Monday, August 31, 2009

"Water Running off a Cliff"



I had a English teacher that lived near Niagera he told our class that he had seen it so many times that to him it was nothing more than water running over a cliff. (Now he is a really good guy and I know what he meant, but I understand other English teachers who would find more beauty in diagramming a sentence than in the power of Niagara.) Kidding
Our class was taken back and some were offended that he would say something like that about such a majestic sight.
I got to thinking about that later and how that often is the way we view our lives in Christ. Some times the "awe factor" is gone b/c it seems that we have been following Christ for a while. At first it so beautiful and new, then we become used to it and something that used to leave us breathless will not stop us for quick look anymore. It is kind of like comparing a New Yorker to a tourist. The tourist walks around constantly looking up, while the native walks constantly looking down and when a tourist bumps into them b/c they are looking at the sights they get mad and mumble things to them while continuing to their destination.
We can get so "Christainized" that it does seem like God's grace is just water flowing over a cliff. We don't live with an appretiation for the Gospel that we still need everyday. We live like it's not a blessing anymore. Instead of like Paul saying, "God's Grace was overflowed for me" (that was 30 years after his conversion) we say "ah, at least I'm not going to hell"
We need constant reminders that God is more powerful than Niagera, and we need to enjoy his beauty and fight against the temptation to just coast thru life missing it.
"We are satisfied with a sprinkler when the pleasures of Niagera are offered to us" -Cruver

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Be a "Real" Leader

The reason this is entitled be a "real" leader is because leaders have to be willing to confront. If you are not willing to confront you are not a real leader. I have been challenged by this in the reading of Nehemiah. His confrontation skills was one of the reasons he was such a great leader. There was one point that he found an official who had made a room for himself in the temple and he went in and threw all his furniture outside. Nehemiah also confronted "The Nobles" that's not like confronting a second grader this is confronting someone with great respect and authority.
In chapter 13 Nehemiah hears that some men had married foreign women. He goes and puts the beats on them and pulls out their hair! I was reading that and thought "wow that is pretty extreme." That would not be easy for me. I will admit since this is my blog that I struggle with confronting, but I realize that it is necessary. The neat thing is as you read on you see that Nehemiah didn't confront people b/c that's what he enjoyed doing but ultimately because he loved God and loved the people he confronted. He told them how Solomon a good king was taken away by his wives. He did not want Israel to go down that road again, but wanted them to be a light to the other generations.
Paul tells Timothy in a letter that it is necessary to confront, but it should always be done out of love.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Seven Pounds the Story We All Long For.

This was a great and thought provoking film. I realize it's kind of old now, but I didn't have a blog when I first saw it. So call me "not current" whatever you want I am ok with that.
It seems to me that several films have redemptive themes lately. Films that seem to echo the longing of all humanity. The charactor in this film realizes that he has a bad past and wants to do whatever he can to make up for what he once lost. He desperately wants to live a life of humilty and significance. He desires to be a hero but also has a desire to be saved by something that is bigger than himself.
He ends up giving all that he has even his own life for the benefit of others. These people who desperately need to be saved in order to experience life.
We all realize that in the story of our lives that things are messed up and broken. We want to be that solution to the problem, but we realize it takes something much bigger than us to remedy our shattered state. God sent us that hero, all the longing for significance are found in that hero Jesus who gave everything he had for the sake of others so that we can experience new life.