choices

Finishing Well

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

 

I’ve considered running a marathon once or twice. Not seriously, but I did mull it over in my little noggin. Then I decided to lie down for a while.

I can imagine me in a marathon. I’d do well for 3-4 miles, then I’d slow down to a fast walk. By the end, I’d be crawling and begging for death. My time wouldn’t be measured in hours and minutes. It would be measured in days, ’cause that’s how long it would take me to finish.

In the race of faith, all that matters is that you finish. Even if you come crawling over the finish line, you’re still a victor. The only ones who lose are the ones who don’t finish.

It’s never too late to get started. It’s never too late to start over. Even if you dropped out a long time ago and haven’t run in years, it’s still not too late to get back in the race.

Hebrews 12 talks about how a great host is cheering us on. Imagine all the great biblical heroes of the faith. All the saints down through the ages. All the people you’ve known who inspired you with their faith before they finished their own race. Every one of them is looking down on you, cheering you on, rooting for you.

Most of all, God himself is cheering for you and rooting for you. He wants you to finish, but more than that, he’s given you everything you need to finish well. All you have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trusting with that mustard-sized faith that can move mountains.

The prize is not to the fastest or strongest or best-looking. The prize is for those who keep showing up and keep believing. It’s for those who fall down 1,000 times but get up 1,001 times. It’s for those whose race looks more like one of those maze games than a straight line.

It’s for you and for me if we just keep running.

 

Beauty and the Beholder

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

 

Somehow, it seems to me that we’ve gotten it all wrong when it comes to romantic love. We look for the most attractive person we can find and hope that the attraction will lead to love.

But I think it’s just the opposite. Being loved makes you beautiful.

Think of the ultimate love that God has for us. His love calls out in us our best selves. His love calls out in us life and beauty and strength and wisdom.

If we are his children, then we can call those things out in each other, I think.

I heard a story of a guy who married a girl no one would ever have thought of as beautiful. But day after day, he called beauty out in her by telling her how lovely she was. In time, she came to be as lovely as he always said she was.

Ultimately, it’s not being lovable and lovely that brings us love. It’s in being loved that makes us lovable and lovely, as supremely evidenced in the transforming work of God’s love in us.

True beauty is beauty that lasts. It shows itself in kindness, gentleness, self-control, joy, peace, patience, and in so many other ways. It’s more than physical attractiveness which fades with the years. It’s about a beauty that’s within that shines out through a smile and a glowing countenance.

All this came from a movie. You may or may not have heard of it, but it’s called Enchanted Cottage and it’s about a man disfigured by war and a woman who is considered homely by just about everybody else, but love brings them together. Through looking with the eyes of their hearts, they come to see each other as handsome and beautiful.

That’s the way God has always seen you and me. May we as we grow in the love of God come to see each other that way.

For a Good Friend

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

This is for you, my friend who will remain anonymous but not forgotten:

I know that you’re getting ready to move to a new city in a few months and a brand new adventure in the story God has authored for you. I know I probably won’t see you anymore, unless God has a surprise twist in the story that I’m unaware of (and he’s better than anyone at that sort of thing).

I wanted you to know how very thankful I am for you. Your friendship truly has blessed me more than you will ever know.

You believed in me and my blog when it seemed that no one else did. I had almost decided to quit when you encouraged me by telling me how much my blogs had blessed you. You helped me believe in myself and the gifts God gave me again.

No matter what I was going through or what my day had been like, seeing your smiling face always made my day better. I couldn’t help but smile and be filled with joy.

We never hung out that much. You had a crazy hectic schedule that probably could have benefited from having a 26-hour day instead of the usual 24. While I wish we could have hung out more, I’m grateful for the times we were able to get together and talk and share stories of God’s faithfulness.

You’re the kind of person that has hundreds of friends, that anyone would be lucky to know. I’m still not sure why you wanted to be friends with me in the first place, but I’m glad you did. I’m better for it.

I heard once that a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. You reminded me of my song that I had forgotten and, thanks to you and a few others, I am singing again.

I hope we can keep in touch after you move, but if not, I still have your footprints in my heart to remind me that God still does bless me, because one of those blessings was you.

I will be praying God’s best for you, believing great things for you, and rooting for you every step of the way. I firmly believe that the future God has for you is better than even your wildest dreams can conceive.

May the Lord always bless and keep you and make his face shine on you and grant you peace. Every time I order a chai frappacino with caramel drizzle, I will think of you and smile.

Phil. 1:3,

Your forever friend in Christ.

Remarkable Comebacks and More Good Reminders

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I am a Cards fan. I admit it. I have been since around 1981 or so. I don’t really follow baseball as closely as I used to, but I was glued to the TV for the last few innings of the Nationals-Cardinals game.

It was 6-0 after 3 innings. It looked hopeless. I wasn’t too optimistic.

But something happened. Inning after inning, the Cards chipped away at the lead, scoring a run here, 2 runs there, and suddenly, we’re in the top of the 9th inning with a 7-5 ballgame.

Even then, I wasn’t overly optimistic. I may not win Fan of the Year, but I’m just being honest. I figured that the magic was about to run out.

But I was never more glad to be wrong. The Cards scored 4 more runs in very dramatic fashion and ended up winning 9-7. Yeah, it was awesome.

But the little gears in my brain started whirling and got me to thinking, “What else in my life have I given up on? What dream have I all but discarded and resigned myself to the fact that it won’t ever happen?”

I think the reminder for me and everyone else reading this is to not give up. If Jesus could find a way out of the grave, he can surely find a  way to give you the desires of your heart. If not, he’s bound to give you something way better.

So take it from this baseball equivalent of Eeyore. Don’t give up. Don’t throw in the towel just yet.

Trust that what seems impossible to us isn’t even remotely difficult for God (yep, I stole that one from Crosspoint Church). Trust that God is able to do what he promised.

Even when you’re down to your very last strike, it’s not over. Not as long as God is in charge.

 

Stardust and Thoughts About True Love

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

 

I’m no expert on love. At least not the romantic kind.

I do think that while movies often get love wrong, sometimes they hit the nail on the head when it comes to what true love really looks like.

In Stardust, one of the main characters talks about love. She says that true love is unexpected, uncontrollable, and very often can be mistaken for loathing. I don’t know about that.

She also says that true love should be unconditional. You shouldn’t have to earn it or prove it. I think she’s right.

True love is when someone loves you for just you. Not who you might one day become or who you hope to be. True love doesn’t wait until you measure up or get all your flaws fixed.

I know enough to know that love isn’t all moonlit walks on the beach and candlelight dinners. Love is work, because love is an active verb that requires action. Love transcends emotions and does the best for the beloved, regardless of whether it feels like it or not.

Love is God becoming a man to take my place in a punishment my sins deserved to die a death that should have been mine. Love says that I was worth it. Love not only said it, but backed it up on a cross.

Sometimes, love isn’t pretty. Sometimes, love means laying down your life for someone else. Even if that means a gory death on an instrument of torture. We romanticize Jesus’ death on the cross to make it more palatable, but it was anything but. It was messy, it was shameful, it was horrific.

And it was for us. That’s the ultimate example of true unconditional love that has been or ever will be.

That’s the kind of love I want to receive. That’s the kind of love I want to show.

Reminders from Revelation

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I’ve been loving the sermon series on Revelation from Brentwood Baptist Church, as well as the companion Wednesday night Bible study. Here are a few of the highlights I’ve taken in so far.

1) Revelation is primarily a book written to persecuted believers to give them encouragement that Jesus has already overcome and the victory is already theirs if they hold on a little bit longer. Like I heard it said, we as followers of Jesus don’t fight for victory, but from it.

2) Revelation is a book saturated in worship. The setting of the book is a heavenly scene of ultimate worship. To focus on the symbols and what they mean is to miss the main point that God puts everything right again and the good guys win once and for all.

3) It’s not ultimately about when the end will come or who the anti-Christ will be or what the mark of the beast will look like. Ultimately, it’s about the Lion of Judah, the root of Jesse, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Jesus, and how he has already overcome.

You can read commentaries about the book. I’m reading one right now. But if you really want to understand the book, read the book. Sit down and read all 22 chapters in one setting.

You can even read the ending first if it will help.

 

Vintage Music Picks

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

As I’ve probably mentioned before, I have extremely eclectic musical tastes, with everything from Glenn Miller to Metallica in my collection. Lately, my music has taken an indie/alternative turn, but I still like my sappy 80’s power ballads from time to time (and I am not ashamed of that, either).

That said, I have some recommendations if you’re into vintage, i.e. pre-1950’s music.

http://www.amazon.com/Popular-Recordings-Glenn-Miller/dp/B000002WDC/ref=sr_1_12?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1348971870&sr=1-12&keywords=glenn+miller

If you love circa-World War II big band music, this is the holy grail. I wish they had a more recent and remastered version of this music, but the songs are fantastic.

http://www.amazon.com/Blanton-Webster-Band-Duke-Ellington/dp/B000003EO4/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1348971992&sr=1-1&keywords=duke+ellington+blanton+webster

Another fantastic collection of big band music from one of the all-time legends of jazz music in Duke Ellington. You really can’t go wrong here.

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Columbia-Years-1943-52-4-CD/dp/B000007QCN/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1348972098&sr=1-2&keywords=frank+sinatra+box+set+columbia

This represents one of the greatest crooners of all time, Frank Sinatra, in what I consider to be his best period, musically speaking. His voice is velvety-smooth and the songs really stand the test of time.

http://www.amazon.com/Very-Best-Andrews-Sisters-Greatest/dp/B00005UL6B/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1348972172&sr=1-4&keywords=the+andrews+sisters

This is an import collection of The Andrews Sisters, and in my humble opinion, sounds amazing for songs that were recorded primarily in the 40’s.

http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Johnson-Complete-Recordings/dp/B000002757/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1348972246&sr=1-1&keywords=robert+johnson+the+complete+recordings

This collection of bluesman Robert Johnson’s recordings is essential if you are even remotely interested in blues music at all. Just incredible musicianship and very soulful and moving songs.

That’s all I have for now, but there will probably be more recommendations to come in the future. I welcome your picks, as I am always looking to add to the variety of my vast musical collection.

 

 

Do You Want It?

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I have a question for you that I heard tonight, but first let me give you a little bit of background before I dive in to the deep end.

Job was a man of integrity. God called him “a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.” Integrity is when your actions match your words. It’s what you do for someone who can’t really benefit you in return. It’s what you do when you’re alone or when you think no one is watching.

God allowed Satan to test Job by letting him take away Job’s possessions, house, family, and –finally– his heath. Job was able to say, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Even when his own wife told him to curse God and die, Job responded that he should accept not just the good from God’s hand, but also adversity.  He had integrity.

My favorite is one I heard describing integrity as derived from the word integer. As in a whole number, opposed to a fraction. In other words, your life isn’t divided into how you act in this scenario with this group of people versus another scenario with a different group of people. You are whole. A good definition is “ The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness (from thefreedictionary.com).

The question I have is this: how much do you want God to say about you that you are a man or woman of integrity? How much do you want to be known for that? How much do you really want to put pleasing God above pleasing people?

OK, I cheated a bit. That’s actually three questions. Or you could consider it The Question Trilogy, since trilogies are all the rage in movies these days.

Do you want it enough to be thought of as ridiculous and foolish by your peers, friends, family, and co-workers? Do you want it enough to separate from the majority who are willing to compromise when its convenient and fudge the facts to make themselves look a little better? Are you willing to be honest even when it hurts?

Honestly, right now. I can’t say that I want that. I want to want that. Most of the time, I want to be liked way more than I want to be upright. I want to be admired way more than I want to be a man of integrity.

As a pastor once said, all God is looking for is a place to start, however small that is. If you start with a hesitant agreement with God to be that man of integrity, God will honor that and grow that desire in you until it becomes your passion.

You just have to start.

A Tough Question

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

Usually when I’m thinking of what to write about, it’s not the main topic of the sermon or speech. It’s a side comment or a throwaway statement that catches me off guard. Tonight, it was a question that a guy asked that convicted me in a big way.

If God took away your family, friends, possessions, job, money, and all those other props and crutches you lean on, would you still be able to say, “God, I trust in you for my future” or would your mind immediately start churning away with ideas of how you could manage your own life?

The reason the question broad-sided me so much was the underlying question: who are what are you really trusting in at the end of the day? Where does your hope lie?

I think that for me at times my trust has been in a set routine. I have trusted in the fact that I had a comfortable and familiar set of friends who would always be around. I have trusted in income from a job or the security of employment that I thought was guaranteed.

When your props get knocked out, when friends move away or get married or disappear, you find out how much your trust was really in people and not in God. When out of the blue, you get called into the office at work to be told, “Your position is being eliminated,” you find out how much faith you placed in your career instead of Christ.

I truly believe in my mind that if all God did was save me from my sins and never gave me another blessing or did one more thing for me, that would be more than I deserved. But the way I live sometimes gives the impression that I feel entitled to God’s blessings. It shows that I am worshiping the gifts more than the Giver.

I heard a friend say that sometimes you don’t even have to have perfect trust. Even if you have the weakest kind of faith and say, “God, I trust you in this moment and I give this into your hands,” God will honor that. Like a pastor said, “All God needs is a place to start,” a halting, stammering statement of belief that is mixed with fear and doubt and says, “I believe. Help my unbelief.”

It’s not how strong your faith is, but how strong the object of your faith is. Or to put it this way, it’s not about giant-sized faith, but one that;s the size of a mustard seed placed in a great God who is bigger than your circumstances and problems.