Hang-Ups

I went to a Christian rock festival yesterday.  It actually rained for the entire 9 hours I was there, so I was soaked and shivering much of the time, but it was really fun regardless.  I saw seven bands: Decyfer Down, Stellar Kart, Disciple, Hawk Nelson, Kutless, Skillet and Jeremy Camp.

Before playing the song “Those Nights,” John Cooper of Skillet said something like this: “On those nights, we need to remember, we have our God (crowd: whoo!), our friends (whoo!), and our music (WHOOO!)!  I noticed that the crowd screamed louder for “music” than for “God,” and that offended me a little.   Could it be that some people have become hung up on music, and miss what the truly important thing is?

— — —

Half-way through the last act, I left the crowd and went for a walk, because my knees had started to hurt.  I was standing off by myself, and this guy walked up to me and started talking.  The conversation went something like this:

Guy: Isn’t it great?
Me: What?
Guy: God, isn’t he great?
Me: Oh, yeah man, He’s amazing.  Really amazing.
Guy: You ready for it all to end?
Me: I don’t know, man.
Guy: The world’s about to end, you know.
Me: Yeah, He’s coming soon.
Guy: You know the swine flu vaccine, they’re locking people up in California.
Me: People are getting it from the vaccine?  They’re quarantine…
Guy: No, if they don’t get the vaccine, they’re locking them up in     concentration camps.
Me: Uh…

The guy then got a call on his cell phone and walked away, so I walked away.  Anyway, strange conversation, right?  I wonder, have some people become seriously hung up on end-time conspiracy theories?

— — —

Today, I was talking to a guy at church about healing revivals, and he remarked, “I wish we could just go over to Bethel and just take the entire church and bring it here,” and later, “If you have a healer, don’t let them go.  It’s like, if you’re in one room, and Jesus is in the other room, are you going to stay there?”  As much as I appreciate the gifts and ministries of great men of God, do you think that some people have become hung up on these gifts and ministries?  Have they somehow exalted these things as an ideal, as a false vision of perfection?

Don’t let anything, even good things, get in the way of your love relationship with the God of the universe.

“The seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’  He replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’”—Luke 10:17-20

Freedom or Security?

And the debate goes on.  Due to my newly discovered interest in a certain news website, I’ve been getting a little more insight into the political scene lately.  Seems to me that conservatives don’t trust the government.  They’re really scared that their perceived “freedoms” are being taken away.  On the other side, liberals seem to not trust the people and the current economic system.  They believe that more regulations and programs will protect us from our crazy selves, bring more security.  And who can blame them?  Just about anyone can tell that people are crazy, and both the government and the populous are made up of none other than people.  I love every one of them.

Where do I stand in this grand debate?  Honestly, I could care less.  All the freedom I’ll ever need, I’ve found in Jesus Christ.  I couldn’t be any more secure than I am right now, in the loving arms of God.  People can debate this issue as much as they want, but I’m sure they’ll never reach any real answer.  Who we need is Jesus.  That’s about it.

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”–Colossians 2:8

Don’t Make God Wait!

First off, let me just say, this post is definitely directed at one particular person: me.  I am one of the worst procrastinators I know, sadly.  For some reason, I always seem to wait until the last possible minute to do important things.  That’s why I write posts like this.  It will be a great reminder in the future, maybe even make me a little more responsible.  I hope.

Now to the point.  I was thinking about a particular scripture the other day.  This one, actually:

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”(2 Peter 3:8)

So, what does that mean?  I know a lot of people who use this verse as an argument for an “old earth,” meaning the “days” in the book of Genesis were, in fact, spans of billions of years.  I’m not so sure about all that, but this I do know.  When God tells me to do something now, He means now.

When He says, “Lay down your life,” and, “Follow me,” He doesn’t mean tomorrow.  What, will we do it tomorrow and make Him wait a thousand years?  Three years from now?  That’s one million years to God!

Time may seem troublesome to us for now, but take hope in this: God’s timing is perfect.  If you’re living for Him now, you can trust that He will be faithful to you, His beloved child.  He does not delay in forgiving us of every sin.

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”–1 John 3:16

Coffee in Traffic

I really like coffee, but  I didn’t always.  I had to acquire a taste for it.  One day I just decided, “I’m going to start drinking coffee.”  Now that I think about it, it might not have been the best decision.  Coffee really isn’t all that healthy.  In fact, it’s probably somewhere around the opposite of that.  I like it anyway.

I used to be scared of traffic.  When I have to drive around in it every day, though, it’s really just illogical to be that way.  I’ve saved myself a lot of stress by enjoying it instead.  I pass accidents all the time.  Could that be me at some point?  Well, yeah, but it’s not me today.  Now, I can drift listlessly along, sipping coffee and laughing for no good reason.

Life certainly is bitter.  If we load it up with enough “cream and sugar” until we can stand it, we can get by, maybe even learn to love it.  There are certainly dangers all around us, and some have fallen victim to those very dangers.  Good news is, if we ignore those hard things, those helpless people, isn’t it like they aren’t even there?  Less stress, good for everyone, right?

Although, I can’t help but ask myself, what if I’m not supposed to like coffee?  What if, instead of believing I’m going somewhere, I should be stopping the car and turning off the engine?  Could it be that the simple, quiet place holds the loveliest One of all?

“Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”–1 John 2:15

Seers

There’s something I’ve been pondering the past week or so, ever since  I started realizing how dirty the windows in my car have gotten.  Whenever I roll them down, the city around me looks so much more real, so much more colorful.  I can see the buildings, the trees, the people, with such a clarity that cannot be taken through my dingy old windows.

Think also about a screened-in porch.  You get a feeling of the outside; you can even feel some of the breeze, soak in some of the sun.  But it’s not the same as walking barefoot in the grass, climbing a tree, smelling a rose.  You can watch thee rain through your bedroom window, but until you get soaked in it, you’ll only have a basic understanding of what it really is.

There are many ways we lose our sight.  Some people are nearsighted.  Everything far away seems nonexistent.  Others are farsighted.  They can’t see what’s right in front of their face.  Some wear sunglasses, maybe even blindfolds, because the reality of life is just too much for them to handle.  In one way or another, we are all blind.

The only way to cure spiritual blindness is a relationship with God.  He is the Truth.  Still, some churches insist on putting on a facade.  We have flashy lights, upbeat music, somber music, catchy slogans, witty billboards, feel-good sermons, guilt-trip sermons(sometimes involving the word “finances”), fellowship meals, conferences and free gifts for first-time visitors.  Sometimes, I get the feeling that we just want people to join the club rather than find the true and living God of the Universe.  In being “seeker-sensitive,” we haven’t left anything for them to see.

Who am I to talk, though?  I’ve been a part of it.  I know that I myself am blinded in too many ways to count.  Maybe we all know this.  Maybe we’re too scared to be anything different.  All I know is one thing for sure: we must follow Jesus with everything we have.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”–John 14:6

Atmosphere

Recently, I signed up for my first ever personal health insurance plan.  It’s funny how smells are so connected to memory.  Just the thought of a dentist’s office brought back that all-familiar sterile, chemical scent into mind along with the slight background hum of a cleaning drill, and I was brought into its atmosphere for the entire day.

Much better than a fluoride treatment on a hot day, though, is the atmosphere that God can create around us every day.  Stop and think for a minute.  Are we affecting the people around us?  Is the impression we leave on others one of incredible unworldliness, or just that of another lame religious hobbyist?  We offer something real, more real than the smooth smell of tires on asphalt, or the feel of shimmering beads of sweat, dripping into the pores of a freshly-cut football field.

Our love is not of this world.  It’s something else entirely.  Are we emanating this love using every fiber of our being?  Are we letting God use us to draw others to Himself?  We, by the power of Christ, can create an atmosphere that transcends even the air we breathe.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.”–2 Corinthians 2:14