“Our Lord never insists upon obedience; He tells us very emphatically what we ought to do, but He never takes means to make us do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit. That is why whenever Our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an IF – you do not need to unless you like. “If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself,” let him give up his right to himself to Me. Our Lord is not talking of eternal positions, but of being of value to Himself in this order of things, that is why He sounds so stern (cf. Luke 14:26). Never interpret these words apart from the One Who uttered them. The Lord does not give me rules, He makes His standard very clear, and if my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without any hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else in competition with Him, viz., myself.” Oswald Chambers

I love how Chambers puts it … it is about a relationship but we so often give lip service to that idea and agree when it is shared. But, it is a relationship and “blind” obedience is really not obedience at all. There is a kind of obedience that flows from love … it is self-sacrifice and surrender to something that you value — not in concept, not out of guilt, not because you should, not for appearances, but because you get to. Jesus is so much more beautiful than anything — it’s about a relationship.

Love the image of the trojan horse and a “subversive Jesus.” Read and enjoy … (from a book called “Secondhand Jesus”
“I’ve begun to see the Jesus of the Gospels, who came to turn the understood notion of religion and how it work on its head – the Jesus who forced people to reconsider their rationale for their routines; the Jesus who challenged values and and socially accepted vices and virtues. This is a subversive Jesus. This is a king whose humble birth and friendly demeanor concealed his true agenda for ruling or lives. This faith that we have embraced , this Life that we have taken into our hearts, will be our undoing. It is designed to be the end of us. The Jesus I’ve come to see and know at work in my life is the One who comes to undermine my own small-minded and wrongheaded plans. He is the Trojan horse of blessing that we readily welcome into our hearts without knowing His mission to destroy our old way of life. And He won’t stop until He has every part of our hearts. It means that He will do everything in His power – everything – to make us His. So if giving us stuff achieves that goal, then so be it. But if allowing things to be taken away gets us there quicker, He may just opt for that route. He is our friend in the way that we have never fully understood a friend to be – one who will act for our good even when we don’t see it as good.” Glenn Packiam

In the introduction to his book, “Everything Belongs,” Richard Rohr describes the challenge of leading people to live a surrendered life.

“Inherent Unmarketability …
How do you make attractive that which is not?
How do you sell emptiness, vulnerability, and nonsuccess?
How do you talk descent when everything is about ascent?
How can you possibly market letting-go in a capitalist culture?
How do you present Jesus to a Promethean mind?
How do you talk about dying to a church trying to appear perfect?
This is not going to work
(admitting this might be my first step)”

This is an amazing song that expresses what I desire to be true of my life … “no one else will do” and “this world has nothing for me” are refrains that bounce around in my mind and heart over and over again!

“Rescue” by Jared Anderson
“You are the source of the life
I can’t be left behind
No one else will do
I will take hold of you

“I need You Jesus
To come to my rescue
Where else can I go
There’s no other name by
Which I am saved
Capture me with grace
I will follow you

“This world has nothing for me
I will follow You
This world has nothing for me
I will follow You”

Often, in church circles, discussions arise that center around the idea of spiritual maturity … churches often say that the spiritual maturity of their members is a goal, or the goal.

Is it possible that “spiritual maturity” is not only an illusion but a dangerous goal?

While we are encouraged to present everyone complete in Christ (Colossians 1:28) and the word “complete” carries the idea of mature, what is the idea? really?

A couple of observations: first, the idea that maturity is a place to which you can “arrive” is not the idea. No one is glorified, free from sin, until eternity. Second, the verses in Colossians 2 which follow Paul’s statement about desiring to present people “mature” are as follows: “that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” The emphasis of these verses is about the heart and relationships and feeling secure in who we are in Christ. So, this maturing has to do with relationship and intimacy with Christ and others.

“Maturity” is an illusion when we think of it in terms of a destination rather than the pursuing of a relationship. And, maturity is not something to be seen as something that I have and others don’t because that causes “separation” from others and the goal as expressed in chapter 2 of Colossians is having hearts that are knit together with others.

If spiritual maturity is seen in any other way that living in the pursuit of relationship, it can indeed be dangerous. And, because of the way that the term is often used/abused by churches – perhaps we should jettison its use for something more helpful. Perhaps, it woul be better to speak of loving God and loving others (think Jesus in Matthew 22). How am I lovingly surrendering myself to God’s lead in my life? How am I lovingly giving myself to others above myself?

Labels, of any kind, (and perhaps especially the spiritual kind) often do more damage and produce more confusion than help. Asking questions with a humility that doesn’t allow for “badges” of honor might be more in line with the the maturity Paul speaks of in Colossians 1 and 2.

Yesterday as I was praying … I found myself asking Father to “show me”/”help me see” what He is doing in me. Immediately, Father made me aware that I don’t need to always see what He is doing. He is at work in me (I know that) and that is enough. In that moment, it became very apparent to me that I needed to trust God without knowing and/or understanding what He is doing. This is a new surrender – a new trust – into which God is leading me.

Oswald Chambers said: “He wants you to recognize the disposition you were showing – the disposition of your right to yourself.”

And so it is … when I am willing to surrender to Him – not having to understand what He is doing … I am surrendering my right to myself – my right to control. O, how often my desire to “know” is really my desire to “control.”

A good friend of mine wrote a great article about conflict in the church: http://kentdelhousaye.com/?p=233

Several weeks ago, I was about to embark on an international trip and was given a copy of “Flickering Pixels” to review just before I left. So, with a two day travel schedule which included two flights of more than 8 hours – it seemed a perfect time to dig in and get some reading done between naps and watching movies. What I found is that I couldn’t put the book down! I read it cover to cover – underlining, taking notes, and writing things in the margins. It is a unique book that is intensely interesting, convicting, challenging, easy to read, and a true page turner. Shane Hipps blends personal experience with his exceptional handle on theology, history, and psychology to present a book that is very well written and compelling. This will be a book that come back to often in the next few months and continue to think through some things …

Keeping “both eyes open” is exactly what Hipps encourages as we interact with technology. He suggests that most of us either count technology as inherently bad (closing one eye) or rather harmless (closing the other eye). For example, one person might say that ”television is bad” and another might say that “what matters is what you are watching.” Neither of these “one eye open” responses are helpful and they prevent us from seeing the full picture. He does an amazing job of drawing out the conclusion that the medium (technology) and the message are both important. He demonstrates that the technologies with which we interact shape our world views.

Each chapter is packed with insights and “aha” moments (there are way to many to list and then you wouldn’t buy this amazing book) but let me list a couple. First, Hipps exposes that “feelings” and intuition have been relegated to the caboose on the train, and he suggests that we need to reconsider how emotions/feelings interact with faith. Second, he examines the Biblical evidence for “coming to faith” as being a dimmer switch in many occasions rather than a Damascus Road moment. Ok, one more aha moment: on page 160, Hipps writes that “Certainty can be a great friend of arrogance.” Let that sink in for a moment … and then go get this book!!!

In each chapter, Hipps draws excellent conclusions but then asks questions. He doesn’t give the answers or the applications but asks the reader to think. As the book concludes, he draws out the truth that God created us to live in community and that this “technology”/medium is the central feature of communicating and living the gospel. S0, it makes perfect sense for this to be a book that is used in community – for study, reflection, and application.

What I love about this book is that it is not purely an academic reflection on how technology influences what we believe and how we interact with the world (although it is very well researced, supported, and written & will stand up to academic scrutiny), but a challenge to consider and reflect personally. This is absolutely a must read for anyone who desires to keep both eyes open as they interact with the world!

I just finished watching Slumdog on a plane to Europe. I understand very clearly why it won the Oscar for best picture. An absolutely incredible story of love and redemption.

“It is written …” were the last lines in the movie. There is a story that has been written …

Every story that humanity writes is a reflection of the story of God’s loving pursuit of us. Or, each story is a longing for or response to the lack of that story.

I loved, in the film, the way Jamal kept pusuing Latika. He oriented his life around that pursuit. While Latika kept running and trying to forget her scars – Jamal kept pursuing … That only he might kiss her scar and bring redemption.

Thank you Father for pursuing me and kissing my scars …

“Transforming union is the ripe fruit of dismantling the false self. As soon as the false self is reduced to zero, transforming union occurs. A nonpossessive attitude toward everything, including ourselves, is established because there is no longer a self-centered ‘I’ to possess anything. This does not mean that we do not use the good things of life, but now they are not ends in themselves but stepping-stones to God’s presence … what is true, beautiful, and good in everything that exists becomes transparent.” Thomas Keating, from Invitation to Love