Still trying the new site, but realized I gave the admin link last time. Here's a good link to the new post:
http://ifgraceisanoceanwerealldrowning.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/fear-of-the-lord-is-wisdom/
Monday, March 19, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Trying new site
I've had several complaints in regard to using this site, so I'm trying WordPress. Here's today's blog:
http://ifgraceisanoceanwerealldrowning.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2
grace and peace,
Lang
http://ifgraceisanoceanwerealldrowning.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4&action=edit&message=6&postpost=v2
grace and peace,
Lang
Monday, March 5, 2012
Imagination
Hi Everyone-
I pray you're doing well on this wet and windy day (here in the Northwest). On my walk to the ferry one gust of wind blew my umbrella inside out and my hat off! Craziness.
What do you think of when you hear the term imagination? I think of art, stories, children, fairy tales, music, and the like. But what about God and the Church? I know I don't typically associate the two directly that often. So, I was struck by what Barbara Brown Taylor writes:
"The church's central task is an imaginative one. By that I do not mean a fanciful or fictional task, but one in which the human capacity to imagine--to form mental pictures of the self, neighbor, the world, the future, to envision new realities--is both engaged and transformed." She goes on to add that, "'Faith,' says theologian James Whitehead, 'is the enduring ability to imagine life in a certain way.'"
Personally I love that. Faith and what we're called to do and be as the Church isn't fanciful or fake, but it is imaginative. We must first imagine a world without sickness, poverty, abuse, war, and the like before we can make it a reality. It takes imagination to envision God's past, present, and future recreation of the world through the works of Jesus. On a personal level, I use imagination to see the better husband, father, friend, brother, son, student, etc. that I can be through the transforming work of the Spirit before I start becoming those things.
This brings to my mind some of the words of John Lennon from "Imagine":
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too (I view Christianity as better than religion)
Imagine all the people living life in peace
You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
What do you think? How's your imagination today?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray you're doing well on this wet and windy day (here in the Northwest). On my walk to the ferry one gust of wind blew my umbrella inside out and my hat off! Craziness.
What do you think of when you hear the term imagination? I think of art, stories, children, fairy tales, music, and the like. But what about God and the Church? I know I don't typically associate the two directly that often. So, I was struck by what Barbara Brown Taylor writes:
"The church's central task is an imaginative one. By that I do not mean a fanciful or fictional task, but one in which the human capacity to imagine--to form mental pictures of the self, neighbor, the world, the future, to envision new realities--is both engaged and transformed." She goes on to add that, "'Faith,' says theologian James Whitehead, 'is the enduring ability to imagine life in a certain way.'"
Personally I love that. Faith and what we're called to do and be as the Church isn't fanciful or fake, but it is imaginative. We must first imagine a world without sickness, poverty, abuse, war, and the like before we can make it a reality. It takes imagination to envision God's past, present, and future recreation of the world through the works of Jesus. On a personal level, I use imagination to see the better husband, father, friend, brother, son, student, etc. that I can be through the transforming work of the Spirit before I start becoming those things.
This brings to my mind some of the words of John Lennon from "Imagine":
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too (I view Christianity as better than religion)
Imagine all the people living life in peace
You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one
What do you think? How's your imagination today?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Monday, February 27, 2012
What Do You Do With ...
Hi Everyone-
I hope you're having an awesome day. It's beautiful and sunny up here in the Northwest. I love riding the ferry to school on days like this.
Today, my question is what do you do with those stories in the Bible that are hard or just don't make sense? Take for instance when God sends the Flood to wipe most of humanity out or when he orders Abraham to slit Isaac's throat or God tells the Israelites to kill all the people (including women and children) and animals in an area. Here's what Barbara Brown Taylor has to say about these passages:
"It is a book in which wonderful and terrible things happen by the power of an almighty God, whose steadfast love for us does not seem to preclude scaring the living daylights out of us from time to time."
I love that last part, "does not preclude scaring the living daylights out of us from time to time." Too funny.
Still, what do you/we/I do with those passages?
I've been reading a lot about the Book of Job for a class I'm in this term, which doesn't give me definitive answers to my question, but I do have some ideas. My starting point here is that God is love. What I think the Book of Job shows through its behind the scenes description of Satan talking to God and God talking to Job at the end is two key things. One, God is very close to us and desires relationship with us, so much that when Job "calls" him out, he comes and talks to Job. We are after all made in God's image. Conversely, God is also completely beyond us, beyond our comprehension, beyond our definitions, and beyond our ability to understand his purposes and plans in every situation.
When I have time I've been reading Peter Rollins' How (Not) to Speak of God, and this is a major point he makes. In a concept that blows my mind, Rollins points out that God is in actuality beyond our "definition" of him as beyond definition. Crazy!
So, some of what I do with hard stories in the Bible is remember that God is love and desires to be close/in relation with us, but God is also God and thus way, way, way, way beyond my little self (in a good way!).
What do you think/do?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I hope you're having an awesome day. It's beautiful and sunny up here in the Northwest. I love riding the ferry to school on days like this.
Today, my question is what do you do with those stories in the Bible that are hard or just don't make sense? Take for instance when God sends the Flood to wipe most of humanity out or when he orders Abraham to slit Isaac's throat or God tells the Israelites to kill all the people (including women and children) and animals in an area. Here's what Barbara Brown Taylor has to say about these passages:
"It is a book in which wonderful and terrible things happen by the power of an almighty God, whose steadfast love for us does not seem to preclude scaring the living daylights out of us from time to time."
I love that last part, "does not preclude scaring the living daylights out of us from time to time." Too funny.
Still, what do you/we/I do with those passages?
I've been reading a lot about the Book of Job for a class I'm in this term, which doesn't give me definitive answers to my question, but I do have some ideas. My starting point here is that God is love. What I think the Book of Job shows through its behind the scenes description of Satan talking to God and God talking to Job at the end is two key things. One, God is very close to us and desires relationship with us, so much that when Job "calls" him out, he comes and talks to Job. We are after all made in God's image. Conversely, God is also completely beyond us, beyond our comprehension, beyond our definitions, and beyond our ability to understand his purposes and plans in every situation.
When I have time I've been reading Peter Rollins' How (Not) to Speak of God, and this is a major point he makes. In a concept that blows my mind, Rollins points out that God is in actuality beyond our "definition" of him as beyond definition. Crazy!
So, some of what I do with hard stories in the Bible is remember that God is love and desires to be close/in relation with us, but God is also God and thus way, way, way, way beyond my little self (in a good way!).
What do you think/do?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Surprised by Grace
Hi Everyone-
Sorry it's been a bit longer than usual between blogs, it's Reading Week at school, which means I don't have classes (although homework continues) ... so Carla and I are in Tucson visiting friends and enjoying the sun. I hope you're doing as well as we are.
One of the passages in the Bible I've long considered one of the most inspirational is Jesus talking about the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46). I don't want to post the whole passage, but the gist is in the end Jesus will come and there will be the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. He says to the sheep that when he was hungry they fed him, when he was in jail they visited him, when he was naked they clothed him, etc. And conversely he says to the goats they didn't. Both sides reply by saying, what do you mean? I don't remember feeding you? To which Jesus says, "‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’" In other words, a point he's making is that in loving and providing for those in need we're also loving and providing for Jesus.
At some level I've found myself thinking, silly goats, don't they know that to love people is to love God? ... Duh!
So, on my checklist goes: 1) Feed, clothe, visit, etc. the unfortunate ... So, when I do this I feel good.
Then, recently I was reading a book by Barbara Brown Taylor, and she points out that both the sheep and the goats are surprised by what Jesus says. The sheep are just as surprised at the goodness of their actions as the goats are at the less awesomeness of their inaction. I think perhaps this passage shows that at some level we should be ignorant of our own good works. Perhaps we should be so busy doing good that we don't even notice it?
I think today I'd sum it up by saying it's all grace. It's all grace from God that loves and saves us, which leads us to act towards others with grace.
Barbara Brown Taylor goes on to say, "One thing the sheep know how to do that the goats have never tried: to look, to see, to seek Christ in the last, the lost, the least. ... Charity is no substitute for kinship. We are not called to be philanthropists or social workers, but brothers and sisters. We are called into relationship ... We are called to look at each other and see Christ."
When we're in a healthy relationship I'd say we tend to do good things and take care of the other person without a second thought. We act out of grace, without even thinking. In some sense it'd surprise us if someone else pointed out a good deed we did for a friend. This makes me think of Carla during the accident. She stayed to take care of me for 6 months, losing her house and job and being separated from her son in the process ... A heroic act if I ever saw one, but her response is, "that's what anyone would naturally do." She acted out of grace. She saw me with grace.
Let me put it this way, Carla saw me with grace colored glasses. And I think Barbara Brown Taylor is saying we should wear them when we look at everyone.
So, perhaps in the Sheep and the Goats Jesus is calling us to wear grace colored glasses.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Sorry it's been a bit longer than usual between blogs, it's Reading Week at school, which means I don't have classes (although homework continues) ... so Carla and I are in Tucson visiting friends and enjoying the sun. I hope you're doing as well as we are.
One of the passages in the Bible I've long considered one of the most inspirational is Jesus talking about the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46). I don't want to post the whole passage, but the gist is in the end Jesus will come and there will be the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. He says to the sheep that when he was hungry they fed him, when he was in jail they visited him, when he was naked they clothed him, etc. And conversely he says to the goats they didn't. Both sides reply by saying, what do you mean? I don't remember feeding you? To which Jesus says, "‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’" In other words, a point he's making is that in loving and providing for those in need we're also loving and providing for Jesus.
At some level I've found myself thinking, silly goats, don't they know that to love people is to love God? ... Duh!
So, on my checklist goes: 1) Feed, clothe, visit, etc. the unfortunate ... So, when I do this I feel good.
Then, recently I was reading a book by Barbara Brown Taylor, and she points out that both the sheep and the goats are surprised by what Jesus says. The sheep are just as surprised at the goodness of their actions as the goats are at the less awesomeness of their inaction. I think perhaps this passage shows that at some level we should be ignorant of our own good works. Perhaps we should be so busy doing good that we don't even notice it?
I think today I'd sum it up by saying it's all grace. It's all grace from God that loves and saves us, which leads us to act towards others with grace.
Barbara Brown Taylor goes on to say, "One thing the sheep know how to do that the goats have never tried: to look, to see, to seek Christ in the last, the lost, the least. ... Charity is no substitute for kinship. We are not called to be philanthropists or social workers, but brothers and sisters. We are called into relationship ... We are called to look at each other and see Christ."
When we're in a healthy relationship I'd say we tend to do good things and take care of the other person without a second thought. We act out of grace, without even thinking. In some sense it'd surprise us if someone else pointed out a good deed we did for a friend. This makes me think of Carla during the accident. She stayed to take care of me for 6 months, losing her house and job and being separated from her son in the process ... A heroic act if I ever saw one, but her response is, "that's what anyone would naturally do." She acted out of grace. She saw me with grace.
Let me put it this way, Carla saw me with grace colored glasses. And I think Barbara Brown Taylor is saying we should wear them when we look at everyone.
So, perhaps in the Sheep and the Goats Jesus is calling us to wear grace colored glasses.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Wrestling with God
Hi Everyone-
I pray you are doing well this Sunday and enjoying the blessings of God. Another season of small groups at newlife started this week and I get to lead a group on studying the Bible, which I'm really excited about. Two of the coolest/most useful things I've learned in the last long while about studying the Bible are that we should read like a lover (as opposed to a consumer, student, etc.), which would be a good blog topic ... but it's not today's.
You might be familiar with the story in Genesis where Jacob wrestles God (Genesis 32:22-32), it's a pretty weird and memorable story. Can you imagine wrestling God? I know that seems a pretty far out there concept to my mind. That said, I think God wants us to, in a manner of speaking. Follow my thinking here:
Jacob wrestles God in the middle of the night and there's several results. First, God "touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket" (Genesis 32:25, NLT). When Jacob walks away in verse 31 he does so with a limp. This is just the first result though, the more important, and lasting, one comes later. In v. 26 Jacob asks for a blessing, and in v. 29 God blesses him. To put it bluntly, Jacob wrestles God and God blesses him for it. Wrestling God = blessing.
Now, we could say that was just Jacob and doesn't apply to everyone. However, at least two things indicate otherwise, in my mind. First, it's the Bible, the Word of God, and as such is meant to affect and apply to our lives in various ways, although not always directly/literally. More importantly, in v. 28 God renames Jacob. Jacob becomes Israel, the forefather of God's nation of people. Like many Hebrew words there are a multiplicity of meanings for "Israel", but the one that sticks out to me is incredibly relevant to this passage.
Israel means "one who wrestles with God."
Jacob wrestles God, is blessed, and God changes his name to "one who wrestles with God." AND God's chosen people are therefore named as people who wrestle with God.
Now the Bible is the Living Word of God, in many ways our most direct encounter with God. Other passages in the Bible indicate the same thing, but this one pretty literally shows God wants us to wrestle with him. Therefore, we should wrestle with God through our reading, grappling with, and striving to understand the Bible. In my mind, this means reading the Bible and wrestling with what it means to us until it blesses us. I think this applies in particular to the hard passages, like where God tells Israel to kill women and children or Paul says women shouldn't talk in church or Elijah has bears maul kids for making fun of him. We grapple with them, think about them, pray about them, and seek to comprehend them until they bless us. We many limp for a while, but God will bless us, and I think that's worth anything.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray you are doing well this Sunday and enjoying the blessings of God. Another season of small groups at newlife started this week and I get to lead a group on studying the Bible, which I'm really excited about. Two of the coolest/most useful things I've learned in the last long while about studying the Bible are that we should read like a lover (as opposed to a consumer, student, etc.), which would be a good blog topic ... but it's not today's.
You might be familiar with the story in Genesis where Jacob wrestles God (Genesis 32:22-32), it's a pretty weird and memorable story. Can you imagine wrestling God? I know that seems a pretty far out there concept to my mind. That said, I think God wants us to, in a manner of speaking. Follow my thinking here:
Jacob wrestles God in the middle of the night and there's several results. First, God "touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket" (Genesis 32:25, NLT). When Jacob walks away in verse 31 he does so with a limp. This is just the first result though, the more important, and lasting, one comes later. In v. 26 Jacob asks for a blessing, and in v. 29 God blesses him. To put it bluntly, Jacob wrestles God and God blesses him for it. Wrestling God = blessing.
Now, we could say that was just Jacob and doesn't apply to everyone. However, at least two things indicate otherwise, in my mind. First, it's the Bible, the Word of God, and as such is meant to affect and apply to our lives in various ways, although not always directly/literally. More importantly, in v. 28 God renames Jacob. Jacob becomes Israel, the forefather of God's nation of people. Like many Hebrew words there are a multiplicity of meanings for "Israel", but the one that sticks out to me is incredibly relevant to this passage.
Israel means "one who wrestles with God."
Jacob wrestles God, is blessed, and God changes his name to "one who wrestles with God." AND God's chosen people are therefore named as people who wrestle with God.
Now the Bible is the Living Word of God, in many ways our most direct encounter with God. Other passages in the Bible indicate the same thing, but this one pretty literally shows God wants us to wrestle with him. Therefore, we should wrestle with God through our reading, grappling with, and striving to understand the Bible. In my mind, this means reading the Bible and wrestling with what it means to us until it blesses us. I think this applies in particular to the hard passages, like where God tells Israel to kill women and children or Paul says women shouldn't talk in church or Elijah has bears maul kids for making fun of him. We grapple with them, think about them, pray about them, and seek to comprehend them until they bless us. We many limp for a while, but God will bless us, and I think that's worth anything.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Monday, February 6, 2012
What Temptation Tries to Do to Us
Hi Everyone-
I hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl commercials ... and the close game too. I also hope you're having a good day. I know here in the Pacific Northwest it is absolutely gorgeous, praise God. Sun, water, mountains, trees, blue sky ... wow. I think this is what heaven looks like.
Something an author wrote about the temptation of Jesus has me thinking a bit about temptation in our lives. David Ford writes that the temptations Satan used against Jesus were the opposites of his story's fulfillment, crucifixion and resurrection. Here's what he says:
"[Jesus'] death can be seen as the fulfillment of a vocation diametrically opposed to the one set before him in his temptations: acute suffering instead of physical satisfaction; weakness and humiliation instead of power and authority; utter failure inflicted by political and religious authorities instead of spectacular success by miraculous means."
The three temptations at the beginning of Jesus' ministry were to turn stone to bread (he'd been fasting for 40 days and was probably pretty hungry), to rule the world politically, and to have angels miraculously save him after he launched himself off the Temple. Ford is saying these were counter to Jesus fulfilling his mission, death and resurrection. I think this makes a lot of sense...
Satan told Jesus to gratify his hungry belly by turning stone into bread, but Jesus rejected physical gratification. Death on the cross was about the furthest one could get away from physical gratification. It was purposefully one of the most painful ways to die ever invented.
The Devil then offered Jesus political rule over all the nations of the world, which Jesus also rejected. Instead, he was eventually politically rejected himself by being crucified. Crucifixion was a political punishment the Romans used for people they viewed as rebellious.
Finally, Satan tells Jesus to jump off the Temple, because after all angels will save him. While he's dying on the cross people mock Jesus by effectively telling him to get angels to miraculously save him if he's really the Messiah. Just like in the temptation, he could have called angels in order to "further" himself, but he didn't.
I think the symmetry to these two parts, beginning and end, of Jesus' ministry is pretty cool, but more importantly I think it has good applications to our lives. I think it shows that the things we're tempted with are meant to lead us directly away from what we're meant to do. Jesus was meant to die on the cross for us, so Satan tempted him with things that would have been the exact opposite of his purpose. I'm guessing Satan would never have guessed the cross was Jesus' destination, but I'd think he did know Jesus' purposes included selflessness and sacrifice, so the Deceiver tried to tempt the Son away from these areas.
So, my questions are ... What did God make you to do? What are you tempted with? Do you see any connection, do your temptations threaten to lead you away from your purpose?
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I hope you enjoyed the Super Bowl commercials ... and the close game too. I also hope you're having a good day. I know here in the Pacific Northwest it is absolutely gorgeous, praise God. Sun, water, mountains, trees, blue sky ... wow. I think this is what heaven looks like.
Something an author wrote about the temptation of Jesus has me thinking a bit about temptation in our lives. David Ford writes that the temptations Satan used against Jesus were the opposites of his story's fulfillment, crucifixion and resurrection. Here's what he says:
"[Jesus'] death can be seen as the fulfillment of a vocation diametrically opposed to the one set before him in his temptations: acute suffering instead of physical satisfaction; weakness and humiliation instead of power and authority; utter failure inflicted by political and religious authorities instead of spectacular success by miraculous means."
The three temptations at the beginning of Jesus' ministry were to turn stone to bread (he'd been fasting for 40 days and was probably pretty hungry), to rule the world politically, and to have angels miraculously save him after he launched himself off the Temple. Ford is saying these were counter to Jesus fulfilling his mission, death and resurrection. I think this makes a lot of sense...
Satan told Jesus to gratify his hungry belly by turning stone into bread, but Jesus rejected physical gratification. Death on the cross was about the furthest one could get away from physical gratification. It was purposefully one of the most painful ways to die ever invented.
The Devil then offered Jesus political rule over all the nations of the world, which Jesus also rejected. Instead, he was eventually politically rejected himself by being crucified. Crucifixion was a political punishment the Romans used for people they viewed as rebellious.
Finally, Satan tells Jesus to jump off the Temple, because after all angels will save him. While he's dying on the cross people mock Jesus by effectively telling him to get angels to miraculously save him if he's really the Messiah. Just like in the temptation, he could have called angels in order to "further" himself, but he didn't.
I think the symmetry to these two parts, beginning and end, of Jesus' ministry is pretty cool, but more importantly I think it has good applications to our lives. I think it shows that the things we're tempted with are meant to lead us directly away from what we're meant to do. Jesus was meant to die on the cross for us, so Satan tempted him with things that would have been the exact opposite of his purpose. I'm guessing Satan would never have guessed the cross was Jesus' destination, but I'd think he did know Jesus' purposes included selflessness and sacrifice, so the Deceiver tried to tempt the Son away from these areas.
So, my questions are ... What did God make you to do? What are you tempted with? Do you see any connection, do your temptations threaten to lead you away from your purpose?
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Monday, January 30, 2012
What's the Worst Bad Word?
Hi Everyone-
I pray you are doing well and experiencing blessing in your lives. I hope that you enjoy the blog, I certainly enjoy writing about these things, to the point that I literally have a page of quotes, notes, and ideas for future blogs on my iPad.
What's the worst bad word in your opinion? I'm coming to think a "regular" word is actually one of the worst ...
In reading for a class the other day I came across this story about Carl Sundburg, a well-known historian, poet, and entertainer from years past:
A reporter interviewed him near the end of his life and asked, "What in your opinion is the ugliest word in the English language?" Sundburg paused and repeated the question. He sat silently, looked around and rephrased it. After sitting for a while longer and letting some poetic tension build he said, "The ugliest word in the English language is ... exclusive."
As I reflect on the Gospels and the story of Jesus' life, I think He very much lived against the tendency us humans have to exclude. Think about the Pharisees and religious leaders who frequently were at odds with Jesus. What words would you use to describe them? Legalistic? Judgmental? Hard-hearted? I think perhaps the best word to sum them up was exclusive, and by contrast one of the best ways to sum Jesus up is inclusive.
Time and again Jesus was accused of, or looked down upon for, hanging out with the "bad" sort of people. He ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, unclean, etc. He talked to and touched unclean foreigners. Jesus accepted everyone for who they were, He included. He didn't leave them the way they were, but He accepted them the way they were by including them right off the bat. The religious leaders, on the other hand, excluded. They were the chosen people who obeyed the laws and kept themselves clean. So, they shunned, stayed away from, and prided themselves in NOT being like the "sinners". They excluded.
Perhaps the epitome of this is the story of the Good Samaritan. In it, the religious leaders shy away from the hurt man. They don't want to become unclean, have to go out of their way, or spend their money, so they exclude him by walking on by. The Samaritan, however, goes up to and lovingly takes care of the hurt fellow, he includes him.
I think this is one of the most fundamental things that Jesus calls anyone who follows Him to do. Christ Followers and the Church are urged to strive to be as inclusive as possible. Which isn't always easy. Read Acts 10 as an excellent example. God challenges Peter to include Gentiles and has to tell him three times to get the point across. Peter's realization is summed up in Acts 10:28, "Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean."
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray you are doing well and experiencing blessing in your lives. I hope that you enjoy the blog, I certainly enjoy writing about these things, to the point that I literally have a page of quotes, notes, and ideas for future blogs on my iPad.
What's the worst bad word in your opinion? I'm coming to think a "regular" word is actually one of the worst ...
In reading for a class the other day I came across this story about Carl Sundburg, a well-known historian, poet, and entertainer from years past:
A reporter interviewed him near the end of his life and asked, "What in your opinion is the ugliest word in the English language?" Sundburg paused and repeated the question. He sat silently, looked around and rephrased it. After sitting for a while longer and letting some poetic tension build he said, "The ugliest word in the English language is ... exclusive."
As I reflect on the Gospels and the story of Jesus' life, I think He very much lived against the tendency us humans have to exclude. Think about the Pharisees and religious leaders who frequently were at odds with Jesus. What words would you use to describe them? Legalistic? Judgmental? Hard-hearted? I think perhaps the best word to sum them up was exclusive, and by contrast one of the best ways to sum Jesus up is inclusive.
Time and again Jesus was accused of, or looked down upon for, hanging out with the "bad" sort of people. He ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, unclean, etc. He talked to and touched unclean foreigners. Jesus accepted everyone for who they were, He included. He didn't leave them the way they were, but He accepted them the way they were by including them right off the bat. The religious leaders, on the other hand, excluded. They were the chosen people who obeyed the laws and kept themselves clean. So, they shunned, stayed away from, and prided themselves in NOT being like the "sinners". They excluded.
Perhaps the epitome of this is the story of the Good Samaritan. In it, the religious leaders shy away from the hurt man. They don't want to become unclean, have to go out of their way, or spend their money, so they exclude him by walking on by. The Samaritan, however, goes up to and lovingly takes care of the hurt fellow, he includes him.
I think this is one of the most fundamental things that Jesus calls anyone who follows Him to do. Christ Followers and the Church are urged to strive to be as inclusive as possible. Which isn't always easy. Read Acts 10 as an excellent example. God challenges Peter to include Gentiles and has to tell him three times to get the point across. Peter's realization is summed up in Acts 10:28, "Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean."
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Can We Pray Without Ceasing?
Hi Everyone-
I hope you're doing well. We had a pretty crazy week with a snow storm hitting us, which threw all our schedules out of whack. Have you ever read, or heard, anything from the Bible and thought, "Yeah, that sounds cool, but it's totally not doable'? Or maybe, "Yeah, right. The author has got to be exaggerating for effect!"
I have long thought this about Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. He writes, "Never stop praying." (NLT)
Really? Never stop praying (or "pray without ceasing" in other translations)? That can't be possible, Paul must be speaking in hyperbole. Right? I don't think I've been alone in this thought have I?
One of my classes last term was Spiritual Formation: Prayer, Practice, and Presence. We talked and read a lot about prayer. Something I learned, and am still learning, is that with intention anything/everything can become a prayer. The key word, in my opinion, is intention. First let me briefly give the foundation for this and then a couple examples.
God is everywhere. And prayer is a conversation with God. So, every place and situation contains the opportunity for conversation with God, right? So, it is technically possible to always be praying, if we recognize the opportunity.
I learned/discovered last term a few cool ways to recognize and take advantage of this truth last term. First, when I see beauty out in the world (the snow capped mountains, the sunrise, beautiful forests, etc) I try to remember to use that as an opportunity to prayerfully praise God for the goodness of His creation. Another thing I think is pretty cool is combining the Jesus Prayer with walking or running. It can look a lot of different ways, but what I've experimented with is repeating "Jesus ... Have ... Mercy" in time with my footfalls, over and over again. As I do this, some images of what this would look like come to mind as prayer-images. Finally, I like to work out. So, I've started trying to pray for God to use and bless particular body parts as I use them in a workout (biceps, shoulders, legs, abs, breath, core, etc.). I found this particularly connecting to God during the hardest parts of workouts.
I'm not saying I actually pray all the time, but I am praying more and more. Plus, I see Paul's exhortation as not a hyperbole, but a possibility.
What do you think? Is it doable? What are some ways you can imagine prayer becoming more a part of our lives?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I hope you're doing well. We had a pretty crazy week with a snow storm hitting us, which threw all our schedules out of whack. Have you ever read, or heard, anything from the Bible and thought, "Yeah, that sounds cool, but it's totally not doable'? Or maybe, "Yeah, right. The author has got to be exaggerating for effect!"
I have long thought this about Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17. He writes, "Never stop praying." (NLT)
Really? Never stop praying (or "pray without ceasing" in other translations)? That can't be possible, Paul must be speaking in hyperbole. Right? I don't think I've been alone in this thought have I?
One of my classes last term was Spiritual Formation: Prayer, Practice, and Presence. We talked and read a lot about prayer. Something I learned, and am still learning, is that with intention anything/everything can become a prayer. The key word, in my opinion, is intention. First let me briefly give the foundation for this and then a couple examples.
God is everywhere. And prayer is a conversation with God. So, every place and situation contains the opportunity for conversation with God, right? So, it is technically possible to always be praying, if we recognize the opportunity.
I learned/discovered last term a few cool ways to recognize and take advantage of this truth last term. First, when I see beauty out in the world (the snow capped mountains, the sunrise, beautiful forests, etc) I try to remember to use that as an opportunity to prayerfully praise God for the goodness of His creation. Another thing I think is pretty cool is combining the Jesus Prayer with walking or running. It can look a lot of different ways, but what I've experimented with is repeating "Jesus ... Have ... Mercy" in time with my footfalls, over and over again. As I do this, some images of what this would look like come to mind as prayer-images. Finally, I like to work out. So, I've started trying to pray for God to use and bless particular body parts as I use them in a workout (biceps, shoulders, legs, abs, breath, core, etc.). I found this particularly connecting to God during the hardest parts of workouts.
I'm not saying I actually pray all the time, but I am praying more and more. Plus, I see Paul's exhortation as not a hyperbole, but a possibility.
What do you think? Is it doable? What are some ways you can imagine prayer becoming more a part of our lives?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Is it Important to be Disappointed?
Hi Everyone-
May this winter find you enjoying cool breezes, snow, rain, and all the other wonders it brings before new life comes in the spring. One of my classes this term is Homiletics (a class about preaching), and I'm very excited as I get to preach three times, next week being the first. So far this term I've been struck by a rather pleasant trend ... all the books I've been tasked to read so far have been great. In reading for Homiletics I came across the following conclusions about the nature of disappointments in as they pertain to our relationship with God. The author contends that instead of driving us away from the divine, they can draw us closer. She writes:
Disappointments "draw us deeper into the mystery of God's being and doing. Every time God declined to meet my expectations, another of my idols is exposed." "Did God fail to come when I called? Then perhaps God is not a minion. So who is God? Did God fail to punish my adversary? Then perhaps God is not a policeman. So who is God? Did God fail to make everything turn out all right? Then perhaps God is not a fixer. So who is God?" - Barbara Brown Taylor in Preaching LIfe
My short summary of what she's saying is that disappointments shatter our misconceptions about God, which become our idols, which allows us to know Him better/truer and draw nearer our God. I'd say the Bible is littered with tales of this. Abraham and Sarah were old and childless, which had to be very disappointing. It was only through this disappointment that they got to know the awesome power and love of God who allowed them to have a son at an age beyond the possibility of humans reproducing naturally. Take David as another example. He's anointed as the future king and kills Goliath, but then ends up hunted and on the run from Saul. He writes Psalm after Psalm lamenting his fate and pleading with God to help. I'd imagine it was pretty disappointing to know one's supposed to become king, but then be fleeing for one's very life. But, God proves His awesomeness and comes through big time for David. I think David draws nearer God in the midst of, and through, his time of disappointment.
Personally, when I got divorced I was pretty disappointed. Yet, through it I learned so much about God, I drew near to Him in ways I never had before. My life began to be transformed in ways it wouldn't have otherwise. There was a lot of significance in my disappointment I think.
How about you? Have you experienced this to be true? What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
May this winter find you enjoying cool breezes, snow, rain, and all the other wonders it brings before new life comes in the spring. One of my classes this term is Homiletics (a class about preaching), and I'm very excited as I get to preach three times, next week being the first. So far this term I've been struck by a rather pleasant trend ... all the books I've been tasked to read so far have been great. In reading for Homiletics I came across the following conclusions about the nature of disappointments in as they pertain to our relationship with God. The author contends that instead of driving us away from the divine, they can draw us closer. She writes:
Disappointments "draw us deeper into the mystery of God's being and doing. Every time God declined to meet my expectations, another of my idols is exposed." "Did God fail to come when I called? Then perhaps God is not a minion. So who is God? Did God fail to punish my adversary? Then perhaps God is not a policeman. So who is God? Did God fail to make everything turn out all right? Then perhaps God is not a fixer. So who is God?" - Barbara Brown Taylor in Preaching LIfe
My short summary of what she's saying is that disappointments shatter our misconceptions about God, which become our idols, which allows us to know Him better/truer and draw nearer our God. I'd say the Bible is littered with tales of this. Abraham and Sarah were old and childless, which had to be very disappointing. It was only through this disappointment that they got to know the awesome power and love of God who allowed them to have a son at an age beyond the possibility of humans reproducing naturally. Take David as another example. He's anointed as the future king and kills Goliath, but then ends up hunted and on the run from Saul. He writes Psalm after Psalm lamenting his fate and pleading with God to help. I'd imagine it was pretty disappointing to know one's supposed to become king, but then be fleeing for one's very life. But, God proves His awesomeness and comes through big time for David. I think David draws nearer God in the midst of, and through, his time of disappointment.
Personally, when I got divorced I was pretty disappointed. Yet, through it I learned so much about God, I drew near to Him in ways I never had before. My life began to be transformed in ways it wouldn't have otherwise. There was a lot of significance in my disappointment I think.
How about you? Have you experienced this to be true? What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Saturday, January 7, 2012
Joy
Hi everyone-
I pray the new year is going great for you. I started the spring term at school this week and have some pretty interesting classes.
The professor gave used a quote in New Testament class which is really sticking with me. Here it is:
"Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God" - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
I think there's something profoundly true about this statement. What's more, from my experience I believe I've seen this to be true for myself as well as others. First, let's look at the converse. Would you consider people who are bitter or hostile close to God (generally speaking)? Wouldn't these typically be markers that someone isn't connected to the Holy One? When you're bitter do people want to be around you? I know I'm absolutely no fun when I'm bitter about something ... and if God is "with" you people will generally be drawn to you, right? So, I think one could conclude that there are attitudes that indicate a person isn't near the presence.
Now, consider the flip side. Do you know anyone whose typically pretty joyful? Don't you find yourself drawn to her/him? I know I am. It's easy to by joyful when things are going well though right? Have you ever met a person whose life circumstances just plain suck (sick, unemployed, getting divorced, etc) but they're filled with joy? Has it ever seemed to defy reason, as in there's no way they should have joy in that situation? I think that's God. God isn't about happiness, in my opinion, God is about joy. God brings joy.
With that in mind, I think joy is the best indication of a person being near to God. What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray the new year is going great for you. I started the spring term at school this week and have some pretty interesting classes.
The professor gave used a quote in New Testament class which is really sticking with me. Here it is:
"Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God" - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
I think there's something profoundly true about this statement. What's more, from my experience I believe I've seen this to be true for myself as well as others. First, let's look at the converse. Would you consider people who are bitter or hostile close to God (generally speaking)? Wouldn't these typically be markers that someone isn't connected to the Holy One? When you're bitter do people want to be around you? I know I'm absolutely no fun when I'm bitter about something ... and if God is "with" you people will generally be drawn to you, right? So, I think one could conclude that there are attitudes that indicate a person isn't near the presence.
Now, consider the flip side. Do you know anyone whose typically pretty joyful? Don't you find yourself drawn to her/him? I know I am. It's easy to by joyful when things are going well though right? Have you ever met a person whose life circumstances just plain suck (sick, unemployed, getting divorced, etc) but they're filled with joy? Has it ever seemed to defy reason, as in there's no way they should have joy in that situation? I think that's God. God isn't about happiness, in my opinion, God is about joy. God brings joy.
With that in mind, I think joy is the best indication of a person being near to God. What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Friday, December 30, 2011
God is Not a White Man ... God is Love
Hi Everyone-
I hope your Christmas rocked and wish blessings on you all as we move into a new year. I've found over the years that music and songs are one of the biggest ways I connect to God and others. Instantly a song can bring me back to a specific time and place or fill me with happiness or make me think deep thoughts in a new way. The song that's provoked the deepest thinking in recent memory for me is "White Man" by Gungor (a brilliant band) ... plus it's really catchy in my opinion.
You can check "White Man" out here in a fun video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WybvhRu9KU
I think this song comes out swinging right out the gates, especially for those of us who are white Americans. They sing "God is not a man. God is not a white man." But, we call God, "Him" all the time right? And it's the Father and Jesus Christ, two men ... right? Paintings, mental images, verbiage, and more almost universally depict God as a male. Yet, I think this is in some ways our modern form of idolatry. God is God, not a man. One of the ten commandments is to not make images of God. I learned at school that while the Jews of antiquity called God, "Father", this commandment led them to not picture God as a male. In other words, "Father" God to them was sexless. But Jesus was a man though right? Yes, but the ironic thing to me is that He looked far more like Osama Bin Laden than the white, blonde man we usually think of/see Him depicted as.
I think a huge affect of the incorrect way we perceive of God is that it limits our view of God. As Gungor says, "God cannot be bought. God will not be boxed in. God will not be owned by religion." Maybe, just maybe, the reason God said not to make images of Him/Her is that they make us limit God in our minds, thoughts, beliefs.
But us Americans are safe and good though because America is the chosen nation of our day, right? In God we trust, don't we? Hmmm, but if we don't make our own images of God then, "God is not a flag. Not even America." God isn't a white, capitalist, who support our foreign policy, who loves our consumer culture, etc. I've often confused (and think a lot of us do) the American dream for the Kingdom of God. However, they are not the same. We make God into our image, the white, American, middle-class image that dominates our society ... and I'm starting to think that's idolatry.
God, however, is so much more awesome than we make God out to be. "But God is good, God is good, and He loves everyone." God loves atheists, communists, lesbians, and even terrorists. God is amazing. In the U.S. the currency is the almighty dollar. Yet, in God's economy the currency is grace. God is defined first and foremost by love ... and that is awesome!
What do you think? Does this song go too far? Not far enough?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I publish new posts, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I hope your Christmas rocked and wish blessings on you all as we move into a new year. I've found over the years that music and songs are one of the biggest ways I connect to God and others. Instantly a song can bring me back to a specific time and place or fill me with happiness or make me think deep thoughts in a new way. The song that's provoked the deepest thinking in recent memory for me is "White Man" by Gungor (a brilliant band) ... plus it's really catchy in my opinion.
You can check "White Man" out here in a fun video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WybvhRu9KU
I think this song comes out swinging right out the gates, especially for those of us who are white Americans. They sing "God is not a man. God is not a white man." But, we call God, "Him" all the time right? And it's the Father and Jesus Christ, two men ... right? Paintings, mental images, verbiage, and more almost universally depict God as a male. Yet, I think this is in some ways our modern form of idolatry. God is God, not a man. One of the ten commandments is to not make images of God. I learned at school that while the Jews of antiquity called God, "Father", this commandment led them to not picture God as a male. In other words, "Father" God to them was sexless. But Jesus was a man though right? Yes, but the ironic thing to me is that He looked far more like Osama Bin Laden than the white, blonde man we usually think of/see Him depicted as.
I think a huge affect of the incorrect way we perceive of God is that it limits our view of God. As Gungor says, "God cannot be bought. God will not be boxed in. God will not be owned by religion." Maybe, just maybe, the reason God said not to make images of Him/Her is that they make us limit God in our minds, thoughts, beliefs.
But us Americans are safe and good though because America is the chosen nation of our day, right? In God we trust, don't we? Hmmm, but if we don't make our own images of God then, "God is not a flag. Not even America." God isn't a white, capitalist, who support our foreign policy, who loves our consumer culture, etc. I've often confused (and think a lot of us do) the American dream for the Kingdom of God. However, they are not the same. We make God into our image, the white, American, middle-class image that dominates our society ... and I'm starting to think that's idolatry.
God, however, is so much more awesome than we make God out to be. "But God is good, God is good, and He loves everyone." God loves atheists, communists, lesbians, and even terrorists. God is amazing. In the U.S. the currency is the almighty dollar. Yet, in God's economy the currency is grace. God is defined first and foremost by love ... and that is awesome!
What do you think? Does this song go too far? Not far enough?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Word Becomes Flesh
Hi Everyone-
Merry Christmas!! I pray your day is blessed with every good thing. Today I am incredibly thankful for the Word becoming flesh. To steal from Rob Bell's recent farewell sermon ... There is a movement in the Bible of word becoming flesh. Jesus is referred to as the Word and Him becoming human is the most blatant manifestation of this trend, but there's even more to it...
In the Old Testament, we are commanded not to murder. Not killing each other is pretty basic, but the command comes in the form of words. Later, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. This is taking it to the next level, don't just stop killing each other, love everyone. It's still words though. Yet, then Jesus puts flesh on this. He lives this truth, and in doing so word becomes flesh. Jesus dies on the cross for everyone, while we're still his enemies. If that's not living out loving one's enemies I don't know what is!
The thing is, though, we have this tendency to try and move flesh back to words. I know at times I'm all about talking of and talking up my beliefs much more than living them out. I can be all bark and no bite. Words are all bark and no bite, but flesh is something much more ... Flesh is life. It's Jesus living as a human and transforming us. It's us living this transformation out and changing each other.
Today this is one of the most important parts of Christmas and the Word becoming flesh to me, but there's one more thing I'd like to mention. The very act of the Divine becoming human brings salvation. Christmas brings salvation. This is usually a conversation reserved for Easter, but Jesus' life transforms and saves us every bit as much as His death and resurrection. Jesus united Divine and human and that union brought healing and redemption to humanity.
In other words, Christmas saved us ... thank you Jesus. We love you. Happy Birthday!!
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Merry Christmas!! I pray your day is blessed with every good thing. Today I am incredibly thankful for the Word becoming flesh. To steal from Rob Bell's recent farewell sermon ... There is a movement in the Bible of word becoming flesh. Jesus is referred to as the Word and Him becoming human is the most blatant manifestation of this trend, but there's even more to it...
In the Old Testament, we are commanded not to murder. Not killing each other is pretty basic, but the command comes in the form of words. Later, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. This is taking it to the next level, don't just stop killing each other, love everyone. It's still words though. Yet, then Jesus puts flesh on this. He lives this truth, and in doing so word becomes flesh. Jesus dies on the cross for everyone, while we're still his enemies. If that's not living out loving one's enemies I don't know what is!
The thing is, though, we have this tendency to try and move flesh back to words. I know at times I'm all about talking of and talking up my beliefs much more than living them out. I can be all bark and no bite. Words are all bark and no bite, but flesh is something much more ... Flesh is life. It's Jesus living as a human and transforming us. It's us living this transformation out and changing each other.
Today this is one of the most important parts of Christmas and the Word becoming flesh to me, but there's one more thing I'd like to mention. The very act of the Divine becoming human brings salvation. Christmas brings salvation. This is usually a conversation reserved for Easter, but Jesus' life transforms and saves us every bit as much as His death and resurrection. Jesus united Divine and human and that union brought healing and redemption to humanity.
In other words, Christmas saved us ... thank you Jesus. We love you. Happy Birthday!!
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Double Knowledge
Hi everyone-
I pray the Christmas season has been a time of peace for you. So, you may have read the title and be wondering, "what is double knowledge?". Well, I'll get to that ... First, however, I think some song lyrics will help get to double knowledge. Carla recently introduced Me to this awesome band, Mumford & Sons. I highly recommend checking them out. One song in particular has been rattling around in my brain, "Sigh No More". You can check the song out at http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=6SkLweGve1E and below are the applicable lyrics:
"Sigh no more, no more
One foot in sea, one on shore
My heart was never pure
You know me
You know me ...
Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be
There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be"
These say to me that us humans have one foot in the world and one in heaven. We are one part fallen/sinful and one part image of God. Yet, while we aren't pure, God still knows and loves us.
Now God is love, so I hear the second segment above as speaking of God in many ways. Love/God won't drag us down or destroy us, but will in fact set us free to be the people we are meant to be. This brings me to double knowledge. This is the idea that it is only through knowing God that we can truly know and become ourselves. We looked at this a fair bit in the C.S. Lewis class. In short, double knowledge equates to know God, know/become yourself. Only the love and grace of God set us free from our impurity to be the people we are meant to be.
What is more, this is how we're designed (as the third stanza eludes to). Our hearts are aligned to see God, live love, and turn into the beautiful people we are meant to be. In other words, we're beloved children made in the image of God.
I totally love this song and the concept of double knowledge.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray the Christmas season has been a time of peace for you. So, you may have read the title and be wondering, "what is double knowledge?". Well, I'll get to that ... First, however, I think some song lyrics will help get to double knowledge. Carla recently introduced Me to this awesome band, Mumford & Sons. I highly recommend checking them out. One song in particular has been rattling around in my brain, "Sigh No More". You can check the song out at http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=6SkLweGve1E and below are the applicable lyrics:
"Sigh no more, no more
One foot in sea, one on shore
My heart was never pure
You know me
You know me ...
Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be
There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be"
These say to me that us humans have one foot in the world and one in heaven. We are one part fallen/sinful and one part image of God. Yet, while we aren't pure, God still knows and loves us.
Now God is love, so I hear the second segment above as speaking of God in many ways. Love/God won't drag us down or destroy us, but will in fact set us free to be the people we are meant to be. This brings me to double knowledge. This is the idea that it is only through knowing God that we can truly know and become ourselves. We looked at this a fair bit in the C.S. Lewis class. In short, double knowledge equates to know God, know/become yourself. Only the love and grace of God set us free from our impurity to be the people we are meant to be.
What is more, this is how we're designed (as the third stanza eludes to). Our hearts are aligned to see God, live love, and turn into the beautiful people we are meant to be. In other words, we're beloved children made in the image of God.
I totally love this song and the concept of double knowledge.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Victory of Inclusion Over Exclusion
Hi Everyone-
I pray you're finding joy in this Christmas season. One aspect of Christmas that's hitting me this year is that it's a season of inclusion's victory over exclusion. What do I mean by that?
I think with His birth, Jesus brought inclusion to many people, and am hoping I can reciprocate that for others. In C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength one of the main characters, Mark, spends the better part of the book trying to get into the innermost circles of power at his job. He is constantly looking for the most elite, most exclusive, and smallest core of power brokers. The way I put it in some of my notes was that he desperately wanted to be one of the "cool kids." I know I can remember that feeling from junior high in particular. Let me put it this way, Mark thinks he needs to be someone smarter, better, cooler, and more powerful than who he is to be accepted and valued. He doesn't realize the err in this way until the end of the book. I believe Christmas, i.e. the birth and life of Jesus, change this paradigm and need to be in the inner/exclusive circle for us all.
In Acts we find a history of the early Church. In chapter 8, Philip feels moved by the Spirit to go south where:
27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. ...
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”[d] 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
What seems at face value a pretty cool conversion story becomes brilliant when we learn a couple things. First, eunuchs weren't allowed to be in the Assembly of God before Jesus. The eunuch asks what would prevent him from being baptized (i.e. excluded)? Easy, he's a eunuch, so before Jesus was excluded by definition, but after Jesus that changes. Second, today in a highly Islamic area of the world, Ethiopia is 65% Christian, and most all of them trace their lineage, mark as their reason for being Christian, back to this eunuch.
A pastor I heard recently put it this way, "God loves those who are thirsty, not those who are worthy."
I think that's a brilliant summary of the inclusion Christ brings. I'm going to try and make this Christmas about the victory of inclusion over exclusion.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray you're finding joy in this Christmas season. One aspect of Christmas that's hitting me this year is that it's a season of inclusion's victory over exclusion. What do I mean by that?
I think with His birth, Jesus brought inclusion to many people, and am hoping I can reciprocate that for others. In C.S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength one of the main characters, Mark, spends the better part of the book trying to get into the innermost circles of power at his job. He is constantly looking for the most elite, most exclusive, and smallest core of power brokers. The way I put it in some of my notes was that he desperately wanted to be one of the "cool kids." I know I can remember that feeling from junior high in particular. Let me put it this way, Mark thinks he needs to be someone smarter, better, cooler, and more powerful than who he is to be accepted and valued. He doesn't realize the err in this way until the end of the book. I believe Christmas, i.e. the birth and life of Jesus, change this paradigm and need to be in the inner/exclusive circle for us all.
In Acts we find a history of the early Church. In chapter 8, Philip feels moved by the Spirit to go south where:
27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. ...
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”[d] 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
What seems at face value a pretty cool conversion story becomes brilliant when we learn a couple things. First, eunuchs weren't allowed to be in the Assembly of God before Jesus. The eunuch asks what would prevent him from being baptized (i.e. excluded)? Easy, he's a eunuch, so before Jesus was excluded by definition, but after Jesus that changes. Second, today in a highly Islamic area of the world, Ethiopia is 65% Christian, and most all of them trace their lineage, mark as their reason for being Christian, back to this eunuch.
A pastor I heard recently put it this way, "God loves those who are thirsty, not those who are worthy."
I think that's a brilliant summary of the inclusion Christ brings. I'm going to try and make this Christmas about the victory of inclusion over exclusion.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Saturday, December 10, 2011
Does Christianity Have a Monopoly on Good and Truth?
Hi Everyone-
I pray this Christmas season is bringing you joy this year. I finished my last final for school yesterday, so being on Christmas break is something I'm certainly joyful about. My last final was for the C.S. Lewis class, so he's still influencing my thinking quite a bit.
Assuming you're a Christian, do you think there's truths and goodness to be found in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek Mythology, or any other non-Christian religion? Lewis says there is. in "Religion Without Dogma?" he writes, "I could not believe Christianity if I were forced to say that there were a thousand religions in the world of which 999 were pure nonsense and the thousandth (fortunately) true. My conversion, very largely, depended on recognizing Christianity as the completion, the actualization, the entelechy, of something that had never been wholly absent from the mind pf man."
I know in years past I've often pitted Christianity against other religions and thought it had the universal hold on truth and goodness, but I think Lewis is saying we shouldn't do that. In fact, he's saying the reality is actually more beautiful than a strict Christianity vs. other religions competition, with Christianity winning. Lewis believes God gave all humanity throughout all history truths about Himself, the world, and each other, thus many of these appear in other religions. To put it differently, Christians can in fact learn goodness, beauty, and truth from say Islam or Buddhism. Do you agree?
However, I don't think that's the best part of what Lewis is asserting. He concludes that following Christ is the culmination, end, and completion of the journey humankind's been on for thousands of years to find the ultimate truths about us, the world, and the Divine. Worshiping Zeus back in 500 BC was one step on the path with certain truths, Hinduism was another, Islam is yet another, etc. Put simply, Lewis is saying Christ is inclusive not exclusive. To put it differently, all goodness and all truth is of and from Christ, whether a person recognizes or names this Christian or not. When Religion X says to feed the poor and hungry that belief is good and true and of Christ even though they say it's from some other being or belief.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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I pray this Christmas season is bringing you joy this year. I finished my last final for school yesterday, so being on Christmas break is something I'm certainly joyful about. My last final was for the C.S. Lewis class, so he's still influencing my thinking quite a bit.
Assuming you're a Christian, do you think there's truths and goodness to be found in Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Greek Mythology, or any other non-Christian religion? Lewis says there is. in "Religion Without Dogma?" he writes, "I could not believe Christianity if I were forced to say that there were a thousand religions in the world of which 999 were pure nonsense and the thousandth (fortunately) true. My conversion, very largely, depended on recognizing Christianity as the completion, the actualization, the entelechy, of something that had never been wholly absent from the mind pf man."
I know in years past I've often pitted Christianity against other religions and thought it had the universal hold on truth and goodness, but I think Lewis is saying we shouldn't do that. In fact, he's saying the reality is actually more beautiful than a strict Christianity vs. other religions competition, with Christianity winning. Lewis believes God gave all humanity throughout all history truths about Himself, the world, and each other, thus many of these appear in other religions. To put it differently, Christians can in fact learn goodness, beauty, and truth from say Islam or Buddhism. Do you agree?
However, I don't think that's the best part of what Lewis is asserting. He concludes that following Christ is the culmination, end, and completion of the journey humankind's been on for thousands of years to find the ultimate truths about us, the world, and the Divine. Worshiping Zeus back in 500 BC was one step on the path with certain truths, Hinduism was another, Islam is yet another, etc. Put simply, Lewis is saying Christ is inclusive not exclusive. To put it differently, all goodness and all truth is of and from Christ, whether a person recognizes or names this Christian or not. When Religion X says to feed the poor and hungry that belief is good and true and of Christ even though they say it's from some other being or belief.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Tuesday, December 6, 2011
The Will of God
Hi Everyone-
I pray God is bringing much grace and peace to your lives. This is the last week of the school term, which brings both joy and sorrow. I'm excited for a break, but sad that tonight is the last C.S. Lewis class.
Three of the books we read by Lewis are works of fiction dubbed The Ransom Trilogy. The hero, Ransom, travels to Venus in the second book, Perelandra, where he meets that planet's version of Eve, called the Lady. He helps her in her battle to resist the temptations of the devil to stray from God. When I read it one line in particular stood out to me as pretty profound. The Lady says, "'To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.'"
To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere. Think about those words, "'To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.'" There are layers and layers to them in my mind. What do you think?
Here's what resonates most with me ... This is saying that God doesn't give us commands (i.e. His will) to be burdensome or painful or obligations, He tells us His will because it alone leads to life. To not follow His will is to walk into death and destruction. When we follow God's will we become more alive, while when we don't we are quite literally undoing (or killing) ourselves.
When I was younger, I thought all these types of things really only applied to some distant, eternal, when we go (in the future) to heaven or hell point in the future. But, what the Lady is saying applies to now. When we follow God's will we walk into a fuller life right now. Conversely, when we don't, we step into oblivion right now.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts...
Grace and peace,
Lang
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I pray God is bringing much grace and peace to your lives. This is the last week of the school term, which brings both joy and sorrow. I'm excited for a break, but sad that tonight is the last C.S. Lewis class.
Three of the books we read by Lewis are works of fiction dubbed The Ransom Trilogy. The hero, Ransom, travels to Venus in the second book, Perelandra, where he meets that planet's version of Eve, called the Lady. He helps her in her battle to resist the temptations of the devil to stray from God. When I read it one line in particular stood out to me as pretty profound. The Lady says, "'To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.'"
To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere. Think about those words, "'To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.'" There are layers and layers to them in my mind. What do you think?
Here's what resonates most with me ... This is saying that God doesn't give us commands (i.e. His will) to be burdensome or painful or obligations, He tells us His will because it alone leads to life. To not follow His will is to walk into death and destruction. When we follow God's will we become more alive, while when we don't we are quite literally undoing (or killing) ourselves.
When I was younger, I thought all these types of things really only applied to some distant, eternal, when we go (in the future) to heaven or hell point in the future. But, what the Lady is saying applies to now. When we follow God's will we walk into a fuller life right now. Conversely, when we don't, we step into oblivion right now.
I'm interested to hear your thoughts...
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Self-Fullfilling Prophcies
Hi Everyone-
I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving. I know I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for, such as only 1.5 weeks of school left until I'm on Christmas break.
With that in mind, I recently finished my big paper for the C.S. Lewis class I'm taking. We had to write about how we see his conception of spiritual formation as it plays out in his characters. In short, spiritual formation is how we become our truest and fullest self, as well as how we draw closer to God and become more Christ-like. Lewis' fictional books contain a lot on this topic, so it's been pretty cool to step back and map out his views so to speak. There's several interesting themes I enjoyed looking at, but one really sticks out to me in this holiday season. Basically, he shows that our beliefs, attitudes, and views of the world become our own personal realities.
Big picture, this includes heaven and hell, but for Lewis these aren't realities that represent huge shifts that don't happen until after we die. We day-by-day choose and live either heaven or hell every day of our lives. When we choose heaven, our lives become more heavenly. When we choose hell, our lives become more hellish. In The Great Divorce, he puts the end results of this pretty brilliantly, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell choose it."
In Till We Have Faces the main character is named Orual. She is described as being physically quite "ugly", because of which, she grows to in many ways hate her "self." She becomes Queen of her nation and purposefully chooses to become a different, more man-ish person. She begins wearing a veil, eventually leaving it on at all times so that no-one knows what her face even looks like anymore. More than once, she speaks of killing Orual as she becomes this other self. She succeeds and almost destroys her true self, Orual, in favor of the Queen. She believed Orual was too ugly to be let out in public, and this reality became true as she was locked away.
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Eustace, one of the main characters, spends the first part of the book thinking and acting in a very selfish and greedy manner. Then, while thinking these thoughts and sleeping on a dragon hoard, he turns into a dragon. Lewis writes that the selfish and greedy thoughts are dragonish, so his thoughts/beliefs become Eustace's reality.
In the last Chronicles of Narnia book, The Last Battle, Narnia is falling apart as the forces of evil are pretty much having their way. There's this very ominous looking stable door through which characters are being thrown, never to return. One of the heroes says he thinks for them it's the door to Aslan's Country (i.e. heaven). It turns out for them it is, but for others it's the way to darkness and despair.
What's this have to do with us and our spiritual formation, our becoming selves? Everything I think. As I think about people I've met over the years this idea is so true. We live self-fulfilling prophecies. The people I know who live with views of themselves, friends, and the world that are positive, become the people I know most filled with joy ... even when things suck. Conversely, people who are always griping and complaining are those I've found to be most unhappy, even when they have great jobs, friends, etc.
On the current season of "The Biggest Loser" there's this guy who drops a lot of weight every week, Bob Harper (the main trainer) thinks he's likely going to be the winner. But, he's never happy. In fact, he's always disappointed with his performance. He chooses a negative view of things. Bob has said he bets this guy will gain all his weight back. His view/beliefs that nothing he does is good enough will become his reality.
What do you think? Have you seen this in your life?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving. I know I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for, such as only 1.5 weeks of school left until I'm on Christmas break.
With that in mind, I recently finished my big paper for the C.S. Lewis class I'm taking. We had to write about how we see his conception of spiritual formation as it plays out in his characters. In short, spiritual formation is how we become our truest and fullest self, as well as how we draw closer to God and become more Christ-like. Lewis' fictional books contain a lot on this topic, so it's been pretty cool to step back and map out his views so to speak. There's several interesting themes I enjoyed looking at, but one really sticks out to me in this holiday season. Basically, he shows that our beliefs, attitudes, and views of the world become our own personal realities.
Big picture, this includes heaven and hell, but for Lewis these aren't realities that represent huge shifts that don't happen until after we die. We day-by-day choose and live either heaven or hell every day of our lives. When we choose heaven, our lives become more heavenly. When we choose hell, our lives become more hellish. In The Great Divorce, he puts the end results of this pretty brilliantly, "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell choose it."
In Till We Have Faces the main character is named Orual. She is described as being physically quite "ugly", because of which, she grows to in many ways hate her "self." She becomes Queen of her nation and purposefully chooses to become a different, more man-ish person. She begins wearing a veil, eventually leaving it on at all times so that no-one knows what her face even looks like anymore. More than once, she speaks of killing Orual as she becomes this other self. She succeeds and almost destroys her true self, Orual, in favor of the Queen. She believed Orual was too ugly to be let out in public, and this reality became true as she was locked away.
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Eustace, one of the main characters, spends the first part of the book thinking and acting in a very selfish and greedy manner. Then, while thinking these thoughts and sleeping on a dragon hoard, he turns into a dragon. Lewis writes that the selfish and greedy thoughts are dragonish, so his thoughts/beliefs become Eustace's reality.
In the last Chronicles of Narnia book, The Last Battle, Narnia is falling apart as the forces of evil are pretty much having their way. There's this very ominous looking stable door through which characters are being thrown, never to return. One of the heroes says he thinks for them it's the door to Aslan's Country (i.e. heaven). It turns out for them it is, but for others it's the way to darkness and despair.
What's this have to do with us and our spiritual formation, our becoming selves? Everything I think. As I think about people I've met over the years this idea is so true. We live self-fulfilling prophecies. The people I know who live with views of themselves, friends, and the world that are positive, become the people I know most filled with joy ... even when things suck. Conversely, people who are always griping and complaining are those I've found to be most unhappy, even when they have great jobs, friends, etc.
On the current season of "The Biggest Loser" there's this guy who drops a lot of weight every week, Bob Harper (the main trainer) thinks he's likely going to be the winner. But, he's never happy. In fact, he's always disappointed with his performance. He chooses a negative view of things. Bob has said he bets this guy will gain all his weight back. His view/beliefs that nothing he does is good enough will become his reality.
What do you think? Have you seen this in your life?
Grace and peace,
Lang
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Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Occupy Movement
Hi Everyone-
I pray that this week of Thanksgiving finds you well. I've been thinking a bit about the Occupy the Wall movement lately. What are your thoughts on it? Do you think it's good, bad, neutral? Where do you think God falls on this issue?
I think the Bible shows God is very much behind what I believe lies at the root of this issue. I think that when you combine a huge gap between the rich and the poor/everyone else, with the rich not caring for/helping the less fortunate, you get a very unhealthy society. A culture that's not as God intends. Look at some of the first words written about the early Christian church for instance:
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 NLT)
I believe what happened some 2,000 years ago was the first Christians came to believe a new/old way of viewing possessions. They didn't think it was bad to be rich, but they held their possessions loosely because they knew they weren't "theirs". Everything is a gift from God, a blessing. Recognizing this, they felt compelled to share the goods, money, etc. God had given them with others. They understood the fundamental truth of Psalms 24:1, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him."
I'll bring this back to Paul's "grace and peace" I wrote the last the last three blogs on ... It's God's grace that gives us anything we "own" or "earn". Every breath I take is a free gift from the Lord of the universe. For me, this truth is incredibly freeing. It frees us to hold our possessions and money loosely, which in turn allows us to recognize those in need around us and give to them willingly and out of joy. The richer we are, the more God has blessed us and the freer we are to give.
I know the Occupy the Wall movement people don't speak in these terms per se, but I believe this is where their desire stems from. They are calling the rich to remember we're all God's children and it's all God's stuff, so lets play well together and share.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
I pray that this week of Thanksgiving finds you well. I've been thinking a bit about the Occupy the Wall movement lately. What are your thoughts on it? Do you think it's good, bad, neutral? Where do you think God falls on this issue?
I think the Bible shows God is very much behind what I believe lies at the root of this issue. I think that when you combine a huge gap between the rich and the poor/everyone else, with the rich not caring for/helping the less fortunate, you get a very unhealthy society. A culture that's not as God intends. Look at some of the first words written about the early Christian church for instance:
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47 NLT)
I believe what happened some 2,000 years ago was the first Christians came to believe a new/old way of viewing possessions. They didn't think it was bad to be rich, but they held their possessions loosely because they knew they weren't "theirs". Everything is a gift from God, a blessing. Recognizing this, they felt compelled to share the goods, money, etc. God had given them with others. They understood the fundamental truth of Psalms 24:1, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him."
I'll bring this back to Paul's "grace and peace" I wrote the last the last three blogs on ... It's God's grace that gives us anything we "own" or "earn". Every breath I take is a free gift from the Lord of the universe. For me, this truth is incredibly freeing. It frees us to hold our possessions and money loosely, which in turn allows us to recognize those in need around us and give to them willingly and out of joy. The richer we are, the more God has blessed us and the freer we are to give.
I know the Occupy the Wall movement people don't speak in these terms per se, but I believe this is where their desire stems from. They are calling the rich to remember we're all God's children and it's all God's stuff, so lets play well together and share.
What do you think?
Grace and peace,
Lang
If you want to receive email notifications when I post new blogs, please put your email in the "Follow by email" block to the right.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Grace and Peace - The Gospel According to Paul
Hi Everyone-
I hope you're having a lovely fall day. Something I found amazing in my research is that with two words, "grace" and "peace", Paul effectively sums up his take on Christianity, his gospel or theology so to speak. According to Paul, grace and peace comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. With that in mind, Gordon Fee writes, " In a sense this sums up the whole of Paul's theological outlook. The sum total of all God's activity toward his human creatures is found in the word 'grace' ... Nothing is deserved; nothing can be achieved. 'Tis mercy all, immense and free.' And the sum total of those benefits as they are experienced by the recipients of God's grace are found in the word 'peace,' meaning 'well-being, wholeness, welfare.' The one flows out of the other, and both together flow from 'God our Father ... and we're made effective in human history through our 'Lord Jesus Christ.'" That's just the summary though ...
First, Paul is highly Christ-centric. In other words, for him, everything revolves around Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. We see God most fully and clearly through Jesus. It is the free, undeserved gift (i.e. grace) of Jesus on the Cross from which we get peace with God, ourselves, and each other.
Before Jesus, the Israelites were the chosen people, God's people, which excluded quite a few others. However, through Jesus Jew and Gentile come together and are both made God's children. He captures this within "grace" and "peace" in that charis ("grace") is his spin on the common Greek greeting of that day (chairein), while eirene ("peace") is the Jewish greeting (they said shalom in Hebrew, eirene was the Greek translation). Grace (Gentile) and peace (Jew) together through God.
They also show his eschatology (a fancy word for the end times), which says in short that heaven starts now. Paul's greeting of grace and peace is also a prayer and a wish. He is saying the readers have grace and peace now, but he is praying for more in the future; a future that will one day be completely fulfilled in the resurrection.
Foundational to all this is grace as a free, undeserved gift. We declared war on God through choosing to sin, but Jesus died for us, forgave our sins anyway. We didn't deserve it, but He loves us so much He did it regardless. But, this grace doesn't just end with "saving" us, it transforms us. God's grace gets into our bones, and by changing who we are makes us live out grace to everyone around us. Again, heaven starts now.
So, I say ...
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Lang
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