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Archives For November 30, 1999

Crutch

December 11, 2009 — Leave a comment

Crutch.

It’s an interesting word. Like many words, when you say it, it sounds kinda funny. Look in the dictionary and it’s even phonetically spelled funny: “kruhch” – I mean, why bother with the”h” in the middle! (OK, it would be “crooch” if you left it out.)

When we see or hear “crutch”, we generally think of someone who is hurt or needs something to assist them or support them as they walk. One definition of crutch is: A staff or support used by the physically injured or disabled as an aid in walking.

Anyway, “CRUTCH” popped in my mind this morning as I was getting ready for work.

You see, there’s some “stuff” going on in my family’s life – the specifics are not germane to this post – and our response to that “stuff” may seem like we are relying on a “crutch.” (BTW, isn’t “germane” another interesting word also?)

Continue Reading…

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All Are Loved

December 4, 2009 — Leave a comment

I love the Genius setting on iTunes.  I never know what’s coming next…

Yesterday a song I forgot I had came on and really capped some time I’d spent in Isaiah 58 (more on that later).

You see, if we are honest with ourselves, at times we read John 3:16 as, “For God so loved those we deem lovely and likable, that He sent His Son…” instead of “For God so loved the world [read: everyone], that He sent His Son…”.

We love those who:

look like us,

agree with our opinions,

are kind and don’t hurt or hate,

you know…the people who meet the standards that we set for “acceptable behavior” (even though in our hearts, we often don’t meet them).

We forget that God – the One who loved and loves perfectly and with purity – sets the standard for love: ALL ARE LOVED.

Continue Reading…

In Christianity, Love ,
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Thankful for “NOTHING”

November 25, 2009 — 1 Comment

5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

So my thoughts this week have been pretty much dominated by this passage – which was the passage Pastor Jason Helveston preached from last Sunday at church.

This passage is pretty marked up in my bible (as is much of the book of Philippians), but the reality that has been hitting me anew this week has been the profound truth of Jesus’ greatness and humility…and my view of that.

The one word that really hit me square in the forehead was: NOTHING

Jesus made Himself NOTHING.

The “NOTHING” He became was man.

Compared to Jesus, I AM NOTHING

though i act to the contrary at times, grasping at a perceived equality with God. (Oh, i’d never say that out loud, but actions speak louder…)

I think we concentrate on the fact that Jesus came to earth, became like us, and went through all the stuff we go through (except living/responding in a perfect way), often at the expense of our remembering He was/is GOD.

As Jason put it:

We must see Jesus on the throne before we see Him in sandals.

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Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  I, like most, am thankful for many things – especially this year, with our adoption story finally becoming a reality.

But most especially, I’m thankful that Jesus became nothing.  Thankful for the humility of Jesus.  I’m thankful for the cross.  Thankful for God’s amazing and radical love.

Maranatha!

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Two Less Mochas…c’mon!

November 18, 2009 — Leave a comment

Two weeks ago, I saw Hillsong United’s movie (THE I HEART REVOLUTION: WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER) while I was on a business trip.  It was a profound experience that really prodded me on things God was already working on in my life.

There were a ton of one-liner take ways, but one of the biggies that struck me was:

Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something.

That statement is a truth to what is often a stifling thought – “I can’t make a difference.”  We figure that any contribution we make in addressing the social injustices and profound needs in our world is so insignificant that we end up not bothering at all.

We’re not a celebrity who can commit thousands of dollars or the proceeds from out latest “work.”

We wonder if a $20 gift actually provide water for a person for 20 years as Charity: Water claims?  (I believe it can!)

Hey, times are tight, many are out of work often just scraping by.

And yet, as Christ Followers, how do we reconcile:

Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” –Proverbs 31:8-9

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..” –James 1:27

One cool organization/program that offers a way for virtually anyone to help is Mocha Club.  For the price of two mochas each month ($7), you can help with a number of relief projects in Africa: Clean Water, Education, Child Mothers + Women At Risk, Orphan Care + Vulnerable Children, and HIV/AIDS + Health care.

Mocha Club’s Vision:

“Our vision is to provide a way for people who don’t have hundreds or thousands of dollars to make a difference in Africa. Our community-based website allows members to start a team and invite friends to join them in giving up the cost of 2 mochas a month to support their chosen project. We know that today’s tech-savvy generation can have a huge impact by using the viral nature of the web. So we decided to equip Mocha Club members themselves to grow awareness and support for Africa by inviting friends.

We’re aware of people’s general lack of trust that their money is being effective, and we address that by providing regular updates. Each month, we update our Mocha Club members on how their $7 is helping the people of Africa through videos and blogs of the specific projects they are supporting.”

Pretty cool!

So come one!  Join me in giving up two mochas each month for the great need that exists in Africa.  I’m supporting Orphan Care + Vulnerable Children projects.  (BTW, I’m not alone in this – check out some of the other sponsors.)

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“All these”

November 13, 2009 — Leave a comment

mk 10_20This past Sunday, one of the missionaries our church supports (Rick Berry) mentioned Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler during Sunday School.

OK, full disclosure…  I was convicted by the remembrance of Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-23.

[Gee thanks Rick!]

You can read the story for yourself, but the upshot is that this rich guy asked Jesus what must be done to receive eternal life.  Jesus recites a partial list of the 10 commandments, to which the guy responds, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”  (BTW, in my mind, I see the guy saying this with arms crossed and nodding his head in self-righteous confidence.  I guess I imagine this because it’s probably what we’d all do if someone challenged us in an area of our life.  GULP!) Anyway, Jesus responds – and don’t miss this part – IN LOVE and tells him to sell everything, give all the proceeds to the poor, and then he’d have eternal life.  Needless to say, the guy couldn’t do it and went away sad.  Christ was calling him to a sacrificial life – not just a checklist-based or costless one…and that was more than he was willing to commit to.

Certainly, one typical application of this passage is the idolatry of money or “stuff” over relationship with Jesus – the whole “camel through the eye of the needle” thing in verse 25.

The thing that convicted me was the “…all these things I have kept…” phrase.  How often we simply reduce living for Christ to a 10-item-checklist mentality.  Sure, we’d never admit this checklist-based-living-for-Christ belief out loud; but, in our heart (which is where God looks at us), it’s easy to have it.  There is comfort and often anonymity in this type of Christ-Follower life – the “it’s between me & God” – “what is the minimum I must do” mentality.

The truth is, Jesus (while He recognized and affirmed the “checklist” items in this and other passages) calls His followers (then, now, and to come) to so much more.  He knew if the ruler had kept those “things” (God knows the heart of all); but, Jesus also knew that a life that followed Him was characterized by SO MUCH MORE.  A life that costs something – and that “something” is more than money.

As a Christ Follower, I have got to be more than just a list follower/checkeroffer (if that’s a word).  That is what Rick is challenging the people he and Myla work with in the Philippines…and what he reminded/challenged me on last Sunday…

…So Father, stumbling forward I go!

In Christianity, Life
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Thoughts on Hillsong United’s “THE I-HEART REVOLUTION” Movie

November 5, 2009 — 12 Comments

I_HeartLast night, Hillsong United premiered its documentary film, THE I HEART REVOLUTION: WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, in theaters across the US and Canada (it will premier across Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa on November 18). I’d heard about the movie a while back and forgot about it until Tuesday night. I’ve been on a business trip in Virginia this week, so I figured I’d see it after work. I’m glad I made the choice to see it.

The event started with a mini-concert and introduction by United – broadcast from Australia. It set the stage for and explained the documentary, which tells stories of justice, compassion, and mercy around the globe – all filmed over the past three years during their concert tour.

Apart from the 30-minute intro, the movie ran about two hours (a little long and sometimes bumpy in the message, but it needed to be). The film was divided into three distinct parts:

  1. Stories of injustice, loss, neglect, poverty, – the harsh and terrible realities of life across the globe…the realities that we don’t know about or often choose to ignore.
  2. The Hope amidst those realities found solely in Jesus.
  3. A call to those who follow Jesus to have a heart like Him, consider #2, and (because of it) take action on #1.

It was a profound film. So much hurt and hopelessness in the world…and we too often turn a blind eye to it.  I (and many around me) couldn’t help shedding tears at given moments during the film.  It is a profound message.

There were so many “amen” moments and phrases.  I found a few of them on Twitter to share:

  • Loneliness is the worst form of poverty.
  • If what happens inside the four walls of the church doesn’t make a difference in the streets that people travel to get there, then maybe we are missing the point.
  • We’ve trained ourselves to look past need.  Injustice and indifference go hand in hand.
  • Jesus didn’t die to give us religion, He died to give us love.
  • Preaching does not come from the pulpit, it comes from the people of God living their lives out for Him -Brother Andrew
  • There’s a dangerous division between sacred and secular… There’s nothing secular, everything belongs to God.
  • The church exists for those outside of it. -William Tyndale
  • Having seen all this you can choose to look the other way, but you can never say again, ‘I did not know.’ -William Wilberforce (regarding the English slave trade in the 1800s)
  • “Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something”
  • You think that all the preaching must come from the pulpit. It’s not true. It comes from the life of those who follow Jesus.
  • For too long the church has made a big deal out of small things and a small deal about big things!
  • Talk is cheap, put feet to your vision.
  • The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
  • The future will be written by the way we respond to moment that’s in front of us.

Driving back to my hotel, my mind was reeling – information overload, conviction of my own apathy, and thoughts of how I can make changes in my own life to “do something.”  (OK – my mind is still reeling)

God has really been working on my heart in this area lately and I needed to see this movie.  I pray that my heart is changed, last night wasn’t a wasted moment, that I would be part of the solution.

Will you be part too?

(If you didn’t get to see the film, I’m sure it will be out on DVD at some point.  I HIGHLY recommend it.)

In Christianity, Missional ,
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God-Pleasing Worship

October 30, 2009 — 1 Comment

I thought I would share this as we start the weekend – which is filled with many things, including opportunities for gathered worship (otherwise known as “church”).

God has been really working on me in this area lately.  I’m far from where He would have me be and know I will never “arrive” at that place this side of Heaven.

Anyway, I thought I would share two songs that have been hitting me heavy this week:

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Instead of a Show, Jon Foreman

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Fade With Our Voices, Jason Gray

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“… Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

– Jesus (Mark 12:30-31)

“Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

– Wisdom from King Lemuel’s mom (Proverbs 31:8-9)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

– James the Just. (James 1:27)

x

What will our “gathered” worship result in this coming week?

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Accepting God’s Omnipotence

October 28, 2009 — 1 Comment

I was reflecting on Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love” at Lunch…

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God is all-powerful. (from chapter 1, “Stop Praying”)

For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.

– Paul to the Church at Colossae (Collosians 1:16)

Don’t we live instead as though God is created for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and to take care of our loved ones? – Chan

x

“His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: ‘What have You done?’ ”

– King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:34-37)

Can you worship a God who isn’t obligated to explain His actions
to you? – Chan

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Abba, Father:

 

At times, my human inclination to the often-hard-to-grasp truth of Your omnipotence is to the echo the Disciple’s statement, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”  I pray that, through the power of the Holy Spirit and based on the truth of Your inherent and strong Word, my faith would be strengthened when my human view and questions cloud things.

You are God…i am not. May my worship not be contingent on my full understanding of Your ways and thoughts.

dennis

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Facebook Rant – Gotta Get This Off My Chest!

October 26, 2009 — 1 Comment

I sit here typing this having just finished eating a nice meal, in my warm home, with a 2×4 sticking out of my eye partly blocking the view of both the keyboard and the monitor…

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So Facebook changed its Live Feed / News Feed / Status Updates (whatever the “official” name is) display, which has led to much uproar by users.

Groups are being formed…petitions signed, …

I drive by their Palo Alto office on my way home and did not note any protesters today.  Though, one never knows whose lurking!

Anyway, quite honestly, I really didn’t notice the change too much, nor was I really bothered. My measly (though appreciated and loved) ~190 friends offer very little “clutter” and I really do enjoy reading my friend’s posts…

What’s bugged more was the whining and ranting…

So, as a public service, I’d like to offer a forum for the very few people who frequent my blog to air their Facebook rants.

Please, feel free to view the photo below as you type your rant in the comments field below – probably having just finished a meal, now sitting in your warm home, etc…

Compassion

C’mon folks!

Just sayin’!

x
(…dropping my stone and walking away now…)

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Everything Falls

October 21, 2009 — 1 Comment

This song and its truth have been rattling around in my head since I got Fee’s new album a few weeks ago…

The story:x

The song:

WOW and AMEN.

x

Everything Falls
Steve Fee
from Hope Rising

You said You’d never leave or forsake me, when You said this life is shake me.
You said this world is gonna bring trouble on my soul. This I know.

When everything falls apart, Your arms hold me together.
When everything falls apart You’re the only hope for this heart.
When everything falls apart and my strength is gone, I find You mighty and strong.
You keep holding on, You keep holding on.

When I see darkness all around me, when I see tragedy has found me, I still believe.
Your faithful arms will never let me go. Still I know

Sorrow will last for the night, but hope is rising with the sun, it’s rising with the sun.
There will be storms in this life, but I know You have overcome, You have overcome

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