Jesus

Keep Calm and Don’t Forget to Breathe

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hyperventilation_kitty

All of us have those moments of panic. Or maybe it’s just me. Like yesterday when I couldn’t find my keys. It was like they went to that special hidden worm hole where all those socks go.

I was sure I had set them down, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember when. In times like these, I remind myself to breathe. Take a deep breath and exhale it slowly.

I found my keys hidden under my wallet.

Sometimes, you get to anxious over what you’re missing and can look right at it without seeing it because you’re too distracted by trying to find it. Raise your hand if that made sense.

I have to remind myself that God is present even when my senses tell me He’s absent. Too often, I miss Him when I look for Him in times of stress and anxiety. Too many times I might be looking right at Him and not see Him because I’m too worried about finding Him.

He’s not lost. He never was. It’s me who gets lost. Breathing deeply helps me remember that. It helps to remind me that if I only stand still, God will come to where I am and find me.

Keep Calm and Drink Coffee

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Well, it’s Friday. I’m currently house- and dog-sitting for a very well-behaved and gentle dog named Millie.

I’m also reading a very interesting book written by a lady with autism. It’s fascinating to see her thought processes and hear how she sees the world differently than I. It’s also amazing to see how she has basically taught herself how to overcome most of her autistic tendencies.

I still think that ALL of us at some level are fundamentally broken. We all have some kind of phobias or issues that keep us from always acting normal. Some are better at hiding it than others, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are just as broken as the rest of us.

I’m so very glad Jesus didn’t come for the healthy. He came for the sick. The destitute. The abused. The abuser. The lonely. The broken. Us.

In those moments when you feel like you will never be normal and accepted, remember that Jesus doesn’t think you’re normal. He thinks you’re extraordinary.

Memorial Day

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usa-memorial-day

As I have been constantly reminded, Monday is not National BBQ Day. Monday is not National Family Get-Together Day or National Day off from Work Day. It’s Memorial Day.

It’s a day in which we take time to remember those who made sacrifices so that we could enjoy the freedoms we enjoy as a nation. Men and women who served in the military, fought for us, and even made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.

As much as it may sound like uber-religious rhetoric, I truly am thankful for Jesus, who made the supreme sacrifice when He gave Himself up for me so that I might be free. As much as it pains me to say it, I take His gift for granted WAY too often and WAY too much.

So thank a soldier. Thank those who are serving currently and those who have served in the past.

Focus on the fact that you are still free to worship (or not worship) as you choose. Remember on that day that Jesus didn’t come to burden you with more regulations and rules to follow, but to set you fully and forever free.

Just some food for thought on Memorial Day Weekend.

 

Downtown Franklin Revisited

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Ok, I admit that sometimes I can be like a broken record when it comes to weekends. I like going to downtown Franklin. I think I’ve established that. So guess where I went tonight, sports fans?

At least I varied it a little. I ate at Puckett’s instead of McCreary’s. I went to Sweet CeCe’s instead of Frothy Monkey. Aren’t I just a little rebel?

I brought my iPad and watched most of the movie Reality Bites. I’d forgotten how clever that movie was. And no, the fact that the movie is 20 years old does NOT make me feel old AT all.

I visited my favorite house in all the world. And by visited, I mean I walked by in a very non-stalker-like manner, not stopping to stare in the windows or anything creepy like that.

At one point, the clouds darkened and it looked like it might rain. But it didn’t.

I still think it’d be cool to live there. I know it’s not financially feasible, but one can dream, right?

In the movie Reality Bites, one of the characters is lamenting the fact that she hasn’t figured out what she wants to be by the age of 23. Another character remarks that all she has to be at 23 is herself.

I like that.

Don’t let anybody tell you that you’re a failure because you don’t meet some arbitrary standard of societal standards. It’s okay to not have your career path figured out. It’s okay to still be living with mom and dad. It’s okay to be single and not dating. That’s not what really defines you anyway.

As I’ve said many times before, God defines you and specifically, the fact that He calls you Beloved and is well pleased in you is what truly defines you.

I supposed I am a broken record, but that’s okay by me.

More Like Jesus?

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I’ve noticed that Christians sprinkle a lot of religion-isms into their conversation. I mean those phrases and terms that only us as believers know what they mean and sometimes we’re not even sure. At least not me.

Take for example when people talk about the goal of becoming like Jesus. What does that even mean? In my Life Group, a newbie asked that question and I was a bit taken aback at first, but then I thought, “What DOES that mean? I mean, really?”

I don’t think it means that we’re going to all be a bunch of clones of Jesus one day, like those stormtroopers in the Star Wars movies. Or when there were 7 exact replicas of Harry Potter in the last Harry Potter movie.

Here’s what I think it means.

It’s like that couple you know who’ve been married forever. The ones who can finish each other’s sentences. The ones who know what the other is thinking and feeling without having to use actual words.

Back in the ancient days, a disciple was someone who literally studied another. He or she followed this person around. When the teacher ate, a disciple ate. When the teacher slept, that disciple slept. The disciple was with the teacher 24/7.

Ultimately, the disciple picked up the mannerisms and behavior of the teacher just by being around him so much. He started even to think and speak like his teacher.

That’s what it looks like. If I become most like the people I spend the most time with, then if I spend the most time with Jesus, I start to look like Him. I don’t mean I start wearing a robe and sandals and sprouting a beard. I mean that I act like Jesus. I do what Jesus did.

Granted, I can never be completely like Jesus in the sense that He is divine and I am definitely not. But I can emulate His attitude (see Philippians 2:5-11) and His behavior and His attributes.

Here endeth the lesson.

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).

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.

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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.

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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.