“Embrace Your Weakness”

So I see the above article title as I sit to write. While my neighbor's kid has his idiot music so loud that it would wake the dead if anything but God could do such a thing.

As I analyze the title of that unread article I wonder what God is teaching me in this situation? These days, to speak out against the idiot culture seems like a scary thing to do. If we open our mouths we declare who we are and what we stand for. Which seems only popular if you are on the far left. So where do we Christians fit into this age? How far should we go to make a point? What is our responsibility and what should be our goal? Should we rock the boat or stay in our holy huddle? Are we to be Gandi types or George Parton types? These are all burning questions.

I believe that we have caved to the mainstream already in many ways. We are a nation of millions of Christians yet it seems that nobody is doing anything as we see our snile president bumbling and stumbling through a softball press conference. "Come on man!"

We actually think that someone else is going to stick their neck out to stop the foolishness. Really? Do you really think that?

We Christians are not militant, right? We should lay our head on the chopping block and let it roll without a fight. We are pacifists like Jesus, correct?

We have become spiritual jellyfish. We cower in our homes and wear masks because we're told to do so by the governing authorities. We have church online and think, "well at least we're meeting!" We fear reprisals from hate groups or gangs of thugs. We see news reports of normal people being taken to jail and fear the same treatment. Why?

As he took lunches to his brothers and heard the idiot giant screaming philistine obscenities at God, David began to ask questions. "Who is this blasphemous beast? What is the price on his head? Is there not a cause?"

Saul's reaction is classic, "You can't go battle this guy! You're a kid, he's been a warrior since he was a kid!" David then begins to tell the king how that God had helped him protect his flock by killing attacking wild animals with small weapons, and Saul suddenly has a change of heart. "Go, and the Lord be with you." was all he could whimpering.

Strange that as king, he didn't ask about the battle plan or if David wanted backup. Just a feeble astalavista as if to say, "Have fun storming the castle boy."

Admittedly, David's reaction and battle plan was not the seemingly wise thing to do. A kid against a giant? What were the odds?

That's was it, there were no odds. All bets were off. The battle was the Lord's!

In the aftermath did everyone live happily ever after? Nope. David's problems really started with that victory. Not because he beat that bad old giant, but because the king's envy took center stage for the next few years. There was a price to pay for that battle against evil. The bigger enemy for those following years was his own leader. The man who David called, "God's chosen". Wow.

Where does this leave us? Here are some observations.

There is a battle
God is being blasphemed
There is a cause
We have enough to win the battle
The victory probably won't bring ease

So, get those smooth stones ready.

Caught up to Paradise - 2 Corinthians 12

Residing in Michigan for over half my life, I had heard about Paradise. Because Paradise is a small town in the Upper Peninsula, you may have never visited there in your life, but you knew it existed. It was WAY up there next to Tahquamenon Falls and nothing else. Where's Tahquamenon Falls? Next to Paradise and nothing else. It's a long way from home. Why all of the talk about Paradise? Because Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 12. There was this guy who had been caught up to Paradise. Not in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but into the REAL Paradise. While there, he'd heard things that he was unable to repeat. What on earth was this? Who was this guy? Here's what was going on. Paul defended his position of Apostleship in chapter eleven and gave the Corinthians an idea of what Apostleship looked like in chapter twelve. It came with great wonders, like seeing or instead hearing unimaginable things. But, too, that position came with a terrible cost. God gave Paul a &q

What to get God for Christmas

Jesus left perfect surroundings, relationships and glory to be born into squalor. He was homeless before birth. His father was a carpenter in a culture where carpentry was a despised trade. His, mother though young and giving birth to her firstborn, had no attendant nurses, helpers or friends. Rather than a pristine hospital, birth was given in the filthy stench of a stable. Romantic? Hardly. This sacrifice brought a life of hardship. Why? Why this odd story? Obedience. God's gift to humanity was His son. Jesus' gift was obedience to the Father. He paid the greatest price. Not because we are special but because he loves His Father. His gift was the perfect gift. Our Father wants obedience for Christmas and every other day for that matter. In Brazil Christmas is becoming commercialized. A phenomenon familiar for years in the United States tickles a growing economy. There is little time for meditation on God's Gift. There are no chestnuts roasting or Jack Frost nippin

Stop Trusting

Isaiah 2:22 says Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? The Prophet is saying that we shouldn't put our trust in humankind because they are so finite. They are not like God, who is infinite. People are fickle. They change their minds. They love you and then hate you in moments. God invites us to trust him completely with everything that we have. He doesn't show himself to us physically or as a spirit. He demands that we have faith. However, he also gives us the faith to trust him. The universe shouts "Creator!" and yet we often ignore the proclamation. This ignorance does not make God's creation any less a physical demonstration of his grandeur. God's boundless being becomes more amazing in his presence within us. How can the infinite God dwell in the mortals he commands us not to trust? Jesus said, "with man it is impossible but with God, all things are possible."

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