So I left this morning for the National Youth Workers Convention in Pittsburgh. Which is where I am right now. I told the guy I rode with that I would be in all my Cleveland Browns garb. And I am. The first thing the valet guy did...he walks around the car, sticks his hand out to shake, sees what I have on and turns around and walks back around the other side. As I walked around the hotel, I got a number of glares. I was almost denied access to the fitness area. So I guess I'll be wearing my Browns stuff at least until Sunday when the Browns play again. Then I'll pull out my Tribe stuff.
So I'm walking around the hotel looking at the prices of food stuff. $7 for a piece of pizza. ONE PIECE! So I went back to my room. No microwave. So I call to the front desk. Is there one I can use? Nope, we don't have microwaves here. So I brewed some hot water in the coffee pot and made an Easy Mac. Tonight, I'll be brewing chicken broth to make chicken noodle soup. There's always a way around people's rules. I'm considering opening the window and making a fire on the window sill and grilling my hotdogs. My solution there is, I think I'll brew more water and sit the hot dog in the hot water until it's lukewarm. No microwave! Who needs it! It would be very easy to just go get a good meal. But since they've decided that they're too good to have microwaves in the room, I have an added motivation to find alternate means for meals. I already saved myself $10 that I would have spent on lunch. It will be $20 after dinner tonight.
So Monday and Tuesday I was at church camp for a leadership conference. Good stuff there. I get pretty uncomfortable around that many pastors, but the stuff I learned was very powerful. I really got one main thing from the two days I was there. The concept was, every organization has its own DNA. In people, we also each have our own DNA. That DNA determines who we are. What we are like. Our characteristics. In an organization, it has a certain DNA. In that group, their DNA determines what the organization is about. Its characteristics. Our Campus Life groups have their own DNA. I'm not really sure what it is. This is a new concept to me. The chore is to determine what our DNA is and if it is not consistent with what it should be, then begin doing some genetic engineering. There are a number of changes coming in the next 2 weeks. How will things turn out? We'll soon see. But our DNA is going to be becoming much more outward oriented than it even is now. Much more action oriented. I love change. Responsible, future oriented change is wonderful. Here we go!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Monday...Monday...You're so Good to Me...
Well, another week begins with the woodburner...burning. Back around mid August, I told Jeni, with this not-so-hot weather, I wonder if we're going to have an early and cold fall and winter. Sho-nuff, the cool weather is here. So I got a pretty good stock of wood to start the winter. Heading to Wooster tomorrow to spend the day picking up more wood and hanging out with my folks. Looking forward to that. Yay for mom and dad's house!
So over the weekend I shared with people what God was telling me from John 15 and from St. John of the Cross. This morning, I'm reading a passage from a catholic monk named Bernard of Clairvaux. The passage is called, Four Degrees of Love. He begins the passage with this quote: "True love is precisely this: that it does not seek its own interests." This is exactly the area that God has been working in me. I hate my selfishness. It's so powerful. He says, "Love is a natural human affection...that comes from God...but we are compelled to love and serve ourselves first...we love ourselves for our own benefit...for who truly hates themselves." "People can truly become slaves to our soul's enemy: lust. The love of self is held in check by the command to love our neighbor." That idea that selfishness or even lust is held in check is very essential.
I'm thinking of the clip from XMen 3 where Jean Gray has turned into The Phoenix. She is a raging ball of emotion and passion. Desiring to throw off all control. Professor Xavier tries to help her gain control again and she kills him. I don't think we're a lot different. If left to our own desires, we will purposely act to please ourselves. We don't want people to tell us what to do. We as rebellious humans want to do our own thing. We train our love of others when we choose to cast aside our own selfish desires/lusts and serve them.
But what about me? If I'm always taking care of others, what about my needs? In Matthew 6, Jesus says, "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well." Our choice is to either say, "To heck with God and His way, I'm going to please myself." Or I say, "I'm going to serve God and do things His way. I will give to meet others' needs and I'll wait for God to supply my needs." That may mean that I don't get everything I WANT. But what happens when I start getting everything I want? I start down the path of self-corruption. I am walking away from God and I head toward pleasing my flesh; or my selfishness. God isn't working fast enough! He's not doing things the way I think they should be done! Well, la-de-frickin'-da. I guess you're not God! And neither am I.
Well, I can love people just fine. I don't need God to love people. Yeah? Take a look at your relationships right now. How many of them are built on what you want out of life vs. what you are wanting to give back to God? Anytime there is an arrogant tone to your attitude, just figure there is the presence of the enemy of your soul. And you are cooperating with him as he plants traps in your soul. And you become the sucker that helps him plant them in there.
A higher degree of love is to love God for what He can do for me. As we are baby Christians, this is a strong desire. I see how good it is to be blessed by God. So I want to remain close to Him because of what He's doing for me. An even higher degree of love is to love God for who He is. He has proven over and over how good He is so we begin loving Him just because He's awesome. He's good. He's beautiful. He's holy. He is amazing! There is a much higher state of love, but I don't know if anyone who may be reading this would be able to contemplate this level of love. So if anyone wants to understand it more, I can share it tomorrow. If not, I'll just move on to the next passage. Deep stuff today. 1 John 4 is the scripture passage that goes along with that work. I'm looking forward to Campus Life tonight. Who will be the next Campus Life Idol?
So over the weekend I shared with people what God was telling me from John 15 and from St. John of the Cross. This morning, I'm reading a passage from a catholic monk named Bernard of Clairvaux. The passage is called, Four Degrees of Love. He begins the passage with this quote: "True love is precisely this: that it does not seek its own interests." This is exactly the area that God has been working in me. I hate my selfishness. It's so powerful. He says, "Love is a natural human affection...that comes from God...but we are compelled to love and serve ourselves first...we love ourselves for our own benefit...for who truly hates themselves." "People can truly become slaves to our soul's enemy: lust. The love of self is held in check by the command to love our neighbor." That idea that selfishness or even lust is held in check is very essential.
I'm thinking of the clip from XMen 3 where Jean Gray has turned into The Phoenix. She is a raging ball of emotion and passion. Desiring to throw off all control. Professor Xavier tries to help her gain control again and she kills him. I don't think we're a lot different. If left to our own desires, we will purposely act to please ourselves. We don't want people to tell us what to do. We as rebellious humans want to do our own thing. We train our love of others when we choose to cast aside our own selfish desires/lusts and serve them.
But what about me? If I'm always taking care of others, what about my needs? In Matthew 6, Jesus says, "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well." Our choice is to either say, "To heck with God and His way, I'm going to please myself." Or I say, "I'm going to serve God and do things His way. I will give to meet others' needs and I'll wait for God to supply my needs." That may mean that I don't get everything I WANT. But what happens when I start getting everything I want? I start down the path of self-corruption. I am walking away from God and I head toward pleasing my flesh; or my selfishness. God isn't working fast enough! He's not doing things the way I think they should be done! Well, la-de-frickin'-da. I guess you're not God! And neither am I.
Well, I can love people just fine. I don't need God to love people. Yeah? Take a look at your relationships right now. How many of them are built on what you want out of life vs. what you are wanting to give back to God? Anytime there is an arrogant tone to your attitude, just figure there is the presence of the enemy of your soul. And you are cooperating with him as he plants traps in your soul. And you become the sucker that helps him plant them in there.
A higher degree of love is to love God for what He can do for me. As we are baby Christians, this is a strong desire. I see how good it is to be blessed by God. So I want to remain close to Him because of what He's doing for me. An even higher degree of love is to love God for who He is. He has proven over and over how good He is so we begin loving Him just because He's awesome. He's good. He's beautiful. He's holy. He is amazing! There is a much higher state of love, but I don't know if anyone who may be reading this would be able to contemplate this level of love. So if anyone wants to understand it more, I can share it tomorrow. If not, I'll just move on to the next passage. Deep stuff today. 1 John 4 is the scripture passage that goes along with that work. I'm looking forward to Campus Life tonight. Who will be the next Campus Life Idol?
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Chilly Wednesday...
It's just plain old chilly today. I actually considered firing up the woodburner. However, we have a long winter in front of us. We've got a good start on this winter's firewood. But nowhere near enough for the whole season. A better start than last winter, but much to get yet. So I've got the little space heater on and we'll make due.
So I have bible study tonight. Which I really look forward to each week. We're moving through 1 John. On my last post, I went through 1 Jn. 2:12-17. So we'll pick up in vs. 18. "...and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared..." When I was a kid, the study of the book of Revelation was in. Revelation was hip to read and understand. People would get all excited about who the antichrist might be. The rebellious thing was to write 666 on your notebooks or on your hand. The interesting thing is that there are so many people in our culture that are leading people away into destruction. Which entertainers are causing damage through what they support and try to influence? Are they the antichrist? No, but are they types of antichrists? If they are leading people away from God, then yes. Verse 22 says, "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." I would say that our entertainment industry is full of antichrists. They are about themselves and advancing mankind above God.
Who do you allow to influence you? What clothes do you need to wear? Who do you wait to listen to to find out what is hip? Are classmates antichrists to you? Coworkers? Actors/actresses? Athletes?
Time to get busy. Lots to do, little time to do it in! Have a great day, all!
So I have bible study tonight. Which I really look forward to each week. We're moving through 1 John. On my last post, I went through 1 Jn. 2:12-17. So we'll pick up in vs. 18. "...and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared..." When I was a kid, the study of the book of Revelation was in. Revelation was hip to read and understand. People would get all excited about who the antichrist might be. The rebellious thing was to write 666 on your notebooks or on your hand. The interesting thing is that there are so many people in our culture that are leading people away into destruction. Which entertainers are causing damage through what they support and try to influence? Are they the antichrist? No, but are they types of antichrists? If they are leading people away from God, then yes. Verse 22 says, "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." I would say that our entertainment industry is full of antichrists. They are about themselves and advancing mankind above God.
Who do you allow to influence you? What clothes do you need to wear? Who do you wait to listen to to find out what is hip? Are classmates antichrists to you? Coworkers? Actors/actresses? Athletes?
Time to get busy. Lots to do, little time to do it in! Have a great day, all!
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