Brennan Manning

A Rare Random Post

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I used to do these random posts where I would go a bit stream of consciousness and write whatever immediately came to mind without any thought out plan or overall theme. It may be time to revisit that because I honestly have no ideas of what to write about.

I’m still loving my new (to me) Jeep. It’s still a bit weird having a car where all the buttons work and with no check engine light glaring at me from the dashboard. I do miss having a CD player, but I’m adjusting, believe it or not. It turns out old dogs and old Jeep drivers can learn new tricks.

I got to see my niece in a church production where she did a turn as Shirley Temple. I was astounded at how amazing she was. She didn’t just say lines and pretend to be Shirley Temple. It was like I forgot I was watching her and felt like I was really watching Shirley Temple. She has the same charismatic stage presence that my sister had at that age (and then some). One day, I will be able to say I knew her when.

I watched a video where they were discussing people in the Christian music industry who had walked away from their faith. I know it happens. I know that I can’t possibly know all that was going through their minds or in their lives when they decided not to believe any more. I can’t imagine me wanting to leave Jesus. I mean where else could I go? Who else has the words of eternal life that give everlasting hope? I know the Bible says that those who fell away went out from us because they were never truly among us, so I have to think that those who can stop being saved were never truly saved to begin with.

I’m grateful that God is faithful when I’m not. I’m glad that my eternal security doesn’t rest with me because I’d have already lost it by now. I’m thankful that good works didn’t save me and good works don’t keep me saved, but it is all Jesus from start to finish. I know that the proof of true faith is obedience, so my life should look different and there should be spiritual fruit, but I also know that if Jesus started this good work in me (and I know He did), then He will indeed finish it one day.

Happy National Pet Day to Peanut!

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Today is National Pet Day. At least it is for the next 61 minutes. By the time most of you read these words, it will have been yesterday. But still for those of us fortunate to have fur babies, every day is national pet day. At least our pets think so.

My cat Peanut (although I might as well call myself her human) is all about national pet day. She is also all about comfort. My joke is that she is 1/3 monkey, 1/3 tiny panther, and 1/3 sloth. She is that lazy.

But she is very proactive in her laziness. She will let nothing stand in the way of a prime comfy spot. Pillows? Knock ’em over. Knick knacks? Push ’em aside. Do whatever it takes to create the best napping spot possible because sleeping is priority one. That is Peanut’s life motto, I think.

You can get away with all sorts of stuff when you’re extra small and fluffy. I’m sure dog owners can attest that those puppy eyes can cover over a multitude of sins. The same goes for felines as well (though they tend to care a bit less about their transgressions than dogs).

Peanut has a good life. She gets daily belly and back massages and has her own personal servant who will maintain her food and water bowl and even scoop her poop. In return, she allows me to give her those belly rubs. She even graces me with her divine presence.

Actually, she is a very loving cat. To most people, she is shy and hides, but to a select few, she is very friendly and affectionate. She’s even quite chatty when the mood strikes.

So Happy National Pet Day to Peanut and to all those pets for whom we work all day to be able to maintain their comfortable lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.

God’s Delays

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I saw an Instagram post that basically said that sometimes delays are as much of God’s will as those things He allows and those He denies. He declared that when God makes you wait for something, either you are not ready for it or the situation is not ready for you to enter into it. The worst thing God could do is to give you what you want and the exact moment you want it the way you want it.

I’m so there. Being out of work for two months has felt like a delay. Trusting God in the middle of anxiety is difficult, but I’m learning more and more that God is faithful. Instead of pleading with God for a job, I’m thanking God in advance for the job He will provide in His own perfect timing. I’m grateful for the lessons that I can only learn in this season.

As much as I should know this by now, I need to be reminded that my identity isn’t in what I do for a living. My purpose isn’t bound up in going to a work environment for 8 hours a day. Being employed will not complete me any more than finding a spouse or anything else. I am already complete in Christ because of what He’s done for me on the cross. God still looks at me and says, “It is very good.”

God’s delays may feel like denials, but they only come because you’re not ready to receive what God is preparing for you. I don’t mean that a Maserati or a yacht or a super mansion is ready for you if you have the right amount of faith. I mean a future where you step into God’s bigger purposes for you and the world.

May we all learn to wait well and expectantly.

Hope in the Dark

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“There are times when everything looks very dark to me——-so dark that I have to wait before I have hope.Waiting with hope is very difficult,but true patience is expressed when we must even wait for hope. When we see no hint of success but refuse to despair, when we see nothing but the darkness of night through our window yet keep the shutters open because stars may appear in the sky, and when we hav an empty place in our heart yet will not allow it to be filled with anything less then God’s best—- that is the greatest kind of patience in the universe. It is the story of Job in the midst of the storm,Abraham on the road to Moriah, Moses in the desert of Midian, and the Son of Man in the garden of Gethsemane. There is no patience as strong as that which endures because we see ‘him who is invisible'(Hebrews 11:27) It is the kind of patience that waits for hope.

Dear Lord, You have made waiting beautiful and patience divine.You have taught us that Your will should be accepted, simply because it is Your will. You have revealed to us that a person may see nothing but sorrow in his cup yet still be willing to drink it because of a conviction that Your eyes see further then his own.

Father, give me Your divine power—- the power of Gethsemane. Give me the strength to wait for hope—to look through the window when there are no stars. Even when my joy is gone, give me strength to stand victoriously in the darkest night and say, ‘To my Heavenly Father, the sun still shines’. I will have reached the point of greatest strength once I have learned to wait for hope. Strive to be one of the few who walk this earth with the ever present realization– every morning ,noon, an night that the unknown that people call heaven is directly behind those things that are visible. (Galatians 5:5 ) By faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope” (George Matheson).

Squinting in a Fog

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Today will go down in history as the Day of the Eclipse. Supposedly, today’s eclipse will be the last one I’ll be able to witness until roughly around 2044. So I definitely wanted to take advantage of this one.

There I was in a prime viewing spot with proper eclipse glasses in hand — later on face when the actual event took place. The only issue was the continual cloudy sky that prevented me from getting a really good glimpse of this solar event.

For a moment, I didn’t think I’d be able to see anything. But as the cloud covering moved across the sky, the eclipse peeked briefly though those clouds from time to time. I was able to see, but not very clearly, so the whole experience was not as good as 2017 when I experienced the whole thing from start to finish.

Life is like that. The Bible speaks about how we now see through a mirror dimly. We experience God through the haze of our own sin and the limitations of our own finite frailty. We are disconnected from the big picture, only able to catch brief glimpses that are sometimes obscured as if by fog or clouds.

But one day, the Bible says, we will see face to face and will know fully as we are fully known by God instead of only knowing in part. We will see our story as God sees it now. Then we will understand. Then we will worship.

“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!” (1 Corinthians 13:12, The Message).

A Good Quote About Life

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“As for me, I’ve tasted a little from every cup and grown through all of it. I have loved until I ached from loving, and wept until my heart was sick of tears. I have known life in all of its chaotic complexity and utter simplicity, its outrageous gains and tragic losses, its devastating pain and exhilarating joy – and looking back, I would not change or undo one moment, even if I could” (Marilee Zdenek).

I’d sometimes think I wish I could go back to a time in my life knowing what I know now so that I would better appreciate certain periods of my life. But then I’d never have learned those lessons in the first place to give me the wisdom I would take back with me.

I’m thankful for the hard parts that made me more like Jesus even more than the good parts that made for good memories.

A Prayer for Discernment

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“Grant me, O Lord,
to know
that which ought to be known,
to love
that which ought to be loved,
to praise
that which pleases you,
to esteem
that which is precious to you,
to blame
that which is evil in your eyes.

Give me wisdom and discernment
to differentiate what is good from
what only appears to be good,
and above all to be always
seeking after your will
and your good pleasure.
Amen” (Thomas A Kempis, from Every Moment Holy III: The Work of the People).

I heard once that discernment isn’t distinguishing between right and wrong, good and bad, but between right and almost right, good and almost good.

Grant me true discernment, O Lord, to always know and seek Your truth in everything.

Amen.

Being the Easter People

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Easter is over, according to all the stores and calendars. There are no more cute little bunny displays at your local Hallmark or Cadbury eggs or wicker baskets at the grocery store. Seemingly just about everybody has moved on to the next big holiday, which I believe is Mother’s Day in May.

But for those who celebrate Easter as Resurrection Day, the celebration goes on. We know that Jesus is still risen and alive. Plus, if you follow the Book of Common Prayer you know there is still Ascension Day and Pentecost to come.

I’m not against all the Easter bunnies and baskets and Easter egg hunts and all the candy. I’m especially not against the candy. But when you reduce Easter to these symbols and turn it into just one day, it cheapens the meaning.

Just as the birth of Jesus ushered in a new way of counting the years (as we moved from B.C. to A.D.), so Easter is equally a marker in history where everything changed. Many Old and New Testament prophecies came to pass on that day.

I hope that we won’t go back to business as usual next Sunday. I hope we will retain the message of Resurrection Day through all the weeks and months to come. The worst moment, the worst day, the worst part of your life is never the final defining moment in your life because Jesus is alive and the tomb is empty. Your hope is never in vain because Jesus conquered sin, death, hell, and everything else that will ever come against you to defeat you.

Easter isn’t just a day but a mindset. As Pope John Paul II said, “Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”

Holiness and Mercy

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I was watching a podcast video with Andy Chrisman and Steve Camp talking about how Steve took such a bold stand in the late 90s against what was going on in the Christian music industry at the time. He also spoke about a couple of his songs related to the emerging AIDS crisis in the 80s. One phrase that stood out to me was “holiness never compromised, mercy never restrained.”

That’s the essence of the gospel. We’re never to tolerate sin in the name of mercy, but we’re also never to condemn the sinner in the name of holiness. The same Jesus that told the woman that He didn’t condemn her for her adultery also said, “Go and sin no more.”

Jesus never accommodated sinful lifestyles, but He also never withheld His love from those in those lifestyles who earnestly sought Him in their need. The message He proclaimed was not “I’m OK, you’re OK, just do the best you can” but “I’m calling you out of your sin into something better because I love you enough to want God’s best for you.”

I can’t say that I’m the best at balancing holiness and mercy. I can testify that I’m really good at looking down on sins that I don’t struggle with. I can be more permissive with my own faults than forgiving of others with theirs.

But I believe that Jesus is the one who perfectly embodies holiness and mercy as the 100% God, 100% man who is both just and the justifier. I believe in the gospel message that Jesus can change and transform anybody from anything into something holy. I’m seeing it in my own life and in so many lives of the people I know and love.

The challenge is to hold to both holiness and mercy, not pitting one against the other or elevating one at the expense of the other. We need both. Most of all, we all need Jesus.

How to Drive in Nashville

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I found this on the Facebooks and thought it was worth sharing, especially for the last one, which is especially true in July and August. My own experience has taught me that running red lights is now the fourth most popular sport in Middle Tennessee behind only football, baseball, and hockey and slightly ahead of soccer.

“HOW TO DRIVE IN NASHVILLE:

1. The morning rush hour is from 5:00 am to noon. The evening rush hour is from noon to 7:00 pm. Friday’s rush hour starts on Thursday morning.

2. The minimum acceptable speed on I-65 is 80 mph. On I-40, your speed is expected to at least match the posted speed limit. Anything less is considered disrespectful.

3. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Nashville has its own version of traffic rules. For example, Ferraris and Lamborghinis owned by sports stars go first at a four-way stop. Cars/trucks with the loudest muffler go second. The trucks with the biggest tires go third.

4. The HOV lanes are really designed just for the slow Alabamians passing through who are used to hogging the left lane everywhere.

5. If you actually stop at a yellow light or stop sign, you will be rear ended, cussed out, and possibly shot. Unless there is a police car nearby.

6. Never honk at anyone. Ever. Seriously. It’s another offense that can get you shot.

7. Road construction is permanent and continuous. Detour barrels are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the night to make the next day’s driving a bit more exciting. Generally, city roads other than the main streets have more potholes and bumps (usually speed bumps) than most dirt roads in the countryside.

8. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, possums, skunks, dogs, barrels, cones, furniture, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, ladders, squirrels, rabbits, and crows.

9. Be aware that spelling of street names may change from block to block, e.g., Clairmont, Claremont, Clairmonte.

10. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder immediately to let them know it has been “accidentally activated”.

11. If you are in the left lane and only driving 75 in a 55-65 mph zone, you are considered a road hazard and will be ‘flipped off’ accordingly. If you return the flip, you’ll be shot.

12. For summer driving, it is advisable to wear potholders on your hands” (Elizabeth Huddleston Carter).

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