Hic Sunt Dragones

 

Hic Sunt Dragones

 

 

 

In the Medieval ages cartographers were the penultimate scientist, explorers and engineers. Cartography was so important because as the world, and the awareness of it grew, so did the need for accurate navigation and understanding. However, even in the medieval ages our understanding of the world around us was capped at some point. There would be places that no one had gone on the map, or if they had they never returned. When a cartographer did not know what was there they would write Hic Sunt Dragones which means “Here be dragons.”

 

 

 

 

The statement, while emphatic and factual sounding, is really inaccurate. A Dragon represented the unknown or the fact that something of power was there but they did not know what. I am sure that looking at the map would deter anyone but the bravest of souls to wade into the unknown territory. I am pretty sure anyone who did told Momma they were just going to be gone a few weeks because she would definitely have something to say about it if she knew the truth.

 

As Christians today we do the same thing. So often we take a stance towards culture and people of Hic Sunt Dragones and we culturally disengage from the map. Instead of engaging with the culture around us, we disengage and create a culture of our own. We speak “Christianese” and listen to the same Rock music the “World” listens to, only once in awhile they use the name Jesus. It is no more edifying than just about anything else.

 

The verse that is so often quoted about why we should create or own culture is Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV) However, we often do not look hard at the next verse; “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3 (NIV) I am afraid we have become arrogant as a church and we have so disengaged from culture that we have honored the first verse while ditching the second one all together.

 

I have lived a lot of life over the last 10 years. Married life, Fatherhood, Missionary, Pastor, Chronically ill, employed, unemployed, underemployed…the list goes on and on. At each point in my journey though I can honestly say I have felt loved by my Christian friends, but even more so blessed by those who are at different points on the map. I love these people dearly. I appreciate each person for the gift that they are.

 

God calls us to engage in culture, not rewrite it. We have stories to tell, funds to be offered, grace to be administered and joy unspeakable to witness to the world about. We need to engage in the culture with a prophetic voice, not a political one. We need to exercise our talents not just in the church, but in the culture at large. We need to show the world Jesus in the eyes of the artist, the musician, the school teacher, the doctor and so forth. We are prophetic culture makers, not pathetic culture copiers.

 

As I engage in different activities and have conversations with other people of different persuasions I do not lose my faith, it is enlivened. If you honestly open your mind to look at the world and see the beauty in it you will not lose your faith, you will find it! As Christians we know that the world may be flawed, it may fall short and be sinful, but we also bear witness to the fact that the universe is fundamentally powered by the love of God for his creation.

 

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 (NIV)

 

The above verse is a tall order to fill without a doubt. But I believe it is attainable. As we work within the culture and create culture we bear witness to the power of mercy, we show that in all the failings of the world that justice is still a powerful thing and that even the most hardened person can experience justice and mercy. The last one, to walk humbly, is the greatest challenge any one of us will ever face. However, the Proverbs are full of statements about walking humbly being the beginning place for knowledge and wisdom from the Holy. I want that, and so should all believers.

 

~Selah


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Losing Center, Losing me!

Losing Center

Several years ago, while in the throes of illness and the constant discord of conflicting streams of information I started to begin to lose track of time. What the date was, what was expected of me on that date, where I was supposed to go and so on. For a person such as myself, who usually prides himself on keeping it together in the toughest of circumstances it was very disconcerting. As a trained Paramedic I regularly was put in situations where I was the one cool and rational mind. When all is chaos, I would be expected to be the calm and collected one. To add to my frustrations, my wife was epileptic and on a “zombie drug” to keep her seizures at bay and we were quite a pair.

During this time my son was in first and second grade. He was just learning to tell time and develop his sense of place in it and he was being called upon to help his poor mom and dad keep it together. He is a marvelous boy for many reasons, but that was a blessing.

When we lose our sense of place in time and/or space it is disconcerting because the rationalistic side of who we are is left in the dark. The “I” and “me” meld into the “who” and “where” questions of life. In this way it is humbling, (and humiliating) to admit that you do not have the faculties to take care of yourself in the manner which you need to.

Now, three years later, I find myself in a similar space. I am not near as sick as I was, and Amy is doing remarkable in every sense of the word. Metaphorically speaking however we are in this space again. We have made a difficult decision to leave our former church home, many of our closest friends have moved, divorced, or are so busy with life that we do not have the friendship that we once had. It is easy to once again say I want… or I need… or I could… but I hope to not be so focused on the me, and more focused on the we.

Looking back on my illness has caused me to be grateful for many things. But I am learning to be even more grateful for “loosing center” for a time because I again must begin to rely upon others. Things such as; wisdom from friends, prayer, and a lot of silence and cultivated listening. I learned before to stop and give thanks for the small things, and then even the smaller things. Once I did the big things just fell into place.

Today, as I lose center for a time I give thanks. I give thanks for home hearth and health. But I also give thanks for the wind and the trees, the snow that I love to hate and the bugs that surely annoy. Without these things much of life would be different. I remember that those things which I do not understand are perfectly timed and understood in the hands of my Mighty Father who is faithful and just and who knows just what I need, just when I need it.

~Selah

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The Tragedy of Arthur

The Tragedy of Arthur by William Shakespeare: The First Modern Edition of His Lost Play, with an Introduction and Notes by Arthur PhillipsThe Tragedy of Arthur by William Shakespeare: The First Modern Edition of His Lost Play, with an Introduction and Notes by Arthur Phillips by Arthur Phillips

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is not for those who like the story to be tidy and everyone walks off into the sunset happy. This is a great story about a man trying to live out of the shadow of his father.



I enjoy Shakespeare and that is what got my attention in part. The rest of the story is what kept me reading. I read it slowly because the story hurts. It is reality, in all the hormone driven, fear driven glory.



I will not give away the ending. However, in an end befitting Shakespeare himself you find yourself hoping for closure and that the story does turn out all right.



I like redemptive story. I hope Arthur finds his redemption and that one day they will truly live a fairytale ending.





View all my reviews

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Lindsay Lohan, G.I. Joe and The Filioque

“A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.” 
Truman Capote

The last few weeks have been filled with pyrrhic victories for me. I have had some nice recognition at work, and for a few other things going on and I must say they have been nice. However, if I am shamefully honest with myself about them I probably sought after the recognition just a little bit too much. This is a painful admission, but one I must come to terms with if I am to grow past it and through it. When I set my mind to mastering something at work, in school, or just about any other endeavor I want to master it to the full potential. When I feel that I am not getting noticed, or that people are apathetic about it I begin to languish. My Father knows my work, and it is in him I must find the rest and recognition.

In order to help set my mind back into a passive state I have been doing my best to have good conversations with people, but let them lead the conversation as much as possible. It is almost a form of spiritual direction, but more for the director than the directed. This is hard for me because often as I listen I have an opinion or idea formulating and I want to let it loose and see what people think. However, I quickly have learned that by setting myself, my ego if you wish to call it that, to the side that I have had some wonderful conversations. Some have been brief coffee talk conversations, and others have been four hour marathons with my wife. All have been enlightening.

One of the things I lack, and I believe society as a whole is very deficient in is the art of conversation. I know this might seem a little bit like a curmudgeon talking, but the more and more I am aware of what is being said, the more and more I believe we talk to engage in a transaction and not a mutual strengthening. I come to our conversation wanting something, you want something and we all negotiate for what we want. Our interests are first, and if we want to be Christ like we need to be last. Conversations should be a time when we are not doing a cost benefit analysis of our time and our efforts. Conversations should be to the mutual edification of those involved.

I work in a call center environment. Almost all of my conversations with those I serve are quick and concise and a financial transaction takes place and the job is done. While this may be the paragon of efficiency, it is not edifying, at least not much. However, in order to serve our growing needs as a ministry this is something that must be continually cultivated. The trick is to get out of that mindset when at home, at church, preaching, etcetera.

A book I recently read called The Lost Art of Reading by David Ulin has a wonderful statement in it. He says “We live in an era where everyone wants to tell his or her story, but there is no real sense of what story is anymore.” This quote resonates with me because it certainly applies to me. As long as I can not engage in conversation and communication with humility of mind, peace in my heart and without the intention of “winning the argument” I am at a loss, and we are at a loss as a society if we do not cultivate good conversation. I believe we are afraid that if we engage in conversation without a pre set criterion that we might not get our point across. This should not always be the point of conversation.

As I have put myself aside in these conversations I have found myself having interesting, and even fulfilling, conversations about all sorts of things. Lindsay, G.I. Joe and The Filioque. I have learned a little bit about each of them, and “knowing is half the battle”.

~Selah

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Justice is?

I will be honest, I did not watch the trial with eyes wide open of Casey Anthony. I have better things to do, and quite frankly, I just burned my 80 dollar a month Direct TV subscription. I have not missed it a bit. Part of the reason I let it go is because I have begun to recognize how television has shaped my own beliefs and habits. I do not like that at all, and Jacob is 9 and I was starting to see it in him so it is gone.

What has happened in America that makes us all think that we can weigh in and say justice was served, or not served yesterday? Were we in the courtroom the whole time? Were we selected to sit on the jury and listen to each carefully presented piece of evidence? Now that pretty much the whole world is on Twitter or Facebook we feel we have a built in platform for our opinions. The ability to persuade and opine with influence is not something we have as an “inalienable right”, it is something that is purchased with hard work, focus on the issues and humility.

A few take aways:

1) I am  very much encouraged that with all that is going on around us and the deadening influences in our lives getting louder and louder that we still cry for justice. The blood is still speaking from the ground into our ears saying you can not get away with what you did. Not only for The Anthony trial, but in corporate board rooms, in churches, and in all arenas of life we are saying “stop, you can not do that!”. A cry for justice is built into who we are. It is part of our spiritual and social D.N.A., and for this I am thankful.

2) We can still freely provide the opinions to all and not get jailed as someone who is a usurper and trouble maker. In reality, the same document that provides “innocent until proven guilty” gives us the freedom of speech and press that lets us weigh in with opinions in matters not our own.

3) The fact that we are weighing in on the trial, and not the media bias on the trial means that the media is doing an excellent job keeping us from engaging with them with critical debate and open eyes. We assume, to our fault, that the presence of a camera does not in any way change an outcome. A camera is not a neutral bystander. A camera means someone is on film, someone is not completely focused on the trial, but on how the trial looks. Justice is a sometimes messy, painful endeavor. I am sure that certain portions of the trial were not televised because they did not want to show the tears, the pain, and the things that do not sell on T.V.

I remember, although I was a little bit young to think about the reverberations at the time, the D.A. in the O.J. Simpson trial being criticized one day on the news for her hair. Shortly there after she changed her hair do. That may seem trivial in comparison to you, but it is a symptom of the overall problem I believe.

Many people much smarter then me have said clearer and more coherent things about this. I just am appalled at how many people say justice was not served, when in fact it may have worked just perfectly.

I found this opinion piece to be very well done. This is the kind of justice system that I am thankful to be part of. I could have been born into the Dalit’s of India who get no justice, been born an Afghan girl who probably would not live to adult hood, or a invalid born in a 3rd word country and killed before justice was even a thought for me.

Freedom and Justice are not American ideals, they are foundational to the Christian life as well. Freedom and Justice for the captives, the poor, the oppressed and the needy. Lets utilize our freedoms on behalf of them, and worry a little bit less about who goes free and who does not. All justice is divine justice, we are instruments in the hands of God. Sometimes we miss the mark, but God never does.

~Selah~

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What do you say when…

The news that Osama was assasinated did not ring in my ears until Monday morning, well after the announcement of his demise. I do not stay up late on most nights, and the message came in the form of a newsflash on my Blackberry. Unlike many I did not rejoice, I did not buy into the false notion that all our problems were now solved. All I asked myself was one question “How do I tell Jacob?”

My son is 9 years old, and born in September. He will forever have the distinction that he was born in the same month of the World Trade Center explosion. On that day our nation felt the vulnerability of being attacked, I was feeling the vulnerability of a father of a 7 day old son and waging a herculean war with the questions that inevitably come in the night. Questions such as “what the heck was I thinking bringing this life into this world?” “What is my son’s world going to look like?” And finally, “How do I teach my son not to hate those whom are different from us?”

My hear right now is spending time trying to reconcile scriptures such as Proverbs 11:10 which says when “the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy!” and Ezekiel 18:23 which says “Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live.”

I know that the Bible is full of nations being used to judge nations. God smites evil and depravity which means he is ultimately a God of Justice. This is the God I love. However, how do we presume, culturally speaking, that we were the ones who should execute that judgment?

As a Father I believe I have the opportunity, and the mandate to tell Jacob a few important things. Unfortunately, they are counter our culture today.

1) God is the ultimate Judge. (1 Cor 15:24-25) The ultimate determination of what is evil is in the hand of God. The ultimate demise of the dominion of evil is in the Lords hands. All our hope in Christianity is summed up in this knowledge.

2) It is O.K. to rejoice in Justice. We are divinely created and imbued with God’s D.N.A. spiritually speaking (Gen 1:27). God is Love, and therefore just. It is a slippery slope to say his death was justice or not. But we can rejoice that the world has gotten just a little bit of relief, and that there are people working tirelessly for good. Sometimes we forget this.

3) Humility. We should not be going around crooning to everyone that we shot Osama, or that we were God’s choosen instrument for his judgement. We should not even presume it was God who wanted us to shoot him. As much as it is painful to think, he was Imago Dei as well. Destoying the creation of God is not something we should ever find glory in.

In the end I hope that Jacob will understand Micah 6:8;

8He has told you, O man, what is good;
         And what does the LORD require of you
         But to do justice, to love kindness,
         And to walk humbly with your God”

If he grows to learn, discern,and practice the above, my life as his father will be complete. If I can do what the above requires, I hope my heavenly father is pleased.

~Peace be with you

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Echo’s of me!

I still am holding to the foolish notion that my life is mine to control. As hard as I work to yield and be still, I end up stammering and being the fool. Such is the life of Carl as of late.

We have had lots of changes in our life, none particularly bad, none particularly great, but all are just accumulating and forcing change upon me. Change is welcome most of the time, but lately it has been a real bear. This has made me a bit bitter and gaulful. However, by the grace of God I am going to be a better person.

What has been tangling me up as of late is my calling into Pastoral work. I attend a wonderful, God fearing, community loving church. I could see myself in a heart beat working in and alongside this church. I have been volunteering faithfully for almost 3 years, spending the last year or so preaching at a church we have agreed to shepherd. A lot of my spiritual energy has gone into that, and less into this space. (That is my story, and I am sticking to it.)

It has never been told me outright, or promised in any way that I would be on staff there. I have never been under a false impression that they would hire me at my soonest availablity….But… we started with 3 pastors on staff, and as of yesterday are down to 1. The latest was our executive/worship Pastor. He will be replaced with an “administrator”, but not a pastor. We are a church of 3 to 5 hundred, and need administrative, and pastoral giftings.

I had always assumed that my time working in the ministry I do would be a stopping place on my way to the Pulpit. It is a great place to make a decent living, to not go home so overwhelmed about, but lately it has been frustrating me to the deepest levels. I am having trouble finding the balance of working my hardest and best, all the while knowing that my call is to the pulpit, and that one day that call will come to full fruition.

The point of this post is to not kvetch I promise, but to ask for advice. Some of you out there work in ministry, are Pastors, or are just plain smart. How do you balance your vocation and your work? I hate drawing a line between the two. Our work as Christians is all kingdom work, and I understand that. But my passions are split and my mind is more and more cluttered.

One part of me wants to say I am offended and go in search of another church. That side is very western, and ultimately wrong. I commit, to a body of believers, to be discipled, to disciple others, and to grow in Christ. I do not leave a church lightly, or easily. I, in my heart of hearts, believe that the church will end up needing at least one more Pastor on staff, sooner then later I think. We are a growing church in a very needy area of town. I want to be committed to this church, but not because I hope to one day be a Pastor there, meanwhile I piss away all my life waiting and never seeing it. If I am holding to that vision of myself, my myopic reality is going to come crashing in on me. I do not mind navelgazing, but not for an entire lifetime.

At times when I pray over my choosen vocation God reminds me that he called me, but did not promise a Paycheck. I can live with that if I know that is my lot in life. I will continue doing what  I do at the ministry I work at, all-the-while acknowledging it is God’s choosen provision for me. I could work at much worse jobs for much less pay.

When I reach the end of my days, I want the echo of my life to be sweet and meliflous. I want people to say “Carl was sold out for God. He was a good husband, father, and a most excellent friend and teacher”. Lately, I am not sure where that means I will end up, but I appreciate your feedback and advise in the matter.

When I am gone and all my life erased

where will I live, what will be my legacy?

Echo’s of me will reverberate, all through

the walls of eternity.

Remember me wise, remember me fair,

remember me when I had a full head of hair.

Speak kindly of me, as I did of you

There are Echo’s of me, Echo’s of you

All throughout eternity.

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Silence is?


?”It is in silence that we habitually release our own agendas and our own need to control and become more willing and able to give ourselves to God’s loving initiative. In silence we create space for God’s activity instead of filling every moment with our own.” ~Ruth Haley Barton

Lack of Silence is an endemic problem in our culture. As I sit here at Starbucks I hear music playing over the sound system, people all around me are talking, the barista’s are calling out coffee orders and a whole litany of other things is taking place. No one is intentionally sitting as Starbucks trying to cultivate silence. This is a macrocosm of our problems in general as a society. We do not cultivate a quiet heart, a peaceful mind, and a slower pace of life. We are afraid if we do that we would be seen as lazy, as introverted, or as someone who is not productive.

The Belief that we must be productive at all times is a lie that comes straight

From the Devil himself.

1 Kings 19: 1-19 (msg)

1-2 “Ahab reported to Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the massacre of the prophets. Jezebel immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat: “The gods will get you for this and I’ll get even with you! By this time tomorrow you’ll be as dead as any one of those prophets.” 3-5 When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beersheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day’s journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: “Enough of this, God! Take my life—I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!” Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush. Suddenly an angel shook him awake and said, “Get up and eat!”6 He looked around and, to his surprise, right by his head were a loaf of bread baked on some coals and a jug of water. He ate the meal and went back to sleep.7 The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, “Get up and eat some more—you’ve got a long journey ahead of you.”8-9 He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb. When he got there, he crawled into a cave and went to sleep.

    Then the word of God came to him: “So Elijah, what are you doing here?”

10 ”I’ve been working my heart out for the God-of-the-Angel-Armies,” said Elijah. “The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me.” 11-12 Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.”A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.13-14 When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, “So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?” Elijah said it again, “I’ve been working my heart out for God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, because the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed your places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me.”

 15-18 God said, “Go back the way you came through the desert to Damascus. When you get there anoint Hazael; make him king over Aram. Then anoint Jehu son of Nimshi; make him king over Israel. Finally, anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Anyone who escapes death by Hazael will be killed by Jehu; and anyone who escapes death by Jehu will be killed by Elisha. Meanwhile, I’m preserving for myself seven thousand souls: the knees that haven’t bowed to the god Baal, the mouths that haven’t kissed his image.”19 Elijah went straight out and found Elisha son of Shaphat in a field where there were twelve pairs of yoked oxen at work plowing; Elisha was in charge of the twelfth pair. Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak over him.”

Why Did God have Elijah go so far, and for so long, before He spoke clearly with him? Elijah had been faithful to what God told him to do. His altar to God, drenched in water, was just consumed by God. It was an incredible show of God’s power, and it made the idol worshipping culture he was in mad. They were searching him out actively so that he could be killed just like the other prophets had been.

  1. Elijah’s heart was troubled and burdened. So often we must be quiet before the Lord in order to hear from him. (Psalm 46:10) Be Still, or another translation says “cease striving”…and know that I am God! We must be able to be still in order to hear God at the depths he wants to speak. Sure, he speaks through other circumstances, and in times and places that are active and loud. But, in order to understand deeply the things God wants to show you, stopping and listening, and not doing anything under your own power is very important.
  2. Elijah did not feel he was in a safe space. We must feel that we are safe and loved and cared for if we are going to truly go deep with God. He needed to get far from the troubles that were pressing in on him so his mind would not get in the way of communion with God.

Why did God have the rushing wind of the Hurricane and earthquake and the fire go before he spoke to Elijah? I believe God wanted to show Elijah that all the evil in the world, all the things that we happening around him were not what God wanted him to listen too. As humans, it is so very easy to get focused on the short term circumstances around us and think that God has lost control of the circumstances of our life. We are the first rats to abandon ship when we think that the ship is sinking. Our immediate circumstances often determine our long term outlook on life. We must stop doing that.

What does silence accomplish for our spiritual lives?

  1. When we are silent for a time with God we cease our striving for the voice of God, and allow God to speak on his terms, in his ways, and to the very depths of our soul and our mind.
  2. When we get quiet our minds will bring forward a lot of things that we sometimes do not realize we are dwelling on every day. Our mind might bring forward finances, friends, grades, anything that is nettlesome to our hearts and minds. This is part of the reason we do not like silence, because we must battle with the issues that our egos suppress during the day. It took Elijah, a prophet of God, 40 days to hear that voice. To be a prophet by definition means you hear the voice of God and you then obey what you hear. He should be a professional at hearing the voice of God, but instead it took 40 days to hear him fully.
  3. Silence will eventually accomplish humility in our hearts and minds. With humility will come wisdom, and with wisdom favor, and with favor the blessings of God, and with God’s blessings the world gets a whole lot easier. Proverbs 15:33 NASB “The fear of the LORD is instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility”
  4. Silence signals that we want God, more than anything else, to be in control of the life that we lead. Taking time to cultivate silence, to allow God to use that silence to commune with us, signals the spiritual world that there is one person in control, and that person is God.

Silence is not easy. Some of the things that work against us choosing silence and solitude are:

  1. Technology. Our computers, smart phones, Kindles and I-pods enable us to multi task like never before. We can be very productive when we use these things, but it works against being quiet and not “accomplishing” anything by the world’s standards.
  2. Societal expectations. We are expected from a young age to be studious students, do all our chores, memorize scripture and be appropriating all our time in a “constructive” manner. God does not expect that of us, He expects us to commune with him. We were built in the Garden of Eden to be in communion with him and to have fellowship.
  3. Flawed understanding of what progress is. We believe progress is a collective issue. “Societal progress,” “economic progress,” and so on all indicates our progress as a whole unit. We need to progress as individuals first before we can progress as a unit is a truly successful manner. If we cannot be whole, healthy and well adjusted as individuals, as a whole we will have deeper problems that are more endemic than we realize.

 

Please take this sheet of paper. Over the next week I challenge you to spending 30 minutes in silence, and solitude. Do not take your cell phone; you’re I-pod, or anything that will distract you. As you get quiet, pay attention to your thoughts; write down as many of them as you can on the provided sheet of paper. When you are done, fold it up and put it in the attached envelope that is titled “My concerns”. Finally, stick them away in your bible or someplace safe.

As you cultivate quiet times with God more and more often you will find those concerns mean less and less and they will stop polluting your heart and mind so much. I will not say they all go away entirely, but I will say God will give you the resources and heart knowledge to deal with them effectively.

At some point into the future, open that envelope. Ask yourself, do these things still matter? What has God given me to deal with these issues? I bet he shows you some great things.

 

~Selah~

 

 

 

 

My thoughts and concerns

May 2011

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Zombie Love!

This is the message I am going to share with a bunch of Korean children this Sunday. I realize, using the word Zombie is pandering, but YOU try and keep 20 Koran kids interested for 30 to 40 minutes! ~Carl

Lamenting in Love

Or why zombies never lament.

“12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.  14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.” Romans 12: 12-16

 

What does it mean to lament? To lament means to suffer with another, or to bear another person’s burdens for a time. It means to share in the suffering of another. When Paul says to “Mourn with those who mourn” He is telling us to spend some time in the world of another person, to enter into the pain and suffering they are feeling.

 

Have you ever suffered? Have you ever felt pain? Of course, we all have to one degree or another in our lives. And if you have not, you will. Sometime something is going to happen and you will find yourself mourning, as Christians we are told to be there for each other and for those in our spheres of influence when we experience injustice, pain, loss of a loved one etcetera. We are not to turn a blind eye.

 

Point 1

Jesus asks us to enter into another person’s pain, not solve the pain

That they are experiencing!

John 11: 17-43

 

We are people blessed with material wealth. This causes us to think that we can solve all the poor’s problems with the wealth we already have and sharing it. There is a time and a place for sharing our wealth, but Jesus was not seen redistributing wealth while he was alive, but having compassion, and giving of himself in all that He did. Jesus gave us the present of his presence, not the present of Gold and Jewels.

 

Why did Jesus not immediately heal Lazarus before he even died? We know he could have said the word and Lazarus would have been healed.

I believe that he did not heal Lazarus right away because he wanted to enter into suffering with Mary and the family. He wanted to teach them what it meant to lament. In this passage even Jesus wept! He wept over the loss of Lazarus, he wept over the lack of understanding of the Jews. Ultimately he wiped away all the tears of those involved.

 

(A zombie can only to one thing, cause chaos. Zombies do not love, they do not hate, and they can only pillage and plunder and make that which is orderly chaotic)

 

Point 2

We can commiserate with the pain of this world and we do not have to

Travel half way across the world to do it.

 

When we pray for the poor, for the persecuted, for the dispossessed and the downtrodden; we are making ourselves spiritually present in their lives. We are entering into the world they inhabit for a time and sharing the burden and the pain.

Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. (Rom 12:16)

The enemy of our prayers for our brothers and sisters in pride. Any time we think a thought that makes us seem better than those around us, or we think that we would never be like the other person we drive a wedge in between our ability to lament with others, ourselves, and ultimately Christ.

When you are hurt, what makes you feel better? The person who comes along and tells you that you are stupid and you should have not done what you did, or the person who comes along, helps you clean up the mess and spends time with you in your pain?

The more time we spend with others in their pain

The more we witness to the power of Christ and the Love that

He has for them!

We can enter into the suffering of another by making the conscientious decision to fast.  When we fast we deny ourselves so that others may be filled. We make the decision “Less of me for more of them”

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
   and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
   and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
   and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
   and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
   and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[
a] will go before you,
   and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
   you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

The more we fast, and use the fasting to the glory of God the more we will see the healing hand of God in our lives, in the lives of our loved ones, in our communities. God will say “Here I am” at our every call. He will make himself known to us in deeper and deeper ways, and he will enter into deeper communion with you, with those who you pray for and for those who are around you! You will have Holy Spirit pouring out all over! People will want to be around you because you bless them. How cool!

(A Zombie can only obey the lusts of the flesh. Zombies have no communion with God, with others and live a very lonely existence. They are not alive, but not dead. When we fast we can deny our fleshly desires in service of the one greater than us. Zombies have no such choice.)

 

When we lament properly we are entering into the suffering of others. A lament is never focused on ourselves (ohh, woest me, I am so…) When we fill our prayer times with I and me and not thee and thy will be done, we become myopic and our world shrinks. God wants to hear our concerns, but with balance.

When we lament properly we fulfill the greatest commandment. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:33)

(Zombies know no love, only lust and desire. They cannot work to the good of another; they cannot love, because they cannot do anything for another person. Everything they do they do for themselves)

Are you a zombie, or are you someone who knows and shares the presence of Jesus by living and loving with those around you and around the world?

~Selah~

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So I…

So I could make excuses, lame ones at best, as to the reasons this blog has been at rest.

Hollow they would sound, and pointles they would be, but here and now I assure thee… I love my readers… all three!

Patience is a virtue, this I am told. Virtous behavior, is not a strong point in me. But Thee my dear three, be patient with me. Show mercy, compassion, and know I love thee!

More to come, and more there shall be. I shall discipline my mind, and put my heart on full roar.

Until then, bless thee dear reader may ye find much rest!

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