it's over...

It's over...

So, once again I have returned from a arduous winter journey. A journey that I have now taken for several years. Today I return to this crazy mixed up world driven by excessive consumption and us always trying to figure out “what are we gonna eat?” I have been on a 24 day fast that ended Sunday. I have fasted a few times in the past for as many as five days and felt certain that I would surely perish for lack of food. So just imagine 24 days with NOTHING AT ALL to eat. NOT 24 hours...24 days. It really is totally mind boggling to just think of over three weeks and not one bite… So, as I previously mentioned, I am not going into all the minute details of fasting and the technical aspects of it. If you are interested in that information there is plenty of stuff out there. I believe it’s pretty well laid out why it’s necessary right here in Isaiah 58:6-11, when God says,

“Is not this the holy day for which I have given orders: to let loose those who have wrongly been made prisoners, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the crushed go free, and every yoke be broken? Is it not to give your bread to those in need, and to let the poor who have no resting-place come into your house? to put a robe on the unclothed one when you see him, and not to keep your eyes shut for fear of seeing his flesh? Then will light be shining on you like the morning, and your wounds will quickly be well: and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will come after you. Then at the sound of your voice, the Lord will give an answer; at your cry he will say, Here am I. If you take away from among you the yoke, the putting out of the finger of shame, and the evil word; And if you give your bread to those in need of it, so that the troubled one may have his desire; then you will have light in the dark, and your night will be as the full light of the sun: And the Lord will be your guide at all times; in dry places he will give you water in full measure, and will make strong your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like an ever-flowing spring."

Being on a fast, especially one this long is about learning to understand desire and consequences of choices we make. It is about living with a very high degree of intention and presence. It is about being mindful as opposed to being mindless in not only what we eat but how we operate in the world. As followers of Jesus, we should be set apart from the world. This is the meaning of being holy and living a holy, righteous life...that is, to be set apart. We are not to engage in the excess and gluttony the world promotes, nor are we to retain the insipid, disengaged mind that the world creates so easily in us all. We can operate in a lot of deception in our daily lives and so easily fall into the common trap of living “carelessly”. Fasting causes you to focus, sometimes very intensely, on how the seemingly simple things we do in one moment affect the next moments in your future. It is amazing how temporarily removing eating from our lives has such a profound impact on so many other areas. I never realized how just plain obsessed and food crazed we are in the US. Seriously, it is just amazing how much money is spent just on advertising food. There is an entire television network dedicated to food 24/7. We have celebrity chefs who are treated like rock stars. We collect recipes and cookbooks and spend hours on Pinterest pinning things we'll never cook. It's just cooking, people.Or better yet, go to Wal-Mart in the middle of a 24 day fast. You will really see why we are so physically and spiritually sick. A fast makes you come to a dead stop and get off the out-of-control merry go round that’s trying to kill you. It opens your eyes. For me personally, I look at this fast as an investment for this year. My wife and I did it together because: 1. We believe this is what God calls us ALL to do. 2. It’s an amazing way to start and set the tone for the new year-offering a HUGE sacrifice to God. 3. Doing it together as a couple strengthens and bonds us together is a very special and unique way and 4. It creates an atmosphere where God can work and speak in very powerful ways and we become focused on the power of prayer. So, why fast? Well, in a nutshell, fasting helps create in us, in a way nothing else can, “a wrinkle in the fabric of the veil which separates heaven and earth”. These sacred fasts are merely a brief moment in time where we temporarily break away from our day to day comfortable self absorbed life in the physical world and enter into the heavenly and kingdom focused world; where we rise from the tangible gross weighty matter of the material world into the more refined and sustaining substance of the spiritual realm. On a personal level it has helped me to just really focus and listen to the ever present voice of God revealing many things about His nature as a loving father who wants to bless me and give me good gifts. You see, I have historically had a real problem with that. My dad left me when I was 13. He decided that life was just too tough and I wasn’t enough to keep him hanging on. So, I always lived in fear that it could happen again thus that “father in heaven” thing seemed difficult for me for many years. So, one of the things I discovered on the fast is that a lot of stuff gets stirred up in you when you aren’t eating for 24 days. You know, stuff that you thought was safely and conveniently “stuffed away”. God has an attention grabbing way of just calling you out on that avoidance thing we do so well and saying “OK…now that I have your UNDIVIDED attention…” Oh boy, here it comes… Perhaps this may be yet another reason why we overeat??? Hmmm? I think the words from Isaiah mandates that we do this and clearly spells out our reward for this sacrifice... “And the Lord will be your guide at all times; in dry places he will give you water in full measure, and will make strong your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like an ever-flowing spring.” I am a watered garden...indeed.

still hungry...

Once again it is the season of fasting and prayer at my house...I thought I would repost a blog from several  years ago...many of the same thoughts currently.

I am thinking about hunger again. I know that seems to be a frequently visited topic in my blog posts, but… It really is something we need to think about more. I am not only thinking about physical hunger but I am specifically thinking about the deep hunger for God. Jesus spoke quite often about the hungry and hunger. In Luke 4 : 1-2 it says,

 “ Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil, And in those days He ate nothing, and afterwards, when they had ended, He was hungry.” 

And Satan being the ever clever liar was aware of that hunger and tried to get Jesus to turn a stone into bread. Imagine how hungry Jesus must have been after forty days? Some of us can barely last four hours. The devil knows that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach especially when really hungry. This was also apparent even in Old Testament days as Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for some lentil stew. That was an expensive meal. However there is a tool that is available and often used to call our appetite into submission. It is a fast. Now I am not going into all the details and the whys and wherefores of fasting here. There are plenty of books written if you need to do a scholarly investigation on fasting. I will simply say it is a very powerful weapon when teamed with prayer to tap into the power of God to speak into your life. The enemy, Satan, wants you distracted and hungry for food and things of the world. When you fast and pray you focus sometimes very intensely on desiring what God wants and waiting to hear what that is. There is a long and extensive history of fasting in the bible and some amazing things have happened secondary to fasting and praying. Moses fasted and so did Jonah, Daniel, David and Elijah among others. Fasting takes you away from the world; it is a renewal of your spirit and a powerful form of worship. Fasting gives me an opportunity to change my diet. It is amazing when I am not attentive to what I eat that I gain weight and am still hungry. I am overfed as many of us are but lacking something in my diet. Fasting helps me to focus on Jesus, the one who can satisfy real hunger. The temporary hunger I feel is just that…temporary. It has to constantly be satisfied in a variety of ways. We struggle to appease this never filled feeling that affects everything in our lives, our jobs, our relationships and our sense of self worth. We become enmeshed in a tangled mess of lies and deception and live lives in the desperation of having to consume stuff to mollify our hunger. I have decided to tackle this issue and look at my own personal hunger. For all of us it is different. For many of us it is uncomfortable. It is not easy to face something which we hate to admit controls us and drives our every decision. But there is a reward to be had in doing this. In the bible in 2 Chronicles 7:14, it says,

 “ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.” 

Can you deny that we need to repent and receive forgiveness? Can you deny the blatant truth that this land needs healing now more than ever before? Our hunger for the wrong things in this world has almost pushed us over the edge and for many it already has. It’s time. It really is time to stop the madness that pushes us to run in circles and never find peace. There is only one way. I think that it is clear what that way is. So, the question then becomes which you will choose. Are you hungry?? What will feed you this year? Or maybe we should ask…who will I feed??

A Short Testament

 

Whatever harm I may have done In all my life in all your wide creation creation If I cannot repair it I beg you to repair it, And then there are all the wounded The poor the deaf the lonely and the old Whom I have roughly dismissed As if I were not one of them. Where I have wronged them by it And cannot make amends I ask you To comfort them to overflowing, And where there are lives I may have withered around me, Or lives of strangers far or near That I've destroyed in blind complicity, And if I cannot find them Or have no way to serve them, Remember them. I beg you to remember them When winter is over And all your unimaginable promises Burst into song on death's bare branches.

" I thank God for keeping me alive "...

Three years ago today...the world ended. Well...for about 316,000 people it certainly did. We say that number so casual. We don't comprehend actually how big that number is especially when talking about deaths of people. So, think of it like this...the entire population of St Louis...gone, or Corpus Christi...all dead. Perhaps, this fact 40% of the top 100 cities of the US...one would be gone...forever. Shall I go on ? Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Orlando...I think you get the picture now. Each of those numbers was a person who was a part of a family and a community. A mom...a dad...a brother...a sister...a husband...a wife. Right before my local news was getting ready to come on the world came crashing down...literally. I have a very good Haitian friend that has been helping our team on the water system installation projects. He lives in Leogane which was the epicenter of the earthquake. Here are his brief words of that day:

January 12, 2010 He was 4:30 when I left Port-Au-Prince to go home. Shortly after, I heard a noise that came from far away and came towards me. My house was shaking heavily. It had a concrete roof that I had built, there was not too long. I imagined that the masons were not competent enough for the job and that was why the slab was s' crush. I hurried out to avoid that I am not a victim. I did not think it was an earthquake. I ran against the wall when I tried to get out of my room. I quickly said I was going to die, because it was for the first time I felt that way. I do not own me,my spirit away gradually. Leaving a chamber to move to another, wall had already filled the bed where I was down. The interior of the house was already white with dust blocks breaks. Arriving outside, that's where I started to understand that it was an earthquake. The house of one of my neighbors who had 3 levels was flat, 3 children was died. Many people were extended on the ground, cries for help came to me everywhere. Students of a secondary school which was very close, throwing cries of alarm under the blocs. It was unheard of. That day was the most horrible of all my life. I thank God for keeping me alive. Valdes INNOCENT.

What has been the most horrible day of all your life ? And...more importantly, did you thank God for keeping you alive ? I am sure we all have had a bad day...perhaps, some really bad. Days like January 12 2010 would surely wound your psyche very deeply. So, you take a hit...a very big hit and life goes on. It's called psychological resilience and the majority of the Haitian people have it. My good friend Valdes certainly does. This resilience is a process and not necessarily a character trait. Two of the main factors determining the ability to bounce back from adversity is being connected in a family and belief in God and again, the Haitians have got that down. It is simply unimaginable the suffering and tragedy of that day and obviously, it still reverberates in peoples lives, like many tiny aftershocks, to this very day...three years later. These serious calamities often times cause us to ponder many questions in our minds. I think the biggest question we always ask is...WHY ? I have heard many people even say “ of all the people in the world for something like this to happen to...Why Haiti”. It is just our nature for us to ask and question and have this need to know answers. In the Old Testament, when tragedy and extreme loss befell Job, who was considered a godly and righteous man. His plight certainly had many asking a lot of questions. This is what we do when we we do not understand and forget, if only for a minute or two, Gods sovereignty. Basically, God’s sovereignty means that He is the Supreme Ruler who immanently and personally rules over all the affairs of the universe—and this includes our personal lives both as individuals and as a local body of believers. Yeah, I am sure that is hard standing looking at a pile of rubble that was your home, just minutes before. Or, seeing children crushed to death in a school. I know, it's hard for me to even look at and I wasn't there. It was hard for Job. It has been hard for innumerable people in countless tragic situations. But, here's the good news... God’s sovereignty is a place of rest for the child of God, as well as a cause of worship. I can tell you that a lot of Haitians I have met certainly have got this one fact down pat. Their faith and trust in the sovereignty of a loving and knowing God is stronger than ever. Just like my friend Valdes who said, “ I thank God for keeping me alive”. Indeed...I thank him too.

The international led response to the 2010 earthquake. NGOs successfully acquired well over a billion dollars. Foreign NGOs in Haiti provided an easy way for non-Haitians to act on feelings of compassion and generosity. Unfortunately, making foreign donors feel good has done scandalously little for Haitians. A year after the quake, over 60% of the money given to private charities remained in their bank accounts earning interest. Meanwhile nearly half a million people made homeless by the earthquake remain in squalid camps. A year after the quake, only about 1% of destroyed homes had been repaired . In January 2012, two years since the quake, figures released by the United Nations show that of the nearly US$4.5 billion pledged for reconstruction projects in 2010 and 2011, only 43 percent has been delivered. Venezuela and the US, which promised the major share of reconstruction funds, have disbursed only 24 percent and 30 percent, respectively. Japan and Finland are among the few donors to have fully met their pledges. The data shows that some crucial sectors face particularly large funding gaps. In 2010 and 2011, for example, donors disbursed just US$125 million of the US$311 million in grants allocated to agriculture projects, and only US$108 million of the US$315 million in grants allocated to health projects. Only 6 percent of bilateral aid for reconstruction projects has gone through Haitian institutions, and less than 1 percent of relief funding has gone through the government of Haiti. A January 2012 Oxfam report said that a half a million Haitians remained homeless, still living under tarps and in tents. Haitians cannot vote any NGOs out of Haiti, nor do they have a government capable of regulating, or better still replacing, NGOs. Most perversely, foreign NGOs often have a vested interest in opposing Haitian sovereignty which would impose greater NGO transparency and accountability to Haitians. There are foreign NGOs in Haiti doing impressive work in a way that does not trample Haitian sovereignty. Paul Farmer’s Partners in Health is an obvious example. Please read about him and their work.

Be Kind

Be Kind

we are always asked

to understand the other person's

viewpoint

no matter how

out-dated

foolish or

obnoxious.

one is asked

to view

their total error

their life-waste

with

kindliness,

especially if they are

aged.

but age is the total of

our doing.

they have aged

badly

because they have

lived

out of focus,

they have refused to

see.

not their fault?

whose fault?

mine?

I am asked to hide

my viewpoint

from them

for fear of their

fear.

age is no crime

but the shame

of a deliberately

wasted

life

among so many

deliberately

wasted

lives

is. 

Charles Bukowski

Unexpected gifts...

I really think sometimes that we overlook the true actual meaning of Christmas and our enjoyment of it is adversely impacted by a lot of emotional baggage from many Christmases passed by. Christmas is about joy and giving and the generosity that fills our hearts during the holiday season. To truly understand the magic and subtle nuances you have to see it through childlike eyes. You really still have to believe in Santa despite every single logical and factual reason not to. We are conflicted because we want to give in and abandon the rigidity of our thoughts and ponder...if only for a second...maybe he is real. I am more convinced than ever that Santa is real and oddly enough he lives...shhhhh...in my house. You might never believe that my wife is Santa if you saw her. No white beard...no round little belly...and certainly no pipe clenched in her teeth. However, she is in fact, “a right jolly old elf”. At Christmas she transforms and becomes childlike and so filled with wonder and amazement that I can't help but to get swept up in her merriment. I have a confession...I am rather a scrooge. I sometimes get caught up in and beat down by the “other” Christmas...the crass commercial one. However, my own live in personal Santa always manages to show me something I would have missed...every single year...without fail. 

So, we have recently moved to Louisville and are living in an interesting neighborhood of a lot of little houses that many look the same. The neighborhood, from what we have observed, is pretty diverse in numerous ways. On our many trips of driving in and out, one particular house has caught both our eye and attention a lot. I honestly cannot offer a rational explanation why. I mean, I do know, but it may sound a little weird to some. At this house, all through the summer, an elderly woman sat in a rickety chair next to her dog, beside the street in her postage stamp sized back yard. We would always wave and she waved back and smiled broadly. We have met a number of our neighbors and that certainly is what we are supposed to do. Even more importantly, we show love for our neighbors by doing good for them. In Galatians 6:10 it says, 

"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.". 

One thing that is plainly evident in the scripture is the benevolence of followers of Christ toward others. Jesus, of course, was certainly always benevolent in dealing with the masses who sought his help. He helped everyone whom He could help. In Luke 6:19 it records one occasion when Jesus healed all who were there. He fed, with fishes and loaves,  the massive gathered crowds when they were hungry. He spoke with deep heartfelt compassion to all that needed it. Peter summed up his masters attitude saying that we should be,"casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you." We also find this compassion and taking care of neighbors evident in many notable Christians of the first century. One example is Dorcas who was "full of good works and charitable deeds." . And there was Cornelius the God fearing Centurion described as "a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the poor…" . In Titus 2:14 it says that Christ,"gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." .The term good works would include whatever beneficial things we can do for others. When we have Christian love, we will want to help those who need it, as we are able. 

So, my little Santa casually mentioned that we should do something special for our “waving” friend, I just smiled and realized that it was already decided. I have discovered anything mentioned by my wife very “casually” and quite random is, in all probability, a direct communique from God . So, off to the store the two little elves went. What subsequently ensued was a brief cooking frenzy and some fanciful gift wrapping and much joy and laughter. The little impish one was giddy at the prospect of just walking up to some completely unknown persons door and presenting them with these unexpected Christmas gifts. I was watching and listening to her imagining how much they would enjoy what I would have enjoyed myself...well, except for the dog biscuits. Then that thing that happens every Christmas to me happened... the last remaining bit of scrooge and bah humbug was washed out of me by the tears streaming down my cheeks. We got out of the car and walked up to the door. For a brief moment I fantasized that we were the magi bearing symbolic gifts of ham, pumpkin pie and dog biscuits. I was snapped out of my reverie by an elderly gentleman opening the door. “Hi” we blurted out. “We are your neighbors from a couple of streets over” I said. He looked both confused and curious at the same time. “ I am Mike and this is my wife, Joanne and we wanted to tell you Merry Christmas” I went on. He's still looking and evaluating...”where did you say you lived ?” he asked. “A couple of streets over” I said as I offered up our gifts. He still seemed to be trying to figure out these very strange people at his door and accepted the unexpected surprise. He then said “ well... thank you very much and Merry Christmas to you all “ and turned and went inside. My little secret Santa gave me a wink and a knowing smile that said...mission accomplished. Indeed...it was and will continue to be. 

Intentions & Resolutions 2013

Resolution

                                                     1.The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.

2.A resolving to do something.

                             3.A course of action determined or decided on.

It's that time of the year...again. That time that we sincerely promise...uh,resolve...to turn over a new leaf...to give up a bad habit...or two. I love this quote from Ben Harper,

“Life is short and if you're looking for extension, you had best do well. 'Cause there's good deeds and then there's good intentions. They are as far apart as Heaven and Hell.”

We live lives of good intention sometimes...but most of the time we don't. As you can see from the definition, a resolution is based on a firm determination...and that firm determination is usually based on our individual limited will power and what we can do on our own. Apparently it is the most difficult thing because every year the resolutions are essentially the same...we long for the same things and seek some personal or hopefully, physical transformation. Sadly, every single year, the majority of us fail. In fact, here is a list of the “Top 10 Failed New Years' Resolutions”:

1. Lose Weight and Get Fit
2. Quit Smoking
3. Learn Something New
4. Eat Healthier and Diet
5. Get Out of Debt and Save Money
6. Spend More Time with Family
7. Travel to New Places
8. Be Less Stressed
9. Volunteer
10. Drink Less

I am sure that you might see some of your 2013 resolutions and maybe even ones' from years past. I certainly do. I am also sure you realize that broken resolutions are not personal moral failures but simply broken promises...some made to yourself...some made to others...some even made to God. I would imagine that a broken promise made to God carries much more weight than one I would make to myself. I would guess, however,that God might be used to that from us. He is well aware of our glaring inabilities and our stubborn determination to always do it “our way”. I think it is abundantly clear...we can have all the good intentions possible but if we do not follow up the action plan with...well, action, then it's doomed to failure. These resolutions, in effect, mirror how many of us live out our daily comfortable faith journey. In James 2: 14-17, it says,

“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

It seems obvious that faith was designed, from the beginning to be a two step process...just as with your soon to be abandoned New Years resolutions. We more often travel on a tear stained trail of broken promises and surrendered dreams because of our affinity for self sufficiency. We love to sit back and admire what we have done operating under our own power. We love to make elaborate plans and set goals and spend inordinate amounts of energy on that process. As the verse from James says there's an action piece required. That action piece requires stepping out in bold and resolute faith despite any logical reason not to. God empowers us in an unexpected and extraordinary way to succeed where we are likely to fail. This, of course, glorifies God...not us. We can be very determined to get fit, eat right, improve our health all we want, but if we don't take the first step... which leads to more steps, it really doesn't matter. I have heard it said many times...faith is a verb. It is. I also have hear it said New Years resolutions never change...they don't

Christmas 2012...

For my annual Christmas blog, I have decided to revisit, revise and repost a blog I wrote in 2008 on my previous blog, On the road to Redemption. It feels as fresh and timely as ever...some things never change, I guess. Having recently returned from Haiti, this is some of what I have been thinking about...

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.... And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."— (Luke 2: 8-10-11.)

As the song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year… ” . Or is it really? The Christmas season is a paradox and each year we don’t get any closer to the understanding of this than the year before. Or do we? I find myself, many times, being torn between the crass materialism and consumption mentality that plagues many of us during the holiday season. I find myself wanting something “different” this year. I think the situation that we all find ourselves in currently, with the economy reeling and on virtual life support from the government, demonstrates the necessity to just stop this pursuit of the “right present” at the right price. I am completely disgusted by the masses of people who have turned the day after Thanksgiving shopping experience into a chaotic life threatening full contact sporting event. Sadly, someone got killed several years ago while just doing their job. This really returns us to our most primal hunting, gathering and killing roots. I can just imagine a proud shopper boasting on Christmas morning, “You like it? I had to kill for it…” WOW. Too extreme?? Is that too harsh? What have we become this season? We talk out of two sides of our mouth. We say we know the “reason for the season”. So, if we really do then why don’t we act like it? Seriously, it is time to just say ENOUGH. As Shane Claiborne says, 

“Enough to the myth that happiness must be purchased. Enough to an economy that is awarding CEOs salaries 500 times that of their workers and still manages to seduce people in poverty and wealth alike to give more money to these predatorial  corporations. Enough to the American dream that now consumes over 40 percent of the world’s stuff with less than 6 percent of the world’s resources. Enough to a dream that would need four more planets if the world pursued it … a dream the world cannot afford. Enough to the advice of government leaders who fearfully order us to “just keep shopping” after tragedies like September 11 and November 28. ENOUGH. Maybe God has another dream”.

You know what, I believe He does. I believe there is a better way and it is called the Advent Conspiracy. A couple of years ago, people who had enough of this madness, from four churches, got together and did something totally radical. They changed their spending habits at Christmas, shunned the spending mania, and gave presence instead of presents—the way Christ modeled for us through his gift of himself. They took the money they saved—nearly half of a million dollars—and gave it to Living Water International so that desperate communities could have the gift of clean water. Families from those churches are still telling stories of how Christ returned to their Christmas. Communities were renewed. Lives were changed. It was a Christmas to remember. Last year, 1,000s churches banded together for Advent Conspiracy 2011. Millions of dollars were given to the neediest people in our neighborhoods and in communities across the globe. Simply, this Christmas the idea is to worship fully, spend less, give more and love all. You too can be a conspirator. I love these words from author Alex Gordon, 

“There is no Santa Claus, no, there is something better. Every Christmas Eve a Great Spirit comes to this world and flies around it and scatters energy over the earth, and wherever that energy falls, like fairy-dust, it changes despair to hope, tears to joy, want to abundance, and when it touches a hard heart, it seeks to melt it, and when it touches a hateful soul, it seeks to change it, just like the spirits tried to change Ebenezer Scrooge. If you listen carefully, just before mid-night on Christmas Eve, you may hear this Spirit, and you will be blessed. But this Spirit is tired, and the times of its coming are few now. Time is of the essence”.

 Of course, you and I know what that “Great Spirit “is. It is the Spirit of the Lord God that has come in this season to bring hope and tidings of great joy. It is this same spirit that in Isaiah 61:1 it says,

“ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”

 So, let’s open some prisons instead of presents, let’s bring good tidings of the redemptive and restorative power of love to someone broken and lost and let’s give presence, NOT presents, unlike any Christmas ever before. And maybe, just maybe the real Christmas will come back. Merry Christmas, y’all.

"where are you Christmas ?"...

My own personal Christmas came a little early this year...I got to go to Haiti. Admittedly, for many of you that may not be something on your Christmas list this year...or any year, for that matter. For me, personally, this trip simply could not have come at a better time. It is so easy during this time of the year to be deceived and distracted by the crushing press mounted by retailers and our culture to redefine what is Christmas. It feels like the push to control our minds and wallets begins earlier and last longer every year. It’s 10 days before Christmas and it doesn't feel any different than the week before I left for Haiti. Or the weeks before that. But...in Haiti, it's really different. While December and winter is in full swing back in Kentucky, I’m profusely sweating every day as if it was the middle of summer. It is very difficult for me to believe Christmas is right around the corner when I am having to putting on sunscreen and bugspray to ward off hungry mosquitoes. Certainly, that's very different. However, that's not the difference I am talking about. Everything that prepares us for the Christmas season in the U.S. does not exist anywhere in the Haitian countryside, particularly where I am at. There seems to be little awareness that Christmas is rapidly approaching. No one is decorating their front door with beautiful wreaths, no Christmas lights on houses, no Christmas music in the air, no Christmas parties, no cookie exchange or gingerbread house making, no winter, no eggnog, no wreath making, no fancy present wrapping, no Nutcracker, Christmas Vacation or even worse...no Elf. But that’s okay. I find it refreshing and restorative because there are none of the above. It is very much a blessing to be away from the chaos and commercialization of this holy holiday. Instead of immersing and drowning ourselves in all the events of the season, we have this rare opportunity to focus solely on why and who we are celebrating. Being in Haiti allows that in a profound in your face way. It is the season of Advent. It is the time of expectant waiting. Haitians know this waiting well. While they may not call it Advent and celebrate it formally in their churches and homes, they live it. The season of Advent is completely about waiting and hope. It is not just hope for a better day or hope for the lessening of their everyday ever present pain and suffering, although that is certainly a significant part of it. It is more about hope that their existence has meaning and possibility beyond the present and limited experiences, a hope that the limits of their lives are not nearly as narrow as we experience them to be. It is not that we have possibility in ourselves, but that God is a God of new things and so all things are possible. My experience thus far, in Haiti, tells me that those who have suffered greatly and still cling to hope understand far more about God and about life than those who have not. This is where many Haitians that I have met leave me in the dust, so to speak. Maybe that is what hope is about: a way to live, not just to survive, but to live authentically amidst all the problems of life with this amazing resilient faith that continues to see possibility when there is no present evidence of it, just because God is God. That is also the wonder and the mystery and joy of Advent. So, that was my present this year and that's awfully hard to wrap up in a box...

“Evil visited this community today”...

We now interrupt this blog...to bring you this unexpected blog...

I had planned on another subject for this blog today...but things change. Sometimes things change in such a dramatic and unexpected way that we're are momentarily stunned...I call it being knocked out of our tree. No doubt, some obscure reference to where we roost. Sometimes things change in such a horrific and evil way it forever defines who we are. We lose any shred of innocence...any sense of safety...This incomprehensible evil visited a small town in Connecticut, shortly after 9:30 am, on a sunny winter morning leaving carnage and mayhem in its' wake. In an instant...in the blink of an eye...things changed...forever. Not one single mom or dad, when sending their child off to school that morning, imagined or could ever imagine the idea that gunshots would ring out as teachers cowered and struggled to maintain their composure as they protected their children. It's just the absolute worse case scenario for both parent and teacher. No training...no college course...no advanced degree prepares you for this day. Your basic raw instincts take over...your focus become acutely sharp...time stands still. We try to protect those we love...not because it is our job, but because it is in our DNA...it is really in every fiber of our being. It is placed there by God. This is the exact place that we struggle so desperately to understand. Thousands of “hows” and “whys” are resonating all across the world. There are no words that can come close...we strive to make some sense of a day turned so upside down it's surreal. Sometimes there are just no answers...nothing can be spoken that doesn't provoke even more questions. In the season of winter there are many references to darkness and the bleakness of the days. I am sure that it couldn't feel any darker and more bleak and hopeless than it feels for many in light of this heinous act. However, I also know that in the midst of all that darkness and despair... there is light. While it may be exceedingly difficult to see, it is there. In John 8:12, it says, 

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." 

 And in 1 Peter 2:9, it says, 

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

I have suffered my share, if there is such a thing as a share, of losses and unexplained tragic events and I understand the difficulty to focus on these verses from the Bible. Admittedly, I have never lost a child and simply cannot even imagine the depth of grief I would feel. But, the one thing I do know is that light dispels the darkness and we are called to be that light in the world...especially to others who are in darkness for whatever reason. We are called to be the ones to reach out to those who are suffering...are hurting...are trying to make sense...to struggle to move forward...to heal...and most importantly...to forgive. Endless hours of analysis and investigation and blaming and finger pointing are not helpful and only serve to mire us in a victim mentality. Sometimes very bad things happen that breaks our collective hearts. As much as we struggle to know why, sometimes...many times...we just can't know. There is no understandable explanation no matter how bad we want it. The sovereignty of God is easily accepted when all that matters is our intellectual agreement and understanding. But most often it is very difficult for us to accept, even unfathomable, especially when that practical reality strikes close to home through a difficult, tragic event like so many we have witnessed in recent months. In practically all cases like this, we feel compelled to ask, "Where was God?" I know this question echoed both out loud and silently with many of us. This is probably the tandem question to why. I really like what Father Dwight Longenecker says on his blog, Standing on my Head, 

“Where was God in Sandy Hook? Just where he always is, in the midst of the mess. He’s there suffering with the victims, bearing the horror with us and weeping with those who mourn and raging with those who rage. Do you feel righteous rage at the insanity and senselessness of this evil? So does God. Now you understand what God’s wrath is like. Do you feel helpless sorrow, pity and nameless frustration in the face of such terror? So does God. Now you understand his frustration and anger at humanity’s inhumanity. Do you feel compassion and heartache, and don’t you want to do something for the people who are hurting–do just anything you can? So does God. Now you know how much he longs to come in to our lives and help us and do something for us to heal and reconcile and make things right. Don’t you feel rage and frustration and confusion and fear for the poor sick boy who pulled the trigger? Don’t you ask what made him do such a thing? What turned him into a murderous monster? God is in the middle of all the emotions–in the middle of the mess with us. “ 

Indeed, he is...I pray we find comfort and healing in that...

Haiti redux...

A week from today I will be back in Haiti. This will be my second trip to a place I never imagined I would go the first time. I am going to be visiting some future partners for our Haiti Water Project and check in on some water systems we previously installed. I can't lie...getting ready for this trip has been really stressful. It has been stressful because I got distracted and almost forgot why I am going. I tried to blame this nagging feeling of being comfortable and semi-detached on everything but what it was. I temporarily forgot that I am being given an opportunity to go to a place that needs what I can bring...and it's not necessarily clean water. It's hope...It's the hope we have in Christ... to provide for...to love...to redeem...and to restore us. I feel sad that it's so easy for me to lose sight of that sometimes. It's so easy to be distracted by things that are inconsequential and limited in scope in our lives. We have this interesting thing about going back to places that have done something to us...impacted us...wrecked us in some way. There is this primal pull...this urge that speaks to our soul. I have this theory that we are looking for something we lost...something left behind and in returning we hope to find. Whether joy...peace...innocence...hope or even faith, there is something we seek. My wife says, for her, that place is the ocean...any ocean. Something speaks to her very deeply there and something happens. Of course, we know that “something” is God. There is a transformation and renewal of spirit. For me my place is an unlikely place...a place of profound stereotypes of poverty and where injustices are carved deeply into their national identity and psyches...that place is Haiti. Mother Teresa once said, “When I look into the eyes of the poor I have an eerie feeling that Jesus is staring right back at me.” Jesus himself stated that when we are with the poor we are with him. That certainly is true in Haiti. I both feel and see that played out everywhere I look while there. Honestly, it rattles my cage. It rattles that cage that many of us live in...have put ourselves in. That cage is not only a metaphor for our comfortable minimal risk lives but for our churches. The purpose of a cage is to protect what is outside of it as much as what is inside. We become comfortable and secure knowing there is minimal risk and danger both in our lives and churches. Oswald Chambers wrote,

“Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to "go out" in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to "go out" through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.”

Clearly, we know God is calling us to “go out”...but we resist. It's just so easy to just slip back into living a vanilla, homogenized, and gluten free life. I feel pretty safe in saying that really isn't what Jesus is calling us to. To really follow Jesus is to live dangerously because it involves really loving people, and often times those that are not like us...sometimes very different. If we truly care and want to be agents of transformation, we must be willing to boldly take the risk of loving others despite the possibility that it will be difficult, frustrating and tiring. I need to be reminded of that sometimes...I need to be reawakened. How does Jesus do that ? He shakes us. How does He shake us ? He calls to come out of the cage...our self-imposed prisons and go to risky places and love and serve those in need. In Matthew 25: 35-40, Jesus said,

 '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 invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit 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 invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

To just stand and be present among both the physical brokenness and the brokenness of others lives in Haiti is a reminder of what truly matters. I don't really know about anyone else, but that reminder couldn't have come at a better time for me.

thanks...for the thanks

In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others. ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

It's that time of the year when we seem to place special emphasis on giving thanks and enumerating the various things we are thankful for. It's somewhat of a lost art, really. To be really thankful and be satisfied with what we have and live a life of gratitude is a lofty goal. Our culture makes it difficult if not nearly impossible. It becomes a chore for many of us because we have become so self absorbed and cannot waste the extra minutes in our day to let someone know that their ordinary kindness is appreciated and recognized. Thanksgiving, the holiday, has become another commercially crass and mostly meaningless day dedicated to gluttony. The overall feeling is that it's just a day that stands in the way of “black Friday” and ultimately Christmas. However, I really have a quite different take on the whole idea of being thankful and showing gratitude. I am really thinking that Jesus was working very hard to show us how gratitude is this amazing tool that prepares us to receive God's goodness...or blessing. It lays the foundation for our hearts and minds to receive this promised abundance that is already ours. When we give thanks in advance this, in effect, readies us to be able to receive what we desire, a desire that is already fulfilled in the invisible realm. In Psalm 37:4 it says,

 “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” 

It enables within us a faith sufficient enough to make the seemingly impossible things possible. To live in the presence of that fact is to live a life filled with gratitude for even the simplest and seemingly inconsequential things. Dr. Michael E. McCullough, from the University of Miami, says. “It is part of a psychological system that causes people to raise their estimates of how much value they hold in the eyes of another person. Gratitude is what happens when someone does something that causes you to realize that you matter more to that person than you thought you did.” Don't kid yourself...we really want to matter...we want to be significant. Of course, certainly we all know and have been taught that gratitude is very important. It is the universal, across the world, custom of civilized and mannered people to say a simple and basic “thank you” after receiving something. Most of us are grateful when we are blessed in some manner, but that gratitude continues to be a response to getting something. It is still the effect...the afterthought. We wait until we think there is something to be grateful for before expressing our gratitude. In that waiting we are missing some tremendous opportunities to build our faith and that of others by living in a state of gratitude year round. We really need to abandon the mindset of waiting to receive and then give thanks. The surprising paradox is we are constantly receiving and for that I am most thankful...  

throwing stones...

So, I'm no different than many others of us that have watched, yet another, celebrated public figure blow their life up right in front of our eyes. A highly decorated real life action hero...a previously impeccable warrior... has proven once again that we are all fatally flawed. It really got me thinking about fatal flaws both in the context of flawed things...objects... and in our flawed story we are writing with our lives as well. In presumably a brief moment of blindness and indiscretion the beloved and esteemed soldier and adviser to the president went from heralded military hero to fallen tragic hero. In pure literary terms a classic tragedy is getting ready to be written and played out in full detail on the evening news. In the ancient times of Greek tragedies this “fatal flaw” was called a Hamartia, which very simply defined is a heroes' critical error in judgment that results in his fall from an often times lofty perch. While there is much difference of opinion in the actual meaning of the word I think it is safe to say it is a moral failure...it is sin. We all have these failures but when you are a celebrity and live your life in the mainstream of public awareness it become easy for us to point fingers and endlessly analyze. It really seems like there is an abundance of stones being cast here lately. It is easy for us to join in the fray and heave a stone or two as that is our nature. However, Jesus made it pretty clear what our response should be in John 8:7, when He said, 

  “They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!" 

So, ok, then...who's throwing stones...now ? You see,this fatal flaw that brings us all down is also known as missing the mark and that simply defined is sin. It is a moral failure of such a magnitude it cannot help but capture our attention. Our culture has created the term “epic fail” to describe these events in peoples lives that we are so hungry to weigh in on even when we have very few, if any, accurate facts. Many of us us have witnessed so many of these epic failings in recent years we barely pause to think about what has been lost or wrecked or to even pray for those affected. We're too busy at the rockpile picking out the stone that will hurt the most. Why? What is our investment here? I think it is an instinctive reaction based on fear. Fear that it could be us...or that it is us. Even those who live seemingly charmed lives are not immune from being a victim of their own undoing. It really can all change in a second with one bad choice. I think of someone like Lance Armstrong, who many “worshiped” as a hero and how awful they must feel now. The more you feel bullet proof and removed from the failings of others the more shocked and devastated you will feel when it happens to you...and it will. The reason it will is that we are all broken and flawed...tragically...fatally...hopelessly. This flaw has but one purpose and that is to destroy you and everything around you. It is geared to take away every single thing that you own and that is important to you. Again, I refer you to Lance Armstrong...I have lost track of what he has lost. Everything he worked for and everything he believed in and us with him is gone. Clearly, it was the wrong thing as he was being deceived by his fatal flaw and in that process deceived us. Maybe that's what scares us just a little bit...how easily we can be deceived by our own subtle sins. These public examples are a huge lesson for us of what happens when we abandon our moral compass and think we know the way and can journey through life without God. Choosing to live life on our own terms without God or holding God at arms length initiates a series of events over time that culminates in ruin and personal disaster. We will never know the personal thoughts and the decision process that actually went on in someones mind prior to making a decision resulting in monumental consequences. However, I do know this...we have all done it. Whether your sin...your fatal flaw...has made it to the news is immaterial. Put away your smugness...your finger pointing...your gloating...your endless fascination with how others are wrecking their lives...I think it's time for us to drop our stones.

sigh...no more

Like many around me, I am truly breathing a sigh of relief that the bitterly contested presidency has finally been decided. In one of the most both vitriolic and garrulous election seasons, we all really need just to stop and take a huge deep breath and just...sigh. Yes, sigh. I think that is the perfect word for right now. According to The Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of sigh is,”to take a deep audible breath (as in weariness or relief),to make a sound like sighing  sighing in the branches>, grieve,yearn,”. So, I would be willing to say, that both weariness and relief is surely a feeling many of us are sharing right now. This feeling is being described and reported on the news as being “battle worn” and having “gone through the wringer”. It has been so obvious and apparent to note our many glaring divisions...our differences...the things that separate us. There is a harsh realization that our lines are drawn deep...very deep. Often times, in the heat of these battles, our beliefs and the things that give structure to our lives comes under attack. These attacks can be very personal...personal to the degree that we are reluctantly drawn into the fray. Everyone becomes a pundit and feels compelled to defend their own positions irrespective of opposing and sometimes better ideas. Nowhere was that more obvious than on social media. As election day drew closer the rhetoric increased exponentially and became a roar that assaulted us endlessly on Twitter and Facebook. We were pummeled with misinformation, deception and often outright lies in a feeble attempt to sway or shake us loose from fundamental truths previously established by Jesus. Those who consider themselves to be followers of Christ are easy targets as most everything we believe is absolutely contrary to the current political process and culture at large. Times are really no different now, in that regard, than in the time of Jesus. There is a massive effort to change culture...a battle for your soul...that becomes more obvious with every election. That change process involves manipulation, domination and control and the various media play a huge role in that. Os Hillman, in his book, Change Agent: Engaging your passion to be the one who makes a difference says,

“Most efforts to change culture (even within conservative Christianity) lead to manipulation, domination, and control. When God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8 that they would be the head and not the tail, this would be the fruit of their obedience by fulfilling the first and greatest command to love and obey God. It was not a goal to try and achieve dominion in culture. Rather, it was the fruit of their obedience that would influence culture.”

It is abundantly clear that as a follower of Christ there comes a time that you are required to stand as Gods representative...an ambassador...a witness to timeless and life affirming truths. I'm not sure, really...but... I think that time may be now. Jesus has made it as simple for us. In Micah 6:8, it says, “ He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”. That is the thing that will heal our nation and draw us together...and we really need that right now...*sigh*

Reconnecting with compassion...

 

  As a follow up to my previous post, I decided to do something that I have never done on my blog...post a video. As you can see this is a talk given at a TED conference. As per Wikipedia..."TED talks strive to address a considerable range of topics within the research and practice of science and culture, often through storytelling. The speakers are given a maximum of 18 minutes to present their ideas in the most innovative and engaging ways they can." I found this talk very compelling and I particularly enjoyed a number of comments. One that especially  struck me was, "Compassion also brings us into the territory of mystery — encouraging us not just to see beauty, but perhaps also to look for the face of God in the moment of suffering, in the face of a stranger, in the face of the vibrant religious other.” I think one of the biggest challenges us, on a daily basis is to enter into that "territory of mystery" particularly while surrounded by the wreckage of what is left of your entire life after a catastrophic event. We focus on the loss...the material things...we focus on our suffering and many times develop a victim mentality. We become self absorbed and lose the ability to see the face of God manifest in the face of a stranger or even our suffering. Krista says, " Compassion can be synonymous with empathy..." It is difficult, if not impossible to have empathy if we are living a self centered and sense of entitlement life. We see very little beauty or marvel at the incredible way suffering is designed to bring us closer to God. She additionally points out that this necessary compassion can be expressed in the simple act of presence. This is what Jesus excelled at...entering into peoples suffering...being very present...and responding. This is a sheer impossibility if you are selfish and don't live with gratitude. There are many times that we often positively relish the trials and sufferings of others, particularly if we have made some judgement about their plight without even knowing them. We feel smug and insulated and smack our lips in delighted self congratulation that " thank God...that's not me..." This is not anything even close to compassionate. It's making a bad situation many times worse... it separates us...it divides...it draws a line. And any time you're drawing lines, you are making boundaries...us and them...lucky and unlucky...blessed and not blessed...rich and poor...black and white...have and have not. You also are drawing that line between Jesus and...yourself.