If The Ark Is A-Rockin' . . .

When Jesus speaks to us in the 24th chapter of Matthew’s gospel, He urges each of us to be watchful and to stay awake, for the day the Son of Man comes again will be unexpected and we shouldn’t be caught unawares.  As the Season of Advent begins, tension builds and the world is turned upside-down and inside-out.  Christians around the world commemorate the first coming of Christ and prepare for the annual celebration of His birth.  And every year, regardless of how busy the season is and how busy our lives become, we always manage to find room for the baby Jesus.  But we sometimes forget that His return is also yet to come.  That's what Advent is a time for.  He came into this world once as a child and as a Savior.  When He comes again it will be not only as our Messiah but also as our judge.  We need to make sure there is room in our lives for THAT Jesus as well.

I love how Jesus uses a reference to Noah, to describe the coming days of uncertainty.  He reminds us how, before the flood, for years everyone but Noah and his family were going about their business oblivious to the events unfolding before them.  Until the rain began to fall, there was no recognition of the sinfulness pervading their world and their lives.  And imagine how unsettling and traumatic it must’ve been for Noah and his children to hear the cries and screams of those lost souls, their friends and neighbors, as they understood the consequences of their failure and the value in Noah’s walk with God.  The prophet Isaiah similarly guides us in the right direction as he wisely counsels “come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!”

True believers will use these next few weeks preceding Christmas as a time to reflect on the scriptures and the prophecies and make sure preparations aren’t limited to gift lists, layaway plans and holiday feasts.  Make sure you’re also prepared for an unexpected guest when you least expect it.  He will come again to judge us all in truth and love, and His grace will surely be enough to save us all.  Praise Him all you peoples for there’s no God like Jehovah!  Happy Thanksgiving to all for there is surely much to be thankful for, thanks to Him!

The Jesus Juke

Sometimes, the blog muse fails to inspire.  That's my excuse this week anyway.  I'm now a day past my posting deadline and, while searching for inspiration, I found the following blog post from Jon Acuff.  It immediately spoke to me and I knew it was more meaningful than any words I would develop in the next few hours.  Therefore, I'l play editor this week with the first of my "best of others' blogs".  If you'd like to learn more about Jon, please check him out at http://stuffchristianslike.net/. - Tim

Weird things happen to me when I fly. If you followed me on Twitter you would know this because I tend to have “tweet explosions,” when I’m at airports.

Last Sunday morning, as our plane lifted off the ground, the person behind me started to play what sounded like a pan flute. Just as we began to soar above the clouds, we were greeted with a Zamfir melody from what I can only assume was some sort of satyr. In his defense, the flight attendant did not say, “Please return your seats to their upright position, carefully stow your carry on luggage and put your pan flute back in its elk skin satchel.” He had every right to play that beautiful wooden instrument and play he did.

At another airport I went to, a humongous bodybuilder spent his time in the terminal doing ferocious push ups right beside me. I tweeted about it and folks told me to prove it with a photo. Not likely. One of my rules for twitter is never snap photos of people who can snap you. And this guy could have broken me in half like a thin blogger branch.

But in all the responses from people asking me questions about the terminal B2 bodybuilder, one stuck out. It was different than the rest, but is something I am growing familiar with.

I call it the “Jesus Juke.”

Like a football player juking you at the last second and going a different direction, the Jesus Juke is when someone takes what is clearly a joke filled conversation and completely reverses direction into something serious and holy.

In this particular case, when I tweeted a joke about the guy doing pushups, someone tweeted me back, “Imagine If we were that dedicated in our faith, family, and finances?”

I was fine with that idea, I was, but it was a Jesus Juke. We went from, “Whoa, there’s a mountain of a man doing pushups next to the Starbucks at the airport,” to a serious statement about the lack of discipline we have in our faith and our family and our finances.

I don’t know how to spell it, but in my head I heard that sad trumpet sound of “whaaaa, waaaa.”

And that wasn’t even a bad Jesus Juke. I didn’t mind that statement at all. That guy seemed fine. I’ve heard much worse. I once tweeted about going to see Conan O’Brien live and how big the crowd was. Someone wrote back, “If we held a concert for Jesus and gave away free tickets, no one would come.” Whaaa, waaaa.

Chances are you’ve experienced this. Someone pulled the Christian version of the Debbie Downer, they threw out a bit of Jesus Juke on you. If you have, or even if you haven’t, there are three things we all need to know about this particular move.

1. It generates shame.

The Jesus Juke is a great way to tell a friend, “I wish you possessed the uber holiness I do and were instead talking about sweet baby Jesus in this conversation.” It’s like a tiny little “shame grenade,” you throw it into an otherwise harmless conversation and then watch it splatter everyone in guilt and condemnation.

2. It never leads to good conversation.

I’ve been Jesus Juked dozens of times in my life and I’ve never once seen it lead to a productive, healthy conversation. You might think it will before you juke, but what usually happens is just raw amounts of awkwardness, similar to how I felt sitting in a theater watching the Last Airbender.

3. I’ve never met someone who was “juked to Jesus.”

I once tweeted, “No one’s ever said: ‘The way you bitterly mock other Christians helped me begin a life-changing love of Jesus’ (Be kind).” I wrote that because I wanted to remind us that our jerkiness never led folks to Christ. I don’t think our jukes do either. I don’t really see it as a conversion technique. It’s more of a conversation killer technique.

I hope we all keep talking about Jesus. I hope we talk about him lots and lots. I hope he defines our life and conversations. But if I tell you that when it comes to My Little Pony, I tend to prefer Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie and that Toola Roola has been riding their coattails for years, please don’t respond, “You know who created ponies? Our Lord God did, that’s who.”

Has anyone ever pulled a “Jesus Juke” on you?

You're Better Than You Think . . .

God promised us many years ago through the prophet Isaiah (65:18) that He was “about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.”  I can’t tell you how often I’ve struggled with the notion that I could in any way possible be seen as God’s delight.  One of our most common insecurities as human beings is thinking less of ourselves than we should.  Are we sinful?  Yes.  Are we prone to failure?  Sure.  Are we imperfect and sad and disappointing and lazy and selfish?  Of course.  After all we’re only human.  But does this make us any less of a delight in the eyes of our Heavenly Creator?  The answer is a resounding no!  Great news, eh?  And yet, we constantly are conflicted over accepting this very simple premise of faith.  But when acceptance finally does come, what an amazing feeling of relief washes over us.  We feel mercy and grace and forgiveness and love like no other and like never before.

One of the dilemmas we face as Christians is keeping our pride and egos in check when life is coasting along with great ease and success.  Our bodies are programmed to remember the suffering and the less fortunate in the world, and never more so than at times when we feel especially blessed.  Christ himself was focused on the poor and the sick and the lost and the persecuted during his earthly ministry.  But that doesn’t mean He doesn’t care every bit as deeply for each of God’s children regardless of their circumstances or their station in life.  We want to love the Lord and our neighbor, but there's something healthy in loving oneself, too.  Let’s not forget, the person who has nothing at all is often at a level of peace we can only dream of. And sometimes the person who appears to have everything is suffering greatly.  This can be well-disguised and a very personal and private trait that might never be revealed to even those we consider our closest companions.  But God knows us better than we know ourselves and is always near.  I mean seriously . . . would you want to be far from someone you considered your delight?

Earlier this year I wrote a song titled “You Are My Delight.”  It’s written as a way to celebrate the greatest gift of all: life.  It’s also written as a love letter from God to us.  It’s a reminder that we can never stray so far that we are out of the reach of His love.  The chorus is full of joyful encouragement as He gently explains just how miraculous each of us is in His eyes, regardless of how we see ourselves.

You are my delight, you’re marvelous and wonderful

In my image you are made, you’re beautiful and powerful

My creation and my child, a masterpiece within my sight

Awe-inspiring and breathtaking, you, you are my delight

For some of us, we are extremely fortunate to have families and friends who regularly offer us loving praise and positive encouragement.  For others, any semblance of encouragement is unfortunately rare or even absent in life.  And yet, all our souls are constantly tugged at by the same unseen force that tells us there is something more to this life and something absolutely mind-staggering that not only created us, but that loves us and blesses us and calls us into loving communion each and every day.  God’s holy word has verse after verse of promises for each of us.  And, for this life, these promises begin and end with the sacrifice of God’s own son.  If we have a God who would sacrifice so much for such an undeserving lot, just imagine how much of a delight we must truly be.  And just imagine how truly amazing life in God’s great glory will be!

Broadcasting God's Song

Let’s take a moment to think about the words of the Psalmist as he encourages us to sing a new song to the Lord.  Psalm 98 is filled with amazing prose that reminds us of all the great and glorious things He does for us.  And yet, sometimes life throws you a curveball reminder that evil is still very much a real part of this world, and, as a result, it’s difficult to be positive about much of anything, yet alone find the will to praise anyone or anything when you’re completely broken by sorrow.

This week our community was struck by tragedy on Halloween eve as a young father decided to take his own life and the lives of his two young daughters in a shocking double murder-suicide in his car on a lonely mountain road.  The aftermath has impacted many people: family, friends, schools, churches, emergency responders, and complete strangers who simply feel the pain of the survivors.  It’s at times like this when you can see newfound respect for someone like Job who, after enduring one life-shattering calamity after another, remained steadfast in his faith as all he could do was proclaim “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

I think Job understood this life is full of good and evil.  And while evil comes directly from the great tempter, Satan, and our own free will, God has zero percent responsibility for these terrible events.  Job knew that God is all about the good in our lives - and not just the birthdays, and the romances, and the graduations and the promotions at work.  His good extends far beyond these celebrations to a place where He alone can take the worst nightmare and, in time, transform it with peace and forgiveness and love and compassion.  The pain still lingers and our lives have been shattered beyond complete repair, but then again no one ever said this life would be paradise.  That’s a life yet to come and sometimes we fail to remember where we are on our life’s journey.

The demons that plague us can be terrifying and very real. We all face struggles and disappointment and fear and shame.  But for those of us who know Christ, we can face them with the promise of grace and hope.  Without faith, we are truly lost souls awaiting the inevitable and infinite agony of hopelessness.  The Psalmist asks us to sing a new song.  Perhaps that new song can be broadcast best in the music of our lives.  Let our lives be the vehicle playing over and over the sweet, sweet tune of God’s love for all to experience.  When others find life unbearable and absent of any promise, may our songs be a beacon to their grieving and tortured souls in need of an earful of hopeful lyrics and melodies.  Sing the song of God’s good news and His saving grace and, when all else fails, we will know assuredly that there is always one we can count on, one we can turn to in the darkest of hours, and one who loves us unconditionally.  Thanks be to God and blessed is His name!