Song Devo: "I Repent" by Derek Webb

Please click on this link: Song

I will take you to my website and you can just click on the little play button beneath Derek Webb.

I do some explaining on the song (forgive the shoddy work, Mimi wasn't letting my fully experiment with the new garageband. Forgive me also for blaming Mimi for my shoddy voice over work.)

Enjoy!

PJ

Judges 10: Another Head Crushed by a Lady- GIRL POWER!

A theme in the book of Judges is beginning to emerge:

Step 1: Israel Worships Idol
Step 2: Israel Get Beat Around by Neighboring Tribes
Step 3: Israel Gets Tired of Getting Beat Around and "Remembers" God
Step 4: God, in His love and Compassion for His people, helps
Step 5: God rescues Israel in some miraculous fashion whereby only God can get the credit
Step 6: The people rejoice, the judge is proclaimed "ruler" or "peace-keeper," and there is peace
Step 7: The judge dies and the people "forget" God and immediately turn to idol worship
Step 8: Some crazy lady smashes a dudes head

Moral of the story: the ladies in Judges aren't afraid to crush skulls and the men are evil. This is a theme that any girl power advocate can stand behind.

Take for example the recent saga I just read, Judges 10. So, remember Deb and Jael and the tent peg through the skull of Sissy Sisera. Ok, so next Judge is Gideon vs. Amelekites (some kind of Ishmaelite offshoot, and various bad guys). God wins through Gideon, peace for 40 years. Gideon produces 70 sons, then dies (busy guy). Gideon has a son through a girl on the side (concubine, basically)- Abimalech. Gideon dies, nation turns to idolatry, Abimalech is a shady guy and has the other 70 brothers killed (Abi's mom was from Shechem, so not a full blood Jew, that is how he can rally support for the murder of the 70 bros). So then, to make a long story short, Abi does some dirty deeds, get in control, then God makes it so Abi's own people rebel. Gideon had one remaining son (the name escapes me right now, Joham or something like that) who somehow survived the slaughter. He leads a rebellion. Abi is fighting his own towns people, scares the people of this town up into a tower and Abi is causing all kinds of trouble at the base of this tower. Lo and behold our thematic element comes into play. Some random lady drops a huge stone on Abi's head (nice shot!) and crushes his skull. Two judges, two heads smashed by ladies, theme anyone?

Anyway, that is all I want to bring up today. Just more proof that the Bible (and God) isn't against ladies. Actually, so far in Judges I would say Ladies 2 Man: 0.... and Ladies: fair and virtuous, man: evil.... but that might be a stretch... haha. Anyway, this is my late night thought. Happy Easter Everyone. Celebrate with your family (:( tear for me not being with my family :(  ) Rejoice because our savior lives! Amen

PJ

Easter Blog: Don Francisco, My Most Favorite Easter Song! Old School!

Hello Ya'll, I have put my favorite easter song on my website for you. I had to make a movie of it so it could be disseminated (some silly iTunes restriction kept me from "sharing" the mp4). So then, just click on the link and watch the video/enjoy the song!

Happy Easter- He is Risen!

Don Francisco: "He's Alive"

Girl Power and Judge Dredd, Debbie, Barak (not O'Bama) and what they have to do with Judges (It's crazy, I know)

The bible is often mislabeled as a chauvinist manual for how to subdue and rule over helpless, weak women- that is wrong. I have heard this kind of thing and much more, but I don't want to get into that today. I am just saying that sometimes the Bible gets a bad wrap and its "perceived" viewpoint toward the lady folk. It isn't overly skewed in favor of the man folk nor does it purpose to place all women solely under the crushing heel of their manish overlords. But again, that is another story for another day (why? you scream!).

Since Mother's day is sometime around the corner, and since everyone else is talking about Easter (and rightly so), I want to share with you something I thought was very interesting from my reading yesterday and completely random. It relates to the lady folk- it is about girl power, so to speak. Hence the tie-in with Mother's Day (I had to tie it into something).

If you have a bible or the internet (which you do since you are reading this). Find Judges 4 and read it.

Ok, not too bad right? Judges is a book that is often glazed over. Why? Because there are a lot of random incidences with various judges. Here is the short summary- Israel would sin and get captured by some other tribe, they would be oppressed, then they would cry out to God for deliverance and he would periodically send a "judge." A judge was kind of like Jewish Judge Dread (if you know the reference, good for you, a personal favorite movie of mine Judge Dredd ). A person who was both a military and civic leader. A judge would administer justice- either in the "civil courts," or at the "national level," through military skirmishes. Well, this was a vicious spiral of Sin, Slavery, Asking for help, God giving help, then silence, until is started all over again (see picture, thanks Bible Knowledge Commentary!).

Anyway, for those of you who think the Bible never has anything good to say about women, allow me to introduce to you Deborah and her hard-core buddy Jael- both tough ladies. Deborah was one of the judges that God sent to restore the people back to a right relationship with Him. She was both a prophetess and Judge (see, Jewish Judge Dredd). The story goes like this.

The setting is the Jezreel valley (see map). God told Deborah that she needed to get in touch with Barak (a dude, but not O'Bama) and get 10,000 troops from neighboring friendly Jewish tribes, (because Deb wasn't a ruler of a certain people group, she had no troops) Nephtali and Zebulun. The plan was to get a hold of Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army (Canaanite King), and beat the army and kill him, and then kill Jabin. This was a big undertaking. Sisera had lots of heavy iron chariots (think Abrams tanks) at his disposal, 900.

So, Barak (not O'Bama) got the troops gathered and they mustered (yum, mustard). This is a personal favorite verse in this saga, Judges 4:9. Barak is like, "You can come along Deb." You know he is thinking, this lady Deb is going, but I'm the man around here and I am going to get the credit. But Deb had other plans. Here is the verse, "She said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take. For the Lord will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman." See, I told you girl power.

I am sure Barak is thinking, "yeah right, all my troops are dudes, but ok, whatever." So they go out and get into a battle with Sisera. As the story goes, the Lord gave the Canaanite army into the hands of Barak- all the army is killed, less Sisera. So Sisera sees that it is hopeless and bails. He goes running for the hills. He finds a nice seemingly hospitable tent to hide in- the tent of one hard-core chick, Jael. Jael is the wife of a guy named Heber, who is Kenite. The Kenites were currently at peace with the Canaanites and King Jabin. So Sisera was thinking, "oh cool, I can hide out here."

Sisera asks Jael if he can hide in the tent and if she can cover for him. He doesn't want killed. And Jael says, "sure thing Sissy Sisera (ok, she probably didn't say that)." The next thing is the crazy thing. So what does Jael do? She picks up a mallet, a tent peg, and drives the peg through Sisera's skull, pinning him to the ground. Talk about a hard-core lady! Side Note: It was "women's work" to put up the tent. She would have been skilled with both the mallet and the peg, plus tough enough to drive it through Sisera's skull.

Then Barak (not O'Bama) comes to the tent and Jael says, "hey Barak, check this out, I killed Sissy Sisera for you. He is dead, I brained him with a peg." I am sure Barak was both flabbergasted (not Cesc) and impressed. He might have even thought, "I'm not even mad I didn't get the credit, I'm impressed!" Who knows?

Jael is one tough chick. God used her to give an unlikely victory to the Israelites and a "victory" to womankind everywhere. I bet never in a million years did Sisera believe that Jael would drive a tent peg through his skull. But she did.

So this is what we learn today through this awesome story:
1. Never Doubt God- He will do what He says, regardless
2. You can't run from God
3. God is there for you if you cry out for Him, He will provide, even in the most unlikeliest of ways
4. God doesn't hate women- He loves all men and women just the same. He uses each according to His will
5. Never Trust a Lady named Jael or one who puts up tents for a living- She will drive a peg through your skull (j/k)
6. Don't be Canaanite

I hope you enjoyed this story as much as me. As I am reading Judges, I am sure I will come across some more gems. There is more to this Deb story. Check out Judges 5 for a very beautiful song sung by Deb and Barak (not O'Bama) about the provision and sovereignty of God.




PJ

PS: For your edification:

Mimiology: Easter Thoughts from my little Monkey

Eph 1:4-9: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved! – 6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast."



Since it is almost Easter I thought it only appropriate to post an Easter themed devotion for the day. I don't want to spend much time on it because God's love is simple and doesn't require much explanation. I was thinking about this the other day. I was looking at Mimi (as I often do) thinking how much I loved her. That I loved her so much I could just grab her and squeeze her and squeeze her forever. I couldn't imagine not having her around. To cheer me up with the joyful smile everyday when she wakes up. That I would do anything for her wellbeing. If you have a child, or have ever had a child, you know what I am talking about.

Then a thought dawned on me that caused exceeding joy- God loves me as much, nay even more, than I love Mimi. And to use technical theological words, that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. To imagine that God loves me just as much and more than I love Mimi. Knowing what I would do for her, it is not hard "to understand" why God allowed the death of His Son for us. The only thing I can wrap my mind around, and will never be able understand, is why? Why did God love us so much? What did we do to deserve this? I am continually failing God, yet He always loves me perfectly, more perfectly than I can love anyone else.

The only thing I can think of is Mimi, again. Why do I love her? Is it anything she did for me? Of course not, really, she has no ability to "do" anything for me that would seem to cause me joy. She, her smile brings me joy. Her little chuckles and silly things she does makes me laugh. But that doesn't necessarily engender love, per se. I love her though, by virtue of her just being there, of her being our progeny, she is special and loved so much. She doesn't have to do anything- we are hardwired to love our children (hmm, wonder where that comes from?) So I guess that is I my theological explanation of God's love- very complex indeed.

God's love is not based on anything we can do for Him. By virtue of being made in God's image- of being God's special creation- we are loved. And because we are loved- we have this tremendous gift, blessing, of eternal life that is available to us for free. God is a God of love and has made a way for our eternal joy and happiness- and that way is through His Son Jesus Christ. Who was crucified, buried, and was raised to life on the 3rd day. Who is reigning at the right hand of the Father, saying prayers for me night and day. How great it is this easter season to remember God's love!

Amen!

PJ

Further Reading on the Relationship between Judas and Peter

For all of you out there wanting a little more in-depth study on the relationship between Judas and Peter. I have posted an article for you on my little "dissemination" web site. All you have to do to download it is click the link below, then click on the file when you are at the page and it will download automatically.

Click here to get the file!

Thanks!

PJ

Understand Your Modern Cultural Milieu: Controversy on the Rise!

Recently there has been a slew of activity out there concerning Christian author's Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins. In fact, the the book was on the cover of Time magazine- talk about exposure! I'm sure you have heard about it by now, its caught the web on fire due to its incendiary content. If you know nothing about it, or want to know more, check out the Time cover story: Time Article on Rob Bell

It is a very intriguing article in Time, but it doesn't fully capture the true essence of the book. If you are wondering how to respond to this, or want to hear another perspective, I have linked for you a blog by Dallas Seminary Professor, Dr. Darrell Bock. For his extensive bio, click here: Dr. Bock's Bio

I suggest that you take a few moments to check out Dr. Bock's response on his blog. I have linked it here: Dallas Seminary Professor, Dr. Bock's Response . It is important to be able to dialogue with people if they ask you questions. Dr. Bock's blog gives a fairly comprehensive summary of the book, then goes into detail critiquing Bell's perspective. This is what is going on in our culture today. I'm not sure if it is just hype, but the book "could" spark a shift in the way a lot of "Christians" and non-Christians think about their faith and especially the redemption, salvation, and heaven and hell.

There is a decent amount of reading I have posted today. But I think it would be very fruitful to give it a gander, especially the Bock blog. Please feel free to dialogue about this afterward!

PJ

2 Movies- Last Sunday's Movie and New Movie!

This link will bring you to the posted movies: Sunday Movies!

This is the only way I could figure out how to post the movies. I kept violating copy write laws every other way. So, enjoy. I will be posting videos on here in the future.

Charlie Brown on Isaiah 6

This is an iconic Peanuts scene. Lucy holding the ball out for Charlie Brown who, despite his better judgement, holds out some hope that Lucy will finally let him kick the football. And of course, Lucy doesn't and again yanks the ball away sending Charlie skyward and downward. This is one is my particular favorite because of Chuck Schulz' use of scripture and great analogy to life. I am not sure he is going to take it as far as I do, but thanks anyway Chuck!

By now I'm sure you read the comic. Its great. Charlie quotes Isaiah 6:11 out of his frustration of having to trust Lucy yet again to hold the ball firm. To really get this comic, let me give you some context. In Isaiah 6:9-10, God has just finished commissioning Isaiah to preach the message of discipline to the Jews . Here is what was said:

He said, “Go and tell these people: ‘Listen continually, but don’t understand! Look continually, but don’t perceive!’10 Make the hearts of these people calloused; make their ears deaf and their eyes blind! Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”

This is what is going on: God is telling Isaiah that he is to go preach to a hard-hearted, stubborn group that will not hear him. They will listen continually but never understand. They will see Isaiah's object lessons and actions and not understand. Their hearts will become harder and harder and their ears will not hear and their eyes will fail to see the truth of what Isaiah was preaching. Basically, God is telling Isaiah that he is going to preach for probably the rest of his life and has a God-given guarantee that no one will listen- and that is by design. Talk about a commission! I'm not sure I would be super happy about that charge.

Charlie's response to Lucy about holding the football is the same as Isaiah in 6:11-12, " I replied, “How long, sovereign master?” He said, “Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,and houses are uninhabited, and the land is ruined and devastated, 12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place,and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned." As it would have been for us- what God was asking seemed too much for Isaiah. So he cried out in his misery- How long, sovereign master? To which God said, you are going to preach this unheard and unseen message until all the cities are in runin, the people are gone, the homes are uninhabited, and there is nothing left in the land- it will be a complete wreck. That is when you can stop preaching. Again, talk about a calling!

Now you can see how Charlie and Lucy kind of relate to this passage. The scene with the football was on ongoing struggle for Charlie. No matter how hard he tried, Lucy would always pull the football away. You know what though, Charlie always had a choice in the matter. Lucy was never forcing him to run after that football, risking yet another failure. The same goes for Isaiah, actually. God did commission Isaiah and sent a seraph with a hot coal to touch his lips and cleanse his sins (this is a topic for another day). But as Isaiah 6:8 says, Isaiah volunteered for the mission. So both Isaiah and Charlie were voluntary participants. Not only was their job essentially the same- keep doing something over and over again with the knowledge that the result would be the same- more suffering, but the duration was the same. Charlie asks, "How long, O Lord?" To which Lucy replies, "all your life Charlie, all your life." And that is essentially the message of Isaiah 6 here. Isaiah accepted the call of God in his life. After accepting it- God notified him of his charge- you will be a preacher that won't teach anyone anything. No one will listen, no one will hear, no one will see- and you will do this until the cities lie in ruin. Until the people are gone and until the nation is ravaged- you will see no fruits in your lifetime.

Although Peanuts can only take us so far- it is a cute idea that does relate to this passage sort of. It does still have application for us. Jesus Christ has called us for a purpose- to preach the Gospel, and in so doing, to glorify God. But just like Charlie, there is no guarantee of success. The world is like Lucy- just sitting there nicely holding the football out for us to kick. But just at the last moment, it whips the ball away and we fall flat on our faces, again, and again, and again. This is also the mission of Isaiah- go no matter what- obey and preach, although you "know" no one will hear. What Isaiah didn't know was that his part was just a small piece in God's larger plan- a plan that went all the way to the coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, and His life, death, and resurrection on the cross centuries later.

The same goes for our life. Sometimes we can feel like we have the same mission of Isaiah. That we preach and preach but no one is listening and no one cares. I often think of the story of William Carey- the father of modern missions. Carey risked everything to go to India to share the gospel. He lost his family and his wife. In his lifetime he faced countless trials and suffered tremendously. All the while he never saw 1 man come to faith in Jesus Christ. But after Carey died, Christianity took off in India and grew exponentially. As a result, Christianity is a major faith group in India.

There are thousands of stories just like this. It could be your story. My point today is this. The calling of Christ is often a call to suffer, to risk your life for the sake of His. How long? Maybe all your life. This is a hard call and you may never see the fruit of your ministry- you, like Isaiah, may go your whole life falling flat on your face for God. But you will be rewarded. God promises that the world will hate you because it first hated Christ, so be prepared. But also be armed with the knowledge that all things happen according to God's plan and glory. Your suffering is for God's glory and your reward will be oh so sweet in eternity.

Isaiah 6:8 is still calling out to us today: 8 I heard the voice of the sovereign master say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?” I answered, “Here I am, send me!” God is still calling and still asking for our response. Even though you have no guarantee of success and comfort- Respond Today!

PJ

"Why do I exist in relation to God?" And other meaningful things

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It has been a few days since my last post and I think I left you hanging. The question I asked previously was, "Why do I exist in relation to Earth?" I gave some awesome comics to think about, which I did again, and promised to discuss the next issues, "Why do I exist in relation to God?" Why am I curious about this? That is very simple, because I want to know what I am here for. There has got to be some reason why I was existed other than to sit here typing away on my awesome iMac taking up physical and cyber-space. We all want to know- here is some more Calvin and Hobbes to ponder over:












Did I evolve from monkeys? Did you evolve from a monkey?

"Why do I exist in relation to God?" Meaning, if I agree there are two natures, a "supra" nature, or supernatural realm, and a natural realm, then what is my relationship to the supernatural while existing in the natural realm? Before we begin, I think it best that I define what I mean by "supra" nature. For a definition, please see the picture to the right -->

Supra, when added as a prefix, carries a meaning of "beyond," "transcending," or "above." Anything that is beyond physical reality, the nature that we can normally see, hear, and feel, is supernatural. I don't want to get into trying to prove whether or not there is such a thing as supernature or not. For that you can check out C.S. Lewis' book Miracles or a soon to be published book by Dale Kratt that speaks very comprehensively on the topic of philosophical naturalism and things of that nature. These are topics I don't want to delve into today- that is not my "purpose."

Just like I have a purpose in this little blog, I also have a large purpose as a human. But what is that purpose? Last week I talked about how we have a purpose to take care of God's orderly nature, to not exploit it. Maybe our purpose, as Hobbes has it, is to be tiger food. What do you think?

The reason I appreciate Calvin and Hobbes so much is because a lot of it is true about some of us. Just take the first comic for example. Calvin has just convinced himself that the whole history of the universe is leading up to a certain, unavoidable climax (something I agree, we call this the "second coming of Jesus Christ.") So Hobbes asks him, "what are you going to do about this knowledge?" And what do they do? They spend the rest of the afternoon watching cartoons on tv.... haha. That seems like a response that I would have had, and it seems like a response we all have from time to time. At some point in our lives, the thought that there might be something greater than ourselves comes to us. It might not be something we think about all the time, but it comes, maybe subtly, but its there. And sometimes we respond by seeking out the truth of that inquiry or subconscious suggestion, or sometimes we just shrug it off and go to watching cartoons for the rest of the day.

Then we have the 3rd comic. Calvin asks Hobbes, "what is the purpose of humanity?""Why are we here?" To which Hobbes describes, "to devour each other alive." Now, if you are any fan of Thomas Hobbes or have ever taken a Poly Sci class, you will know that Hobbes is famous for saying in his book The Leviathan, about mankind in the state of nature: "and In such condition, there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving, and removing, such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."(Thanks Wikipedia for this exact quote)

I wonder how much of us hold to this understanding? Or how many of us out there practice life according to Hobbes (the tiger) that the purpose of man is to devour one another alive. I unfortunately think that more of us fall into this category that we like to admit... But enough of that, its too convicting (thanks Howard Hendricks!). Even more, how many of us think we are the perfect end of evolution?

Anyway, that long introduction finally leads me to the point of this blog today, which is a big question, "Why do I exist in relation to God?" There are many answers to this, and of course there is the "big answer" which is to glorify Him, which is irrevocably true. But today I want to focus on one thing: fellowship.

Mankind was created in the image of God to have fellowship with God, to worship God completely and walk with him(Gen 1---3). Fellowship with God means complete blessing. But as a result of Adam and Eve's sin, mankinds spiritual condition was corrupted and was cut off from fellowship from God: For a more comprehensive reading, see Paul Ennis in Moody's Handbook of Theology:

JUDGMENT

Adam and Eve now came to a knowledge of good and evil but not in the manner they should have. Immediately the world around them looked different; they recognized their nakedness, something they had not previously considered (Gen. 3:7). Their minds had become defiled, hindering fellowship with God.

God called for Adam, the mediator of His truth, to accountability (Gen. 3:9). Adam as head of the human race was being held responsible. God first pronounced judgment upon the serpent and Satan who was the power behind the serpent (Gen. 3:14–15). Because the serpent sought to exalt himself he would be abased, crawling on his belly, eating the dust in his path. Genesis 3:15 should be understood as referring to Satan. Although he would have a minor victory, the seed of the woman (Christ) would deal Satan a death blow. God also judged the woman; she would have pain in childbirth (Gen. 3:16) and desire for her husband⁷ who would rule over her. The judgment on Adam meant he would work hard; the ground would resist him.⁸  The tragic news awaited Adam: death would occur. Adam and Eve died both physically and spiritually.

Promise of Redemption 

In Genesis 3:15 God announced the enmity that would come between Satan and mankind. This is the protevangelium, the first announcement of the gospel in Scripture. Satan would be dealt a destructive, head crushing blow. This is a reference to Christ’s victory over Satan at the cross (Col. 2:14–15; Heb. 2:14) when Christ would render Satan powerless, enabling man to be forever restored to fellowship with God, making possible man’s ultimate rule. Satan would have a minor victory (“you shall bruise him on the heel” ), suggesting the death of Christ; however, that very death would spell Satan’s defeat.

Although Adam and Eve had sinned, incurring death, God moved to resolve man’s dilemma by pointing to a future Savior who would eliminate death, restore believing man to fellowship with God, and consummate history with Messiah’s reign on earth to restore all that Adam had lost.

Even though Adam lost considerable authority in his kingdom rule as God’s mediator, Genesis 3:15 looks to the future when the Messianic kingdom will be inaugurated, restoring all that Adam lost.

And the "promise of redemption" is the good news. Before Christ, if man wanted fellowship with God, to be "friends with God," to "be with God," he has to partake in the sacrifical system, the shedding of blood for the remission of sins and guilt. But since Christ came, the message of Easter, man no longer has to shed the blood, but because of the shed blood of Christ, is free once again to partake in complete fellowship with God and to share in the blessings that follow. If you want to know more on what it means to have fellowship with God, I encourage you to check out 1 John. That is a great little book in the back of the Bible that focuses on this issue of what it means to have fellowship with God. Or, check out the C.S.
lewis article I linked on an earlier post called, "The Weight of Glory."

"Why do I exist in relation to God?" I exist for the purpose of having fellowship with God, of calling God my "friend." Of partaking in the blessings and, often times, the suffering that comes with being God's friend. We try and find experiences that can relate to what I am talking about- we try and use chemicals (alcohol, drugs, caffeine (yes), ect. ect.) or whatever to empower our senses toward some other kind of supernatural or "out of body" experience. But the real, true extra-sensory experience is had in true relationship with our creator- that is a purpose.  It may sound silly and hokey to you. But once you have experienced God's fellowship you will know what I mean, you will understand the blessing that comes and the pure blessing that awaits when we can finally have perfect fellowship with God for eternity.

PJ

Comics, The Earth, Recycling, Environmental Activism and Much More!

Calvin and Hobbes is my absolute favorite comic. If you come to my house (you are invited), you will see prominently displayed on my desk the complete works of Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes author. Thanks Mal!). I love it for a number of reasons, but mainly because Calvin reminds me of me, inquisitive, a little crazy, sometimes disobedient, loves exploration, like to talk to self and stuffed animals, and so on.... I also enjoy it because it is a comic strip that isn't afraid to jump into deeper issues. I mean, the strip is called "Calvin and Hobbes," both those figures are pretty esoteric- John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes. I usually try and weave some Calvin and Hobbes into my teaching materials. So today Calvin has some wisdom for us.

This is a big question that all humans have to come to grips with at some point in their lives. As Christians we kind of have a vague idea of the answer to this question, "Why are we here?" The ol' "meaning of life" question. Normally you hear a few categories of answers, which Hobbes lays out for us: (1) literal, sarcastic answer(my favorite), (2) the scientific answer, and (3) the obvious answer. But Calvin want's the deeper answer- this is the answer most of us want. 

We also have Lucy's take on this question. Charlie Brown says we are here to make others happy. That is quite interesting, sounds pretty good, but not biblically accurate. Her response is quite funny and I think might relate to a lot of us... haha. 

So what does the Bible say about this? Well, lots, actually. As you might expect, the Bible is a book that rather specializes in answering this question and I could write for days about it. So I am going to pick one idea, maybe a central idea. This whole thing of "Why do I exist?" 

It is important because we all want to know that our lives have meaning. We want to know that we aren't just sitting around wasting our time. That we were made with a purpose- and of course, I submit we were.

The pat answer is, "to glorify God," which is the "big" answer. But that is too vague for now. There are 2 types of angles we can take here: "Why do I exist," (1) In relation to the earth and (2) In relation to God. Today I am interested in (1) In relation to the Earth. 

So why did God make you in relation to this floating ball you live on? This is kind of the, "your obligation as a responsible God image-bearer," lesson.

Gen 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.” 

In this passage we have an number of things going on:

(1) Practical: Populate- make babies. Fill the Earth. This is a pretty practical one. The Earth needs people, make them. I think we have this one covered. Well, we as American's and Europeans are bad at this one, but in general we are decent at it.

(2) Functional: Take Care of the Earth: This is a harder one. This passage does not give us license to exploit Earth's natural resources, as I have heard (erroneously) elsewhere. We were called to maintain God's original order and purpose- before God created it, Earth was a state of utter chaos. God gave it design and purpose. Think about it, God created earth and created us to take care of it. How does God take care of the Earth? Not by exploiting it.

Our role is to maintain that design and purpose. We can use Earth's natural resources, but in a responsible manner. I'm no hippie and I don't fall prey to the "green fad." Why? Because that green stuff is fear mongering to put other green stuff (cash money) into people's pocket. While I am not going to fall prey to their fear mongering, I am going to follow God's instructions in Genesis- which is to take care of the Earth.

As human, we are made from clay. We were created out of the ecosystem. We are part of the ecosystem. Sure, we are unique in this ecosystem, but that doesn't give us free-reign to destroy it.

So what does it mean to "subdue the earth, to rule over the fish and the birds and all the creatures?"

God's original design was for a perfect ecosystem. One where man and animal co-existed in harmony- each performing its God appointed task. Mankind as the sole image bearer of God served the functional role as "God's Representative" on Earth. As such, was the effective head over creation on Earth. Man therefore was responsible as the administrator/leader of Earth's many inhabitants. What that would have functionally looked like, I don't know. As a summary- man was appointed to rule on Earth because that is what God does, He rules. Man was uniquely gifted for this task, but we screwed it up.

How did we screw it up? Sin. Adam and Eve's sin brought chaos to this order- ushering in the change agent that would wreak havoc. Man lost His "job" as God's representative- we cut ourselves off as a result of our rebellion. Therefore, a new plan was set into motion in order to restore order- we call this "redemption," or, God's act of getting creation back in order.

And this is the grand theme of the rest of the Bible- God's redemption through Jesus Christ. It's there and it's not square.

I could go on for hours about this, but I'm not going to because I don't have hours. The take-away from this is this: I love animals and the ecosystem. Taking care of it is not just for hippies, Californians, and people from the Pacific Northwest, it is for all people. Being "eco-friendly," is not "anti-Christian," or whatever else- it is responsible. To what extent you should be "eco-friendly," is up to you. Should you go get a Prius? I don't know, do you want good gas mileage at the expense of good looks and power? That is a personal choice. But you should make babies too. How many? I don't know, 7 (that is the holy number).



So in closing- make babies and take care of the environment (but don't smoke pot, its bad for you).

PJ

It's Been Weird, I Need Some Good Stuff: Col 1:15-23

Ok friends, it's been a weird week. If you want to know about it, ask me off-line.  Not bad, just weird. Sometimes when things get weird, I like to go to some favorite scripture and just read it. It settles me and gets my mind right. I have provided such reading for your enjoyment and mental stability today. It is a super famous Christological passage out of Colossians, 1:15-23:

 15. He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, (16) for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him. (17) He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. (18) He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things. (19) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son (20) and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. (21) And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, (22) but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him – (23) if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant. 

I have no words, just meditate on this clear proclamation of who is Jesus Christ- God, Eternal, Co-Equal with the Father, Creator, Sustainer, the Head of the Church, our Savior, the Fixer of Relationships (reconciler) and much much more. This is just a mid-week reminder that He who is all these things is also our friend and brother- someone who loves us and wants the best for us- Amen.

Enjoy! PJ


PS: These pictures represent things that also give me peace of mind: Camels, Memories, Mal and Mimi, and Animals.... especially cute ones like baby Elephants.

Holiness Defined? You Tell Me.

I am reading a great book right now called Radical by David Platt. Some of you might have heard about it or even read it. I am enjoying it immensely. I has really challenged me to re-think the typical paradigm of the "American Dream" style of doing church. If you aren't familiar, he kind of describes it this way (this is not a verbatim quote):

Step 1: Get building (or something like a building)
Step 2: Get Christians to come to your building (steps 1 & 2 can sometimes be reversed)
Step 3: Get Christians to keep coming back and to stay in your building by giving them programs
Step 4: Teach them to be good by telling them why they shouldn't do
Step 5: Once you got Christians in your building and have them coming back, you can tell everyone where your church is so that they can come and get in your building and keep coming back to learn what not to do and discuss how they aren't doing it and make sure everyone else is being good too.

Of course this does not describe every church, I think the author was painting a very broad picture and presenting general tendencies.... But I find that model quite accurate, actually. I know that is kind of the thinking that I have from time to time. It is tempting because its so prevalent. Go to church, hopefully there are some seats in the seats, get some good programs going so people can learn what not to do and come back. In a way this is funny to me because it is too convicting (a famous Howard Hendricks idea. If you don't know who this is- I suggest you acquaint yourself with this great writer and teacher.).

Platt describes a totally different model. The model of our Savior. Jesus' focus was on discipleship. The God of the Universe, the creator and sustainer of life, chose to pour himself into only a roving band of 12 fishermen, misfits, and sinners. He taught them to go out into the world and not be afraid of anything: to look stupid, to be ridiculed, to be shamed, to be beaten, to have your neighbors talk about you, to not seem cool, to make mistakes, and so on. Jesus challenged them to DO Christianity, not BE Christians (the "be, do" analogy I borrowed from John Boyd, if you don't know who this is, I suggest you acquaint yourself with this great military tactician and reformer!). They were not defined by what they did not do- Jesus didn't sit around in a tent all day not doing bad stuff. Instead, Jesus' holiness was defined by what He did. We know the disciples for what they did- especially after the resurrection in Acts- that is some powerful doing.

Now, at first you may have a negative reaction to this because it sounds like works. And when people hear "works" they panic. But that is a totally unconnected issue. What if the gospels read like this?  "Today is Sabbath and Jesus didn't go out into the synagogue to cause trouble. He didn't risk anything by going to heal people. He didn't cause any friction, He didn't challenge the leadership, instead, He stayed in His hut and was good. Jesus did not do anything wrong that day (in fact Jesus didn't do anything wrong any day). Likewise, the disciples didn't do anything wrong either. Instead, they came to Jesus' hut and they sang worship songs and Jesus gave them a lesson." You get the picture.

I could write all day on this topic but won't, because I am short on time this morning. I want to get you thinking about the American Church. How can we do it better? Can can we do it simpler? How can we come together as a church, then take that message and go into the community as doers... How can we be motivated to be brave and risk it all?

Platt explains that holiness is most often defined by what we do, not by what we don't do. So what does that say for our American style of worship? You tell me....

PJ

Short Fuse? YES!!!!! Psalms 117

Dear friends, I have little time today, so I want to focus on the word "short". Why? Because my day started bright and early at the DMV- what a way to start the day, right? Well, it gets better. After filling out all the paperwork and stuff, Mal and I paid the fee for registering our car + a 60$ late fee for not registering within 10 days of moving to California: Awesome! Mal asked the lady, how are we supposed to know that we have to register so early? Don't you think people are busy moving and getting situated and stuff? To which she said, "well, you should check online next time," Super! So, my fuse was getting shorter at this point. Then, we proceeded to take our drivers test. I've been a lot of places and changed driver's licenses a few times. But let me tell you, this is the first time we have had to take a drivers written test to get a license- extreme! So, the lady administers this "short" test... a test which Mal and I both fail by only 1 point. I missed one question that I checked, changed, then re-changed to the original at the last moment- EXTRA AWESOME!!!! We are both idiots. To our credit, those questions were quite trickily worded and I would say 75% of the questions were irrelevant- for example, did you know that it is a $1,000 fine to dump an animal on the side of the road? Well, if you want to get your driver's license in California, you better know it......

So, the lady gave us the short handbook and told us to come back and re-test (w/ a 6$ retest fee, after paying $253 to register our car + $62 for the driver's licenses, which we don't have yet.) My fuse is getting shorter......

Just like in Dallas, to drive in Calif you have to get inspected. Well, we must get our car fixed first, why? Because we have a check engine light. So I make a short stop at Meineke and the guy gets the codes for me, all 5 of them- DOUBLE SUPER!!!! Now I have to make another short trip to the VW dealer to pay another $100 to get a "proper diagnosis," so that I can pay to have the emissions test so I can finally get my car registered. I think its going to cost us a grand for this- YAY UPON YAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I am being quite sarcastically negative, but there is good in all this, which is Psalm 117. Psalm 117 is the shortest chapter in all the Bible, but it is refreshing to my negativity and puts my foul mood in proper perspective.... Here it is:

"(1) Praise the Lord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! (2) For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting. Praise the Lord!"

How can you stay mad? Praise God for He has blessed us so much. His lovingkindness is indeed great toward us and His truth lasts forever- that is indeed cause to Praise the Lord!

So if you are frustrated like me today, take a gander at this short prose. You have nothing to be mad at. Praise God, the truth of the Lord is everlasting- Laud him with all laudiness. Praise Him with all you got. Because if you aren't, then you are focusing on that junk that is upsetting you, which is not fun. So if you are a nation of people, praise Him. God is Great!!!!!

PJ