You knew this would happen

Being a Christ follower does not exempt us from the uncertainties of life. We face life-changing events, relational challenges, health crises, financial distress, job related stresses, etc... But what we know about God's character and how we respond to life based on this knowledge is what truly distinguishes us as a child of God.

Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.
If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

From Woodinville Alliance, Roland Classen 10/4/2015

Dependent and Rejected

I wonder if my frustration with God has been that I've tried to live a life dependent upon Him. My wife and I recount the year we made just $1000 a month. We lived on $12000 a year. WOW! And never did we fear for our future.

That entire time, we were faithful to give our tithe to the church. And never thought about what we would get in return. We simply acted out of obedience to the scripture.

Yet there was a pivotal time in our past when I looked at Dawn and said "Should I give up this engineering degree and pursue Youth Ministry?" And she said "No." Because at the time, it would have been motivated by a desire to be with her rather than to do the ministry.

But now that time has passed, I'm not sure that is the case. I believe that my true motivation was to reach youth in the crux of their adolescence. And that cry to switch paths was not only a cry to be with my future wife, but to serve youth in some full time capacity.

The story plays out that I would pick engineering and run a successful 15 year career while coaching soccer and doing youth ministry on the side. On the side, of course, meant anywhere from 10-20 hours per week - sometimes serving as the youth Director or interim youth leader.

And all that time, we did it not expecting anything in return, but because this is what was on my heart to do. I received at most a $5 Starbucks card for my labor. Meanwhile, my real job was not satisfying. I have lamented at least eight years of the fifteen as the most frustrating years of my life. The majority of the joy in my life is seeing young men become men of honor.

So when the opportunity came to potentially become a full time youth minister I was optimistic and cautious. The question became, "God, will you provide for me and allow me to do the ministry that you have laid on my heart to do for some 20 years now?"

Quite simply, the answer came back "No." And in fact, He said you're going to be rejected by people that call you "friend" and know you really well. They are going to size up your work and your service and say that they would rather take a chance on someone unknown than see you in that position. My history, experience, and success weren't forgotten per se, they were rejected.

By the world's standards, I'm an idiot walking away from a successful secular career. By Christian standards, I'm lazy for not getting back in the ministry. And who is right? Both? Does God have any say in this? or is it all man's doing? Is it all me completely missing the boat on what God wants from me? What is the right answer? Go back to a 9-5 and be unsatisfied another 15 years? Get into the ministry again when your "friends" tell you you aren't good enough?

I'm dependent upon someone who's work on the cross did all the work. It isn't up to me to "save" people. I can only point them to Christ. And if you follow me, you'll end up broke and confused. But you know what? Jesus didn't have a home. He didn't have an income. And I don't suppose he really thought the cross was a good idea. But he had God. Oh - and His favor. Which I seem to be a little short on.

We were faithful. We were dependent. We were rejected. We are faithful. We are dependent. We are waiting. I just hope we aren't forgotten.

He wants you.

Matthew 18:12-14
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

You ask ‘for what’ God wants you. Isn’t the primary answer that He wants you? - CS Lewis

In all success and failures, he just wants you.

There is a moment at the end of the recent Divergent Insurgent Allegiant books where one character has the revelation moment and declares with awe, wonder, and joy "I can't move, can't speak. She chose me. She chose me!"

When I look at why a marriage succeeds or fails, I find there is a choice in love.  When we said our vows, we choose to love in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer. 

Sometimes the choice is hard. But nobody ever said marriage, or even love, was easy.

Word of Love Tank

I wasn't overly inspired by any of my readings today. But it does turn out that two of them wanted to point out that I was greatly loved. So I'll take that as a message I needed to hear.

The strange thing to me is that I'm not overly excited about this news. I wonder how big or small my words of affirmation tank really is that being told I'm loved is not that important. Perhaps it is that I know I am loved, so being told is not a revelation.

Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:3–5)

It is also not a revelation to me that not everyone feels this way. Many feel they have to prove something or demonstrate their beauty or skills in order to be worthy of love. That just isn't true. It may make you feel better to feel worthy. But the love of God is simply unconditional. That's it. Know that you are loved just the way you are.

And if you know you are loved, then practice loving others just the way they are. The more you practice love, the more love you will feel.

We Pray for Comfort

Seven days ago there were more senseless killings. This time it was Christians in Libya. Our Church happened to be talking about the greatest Movement ever to hit the world, the Christian movement. And the topic was also the lovely promise in 2 Timothy 3:12 where it says "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

I don't want to jump on the bandwagon and say that these men were killed for their faith - but they were. What is odd is this killing is against what Islam teaches. Their teaching is to allow both Jews and Christians to live - it is only the ones that do not believe in the One God of Abraham that were to be put to the sword.

I don't know what your response is. John Piper says Anger might be a response.

Many Christians in the world today do not know the life-threatening danger that comes with believing in Christ. We have gotten used to being free from such persecution.
Our first reaction to the threat that things might be otherwise is often anger. But that anger may be a sign that we have lost our sense of being aliens and exiles (“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles . . .” 1 Peter 2:11). 

Perhaps we have settled in too much to this world. We don’t feel as homesick for Christ as Paul did: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). 

Many of us need the reminder, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).

I have to admit, part of me is there. And part of me is thinking that if it were not for the way news traveled, I wouldn't care in the least. I'm so far removed from this situation that today will look much like yesterday and tomorrow.

Laura Story sings a song called "Blessings"

When friends betray us - When darkness seems to win, we know - That pain reminds this heart, - That this is not, this is not our home..... It's not our home

What if my greatest disappointments, - Or the aching of this life, - Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy. 

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops - What if Your healing comes through tears - What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near - What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

And here is where I need to be bold enough to pray for more disruption in my life.

These are interesting times.

Cause us to return, O Lord, that we may return! (Lamentations 5:21)

You know what I've discovered recently? I may not like what God is doing right now, but I still believe. I know I said this before (maybe not here). I have two fingers pointed directly at him but I cannot deny him. My faith is frustrated, but not dead.

My prayer has been for revival in my heart. I've asked Him to return the joy of my salvation and the passion I had for so long. I want that anticipation of the rapture to be right before me.

In that, you can see I'm not concerned about others. But I'm looking for my own restoration. I know I cannot/will not progress without him being in in the proper perspective again. Which is a real pain when I can't say much good about him at the moment.

Pressing toward the goal

Forgetting those things which are behind . . . I press toward the goal. —Philippians 3:13-14

Spiritually, I hear the same verse and think what do I need to leave behind and what is my goal. I've always said that I would serve, and right now I'm not. And I honestly don't have any goals for serving. So this is something that gives me pause.

CS Lewis in Mere Christianity talks about the "Real Experience" of God and then going somewhere with God:

I remember once when I had been giving a talk to the R.A.F., an old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, ‘I’ve no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I’m a religious man too. I know there’s a God. I’ve felt Him: out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that’s just why I don’t believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who’s met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal!’


Now in a sense I quite agreed with that man. I think he had probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real. In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.

Sport is unique

Just yesterday on Facebook (something I also refer to as "TimeSuck") I saw some of my old friends asking "Am I the only person that doesn't care about who won what football game?"

At that, I reflected that it really isn't important who wins or loses. It is just something that pulls interest from a large group of people. And the drama of the action is compelling and is difficult to duplicate in other arenas.

For instance, I remember several good movies that generate tons of chatter like "You have to go see it!" Or a good book with those unexpected plot twists that keep you reading all night. Even the seven wonders of the earth are something to behold. But they fail to draw that memorable moment like when Kennedy was shot, or a man landed on the moon. These are instant connections with millions of people of "where was I when ..."

Sports give us a chance in every game for those "Wow!" moments. "My mom started crying," "My brother flipped out," "My dog got so excited it wet the floor," "I was in a meeting," "I was stuck in class," "I turned it off in the 3rd quarter." Everybody will know what they were thinking going into those final moments; the pressure, the elation, the agony, the disbelief.

It doesn't matter what sport really, the drama is exciting when it is against all odds or record breaking. And it is fun to be there. Just like being at a spectacular sunset. You can't really describe or capture it. You just have to be there.

#GoSeahawks

No man

No man ever spoke like this Man! —John 7:46

In honor of Martin Luther King Day

The words of Jesus compel us to act, and to move, beyond business as usual.—David C. McCasland

Thank you http://odb.org/