Written April 2006
As I approach the ever so scary 30 years of age I guess my old mind is making me think I am smart and can write something here that is intelligent sounding. But none the less this is something I have been hashing over for a while, so wanna hear it here it go:
As I finished High school I became aware of the theology of Calvinism. Don't worry I am not going to argue the TULIP principles here or nothing. This same argument has carried over to Open Theism, what does God know and when does he know it? As I have poured over both sides I have come to the belief that the truth is somewhere in the middle or in the aisle if you will.
As I began college there was a big movement that began that is still going today, the modern worship movement. Or piano and organ vs. Guitar and drums in a fight to the DEATH. I saw people ridicule churches when I was in college if they worshiped with one particular style. I reason my way through this by coming to the understanding that both are worship if done in the right attitude, and that I have no control over so wherever God leads me to worship I will submit to the leadership of that church and worship no matter what they play. But now that I am in a church that has blended worship I realize that the best answer may be in the aisle.
The current debate is more of a political one. It is great to have a president that is public about his faith and embraces the religious leaders of today and the numbers of abortions are on a decline. But then war sucks and gas prices are killing us all even though four of the fortune 500 top fifteen are oil companies and two are automobile companies. And then we start to realize that some of those religious leaders are jerks and have let power go to their head. Once again I come to the ever so brilliant conclusion that the answer is somewhere in between the two, in the aisle.
But I know that sometimes standing in the middle makes God sick, at least that is what revelation teaches us right, he will spew the lukewarm out of his mouth. As I was contemplating this as I washed dishes, no I do not have a dishwasher I live in a barn, and listening to the Robbie Seay band a verse from Ephesians popped in my head.
Ephesians 4:14-15 says " Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
I can see that I have been like this on some of these issues, tossed back and forth by whoever made the more impressive argument. I think Paul dealt with this a lot in the first century when in Corinthians he came to the conclusion "I preach Christ and him crucified." I think the point is to live or lives so that Christ is glorified, so that his gospel goes forth to all the world. That if you will is the aisle that got us here, and that is the one that will get us there.
I look at the example Jesus set, he hung out with the sinners, the whores and IRS agents. But you know something that is overlooked is the fact he did go to the places he knew the religious leaders of the day were sure to hang out. He lived his life in the aisle while concentrating on the central message he died to bring and give us reason for.
So as I look head strong into my 30's I want my life to be lived in the aisle, one that preaches Christ and him crucified but is led by the spirit as I make decisions and participate in the world I live in. I am not naive to the fact that sometimes you have to make a decision, how else can you vote whether in church or in town hall, but I must allow God's spirit to guide my decisions and not allow the wave to take me away from the message I have been sent to bring. Maybe then I will truly "grow up in him who is the head, Christ Jesus" my savior and Lord.
Maybe this is why the church is such a joke to so many in the world. We try and boycott sinners or we accept part of their sins but not others. Or it is maybe we sometimes get so caught up with relating to the world that we forget to "speak the truth in love." Jesus was never afraid to call sin, sin. We so many times concentrate on "do not judge" and forget to dig the plank out of our eye so that we can humbly go to our brother or sister and introduce them to the Christ that can easily get rid of sawdust.
Well these are my thoughts; I guess that is some of what a blog is for.
I pray the God of all creation blesses you.
Travis
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Preparing for the Main Attraction
Written September 2006
I have been preparing a lesson on a guy that sometimes we pass by to concentrate on the main attraction. John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, I can't imagine what this guys was like. I believe he smelled had crazy Unabomber hair, and had irregular bowl syndrome (eating locust and honey, what a combo) yet people for some reason listened to him. So much so that he had disciples that followed him sharing the message, “Repent, for the Kingdome of heaven is near."
And about this message, this guy's whole existence was for one reason, to prepare the way for the Christ. Wow, what a job. He went around baptizing people as a sign of repentance of their sin. And then he told them to be ready for another one that was coming that would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. In fact John did not consider himself worthy of carrying his cousin's sandals. His cousin who he probably went to celebrate the Passover feast with, and saw as each of them went through their Bar Mitzvah in the same year. He wasn’t worthy of carrying this guys sandals.
In life today we are always looking for where we fit in, what our mission in life is, what God has predestined us to do. Wouldn't it be great to know our job like John did? To know what our ministry is, what passion God has put us here on this earth for. What contentment it must have been to know you are in the smack dab center of God's will.
But it occurs to me, what if our call, our mission is much like John's. Sure he was set apart for a particular time to live his out. But what if we went about our life taking steps of faith that serve as an avenue to prepare the way for the messiah that will come. That is what we are here for right, to go and make disciples, to through the power given by the Holy Spirit make known the mystery of the gospel to all the world. As a Christian I believe that Jesus is coming back, I have no idea when this is happening but I know he is just as John knew that is cousin was about to start shaking things up. So my life should be about preparing the way for the one who I am unworthy to carry his sandals, but who has made me worthy through the his death and his defeat of death. The statement that John makes in John 3 has been on my mind since I heard a message on it at Church camp this summer. In verse 30 he says "He must become greater, I must become less." Wow, what a mission statement. This was at a time when John was becoming less popular, his church was shrinking, he was about to be put in prison. When told of his group getting smaller he makes this awesome statement. What if our lives were lived like that, if our goal was for Christ to increase and us to truly decrease. Then our lives would not be about us and we would fulfill the greatest commandment, we would Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then much like it as a result we would love our neighbor as ourselves. Then we would truly be preparing the way for the main attraction that is to come.
I have been preparing a lesson on a guy that sometimes we pass by to concentrate on the main attraction. John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, I can't imagine what this guys was like. I believe he smelled had crazy Unabomber hair, and had irregular bowl syndrome (eating locust and honey, what a combo) yet people for some reason listened to him. So much so that he had disciples that followed him sharing the message, “Repent, for the Kingdome of heaven is near."
And about this message, this guy's whole existence was for one reason, to prepare the way for the Christ. Wow, what a job. He went around baptizing people as a sign of repentance of their sin. And then he told them to be ready for another one that was coming that would baptize them with the Holy Spirit. In fact John did not consider himself worthy of carrying his cousin's sandals. His cousin who he probably went to celebrate the Passover feast with, and saw as each of them went through their Bar Mitzvah in the same year. He wasn’t worthy of carrying this guys sandals.
In life today we are always looking for where we fit in, what our mission in life is, what God has predestined us to do. Wouldn't it be great to know our job like John did? To know what our ministry is, what passion God has put us here on this earth for. What contentment it must have been to know you are in the smack dab center of God's will.
But it occurs to me, what if our call, our mission is much like John's. Sure he was set apart for a particular time to live his out. But what if we went about our life taking steps of faith that serve as an avenue to prepare the way for the messiah that will come. That is what we are here for right, to go and make disciples, to through the power given by the Holy Spirit make known the mystery of the gospel to all the world. As a Christian I believe that Jesus is coming back, I have no idea when this is happening but I know he is just as John knew that is cousin was about to start shaking things up. So my life should be about preparing the way for the one who I am unworthy to carry his sandals, but who has made me worthy through the his death and his defeat of death. The statement that John makes in John 3 has been on my mind since I heard a message on it at Church camp this summer. In verse 30 he says "He must become greater, I must become less." Wow, what a mission statement. This was at a time when John was becoming less popular, his church was shrinking, he was about to be put in prison. When told of his group getting smaller he makes this awesome statement. What if our lives were lived like that, if our goal was for Christ to increase and us to truly decrease. Then our lives would not be about us and we would fulfill the greatest commandment, we would Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then much like it as a result we would love our neighbor as ourselves. Then we would truly be preparing the way for the main attraction that is to come.
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