Abba’s children

Politics, Shmolitics

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It’s not even November and I’m already tired of the Presidential election and politics in general. What I’ve seen so far this time around has left me more deeply committed than ever to being an Independent.

I see too many people who have drunk the kool aid of either the Republican or Democratic party. They demonize their opponents and dismiss anyone who wants to vote for the opposition to the point of being almost cartoonish.

I’ve seen both sides who have blinders on when it comes to any faults in their own candidate, yet at the same time are unwilling to give any credit to the opposing candidate.

Abba’s children are called to a higher standard. We know that we as a nation are electing a President and not a Savior. That position has already been filled.

We know that the problems we face are not political but spiritual in nature. These problems won’t go away, regardless of who wins the election.

I for one am thankful that not everyone is like me and that everyone else doesn’t think like I do. I know that getting outside of yourself and learning about different perspectives is a good and healthy thing.

My hope still lies not in a flag and a country but in a King and a Kingdom. I remember that in four years when we go through the whole election process to choose another President that Jesus will still be Lord and King.

Here endeth the soapbox blog post.

 

Another Night of Worship

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It’s 10:19, I’m tired, and my feet hurt. A little. That’s a good thing. A very good thing, in fact.

I tallied just over 13,000 steps today after getting in over 22,000 yesterday. I’ve put in quite a bit of walking lately, which hopefully translated into burned calories and lost weight.

Tonight was the semi-annual Kairos Night of Worship. The theme was Wildfire, praying  to be the spark that leads to revival fires breaking out in this land.

I’ve been praying for revival, especially in my own heart. Everyone goes through seasons of dryness and numbness in their spiritual walks and I am no exception to the rule. I know faith isn’t solely about feelings, but I also know that it can be rough when it feels like you’re going through the motions.

Still, God is faithful, even when I’m not. His fidelity more than makes up for my lack of it. If it were up to me, I’d have fallen away a long time ago, but it’s not. God is more than up to the challenge of holding on to me during the seasons when I’ve felt like letting go and giving up.

It was a great night. Sure, the worship songs were amazing and the teaching was stellar. For me, the best part was the reminder that my primary identity, the core of who I am deep down, is that of Abba’s child.

All of my failings and weaknesses do not define me any longer. My on-and off-again passivity does not define me. Being Abba’s child and hearing my Abba call me Beloved is what defines me both now and forevermore. That’s what I choose to identify myself as from this day forth.

I’m thankful for family and friends who consistently remind me of my true identity and who encourage me to be better today than I was yesterday. Thanks, everyone.

 

 

Jesus Loves the Little Children

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The Gospel of Mark tells a very interesting story of Jesus and children.

By the way, when John-Mark brings up children, what he has in mind isn’t our highly idealized view of children as cherubic and precious, but the ancient culture’s view of children as those who couldn’t yet contribute, so therefore weren’t worth very much.

In other words, when Jesus welcomed those children, He welcomed the disenfranchised and marginalized. He welcomed those who were outcasts and nobodies to most people’s eyes.

Jesus often sought out those overlooked by everyone else. He sought out those on the fringes of society, those who often got overlooked and ignored.

That’s good news for those who have never felt like we belonged anywhere, to those who always feel on the outside looking in.

Jesus is for you. No matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been or who you’ve been with, Jesus is still for you. He wants to be with you, to be your peace and your strength.

That leads to the next question: who are you speaking for in your life who has no voice? Who are you standing up for who can’t stand up for themselves? Who are you using your gifts and talents to be Jesus to marginalized and ostracized people the way Jesus was to you?

These are some questions that Chris Brooks brought up at Kairos. The main question of the night was this: is your faith childlike or childish? That’s a question that will probably hit close to home for a lot of us (including me).

The childlike faith is one that still has doubts but know where to take them. It doesn’t necessarily claim to have all the answers but knows Who does. It may not always get what it wants but is never deterred in its trust in the God who ultimately always comes through with all His promises to us.

That’s the kind of faith I want.

This Extraordinary Message

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“It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: ‘The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives'” (Romans 1:16, The Message).

Yes. Just yes.

The just shall live by faith. That’s how the old-school version of this verse goes.

But I really like “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.”

Who is really living?

Is it the ones with the most money, the most awards, the most prestige?

Is it the ones you read about in Forbes or Time or GQ?

Or maybe is it the ones you never hear about on the mainstream media outlets?

Maybe it’s the ones who are living simply out of a pure joy that comes from being forgiven.

Maybe it’s the ones who have quit trying to be beautiful and are instead choosing to boast in a brokenness through which the light of Christ shines most brightly.

Maybe it’s the ones who don’t give up, don’t give in, don’t compromise, don’t ever stop trusting that in the end everything will be fine.

Maybe those are the ones really living.

Lord, help me to really live and really love and really experience all that You have for me in this life.

Keep my eyes open to all that You are doing in and around me.

Keep my faith childlike so that I never cease to be amazed at what you can do in someone who says the most hesitant yes to You.

Keep my gaze straight ahead on the cross and what lies beyond instead of temporal pleasures that turn sour in the mouth and that rust in the hand.

Keep me holding onto You and let me know that You’ll always be holding on to me.

Amen.

 

Happy Birthday, ‘Murica!

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“The nation whose True God is the Eternal is truly blessed;
    fortunate are all whom He chooses to inherit His legacy” (Psalm 33:12, The Voice).

Well, America is 239 years old today. And she doesn’t look a day over 190. Tops.

Today is the day we celebrate the Declaration of Independence, which said that we would no longer be colonies of Great Britain, but that we would indeed be the United States of America.

Today is a good day to remember all the freedoms that we normally take for granted.

The freedom to worship as you choose? Or not to worship at all? Don’t take that for granted.

The freedom to live as you choose? Don’t take that for granted either.

The freedom to disagree with each other (and hopefully be civil about it) and to even disagree with the powers that be? Definitely do not take that one for granted.

Many have fought and died for your freedoms. People through the ages have sacrificed greatly so that they could come to this great land of opportunity to find new lives here.

Is America perfect? Of course not.

Does she have a lot in her past to be ashamed of? Yes.

Does she also have a lot in her past to be proud of? Absolutely.

Remember this — as believers, we are ultimately not citizens of America (or any other country). We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. When all other kingdoms have fallen (including the one under the red, white, and blue flag), this Kingdom will stand.

Your ultimate allegiance isn’t to a flag or to a president or to a political party or to an ideal.

Your ultimate allegiance is to a King and a Kingdom. to Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Now go be patriotic and eat lots of grilled meats and drink lots of carbonated beverages!

“All religious and political systems, Right and Left alike, are the work of human beings. Abba’s children will not sell their birthright for any mess of pottage, conservative or liberal. They hold fast to their freedom in Christ to live the gospel-uncontaminated by cultural junk, political wreckage, and the complex hypocrisies of a bullying religion” (Brennan Manning).