Getting Radical....

I have started reading RADICAL upon the recommendation of Jack Crowley and the Men's Group at Crossroads Mennonite Church....

The first 2 questions to turn over in my head:

1. Have I settled "for a Christianity that revolves around catering to myself when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning myself?"
2. Do I love the God of the Bible or the one that I have made Him to be in my mind?

More tomorrow....

http://www.radicalthebook.com/

Today I pause ...

in the calm before the storm... to reflect on 3 months north of Lancaster. in many ways (like referring to Lancaster, WSM, or CMC as home) it seems as if we are still there. We maintain connections with family, friends, church, and conference. We still visit, and worship, and serve (although Skype makes it easier to daydream during Leadership Team meetings) with our friends in Lancaster and as we get set to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, we are forever grateful for the family, friends, brothers and sisters we have drawn near to and embraced over the last 12+ years of our married life and my 17+ years in a place where I came to know grace and mercy....

Thanksgiving this year will be different in that we will celebrate it, around the table with most of our kids (not all) and I won't be sitting down rooting for the Lions and whoever is playing Dallas (annoying the heck out of my brother in law, nephews, and all other haters of the Iggles - another holiday tradition), but we will be establishing new traditions, in a new house, in a new town, without the comforting embrace of friends and family that I used to wear like a worn sweater, threadbare around the sleeves, but too comfortable and warm to give up....

For that I also am truly thankful, for as in the breaking in of a new sweater (or pair of jeans, or sneakers) there is that period where you just do not see how this will fit, how you will ever be comfortable in it, or how it will ever be able to replace what was - that in the perseverance we learn gratitude...

Gratitude for what was and for what is and what will be...

And so I wear the new well, embracing the change of color and texture, grateful for the baggage that has been cast aside that lets me slip into a smaller size, and hopeful that the lessons of the past will transform the future...

they have already changed the present....

Peace and Quiet...

That moment in time between when you realized the kids aren't playing anymore and have FINALLY nodded off to sleep and the first one gets up to start the endless stream of trips to the bathroom or your bedroom.....
Or that 15 minutes when everyone in the office is so engrossed in their own email and facebook status that you actually feel like you can accomplish something significant.....
or that 10 minutes in the sanctuary before the kids are dismissed from Sunday School and the Worship team kicks into their prelude to rouse the slumbering troops in a call to worship...

Usually when we think of peace it is directly related to quiet, to stillness (whether in our house or in the accompanying surroundings - like the homes of Steelers fans after another Tom Brady whooping) to the absence of turmoil and noise.....

Yet, I wonder.. in the midst of another day dealing with interpersonal relationships, staff conflicts and issues, programmatic guidelines and standards, adult children, young children, grandchildren, and the greatest wife in the world is this really the peace that Jesus promised.... that at the end of the day there would be enough absence of noise and turmoil I would be able to enjoy an Eagles victory over the Redskins?? Or, is it really something more... something deeper and more profound.....

Most likely, you are there ahead of me in your understanding of that peace... That you and Jesus have already hashed out that place where peace reigns in your heart, in your spirit - regardless of the circumstances or the trials. For me... today, I am trying to wrestle with Jesus - trying to get the blessing of understanding how peace could permeate my environment when there is so much injustice, so many poor choices and so many -isms that need to be addressed and seeminly not enough time, energy, or intellect to accomplish it... Where is the peace in human suffering? It cannot be in ignoring it, so how do I experience peace with tears streaming down my face knowing the person eating dinner with me will crawl into an abandoned building tonight with his wife and hope that the blankets and body heat will keep them until morning...

Where is the peace I need to sleep without seeing their faces in my dreams....

From LEAD LIKE JESUS comes this devotional....

When we give our heart to the Lord it is an amazing act of faith. When we yield our entire body to Him it is a devoted offering of submission. The Lord's standard is righteousness and He longs to use our entire being to implement His ways. From our heart comes our motive, but from our bodies - action. He gives us free choice as to how we will use our bodies - either for our own selfish desires, or for His glorious works.

Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. Romans 6:13

Prayer: Dear Lord, I submit myself to You to be used as an instrument of righteousness in Your hand. All that I am I offer before You. Purify me and make me usable for Your glory. In Jesus' Name, Amen!

Found this today...

Praying the 6 "D's"

from Desiring God Blog (Author: Jon Bloom)

A few years back I wrote about the 5 "D's" I pray for daily. Recently, I added a sixth: desperation. I need to feel continually my desperate need for God.

Whatever it takes, Lord, give me...

Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.
Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Desire to know you, be with you, and seek your kingdom above all else.
Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

Discernment that comes from a renewed mind that I might know your will.
But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

Desperation because when I stop feeling my need for you I tend to wander.
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. (Psalm 119:67)

Discipline to plan for what I discern as your will.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Diligence to do your will with all my heart.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

From Tim Stevens at "Living Smart"... Are you everything your boss needs you to be?

Your Boss Needs You To Be…: "

I don’t care if you work for a church, a business, or a factory. I guarantee you, your boss needs you to be…

1. A Momentum-Increaser — don’t make your boss be the only one pulling up the attitude and bringing energy to the workplace.


2. A Values-Champion — No one should live out the values of the organization more than you do.


3. A Silo-Destroyer — sniff out and destroy the silos that exist in departments throughout the organization. Make sure everyone is more committed to the macro vision than their micro project.


4. A Straight-Talker — don’t engage in triangle conversations or put-downs of your team or leaders.


5. A Generous-Giver — okay, this one is specific to working at a church, but I would never work for a church where I didn’t believe in it enough to give as much as I possibly could.


6. An Innovative-Thinker — be solution-oriented. Don’t just come to your boss with problems, but also solutions. Your attitude should be, “Economy tough? Less staff? Lower budget? No problem, we’ll figure out a way to get through this!”


7. A Loyal-Friend — you don’t have to hang out together, but he needs to know you are “for” him. If put in a corner, your boss knows you would defend her.


8. A Back-Protector — always believe the best. Always.


9. An Integrity-Keeper — you are who you are when no one is looking. Your boss needs you to have great character.


10. An Unbelievable-Spouse and Effective Parent — the strength of your leadership and effectiveness comes from your leadership at home.


11. A Lifelong Learner — read books, study other best practices, learn, learn, learn–then come back and apply it to your organization.


12. An Equipping-Leader…not a Satisfied-Doer — You should be building teams and reproducing teams. Take delight in the success of your team more than your own success!

What else would you add to this list? Which one is most difficult for you?

"

Rejoice

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Phil 4:4

Rejoicing...
Deep...
- penetrating...
- springing up from the depths and washing over and through all that I am or wish to be...

Rooted in all He is, all He has done, all He has made me to be, and all He will ever be for me...

Rejoicing is cheering, laughing, weeping (yes weeping), praising, singing, shouting, applauding...
- all in movement with the spirit - unleashed within -communing with The Spirit, His Spirit
- calling
- drawing
- comforting
- healing
Rejoicing - lasting longer than the game, the event, or the moment ...
- True rejoicing - lasting a lifetime - embracing all we are and all we will experience....

Today... rejoice!

Something to smile about...

The First Kiss
At the end of their first date, a young man in a bygone era took his favorite girl home. He decided to try for that important first kiss. With an air of confidence, he leaned his hand against the wall, smiled, and said, "How about a good night kiss?"
"Are you crazy?" she said. "My parents will see us!"
"Oh, come on! Who's gonna see us at this hour?"
"No, please. Can you imagine if we get caught?"
"Come on, they're all sleeping!"
"No way. It's too risky!"
"Please, please, please. I like you so much."
"No, no, no. I like you too, but I just can't!"
"Oh yes you can. Please?"
"No, no. I just can't."
"Pleeeeease?. . ."
Then to their surprise, the porch light went on, the door opened, and there stood the girl's sister, hair disheveled, in her pajamas. In a sleepy voice she said, "Dad says to go ahead and give him a kiss. Or I can do it. If need be, dad will come down himself and do it. Whatever you do, tell your date to take his hand off the intercom button."
—Keith Todd, www.sermonfodder.com; source: sem-joke@yahoogroups.com

IN-spection

I asked my friend Jack to give me a word that I could use as a jump off for a blog .... Here is what he sent me:

"inspection" - I gotta take my car to the garage later today...

Now with the new one, it's a very different experience, but with our old cars, the day I dropped the car off for inspection was a nerve racking one... How much will it cost this time? Is this the end of the road?

How does (or should) inspection play a role in our walk with Christ... Does self-examination make you squirm the way car inspection day does? How do you feel knowing that God can see "under your hood" all the time?

Great questions Jack... and anyone who ever rode in the Hoopdie knows what he's talking about! How do you answer them? How do you respond to a little IN-spection in your life?

94 words later, and I don't have to write the blog.... Anybody have a word for tomorrow?

Just wondering...

about John - you know the disciple often referred to by the moniker "the one that Jesus loved."

What was he thinking as he wrote the Gospel of St. John? As he replayed the scenes of his life with Jesus and the 12 stooges (of which he was one), what was going on in his mind? His heart?

Like this for example: John and James are walking with Jesus, whispering and trying to convince Jesus that they should be seated at the right hand of the Father... "ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me," they clamor - each trying to drown out the other with their shrill petitions. All the while totally oblivious to the ten men who have walked with them these past three years.

Fast forward through Jesus' rebuke to Christ on His knee's. A towel, a basin, some water gently massaging the dirt from John's feet - no longer rebuking but modeling the compassionate, service that true leadership is to emulate.... No matter the sin, no matter how dirty their feet are (and could we throw in a quick side note that here Jesus honors and blesses "THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS !" in preparation for what lied ahead for John and the others.) Jesus reached into where John is and lovingly ministers peace and grace to him.

As John remembered these thing, did he weep at the missed opportunities? Did he rejoice at the grace given and mercy overflowing?

I can imagine a little guilt, a little shame, a little embarrassment, a little regret... a lot of gratitude. The goal/outcome of this foot washing is that John, Peter, et. al. are now compelled by the love of Christ to share the Gospel of Christ everywhere it is not, yet. To boldly go where no man has gone before with a message that no man had taken before to a people who had not heard before.

What about you? Have you thought about the lessons Jesus has tried to teach you along the way? When you do, what emotions rise up from within you? And what are you compelled to do as a result?

A Powerful Prayer!

A Powerful Prayer!: "O ingenious God...
I rejoice in your creation,
and pray that your Spirit will touch me so deeply
that I will find a sense of self
which makes me glad to be who I am
and yet restless
at being anything less
than I can become.

Make me simple enough
not to be confused by disappointments,
clear enough
not to mistake busyness from freedom,
honest enough
not to expect truth to be painless,
brave enough
not to sing all my songs in private,
compassionate enough
to get in trouble,
humble enough
to admit trouble and seek help,
joyful enough
to celebrate all of it,
myself, others and you
through Christ Jesus our Lord.

From: Guerillas of Grace, Prayers for the Battle by Ted Loder

"

Anti-Independence

Anti-Independence: "I know. The title is a tad odd and maybe even controversial without an explanation.

Something happened to me on July 4 (Independence Day). God spoke to me as I prepared to lead our service that day. I realized something very deeply...

I do not want to be independent! Go read the definition of that word. Frankly, as a follower of Jesus, you would be hard pressed to make a case for independence in the Bible. But, our country, our society, our surroundings seem to be in grand favor of such an ideal. God's word neither says nor implies that God helps those who help themselves. I know what people mean (I think), but the very idea of me standing strong and alone without the need or influence of others is not what I call comforting! Not in the least.

In fact, I feel totally dependent on God and others. Actually, right now, Tricia and I feel more dependent on others than we have ever felt before.

We NEED Jesus!

We NEED community and people!

And I am not ashamed to admit it.

At the very least, we long to be interdependent! Definition: When two or more things are dependent on each other. Now, that is what I am talking about! Interdependence is not Christian welfare. It is the joining of forces to defend the faith and fight the good fight.

Aspiring to independence caused Satan's fall from heaven, Adam and Eve's sin in the garden and a myriad of other messes throughout the Scriptures and in the lives of people around us. Be careful when you wish for independence!

'Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.' -Eccles. 4:12

"

Ezra 3

Rebuilding the Altar

3:1 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, 5 and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

Rebuilding the Temple

8 Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the Lord. 9 And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers.

10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,

“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”

And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Seeing Blindly

Wondering how much my assumptions and presuppositions color my view of people and their circumstances. WHat do I see when I look at someone else? What do they see when they look at me? Do we see each other the same... or do my assumptions based upon dress, culture, or lack of indoor plumbing cause me to gain an air of superiority and stimulate me to act to solve someone else's problem.

What if they do not even know they have a problem? What if it is only my problem... my problemof perception ... does that give me the right to force/encourage/preach/teach my solution to this perceived problem unto someone else?

Hmmm...

Pressing on/into God I pray to see as Jesus sees, love as Jesus loves and experience the peace of Jesus as I walk as Jesus walked...

Wanna go along?

St Tommy and the verse....

"Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace you; through Jesus Christ our Lord."
— Thomas Aquinas

The High Priestly Prayer
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

"I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."