Christianity

The Silver Chair

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So now I’m reading The Silver Chair. That means I only have one more Narnia book after this. Also, I believe there will be a movie hitting theaters in the next year or two based on this book (although I’m a bit skeptical as to how faithful the filmmakers will be to the original source material).

I do love this book.

I love how Eustace Scrubb and Jill Pole escape from their dreary clouded school day into bright and sunny Narnia. Well, technically they start out in Aslan’s country, but it’s in the same world.

I also love that ol’ Puddleglum, the Marsh-wiggle. He’s the pessimist of all pessimists, but he’s the one who keeps the other two grounded and who comes through grandly in the climactic scene (which I won’t divulge for those who haven’t read these books yet).

I especially love how the book’s theme is that you can make a royal mess at the start– to the point that it seems like you’ll never get back on track– and still at the end find a way to succeed. After all, it’s not how you start that matters, but how you finish.

More accurately in my experience, it’s not how many times you’ve screwed up or how big a fiasco you’ve made of your life up to this point, but how God can transform even that into good. Or better yet into something marvelous.

It’s funny how the evil scheme was to get one of the main characters, who had been bewitched, to steal what was already rightfully his. It’s funnier still how Satan did the same to Jesus, offering Him the world if He would only worship the prince of lies. Jesus knew that the world and everything in it was already His. Furthermore, He knew that all this world was not Satan’s to give in the first place.

Temptation is often the devil trying to get us to go after something good, but in the wrong way at the wrong time, like having premarital sex or having an affair instead of enjoying intimacy with the one God made especially for you. He offers what is not really his to give and what God alone can truly give, but often in a way that is different and much better than we would have chosen.

So I give the book 5 stars. Out of 5.

PS There is a BBC film version that is quite faithful to the book but looks as though it had a special effects budget of about $8. It’s good in a campy sort of way.

Thoughts About Rembrandt

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Rembrandt has a painting called Raising of the Cross.

At first glance, there’s nothing unusual about it. There’s Jesus on the cross, being raised by a couple of others and being jeered at and mocked by the surrounding crowd.

But at second glance, you notice something different about the man in the middle. He’s wearing a blue beret. Why? Because it’s Rembrandt painting himself into the picture.

There’s a profound statement in that painting. Rembrandt basically says that he helped put Jesus on the cross. And so did I.

The hymn says that it was my sin that held Him there. Because of my sin, Jesus died.

Jesus paid the highest price for the sin that I sometimes treat so lightly. It’s almost as if I can sin casually, knowing that I will be forgiven and all will be well in the end. Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls that cheap grace.

Sin may not bring punishment, thanks to Jesus, but there are always consequences to my sin. The more I sin, the less I can sense God’s presence. Jesus with all the sin of the world on Him, couldn’t sense God at all. His cry of “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” came out of that.

Sin kills me inside. It’s like a scar over an old wound where the nerves don’t work as well. Sin deadens me not only to God but also to others around me and ultimately, to myself.

Yes, I’m thankful for grace. I’m also thankful that when Jesus gets done with me, sin won’t be a part of my equation anymore. I won’t ever have to live with the shame and consequences of it ever again.

That’s what I’m looking forward to. Because the absence of sin means more room in my heart for Jesus. That’s the best part of all.

Again, I believe. Help my unbelief.

 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

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“It isn’t Narnia, you know,” sobbed Lucy. “It’s you. We shan’t meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?”
“But you shall meet me, dear one,” said Aslan.
“Are -are you there too, Sir?” said Edmund.
“I am,” said Aslan. “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there” (C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader).

I’m now almost done with my favorite of all the Narnia books– The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. That means only two more to go after this one.

There’s so much to like in this book, but the best part is toward the end when they’re getting close to the end of the world, beyond which lies Aslan’s country. Spoiler alert.

The book reminds me that at some point, we have to say goodbye to the ones we love. That’s hard. But the key is in the perspective. That is, you focus on the time you had and the memories you made instead of the loss. Plus, God never takes anything away without giving something better in return. Usually, that something is God Himself. But I digress.

Even though I read these books through every year and I know I’ll read them again at some point in 2016, it still makes me a bit sad knowing that I’m nearing the end of these books.

I think my favorite character is that noble mouse Reepicheep. He’s the smallest of them all, yet he’s also the bravest and most daring. He’s the one who wants to head into the darkness and stay at Ramandu’s table for the adventure of it.

But I like Lucy, too. After all, I did name my cat after her.

 

More of My Mind Blown at Kairos

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Tonight, Uncle Mike (or Mike Glenn, as he is known to those outside of Kairos) spoke on the passage in Matthew where Pilate offers up a choice to the people.

“Whom do you want me to release today? Jesus or Barabbas?”

He does this hoping the crowd will want to release Jesus, but to his dismay, they ask for Barabbas instead.

“Don’t you know what kind of man this is? Are you sure you want this man over your Messiah?”

I’m sure Pilate thought but never spoke these words. Instead, he washed his hands of the whole business. Literally.

I wonder if you could have been close enough, would you have heard Jesus saying, “Release Barabbas”?

The truth of the matter is that Jesus chose Barabbas. Jesus chose to go to His death so that Barabbas could go free.

I would not have picked Barabbas. He was not a nice guy in the most extreme sense. But Jesus did.

Don’t forget that Jesus also chose you and me. He chose to die for you and me so that we could go free.

You might say that you’re not as bad as a Barabbas, but the Bible says you have sinned. I have sinned. We have all fallen short of who God made us to be. We had the choice and chose the other side over God.

But when God had a choice, He chose us. Jesus chose us over His own life.

My mind is once again officially blown.

Remembering

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“And I ain’t no communist

And I ain’t no capitalist

And I ain’t no socialist

And I ain’t no imperialist

And I ain’t no democrat

And I ain’t no republican

I only know one party

And it is freedom
I am, I am, I am

I am a patriot

And I love my country

Because my county is all I know” (as recorded by Jackson Browne)
Today is the day we spend remembering those men and women who gave their lives defending the freedom and values we hold dear in this country.

It’s more than just another three-day weekend. It’s more than just another day to get together with family and friends and grill out on the patio.

This day, we remember those who didn’t get to come home– who will never get to come home– because they chose to fight for a way of life that many of us take for granted every day. That I take for granted every day.

I’m not a prophet. I don’t know what the future holds for this country. I hear a lot of the doomsday-ers saying that this country is headed to hell in a handbasket. I don’t know about that.

I do know that when we take our gifts for granted for too long. what we’re granted often gets taken.

So I’m expressing my thanks to all of you who have served in the military, are married to someone in the military, or are sons and daughters of those in the military. Thank you.

 

 

Notes from Ave South

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“This is the kind of life you’ve been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.

He never did one thing wrong,
Not once said anything amiss.

They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you’re named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls” (1 Peter 2:21:25).

It’s easy to want to fire back at the person who insults or defames you. It’s easy to want to strike back at the person who questions your integrity or defaces your character.

But that’s not the way Jesus responded. That’s not the way Jesus calls His followers to respond.

Jesus let God defend Him. Even in the midst of a trial in which everything about Him was questioned, He kept silent. His mission in this world was not to be proved right, but to be faithful. And there’s a big difference.

I love what Pastor Aaron said. Even on the cross, Jesus’ words “Into Your Hands I commit My spirit” indicate that Jesus entrusted even His own death to God to make it right.

I personally find it very easy to get defensive when someone criticizes me. It’s very easy to return the favor when someone insults you or makes fun of you. Or for me, it’s easy to think of all the mean things I want to say but never actually say to that person.

Jesus never said that being one of His followers would be easy. In fact, sometimes it goes against everything that human nature naturally gravitates toward. He did say that in the end, no matter how much it costs or how much it hurts, it will have been worth it. More than worth it.

Our job is not to be right. Our job isn’t to defend our honor. Our job is to love God and to love people and let God take care of the rest. And trust me, God can defend you a lot better than you can.

Love Will Remain

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I read this about a week ago and kept it in my archives to share with you at some point. So here it is, without any added commentary from me:

“Hope and faith will both come to an end when we die. But love will remain. Love is eternal. Love comes from God and returns to God.  When we die, we will lose everything that life gave us except love. The love with which we lived our lives is the life of God within us. It is the divine, indestructible core of our being. This love not only will remain but will also bear fruit from generation to generation.

When we approach our deaths let us say to those we leave behind, ‘Don’t let your heart be troubled. The love of God that dwells in my heart will come to you and offer you consolation and comfort'” (Henri Nouwen).

 

 

Blindsided!

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I had a friend who got blindsided recently at her job. Basically, her boss sat her down and proceeded to tell her EVERYTHING she’s been doing wrong for the entire year.

I’ve had that happen a time or two where someone I know doesn’t give me any warning before reading me the riot act. I know you have, too.

Tonight in my Life Group, we talked about how Jesus has High Priest is able to sympathize with us in everything as He’s been through everything we’ve been through, temptations and all, and passed the test with flying colors. To put it in more churchy language, He didn’t sin.

If anyone could blindside us, it would be Jesus. He’s seen it all. He knows every false motive, every impure intent, every dark thought, every secret sin. He could sit me down and blast me into smithereens with everything He’s got on me.

But He doesn’t. He doesn’t choose to “blast” anyone. Hebrews says that Jesus as High Priest intercedes for His children. He prays for you and me.

Maybe that should change the way I act when someone blindsides me. Or when I feel strongly tempted to blast someone when I see all sorts of red flags popping up in their life.

The unfortunate part of blasting someone is that you might be able to seek and receive forgiveness, but you can never recall those words you spoke. You can never undo the wounds and scars you created. You can never restore the relationship to what it was pre-blast.

So maybe instead of letting someone else have it, try letting God have it. As in taking it to God in prayer, not blasting God.

PS Sometimes you need to vent out loud to God. He already knows what’s in your heart anyway, and He can take it.

PPS As always, I believe. Help my unbelief.

 

ISO One Magical Wardrobe

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I’m re-reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I can’t express enough how much I love this book. I also can’t express enough how much I’d like one of those magical wardrobes that you climb inside and wind up in a different world.

I’d love to be able to visit Narnia from time to time and see all those wonderful characters.

I do realize that wardrobes don’t work that way all the time. I also get that Narnia exists only in the world of fiction. Or does it?

There’s a little bit of Narnia in the best of my dreams. There’s a little bit of Narnia in those moments when I am truly and freely myself, when I really don’t care what anyone else, when fear absolutely ceases to exist for a moment.

These books were written for kids, but even as a grown-up, I still find so much that makes me pause and think. There’s really so much depth in the simplicity of these stories.

I love that Aslan isn’t safe, but He’s good. That’s true of God. We want Him safe and predictable, never asking anything unexpected of us. But that’s not the God I read about in the Bible. The God I read about isn’t safe, but He truly is good.

God’s primary concern isn’t our safety. It’s us looking and behaving like Jesus, even if we go through some harrowing places to get there. God doesn’t want us happy as much as He wants us holy (which probably goes against most of the feel-good theology that comes out of most pulpits these days).

I even love that Mr. Tumnus who started out to do a very bad thing, but repented and stuck to his word, even if it meant being turned into stone. And even Edmund became a decent fellow in the end.

I just love these books!

 

That Ol’ I-40 West

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I’ve heard this one illustration from Pastor Mike Glenn quite a few times, but the impact is always the same.

If you get on I-40 West, you’ll end up in Memphis every single time. Unless of course you stop off at Jackson. But the point is that you can’t get on that particular interstate and hope to get to Chicago or New York. You’ll end up in Memphis (or end up passing through Memphis)– eventually. Ok, it’s not a perfect analogy, but here’s the point.

Uncle Mike says that some people will get on I-40 West and wonder how they ended up in Memphis. In much the same way, people will make poor life choices and wonder how their life ended up as such a hot mess.

I’m not here to judge people who are in a rough patch in their lives. I am saying that you can’t continually make bad and ill-informed choices and not have consequences from those choices. You reap what you sow every time. As another pastor said, you can’t sow wild oats from Monday through Saturday and pray for crop failure on Sunday.

The good news is that there is forgiveness from bad decisions. The bad news is that there are also consequences. Some of you (with me included) have found that out the hard way.

But some of you have found out that you don’t have to keep making the same bad decisions. You can choose differently. No matter how much of a train wreck your past has been, your future is still an unwritten page with unlimited possibilities.

And yes, God can take anybody’s mess and turn that into their message. He can take what was meant for evil and turn it into something good (just ask Joseph). He can work all things together for good.

I wanted to end this on a positive note. I echo the words of the old knight in the movie Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade: “You must choose wisely.”