THINGS AREN'T ALWAYS AS THEY MIGHT APPEAR

I wanted to use these pictures to encourage who ever is out there and might find themselves in a place where things don't make any sense. Or even maybe has caused you to think things are actually much different than they really are.

If we are in Christ, we have been made new, whether we feel like it or not. He is here with us always, whether we feel it or not. Sometimes we interpret things one way because of how we feel or even by what we see and we might be dead wrong.

I am learning to trust God and what he has said even when things don't make sense and my feeling or even the visual(what is right in from of me in that moment of life) doesn't add up.

He is always here. Where can we go that he doesn't go with us. Even when we don't seem to be able to reach out and grab hold of him we can trust that he will never leave us or forsake us. Life is messy and hard and painful at times and some times it might seem it is most of the time. It doesn't change the reality of what life in him means.

I'm learning that trust isn't something we choose to do. It is the outcome of KNOWING him and KNOWING I am loved. I also think it works like this, the more I am confident in his love for me the more my eyes are opened to see and know more of him. It opens up into somethings so much better than the rigid confines of the religious mind can ever teach us. I'm finding myself just trusting him more. Whether I see him at that moment or not.

I took these two picture from the same spot across Trillium Lake towards Mt. Hood. One on one day and the other on the next. I was so amazed and stunned that something so big could just be gone from view when I had seen it so clearly before. Mt. Hood was still there behind the fog.

HE IS ALWAYS THERE EVEN WHEN THE FOG OF LIFE'S TRIALS SEEM SO OVERWHELMING.

I'M STICKING MY NECK OUT AGAIN

I know all too well when folks start talking like this a lot of people think you are nuts. But here it goes.

Have any of you thought much about the world system being a domination structure? I heard it said this way. All of us, from the moment we were born are a part of this system and are taught by a covert curriculum. The world system from the very beginning starts to tell us how to feel and what to think.

The term Christ means: God's liberating King. He comes to liberate us from this world system that is set on dominating us. The covert curriculum has been at work in an attempt to distract us and the means it employs actually strengthens the natural man that the cross was meant to serve a death blow to. God wants to set us on a new path in his kingdom where he is the only one we are interested in serving. He then becomes the one that directs our path instead of the one who is in control of this world system.

I feel I am for the first time really believing this message of the kingdom. I'm warned not to get caught up in this system that is all around us. The call was that I would be in it but not of it. In it, but not live on the terms the world system curriculum tries to tell me I am to live by. The spirit is the teacher and the curriculum the spirit is teaching is the very heart and mind of God.

GOD IN THE MOVIES

From the website of Cedar Ridge

God in the Movies:
Return of the King----------A message by Brian McLaren

"The Bible is filled with pictures of what the world could look like, and we need to hold onto hope when the struggle is difficult. Sometimes we lose faith and need a friend to carry us."

This is a 30 minute message. I encourage anyone who happens to stop by here to take the time to go to this link and listen. We must never lose hope. When we falter it is a most wonderful gift to have a friend or better yet friends, that will carry us through until we can walk on our own again.

Don't ever turn back and don't ever give up.

Here is the link http://www.crcc.org/converse/talks.htm
and the audio # is 1921

LINES FROM SOME OF MY FAVORITE SONGS

On a little lighter note I wanted to post some of my favorite lines of songs from some of my favorite artists.Not in any specific order of importance.

Think of me as nut if you like, but music and poetry are powerful ways of conveying messages and truths. Jesus used parables to teach us things of the kingdom. Psalmists used music. Prophets often had a poetic nature to the things they said. In our day adults often look down on the music of the day as just being about rebellion and anti establishment. Many artist, far to many fit into this category. The bands mentioned below do not.

You all might be surprised to not find any mention of U2 below. I've already posted much from them before so I skipped them here. I know, everyone is sighing........a bit of relief.

Maybe you don't care. And that is OK with me. But I would ask you this. If you haven't thought much about music being used by some very talented believers to speak of things of heaven, read through some of this stuff.

The other thing is these are artist that refuse to play within the constricting confines of the Christian Music Industry which is just another part of the "Christian Subculture" that tends to perform mostly to the "Christian Subculture." These bands are out in the world sharing their life in God experiences with people who usually wouldn't listen to the message being put out through the "Christian Subculture."

Father speaks intimately to me and many other people through music. These are just a few examples from two bands.

SNOW PATROL
From Run
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Chasing Cars;
I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

OVER THE RHINE
Changes Come;
There is all this untouched beauty
The light the dark both running through me
Is there still redemption for anyone

Long Lost Brother;
So tell me your troubles
Let your pain rain down
I know my job I've been around
I invest in the mess
I'm a low cost dumping ground

Nobody's Number One;
And though we love to numb the pain
We come to learn that it's in vain
Pain is our mother
She makes us recognize each other

You need questions
Forget about the answers
Do you really wanna die this way

That's the trouble with you and me
We always hit the bottom 'fore we get set free
I'm so far down
I'm beginning to breathe

Remind Us;
Sinners and saints, priests and kings
Are we just using God for our own gain

Latter Days;
What a beautiful piece of heartache this has all turned out to be.
Lord knows we've learned the hard way all about healthy apathy.
And I use these words pretty loosely.
There's so much more to life than words.
There is a me you would not recognize, dear.
Call it the shadow of myself.
And if the music starts before I get there
dance without me.
You dance so gracefully.
I really think I'll be o.k.
They've taken their toll these latter days.

All I Need Is Everything;
So from now till kingdom come,
taste the words on the tip of my tongue.
'Cause we can't run truth out of town,
only force it underground.
The roots grow deeper
in ways we can't conceive.

Etcetera Whatever;
So come on now,
I can almost see
that place on a distant shore.

And courage is a weapon we must use
to find some life you can't refuse.

Faithfully Dangerous;
Your paint dries, the canvas smiles,
with two eyes you lift yourself up.
Stroke your skin, there are teeth marks to be sure.
Maybe we're best close to the ground.
Maybe angels drag us down.
I wonder which part of this will leave the scar.

Happy To Be So;
If I try to pray, it's like a game of red rover.
I take a real good run at it,
but I can't break through.
Don't matter anyway.
I'm so redhanded.
The game is over.
I'll just tell the truth.
I know a love that will not let me go.

Born;
I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I'm gonna learn to love without fear

Drunkard's Prayer;
Like an ocean
Without waves
You're the movement
That I crave
And in that motion
I long to drown
And be lost not to be found

You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time

Spark;
Obsessions with self-preservation
Faded when I threw my fear away
It's not a thing you can imagine
You either lose your fear
Or spend your life with one foot in the grave
Is God the last romantic?

Looking Forward To Looking Back;
Good news can be so unkind
When it's everything you have to
leave behind
I'm lookin' forward to lookin' back
On this day

Here It Is;
I can’t seem to let go
I’m so scared of losing
The deeper the love goes
The deeper the bruising

I want to get caught
In some radical act
Of love and redemption
The sound of warm laughter
Some true conversation
With a friend or my lover

GIVING OUR LIVES OVER TO HIM AND HIS DREAM

I am so amazed at his faithfulness when we give ourselves to him. Giving ourselves to him as free of agenda as we can is of utmost importance.

Actually learning to let go of the control and getting onto his page and participating in the story he has been about working out from the beginning of time is producing much freedom in my life. His story and dream for us is awesome. The one I had been trying to work out for him on my own was death.

This year of deconstuction and the beginning of some reconstruction has been such a change in my life. My thoughts have been so challenged by the spirit and the view from here is so much better. It's not easier, in actuality, it is much harder at times, but it is more real. I'm not the center anymore. Jesus and the kingdom he is at work establishing is becoming the center. As this began to happen many confusing things in my head and heart started to clear up. Much of the chaos all around me in this crazy world is starting to make sense also. God's dream for his creation is the only way out. Man operating outside of the ways of God will only continue to make it worse.

The rabbit hole will just keep getting deeper.

THINK......THINK.......THINK

I believe we have all been duped to a certain degree. Unfortunately it applies to most of us. We have been programmed by the world system we have grown up in and it has left us in dire straights. What shall we do about it?

First of all we need to admit this fact. Then we need to let a deconstruction begin. For the deconstruction to begin we must learn what the system is that has wired us to function in the way we do.

I am learning one of the greatest external controls we are susceptible to and molded by is what I like to call ridiculous voices. This system of control is relentless and most people are totally unaware of it. It is always here telling us what and how to think. This is destructive on many levels and each of us have to figure out for ourselves how it is effecting us. For me, I see it as the thing that has robbed us of our God given ability to think for ourselves and to have our moments of truth discovery through the holy spirit. We need to be deep thinkers led by the spirit of God.

If you look closely at the way Jesus spoke to people of the truths of God, and what life is all about, he seemed to on one hand respond to questions with his own questions. So often people, especially the pharisees, were trying to set traps for him by the questions they asked. They operated this way because they had been groomed by the same controlling world system I mentioned above. They lived closed lives because the system by which they functioned made them believe they had figured out the answers. These answers, if attained by means of earthly wisdom, even if they are wrapped in "Religious lingo" are always wrong and twisted in some way.

If Jesus didn't responded with a question of his own, he usually answered in a way that was so out of sorts with their way of thinking that caught them off guard and created more unsettling questions for them. Was there a reason Jesus seemed so intentional in doing it like this? I think there was.

He is the Word that was with God from the beginning. Everything we need to know pertaining to life is embodied within him. He was God coming to dwell among us in the flesh to show us the way and to make the way possible for us. He so clearly pointed out the fact that the world system that all people were under the control of, was wrong about everything. He proclaimed that he had come to establish another kingdom. Another way of thinking and living. There are still two kingdoms here today. Unfortunately, even most people who believe in God are still trying to live by the principles of the wrong kingdom. It is the one producing the ridiculous voices that keep us distracted and keeps us from thinking for ourselves.

We need to break free from the controls that tell us everything. We are surrounded by bad art and leaders that squelch deep thinking by telling us what to think. Our lives are full of this bad art, pumped out through TV, movies, magazines and unfortunately what passes most of the time as preaching today. We need to be taught to think for ourselves again instead of answers being thrown at us and force fed to us. Jesus' way always draws us to him because he is the answer. It's not what others think about God and truth that is most important. We need to know God ourselves and find truth through our knowing of him through Jesus, the exact representation of the Father. God does put people in our lives to help with this but they shouldn't become answer men and women to us. Be aware of this because too often this is what we get today.

The One who is the Word, The Answer, that was with God from the beginning and came and dwelt among us, and left us with something he said was better, the holy spirit who will lead us into all the truth, needs to be allowed to be that for us again. We must learn to detect these controls, and the people who operate using them, so that we can silence the ridiculous voices, so we can hear His voice. Learning to follow his voice inside us is the only way, He who is the answer, will ever be enough of a reality in our lives so that we can break free from this controlling world system and follow him in his kingdom.

A deeper understanding of the ways of the kingdom of heaven is much needed in God's people today. His kingdom functions in a way so very different than the one we see, feel and all too often find ourselves following.

I LOVE THIS QUESTION

Does Jesus' Church have a message of the kingdom of God or does Jesus' message of the kingdom of God have a Church?

I heard this on this two part teaching by Brian McLaren

http://www.crcc.org/converse/talks.htm The messages are under #2006 and #2010 in that order.

A CHRISTMAS MESSEGE

I'm hitting on this message of love again this Christmas Eve because I believe this is the message we need to hear coming from God. This is what God was speaking to us through the incarnation, through the life of Jesus and the proclamation of the "Good News" and the kingdom and then in his willingness to go to the cross and show us the ultimate act of love.

Paul seemed to get this truth loud and clear and it seems to me he was alluding to the fact that if we miss this we miss everything.

1 Corinthians 13
1 If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body [to hardship] that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I am adding the lyrics to this song from U2 and a link to a video of them performing it with Mary J. Blige. I use this version because I love the passion and intensity that Mary brings to the song.

Carrying each other is not suppose to be a burden, it is a privilege.

Love might not ever be the easy thing, but it is the only thing we get to take out of this life with us.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=XlHnHY_xQVg

One

Is it getting better, or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you, now you got someone to blame?
You say one love, one life, when it's one need in the night.
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you baby if you don't care for it.

Did I disappoint you or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love and you want me to go without.
Well, it's too late tonight to drag the past out into the light.
We're one, but we're not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other... one

Have you come here for forgiveness,
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
to the lepers in your head

Did I ask too much, more than a lot
You gave me nothing, now it's all I got.
We're one, but we're not the same.
Well, we hurt each other, then we do it again.

You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law.
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on to what you got,
when all you got is hurt.

One love, one blood, one life,
you got to do what you should.
One life with each other: sisters, brothers.
One life, but we're not the same.
We get to carry each other, carry each other.
One, one.

My prayer for 2007 and beyond is that we see the Church, be Love, as God intended us to be. It starts with me and you. If we want to see it, we must become it ourselves. Only in Him is this even possible.

LINES FROM SONGS THAT SPEAK IMPORTANT THINGS TO ME

On a little lighter note I wanted to post some of my favorite lines of songs from some of my favorite artists.

Not in any specific order of importance.

Think of me as nut if you like, but music and poetry are powerful ways of conveying messages and truths. Jesus used parables to teach us things of the kingdom. Psalmists used music. Prophets often had a poetic nature to the things they said. In our day adults often look down on the music of the day as just being about rebellion and anti establishment. Many artist, far to many fit into this category. The bands mentioned below do not.

You all might be surprised to not find any mention of U2 below. They take up too much room to be added here. They will follow tomorrow. Maybe you don't care. And that is OK with me. But I would ask you this. If you haven't thought much about music being used by some very talented believers to speak of things of heaven, read through some of this stuff.

Father speaks intimately to me through music. These are just some examples.

SNOW PATROL

From Run
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Chasing Cars
I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

OVER THE RHINE

Changes Come
There is all this untouched beauty
The light the dark both running through me
Is there still redemption for anyone

Long Lost Brother
So tell me your troubles
Let your pain rain down
I know my job I've been around
I invest in the mess
I'm a low cost dumping ground

Nobody's Number One
And though we love to numb the pain
We come to learn that it's in vain
Pain is our mother
She makes us recognize each other


You need questions
Forget about the answers
Do you really wanna die this way

That's the trouble with you and me
We always hit the bottom 'fore we get set free
I'm so far down I'm beginning to breathe

Remind Us
Sinners and saints, priests and kings
Are we just using God for our own gain


Latter Days
What a beautiful piece of heartache this has all turned out to be.
Lord knows we've learned the hard way all about healthy apathy.
And I use these words pretty loosely.
There's so much more to life than words.

There is a me you would not recognize, dear.
Call it the shadow of myself.
And if the music starts before I get there dance without me.
You dance so gracefully.
I really think I'll be o.k. They've taken their toll these latter days.

All I Need Is Everything
So from now till kingdom come,
taste the words on the tip of my tongue.
'Cause we can't run truth out of town,
only force it underground.
The roots grow deeper
in ways we can't conceive.


Etcetra Whatever
So come on now,
I can almost see
that place
on a distant shore.
And courage is a weapon we must use
to find some life you can't refuse.


Faithfully Dangerous
Your paint dries, the canvas smiles,
with two eyes you lift yourself up.
Stroke your skin, there are teeth marks to be sure.
Maybe we're best close to the ground.
Maybe angels drag us down.
I wonder which part of this will leave the scar.


Happy To Be So
If I try to pray, it's like a game of red rover.
I take a real good run at it, but I can't break through.
Don't matter anyway. I'm so redhanded.
The game is over. I'll just tell the truth.

I know a love that will not let me go.


Born
I was born to laugh
I learned to laugh through my tears
I was born to love
I'm gonna learn to love without fear

Drunkard's Prayer
Like an ocean
Without waves
You're the movement
That I crave
And in that motion
I long to drown
And be lost not to be found
You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time


Spark
Obsessions with self-preservation
Faded when I threw my fear away
It's not a thing you can imagine

You either lose your fear
Or spend your life with one foot in the grave
Is God the last romantic?

Looking Forward To Looking Back
Good news can be so unkind
When it's everything you have to
leave behind
I'm lookin' forward to lookin' back
On this day


Tomorrow, U2 will take a full post

WHY DO WE SO OFTEN MAKE THIS ABOUT GETTING MORE, WHEN LIFE IN HIM SEEMED TO BE ABOUT LOSING MUCH?

Jesus said, for one to find his life he must lose it. I know that doesn't necessarily apply to material things and it is more about us giving up the old way (the self life) and losing ourselves in Him. But for me this is what's happening. My life that is hidden with Christ in God he is revealing, doesn't seem to care as much about the material things. I am seeing them for the dangerous distraction they are. Not only are they a dangerous distraction, they just don't satisfy.

But the place or home, I am finding in the heart of this awesome Father, that has been prepared for me can't be described with mere words. The more of that old me I lose the more real this other life I am finding springs forth. He is more real, the spirit is more real, my family is more real and I am finding friendships to be more real. You might say, I have felt this year like I am for the first time begining to breath and live as if I am a new person.

What could I go out and buy with money that could compare to this. Nothing can compare but it just might compete for my attention which I am learning would be a tragedy.

The words of Christ about losing my life to find it in Him seems to be wonderful advice to hang onto during this most distracting of Holidays.

Enjoy Him in full everyday of your life that remains.

LIFE CAN BE MESSY

Why are we so surprised by this? Our attempts to change this reality or to keep the mess away from ourselves, our kids, our spouse and life in general can make us control freaks. This attempt to control, that most if not all of us operate from, unless God sets us free, distorts our relationships with our kids, our spouse, and anyone else in our lives.

I found out it is most definitely possible that we are caught up in this cycle of control and not even aware of it. It disguises itself in many different ways. Religion seems to be an exceptionally good place for it to hide. Being the 'spiritual leader' of the house can be another place control hides.

Like a painter that must step back from his work to gain a better perspective, we must step back from what we are involved in so that we too may gain a better perspective also.

Leaders don't control and manipulate. Control freaks do.

Here is a great podcast that deals with these issues of control.

http://www.thegodjourney.com/archive/Individual/Jake.html

WHAT IS THE HEART OF THE MESSAGE IN THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN?

Some more from Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy

"The general assumptions of Jesus's hearers about who has eternal life has to be revised in the light of the condition of people's hearts. The story does not teach that we can have eternal life just by loving our neighbor. We can not get away with that nice legalism either. The issue of our posture towards God still has to be taken into account. But in God's order nothing can substitute for loving people. And the way we define who our neighbors are, is by our love. We make a neighbor by caring for him or for her. So we don't just define a class of people who will be our neighbors and then select only them as the object of our love, leaving the rest to lie wherever they fall. Jesus deftly rejects the question, Who is my neighbor?and substitutes the only question really relevant here. To whom will I be a neighbor? and he knows that we can only answer this question case by case as we go through our days."

WOW, do we seem to be doing well with this idea of love, in light of that description? There needs to be some more capturing of my heart by God's love it seems. How often am I too busy to be that neighbor when I see someone in need? If I am really honest, too often.

SOMETHING THAT STILL JUST AMAZES ME.

Why does it happen so often in Christian circles, that one gets accused of being a socialist if you act like you are concerned for the poor? Jesus mentioned taking care of the poor more than any other thing.

I had a believer the other day actually say, people like Bono need to preach the gospel instead of trying to care for those suffering from AIDS and trying to rid the world of poverty. I was so stunned I simply couldn't even respond.

How in the world has such a large percentage of those who profess faith ended up with this mentality that is so out of sorts with what Jesus demonstrated life in the kingdom he was setting up was to be like?

I think it is hilarious that people think I am a socialist. I think some of that comes from commenting on Bono in a positive way. Why doesn't that also then make me a rock star? Darnit, I want to be mistaken for a rock star.

FROM THE DIVINE CONSPIRACY

Dallas Willard is speaking hear of what too often is the focus of the preaching of the gospel as opposed to learning how to live in the abundance of life God has invited us into.

"But intelligent effectual entry into this life is currently obstructed by clouds of well intentioned misinformation. The gospels that predominate where He is most frequently invoked speak only of preparing to die or else of correcting social practices and conditions. These are both obviously matters of great importance but neither one touches the quick of individual existence or taps the depths of the reality of Christ."

DRINK DEEPLY

Not much to say today but I am very aware of this truth. Life is a gift. Everyday is beautiful for that reason alone. The gift is from God and he is the only thing that brings steadfast meaning to life.

It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away.

Drink deeply of the things of God, where real life in abundance is found.

SIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS REPRODUCE SIN MANAGEMENT PEOPLE

From Dallas Willard's "Divine Conspiracy"

"The gospel of sin management produces vampire Christians who want Jesus for his blood and little else."

"At the heart of right-wing theology is the individual forgiveness of sins. On the left it is the removal of social or structural evils. The current gospel then becomes a gospel of sin management. Transformation of heart and character is no part of the redemptive message. Moment to moment human reality is not the arena of faith and eternal living. What right and left have in common is neither has a coherent framework of knowledge and practical direction adequate to personal transformation toward the abundance and the obedience emphasized in the New Testament."


I started listening to this on audio book today. I am sure there are many out there that would deny this to be true. I am certain this does not apply to everyone who is hearing the gospel preached today. As a matter of fact I know that many are finding a freedom and reality of life in the kingdom. But I also have observed the opposite and I would have to say it applies to the majority if upwards of 80% in our country proclaim they believe in God.

When greed, gossip, lies, power grabs, control and manipulation are so overlooked and sexual sins or drinking and other substance abuse or how one dresses becomes the sins to be avoided and judged if not avoided, I think Dallas has said it just right. We end up with a sin management system. I would even add this. Even if this was what we were suppose to set up, it is exercised and applied unfairly. So, reguardless of the way one might see it, the religious system of the day, either way has a big problem.

What is the answer for this problem? What should we do about it?

DON'T SETTLE FOR THE IMITATION WHILE THE PROMISE OF THE REAL SABBATH REST IS STILL OUT THERE FOR US TO ENTER INTO

"Hope Against Darkness" Richard Rohr

"Once we lose the sense of inherent value, we have lost all hope of encountering true value, much less the Holy. Even people of religion, if they do not pray, will normally regress to an "exchange value" reading of religion. It is no longer a Great Mystery, mystic union and transformation, but merely social order and control. Moral codes and priesthoods are inlisted for the sake of enforcement and some measure of civility. For many, if not most, Western Christians, it is basically a "Crime and Punishment" scenario instead of the "Grace and Mercy" world that Jesus proclaims.

This is the only way that the postmodern Christian can put shape into this basically shapeless, bad novel called human life. It looks like an answer, or even gospel, but it is the sad old story line of most of history: The big and strong win; Prometheus passes as Jesus. I must admit this was the only gospel I heard in my early seminary training. What a relief to finally study the Gospels and observe the real transformative patterns in humanity!"

Please don't ever settle for conformity over real transformation and don't ever think if you haven't fit well within those boundaries that you are not important and valuable to God. Inner transformation is the only thing Jesus is interested in. Trying to clean up the outside is not where it is at and actually anybody who is really honestly looking at you can see through it anyway. The only people that even seem sometimes willing to except that false game are those who are playing the same religious game with you.

There is a life that will transform us and it is found in Him and it requires us to be real. Let God bust your illusions. Let him free you from the tyranny of feeling you must always be in control when in actuality you are not in control of anything. Let his grace and mercy work deep within you and do something this dangerous model of conformity never can do.

THANKS TO A FRIEND, THIS GET'S USED AGAIN BUT WITH MANY ADDITIONS

I posted this back in July and in light of my recent posting and reading my friend Trish's blog this morning, it gets revisited. I am inserting it here because I think we are stressed-out and grey-faced because we are living in a way(the American Way) that is so out of sorts with living free. We have been duped. Freedom is something most in America do not understand. Our society is not much different than any other, when stood side by side to the kingdom of heaven for comparison sake. It is an external system designed to control us. If we don't break free from it, it has reign and rule over our lives, not God. This truth is of utmost importance to the church.

Trish's post today is about living a life of questioning and inspiring those around us to not be afraid of questions.

Our guide in this questioning is the Holy Spirit, not what the world and all it's controlling systems (yes, American is part of that and so is religion) tells us. I heard it said like this the other day, "If America is a part of the kingdom of the world and scripture points out that the kingdom of the world is under the control of our greatest enemy, the one who wants to destroy our soul, don't you think we should question everything that comes from it?"

From a post in July:

I picked up a book this morning I had read last year. "Plan B" by Anne Lamott. I certainly enjoyed "Traveling Mercies" better, but this one has some really good stuff in it also. The chapter titled Adolescence, had this conclusion, "My friend Mark, who works with church youth groups reminded me recently that Sam doesn't need me to correct his feelings. He needs me to listen, to be clear and fair and parental. But most of all he needs me to be alive in a way that makes him feel he will be able to bear adulthood, because he is terrified of death, and that includes growing up to be one of the stressed-out, grey-faced adults he sees rushing around him."

I think this is very good advice. If we don't demonstrate to our children and the world around us anything different than what they are experiencing, the "Good News" of the kingdom won't look like good news or even true news. If we are caught up in the rat race, we will be grey-faced and stressed out people just like everyone else. That is with one difference, we will look like hypocrites because we say one thing and demonstrate something that looks about like what they are experiencing.

I am finding it very important to ask the questions and to seek God on these issues of the controlling world system. I prayed this simple prayer, "Explain all these controls" that have made me grey-faced, stressed out, worn-out, frustrated, over indulged yet feeling like I need more, getting more and never feeling fulfilled, confused, unstable, depressed, in debt and judgemental.

I think this pretty much covers a lot of how most of us here in America live. And here is what living like this gets us, even with the stuff I mentioned above we feel we are right and everyone else is wrong. We then surround ourselves with "yes men and women" and through this self-centered life we end up divided into tribes and our greatest purpose then is to prove we are superior and our call to love gets lost. At the far end of what this approach gets us is war. Nothing inbetween where we might be and the far end is good. It is not how Jesus showed us to live. When our focus is wrong we walk around blind. When we live unaware of this blindness we enforce in others their blindness.

When a promise of something much better is dangled in front of someone and the path in which one must go to live in the reality of that promise is not clear or is out right replaced with a wrong path, that promise unfulfilled produces despair after awhile. The grey-faced, stressed-out person I once was, is being displaced by the love of this most awesome Father and I am seeing with an ever clearer vision, that life in his kingdom even when it costs the old me everything, the person he has really made me to be thrives in what ever circumstances I find myself. Even the painful and messy ones.

( updated today 12/16) THE KINGDOM WAY OF LIFE OR THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE?

Have you ever considered that the more we try to to hang onto America and try to make it a part of the kingdom of heaven, or act like it is, the more entrenched we become in the American way of living and not the kingdom way of living?

Have you ever given much thought to the offensive nature of the "Good News" when it comes to this issue of where our alligence is placed? As an American, how does this effect us? Might it costs us the American way of life to live the kingdom way of life?

How about the parts of our lives that we have grabbed and God has not given? Could this be why so many are so stressed and depressed?

How about our sense of security if that security is misplaced? Could this be why so many live in fear?

What if we have substituted freedom in him for Democratic freedom? Could this be why many believers here in America actually believe we are more blessed than any other nation?

Have we substituted the riches of heaven and bought into the notion of consumerism?

It seems to me our Churches have adopted a consumerist approach. You better be selling the best thing in town (message, worship, programs) or the crowds will go down the street to where the best is being sold.

The "Good News" is the best news ever spoken, but unless God has his way with us through the cross, we will filter the "Good News" through the eyes of the flesh. In our case, American eyes of the flesh.

I believe it distorts the message of the gospel.

Here is an article pointing out one area in which the American way is distorting the kingdom way.

http://www.allelon.org/articles/article.cfm?id=87

PROVOCATIVE THOUGHT ( HELPFUL OR DANGEROUS?)

Some people are afraid of questioning or critical thought. I think history has proven that it is the status quo we should be afraid of. The best artist has to take a step back away from his work to get a proper perspective. This applies to everything and everybody.

If we in the Church never step back and take a look from outside of what we are doing, we could find ourselves doing things we aren't even aware of. This is just a fact that has been proven over and over. Why does history continue to repeat itself? I would say maybe it is because we always believe in our own stuff. I don't know about you, but I don't always trust myself to get it right. But I do trust that God knows all things. We need God and we need each other to remind us to step back and take a look at what we are doing from another perspective.

#4 below reminded me of some of the things I have been saying about the ridiculous voices we are surrounded by. I am finding much freedom in recognizing more and more of these voices that clamor for our attention.

If you are interested in having some of your comfort zones challenged, read through Brueggemann's thoughts and give them some consideration yourself if they seem different from how you think normally or naturally from your own biases or perspective. The link at the end will direct you to the entire article.

Here is an excerpt from a piece done by Walter Brueggemann.

"I HAVE BEEN thinking about the ways in which the Bible is a critical alternative to the enmeshments in which we find ourselves in the church and in society. I have not, of course, escaped these enmeshments myself, but in any case I offer a series of 19 theses about the Bible in the church."


"4. This script--enacted through advertising, propaganda and ideology, especially in the several liturgies of television--promises to make us safe and happy. Therapeutic, technological, consumerist militarism pervades our public life and promises us security and immunity from every threat. And if we shall be safe, then we shall be happy, for who could watch the ads for cars and beers and deodorants and give thought to such matters as the trade deficit or homelessness or the residue of anger and insanity left by the war or by destruction of the environment? This script, with its illusion of safety and happiness, invites life in a bubble that is absent of critical reflection."

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_24_122/ai_n15966653

EUGENE PETERSON ON SPIRITUAL FORMATION

What an awesome journey this is. It is hard to explain the year I have had. It seems that during the past 22 years at least, God has been at work in me doing His thing. Many of those years I believe I was in the way of what He was doing or at least not working along side Him. Religion can be very deceptive. I thank God for never giving up on getting at me. We all can rest assured that He is pursuing us at all times more diligently than we ever pursue Him.

I have been thinking much since my little encounter with Neo the other day. The spirit works in mysterious ways. One of the things that he said that just sticks out to me was his comment towards the point that I was just wanting my ears tickled. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This year has been about God taking the first 42 years of my life and fast forwarding things at warp speed. I see clearly that much of the past 18 years outside the traditional Sunday gatherings I had grown up in, had been about preparing me for this past year. This past year was about getting at these issues of control I needed to have set right, and I believe we all need to take note of. American life has taught us that we must take control and make our lives what we want them to be. Life in the kingdom does not work this way.

This attitude has permeated our Christian experience and left us in a mess. I have said this before but I will say it again. Where we are in control He is not. He is left on the outside and becomes just something else we try to control. I learned late last year it doesn't matter one bit how biblical our dream looks if it isn't what God is doing. This is what I believe so much of Americanized Christianity has given us. We take the truths of God and we use them to build basically what everyone in America is building. Our own deal. It is all about what we want God to be.

Eugene Peterson deals with much of this in this teaching. We must get on God's page and do it the way He is doing it. It's not about me. It's about what He is doing and He has invited you and I to come along side Him and work with Him. What is so wonderful about what has happened this year is that so many of the non essential things that were taking up so much of the space in my mind and heart have been displaced by His dream. Let me say this also, don't be fooled by those things even if they look Godly. If it is about us instead of Him it is building on the sand. I'm glad the building I was doing on my own " American-conservative-republican-christian terms" got knocked down.

Letting God do the building, has cost that old Kent much, in terms of what I thought was important. I've lost a lot of me this past year. I am greatful for what He has done. What has opened up to me and I have seen, costs that old Kent everything. The Kent, He is making me into, misses nothing of the old Kent. To find your life, you must lose it.

I hope He speaks something to all who take the time to listen.

When you get to the site look for the Eugene Peterson mp3 "Why Spiritual Formation is Not An Option"
http://www.allelon.org/radio/

IF WE DON'T KNOW THE WAY, WE MESS UP THE TRUTH, AND MISS THE LIFE

I am adding a link here to a blog I ran across Yesterday. Jason is a former youth pastor trying to find freedom from the religious system that he has been performing in. I don't know Jason at all except for his heart that he has shared on his blog. Jason, I am praying for you and your family to find Jesus as the Way like you could have never even imagined. That is actually a prayer of mine for all of us.

Jesus as the Truth is so important. But it is not enough that we know the Truth. Without us learning Him as the Way we will always struggle with living in Him as the Life.

I wish Jason's story was rare but unfortunately it is not. I know of countless stories like his. I am actually more closely involved at this time in two other similar situations where pastors and their families have been so hurt over power plays and have been forced out. It's bad enough that those directly involved are hurt deeply but it doesn't end there. The pain that these fellowships are going through cause scars and mistrust that can last for many years.

We must end this madness that is being carried out in the name of God.

Here is a link to Jason's blog

http://discover-truth.blogspot.com/

SOME QUOTES ON THE SUBJECT OF NOT KNOWING WHEN TO SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Wendell Berry on Satisfaction:
[W]e have many commodities but little satisfaction, little sense of the sufficiency of anything. The scarcity of satisfaction makes of our many commodities an infinite series of commodities, the new commodities invariably promising greater satisfaction than the older ones. In fact, the industrial economy's most marketed commodity is satisfaction, and this commodity, which is repeatedly promised, bought, and paid for, is never delivered.
(Quoted by Shannon Jung in Food For Life, Augsburg Fortress, 2004, p. 3.)






Walter Brueggemann on scarcity and abundance
We who are now the richest nation are today's main coveters. We never feel that we have enough; we have to have more and more, and this insatiable desire destroys us. Whether we are liberal or conservative Christians, we must confess that the central problem of our lives is that we are torn apart by the conflict between our attraction to the good news of God's abundance and the power of our belief in scarcity — a belief that makes us greedy, mean and unneighborly. We spend our lives trying to sort out that ambiguity.
(From "The Liturgy of Abundance, the Myth of Scarcity", Christian Century, March 24, 1999)






More from Walter Brueggemann:
We live in a world where the gap between scarcity and abundance grows wider every day. Whether at the level of nations or neighborhoods, this widening gap is polarizing people, making each camp more and more suspicious and antagonistic toward the other. But the peculiar thing, at least from a biblical perspective, is that the rich — the ones with the abundance--rely on an ideology of scarcity, while the poor — the ones suffering from scarcity — rely on an ideology of abundance. How can that be? The issue involves whether there is enough to go around — enough food, water, shelter, space. An ideology of scarcity says no, there's not enough, so hold onto what you have. In fact, don't just hold onto it, hoard it. Put aside more than you need, so that if you do need it, it will be there, even if others must do without. An affirmation of abundance says just the opposite: Appearances notwithstanding, there is enough to go around, so long as each of us takes only what we need. In fact, if we are willing to have but not hoard, there will even be more than enough left over. The Bible is about abundance.
(From "Enough Is Enough" - The Other Side , November-December 2001

THEY WILL KNOW ARE MY DISCIPLES BY YOUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER

Reading through the NT it seems to me Paul and others praised the saints in many locations, for the love they had for one another and the good fruit it produced among them. This seemed to be a constant theme of Jesus also. There are several examples like this one:

Colossians 1

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To God's holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. [a]

Thanksgiving and Prayer

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all his people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true word of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world— just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God's grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

It also seems to me, that love so often gets trumped by arguments on Theology. Searching out the truths contained in scripture is important. I love discussing it with people.

It also seems to me that the world loves to exploit the fact that the Church is so divided over issues like this. It makes me think there might be something at work here to keep us from coming together in the love of the spirit?

Paul also said that knowledge puffs us up, but love edifies. That sounds like a heads up warning of something we should be ever presently aware of?

ORIENTATION, DISORIENTATION, REORIENTATION

I wanted to be open this morning with some thoughts that have been running through my head and heart this year. It is some of this stuff that has begun a reorientation in my life. The life of David from the Psalms seems to speak to this idea of a knowledge of God/a period of time that knowledge doesn't seem to work well and confusion and chaos sets in/and then God brings more clarity and a more proper perspective of who He is.

I feel I have been in a reorienting period for awhile now. I also think this is a process that will probably continue to repeat itself as long as I live with a limited understanding(we see as through a glass darkly). I am more comfortable with this than I have ever been. The mystery seems to be a big part of what faith is about. If I think I know everything I wouldn't need faith.

I believe that God, the one who began this work in me will complete it. I trust Him because I am more sure than ever that I am loved by Him. That love has a way of displacing the twists in my life that sin has created and it is freeing me of the fear of God. I am coming to understand that my life is hidden with Christ in God. This is real.

Here is one of the big paradigm shifts that I believe has been important in this reorientation. My focus changed many years ago from a pursuit of 'Church' to something else. (I will get to more of the something else later). First and foremost my pursuit must be of Him. I believe Church is something we are, instead of an event or place. Things that were nouns in my understanding, have become verbs. Leadership is not a title, it is an action. (I will say more about this later also). Church isn't a meeting or a building, it is a people called out for a purpose. A kingdom purpose. Do they meet at times, yes they do. For myself it was vital to not only see this difference but it was of utmost importance to make the shift in how I live it out and how I speak of these things.

This period of change has been on going for about 18 years. Things die hard and we humans don't let go easily. Especially of things we feel are so important. Also when it comes to issues of control. The things of God and understanding what I have been given access to in Him, is my life. I've been about trying to wrap myself in this and understand it most of my life. I'm learning that I must give up my attempt to control, to Him, for his rule and reign to be a reality in my life.

Over the past few years and especially this year a new paradigm came into focus and it has begun to changed everything. When I read the gospel, it amazes me how I had lost sight of this. People who have read this blog have been given a glimpse into what some of those changes have been. The thing that has begun to come back into focus for me, is this whole idea of The Kingdom Of Heaven. It is also a verb instead of a noun. If it was a kingdom like earthly kingdoms go, it would be a noun, but it is much different. It is about the reign and rule of God. Try to contain that in a definable box. I think that is where what so often passes as 'Church' today has gone wrong. Jesus seemed to speak of the church very little and the kingdom much and we have made everything revolve around Church and speak little of the kingdom. The Church is very important and I would say I see it more as a vehicle for those in Christ to do the work of God in are neighborhoods and surrounding area, and it is constantly on the move. One thing I do know is that Jesus said He would build it. I think we should leave that to Him. He told us to seek the kingdom.

For starters, when it comes to the Church we have built, we have followed the way of the world and made it a hierarchical structure. Jesus said that those that will lead in His kingdom will not lord it over people but they would serve. That sounds absolutely upside down opposite of what passes as leadership today(titles, positions at the top, NOUNS). Servant sounds like a verb to me. If you are not doing it and living it, you can't fake it. We as God's people need to be set free from the confining structure we call the Church and we need to be the Church in the world.

My vision has expanded greatly when my focus became more kingdom oriented, instead of 'Church' oriented. My focus somehow had allowed my life as a follower of Jesus and an American to morph into one. I understand today why I was so conflicted about so many of the things of God. This switch to a kingdom perspective, I believe has separated the two, as I believe they should be. We can't serve two masters. The scriptures are very clear that world governments are under the rule of the evil one. God raises them and lowers them according to His on-going purposes. I'm no longer interested in making our world government "Christian". It is a dangerous distraction in my estimation. But I am interested in sharing the 'Good News" of the kingdom(reign and rule of God) that is at hand, so that people can live in a reconciled relationship to God through Christ and be a part of the Church Jesus is building up one living stone at a time.

My focus changing to a, seek first the kingdom of God perspective, has begun to re orientate my life to the bigger, more important story of God, that began before the beginning of time, and is on going today. Everyone has been given an invitation. It is much bigger than America and I think we would be well served to understand this, so we stop aligning ourselves with a system that violates the principles of the kingdom of heaven, and at the same time causes much pain and suffering to our brothers and sisters of the faith, around the world. I am stunned I didn't see earlier, how out of context so much of what I had believed was in light of the truth revealed in scripture, in the context of the kingdom of heaven Jesus proclaimed was at hand. For me it is changing almost everything.

WHAT MAY AT FIRST SEEM FRAGILE BECOMES, INSTEAD, A JOURNEY TOWARD A RENDEZVOUS WITH GRACE.

I had three conversations today with clients who found themselves in fragile places. I thought of the title of this post which I use often. These are often painful, dark places and they make us feel very vulnerable. I found myself encouraging them to embrace where they were and not to run from it. We are afraid of fragile places. They make us feel uncomfortable and exposed. It makes me think of the cross and my Savior hanging there fragile and exposed to the world. That fragile place He submitted to, was the beginning of the most incredible journey toward, a marvelous rendezvous with grace.

I am awed to think this is what we are invited to participate in. Why me? Why any of us?

It is always in the fragile places, that we are awakened from the sleep and slumber we so often find ourselves in. I'm learning to embrace these places because I need help in staying awake.

My children help create fragile places. My wife does also. Actually, waking up every morning and choosing to live with an unprotected heart, refusing to live as if I am in control of anything or anybody, including myself, creates the ultimate fragile place. Only here does God have the freedom to really be my life. Believing that is true, I choose to live in these fragile places, living with hope and looking forward to every moment of grace He gives me.

Everything is an awesome gift of His grace.

A POST FROM A FEW MONTHS AGO MOVED UP, ON THE SUBJECT OF JUSTICE

I'm moving this up in light of a conversation I had with some new friends in Springfield this weekend. The conversation just made these thoughts so fresh in my mind and heart again. I read this post when I returned home and wanted to revisit it.

How would you guys, if you can, describe in as few of words, what was Jesus's message to us, as to how to live in this new Kingdom of Heaven that He spoke of as being present with His arrival?

I know we can't possibly with the limitations of our little minds answer that in full. But try to tell me what it looks like to you.

Here is a paradigm shift for me. I read this the other day and it just blew me away. It brought some clarity to me. One of the things I feel Father has brought front and center to me is this idea of JUSTICE. The meaning I have lived with most of my life and with the twist society and even RELIGION puts on it has just confused me. When I heard this a lot of the confusion was cleared up. Justice seems to be about something other than punishment.

This quote is taken from: http://timneufeld.blogs.com/occasio/

"Martens did a masterful job of defining the Hebrew word for justice, mishpat. In western society we have come to understand justice as something we receive (I am a victim, I demand justice) or we dispense (he was convicted and justice was served). But mishpat could best be defined as "honorable relations." Justice is something that we do in relationship with others. It is active not passive. The goal is shalom -- not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of harmony in relationships. What might a country look like if it practiced this kind of justice?"

That sounds more like what I see Jesus showing us through His life and message. The message of reconciliation and peace make sense in light of this.

Since I first posted this here back in the summer, this whole idea of living justly as God would want me to, has just captivated me. When I started actively thinking about this, it touched every area of my life. It is changing the way I live with everyone around me.

If we desire to live this life in the kingdom of Heaven that is here at hand, I believe living justly is of utmost importance. If justice means "Honorable Relations" the goal is that we learn to live with everyone around us this way. Issues of control and manipulation must go. It should effect the way I live with my wife, my children, co-workers, those that my path crosses everyday, my friends and yes, even those that might want to do me harm. Isn't this the message of Jesus?

I am so grateful this transforming work had begun in me with what this past year has brought. It has helped show me how to live, especially with my children. They are not mine to control and manipulate to get what I want out of them or for them, no matter how good it might look. I'm learning to trust Father with them. He knows how to mold them into what He desires.

I JUST GET TO LOVE THEM, COVER THEM WITH GRACE, AND GUIDE THEM and at the same time, LEARN TO LIVE IN HONORABLE RELATIONS WITH THEM. I believe this is the way of internal transformation, not only for my children but for you and I also. This change is real. Conformity to authority can fool us.