I liked this cartoon courtesy of The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Love Broke Through
Phil Keaggy - "Love Broke Thru" (Live) - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.
I'll take a break from my recent sermonizing for a little musical serenade, a song called "Love Broke Through" by Phil Keaggy, written by Keith Green as you'll hear him say at the start of the video. The song comes from the album of the same title released in 1976, and since I was 2 at the time, I can't say I've been behind this one from the start. But it is one of my favorite Phil Keaggy tunes, so enjoy.
Keaggy has long eluded being put in a box, other than being known as one of the world's best guitarists. If you're curious to read his full story, check out Wikipedia.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
It has to be a gift
Well, I guess it's obvious the fall TV season is in full swing by now on this blog. For better or worse, here comes another one of those meditations brought on by the briefest of exchanges.
This time the source is a new show on CBS called Three Rivers. As I've mentioned before, the fact I'm referencing a show on this blog is not necessarily a ringing endorsement, just an observation.
Anyway, Three Rivers is yet another medical drama, courtesy of CBS. We've come a long way from Trapper John, M.D. don't you think? An organ transplant team travels from Pittsburgh to Cleveland in pursuit of a heart.
When they arrive, the man's daughter is not so sure organ donation is the best idea (maybe that's a blog debate for another day?). A member of the transplant team is upset and accosts the young lady saying, "Don't you know a woman is dying? She needs that heart."
One of his colleagues intervenes, grabbing him and says simply, "It has to be a gift."
And what a line that is. Woven throughout the Bible, we see one unfailing example after another of people that give a gift in service to God, first in a foreshadowing of the gift of Christ, then as an attempt to follow in his footsteps.
From Abraham's sacrifice of his only son Isaac to Rahab's scarlet thread, on through the generosity of Boaz to Ruth and Esther's great risk ... it has to be a gift.
From the infant in swaddling clothes to the perfumed washing of Jesus' feet, from Gethsemane and Calvary to the day of Pentecost ... it had to be a gift.
From the striking down of Ananias and Sapphira to the stoning of Stephen, continuing through the Reformation and the Great Awakening, even unto the martyrdom of Nate Saint, Jim Elliot and others throughout history ... it has to be a gift.
And on a smaller scale, the same is true within our hearts. Jesus does not come demanding, "Don't you know you're going to die? You have to give me your heart."
He knows that he can only use a willing heart. Just ask the rich young ruler. He followed the commandments, he believed in God. But Jesus offered him a simple proposition: "Go sell all you have and give it to the poor. Then come follow me." And the man simply walked away.
It's easy for us to do the same. We believe, we attend church, we follow the rules. But we're holding back, we're having second thoughts about donating one of our organs for God. We want it for ourselves, but we need to give it away to truly live.
It has to be a gift.
This time the source is a new show on CBS called Three Rivers. As I've mentioned before, the fact I'm referencing a show on this blog is not necessarily a ringing endorsement, just an observation.
Anyway, Three Rivers is yet another medical drama, courtesy of CBS. We've come a long way from Trapper John, M.D. don't you think? An organ transplant team travels from Pittsburgh to Cleveland in pursuit of a heart.
When they arrive, the man's daughter is not so sure organ donation is the best idea (maybe that's a blog debate for another day?). A member of the transplant team is upset and accosts the young lady saying, "Don't you know a woman is dying? She needs that heart."
One of his colleagues intervenes, grabbing him and says simply, "It has to be a gift."
And what a line that is. Woven throughout the Bible, we see one unfailing example after another of people that give a gift in service to God, first in a foreshadowing of the gift of Christ, then as an attempt to follow in his footsteps.
From Abraham's sacrifice of his only son Isaac to Rahab's scarlet thread, on through the generosity of Boaz to Ruth and Esther's great risk ... it has to be a gift.
From the infant in swaddling clothes to the perfumed washing of Jesus' feet, from Gethsemane and Calvary to the day of Pentecost ... it had to be a gift.
From the striking down of Ananias and Sapphira to the stoning of Stephen, continuing through the Reformation and the Great Awakening, even unto the martyrdom of Nate Saint, Jim Elliot and others throughout history ... it has to be a gift.
And on a smaller scale, the same is true within our hearts. Jesus does not come demanding, "Don't you know you're going to die? You have to give me your heart."
He knows that he can only use a willing heart. Just ask the rich young ruler. He followed the commandments, he believed in God. But Jesus offered him a simple proposition: "Go sell all you have and give it to the poor. Then come follow me." And the man simply walked away.
It's easy for us to do the same. We believe, we attend church, we follow the rules. But we're holding back, we're having second thoughts about donating one of our organs for God. We want it for ourselves, but we need to give it away to truly live.
It has to be a gift.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
AM Radio
On the drive home this evening, I engaged in one of my favorite pastimes -- scanning through the AM radio dial.
This night's journey took me from Chicago to Cincinnati to Pittsburgh to New Orleans to Minneapolis and a few other unknown stops along the way.
And I started thinking about what made AM radio fun. It's something I've done since high school when I donned my Walkman headphones in bed and tuned in basketball, baseball and football games, and occasionally just news.
The attraction lies in the ability to magically be transported to another place, another slice of life through the magic of radio waves. I am able to experience not just games, but commercials and personalities that convey information about a place I've never been.
Then I thought about the Bible. I used to let it do the same for me. While some boring sermons droned on, I used to read the stories surrounding the chosen biblical text. Or at home, I read through books of the Bible that took me places I'd never been, gave me a window into life as I'd never experienced.
As time has gone on, I admit some of that wonder is lost. Some of it is my hurried, harried life and some is a more jaded, cynical outlook. But most of it is just not taking enough time to get lost in God's Word and experience something new all over again.
I think it's time to turn the dial.
This night's journey took me from Chicago to Cincinnati to Pittsburgh to New Orleans to Minneapolis and a few other unknown stops along the way.
And I started thinking about what made AM radio fun. It's something I've done since high school when I donned my Walkman headphones in bed and tuned in basketball, baseball and football games, and occasionally just news.
The attraction lies in the ability to magically be transported to another place, another slice of life through the magic of radio waves. I am able to experience not just games, but commercials and personalities that convey information about a place I've never been.
Then I thought about the Bible. I used to let it do the same for me. While some boring sermons droned on, I used to read the stories surrounding the chosen biblical text. Or at home, I read through books of the Bible that took me places I'd never been, gave me a window into life as I'd never experienced.
As time has gone on, I admit some of that wonder is lost. Some of it is my hurried, harried life and some is a more jaded, cynical outlook. But most of it is just not taking enough time to get lost in God's Word and experience something new all over again.
I think it's time to turn the dial.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Faith and the Future
This is an interesting exchange of ideas about faith and the future from the new ABC show, "Flash Forward." And, no, I'm not getting kickbacks for my promotional work.
Just give it a watch and a think!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Not enough
This week, our pastor was talking about two of the most significant conversions recorded in the Bible. That would be Saul, soon to be Paul, (Acts 9) and Cornelius (Acts 10).
He pointed out that Saul, though we have a very negative image associated with that name, was a well-respected, well-intentioned man. In fact, the very reason he persecuted Christians was out of his zeal for God and protecting God's name. He was sincere, but sincerely wrong.
Cornelius, a Roman centurion no less, was a devout man. He prayed to God, he sought to do what was right. He was a good man, but he wasn't good enough.
These days, sincerity and goodness are two of the most admirable traits a person can have. But as the stories of Saul and Cornelius point out, that's not enough. Both needed to undergo a personal conversion experience through Jesus Christ.
For Saul, it was a bright light, a voice and blinded eyes that made the difference.
For Cornelius, it was his vision of an angel, Peter's vision of unclean animals lowered from heaven and the broken taboo of Jew associating with Gentile that brought change.
Locally, there was a recent flap about some signs being put on city buses. An atheist group paid to have signs saying, "You can be good without god." Other groups rallied against it, lawsuits were filed, but ultimately the atheists got their way.
When I see those words on a bus, I think that in a way they are right. You can be good without god.
But I also know, you can't be good enough. Saul wasn't, Cornelius wasn't, I'm not and you're not. But Jesus was, and that's enough for all of us.
He pointed out that Saul, though we have a very negative image associated with that name, was a well-respected, well-intentioned man. In fact, the very reason he persecuted Christians was out of his zeal for God and protecting God's name. He was sincere, but sincerely wrong.
Cornelius, a Roman centurion no less, was a devout man. He prayed to God, he sought to do what was right. He was a good man, but he wasn't good enough.
These days, sincerity and goodness are two of the most admirable traits a person can have. But as the stories of Saul and Cornelius point out, that's not enough. Both needed to undergo a personal conversion experience through Jesus Christ.
For Saul, it was a bright light, a voice and blinded eyes that made the difference.
For Cornelius, it was his vision of an angel, Peter's vision of unclean animals lowered from heaven and the broken taboo of Jew associating with Gentile that brought change.
Locally, there was a recent flap about some signs being put on city buses. An atheist group paid to have signs saying, "You can be good without god." Other groups rallied against it, lawsuits were filed, but ultimately the atheists got their way.
When I see those words on a bus, I think that in a way they are right. You can be good without god.
But I also know, you can't be good enough. Saul wasn't, Cornelius wasn't, I'm not and you're not. But Jesus was, and that's enough for all of us.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Trauma
I was watching one of the new fall TV offerings this week. It was named "Trauma."
The jury's still out on whether the show is any good, but as things I watch are prone to do, one scene stood out.
A paramedic and an ER doctor were having a conversation at the end of a difficult day. She lamented the death of a patient and he responded, "People get hurt, some get saved, and a lot die."
She said, "I wish I hadn't come to work today."
"You don't get to choose the days or the results," he said.
That just about describes trauma of all kind ... physical, spiritual, mental. All of us get hurt, some of us are saved, and a lot die.
We all wish we could have avoided those traumas. If life offered us a skip day, there are days we would take it in a heartbeat.
But we don't get to choose. The day Adam and Eve ate that fruit in the Garden of Eden, trauma was destined to be a part of this world from beginning to end.
But that's no reason to quit either. We have to continue to try ... to try and heal, to try and trust, to try and understand our God and our fellow man. When we quit, that's when a lot die, including ourselves.
We must strive to be agents of mercy. It reminds me of one of my favorite songs, Mercy Lives Here, by The Choir.
A girl in the corner is crying
The silver haired lady’s alone
And the queen of the boulevard’s trying
To hustle somebody home
The smokin’ man shakes
While the broken girl aches
And the clown starts to sing his song
He sings mercy lives here
Oh Mercy lives here
At home with the saints and the sinners
Mercy lives here
The jury's still out on whether the show is any good, but as things I watch are prone to do, one scene stood out.
A paramedic and an ER doctor were having a conversation at the end of a difficult day. She lamented the death of a patient and he responded, "People get hurt, some get saved, and a lot die."
She said, "I wish I hadn't come to work today."
"You don't get to choose the days or the results," he said.
That just about describes trauma of all kind ... physical, spiritual, mental. All of us get hurt, some of us are saved, and a lot die.
We all wish we could have avoided those traumas. If life offered us a skip day, there are days we would take it in a heartbeat.
But we don't get to choose. The day Adam and Eve ate that fruit in the Garden of Eden, trauma was destined to be a part of this world from beginning to end.
But that's no reason to quit either. We have to continue to try ... to try and heal, to try and trust, to try and understand our God and our fellow man. When we quit, that's when a lot die, including ourselves.
We must strive to be agents of mercy. It reminds me of one of my favorite songs, Mercy Lives Here, by The Choir.
A girl in the corner is crying
The silver haired lady’s alone
And the queen of the boulevard’s trying
To hustle somebody home
The smokin’ man shakes
While the broken girl aches
And the clown starts to sing his song
He sings mercy lives here
Oh Mercy lives here
At home with the saints and the sinners
Mercy lives here
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