Is Called Today

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

I have a notebook…

In it I keep my thoughts, desires, revelations, invitations, prayers and emotions. My notebook gives me glimpses into my life and reminds me of the ways that God speaks to me. When I write down a thought it usually starts out simple but as I let it saturate in my mind it begins to grow and develop. Every now and then I take something from my notebook and share it here on my blog. Here we go:

I have found that the times when I am most prone to sin are those moments when I’m feeling fragile and tired. When I’m tired I usually can’t think straight and I find myself worrying about tomorrow instead of breathing in today. My heart becomes hard and I can’t hear anything that God is saying. All I hear are my problems, and I pass by God on my left and my right, but never even see him. As a great inspiration of mine once said, “What you look for, you will find.” If all I look at is my problems how will I ever see God? If I want to see God I need to look for him. King David said, “Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” Always… even when I feel fragile and tired. The interesting thing about being tired is that for the most part it is avoidable. We simply have to find time to rest.

The writer of the book of Hebrews seems to suggest that there is a correlation between resting andhearing God. Rest (Sabbath) is something we don’t talk about very much, but it’s so important. From the Sabbath of eternity God created the universe. On the seventh day I believe that God not only rested from the work he did, but also for the work he had to do. I believe that out of Sabbath we find ourselves renewed, refreshed and ready for anything to come our way. In Hebrews chapter four, the author talks about God resting and says that we who believe can enter into his rest. At the same time the author also quotes a passage from Psalm 95 which says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” This same passage gets quoted three times. The author is trying to get a point across. Already there seems to be some parallels being drawn, although not clear at first.

The author also reminds us about Israel in the dessert. They were disobedient and did not enter into God’s rest, and because of it their hearts were hard. The Israelites turned away from the living God and instead lived in sin and unbelief. But then we get this encouragement in verse nine that says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” If we enter God’s rest we will not fall! We will not be fragile and tired we will be renewed and filled with the shalom (peace) of God. When we rest in God he softens our hearts and gives us a child like faith so that we can hear him when he speaks.

But like every other aspect of our faith we can’t do it alone. We need others to come alongside us to help us. Hebrews 3:12-13 says this: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” I love it, because it’s always Today!

So may you seek the living God this week. May you see that he is here with us on our left and on our right to renew us and make us strong. May your heart be softened to his as you rest in him. And may you encourage others to rest in God as long as it is called Today!

That Most Amazing Reality

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In the 4th Century Church a beautiful Greek liturgy emerged from the pen of St. James, and in 1864 it was translated to English. As we approach the Easter weekend I can’t think of any better words to meditate on than these:

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
And with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly minded,
For with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
Our full homage to demand.

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

You Have Made My Day

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

I was reminded tonight that often the things we love we don’t love because of what they are but because of what they mean. I was watching a show on television recently and one of the characters had a Chinese tattoo on his arm. Another character told him what it translated to in English. His response was, “That’s what it says, but it’s not what it means.” I asked someone who travels a lot where his favorite place in the world was. He said, “It’s hard to detach a geographical location from your actual experience there.” The experiences we have shape the meanings that we give the things around us. Someone once said that, “Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.” There’s a song that I absolutely love, and maybe it’s not because of the music or the lyrics, but perhaps it’s because of the meaning it has had in my life. It’s a simple song with simple lyrics by Shane and Shane called Bad Days Better. If you need some encouragement in your life, then maybe it’s not coincidence that you’re reading this right now…

You have made my day
Even in stormy weather
I’m dancing in all the rain
Cause you make bad days…

Great is the way
When you come to mind
I am smiling ear to ear
Sweet thoughts of you
I’m always in the mood
To twirl around with you
While it’s raining
Even if it’s a dream

Great is the way
That I am unafraid
When I see you
All my fear goes away

Bad days are coming
Rainy days are always around
But if I can see you
One glance upon you
The sun comes out

I’m dancing in all the rain
Cause you make bad days better

(re)new

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

This is an article I wrote for the Spring
Issue of Community magazine put out
by Big Valley Grace Community Church:

It is evident throughout Scripture that God is in the business of restoration. Our God is a God who redeems the worthless, heals the broken and calls the unrighteous to join Him in His work. As workers in the Kingdom of God, it is easy to get into routines where we focus only on the work we have to do rather than the one who gave us the work. In these moments our work becomes old, stale, dry and tiresome. We find ourselves living mundane lives as we experience these “spiritual slumps.” But God doesn’t invite us into a static ordinary life. He invites us into an exciting extraordinary life–a life abundant. Remember the words of the Psalmist in chapter 51 when he says, “restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.” This joy, this life abundant is one that we are trying to spread in the xrds community. But how do we do it? How do we make the transition from ordinary to extraordinary? How do we renew our faith, and what is this mysterious process of transformation? This has been a challenge for us, but we’ve done some creative brainstorming and here’s what we’ve come up with.

We’ve begun the process of creating a video series called (re)new. It works like this: We’ve asked ten people to work on a specific spiritual discipline for a week and talk about it on video. Some of the disciplines we’ll explore include prayer, silence, solitude and fasting. Through the help of a website, each person has a detailed description of what to do each day, what to talk about, and how to film themselves. Each day XRDers spend a significant amount of time practicing their discipline. At the end of the day they record their thoughts. On the video, participants share their experiences while practicing the discipline and ways in which they are being stretched. They talk about ways in which the exercise was difficult or uncomfortable and the ways they are growing in Christ. At the end of the week their video undergoes a two week process of post production, including editing, scoring and other final touches. The finished videos are put on the website and will eventually be released on DVD. During xrds, the finished video is shown along with a personal interview highlighting how the experience changed the participant’s walk with God. One person, one week, one goal: renewal. Our hope is that these videos will be a valuable tool for the Big Valley Grace family, encouraging the joy of Christ’s renewal. Join us as we learn to hear God and practice His presence. Perhaps you, too, will undergo the mysterious process of transformation.

The Trinity and Man

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The other day I was thinking about a few different things… First the complexity of the Trinity and second, the duality of man and our choice between good and evil. I began to wonder if maybe man had a certain “three-in-one-ness” also. This of course wouldn’t be anywhere near the complete triune nature of God, but I still wondered if there was any similarities or even a human equivalent. As I was pondering this my mind led me down an interesting path and I came up with a few thoughts. Part I wont actually explore any of this, but it is necessary to have Part I to reference later.

Let me begin with some scripture as groundwork. I will begin to explain the fullness of my observations and thoughts later.

God: God
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
(Genesis 1:1)
First we see that there is a God and that this God likes to create things.

God: Man
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
(Genesis 1:3)
When this God creates, he does so by speaking things into existence.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
(John 1:1-5)
God created the universe with words. The Word itself is also God. The Word gives life.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
(John 1:14)
The life giving Word became a man full of grace and truth.

God: Spirit
“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
(Genesis 1:2)
This God who speaks life is also spirit.

Man: Created
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”
(Genesis 1:26)
So this creative God who speaks words and is spirit is one yet many. And so He makes man in his own image.

“the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
(Genesis 2:7)
The God who spoke the dust of the earth into existence decided to breathe life into it.

Man: Fallen
“but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
(James 1:14-15)
The God breathed man, if he gives into his desires, will die.

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
(Genesis 3:6-7)
We chose death.

“So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”
(Genesis 3:23)
Now we face the consequences.

Man: Redeemed
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,God made youalive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.”
(Colossians 2:13-14)
God took upon himself the death that we gave birth to, and now we have life again.

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”
(Titus 3:4-7)
The God of grace and truth demonstrated his mercy and gave us life and His Spirit.

Biological Man and God the Creator
The First Level of Connection
I think that at the core of every human being is an internal connection to the God who made us. He made the dust of the earth and from it he breathed life into us. God’s fingerprints are all over our DNA. Some people choose to ignore those fingerprints and pass them off as chance or evolution, but I see intent and design. And then there is this concept that we are made in His image. What does that mean really? I think it is something embedded in the nature of who we are… a desire to do good and know what is right. At any moment any person can choose to act on this or turn away. I think this is where we get this idea of a sort of “universal” moral code. Most people in the world would agree that it is wrong to murder someone. These morals I believe are programmed into us by God, and when we act on them we have a natural connection to God that draws us to him. This is how I see people connecting to God though other faiths. A Jew, for example, was made by God and imprinted with His image. When a Jew does what is right and worships God I think that there is a connection there, not salvation, but a connection of a different kind. This part of us that contains the breath of life I would call the soul. The soul is a strange thing. Many people have written books trying to define it and scientists and psychologists have tried to find it, yet it remains a mystery. I believe that everyone has divine a connection to God through our soul whether or not they know it. The problem is that this connection is not enough. In fact our connection has been severed, and we are separated from him. His imprint is still there and we can see his image in us at times but it takes more to renew our connection fully. This is where the second connection between God and Man comes into play… Man the God meets God the Man.

Man the “God” meets God the Man
The Second Level of Connection
I often refer to the duality of man. We have in us the divine spark, a soul, a conscience that tells us to do what is right. Yet despite our best efforts we fail. We give into our own desires and as a result we have let sin come betweens us and God. As I’ve written about before, I believe that our sin has come from a desire to be God and make decisions on our own rather than trusting in him. So we have this flesh part of us driven by desire and we have a spirit part of us driven by our divinely engineered code. Over time some people like Enoch (Genesis 5, Hebrews 11) have proven that they could overcome their fleshly desires, and yet most of us fail and are inevitably doomed to die. While we continued to play God, the true God came to earth as a man. God revealed himself as a man so that we might connect with him in a physical reality here on earth. We chose death over life and then we chose death for the One who gave us life. Yet through his death he once again gave us life, making it possible for us to reconnect with God in both a spiritual and physical sense. But the story doesn’t stop there. Our connection continues…

Saved by God to God
The Third Connection
So God, to connect us to him in the most intimate way sent us His Spirit, to guide us, and to mark us with a seal as a promise of a future life spent eternally connected to God. (Ephesians 1:13-14) I really don’t think I could sum it up better than this beautiful passage I quoted before…

We have been redeemed and reconnected to God! But all of this was just the back story behind the observation I made the other day regarding the Trinity and Man…

Are you curious?

One God for Three Men
The Big Picture
Several nights ago I was sitting in church taking notes when somehow I drifted away from the sermon and started doodling. What I started drawing became this… a flux capacitor! Ok, not really, but I thought it was just as cool. (see picture below) Now let me explain this. It’s really kind of a flow chart. In the beginning was God. God exists in three persons. The interesting thing is how each person of God interacts with man. First we have God the Father who creates man, breathes life into him. God gives man a soul and a divine imprint of his image and the heart to do good. Man falls and now lives with a constant choice to either choose God and be the person he created or to try and be God and live on our own. Then enters Jesus who died on the cross to reconcile all things to himself. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, fallen man can be redeemed. Then God sent His Holy spirit to dwell in us. As redeemed man we have the choice to live like we a redeemed and listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit or we can give in to our fleshly desires. But through the power of the cross God sill looks at us and see us as we were created to be… blameless. I find it interesting that the Trinity seems to exist in a way that tells the story of man. God created us, knew we would fall, and had a plan to redeem us from the beginning. The evidence of the trinity is evident through all of scripture and yet all the while He remains One. We however demonstrate our bi-polar nature as we go through these various stages in our lives. At one time in history man walked with God. We left God and God came to us. God is with us again through his spirit today, and one day we will be able to walk with God again and experience the fullness of the Triune God in his Holy presence. May you experience God in different ways as you walk on your journey. May you remember that God is unchanging even as you change, and that he knew our path and was prepared for it from the beginning. And may you live like the redeemed person that you are and worship the One True God as you constantly reconnect with Him.

Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty!

Comments? Thoughts?

"I keep various weaponry strategically placed around the office. I saved Jim’s life with a can of..."

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

“I keep various weaponry strategically placed around the office. I saved Jim’s life with a can of pepper spray I had velcrowed under my desk. People say, oh it’s dangerous to keep weapons in the home, or the workplace. Well I say, it’s better to be hurt by someone you know, accidentally, than by a stranger, on purpose.”

- Dwight Schrute

We Must Go

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

I often think about what it means to be a hero. To be the person that everyone cheers for even when they don’t know your name.I’ve always had a fascination with heroes in books and movies and in real life.I don’t know what it is about them that they grip me so much.They’re often alone, hurt, and torn between two worlds. Living two lives, they take no credit for their work and pass people on the streets unnoticed. On one side they’re normal, trying to balance the lives of the people they love while on the other side of things they stand as the only means of salvation for countless others they don’t even know. A hero sacrifices himself for the greater good. A hero fights for truth and love at any cost.

A lot of people tell you that anyone can be a hero, and we all have a roll to play, and that even the little things matter. I’m pretty sure I’ve blogged much of the same myself. But there are still those heroes who stand out because they do something big.

I’ve watched a few films recently that expanded my world view a bit and I found myself saying, “Man… I’m glad I was born in America.” I instantly stopped and thought about what I just said. I couldn’t believe I even thought that… how selfish of me. Tonight I was sitting in mar car in a grocery store parking lot looking out my window. I looked at a few people near by and listened to a police siren down the street. I sat there eating a piece of candy and I just felt convicted at the wealth of our country and the things we spend it on. We blind ourselves to the depravity of the world and the harsh realities that encompass us.How did it come to this? Where are all the heroes?

I’m such a hypocrite at times, spending more time talking about the theoretical rather than applying it, but nonetheless I still want to do something big. Not for pride’s sake, recognition or glory… but for truth. I want to make a lasting difference in the world. I could care less if anyone ever knows who I am. I just want my life to have a legacy. My dream is to partner with God in the restoration of this world. I don’ know how, when, or where, but I know I want it to happen. I might loose something or everything in the process but it will be worth it. But for now I wait, dream, think, wrestle, talk, write, and wait for the day I begin that journey.

Fill us up and send us out…

Some Theology

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Here’s some crazy ideas I’ve been thinking about over the last few days.

I. God is busy…
According to the U.S. Census Bureau each minute roughly 105 people die and 253 people are born. Supposedly, from what I read online in statistics that were probably made up, one out of every three people who die are a Christian. Thats about 34 people every minute. So we could make a very rough guess that every other second someone is meeting God face to face. This would also mean that every second someone dies who rejected God. Now every second there are about four babies born. So in the span of two seconds God throws eight birthday parties two funerals and a homecoming party… busy guy. I’m glad that God is omnipresent and exists outside of time. Because if he didn’t then the average person would only be acknowledged by him 1/5th of a second in their lifetime. Pretty crazy huh?

II. God is a widdler…
Now here’s where it gets really fun… I’ve watched several films over the last few weeks that coincidentally all had to do with time travel and changing the coarse of history. Rob Bell pointed out with the “marker trick” how God can have a three dimensional view of time where ours is only a half dimension. Suppose for a moment that God views all of time as a rectangular block. The block itself is made up of many different atoms which are very small. The first atom was of course renamed Adam. But the block also has a grain embedded throughout. The grain gives it a natural beauty and unique design. Now imagine that God wanted to carve this block and make it into something else, which I’m sure he would. He’s so artistic you know. And imagine that God had an idea for this carving… a plan so to speak. God would begin to carve away at pieces here and there, intervening at just that right places in time to fit his master plan. When it is all finished God would have a beautiful carving. The interesting thing about this carving is all the atoms inside. You see, all of the atoms are made up of the same stuff. They all exist in the same sculpture and none of them can change that. Each atom however can move around as it pleases within this structure with out changing it. And inside it are millions and millions of microscopic collisions. Now along comes something bad and the wood begins to warp and rot. So God comes in at a specific point as a carpenter and begins to refurbish the sculpture and restore it to it’s glorious design. That’s the beauty of the story.

Happy (re)New Year

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

It’s crazy to think that Jesus came to earth roughly 2008 years ago… Thats so many years. I wonder if he ever made a new years resolution. “This year I’m going to heal thirty people. Next year I’m going to save the world…” He probably never had to make a resolution, because he probably never felt the need to start new. I think that’s what drives us to do this anyway. We somehow feel that because the earth completed another rotation around the sun that it some how clears us of our past and helps us with a fresh start. “This year is going to be different… I’ll really do it this time.” We mess things up for ourselves so much that the only alternative seems to start new. Why? Because we realize that if we keep living a certain way it will only lead to destruction. Maybe while the earth revolves around one sun our lives should be revolving around a different kind of son. Maybe instead of celebrating another new year to start over we could celebrate another year spent focused on Christ. Maybe our resolution this year should be for a faith centered on and revolving around Christ and then next year we can look at how He (re)newed our lives. There a some phrases from songs that have been sticking out to me lately, and I’d like to offer them up as a prayer of sorts… I’ve modified them and mixed them together a bit. I suppose that this would be my resolution…

Christ be the center of my life. Be the place we fix our eyes. Be the center of our lives. Be my everything. God in my living, breathing, waking, sleeping, resting, working, thinking, speaking, hoping, dreaming, watching, waiting, laughing, weeping, hurting and healing… be my everything.

Turn your ear to heaven and hear…