pass it on ...

several years ago there was a movie called pay it forward

the young actor was 'trevor' (haley joel osment)
the nutshell plot was to do a good deed
and have the recipient good-deed 3 other people
rather than paying it back
hence 'pay it forward'
it was great ...

... .. .

we do not live solitary lives
one man once said
' no man is an island '

it may sound trite
but consider ...

our lives
and the lives of every human that ever lived
are inextricably linked
with the lives of those yet to live ...

every
act of goodness
every
act of wickedness
touches
someone
and that someone
will touch
others
and that touch
was affected
by
that
act .......... . . ...

selah ...~.~.~..~....~

so that

i am

an integral

part of

eternity

as

are

you

act accordingly

selah ..    ..~.~... .

shalom

swim, for God's sake .. . . .. .

sometimes

God calls you

to go

to do

to be

something

whatever that is

it's a movement

from God

to you

it doesn't concern anyone else

it's you

...

it's me

and when that sometimes happens

and you/i respond

and begin to move in that direction

trouble is on the horizon ...

bank on it

forces begin to muster

and rally

against you/me

strategies

and plotting

and spiritual wickednesses put into play

all to dissuade

to distract

to disconnect

me
from that call

to destroy

as people of the kingdom
we need to recognize that

and then there's the other forces
the ones closer to home
like family and friends

bet you never expected that

those close to you
out of a misconstrued sense of reality
as it regards this move you're/i'm making
sometimes out of genuine care for you/me
join the naysayers ...

sort of like when jesus said
he was headed in the direction of death ...
God's call ...
apostle peter tries to dissuade him
and jesus allows him to know
he's actually siding with the devil

be prepared
to buck the tide
and swim on out
the againstthetide struggle
is your/my cross for that time
that call

but swim
'cause God told you/me to

and God is still God
last time i checked

be faithful to the call
and let Him deal with the fallout

this is the way to shalom ...

distance ...

it's a muggyish early summer night

the crickets and the frogs and the whatyamacallits
are whistling joyfully ...

i'm walking the dog
and a thought occurs ...

............. . . ... ...  .. ...

perspective

trying to gain
something of a good balance

to gain
i have to occasionally distance ...
not from 'you' ...
for me

creating space
for me
and my Elder Brother

to be together

just there

perhaps talking
occasionally
perhaps not

mostly
i speak my heart

mostly
i listen
well .... maybe not mostly

but that's ok
he listens
to me

and
we're there
in the distance i made
for us

it's not about 'you'
it's about me
this time

and him
my master

and allowing him
to change me
while he listens

into him


that was the prologue for my next blog ..... . .. .... . .  .

peace

weep with those who weep ...

the following link is another in the lineup
of those who are moving Christward
bringing healing
and love
and food
and shelter
and love
and ...
to the hurting, the hungry, the destitute

read

and weep

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2013/06/a-letter-to-the-north-american-church-because-it-is-time/

shalom

i just don't know ...

i have this shirt that says "growing old is mandatory; growing up is not" ...

i'm trying to grow up
as i grow old

the more i am willing to open my mind
to other mindsets and understandings
the more i realize i am most fallible
... note the word 'fall' in there

i don't want to just grow old
i want to grow up
into Jesus

i'm beginning to realize
that my narrow theology
has blinded me
to the rich diversity out there
in 'Christianity'

and for me to say or think
"i have arrived at the truth
the rest is error"
is for me to un-evolve
as a human
as a spiritual being
as a person indwelt
by the very Spirit of Creator God himself

another saying
this time in the flyleaf of my Bible
"when being right becomes my main focus
love is in remission" ...
it's dead-on

i, moi, have to drag my spirit/mind
into the arena of 'different view'
and respect the view-er
and be humble

i cannot stand around anymore
hands in my pockets
and allow the move of God
that is fueling a searching Christian core of people
driving them back to Scripture
to mine God's wisdom
dig it out for themselves
in the face of 'orthodoxy' and 'tradition'
... i cannot allow it to walk past

i want in

i want to know
that my spirit is growing
maturing
as  i submit to his Spirit
leading my spirit

leading me
shaping me
reshaping me
into the image of Jesus

God
whose image i am
wants to comform me
to the image of his Son
as a son

i want to be conformed
to the image of Jesus
not restricting that conforming
by being rigid
holding on to positions
for the sake of tradition
or pressure
whether social or religious

i want to conform
i want to grow up
i am willing to be wrong
i am willing to be changed

i am willing to be unsure

that is simply a rehash
of a previous blog-thought ...
i can doubt
in faith
and have my trust
unshaken

God is hugely bigger than my doubts

i want to be bigger than my doubts

sometimes ...
i simply don't know

shalom

he knows ...

http://reknew.org/2013/06/27-million-stones/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=27-million-stones

please watch this film

.......................................................................

there is great suffering
all around us
in a variety of forms

and people carry massive loads of stuff
that hurts
awful stuff
that makes me shudder to think a human is this dehumanized
this humiliated
this broken
this abandoned ...

... almost sounds like someone i know
who walked a road marked by just those descriptives
right into the pits of Hell itself

i think he knows
i think he's been there/done that
i think of him

God wants shalom for it all
for each of those suffering people
for each of the 27 million in this film

believe that !

that's the reason for the Jesus event
the  move that began a mustard seed revolution
towards shalom
ever growing
ever spreading
fertilizing the world along the way

selah ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .

we seek for Thy will to be done on Earth
as in Heaven

some

tonight i had the pleasure of watching a full NBA playoff game
i work nights and so rarely get to see an entire game

not that i am a sports freak
a little tennis, some football, some olympics, some cricket
but i like pro bball

i was thinking .....
the 2 teams, Spurs and Heat
the top 3 players of each team
that's 6 men

how much you figure they pull in, taken together ?

Wade, Heat,     $ 17,182.000
Bosh, Heat       $ 17,545,000
James, Heat     $ 17,545,000
Duncan, Spurs  $ 10,000,000
Parker, Spurs   $ 12,500,000
Ginobli, Spurs   $ 14,107,000
(Duncan cut his potential salary in 1/2 in 2012 to allow the Spurs to bring new players in)

a tally would yield $ 88,879,000

that's 88 million, eight hundred and seventy-nine thousand dollars
just over $11m short of one Billion dollars ...
a year

almost a billion dollars a year for the top 6 players
(and they are not the top 6 highest paid in the NBA)

selah . . . . ~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~


imagine .......... . . . .. ... . .. ...

what could 'we' do with that money
every year

man .... the thought boggles the mind ...
not their salaries
but what we could do with that kind of money

feed hungry people
clothe others
shelter the homeless
warm the cold
counsel the hurting, the confused, the abused, the lost
... help the hurting

and that's just my ignorant-of-the-real-magnitude-of-the-problem mind working
at 2:15 a.m.

there's probably a list 10 times that long

a thought ....

i don't have $BIL 1 a year

but i have

i have
some money
i can give
not much, but some

i have
some time
i can give
not much, but some

i have
some
energy
inclination
impulse
motivation
love

i have some
and i want to be
giving it away
to some of the people on that list

not many, but some
i can't help many
just some

maybe one
tomorrow
or saturday
another
saturday
or tomorrow

a little
but it's some-thing
some-one
in need
and
i
have
some

i want
to give
my some

in Jesus' name

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat;
I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in;
I was naked and you clothed Me;
I was sick and you took care of Me;
I was in prison and you visited Me.’

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 
When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? 
When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’

And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

that's the thing ...

if the bible has any value at all as to truth
and we are indeed created
in the image and likeness
of God, creator

then ....
aren't we thereby honoured ?

and
if we are indeed like him
aren't we then valuable ?

and
if we're valuable
is he ?
is she ?
are they ?
...
even them ?
?? ?

but ....
she's a drunk

he raped someone

he stole from his employer

she slandered my name
...

she abused me

....... .. . .. ...... ............. .... .. .. ...

thing is
i think ...
it's like loving my enemies
that hurts
anyone can love their loveables
loving me-haters is rough rough rough

every single one
deserves to be loved
by me
= Jesus-way

think on it this way
didn't Jesus die for them ?
or was it only for me
and my family
and friends
and teammates
and members of my church
and republicans
and americans
and .....

not asians ?
chinese ?
hindus ?
muslims ?
blacks ?

terrorists   ?

Jesus died for each one
and every one
with the same intensity
that he died for me

his love is that wonderful

and he asks me
to join him
in that love
because he loves me
and he loves
him
and her
and them
....
yes ... them too
him too
her too

love is no respecter of persons
because God is love
and God is no respecter of persons

and i am created
by him
to me like him

i see my calling to follow Jesus
to primarily taste like
loving my neighbour

and his neighbours
and my neighbours across the sea
and on the plains
in the mountains
druggies
as well as baptists

even democrats
and truck drivers

God is love
Jesus loves
i love

... that's the thing

in my lifestorm ...

for some of us the future is
it's there
with some sort of hope
some sort of anticipation
at least some

we're the lucky ones

others dread the thought
of a future
it is filled with fear of one sort or another
pain
heartache
depression
sleeplessness
stress

it looms foreboding before us
looms large
like some awful giant monster standing there
waiting
...
just waiting

we're the unlucky ones

that's life, i guess

... selah .... .... ... . .. . .. . . ... . .. .. .. .


and then
i think
of Jesus ... . ... .

if i can get my mind to go there
rest there a while
i see the other side of that coin
a heads-up
a refresher
a spiritual energy boost

somehow we go there after
after the other thoughts
after we have suffered a while
after we have pained

i wonder why?

i think i'm human
is why

... and then there's
Jesus

human too
hurt too
hurting too
suffered too
suffering too
pained too
paining too
abused too
hated too
hungry
thirsty
... . ..

selah
 ...........................................................................

and Hebrews tells of his incredible empathy
his descent into my humanness
his walking into the pit of me
siding with me
in my pit
suffering there
with me
learning
Jesus learning
with me
for me

and then
any future there is
or not
is not so fear-full

for Jesus is there

in my future

with me

allelujah!
praise God!
let everything within me praise his holy name
for he surely is worthy of praise

with me
holding me
securely
in my lifestorm

i love you, Jesus

you are my future

anti-empire

the movement of Jesus was (is) a radical one
it ran counterclockwise to the society of his day
against the tide
uphill

in my time that life-statement of Jesus was illustrated mostly in postures and presentation
in the stances we (Fundamentalists) took
and in the way we looked

'separatist' was the basic-training position
'militant' was the presentation

the picture becomes
armed
against

having survived that era and come out on the other side
scars and all
i stand on a promontory
i look back
i survey
i am not 'in' it anymore ...
thank God!

it is a hellhole of rabbit trails and red herrings
a waste of energy
a misdirect
a tragedy

to put it simply
i don't think Jesus dressed or looked particulary different to the average 'Joe'
nor do i think he set himself against the average person of his day

in fact
i think
Jesus
specifically aligned himself with just those people
in such a way that he was 'familiar' to them
he looked like them
smelled like them
and was
with
them

not to say he behaved or believed like them
but he was easy on the eyes
easy on the attitude

how so different from the attitude of my Fundamentalistness ...
how did we ever get there
i wonder

how could the overt, pointed, purposeful association of Jesus with the common people
be construed/constructed/convoluted into an 'against' stance
a military or, if you prefer, formal look
in the face of the norm

it's baffling

it speaks
methinks
to the militant/engaging/oppositional mindset
of the cult

Jesus was not a cult leader

he came to initiate a movement
to declare a kingdom
to be
the way
the truth
the life

and
to me
the marked positioning of that movement
was
anti-religion-of-the-day
...
anti-Judaism of the day
and, lesser so, anti-Caesar/god of the day
and, lesser even, anti-Greek/gods of the day

Jesus declared liberty for all
under the love-reign of Creator God

that positioning
that attitude
was most blatantly visible
on the cross

cross
place of abandonment
of rejection
of condemnation
of ridicule
of judgement
of criminality

place of suffering

place of death

that was the genesis
this is our opportunity to manifest that attitude
in our time
in our day

it is
fundamentally
anti-empire ....

it runs counter
upstream

it is anti-imperialistic

anti-empire

what, indeed, does it profit a person
to gain the world
and, in the doing of it,
lose his very soul

no profit
think loss
dreadful loss

when i align myself with the kingdom perspective of Jesus
i look to be 'love'
nothing beside
only love

out of that attitude
flows everything
everything

for the King
is
love

and i am
his servant


peace

more redeeming the manure

so
there's this huge pile of manure there
in all its stink and putridity
in my life
right in my face
 ...

i live with it
in it almost
for i must own it ...
it's my manure pile

but

every now and then
someone walks out of that pile
walks back into my life
even if for a very brief moment
and i have the opportunity
to un-manure them
release them
...
and maybe me

i get a second chance

... rare, i admit
but it's like a huge chance
a probably-once-in-a-lifetime thing
to un-manure them

to repair
to refurbish
reestablish
refresh

undo

and redo

... shalom-like

all that manure
sitting there
up to my neck ...

but whenever redemption comes
the pile gets smaller

and then redemption comes again ... maybe
and i get the chance
again
to undo
to redo

i'll take more of those second chances, please

why i blog

a blog
to me
is rather personal
it takes my take on things
it is my musings

this particular blog
concerns itself
for the most part
with my personal struggle
to be in the centre of God's will for me on Earth ...
to find that
do it

part of the finding
is 'church'
the community of simple Jesus-followers
simply communitying
in an attempt to reproduce the mindset of Jesus
personally
within community
within the larger community in which we live
... = Jesus' personal worldview
in action
in real life

as with any personal pursuit
where ethics
philosophy
godstuff
behaviour
worldview
standards
.. life
is in the balance
there are positions one takes ...
i take this position
or that position
on this matter

it is a personal position
it is my position

it is no longer a sunday thing
a church thing

it is my life
i am raking all the leaves
into one pile
and burying myself there
in the hope the compost
will give life to others

in the doing of this
there are some who have critique
who may take offense
who take positions different to mine
who disagree ...
some markedly so
others themselves musing
wanting to understand why
'what's the deal?'
why is this important?
or that?

for much of my life
i have written my thoughts
on scraps of paper
in the flyleaf of my bible
in journals ...
all in hidden-away places

i often thought of sharing
but dissuaded myself
in the thinking that others might not understand
might mistake my 'thinking out loud'
for accolade
a desire to be recognized
to get patsontheback ...

(i wonder, still, if that's my underlying motivation) ...

i simply think better when i write it out
is all

so, then ...

sometimes i offend
or step on a toe or 3
or even smell bad

i'm sorry
it wasn't meant personally
although it's personal to me
i'm sharing is all

but it's me i'm sharing
where i am now
in my trek
the view i view
from this perch
at this time

i'm morphing
hopefully it looks more and more like Jesus
as the skin dries up
scales off
and new skin appears

my personal butterfly effect

that i share
with whoever is out there
that might be interested in seeing what it might look like to change from worm into butterfly in slowmo

the offense is purely unintended
it results from that taking-a-position-thingy
pardon me
i never meant to offend

i only mean to think out loud
and share it
because you may be in a similar life-state
at this time
in your journey
and this or that thought
may help you to think through
and position your self
as you look
to look like
Jesus ...

that  is  my  aim

this is the love of God ...

there are people out there
who get it
thank God

let's get it too

listen ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxlJoGVYux4

that much

an indisputable truth
if you give scripture any weight at all
is that God is so very much
in love
with
each
human

every one
ever

in fact
the fact is
the value of any human
in the eyes of Creator God
is the life
of his own Son

we may value our lives differently

i'm not very smart
i'm a homosexual
i abused my niece
i am abusing my other niece
i was abused
at 5
at 9
for years
i lied in court
i had an abortion
or 3

...

i say 'indisputable'
because
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. (1John 3.16)
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1John 4.9, 10)

what a statement of love
Godlove
for me

so that
my real value
lies in God's estimation
not mine

and not anyone else's either ...

"you're not very smart"
"you're a homosexual?!"
...

your real value
lies in
God's estimation
not yours

and not anyone else's either ...

we value ourselves
as
God
values
us

and God's statement of love
is so astounding
it takes
your
breath
away

i
am
loved

by God
Creator God

and Jesus
is the name
of that statement

my salvation
master
lord
brother
friend
...

i
am
loved
that much
...
that much

and so too are you


shalom

good background info

the first half of this message provides a good overview
of the world Jesus was born into
and sheds light on several interesting aspects surrounding his birth
and his status as Messiah
and what that all meant to the authorities

http://whchurch.org/sermons-media/sermon/celebrating-a-subversive-king