Raising the Dead

The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to his friends letting them know about the trouble he went through in Asia. He said he was "crushed and completely overwhelmed and he thought he would never live through it. In fact he expected to die."

"... ultimately being a Christian, is not a matter of being a success story, but of living with human failure–and with the God who raises the dead. That’s what following Jesus is likely to involve.” Timothy Keller

Paul goes on to to say that as a result of their hardship "we learned not to rely on ourselves but on God who can raise the dead."

And this is what it's really about... if there is a God who can raise the dead then there is hope.

Happy

This is a "loaded" post from Seth Godin regarding happiness. Lots of issues. I agree that marketers job is to make us unhappy. And they do a good job of that!

But I, of course, would disagree with what makes people happy. The only thing that can fill the void is the one who put it there in the first place.

Sink or Sit

My friend, Ron Lush, sent me this excerpt taken from: In a Pit with Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson, pages 114-115

Sink or Sit

Peter gets a bum rap. Peter is the disciple who denied Christ three times, but he was the only one who got close enough to Jesus to get caught. Peter is the disciple who impulsively cut off Malchus' ear when the lynch mob came to arrest Jesus, but he was the only one who came to Jesus' defense. And he is the disciple who sinks in the Sea of Galilee , but he was also the only disciple who walked on water.
It's so easy to criticize Peter from the comfortable confines of the boat.
I think there are two kinds of people in the world: creators and criticizers. There are people who get out of the boat and walk on water. And there are people who sit in the boat and criticize water walkers.
Here is what I think: Sinking is better than sitting.
I'd rather get wet than have a numb gluteus maximus. When everything is said and done, I think our greatest regrets will be the God-ordained risks we didn't take. We won't regret sinking. We will regret sitting. In the words of German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “Hell begins the day God grants you the vision to see all that you could have done, should have done, and would have done, but did not do.”
Anything less than getting out of the boat is spiritual voyeurism.
It is so easy to criticize water walkers from the comfortable confines of the boat. But I think the other eleven disciples were haunted by this missed opportunity. Think about it. They could have walked on water. But they chose to stay in the boat. They missed a once-in- a-lifetime opportunity because they weren't willing to take a God -ordained risk.

Nepali Coast

The unbelievable view of the Nepali coast off of Kaui.

Isaiah 42:12
Let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise in the islands.

Crowds

I struggle with the reality that though men and women have the capacity for great acts of kindness, beauty, intelligence and sacrifice our actions often fall dramatically short of our potential. How does one explain the holocaust? The crusades? The flying of civilian planes into buildings full of innocent people? Are men and women inherently intelligent or not?

On a lesser scale how does one explain a host of decisions by political parties, educational and judicial systems or even denominations? Obviously something sinister is involved here. Scriptures call it sin. But how does sin and stupidity get such a stronghold?

I’ve read a little bit of James Surowiecki’s book, The Wisdom of Crowds. It’s a fascinating read. While at first I thought it might be contradicting to my opinions I think especially after reading some of the Q&A with the Surowiecki that in the end it’s congruent with the only conclusion I’ve been able to make:

In crowds the opportunity for stupidity is heightened.

The more we identify with a group the more we tend to forfeit our right to think critically. We become lazy. We worry about what others in the crowd think. We elect people to make decisions for us and we don’t bother to check out the facts. We all know this and yet, we fall for it time and again. So it’s worth repeating: Just because a crowd is for a particular answer doesn’t make that answer intelligent, right or honest.

On the contrary, maybe it’s more accurate to say wherever you find the crowd, intelligence and integrity decrease. (Eugene Peterson applies this little observation: Which promise is most likely to be kept? The one between the politician and thousands of people or the one exchanged between two friends?)

Kierkegaard said, “The crowd is untruth.”

Jesus said, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? When are crowds appropriate or positive or honest?

Uncertainty is an Asset

I’m enjoying reading a little book entitled Art and Fear, Observations on the Perils and Rewards of Artmaking. One of the authors tells of an interchange he had with his piano teacher where in frustration he said, “But I can hear the music so much better in my head than what comes out of my fingers.” The instructor replied, “What makes you think that ever changes?” The teacher raised an expression of self-doubt to a simple observation of reality and as he did uncertainty became an asset.

And you say, “I had the idea of this job looking so much better in my mind than it is actually turning out.” Or “My vision of this marriage was so much more fulfilling than it is revealing itself to be.” Or “I see the spiritual victories more clearly and victoriously happening in my mind’s eye than what is actually happening.” Or any number of things along those lines. Yet, if it works out exactly each time just as you’ve guessed that it will there would be no uncertainty.

And there would be no reason for faith.

Uncertainty is your asset. The knowledge that this whole thing (i.e. job, marriage, dream, vision, hope, etc…) could fall a part if you’re not careful is what keeps you praying, hoping, and persevering. Virginia Stem Owens says, “To spy out the reality hidden in appearances takes perseverance.” The appearance is that the distance between your vision and the actual execution is too great. The reality is this tension keeps you focused.

Unless you quit.

Eyes of Faith

In a reference to Psalm 116:10 the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, ""It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus...""

Paul was so convinced of what he saw in his mind and felt in his heart that he was able to speak it even though he was "hard pressed, crushed, persecuted, perplexed and struck down."

He was focusing on the inward not the outward. He was looking at life from the inside out.

Don't give up yet. Fix your eyes on what is unseen - the glory of God working in you - not on the troubles. For the troubles will be gone soon enough and only serve the purpose of achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs anything we can imagine.

Good Conflict, Bad Conflict

As churchofthecustomer.com blogs about, Communication is good but hearing incorrect communication is not always easy to deal with. Depending on your perspective though, conflict is not all bad.

I think there are two general types of conflict: Moral and Immoral.

Immoral = Deceit, lies, ½ truths, manipulations, Self-centeredness, Pride, Superiority, Anger, Envy, Coveting, Resentment, Bitterness, etc…

Moral = Misunderstanding, Miscommunication, Lack of communication
Lack of experience, False assumption, Jumping to conclusions, Lack of info, Different moral goals, Different expectations, Immaturity, etc…

The question is, what kind of conflict are you experiencing? Welcome conflict that is moral or ‘good’. This kind of conflict presents an opportunity to grow, learn and be a better person. But be very cautious to continue with one you are experiencing immoral or ‘bad’ conflict with. Run away! Run Away! (Which in classic digression reminds me of the old holiness classic, The Holy Grail).