This is a real cool video. I went "whoa" a few times watching it. Nothing overtly spiritual here. By the way there is another new entry below this......
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
the will
....we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5
I've started running in preparation for the military. I guess I have to pass some physical stuff to get in, so I figured I'd better get a head start. I'm up to 1 1/2 miles now, which isn't bad considering I lasted about 250 yards my first day.
I'm learning that running is like 99% mental. After the first 1/4 mile, my legs begin to really ache, my stomach gets upset, and I feel like my knees are going to give out. I have the strong desire to turn back and promise to do a longer run tomorrow. I actually feel this way for most of the run. I know that my body can go much further, but my mind, my will, is telling me to stop. "It's too hard. You don't have to do this. You will be happier if you stop." I have to fight hard against this inner voice. Every time I start a run, I know my will will be tested. It's hard.
But it is very good (even though I hate it). Not only are my legs, but my will, is getting into shape.
The battlefield IS in the mind and if my will is "in shape" than I am more apt to win those battles. Any kind of temptation, doubt, fear--all that bad stuff, are attacks on our will--to get us to do or not do something. Some folks are dominated by negative thoughts. I wonder if that is because they are weak willed. I wonder if that would change if they began to exercise their will.
I'm learning the importance of exercising the will. I realize that I have been lax in this and it has affected many areas of my life. I guess this is why something like fasting is so important--because it is a good work out for your will. It pushes you to a place where you want to stop but must choose to continue. Not a fun place to be, but an important place to be. One of the pitfalls of our culture is we never have to go there.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I still have not heard anything official from the military. I did call some officer dude today and he told me pretty much...."you'll hear something when you hear something, until then, don't bother me".
I guess if you've ever been in the military, you understand that last sentence very well.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Painful Grace
Yes, painful grace.
Grace, by it's very nature, is born out of pain. It's only relevant in the face of hurt or failure or something bad like that. Grace is for when you forget your wife's birthday, not when you get her a nice present. So the idea of painful grace is kind of redundant. But I like it anyway because we often throw the word around like its nothing.
We (I) need to be reminded that grace isn't just this cool thing that God does to make things better. It's not simple. It's not sweet. There is a painful price paid for grace. That's why the cross is so meaningful. The graphic, gruesome, bloody death of Jesus shows me full well how much grace costs. I can picture God saying "this much Jim, this much". The movie "The Passion" is excellent in considering the cost of grace.
To digress--Muslims believe that God forgives sins by fiat--meaning He just forgives them from His desk in heaven. Kinda just like "yeah, you're forgiven...next".
No pain. No cost. No sacrifice =No grace.
.......
Many folks at Solid Rock have shown me painful grace these last few weeks. It's hard for them to "like" the decision that I've made. Truth be told, they don't like it. It hurts. But there has been grace. Grace that will leave the door open for God to comfort and reassure.
Well, I'm kinda 1/2way through a thought but I'm getting so tired.
Here's another thought that I haven't finished flushing out but thought worth throwing out there for something to chew on:
Grace can only come from a wounded person. A lot of people have trouble giving grace because they refuse to admit that they've been hurt.
Also completely unrelated to anything is this following game website where you can name all 232 players in the baseball hall of fame. It took like two weeks but I finally can get them all.
http://www.sporcle.com/games/mlbhalloffamers.php
Grace, by it's very nature, is born out of pain. It's only relevant in the face of hurt or failure or something bad like that. Grace is for when you forget your wife's birthday, not when you get her a nice present. So the idea of painful grace is kind of redundant. But I like it anyway because we often throw the word around like its nothing.
We (I) need to be reminded that grace isn't just this cool thing that God does to make things better. It's not simple. It's not sweet. There is a painful price paid for grace. That's why the cross is so meaningful. The graphic, gruesome, bloody death of Jesus shows me full well how much grace costs. I can picture God saying "this much Jim, this much". The movie "The Passion" is excellent in considering the cost of grace.
To digress--Muslims believe that God forgives sins by fiat--meaning He just forgives them from His desk in heaven. Kinda just like "yeah, you're forgiven...next".
No pain. No cost. No sacrifice =No grace.
.......
Many folks at Solid Rock have shown me painful grace these last few weeks. It's hard for them to "like" the decision that I've made. Truth be told, they don't like it. It hurts. But there has been grace. Grace that will leave the door open for God to comfort and reassure.
Well, I'm kinda 1/2way through a thought but I'm getting so tired.
Here's another thought that I haven't finished flushing out but thought worth throwing out there for something to chew on:
Grace can only come from a wounded person. A lot of people have trouble giving grace because they refuse to admit that they've been hurt.
Also completely unrelated to anything is this following game website where you can name all 232 players in the baseball hall of fame. It took like two weeks but I finally can get them all.
http://www.sporcle.com/games/mlbhalloffamers.php
Behind the Coffee
A recent investigative report on the making of Brian's Coffee. I found it quite educational.
ps. I made to about 3 1/2 minutes through. I am seriously hoping that nothing *bad* sneaks in the last half. Wouldn't go over well on a pasotrs blog.
ps. I made to about 3 1/2 minutes through. I am seriously hoping that nothing *bad* sneaks in the last half. Wouldn't go over well on a pasotrs blog.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The battlefield of the mind
When I finally decided that this process had gotten to the point where I needed to start telling people about the possibility of me leaving, I was numb with fear. Satan takes full advantage of these moments. I was bombarded with destructive thoughts. I imagined that folks would be angry, that they would reject me, that I would jeopardize their faith in Jesus, that this would trigger a rebellion leaving Solid Rock on the scrap heap of failed dreams. It was so much easier for me to imagine those scenarios rather than those marked by, what I'm gonna call painful grace.
I think it was easier for me to dwell on the negative because of the different methods utilized by Satan and the Lord. Satan is in your face. He is loud and obnoxious. He is relentless. You kinda can't miss him.
At the same time Satan is going crazy in your face, the Lord stands still in the background. Simply, quietly repeating the same thing, while making firm, but safe eye contact, "you know what you need to do, trust me".
I did not want to tell one person about what was going on on my inside, never mind 40 people. And it didn't get any easier as the things moved forward, as a matter of fact it got harder. Through it all two things remained constant:
1. Satan remained in my face
2. the Lord kept eye-contact, with a gentle, but very resolute look on His face.
And while my announcement wasn't exactly cause for rejoicing for many, none of the threats that Satan was tossing at me actually happened. Here's the thing...they usually never do.
I also want to add that worship did play a key role in me going about telling folks. I kept focusing on the song, "you are my strength" (video is posted somewhere on this blog) and it really did help.
Tomorrow I hope to talk about this "painful grace" thing. I hope.
grace & blessings,
pjim
I think it was easier for me to dwell on the negative because of the different methods utilized by Satan and the Lord. Satan is in your face. He is loud and obnoxious. He is relentless. You kinda can't miss him.
At the same time Satan is going crazy in your face, the Lord stands still in the background. Simply, quietly repeating the same thing, while making firm, but safe eye contact, "you know what you need to do, trust me".
I did not want to tell one person about what was going on on my inside, never mind 40 people. And it didn't get any easier as the things moved forward, as a matter of fact it got harder. Through it all two things remained constant:
1. Satan remained in my face
2. the Lord kept eye-contact, with a gentle, but very resolute look on His face.
And while my announcement wasn't exactly cause for rejoicing for many, none of the threats that Satan was tossing at me actually happened. Here's the thing...they usually never do.
I also want to add that worship did play a key role in me going about telling folks. I kept focusing on the song, "you are my strength" (video is posted somewhere on this blog) and it really did help.
Tomorrow I hope to talk about this "painful grace" thing. I hope.
grace & blessings,
pjim
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
some initial thoughts....
I'm still walking around in kind of a fog. Sunday was very awkward and difficult, but I do believe grace was having the last word, which was beautiful.
A lot of feelings to unpack. I'll try to do some unpacking here, but for whatever reason the one thing I'm thinking about now is the new family that was there to witness our...umm...stuff. (Actually, they weren't totally new; the guy had sporadically attended Solid Rock a number of years ago). I wished I was able to grab them after the service.
In talking about this family, someone remarked, "well, we know they'll never come back."
Maybe so. Who knows what they were looking for, but my immediate reaction was that I would certainly consider coming back if I was looking for a church for my family, a healthy church in particular.
One judges a church (or a person) by watching their reaction not to good news, but bad (see Job). A healthy church is one that navigates through difficult waters, not perfectly, not "sexily" (forgive me Keri), but with eyes looking to Jesus and a heart full of grace. This is what was unfolded on Sunday.
During our worship service, the new family saw:
1. A pastor who loves his people.
2. A people who love their pastor.
3. A united leadership team determined to keep pointing to Jesus.
4. Grace in action.
I believe the new couple experienced the true spirit of Solid Rock, and the true Spirit of Jesus on Sunday. I think they saw something real, something healthy. To me, I'd rather have that than smoke machines during worship and cappichinos served after the service.
Sunday was so incredibly painful for me, yet at the same time, I found it refreshing and "kingdom-ish".
No, I was not ashamed at all to have guests visiting us last Sunday. I hope to see them this Sunday.
more to come.....
grace & blessings,
pjim
A lot of feelings to unpack. I'll try to do some unpacking here, but for whatever reason the one thing I'm thinking about now is the new family that was there to witness our...umm...stuff. (Actually, they weren't totally new; the guy had sporadically attended Solid Rock a number of years ago). I wished I was able to grab them after the service.
In talking about this family, someone remarked, "well, we know they'll never come back."
Maybe so. Who knows what they were looking for, but my immediate reaction was that I would certainly consider coming back if I was looking for a church for my family, a healthy church in particular.
One judges a church (or a person) by watching their reaction not to good news, but bad (see Job). A healthy church is one that navigates through difficult waters, not perfectly, not "sexily" (forgive me Keri), but with eyes looking to Jesus and a heart full of grace. This is what was unfolded on Sunday.
During our worship service, the new family saw:
1. A pastor who loves his people.
2. A people who love their pastor.
3. A united leadership team determined to keep pointing to Jesus.
4. Grace in action.
I believe the new couple experienced the true spirit of Solid Rock, and the true Spirit of Jesus on Sunday. I think they saw something real, something healthy. To me, I'd rather have that than smoke machines during worship and cappichinos served after the service.
Sunday was so incredibly painful for me, yet at the same time, I found it refreshing and "kingdom-ish".
No, I was not ashamed at all to have guests visiting us last Sunday. I hope to see them this Sunday.
more to come.....
grace & blessings,
pjim
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Does the bible really say that????????????????
"You have not been writing many postes lately, m'love."
I woke up thinking (or dreaming) of Gollum having a conversation with himself about the lack of posts recently. I think my kids are influencing more of my life than I had originally thought. Anyways, if God can speak through a donkey, than I guess he can speak through an ex-hobbit. Whatever.....
--------------------------------------
"O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy is the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks.
Psalm 137:8-9.
Imagine doing devotions on that one. Look it up, it's there, God let it in the bible. Jesus did good work scrapping that one from his working list of beatitudes. I can picture it:
Happy are the poor in spirit.
Happy are the meek.
Happy are the pure in heart.
Happy are those who take babies and smash them against rocks.
Good nogo there for sure.
Seriously, what are we supposed to do with that verse? (and similar verses)? It's about as far away from the Jesus that we know than anything we could imagine.
The other day I was dialoguing on my sim baseball message board (imaginesports.com) about faith and someone posted this verse in an effort to reveal the foolishness of believing in the authority of the Bible. Kind of like, "why believe anything that would advocate this behavior?" "Is this, or is it not, the word of the LORD"?
I took the bait and offered my response. Here was my reply to the posters concern:
grooville replied (1 day ago): very likely written by a political prisoner who was painfully remembering seeing his city destroyed. He was overwhelmed with emotion and venting to God.
Psalms are prayers from men to God. Don't confuse them with edicts from God to man highlighting behavior God desires.
The psalms are chock full of statements that aren't "correct", but the point of the book is more about revealing the heart of man (under many different circumstances) rather than a mere listing of things God approves/disapproves.
Another example from a psalm about despair (instead of anger)
PS 13:1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
Did God really forget him? or is he feeling alone?
The point isn't being right. For me at least, these psalms show me that I can be honest before God with my true feelings and not have to put on a righteous "god-face' with the hopes of pleasing him. (Delete)
The conversation continues.....Klement is the person who originally posted Psalm 137
I woke up thinking (or dreaming) of Gollum having a conversation with himself about the lack of posts recently. I think my kids are influencing more of my life than I had originally thought. Anyways, if God can speak through a donkey, than I guess he can speak through an ex-hobbit. Whatever.....
--------------------------------------
"O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy is the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks.
Psalm 137:8-9.
Imagine doing devotions on that one. Look it up, it's there, God let it in the bible. Jesus did good work scrapping that one from his working list of beatitudes. I can picture it:
Happy are the poor in spirit.
Happy are the meek.
Happy are the pure in heart.
Happy are those who take babies and smash them against rocks.
Good nogo there for sure.
Seriously, what are we supposed to do with that verse? (and similar verses)? It's about as far away from the Jesus that we know than anything we could imagine.
The other day I was dialoguing on my sim baseball message board (imaginesports.com) about faith and someone posted this verse in an effort to reveal the foolishness of believing in the authority of the Bible. Kind of like, "why believe anything that would advocate this behavior?" "Is this, or is it not, the word of the LORD"?
I took the bait and offered my response. Here was my reply to the posters concern:
grooville replied (1 day ago): very likely written by a political prisoner who was painfully remembering seeing his city destroyed. He was overwhelmed with emotion and venting to God.
Psalms are prayers from men to God. Don't confuse them with edicts from God to man highlighting behavior God desires.
The psalms are chock full of statements that aren't "correct", but the point of the book is more about revealing the heart of man (under many different circumstances) rather than a mere listing of things God approves/disapproves.
Another example from a psalm about despair (instead of anger)
PS 13:1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
Did God really forget him? or is he feeling alone?
The point isn't being right. For me at least, these psalms show me that I can be honest before God with my true feelings and not have to put on a righteous "god-face' with the hopes of pleasing him. (Delete)
The conversation continues.....Klement is the person who originally posted Psalm 137
-Klement replied (1 day ago):
There are "inaccurate verses", "untenable verses", "verses that don't deserve to be taken literally", and "incorrect verses", as you and grooville say in the two posts above.
But this is "the word of God," and therefore should not contain all this assorted silliness, a ton of which I won't bother listing here. At one time I, like you, would read it and make excuses for it, and would try to explain it away. Once the amount of strangeness became overwhelming, I permanently set it aside.
-grooville replied (1 day ago): Klement--
I believe there is a difference between making excuses and understanding something in the context in which it was said.
I do not consider a person being frank with God about the condition of their heart "silliness". I consider it refreshing.
Using your method of biblical interpetation, one could argue that the bible denies the existence of God because it contains the sentence: "there is no God."
You could argue that Jesus was a demon because it contains the sentence: "He is a demon." (words directed to Jesus)
You could argue that Jesus was never crucified because the bible says "this will never happen to you" (Matt 16:22) in reference to Jesus' announcement regarding his death.
CIE=context is everything
The book of Job contains numerous speeches from men like Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar. These men say a lot of things about God. In Job 42:7 God says that their descriptions/definitions of God were inaccurate=wrong. The words of Bildad & friends are in "God's word"--they are "the word of God", but to pull them out of their context and use them in an effort to invalidate or question the authority of the bible (because they are wrong and "God's word" cannot be wrong) is pretty bad hermeneutic.
In the end, I really have no problem with Psalm 137:8-9 being in the bible. I personally find it freeing that we can be that open before God with our feelings, as bad as they might be...and His response is grace & healing.
Nope, no problems here....
grace & blessings,
pjim
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
