Philippians 3:12

Wait...what just happened?! ~Phil 3:12 NVT

Bono on Christ

I have a brother, when I'm a brother in need. I spend my whole time running. He spends his running after me. When I feel myself going down, I just call and he comes around. But for the first time I feel love.

Lyrics - Bono, The First Time, U2.

Getting the Secular into Christianity

I had a conversation this morning with a friend that re-awakened me to a way of thinking that I haven't felt in quite a while.

It runs like this: As I grew up in a secular household, and as an agnostic, I believed that when I die that I would cease to exist. No more consciousness. Stick my body in the ground. Done.

One of the good things in that mindset, I believe, is the belief that we have to do what we can with what we've got now. We've gotta make the best of it. Carpe Diem. Seize the day. We're never gonna get to have this again, ran the thought process.

When I became a believer in Christ, my whole mindset changed. Sure, sometimes I have a default belief that I will just be buried into the ground and cease to exist; but, that belief has become weaker over time. My belief in the afterlife has grown in strength and death is less feared than before.

One of the things I think I've experienced as a believer is this mindset that says that this world is bad and heaven will be good. I often think, "I'll be glad to get outta here. I'll never miss this sin infested world."

But, there's something I've gotta remember from my secular, agnostic heritage. I'm never gonna have this again. When I die and heaven becomes a present reality, I'll never get to have what I have now. Most certainly, I will be so glad to be where I was made to be, and I'll never want to go back, but there's something I have to believe. I have to believe that I still have to do the best with what I've got now. I've got to really cherish this life because I won't ever have it again. There is some sort of reason why we're here right now. There is some sort of value of being in this sin infested world. There's something important about it and there's something important about taking value in it.

As Christians, we've got to learn from the agnostics and athiests, or get back to those roots of ours, so to speak. We've got to treat this world like it's all we've got, sort of. We've got to remember that once we leave, we'll never get it back. We've got to do the best with what we can right now and cherish each moment as though it is exactly what God wants for us, even though heaven will be 10,000 times better. We've got to savor every moment, trusting that in heaven we will look back on it and say, "Wow. I'm so glad I did that earthly existence, afterall. Thanks God."

How God Deals with Our Consequences

I often wish I didn't have to deal with the consequences for my sin in the here-and-now. But, I don't believe this is the Gospel. The Gospel is a God who says, "I'm gonna stay here and walk with you through the consequences. I'm not going anywhere." That's a father who loves me.

Childhood

Playing is a way to solve problems and to express feelings. In fact, play is the real work of childhood. – Mister Rogers

Getting back to our childhood may be the real work of adults. - Steven D

niotcafsitaS

I've often heard people say, "Only God can satisfy. All other things you try to do in order to satisfy you pale in comparison to Him. You must place Him in the center of all things. All other things are idols."

Although this is 100% true in my opinion, most people go about it the wrong way. They do all sorts of religious ceremonies, devotional readings, spiritual fervor prayer sessions, and spiritual-formulaic contortions. "Gotta get my heart right, stir up these feelings, and have nothing else before Him so I can be satisfied." That's how it goes in many legalistic-evangelical circles.

The best thing you can do so that God starts to satisfy you above all other things; however, is to start by realizing the Gospel, which is that He's already satisfied with you. This changes everything.

Trying to Please in All the Wrong Places

I find myself amazed that I continue to go to people in my mind or in real life who will never be pleased with me hoping that I can somehow be enough for them or win them over to my point of view, when in reality I can simply go to the One who is pleased with me already.

I speak to my own personal experience, but I believe this to be true for most people to a greater or lesser degree. I base this on numbers and numbers of times listening to others say the same sort of thing as I just did. Many of us spend our entire lives trying to get certain people to "get it". If they would just understand, if they would just be pleased with us, then the world would be a better place. It is mind-boggling that our thoughts can take us back five, ten, or even fifteen years within the course of one daydream and we find ourselves having a mental conversation (or mulling over what could have or should have happened) once again as if this feeble mental attempt might make things right, that somehow they might call us out of the blue and say, "I am so sorry. Now, I understand. You were right."

A healthy boundary says, "No, I will not do that any longer." I will not spend hours, days, weeks, years, or decades trying to please people who will never be pleased enough. I will go to people who have no agenda for me except to welcome me, nor who subtly try to get me to do what they want me to do. Above all, at any moment, I will go to the One who IS always pleased with me with no strings attached. This is His ultimate protection. He has transformed us into new people who never need to try to please Him again. In some weird, backwards sort of way we are to obey by trusting that He is pleased already because of who He's turned us into--beautiful creatures. This belief in Him is His greatest pleasure, and at moments we may find ourselves in quiet moments of peace.

Heaven (Part Five)

I wanna try to help connect you to the feelings of what it will be like when we get to heaven.

Here's an example:

Do you remember the airline pilot named Chesley Sullenberger who landed U.S. Airways flight 1549 into the Hudson River back in January 09? A flock of Canadian geese flew into the jet engines and cut all power to the aircraft. Sullenberger glided the plane gradually into the Hudson River and saved the lives of 155 people.

Imagine getting together in the July 09 reunion with the other survivors. Pilot Sullenberger walks into the ballroom hosting the event. Once people notice he's walking into the room an applause builds quickly. The applause doesn't stop after some sort of polite formality. The applause, smiles, and teary eyes (I'm sure) goes on for a while. More than a polite thank you. Next, people start going up to him and thanking him individually. One guy's wearing a T-shirt with Sullenberg's name on it. Smiles. Emotions. Tears, I'm sure. It's wonderful, emotional, and some sort of a sense of closure or at least connection with the other survivors.

In heaven, there will be a moment when Jesus walks into the ballroom. We'll know in that instant what He's done for us. Applause will build up rapidly. Smiles. Tears. Shouts. The applause will get louder. The crowd will be endless and the power of our applause will be like thunder or ten thousand horses running over the hills of Ireland. We will start to get a little out of hand. People raising each other up onto the top of the crowd. Groups in the hundreds of thousands jumping up and down like a group of football players preparing to enter a stadium. All kinds of cultures and their various styles of celebratory cries and hollers. You'd think the applause would start to die down at some point, but it gains momentum. It gains even more power, waves of cheers going to and fro. Time appears to be so unimportant in this new land and most of us lose track of it. A year seems like a thousand. Who knows how long until the applause dies down. We're exhausted. We're exhilarated. And, I'm not sure how it works, but somehow in the middle of the electricity, power, cheer, and applause...

We find ourselves in a personal moment with Jesus. We get to talk with the one who saved our life. The volume level of the millennial party is still ear piercing, but for some reason, it all fades away into the background and all is still. A quiet conversation with Him. We get to say everything.

Easter Sundays at My Church

My church saves baptisms for Easter Sundays. A marathon of baptisms in three services. I go to the 8am service because it's the only one I can get into without feeling like I've gone to a soccer match and fought other spectators to get in. Seriously, I think I saw a couple black eyes. We get charged up. The energy is tangible. A lot of messed up people entering a room of grace = tears and laughter.