a few words on why religion stinks

Consider this - One of the things that gets in the way of us having a true connection with God is the way we define that connection.

Like I said, consider that for a moment.

The way we define a connection with God is called "religion," and religion on its own simply stinks.

Out of my own life, when I was growing up, I was a "Catholic." I don't mean to put the quotes around that word to hint at any negativity, but rather because when I say "Catholic" I mean it was how I defined Catholic. For me that meant I'd pop into a church service at Easter and Christmas with my parents, vaguely pay attention if we attended other times of the year, and make the "Sign of the Cross" whenever I prayed. I believed "about" God, and occasionally I believed "in" God.

But that was it. It was my religion... it was how I chose to define my search for God (even though it was usually more of a shield I raised to feel like I could "checklist" off that part of my life and go on to do other things).

• Disclaimer: I know other people define their Catholic faith or upbringing more deeply than that. I have family members, for instance, who have found that to be true. But for me... that's not what it was. Maybe you know what I mean.
  

If you would've pressed me on it, I would have argued with you that I was a "Christian." Again - notice the quotes... a "Christian" as I defined it, and not as the Bible does. After all, I had a version of a Christian religion that I felt mechanically good with. It blended in well with how and where I was raised, for in the greater Chicagoland area I had opted for a popular choice. Among my peers, being a Catholic was usually a family tradition that at times was possibly religious. Only in very, very rare instances did I see it become authentically spiritual in a friend or two.

By the way... this post isn't about Catholicism. We don't need to debate about what it is or isn't, but I needed to share that so we can turn to what this post is really about.

One of the things that gets in the way of us having a true connection with God is the way we define that connection.

Because everything I just described is not just true of Catholicism. It's true of any church, including the one I serve in and enjoy growing in my relationship with God.

And it's true of even people who feel they have the closest connection to Him. Sometimes those who seem the most passionate about a certain way of pursuing God have forgotten that it's not the way we worship that matters... it's the object of our worship.

Let me give you a little glimpse of the punchline of what I'm talking about. In the book of Nehemiah, the Israelites have just come out of a time of slavery and are finally back in their own land. After much hard work at restoring many of their holy places, they enter in a time of worship. Those in spiritual authority cried out to the people:

"Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise." (Nehemiah 9:5-6)

If you read that passage quickly, you may miss the whammy of a thought hidden right there at the end... that who God is matters more than any blessing or praise.

Think about what that means... maybe it still hasn't hit you yet.

There is no form of blessing or praise - spoken, sung, enacted - that is more important than God Himself.

And yet...

One of the things that gets in the way of us having a true connection with God is the way we define that connection.

In other words, when we begin to worship "worship" more than the Lord Himself, we've created something inauthentic and tried to make it feel authentic.

• Perhaps you have grown comfortable in a routine that feels religious on your terms. And yet it is robbing you of a true relationship with God on His terms.
  
  
• Maybe there is an aspect of how you seek the Lord out that is your favorite way to do so. What happens when that itch isn't being scratched in the way you like it? Do you elevate that form of praise higher than you elevate the God the praise is intended for?
  
  
• Who or what gets to define if you are really on track with what it is you say you believe?
  
  
• Is the purpose of a church community to meet your needs? Or is the purpose of a church community a gathering of Christ-followers who decide to meet the needs God says matter?
  

Has the punchline hit you yet?

I have found that when I can put God in my pocket, He has ceased to be God.

• No bumper sticker is big enough to define Him.
• No style of worship is encompassing enough to praise Him.
• No denomination is true enough to exist without Him.
• No discovery is shiny enough to steal the spotlight from Him.
• No science is smart enough void of Him.
• No person is dirty enough that they don't matter to Him..
  

Perhaps you read this as a skeptic. Thanks for popping in... and I dare you to stop rejecting God as much as you're rejecting your idea of God. Please think about that for a moment.

Maybe you're processing through this as a religious person... again, thank you for your time. But don't let your self-defined pace of considering God keep your from recognizing the fiercely-tender, redemptively-holy One who is so much larger than you believe He is... so much more relevant to your life than you allow... so much more intimate with you than you are with Him.

Or it could be that you are taking all of this in as one who has chosen to step over the line and embrace the fire hydrant drink of Jesus Christ's love and His purpose for you here on planet earth. Again, even with you there will be a temptation to look for God-things to scratch itches only God is supposed to itch.

Even today, I wrestle with wanting to define my faith versus allowing it to be defined and refined by my God. I tell Him, "This is how we're going to best connect," and He says, "I'm actually trying to talk to you from over here. Peek-a-boo!"

There is a difference between playing your own music and asking God to dance to it, versus tuning into the soundtrack the Creator has set into motion and letting your life sway in new ways because of it... because of Him.

But as you dance, don't worship the dance or the music. Rather, enjoy and express your heart out to the One behind it all.

Religion? It stinks.

But God pursuing you isn't religion. 

He is an amazing Daddy who loves His kids.

And that... is a relationship worth letting Him define so you can more fully embrace it.

Take a look at that picture at the top of Adam and God again. Who of the two is stretching, and who of the two is barely lifting a finger to connect?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-lY8VQpSTY

7 days to 40

In a week we'll begin "Lent" - something many sum up as a "religious" thing. But in the times you and I live in, it's intensely practical... lent is at its core about facing our true humanity, dealing with the sin that tries to dwells within us, and reclaiming a tremendous hope that we often cast aside.

The 40 days many people practice Lent through is just the beginning. It helps us to pay attention to things we don't often listen to, helping us realize what we spend too much and too little time on. It forces us to get fed up with the things we swallow without question, allowing us to enjoy the life God created for us without spending losing its quality on other things.

But Lent is larger than those 40 days... while it can remind us of the darkness we can still carry, it also helps us live in the light of the resurrection. It is a catalyst that says "You are here," but simultaneously points out "You can be 'Here' instead."

Today I spoke with a friend and we spoke of a phrase - "Green Mile-ing" - referencing the movie with Tom Hanks where he works in the death row section of a prison. One day a large prisoner is transferred in, only he ends up being more than a simple inmate. One several occasions, this simple man grabs others who are sick or dealing with some form of internal darkness, and then he lets go, coughing and gasping until he releases a cloud of black insect-like spores from his mouth. Eventually the guard played by Tom Hanks transfers out of this prison and all of the grim scenarios he had become accustomed to as "normal."

In many of us there is a need to deliberately do that - start "Green Mile-ing" all of the darkness within us through Someone who will release us from that death, exchanging it for life. Lent gives us that chance... maybe an excuse, call it what you want... to turn back toward the Who and What that matters most.

Keep in mind, we miss this and the true power of Resurrection Sunday (Easter) if we don't take advantage of this season of preparation. Lent has not been well observed in many Christian circles, largely because it's associated as too "high church." Even today, Lent is marked by a time of preparation, sacrifice, and prayer to celebrate Jesus' Holy Week. But again - it's intensely practical, just like the events of Holy Week are (but often are overlooked).

I want to challenge you to consider of the next 7 days how the next 40 days after that can change everything. Consider the stuff you need to get off your chest, from the "Green Mile-ing" vomiting you need to release, to the new life you need to start reclaiming. As a church, we'll be providing some resources that I'll also post here to help with that process. But right now, on your own, begin to place yourself into a position to hear God in ways that you have not heard Him in a long time... ways that may be the beginning of a healing you've been longing for.

Because the best case solution to your life is more than a one-day celebration on April 12th... it's includes owning up to the journey that gets you there, and the life that awaits you on the other side of the Resurrection.

Such a journey begins in ashes hidden in oil, and continues with a nail-pierced arm wrapped around you.

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:16-18)

twenty centuries of jealousy

There are days that I find it difficult to follow Jesus.

Not because I don't want to, but because I'm jealous of what it doesn't mean for me.

(Trust me, that will all make sense in a moment)

Back in the first century, a physical person named Jesus Christ walked around various areas in an area we sum up as Israel. He encountered people doing things... common everyday things like fishing, cooking, commanding, working with money, hanging out under a tree, campaigning for something or someone, and so on. And as this Jesus crossed paths with these people, there was a common phrase He said to them...

"Follow Me."

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. (Matthew 4:19-20)
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Mark 10:21)
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." (John 1:43)

This is what I am jealous of... the ability for people to lay their eyes on Jesus Christ in a physical sense, and then go on this adventure of following Him wherever He leads.

I'm not saying that I haven't done this in a 21st Century Way, but the trouble I run into is I'm not able to follow Jesus around physically but instead spiritually, relationally, and missionally...

and I get distracted and confused a lot.

When Jesus walked the earth, people could tell if they were following Him because they could look over and see Christ around the campfire cracking a joke or making funny noises with His lips to cause kids to giggle. The people in Jesus' era on earth saw this wild leader bend down and serve the individual or the crowd, flip over the concepts of religion through challenge, and slow down to give someone in despair tangible Hope... real Hope.

Even after He left the earth and passed the baton to His followers, the idea of following Jesus was clear. There was momentum in place and miracles were happening to help crowds of people see the validity to the stories they were hearing. The Church approached everything in a way that seemed to initially run against the grain of culture, only soon people saw that it truly did make sense... and thousands came to the Lord in a short amount of time.

Flash forward twenty centuries later, and we are so intellectual that was have a hard time knowing what to think. We confuse self-interests with God-interests, thinking that one is the other... and there are many days that we're so busy being frustrated with the Lord for not answering our questions when we fail to hear the Answer He is offering to a Question we haven't yet learned to ask.

And yet... the call is there - "Follow Me."

Consider how folks in the first century would have been jealous of the ability we have to have the very Words of God written down and collected for all to read. To know that we are simply a reach over to a coffee table away from reading powerful Truths that can speak into our lives from every direction we know of and so many we don't. To not have to wait for a physical Jesus to walk into their town on tour, but to instead know that because there has been death-and-resurrection that God is available everywhere, for access has been made possible... the curtain that separated us was torn.

Twenty centuries of jealousy often boils down the different sides of a fence, with the grass seeming greener on the side you're not on.

It must have been amazing to physically follow Jesus wherever He led... without a doubt, I would love that experience. To watch His eyes wander or to see how He cocks His head just before He says, "Can you pass the bread?" Or for a brief second to hear Christ tell a joke - and to see how long He would wait before delivering a punchline that would make everyone crack up.

Obviously, I'd want to see a miracle beyond what we call science - something that just defies explanation and changes a life forever physically. But mostly the everyday stuff - I think there is more miracle in those Jesus moments than there is in the fireworks of a healing.

But how much more amazing it is that wherever you are there is access to Him in Spirit and in Truth? To see miracles of changed lives and households and careers and education and free time and issues and beliefs and everything else. It's sort of amazing to consider how today it is possible to follow Jesus, and it sort of seems like Jesus follows you, too.

Don't be confused by that, though. Christianity is not merely about God being for you, your agenda for life, and all the things you have on the calendar this week. It's not that God isn't for you and those things shouldn't be there (perhaps some shouldn't), but more that the motive we have in many of those things needs to alteration.

And so I challenge you to consider the powerful shift of surrendering your dreams.

Not because they don't matter, but because there is a way of looking at them that matters more. In fact, many times that I've given up on my dreams God said, "Thanks for following Me! You will be blessed by this choice." and then handed them right back to me. Other times, He just said "Thanks for following Me! You will be blessed by this choice."

I wonder if much of our problem in feeling like we're not connecting with Jesus some days is that we're asking Him to bless our plans. Perhaps we should be asking Him to show us what He has especially blessed for us to take part in. One contributes to the world's hurt and to my misery, and the other heals it.

One involves God following you on your terms, and the other involves you following Jesus, even if it gets confusing some times.

Hang in there, for if you follow Jesus you have a perfect Him to hang on to spiritually, relationally, and missionally ... and His imperfect Church (on its best days) will have its arm around you physically.

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34)

your questions about the Question

Often I find myself in conversation with folks who have questions about God like I have over the years. They're good questions - and many times it has to do with a single issue... finding God and authentically connecting with Him.

Yet while these questions are often similar, they are especially unique on at least one level. Every one of us has a specific matter we'd like to take up with our Creator, and on any given day it may seem to change. Beneath it all, though, is a unique Question among the questions - a driving force that is more powerful than the thing we seem to come to the Lord with.

And that is where the real connection with God can happen.

In Mark 10, Jesus encounters a variety of people with a variety of "questions" - but see if you can tell what their main Question is.

Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people came to him, and as was his custom, he taught them. Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"

"What did Moses command you?" he replied.

They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."

"It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied. (Mark 10:1-5)

Here is a group of Pharisees - a dominant group of religious thinkers among the the First Century Jews. These guys were believed to be religious experts (in a nutshell) and they came to Jesus with a question that seemed to be about divorce. But was it really?

Again, this was a group of rule makers/enforcers who enjoyed feeling like they had God's company credit card. If they said something and agreed upon it, then it was "so" among the people. One historian named Josephus cited how the common Jewish people allowed this group authority over them, and the Pharisees seemed to enjoy that.

One issue that many men in this era dealt with - including the Pharisees - was the quick dismissal of their wives into a divorce. It's a long issue in itself, but the bottom line is that if they handed their wife a certificate of divorce then "that was that" - and many abused that option.

Along comes Jesus, telling them that marriage is a bigger deal than when you get tired of someone and to treat it as such is to instigate the potential for adultery.

Again, though - was this matter simply questions about divorce? Or was there a deeper Question?

Just the other day I was trying to get one of my sons to obey something I'd asked of him. He asked back, "What happens if I don't?" I had to hold back the laughter - I mean, how many times have you and I done this as adults with God?

If we truly want to "find Jesus," perhaps we need to first let go of our desire to keep living life on our terms.

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)

Amazing, isn't it? In such pure form a group of parents burst forward trying to have Jesus touch their kids. In some small way they're hoping that such a simple action will make a difference in their children forever. Only this time it's Jesus' disciples who get in the way - and Christ gives them a wake-up call about it.

A few days ago the question came up in our van (again from one of my boys) how we know if the Bible is true. Later on that evening, another question was raised about why there are so many different types of people in the world. These are questions that have answers, but because many people feel unequipped to answer them we usually tell kids, "Because the Bible says so."

That's a fair shot at faith, but does that at times... I wonder... get in the way of kids coming to Jesus?

Sometimes other people's "questions" raise a "Question" in us that we aren't comfortable with, and rather than pursue it into the deep end we cast it aside and settle back into the wading pool.

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Mark 10:17-22)

Yet again, someone comes to Jesus wanting to get an answer to a question... but the real Question is if all the good things he's done are what count. When he finds out that good deeds don't save you, the young man walks away sad. I've always wondered what became of him.

Because He doesn't set his agenda down to follow Jesus. He simply walks away.

So apparently he wasn't interested in finding eternal life... he just wanted to know if the way he'd been living his life on his own terms made the cut.

For God to be "God," He must be God.

That means that at the end of the day it is up to God to define who He is and how we have a relationship with Him. To insist upon your own way and hope it allows you to limbo under some bar of good deeds is to miss out on what it means to live a powerful life of trust.

The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

Peter said to him, "We have left everything to follow you!"

"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first." (Mark 10:24-31)

The disciples are starting to get worried after the rich man leaves - they want to know if their sacrifices to follow Jesus matter. So they ask, "Who then can be saved?"

Have you ever wondered that? Maybe you're someone who puts a lot of time into helping others find God and you want to know if what you're doing matters.

It does. It so significantly does. And the reward from God will one day blow us away.

Someone today reminded me of how tempting it is to do nothing because we're afraid of our weaknesses and imperfections spoiling something of God. And yet He invites us anyway to pitch in, for if we don't the Church (and ultimately the world in need) will never know our strengths.

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. "We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask." "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.

They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" (Mark 10:32-38)

Two brothers... gotta love this sibling dynamic. they're planning out the scope of their life and eternity here because they believe that one day Jesus will have everything set up and He'll need some muscle to run His kingdom. (Unfortunately for them, Jesus has a much different idea of being a King that involves serving like a peasant)

Their question seems to be about who gets to sit where, but it would seem as though their deeper Question is all about security and identity. I wonder how many of our questions track back to that...

for only the artist gets to give an identity to his painting, and only the chef gets to give a lasting name to his created meal, and only a Creator gets to tell all of creation who and what it really is... even if that very creation insists differently.

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he
heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 48Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." So they called to the blind man, "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." 50Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."

"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. (Mark 10:46-52)

Finally, something clear. Jesus asks, "What do you want?" The blind man says, "I want to see."

And Jesus gives the man sight.

Hmm.

Perhaps today it can be that clear for you and I.

Perhaps today you and I will avoid all of the little questions and ask the big Question.

For if you do, perhaps you and I will find ourselves surprised with an Answer from Jesus.

Just don't confuse your questions with the Question.

Because what you think you want to know may actually be a distraction to what you really want to know.

So... Jesus stands before you and asks...

"What do you want?"

play that funky music

Have you ever considered the different ways we view Christianity?

Or perhaps more accurately, the many different ways to view Christianity beyond the way you normally do.

To better understand what I mean, listen to this and consider the different ways to understand music.

• One might describe a song propositionally - "This song requires you playing these notes - nothing more, nothing less."
  
  
• Others might sum it up fundamentally - "This tune is first G, then D, back to Em, and C. It's been played that way for years, so don't question it."
  
  
• Another would articulate it from what emerges - "Don't even look at the chords. Just play, man. Just play. If the music is in you, it will come out."
  
  
• Some might define it communally - "Let's get a group of people around us and agree that this is what music is. And we'll only let people listen to this music if they agree with our understanding of how to strum."

The thing they all have in common?

They require being able to handle an instrument in the way it was designed to be handled - versus the way you want to handle it.

And it would seem to me that this requires some relationship with the Designer of the instrument, who just so happens to be the Composer of the music, who just so happens to be the Producer of your gig.

Otherwise...

• The propositional understanding becomes the same song, over and over and over.
• The fundamental ideal loses any signs of life -
• The emerging concept can be anything chaotic, and no one is really sure how to dance to it, or if you're even supposed to.
• The communal agreement becomes "real music," and you feel bad for tapping your toe to country and reggae.

Which means that in order to play True Music, you must first be willing to cast aside whatever your current definition of True Music is.

And realize not everyone will be on board with that.

Including yourself.

you asked for it: nameless wisdom - pt 2

Not to sound like a

broken record

warped tape

smudgy CD

corrupted mp3 file

a repetitive blogger, but G-Man wondered: Why some people choose to remain "Nameless." Even in the Bible there are people who do great things but not really a name.

"There's something pretty special about anonymity." - Unknown author

I like Unknown's stuff... he really does a great job. Gets around a lot, to.

Something that I heard during my formative years of Christianity was a piece of wisdom from Mike Swider, long-time coach of Wheaton Football and a motivational speaker. He said:

"Do something for someone else without getting found out about it. That will check your motives."

Of course, this is merely a rewording of what Jesus articulated:

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matthew 6:1-4)

This is more than a "Bible command" - it's a key to freedom through a highly subversive way of countering "approval addition." According to Jesus, we forfeit and miss a blessing when we do things to be seen by others... seeking a pat on the back kind of demeans the "well done good and faithful servant" words of God we might one day hear, stealing away the intrinsic connection to our Creator and replacing it with an external pat on the back from another person.

I think this is why some people choose to remain "nameless" in their acts of servanthood. When we do good for others without anyone knowing about it, we learn that the praise of other people doesn't actually matter. It's holding our tongue when in a room of people we are tempted to show off our knowledge of something... giving away money anonymously... filling someone's car up with groceries without them tracing it back to us... all of this allows us to taste true freedom, for when we practice positive secrecy we become less enslaved by a culture that hands out tropies for everything.

Side note - think about that for a moment... what are we saying to a generation of kids when "everyone gets a trophy?" There are times when this is appropriate, of course, but how often does the kid who works very hard get the same trophy as the kid on the sideline who picked grass? I had like two tropies growing up... and I had to work for them. I'm not trying to make a statement here... just wrestling with this myself. What does this create in them? How will this impact the world?

Secretly helping others feels good, doesn't it? Sure, we like the pat on the back and there are days I crave it. I think I'm honestly most vulnerable to it after I've put myself out there on somethinge... like after a message, I am most aware of my desire to receive affirmation from others. It's like a narcotic and it takes a lot of me choosing God over self in those moments to simply be content having been faithful to put the words out there.


The most joyful Christians I’ve known live for an audience of One. They don’t work to gain the approval of others—instead they yearn for the approval of their Heavenly Father. They agree with the Apostle Paul who wrote the Corinthians and said, “It is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”


So here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling...

• Take the visitor counter off your web site/blog.


• Stop introducing yourself with a title.


• Pray for someone who won't return your phone calls... pray for them to see God in their day and taste of His goodness. And keep calling them anyway, because they matter.


• Leave anonymouse gifts on your neighbors doorsteps that have to do with things they like.


• That guy in your neighborhood who is gone all day and has the unkept lawn? Mow it for him.


• Downsize your car to avoid monthly payments... use the money you'd spend making payments to instead build a well in Africa.


• Memorize a book/portion of Scripture and live so deeply with it that it transforms you... but don't tell anyone you have studied and memorized it.


• The next time you can drop a name... don't. Nor the time after that. And so on.


• Pay for the car behind you on the next toll bridge.

Got another idea?

word search

My buddy John was talking recently about why people may or may not read the Bible.

It's a good question... and yet I think the question I want to add is what do you feel when you read a question like that?

When I first gave my life to Jesus I thought that it was part of my duty to read the Bible every day. I think part of this came from a healthy place, while other parts came from unhealthy places. For instance, I'd hear other Christians whom I looked up to talk about their "morning quiet time" and I figured I needed one of those, too, if I ever hoped to become a spiritual giant.

But then I'd fail... and concluded that I wasn't going to become a spiritual giant, let alone a spiritual midget.

Over the years I came to realize that personal pathways with God look different for everyone. For some it means a morning quiet time, while for others it's listening to the Bible while they drive to work... or taking a reflective walk in their neighborhood at the end of the day... or popping in a worship tune that has some amazing truths to it.

In other words, the goal of a "spiritual discipline" is to connect with God, not do the spiritual discipline. In a perfect world, we should be able to get to a place where you don't need the discipline at all.

Which, by the way, is what happens in heaven - all this stuff that takes work (spending time with God, praying, having stuff-free relationships) is suddenly freed up in a-broken-world-that just-got-fixed.

But on this side of heaven, the pathways aren't a bad idea... if we can keep them from becoming checklists.


So I like John's question... because like I said, it's a good one.

My approach isn't to read the Bible daily but to instead meditate on Scripture daily... the whole "hiding it in your heart" concept that involves listening and doing. Sometimes that involves reading, and sometimes that involves going back to the last thing I read and not reading anything new until I fully digest that into application.

So for what it's worth, here's what I came up with and posted to his blog...

When I let myself read the Bible, I often get great insights.

When I let the Bible read me, I often “get” a great God.

listening and doing

In his classic work on education To Know as We are Known, Parker J. Palmer re-tells the story of Abba Felix. Abba Felix was one of the fourth-century "desert fathers" - wise holy men who lived life a little differently so that the Kingdom might be understand as it is.

As was the custom of the time, some Christians went to see Abba Felix in the desert and "begged him to say a word to them."

I see a similar picture in my mind of a group of young people climbing up a mountain to see a holy man and asking about the meaning of life. However, in this story instead of giving the young men an answer, Abba Felix is silent. The young men wait but after a while Abba Felix breaks the silence and answers their question with one of his own. "You wish to hear a word?"

"Yes, Abba," the young men said.

"There are no more words nowadays," Abba Felix replies.

He then goes on to explain that in the past when the old men spoke a word, that word was listened to. People did what the old men and women said. But now since the young men "ask without doing, the old men do not find anything to say."

Hearing this reply the brothers groaned, and said "Pray for us, Abba."

"You made me, You created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands" (Psalm 119:73, NLT)

chow down

Last night we splurged a bit and ate with some good friends at B.D.'s Mongolian BBQ. If you've not had the experience before I highly encourage you to try it... it's all about taking out some raw food and sauces, giving it all to some crazy dudes who cook it up for you, and sitting down to eat some tasty do-it-yourself stir fry (with unlimited helpings and combinations).

Good food.

Our youngest little guy - 2 years old - has feeling a bit under the weather. Consequently, he didn't each much yesterday... until just before bed. Suddenly he got real hungry and started eating a pretty decent meal right before laying down. Given the fact that he needed the energy, we let him snack on a few healthy things. Amazing how little bodies work in that way.

Good food.

Can you remember the last time you forgot to eat? You may have to tax your brain a bit, but when were you so engrossed in something that you completely didn't think about food at all? Perhaps it was a paper in school that you wanted to desperately finish... or maybe you were in the presence of someone special who had every ounce of your attention. In any case, when was the last time you neglected to eat a meal? And what was the reason?

It's odd how things cause us to forget or minimize such "necessities." Whether it's busyness or illness, we can often neglect what is essential (like keeping our bodies healthy) in lieu of whatever seems more pressing. Many times when people are grieving the loss of another the last thing they think about is food... and consequently it makes it all that much harder.

If we were asked by someone what our number one priority is in life many of us would quickly spout off the answer “God.” And I truly believe that is the case as far as our hearts and minds are concerned... that deep down we yearn for that to truly be the case.

In spite of this, though, it would seem that our souls end up empty though because we fall short of connecting desire with reality. We skip our "feeding times" with Jesus, hoping somehow through quick scraps we'll get the nutrition we need for healthy living. We munch on Him here or there, unconsiously hoping our Sunday church feeding will give us all the nutrients we need throughout the week (even though physically we'd never live that way).

And we end up with lives of spiritual malnutrition because of it.

There is the other side, though - the side where we do nothing but eat and eat and eat and eat spiritual food... but have zero activity with it. Every week we hit the church services, small groups, Bible studies, worship music, conference tapes, podcats, blogs, and everything else... only we haven't exercised one spiritual muscle.

We call the word of God truth… how much time do you spend in it? We need to stay healthy spiritually by feasting on His presence all day long AND exercising out that which we've taken in. So whether it's a do-it-yourself small group or the desperation of the illnesses of life that force you to eat...

take time to savor the Savior (with unlimited helpings and combinations).

Here's a good place to start: Psalm 1