I'm still playing catch-up on Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana. When I heard a request Christmas 2007 for "anything Hannah Montana," I wasn't even sure if it was "Anna Montana" or Hannah Montana. Of course, my friends straightened me out quickly. I've never watched the show. I don't know enough about Billy Ray Cyrus to know that he's "a country legend." And I have no vision of Miley's future.
All that said, however, I have some serious concerns. I can remember when people generally thought Britney Spears was the clean-cut, virginal girl. Whether she started out that way or not, she hasn't ended that way. She's one sad woman now! I hope Miley isn't headed down the same road Britney and many others have traveled. The Hollywood life just does that to people.
Then there's just life in general. The world of 2008 is a landmine strewn landscape for any parents with young daughters they are trying to raise to be women of virtue and integrity. Exhibit A is almost any clothing store that sells clothes for this younger set. Modesty isn't a word that comes to mind when I pass through the junior department of almost any store. It's scary! I have two dearly loved granddaughters. They are far from teens, but they are growing up in this world gone mad and it's scary stuff!
Scripture describes the "King's daughter" as beautiful inside - in her heart. (Psalm 45:13). 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 cautions, "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil." ("Avoid every kind of evil" is also well translated "avoid/stay away from even the appearance of evil." Avoiding even an appearance of evil isn't a photo shoot topless with a loosely held satin drape. Avoiding even an appearance of evil isn't a photograph with tongue stuck out and a sexually suggestive look like another photo of Miley I saw this week.
I do know enough about Miley Cyrus to know that she claims some kind of Christian faith. I don't know what she means by that. I seriously doubt she means the same thing I understand "Christian faith" to be. I'm not sure she could be and do what she does and still be a committed Christian - a King's daughter beautiful in her heart. I don't see into her heart, but I can see her actions. I see her pictures - recent and not-so-recent, and they are increasingly sexually suggestive. Sex sells! Miley and her parents and "handlers" know that. It's a very insidious trap!
Miley says she's "embarrassed" by the Vanity Fair pictures. Does "embarrassed" translate into "Oops, this might cost me financially!"? I don't know, but I think it's a fair question.
We see so much ugliness in almost every media that the more we allow ourselves to be bombarded with the stuff of this world, we gradually become less and less sensitive to what is right and pure and true and more and more willing to tolerate a lesser standard. King's daughters are called to the highest standard of living: "whatever is pure, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable ... excellent, praise-worthy" ! (Philippians 4:8) God calls His daughters to demonstrate restored hearts that radiate His beauty from within!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Amazing Grace!
It's a TV citcom. It's a movie on the life and times of William Wilberforce. It's a hymn (words) written by John Newton. AND it's a way to live ... in the grip of God's amazing grace!
A dear friend sent me a UTube video of Whitley Phipps talking about and then singing "Amazing Grace." Wow!
Wintley Phipps explained and demonstrated on a piano keyboard that most "negro spirituals" can be played on the black keys alone. He called the five repetitive black notes the "slave scale." He also called these "spirituals" "west African sorrow chants."
I think the movie "Roots" was my first up-close and personal revelation of what it was like (in small measure, of course) to be a slave in the American colonies (and nation later) from the painful side. In "Roots" it was difficult either to look on or look away from the scenes of slaves crammed into the hold of a ship bound for America. It was difficult to watch what Alex Haley interpreted the life of a slave to be like.
Now, I don't subscribe to all Alex Haley pictured in his interpretation. I don't even know that it is a fair representation. I know for certain that there were strong exceptions to the life of slaves as portrayed in "Roots." But I am also sure that a good case can be made for each incident in the movie to be based on historical fact in some measure.
The pain of slavery birthed these beautiful "spirituals" we know and love. They came from deep in the heart of slaves who longed for home or heaven and only found hope as they lifted their eyes to heaven. The melodies are powerful. The words grab our hearts and stick there. I can just feel the sorrow that bubbles up in both the melodies and the words.
Wintley Phipps said there is a white spiritual, too. It's "Amazing Grace"! The words to "Amazing Grace" were written by John Newton. John Newton was the captain of one of those slave ships that came from west Africa to our shores bringing slaves. One day John Newton found Jesus, and his heart was changed forever! Then he penned the words and matched them with a tune that was going round in his head. The tune is attributed to "unknown."
Wintley Phipps says he wants to meet Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in heaven and that then he wants to ask Jesus to introduce him to that slave named "Unknown." Phipps paints a picture of Captain Newton on the deck and bridge of his slave ship hearing faint melodies coming from the hold. Perhaps the tune Newton matched with his words describing God's amazing grace came from his days as a slaver. Most probably it did!
God restored the heart of this renegade rascal John Newton with His amazing grace. Then Newton described his experience with God's amazing grace:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see!
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!
Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me, his Word my hope secures,
He will my Shield and Portion be, as long as life endures.
" 'Twas grace that taught my heart ... " describes the process of restoration in Newton's heart. And it's only grace that brings restoration to any heart!
Isn't it interesting that God's restoring grace can be described and then put to music all on the black keys of the piano? Perhaps there's a subtle message there for me (and you). Sometimes God uses "the black keys" (the hard times, the pain) to bring us to the place of brokenness where God can do His work restoring our hearts. And that's how He brings me (us) to live in the grip of His amazing grace!
A dear friend sent me a UTube video of Whitley Phipps talking about and then singing "Amazing Grace." Wow!
Wintley Phipps explained and demonstrated on a piano keyboard that most "negro spirituals" can be played on the black keys alone. He called the five repetitive black notes the "slave scale." He also called these "spirituals" "west African sorrow chants."
I think the movie "Roots" was my first up-close and personal revelation of what it was like (in small measure, of course) to be a slave in the American colonies (and nation later) from the painful side. In "Roots" it was difficult either to look on or look away from the scenes of slaves crammed into the hold of a ship bound for America. It was difficult to watch what Alex Haley interpreted the life of a slave to be like.
Now, I don't subscribe to all Alex Haley pictured in his interpretation. I don't even know that it is a fair representation. I know for certain that there were strong exceptions to the life of slaves as portrayed in "Roots." But I am also sure that a good case can be made for each incident in the movie to be based on historical fact in some measure.
The pain of slavery birthed these beautiful "spirituals" we know and love. They came from deep in the heart of slaves who longed for home or heaven and only found hope as they lifted their eyes to heaven. The melodies are powerful. The words grab our hearts and stick there. I can just feel the sorrow that bubbles up in both the melodies and the words.
Wintley Phipps said there is a white spiritual, too. It's "Amazing Grace"! The words to "Amazing Grace" were written by John Newton. John Newton was the captain of one of those slave ships that came from west Africa to our shores bringing slaves. One day John Newton found Jesus, and his heart was changed forever! Then he penned the words and matched them with a tune that was going round in his head. The tune is attributed to "unknown."
Wintley Phipps says he wants to meet Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in heaven and that then he wants to ask Jesus to introduce him to that slave named "Unknown." Phipps paints a picture of Captain Newton on the deck and bridge of his slave ship hearing faint melodies coming from the hold. Perhaps the tune Newton matched with his words describing God's amazing grace came from his days as a slaver. Most probably it did!
God restored the heart of this renegade rascal John Newton with His amazing grace. Then Newton described his experience with God's amazing grace:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see!
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!
Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promised good to me, his Word my hope secures,
He will my Shield and Portion be, as long as life endures.
" 'Twas grace that taught my heart ... " describes the process of restoration in Newton's heart. And it's only grace that brings restoration to any heart!
Isn't it interesting that God's restoring grace can be described and then put to music all on the black keys of the piano? Perhaps there's a subtle message there for me (and you). Sometimes God uses "the black keys" (the hard times, the pain) to bring us to the place of brokenness where God can do His work restoring our hearts. And that's how He brings me (us) to live in the grip of His amazing grace!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
I'm Sorry!
"I'm sorry ... " - may be the hardest words to say in the English language!
"I'm sorry ... " This short phrase - very hard to say and harder still to do - is perhaps the most significant key to relationships I know.
In 1970 there was a movie "Love Story" (based on a novel) where the line "Love means never having to say you're sorry" is spoken by the leading lady (Ali MacGraw/Jennifer) who dies before the end of the movie and again by the leading man (Ryan O'Neal/Oliver Barrett IV) at the very end of the movie as a kind of eulogy to Jennifer.
"Love means never having to say you're sorry" became a cutesy phrase that gradually worked its way into our cultural sub-conscience. BUT "Love means never having to say you're sorry" isn't cute! It isn't true! It's actually an awful lie straight from the pit of hell!
Even the likes of John Lennon and the ridiculous Simpsons on TV know better. John Lennon said, "Love means having to say you're sorry every fifteen minutes." The Simpsons watch "Love Story" in the episode "Catch 'Em if You Can" and when the line is spoken Lisa objects, "No, it doesn't!" In the movie "What's Up, Doc?" Ryan O'Neal as another character responds to the same line, "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard." Even Warren Ellis's comic Doktor Sleepless knows better when the good Doktor says, "Hate means never having to say you're sorry."
"...never having to say you're sorry" has NO place in a restoration heart! And that's the main thing! It's NOT God's way to live! What distinguishes walking through life with Jesus from any other "faith system" is the "I'm sorry" routine at its best.
Repentance, grace and forgiveness are the heart of the Gospel. The starting point is a heart-meant "I'm sorry"! There is no magic in the words. The cure is in the intent of the heart to repent (turn in another direction away from the sin or offense) and find God's abundant grace first for our own hearts and then our forgiven hearts can extend forgiveness to others. Only God can make our "I'm sorrys" meaningful! Only God can reach into our unsorry hearts and turn them toward the Gospel!
It's fascinating that the likes of John Lennon and Warren Ellis grasp that "... never having to say, I'm sorry" is NOT the right path in life when there are so many Christians who still don't get it! "... never having to say, I'm Sorry" is a denial of the Gospel!
When Paul talks about sorrow related to repentance and the heart of the Gospel in 2 Corinthians 7:9 - 10, he says, "... your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended ... . Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."
The restoration heart is willing to do the hard work of saying "I'm sorry" and living out the repentance of Godly sorrow! It's the Gospel! It's why Jesus came - to make a way for us to get past our pride to kneel at His cross and say, "I'm sorry" first to Him and then to each other. AND we have to keep saying "I'm sorry" as often as we must to make things right in the restoration process God has begun in our heart. Saying and meaning "I'm sorry" is the only way to make things right in relationship with each other. God's love makes saying and meaning "I'm sorry" possible and necessary!
"I'm sorry ... " This short phrase - very hard to say and harder still to do - is perhaps the most significant key to relationships I know.
In 1970 there was a movie "Love Story" (based on a novel) where the line "Love means never having to say you're sorry" is spoken by the leading lady (Ali MacGraw/Jennifer) who dies before the end of the movie and again by the leading man (Ryan O'Neal/Oliver Barrett IV) at the very end of the movie as a kind of eulogy to Jennifer.
"Love means never having to say you're sorry" became a cutesy phrase that gradually worked its way into our cultural sub-conscience. BUT "Love means never having to say you're sorry" isn't cute! It isn't true! It's actually an awful lie straight from the pit of hell!
Even the likes of John Lennon and the ridiculous Simpsons on TV know better. John Lennon said, "Love means having to say you're sorry every fifteen minutes." The Simpsons watch "Love Story" in the episode "Catch 'Em if You Can" and when the line is spoken Lisa objects, "No, it doesn't!" In the movie "What's Up, Doc?" Ryan O'Neal as another character responds to the same line, "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard." Even Warren Ellis's comic Doktor Sleepless knows better when the good Doktor says, "Hate means never having to say you're sorry."
"...never having to say you're sorry" has NO place in a restoration heart! And that's the main thing! It's NOT God's way to live! What distinguishes walking through life with Jesus from any other "faith system" is the "I'm sorry" routine at its best.
Repentance, grace and forgiveness are the heart of the Gospel. The starting point is a heart-meant "I'm sorry"! There is no magic in the words. The cure is in the intent of the heart to repent (turn in another direction away from the sin or offense) and find God's abundant grace first for our own hearts and then our forgiven hearts can extend forgiveness to others. Only God can make our "I'm sorrys" meaningful! Only God can reach into our unsorry hearts and turn them toward the Gospel!
It's fascinating that the likes of John Lennon and Warren Ellis grasp that "... never having to say, I'm sorry" is NOT the right path in life when there are so many Christians who still don't get it! "... never having to say, I'm Sorry" is a denial of the Gospel!
When Paul talks about sorrow related to repentance and the heart of the Gospel in 2 Corinthians 7:9 - 10, he says, "... your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended ... . Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."
The restoration heart is willing to do the hard work of saying "I'm sorry" and living out the repentance of Godly sorrow! It's the Gospel! It's why Jesus came - to make a way for us to get past our pride to kneel at His cross and say, "I'm sorry" first to Him and then to each other. AND we have to keep saying "I'm sorry" as often as we must to make things right in the restoration process God has begun in our heart. Saying and meaning "I'm sorry" is the only way to make things right in relationship with each other. God's love makes saying and meaning "I'm sorry" possible and necessary!
Friday, April 18, 2008
BITTER !
"Bitter" is a word recently in the news. "Bitter" is a word I've been contemplating over the last several weeks.
"Bitter" - it's a word, but it also describes a condition of life. Bitter is a choice!
"Bitter" is on the news recently. If Barak Obama could "rewind," I wonder if he would chose another word to describe his perception of some Americans.
What is bitter? Bitter is that taste that turns one's mouth inside out like eating a persimmon before the first frost.
Bitter is collecting offenses - real or imagined - and clutching onto them with a life-and-death grip.
Bitterness is the condition that results. Bitterness has a nasty root that reaches its tentacles deep into our hearts twisting here and there in its death grip. Bitterness squeezes out life and joy - totally ringing our hearts dry.
The Bible has a lot to say about bitterness, what causes it and what to do about it. Peter describes Simon the wizard as "full of bitterness and captive to sin." (Acts 8:23) The writer of Hebrews talks about bitterness: "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble ... " (Heb. 12:15)
It seems Hebrews is saying that when we miss the grace of God, we put outselves in grave danger of having bitterness start to root and grow in our hearts. Bitterness in the heart may be hidden for a time, but eventually it oozes out in our faces and in our actions. The calamity is that hanging on to bitterness can cause us to miss the grace of God! That's a pretty sick trade - about as pitiful as Esau trading his inheritance for a bowl of soup! (Genesis 25:29 - 34)
Bitter isn't a result of our circumstances. Bitter is the choice we make in response to those circumstances. When Paul gives very practical advice for marriage in Colossians, he instructs men, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them."
Apparently wives in Paul's day were no different than in 2008. We do things that our husbands use as excuses not to love us as they should. We also don't do things that give our husbands excuses not to love us as they should. Loving when the other person fails is not easy! There are two choices: love even more deeply and unconditionally or be bitter. God's way is to love and not be bitter!
That's just hard stuff! It's unnatural! My heart tends to go to bitter rather than love. The only way I can love through difficulty is for God to restore my heart, to so fill my heart with His grace that there is no room for bitterness to take root!
History tells us that the British army band played "The World Turned Upside Down" the day General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington in Yorktown, Virginia concluding the American Revolution. For the British the world had turned upside down! They never dreamed their colonists would revolt. They never dreamed the colonists would win the conflict.
A bitter taste may turn one's mouth inside out. Conquering bitterness with God's help as He restores our hearts is also turning a heart upside down. It's not what seems right and natural! It's not what initially "feels" right. But bitterness is NOT God's way! God's path is restoration, and He is the Great Restorer!
And that's why a new church is gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh - A Restoration Church! We want to gather people who know their hearts need God's loving restoration. We are works in process - God's process of restoration!
"Bitter" - it's a word, but it also describes a condition of life. Bitter is a choice!
"Bitter" is on the news recently. If Barak Obama could "rewind," I wonder if he would chose another word to describe his perception of some Americans.
What is bitter? Bitter is that taste that turns one's mouth inside out like eating a persimmon before the first frost.
Bitter is collecting offenses - real or imagined - and clutching onto them with a life-and-death grip.
Bitterness is the condition that results. Bitterness has a nasty root that reaches its tentacles deep into our hearts twisting here and there in its death grip. Bitterness squeezes out life and joy - totally ringing our hearts dry.
The Bible has a lot to say about bitterness, what causes it and what to do about it. Peter describes Simon the wizard as "full of bitterness and captive to sin." (Acts 8:23) The writer of Hebrews talks about bitterness: "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble ... " (Heb. 12:15)
It seems Hebrews is saying that when we miss the grace of God, we put outselves in grave danger of having bitterness start to root and grow in our hearts. Bitterness in the heart may be hidden for a time, but eventually it oozes out in our faces and in our actions. The calamity is that hanging on to bitterness can cause us to miss the grace of God! That's a pretty sick trade - about as pitiful as Esau trading his inheritance for a bowl of soup! (Genesis 25:29 - 34)
Bitter isn't a result of our circumstances. Bitter is the choice we make in response to those circumstances. When Paul gives very practical advice for marriage in Colossians, he instructs men, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them."
Apparently wives in Paul's day were no different than in 2008. We do things that our husbands use as excuses not to love us as they should. We also don't do things that give our husbands excuses not to love us as they should. Loving when the other person fails is not easy! There are two choices: love even more deeply and unconditionally or be bitter. God's way is to love and not be bitter!
That's just hard stuff! It's unnatural! My heart tends to go to bitter rather than love. The only way I can love through difficulty is for God to restore my heart, to so fill my heart with His grace that there is no room for bitterness to take root!
History tells us that the British army band played "The World Turned Upside Down" the day General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington in Yorktown, Virginia concluding the American Revolution. For the British the world had turned upside down! They never dreamed their colonists would revolt. They never dreamed the colonists would win the conflict.
A bitter taste may turn one's mouth inside out. Conquering bitterness with God's help as He restores our hearts is also turning a heart upside down. It's not what seems right and natural! It's not what initially "feels" right. But bitterness is NOT God's way! God's path is restoration, and He is the Great Restorer!
And that's why a new church is gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh - A Restoration Church! We want to gather people who know their hearts need God's loving restoration. We are works in process - God's process of restoration!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
REAL or "Impeccable"
"TO LIVE AN OUTSTANDING LIFE FOR JESUS CHRIST REQUIRES IMPECCABLE CHARACTER." (Jack Graham, Power Point email)
Jack Graham is the pastor of a mega-church in Dallas, Texas. His church has over 26,000 members according to his website. That's pretty impressive!
However, I think his premise is flawed. He draws his conclusion from the story of the first Christian martyr Stephen (Acts 6 - 7). It is true that in the process of sanctification (becoming more and more like Jesus as you and I walk with Him) that our character should become more and more like that of our Savior whose character was impeccable/flawless/perfect. It is also true from the account we have of Stephen in Acts that he was a man whose heart had been radically restored by Jesus Christ. He is described in Acts 6:5 & 8 as "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" and "full of God's grace and power." It wasn't Stephen's character that was "impeccable." It was Stephen's Savior whose character was "impeccable." It was Jesus in Stephen that gave Stephen the courage to risk his life to proclaim God's truth (Acts 7:55 - 56)!
I believe the most compelling witness to God's restoration isn't "impeccable." It is the humble fellow-sinner who is willing to be honest and open about his or her own need for a Savior bigger than "all my (or your) sin." "Impeccable" is scary and beyond my reach! Living in the reality of God's restoring grace isn't either scary or beyond my reach - mostly because it's not about me and what I can do. It's all about Jesus and what He did on the cross and coming back from the dead! It's all about what Jesus can be and do with and through me!
What the world needs now is not more people trying to be "impeccable." What the world desperately needs now is people willing to step out and risk being real! It is a risk that may feel like dying. It's a risk that may involve sacrifice and pain. Being real hurts! But being real is what draws people to our Savior!
When we appear "impeccable," we are wearing a mask that needs to be ripped off for the sake of God's Kingdom. Only God can give us the courage to live real rather than trying to live "impeccable."
One of the most compelling examples of this kind of real living I have ever seen is Dr. Jack Miller. Jack is in heaven now. Jack learned over the process of his own heart restoration that it's risky to be real but worth the cost. God used Jack in incredible ways, but Jack wasn't impressive like most people count impressive. Jack was humble and simple. He wasn't a great speaker, but he led many people down the path to deeper faith just by being real. Jack boldly talked about his own flaws, and - in doing so - gave others the challenge to step out to boldly do the same for the sake of God's Kingdom.
This kind of real living flies in the face of all that our culture counts as significant. This kind of real living brings heart restoration for me (and you) and challenges others to come along on the journey.
I hope "living an outstanding life for Jesus Christ" doesn't require "impeccable character" because that leaves me in the dust of failure.
Being REAL is best described by the children's book The Velveteen Rabbit (written by Margery Williams):
"There was once a Velveteen Rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen. On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming.
There were other things in the stocking, nuts and oranges and a toy engine, and chocolate almonds and a clockwork mouse, but the Rabbit was quite the best of all. For at least two hours the Boy loved him, and then Aunts and Uncles came to dinner, and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels, and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten.
For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him. The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real. The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms. The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn't know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date and should never be mentioned in modern circles. Even Timothy, the jointed wooden lion, who was made by the disabled soldiers, and should have had broader views, put on airs and pretended he was connected with Government. Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse.
The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.""Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become real. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.""I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled. "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."
The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him."
Jesus described this process of becoming real in slightly different terms: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives." (John 12:24, NLT) That's the way to having a "restoration heart" - being in the dirt, dying, risking while following Jesus! In the end, He's the only one who loves us enough to make us REAL! Just don't make the mistake of confusing REAL with impeccable! AND that's the reason A Restoration Church is gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. We aren't "impeccable" but we want to be REAL!
Jack Graham is the pastor of a mega-church in Dallas, Texas. His church has over 26,000 members according to his website. That's pretty impressive!
However, I think his premise is flawed. He draws his conclusion from the story of the first Christian martyr Stephen (Acts 6 - 7). It is true that in the process of sanctification (becoming more and more like Jesus as you and I walk with Him) that our character should become more and more like that of our Savior whose character was impeccable/flawless/perfect. It is also true from the account we have of Stephen in Acts that he was a man whose heart had been radically restored by Jesus Christ. He is described in Acts 6:5 & 8 as "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" and "full of God's grace and power." It wasn't Stephen's character that was "impeccable." It was Stephen's Savior whose character was "impeccable." It was Jesus in Stephen that gave Stephen the courage to risk his life to proclaim God's truth (Acts 7:55 - 56)!
I believe the most compelling witness to God's restoration isn't "impeccable." It is the humble fellow-sinner who is willing to be honest and open about his or her own need for a Savior bigger than "all my (or your) sin." "Impeccable" is scary and beyond my reach! Living in the reality of God's restoring grace isn't either scary or beyond my reach - mostly because it's not about me and what I can do. It's all about Jesus and what He did on the cross and coming back from the dead! It's all about what Jesus can be and do with and through me!
What the world needs now is not more people trying to be "impeccable." What the world desperately needs now is people willing to step out and risk being real! It is a risk that may feel like dying. It's a risk that may involve sacrifice and pain. Being real hurts! But being real is what draws people to our Savior!
When we appear "impeccable," we are wearing a mask that needs to be ripped off for the sake of God's Kingdom. Only God can give us the courage to live real rather than trying to live "impeccable."
One of the most compelling examples of this kind of real living I have ever seen is Dr. Jack Miller. Jack is in heaven now. Jack learned over the process of his own heart restoration that it's risky to be real but worth the cost. God used Jack in incredible ways, but Jack wasn't impressive like most people count impressive. Jack was humble and simple. He wasn't a great speaker, but he led many people down the path to deeper faith just by being real. Jack boldly talked about his own flaws, and - in doing so - gave others the challenge to step out to boldly do the same for the sake of God's Kingdom.
This kind of real living flies in the face of all that our culture counts as significant. This kind of real living brings heart restoration for me (and you) and challenges others to come along on the journey.
I hope "living an outstanding life for Jesus Christ" doesn't require "impeccable character" because that leaves me in the dust of failure.
Being REAL is best described by the children's book The Velveteen Rabbit (written by Margery Williams):
"There was once a Velveteen Rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen. On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming.
There were other things in the stocking, nuts and oranges and a toy engine, and chocolate almonds and a clockwork mouse, but the Rabbit was quite the best of all. For at least two hours the Boy loved him, and then Aunts and Uncles came to dinner, and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels, and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten.
For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him. The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real. The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms. The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn't know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date and should never be mentioned in modern circles. Even Timothy, the jointed wooden lion, who was made by the disabled soldiers, and should have had broader views, put on airs and pretended he was connected with Government. Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse.
The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.""Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become real. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.""I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled. "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."
The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad. He wished that he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him."
Jesus described this process of becoming real in slightly different terms: "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives." (John 12:24, NLT) That's the way to having a "restoration heart" - being in the dirt, dying, risking while following Jesus! In the end, He's the only one who loves us enough to make us REAL! Just don't make the mistake of confusing REAL with impeccable! AND that's the reason A Restoration Church is gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. We aren't "impeccable" but we want to be REAL!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Tax Day
It's April 15th - Tax Day all day! Of all the days in the year, Tax Day is the one I like least. It's not the record keeping or adding up the various account categories for deductions that makes Tax Day such a bad day. It's just the idea that so much of what we have to live on goes where I don't see it, can't use it and mostly feel like it's wasted a lot of the time.
I don't think restoration will fix the tax system in our country. It's interesting to reflect that income tax wasn't a part of the founding of our country. In fact, one major cause of the American Revolution against England was "taxation without representation." The colonists had no say in either the amount of the tax or in how the tax was dispersed. And almost everything but air to breathe was taxed in the 1770's!
Income tax in the 16th amendment to the Constitution didn't come into being until 1913. We've come a long way from the 3% income tax in 1913 to over 30% today. We don't need the system restored to what it used to be or even was meant to be. We need it fixed! I don't know what that needs to look like or how it needs to be done.
It does call us all to be more responsible citizens of "the land of the free and the home of the brave" if we hope it will remain brave and free for our children and grandchildren! It calls us to reverse the scary trends of the brightest and best not being willing to pay the cost of high public office. We need to vote intelligently and carefully!
What will restore what is broken in our government and in our society is for more men and women who know what it means to be restored to be God's man or woman standing tall in a world gone mad, willing to pay the price of public office to tilt the balance once again to sanity!
My grandfather was a congressman. I can remember his saying that people don't elect their representatives and then trust them to make informed decisions on their behalf. He believed he was sent to Washington to study the issues, be there to vote and then to vote with his heart and mind clearly focused on what he believed was best for the people he represented. There are still men and women like him in government today. We need to support them with our hearts and our votes!
Then maybe Tax Day won't seem like such a bad word that leaves such a bad taste in my mouth every year!
I don't think restoration will fix the tax system in our country. It's interesting to reflect that income tax wasn't a part of the founding of our country. In fact, one major cause of the American Revolution against England was "taxation without representation." The colonists had no say in either the amount of the tax or in how the tax was dispersed. And almost everything but air to breathe was taxed in the 1770's!
Income tax in the 16th amendment to the Constitution didn't come into being until 1913. We've come a long way from the 3% income tax in 1913 to over 30% today. We don't need the system restored to what it used to be or even was meant to be. We need it fixed! I don't know what that needs to look like or how it needs to be done.
It does call us all to be more responsible citizens of "the land of the free and the home of the brave" if we hope it will remain brave and free for our children and grandchildren! It calls us to reverse the scary trends of the brightest and best not being willing to pay the cost of high public office. We need to vote intelligently and carefully!
What will restore what is broken in our government and in our society is for more men and women who know what it means to be restored to be God's man or woman standing tall in a world gone mad, willing to pay the price of public office to tilt the balance once again to sanity!
My grandfather was a congressman. I can remember his saying that people don't elect their representatives and then trust them to make informed decisions on their behalf. He believed he was sent to Washington to study the issues, be there to vote and then to vote with his heart and mind clearly focused on what he believed was best for the people he represented. There are still men and women like him in government today. We need to support them with our hearts and our votes!
Then maybe Tax Day won't seem like such a bad word that leaves such a bad taste in my mouth every year!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Black Holes
My son pointed out an article related to black holes and the Internet. Scientists at the University of Washington's Hubble web site have charted a map of the Earth color-coded as to the intensity of duration of these black holes.
You know the drill - you are diligently typing some profound thoughts when all of a sudden either your screen freezes with that hourglass icon that just goes on and on OR a sudden power glitch blinks off power and you lose all your great thoughts OR you accidentally hit just the right wrong key to suddenly lose all the work you've done and not saved. It's one of the MOST frustrating things that can happen to any writer!
According to this news article in the science section on MSNBC.com, these black holes might be attributed to an Internet server momentarily going down or a wireless network cutting out. Another cause might be a "cyber black hole." Research by computer science graduate student Ethan Katz-Bassett at the University of Washington and his faculty advisor Arvind Krishnamurthy has resulted in a program designed to search for these "strange Internet gaps." The result is a graph of the entire Earth and where these glitches (black holes) occur. Their hope is that this data will help Internet service providers track specific network problems and learn better how to deal with them. These computer scientists also hope to improve Internet consistency. After all, we are all increasingly dependant on the Internet for processing and disseminating information. Fine-tuning the system will help us all be more efficient in using the Internet. An additional benefit is that perhaps someone will eventually discover the vast black hole where all this valuable and "brilliant" thinking has vanished and be able to retrieve it once again.
There is another black hole unrelated to the Internet. It's a black hole of the heart! It is where many, many people live (or at least exist)! It's a very scary place where days pass slowly and nights pass even more slowly. It's almost like continuing to live after "flat-lining" on an ekg. The colors of this black hole are mostly unrelieved black with perhaps a little gray or deep blue.
Many famous people have lived in this black hole. Pablo Picasso painted through his black hole experience and expressed his pain in his art works. Others who have struggled in the black hole of depression are: Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Charles Spurgeon, William Cowper, missionary David Brainerd, the great preacher Jonathan Edwards and many others. William Cowper - who wrote some wonderful hymns in the midst of his pain - described his own black hole in terms that resonate in my own heart: "Behind a frowning providence, God hides a smiling face." (Hymn, "God Moves in A Mysterious Way") John Piper, the great Reformed Baptist preacher of our generation, wrote of some of these men in his book, The Swans Are Not Silent, Vol. 2.
Depression can get a choke-hold on its victim. The causes of depression may come from physical, mental, emotional or spiritual origins. The symptoms and results of living in depression are also all over the map of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual parts of life.
Depression is actually almost drowning in down feelings and focusing only on those feelings. Those feelings drive the depressed person to desperate desires to run away, to sit and cry, to commit suicide, to go back to bed and pull the covers up tightly, to avoid family and friends and to simply check out of life in any meaningful way. It is virtually impossible to set goals and accomplish motivational tasks when life seems to be only darkness.
A practical cure for depression is to learn another way to live - not in the pit of one's feelings but rather grounded in God's truth! Hebrews 1:1 describes faith as "being certain of what we do not feel." Only God can bring that kind of certain faith to a heart so desperately in need of God's restoring love! It's important to measure this new kind of living in baby steps and over days rather than hours.
In the games of "Red Light, Green Light" or "Mother, May I?" - two options for actions are taking baby steps or giant steps. There are no giant steps through depression, and it's unrealistic to even think so. There are, however, baby steps as God begins to work His restoring grace deeply into the black hole of a heart desperately in need of restoration! This is something only God can do!
Sometimes He uses someone who has "been there and done that" to come alongside and offer a helping hand and loving heart but, in the end, it is a work God does. His promise is "to comfort us in any trouble." He also promises to bring that comfort through others who have also found that same comfort. Read 2 Corinthians 1:4. It is God's faithful promise to anyone living in the black holes of life!
You know the drill - you are diligently typing some profound thoughts when all of a sudden either your screen freezes with that hourglass icon that just goes on and on OR a sudden power glitch blinks off power and you lose all your great thoughts OR you accidentally hit just the right wrong key to suddenly lose all the work you've done and not saved. It's one of the MOST frustrating things that can happen to any writer!
According to this news article in the science section on MSNBC.com, these black holes might be attributed to an Internet server momentarily going down or a wireless network cutting out. Another cause might be a "cyber black hole." Research by computer science graduate student Ethan Katz-Bassett at the University of Washington and his faculty advisor Arvind Krishnamurthy has resulted in a program designed to search for these "strange Internet gaps." The result is a graph of the entire Earth and where these glitches (black holes) occur. Their hope is that this data will help Internet service providers track specific network problems and learn better how to deal with them. These computer scientists also hope to improve Internet consistency. After all, we are all increasingly dependant on the Internet for processing and disseminating information. Fine-tuning the system will help us all be more efficient in using the Internet. An additional benefit is that perhaps someone will eventually discover the vast black hole where all this valuable and "brilliant" thinking has vanished and be able to retrieve it once again.
There is another black hole unrelated to the Internet. It's a black hole of the heart! It is where many, many people live (or at least exist)! It's a very scary place where days pass slowly and nights pass even more slowly. It's almost like continuing to live after "flat-lining" on an ekg. The colors of this black hole are mostly unrelieved black with perhaps a little gray or deep blue.
Many famous people have lived in this black hole. Pablo Picasso painted through his black hole experience and expressed his pain in his art works. Others who have struggled in the black hole of depression are: Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Charles Spurgeon, William Cowper, missionary David Brainerd, the great preacher Jonathan Edwards and many others. William Cowper - who wrote some wonderful hymns in the midst of his pain - described his own black hole in terms that resonate in my own heart: "Behind a frowning providence, God hides a smiling face." (Hymn, "God Moves in A Mysterious Way") John Piper, the great Reformed Baptist preacher of our generation, wrote of some of these men in his book, The Swans Are Not Silent, Vol. 2.
Depression can get a choke-hold on its victim. The causes of depression may come from physical, mental, emotional or spiritual origins. The symptoms and results of living in depression are also all over the map of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual parts of life.
Depression is actually almost drowning in down feelings and focusing only on those feelings. Those feelings drive the depressed person to desperate desires to run away, to sit and cry, to commit suicide, to go back to bed and pull the covers up tightly, to avoid family and friends and to simply check out of life in any meaningful way. It is virtually impossible to set goals and accomplish motivational tasks when life seems to be only darkness.
A practical cure for depression is to learn another way to live - not in the pit of one's feelings but rather grounded in God's truth! Hebrews 1:1 describes faith as "being certain of what we do not feel." Only God can bring that kind of certain faith to a heart so desperately in need of God's restoring love! It's important to measure this new kind of living in baby steps and over days rather than hours.
In the games of "Red Light, Green Light" or "Mother, May I?" - two options for actions are taking baby steps or giant steps. There are no giant steps through depression, and it's unrealistic to even think so. There are, however, baby steps as God begins to work His restoring grace deeply into the black hole of a heart desperately in need of restoration! This is something only God can do!
Sometimes He uses someone who has "been there and done that" to come alongside and offer a helping hand and loving heart but, in the end, it is a work God does. His promise is "to comfort us in any trouble." He also promises to bring that comfort through others who have also found that same comfort. Read 2 Corinthians 1:4. It is God's faithful promise to anyone living in the black holes of life!
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