spirituality

Bearded Brawny Men and Other Ridiculousness

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paul-bunyan

Apparently, beards are in. I see guys wearing beards, growing beards, basically reveling in facial hair. I’m not so sure I’m a fan of it.

I don’t say that because my own facial hair is scanty. It takes me forever to grow anything close to resembling a beard, but I’m okay with that. I’m really not bitter about being beardless.

I just think it’s one thing to grow a beard and another to go for the Paul Bunyan look. I mean, what’s up with all the long scraggly beards? Is there a cult out there looking for another David Koresh?

I heard someone say that she was looking for bearded and burly in her men. I guess the blue ox and the red plaid shirt are optional. Hopefully the axe isn’t a requirement.

All that to say this. You be you. Don’t do something because everyone else is doing it. Don’t grow a beard because it’s suddenly fashionable. Life is way too short to live it for the sake of pleasing others.

If you really and truly want to grow a beard down to your knees, don’t listen to me. You go for it and you grow it. If you want to be clean-shaven, you do that.

I’ve been around long enough to know that these trends never stay very long. The more trendy you are today, the more likely it will be that your children will one day look at photos of you and laugh and say things like, “You actually went out in public dressed like that?”

So once again, you be you. Be yourself. In the words of one E. E. Cummings, “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting.”

Don’t ever stop fighting to be you. Ever.

Lessons from The Walking Dead

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dead

I watch a show called The Walking Dead. It’s not for the squeamish. Yes, there are zombies (referred to as ‘walkers). Yes, there is plenty o’ blood and guts a-flying’ everywhere. Yes, you get attached to characters only to see them killed off.

But I think there are a few life lessons from this show that I’d like to pass on:

1) If these zombies ever took to lifting weights, would they then be “power walkers?”

2) Family matters, even if that family isn’t flesh and blood. It’s better to be with imperfect people who care about you and have your back than to be alone.

3) No matter what face you may present to the public, the truth of who you really are will always come out. It’s no good to fight evil and become worse than the evil you’re fighting.

4) No matter how far you’ve sunk or what you’ve done, there’s always the hope of becoming something better. There’s nothing so bad in people that can’t be redeemed. I happen to believe that God does the redeeming and I am the one being redeemed.

5) If you ever do run into a zombie, make sure you kill the brain. And be sure not to wear anything you don’t mind getting ruined by blood and guts.

I think that covers it for now. I just finished up season 3, which puts me roughly one season behind (so no spoiler alerts, please).

So Tired

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It was an interesting day. Because of the rain, the temps were unusually low for May. At least I thought so. It started off rainy and cold-ish, but by the end of the day, it was quite nice.

But as my blog title indicates, I am tired. I put in close to 8 hours on the job, drove home, and then went to my Life Group. It’s a good tired, but that still qualifies as tired.

So I’ll keep this short.

Good things come to those who wait. God’s things come to those who wait.

But even the waiting can be its own reward. Learning to wait well and not be consumed by anxiety over the outcome is its own reward. Learning to trust God in the silences is its own reward. Giving thanks for what is instead of lamenting what is not is its own reward.

So I’ll keep on waiting. . .

 

 

Eschatology and All That

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I have a new view about the millennium and the tribulation. You’ve heard of amillennialism and postmillennialism and premillennialism. I dare say you’re either on the pre-trib or post-trib side of the fence.

Aslan-PC

Well, I am a panmillennialist. That means I believe it will all pan out in the end.

I do believe Jesus is coming back. I’m not sure when and I’m not sure if it will be before or after the dreaded tribulation. I don’t know what the millennium will look like or even if it will be a literal 1,000 years or not.

I do know there will be a new heaven and a new earth. I do know God will wipe away every tear from our eyes and there will be no more pain or sorrow anymore.

I like to think it will be like Narnia in The Last Battle. I like to think all the best parts of this life will be there. Maybe all those pets we’ve loved and lost will be there. Whatever it looks like it will be like those dreams we have that we can’t remember but are always trying to get back to when we sleep.

I used to not be all that keen on heaven. I suppose it’s because I had the idea that heaven would involve sitting on clouds playing harps or sitting on wooden pews for an eternally long church service. Neither of those particularly appealed to me.

Then I read The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. It talked about heaven like that feeling on the first day of summer after school has ended. I could relate to that. I still can. It’s like that first day of vacation when you realize you don’t have to be anywhere or do anything by any certain time.

That feeling. Only better. Like a million, gazillon times better.

So yeah, that’s what I believe.

A Beautiful Worship Prayer

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musician-at-cross

“God, deliver us from the professionalizers! Deliver us from the ‘low, managing, contriving, maneuvering temper of mind among us.’ God, give us tears for our sins.

Forgive us for being so shallow in prayer, so thin in our grasp of holy verities, so content amid perishing neighbors, so empty of passion and earnestness in all our conversation. Restore to us the childlike joy of our salvation.

Frighten us with the awesome holiness and power of Him who can cast both soul and body into hell (Matt. 10:28).

Cause us to hold to the cross with fear and trembling as our hope-filled and offensive tree of life. Grant us nothing, absolutely nothing, the way the world views it. May Christ be all in all (Col. 3:11).

Banish professionalism from our midst, Oh God, and in its place put passionate prayer, poverty of spirit, hunger for God, rigorous study of holy things, white-hot devotion to Jesus Christ, utter indifference to all material gain, and unremitting labor to rescue the perishing, perfect the saints, and glorify our sovereign Lord.

Humble us, O God, under Your mighty hand, and let us rise, not as professionals, but as witnesses and partakers of the sufferings of Christ. In His awesome name. Amen” (John Piper).

God, help us always to worship in spirit and in truth, whether that be in a setting with hymns and an organ or with a band and modern worship songs or in the midst of our daily lives in how we reflect the glory of God in our actions and words.

Forgive us yet again for reducing worship to singing songs on certain days of the week. Help us to remember that every day we worship by laying down our lives as an offering, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1-2).

Help us always to remember that the sweetest sound in God’s ear is a joyful noise and a grateful heart.

Amen.

 

What I Read This Morning

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the-voice-bible

I’ve been reading through the Bible this year in a different translation. It’s called The Voice, and I really like it. It’s not perfect, but I have yet to find a translation that was perfect. That’s why I tend to use more than one and go back and forth between different ones.

That being said, I was struck by reading a familiar passage in a different way. Here it is:

“If you’re listening, here’s My message: Keep loving your enemies no matter what they do. Keep doing good to those who hate you. Keep speaking blessings on those who curse you. Keep praying for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other cheek too. If someone steals your coat, offer him your shirt too. If someone begs from you, give to him. If someone robs you of your valuables, don’t demand them back. Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the same for them.

Listen, what’s the big deal if you love people who already love you? Even scoundrels do that much! So what if you do good to those who do good to you? Even scoundrels do that much! So what if you lend to people who are likely to repay you? Even scoundrels lend to scoundrels if they think they’ll be fully repaid.

If you want to be extraordinary—love your enemies! Do good without restraint! Lend with abandon! Don’t expect anything in return! Then you’ll receive the truly great reward—you will be children of the Most High—for God is kind to the ungrateful and those who are wicked. So imitate God and be truly compassionate, the way your Father is.

If you don’t want to be judged, don’t judge. If you don’t want to be condemned, don’t condemn. If you want to be forgiven, forgive. Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give” (Luke 6:27-38).

That’s a hard teaching. I know I could never do all that in my own strength. But that’s what t I’m aiming for. That’s what we’re all aiming for if we truly follow Jesus.

I had another thought. People want to paint Jesus in their own colors. Either they make Him into an ultra-rightwing conservative or a peace-loving liberal fanatical. I do think there’s some merit to both, but yet each side falls short in its vision of the Messiah. Jesus Himself prayed for Jerusalem that she might know His peace, but yet He also said that He didn’t come to bring peace but a sword.

To me, Jesus was so much more than either conservative or liberal. He was (and is) the Eternal God-Man and, just as God’s thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours, so in a way is Jesus. He’s beyond any of our categorization.

One thing I know. Jesus didn’t come to legitimize one side or the other. He didn’t come to justify a belief system or a political platform. He came to seek and save the lost, no matter where they came from.

He asks one thing of us. His command is, “Follow me.” More than an ideology or a systematic theology, Christianity is and has always been about following the person of Jesus. That’s it.

I Need, I Need, I Need. Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.

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Today at church, the pastor spoke from Matthew 6:25-34 about not worrying because God will supply your need. I’ve heard that before many, many times, but for some reason it hit me in a fresh new way.

Many times, we as Americans get our needs and wants confused. I know I do.

For instance, one of my needs is reliable transportation to get me to and from work. My want is a red Mini-Cooper,preferably one that has a British flag emblem on the roof and/or on the side-view mirrors. I currently drive a red’ 97 Jeep Cherokee with nearly 275,000 miles on it that still looks and runs great.

Red_Mini_Cooper

I have an iPad 3. I love it. Still, sometimes I find myself coveting one of the new iPad Airs, especially the ones with 128 GB. But I’m content with what I have. I’d also have to be seriously delusional to call either one of those a need.

There’s a house in downtown Franklin that I’d love to live in. It’s like a storybook cottage and it’s right in the middle of one of my favorite areas of Middle Tennessee. I do have a roof over my head, so I think I’m covered when it comes to my need in that area.

I’m not saying wants are wrong. I am saying sometimes we all need a little bit of perspective about what our needs are and what our wants are. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but if you have more than one set of clothes, a roof over your head, access to clean water, more than one meal a day, and transportation, you are wealthy. So many around the world don’t have these things.

Oh, I’d still like one of those MacBook Pro laptops. Or even a MacBook Air. I’d settle for one of those, too. But I’m not going to say either of those are needs. Still, if someone wants to donate one to me out of the goodness of their heart, I wouldn’t complain too much.

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All that to say that I know God will take care of my needs. Sometimes, He has to remind me of what those needs REALLY are, but He’s never failed to take care of me and my true needs. The same God who looks after those lilies in the field and those sparrows will look after me.

 

 

Two Years Later

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mexican coke

I haven’t really thought much about it lately, but then I remembered tonight that it’s been over two years since I had my last carbonated beverage. Or my last Coke, as we call them down South.

My last of those was on April 28, 2012. At the time, I simply wanted to see how long I could go without one. I didn’t envision it going on this long, but somehow, I’ve managed to avoid those fizzy drinks.

I still have dreams where I catch myself drinking a Coke. The dreams seem so real, except for the part where I don’t realize I’m drinking a carbonated beverage until I’m halfway through. That part’s a little sketchy.

Maybe my next goal will be to give up gluten. Or at least bread. I confess I love me some bread, especially the rolls at O’Charleys, so I can’t imagine having the willpower to stay away from those.

Yet at one time I didn’t think I could live without my carbonation, especially those Diet Mountain Dews in the morning. Now I don’t even miss them. Plus, I drink more water, which is always a plus. I guess I’d say to you that you can do more than you think you can, especially when it comes to restraint.

I’d say just go for 24 hours and then see what happens. You might just surprise yourself.

 

 

Music for the Drive Home

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vlcsnap-131978

When most people want music, they turn on the radio and pick out a favorite station. They pick music suitable for tuning out, background music that won’t demand too much of their attention. I am not most people.

I think that even a night drive deserves a worthy soundtrack. Like for tonight after I helped a friend move some of his belongings into storage. I needed music that would set the perfect mood for driving home at 11 pm.

There are three kinds of musical tastes as far as I’m concerned: 1) people who only like one kind of music, i.e. Christian or country or hip-hop, 2) people who like a variety of styles and artists, and 3) good Lord, they should make pills for this. Guess which one I am. Though I prefer the terms eclectic or eccentric. Crazy cat lady music. And why isn’t there a male version of the crazy cat lady yet?

For me, there’s nothing better than the right song at the right moment to evoke the right mood. You don’t necessarily want speed metal at 5 am or frenetic music late at night. At least I don’t.

I’ll give you a sampling of what my playlist might look like on any given drive:

1) Come Undone – Duran Duran

2) Found Out About You – Gin Blossoms

3) Keep Us- Peter Bradley Adams

4) Air that I Breathe – The Mavericks

5) Runaway Feeling – The Thorns

6) Thank You – Alanis Morrissette

7) I’m a Believer- The Monkees

8) Billie Jean – Michael Jackson

9) The One I Love – R.E.M.

10) Save It for a Rainy Day- The Jayhawks

It’s a bit of everything. To me, listening to the same kind of music all the time is like eating the same meal every day or wearing the same clothes all the time. While that might work for some, it would drive me nuttier than squirrel poo.

So there you have it. That’s probably way more than you wanted to know about my musical tastes, but I like oversharing. It makes life interesting.

elizabethtown movie poster

 

 

Leave It to Mr. Lewis

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CS Lewis-1

Tonight in my Life Group, we were discussing how to explain to a nonbeliever why a Christian would want to be obedient to Jesus. Ok, that’s simplifying it a bit. It was a 30 minute discussion.

Basically, the question was this: if we’re truly free in Christ, why do we still feel compelled to do what He tells us to do instead of what we want to do. In all the discussion, I had a lightbulb moment. Why not google C. S. Lewis and find out what he had to say on the subject of obedience? After all, he was a smaht man (said in my best Forrest Gump voice).

Here’s what I found:

“[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” 

Yep. There’s a reason why I’ve liked this guy all these years. It turns out he said some fairly astute things during his time. Who knew?

For real, if I had to pick the most influential believers of the 20th century, I’d start with Billy Graham and C. S. Lewis. If for nothing more than those Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis deserves the honor. But he wrote so many classics. I’d go so far as to say that I don’t know of a book of his that I don’t consider a classic.

What was my point? I think it was obedience. To me, obedience is not a “have to” but a “get to”. It’s not like we’re burdened with all these heavy burdens and restrictions and commandments that strangle and restrict. No. Love fulfills the law. These burdens of Jesus are light and a joy to bear. And the obedience is the fruit of a life spent close to Jesus.

Just as you and I become most like the people we spend the most time with, so believers become more like Jesus when they spend time with Him and end up doing what He did and living like He lived. They end up looking and sounding and acting just like Jesus. That to me is obedience.