Life is unrelenting, isn't it? Adult responsibilities, like pounding surf, just come at you wave after wave after thundering wave. Such is the reality we need to prepare our kids for. May they not only be braced for it, but be ready to find the joy in it.
So it's 11:07 when I first started, and I'm facing the same dilemma for the 100,000th time---do I stay up and push a little longer and get a little more accomplished, knowing that it's going to lead to greater fatigue in the morning and reduce significantly my chances of getting up bright and early and spending fresh time with the Lord through His Word----or do I trust what He says in His word that the Lord gives rest to his children? I will lay down in peace, says the psalmist.
My litmus test is becoming, "have I put in a full 18 hours? Did I give it my all for 75% of the day? If so, then it's ok to turn in. For tomorrow will follow shortly enough, with a fresh dose of pressures, opportunities, challenges, and issues. Another 18 hours.
Well, in my case, I've got 30 minutes left, and 15 of those will be spent blogging.
So anyhow, onto a totally different subject, I've been thinking a great deal about seminary again. Our church's inhouse training program is looking to take the final steps this fall in reaching full accredidation for an M.Div program. It's a HUGE step to consider, with countless factors that would need to come into place. I can already envision the checklist of questions my dear friend Joel Button is going to pose to me (love ya, Joel!). But I sense a stirring coming freshly from within. Part of my drive, no doubt, is to escape the secular grind in the marketplace.
But at the same time, it IS different this time (we first entertained the idea after my job ended at Wilson Learning last September). For one, both Erica and I are much more at peace about the idea. And the affordability of the TBI program is most definitely compelling. Finally, I am getting the strong sense that Jesus is NOT going to reveal His full, holy plan to me at the near side of seminary---he will reveal His plan as I go through the process. Little by little, bit by bit, piece by piece, day by day, class by class, semester by semester.
So who knows. First, we need to get my Mom moved into Assisted Living, and I need to get caught up on our budgeting and financial planning, we have a huge playset to move across town, my lawn is a mess, my daughters' bedroom needs painting, etc etc etc. And on top of that, I'm supposed to be learning Quickbooks so as to help with City Vision. I've got plenty upon plenty to keep busy with.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
The man in the sandals with bloodstained brow
Another late night--just finished up washing the dishes after another long talk with my dear wife about opportunities/challenges before us in navigating our lives as parents and children of dependent parents...trying to make the best decisions, based on limited and incomplete information. Ah, the joys of adulthood...
But that's just a preamble (a rambling preamble, if you will). As the soapy water gurgled down the drain, I realized, "I've still got a little more energy left, and I have a desire to seek God in a deeper way, but I'm not sure how." I have dozens of different books I could read, I could pray, I could do more household chores, I could...and then it dawns on me, I could BLOG again!
So tonight, I wish to share perhaps my most controversial post: "Why I choose to follow Jesus instead of Mohammed." This subject is so huge and so deeply personal, it can't possibly be captured in one posting, so I will need to revisit this topic several times and try to explain what resides deep in my heart from many different angles. Call it a rich vein of sunken treasure (oil, coal, natural gas, diamonds, whatever) that needs to be tapped from many different angles to extract the true worth.
We started attending Bethlehem Baptist church in downtown Minneapolis about 3.5 years ago. Oh my goodness, what an utter JOY this has been for us. We feel such a close alignment with so many of their core theologies and priorities for ministry. The worship is so incredibly uplifting when the old hymns, which have carried saints through pilgrimage for centuries, are sung with faith and gusto!
This Sunday was another heavenly moment. Christ seemed so real and so majestic as we sang of the Cross (don't remember the song, just the thoughts that were stirred).
The amaing thing about the cross that rivets my heart to Jesus is unbelievable intensity of Christ's love which could ONLY be shown by his act of sacrifice. You don't go subject yourself to public ridicule, humiliation, unbearable scourging and crucifixion for kicks & grins. Jesus told us in John's gospel that he laid down his life of his own accord--no one takes it from him. Wow! Can you imagine that?! Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ depicted this willing self-sacrifice well. Jesus was clearly CHOOSING to die for our sins---"Hallelujah, what a Savior!!" The book of Hebrews tells us, "for the joy set before him, Christ endured the cross, scorning its shame." For all his talk of peace, let's see the Dalai Lama take on THAT order! (I'm not meaning to offend unnecessarily, I just want to elevate the work which Christ did on the cross).
So back to this intensity--- I typically refer to this as savage intensity, but in the case of Jesus, it has to be called a holy intensity. This is the level of commitment that gets things done in this world, it's the kind that doesn't quit. Athletes know this. It takes intensity to play professional sports, let alone to win any kind of championship! It takes intensity to succeed in a Big 4 accounting Firm! It takes intensity to perservere as a small-town independently owned pharmacist for 25+ years (hats off to Mark Halmar!).
Intensity is what says, "This is hard, but I'm not quitting!" You've got to bring it on a little bit more to break my spirit!" That's what I mean by "intensity" (you may call it "competitiveness" or "killer-instinct" or what we Finns call "Sisu"). But in spite of all our human intensity, we all have reach our breaking points, sooner or later. Every one of us breaks down at some point.
I want to take just a moment to celebrate some who have demonstrated intensity in recent memory. I think of Cory Stringer, the Minnesota Viking lineman who died in training camp a few years back during the brutal heatwave of early August. They say he had chemicals in his body that contributed to his untimely demise----but think about it, here is a man who gave his life in devotion to the sport he loved. That's intensity! I think also of Todd Beamer, the man famous for leading the uprising against the 9-11 hijackers who helped bring the plane down in Pennsylvania, famous for his quote, "Let's roll." Here again is a man who gave his life to protect his country against people bent on killing. That is such an admirable intensity.
So with that being said, I want to say that I follow Jesus because His intensity brought about self-sacrifice and the shedding of his own blood. With every blow of the Roman whips, his testimony says loudly "I LOVE YOU! I LOVE THE FATHER! I AM SO COMMITTED TO THE FATHER'S WILL THAT I WILL LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, LITTLE FLOCK, AND SHED MY OWN BLOOD FOR YOU!" And most remarkable is the fact that Jesus DID NOT QUIT. He kept paying and paying and paying and laying down his life and bleeding, and holding back any form of retaliation until he could say with perfect integrity, "It...is...FINISHED."
Oh my, the weight and significance of those 3 single words!! And when it was finished, HE was finished--done-for, dead, down-for-the-count, no more. "He left it all on the field," as athletes will say. But there wasn't any shower in the lockerroom, he was DEAD, done-for, FINISHED.
Please realize, if we are the "bride of Christ"---this was Jesus' "proposal" to us, to woo us, to demonstrate his holy commitment to us. To put it in an Eastern context, this was Jesus "bride-price" paid to earn the right to bring us to himself. Wow! That's commitment! It's intensity! He gave it all and didn't hold anything back for himself. Try that one on for size, grooms and groom-to be (self-included!!).
Ok, so let's compare that the intensity of the followers of Mohammed. Oh yes, it takes intensity and radical commitment to lay down your life for the cause of any religion, no doubt. I'm not saying that the jihadist is cowardly. You can take nothing away from a willingness to die for one's religion. It takes more courage than I possess on any given day to march straight into a marketplace with bombs strapped to my body and willingly pull the trigger.
But let's think about this for a second. In jihad, you demonstrate your commitment to the cause by spilling the blood of infidels (and shedding your own in the process, but that's not the main point).
In Christianity, you demonstrate your commitment to the cause by laying down your life and shedding your own blood, and not retalliating.
Which would you rather have? Advance your cause by killing others, IE: to die so that others can be killed, or advance your cause by laying down your own life, IE: to die so that others can live?
Your answer reveals your heart's belief about Christ.
And that's why I choose to follow Jesus and not Mohammed. May I die an infidel's death for that belief, never lifting a hand against those who spill my blood.
But that's just a preamble (a rambling preamble, if you will). As the soapy water gurgled down the drain, I realized, "I've still got a little more energy left, and I have a desire to seek God in a deeper way, but I'm not sure how." I have dozens of different books I could read, I could pray, I could do more household chores, I could...and then it dawns on me, I could BLOG again!
So tonight, I wish to share perhaps my most controversial post: "Why I choose to follow Jesus instead of Mohammed." This subject is so huge and so deeply personal, it can't possibly be captured in one posting, so I will need to revisit this topic several times and try to explain what resides deep in my heart from many different angles. Call it a rich vein of sunken treasure (oil, coal, natural gas, diamonds, whatever) that needs to be tapped from many different angles to extract the true worth.
We started attending Bethlehem Baptist church in downtown Minneapolis about 3.5 years ago. Oh my goodness, what an utter JOY this has been for us. We feel such a close alignment with so many of their core theologies and priorities for ministry. The worship is so incredibly uplifting when the old hymns, which have carried saints through pilgrimage for centuries, are sung with faith and gusto!
This Sunday was another heavenly moment. Christ seemed so real and so majestic as we sang of the Cross (don't remember the song, just the thoughts that were stirred).
The amaing thing about the cross that rivets my heart to Jesus is unbelievable intensity of Christ's love which could ONLY be shown by his act of sacrifice. You don't go subject yourself to public ridicule, humiliation, unbearable scourging and crucifixion for kicks & grins. Jesus told us in John's gospel that he laid down his life of his own accord--no one takes it from him. Wow! Can you imagine that?! Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ depicted this willing self-sacrifice well. Jesus was clearly CHOOSING to die for our sins---"Hallelujah, what a Savior!!" The book of Hebrews tells us, "for the joy set before him, Christ endured the cross, scorning its shame." For all his talk of peace, let's see the Dalai Lama take on THAT order! (I'm not meaning to offend unnecessarily, I just want to elevate the work which Christ did on the cross).
So back to this intensity--- I typically refer to this as savage intensity, but in the case of Jesus, it has to be called a holy intensity. This is the level of commitment that gets things done in this world, it's the kind that doesn't quit. Athletes know this. It takes intensity to play professional sports, let alone to win any kind of championship! It takes intensity to succeed in a Big 4 accounting Firm! It takes intensity to perservere as a small-town independently owned pharmacist for 25+ years (hats off to Mark Halmar!).
Intensity is what says, "This is hard, but I'm not quitting!" You've got to bring it on a little bit more to break my spirit!" That's what I mean by "intensity" (you may call it "competitiveness" or "killer-instinct" or what we Finns call "Sisu"). But in spite of all our human intensity, we all have reach our breaking points, sooner or later. Every one of us breaks down at some point.
I want to take just a moment to celebrate some who have demonstrated intensity in recent memory. I think of Cory Stringer, the Minnesota Viking lineman who died in training camp a few years back during the brutal heatwave of early August. They say he had chemicals in his body that contributed to his untimely demise----but think about it, here is a man who gave his life in devotion to the sport he loved. That's intensity! I think also of Todd Beamer, the man famous for leading the uprising against the 9-11 hijackers who helped bring the plane down in Pennsylvania, famous for his quote, "Let's roll." Here again is a man who gave his life to protect his country against people bent on killing. That is such an admirable intensity.
So with that being said, I want to say that I follow Jesus because His intensity brought about self-sacrifice and the shedding of his own blood. With every blow of the Roman whips, his testimony says loudly "I LOVE YOU! I LOVE THE FATHER! I AM SO COMMITTED TO THE FATHER'S WILL THAT I WILL LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU, LITTLE FLOCK, AND SHED MY OWN BLOOD FOR YOU!" And most remarkable is the fact that Jesus DID NOT QUIT. He kept paying and paying and paying and laying down his life and bleeding, and holding back any form of retaliation until he could say with perfect integrity, "It...is...FINISHED."
Oh my, the weight and significance of those 3 single words!! And when it was finished, HE was finished--done-for, dead, down-for-the-count, no more. "He left it all on the field," as athletes will say. But there wasn't any shower in the lockerroom, he was DEAD, done-for, FINISHED.
Please realize, if we are the "bride of Christ"---this was Jesus' "proposal" to us, to woo us, to demonstrate his holy commitment to us. To put it in an Eastern context, this was Jesus "bride-price" paid to earn the right to bring us to himself. Wow! That's commitment! It's intensity! He gave it all and didn't hold anything back for himself. Try that one on for size, grooms and groom-to be (self-included!!).
Ok, so let's compare that the intensity of the followers of Mohammed. Oh yes, it takes intensity and radical commitment to lay down your life for the cause of any religion, no doubt. I'm not saying that the jihadist is cowardly. You can take nothing away from a willingness to die for one's religion. It takes more courage than I possess on any given day to march straight into a marketplace with bombs strapped to my body and willingly pull the trigger.
But let's think about this for a second. In jihad, you demonstrate your commitment to the cause by spilling the blood of infidels (and shedding your own in the process, but that's not the main point).
In Christianity, you demonstrate your commitment to the cause by laying down your life and shedding your own blood, and not retalliating.
Which would you rather have? Advance your cause by killing others, IE: to die so that others can be killed, or advance your cause by laying down your own life, IE: to die so that others can live?
Your answer reveals your heart's belief about Christ.
And that's why I choose to follow Jesus and not Mohammed. May I die an infidel's death for that belief, never lifting a hand against those who spill my blood.
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