Red Lights And The Rapture

May 6, 2013 — Leave a comment

red light

Today, I was in a hurry to get home, and of course, I hit ever single red light on the way. All 12 of them. Red. Also, I was behind the same car all the way home. Traffic was such that I couldn’t pass to the left or right, so I was stuck behind one very slow moving Acura, that also got stuck at every red light.

At first, I was thinking this was the Twilight Zone. Then I thought it must be some kind of unholy purgatory. Not the kind where you go skiing either. My last thoughts were of the rapture.

Ah, the rapture – that glorious, foretold event that all Christians look forward to – when Jesus will come and take us all away from all the stuff in this world – including red lights. There will be no red lights in heaven, or else they’d call it something besides heaven. They’d call it traffic, and I am a firm believer that there will be no traffic in heaven.

So, as I was in traffic hell, I was thinking about heaven, and what it might look like if Jesus came to take me away while I was at a red light. I think there would be a lot of honking. Then people would get out of their cars and look inside my truck and just see a pile of clothes. Apparently, I also think we will all be naked in heaven. I don’t know why I think this. Anyway…

People will look in my truck, and there won’t be anyone there, whereas there had been someone there (me) mere seconds before. Some will think, “Holy mackerel, I think I just missed that rapture thing from those books and unfortunate Kirk Cameron movies!” Others might think, “Hey! Free truck!”

Either way, I’m like gone dude.

Thing is, I don’t know if I believe all that. Not that I don’t think Jesus is coming. He is! I wish it was today! Not that I don’t think He will take everyone who believes in Him to be where He is – again, today please. I just tend to not think it will happen like a badly written science fiction book.

How about you? How do you feel about red lights or the rapture? Either, or both? Let me know in the comments below!

In heaven, Jesus, rapture , , ,
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Rubber Mallet

April 1, 2013 — Leave a comment

Rubber-Mallet

 

On the way home from work today, it was nice, I had my window down, nice breeze blowing in. Then at a stop light, a giant red wasp came in the window, so I jumped out. Everyone thought I was crazy, but at least I didn’t get stung. They always sting me in the head, too. Probably because I’m bald.

I picked my oldest daughter up from school, went to pick the youngest up at day care, and realized when I got there that my window would not roll back up. And, on top of that, there’s severe weather headed our way.

So, I popped off the door panel, whacked the motor with a hammer – nothing. I whacked it more. I whacked it with a wrench, then the hammer again, then with a ratchet just in case. Nothing.

Now, we can afford to have this fixed. It’s not a problem. It’s not a great time to be spending money. We have it. But it’s earmarked for other things – important things. So I was mad, Cheryl was mad, the kids were mad that we weren’t going to take a walk and that Cheryl and I were mad. I didn’t say a word through dinner. I was really mad!

Half way through eating, something (God) told me to hit it with a rubber mallet after dinner. All of this is going on in my head – Me: I don’t have a rubber mallet. The Voice: Yes you do. In the garage by the Christmas tree. Hit the door right by where the motor is. Me: No. The Voice: Yes. One good whack. Me: I’ve hit it with a hammer and a wrench and ratchet. I’m not going to hit it with a rubber mallet. The Voice: HIT YOUR DOOR WITH A RUBBER MALLET AND THE WINDOW WILL GO UP.

So, I stopped eating, went and found the rubber mallet right where I was told it was, hit the door, flipped the switch, and the window went up.

Imagine that.

Most people will not have a conversation like that in their head. I generally don’t. God doesn’t generally speak to me like that. It’s feelings, impressions, ideas. Not real words.

But I think God does still speak this way – he did with me tonight. Over a busted power window. Think what might happen if I listen to Him when it’s really important – think if we all learned to listen! What a world this would be!

In attitude, miracle, test , ,
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In The Beginning God

March 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

NebulaThe first four words of the bible are the most important words ever written. They dispel virtually every thought of the worldly, scientific mindset our culture is enmeshed in. We depend on data. If there’s no input, there’s no progress – that’s one thing that’s never changed. What needs to change is the source of that input.

In the beginning God…But after that, we.

We tried to become our own source. The world we live in was created by the Word of God, but as masters over this creation, we have formed it in our image. God created the world and gave it over to mankind to rule, and then Adam made a choice to trust knowledge over the life-giving power of God. We’ve been trying to get God’s attention ever since.

In the beginning God created. Then with what He created, he formed some things as well. We were formed from dirt by God, then He breathed His Spirit into us. At that time, we were perfect, fully alive, 100% connected to Life. Our choice was to remain connected, or to not.

God placed man in the Garden – the first temple – the place where He dwelled with mankind. The Kingdom, heaven, was here. And at that time we walked the earth alongside God. At that time, we saw as He saw, we thought as He thought, we lived as He lived. Genesis 2 reveals that in the garden were many kinds of trees, and in the middle of the Garden there were two – the Tree of Life, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God said they could eat from any tree except one. They could have apples, pears, bananas, kiwis, oranges, peaches. They could have life, too, if that’s what they wanted to eat from. It was all good.

In the middle of the garden were two trees and a choice to be made. They could eat from the forbidden tree or not eat from it.

Rather than call upon God, they chose on their own and did what they thought was right. And then, banished from that first place of worship, physically, spiritually and mentally, mankind has sought to find a way back to God on his own terms ever since.

We try to do good, thinking it matters, but we have forgotten that in the beginning God. We learn all there is to know, and by our observations try to understand even more, but we forget that in the beginning God. We make plans, formulate hypotheses, create, innovate, build, rebuild but in the beginning…God.

We deny what we are trying to do by striving. We say there is no God. We trust the scientific method, we try to unlock the mysteries of the heavens and die in that attempt never having found what is all around us, right in front of our eyes.

For this reason Jesus came to die. To break the cycle of mankind’s struggle to “get it” on our own – to solve the problem of the knowledge of good and evil. Remember, knowledge of good and evil are both fruit from the same tree, and neither bring life. Bob Hamp has said, “When the problem is knowledge, more, or better knowledge is simply like pouring gasoline on an already blazing fire.”

The more we know, the farther we are from God. Jesus came to give us life, to reconnect us to God, to make us citizens of the Kingdom. And if you’re His child, the Kingdom is here, and you are living in it right now.

You can walk with God, just like in the beginning. You can know Him. He can be your source. The cycle of striving for more can be broken. You eyes can be opened to what is all around you. You can see as Adam saw in the beginning.

We have proved, over and over again, that our desire is to know God, but the means to do so is beyond us. We can’t get to the Kingdom trusting our own way. We have to make a willful choice to not trust our will. We have to make a willful choice to lay down our will and enter the Kingdom of God.

In the beginning, God. It will end the same way. How you walk through the middle part is up to you.

 

In God, Jesus, Kingdom, science, will , , , ,
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Time Travel

March 9, 2013 — Leave a comment

time tunnel

Ever since I was a little kid, watching Star Trek, I’ve wondered about time travel. I would lie out in the grass and look up at the sky and just think about how awesome it would be if the Starship Enterprise would come back in time and take me away to some future place, full of phasers, transporters, space ships and adventure. Not your typical small town country boy dreams.

As I grew older, the only class I tended to pay attention to in school was science. I asked my poor teachers the weirdest questions – how to build a laser, how fast rocket ships can travel, how fast light travels. I know now they were generalists and really didn’t know much outside of the actual coursework. Also, now I know I should have focused more on math.

Well, tonight I get my wish – I get to travel forward in time! One whole hour – Daylight Saving Time. Woohoo.

Every year around this time, and when time changes back to standard, there are 1000s of articles and blog posts written about the pros and cons. For instance, my wife hates it, I love it. For her, it’s harder to get the kids to bed because the sun sets later, and harder to get them up because it’s darker in the morning. For me it means I can be out in the yard pulling weeds later in the day.

Most people just hate the change, or any change, for that matter. They get used to the routine and anything that shakes that up a little tends to be disconcerting. And that’s ok. When I hear someone complaining about the time change, I usually end up saying something like, “Yeah, I wish they would change it 30 minutes one way or the other and just leave it.” Even thought I really don’t care one way or another.

One blogger has wondered what happens to all those TV shows that come on between 2 and 3 am – do they just disappear into some kind of vortex? How is that fair to those who stay up late for infomercials? I wonder how much people pay for advertising during a vanishing timeslot?

Also – what happens in those areas that do not participate in DST? Is there a vague sensation of something lost or gained? Do those people feel anything at all? Or do they just sleep the deep, satisfied sleep of those who are unaware of the mystical changes going on all around them?

Now, to be able to actually travel through time, there needs to be some kind of violation of physics. Physics as we know them anyway. There’s a universal speed limit, and to go beyond it might cause issues. Or it might not. We can talk about it all day but since it’s not (currently) possible, nobody really knows what would happen. It might blow up the universe or make us wealthy – like if we pull a Biff Tannen and use info from the future to affect our present. Not that I would do that. Ok. Yes. I would totally do that.

So – yes, It’s coming – there’s nothing we can do about it. Time will change. You’ll lose an hour. You’ll be sleepy and maybe grouchy. You’ll put up that picture of the 6 fingered man from Princess Bride saying, “I’ve just taken one hour of your life, tell me how do you feel” on Facebook.

My advise – take a long Sunday afternoon nap. Splash some cold water on your face. Get up and move! Embrace the change! Make the most of your shorter day by serving someone in need, by giving some love. Just enjoy life – look up and dream!

In random, serve, thankfulness , , ,
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Good Grief

March 3, 2013 — Leave a comment

Charlie Brown

I have felt like Charlie Brown so often. At work, when something unexpected happens – AAUGH! At home, when the kids or laundry or both have me at my wits end – AAUGH! Driving in rush hour…well my responses to that are often a little more harsh.

Think about poor Charlie Brown though – nothing ever seems to go right for the guy. Everyone’s smarter, everyone’s stronger, everyone’s more right – all the time. His response to not being as good as everyone else is to seek out Lucy for counselling and scream AAUGH!

A lot of things in my life have gone like that, and I could put some bullet points up to let you know how bad it’s been, but you, being human, already know. People we love die, people reject us, people treat us badly, parents and friends dissapoint us. Those things, for some people, are what makes them know they’re still alive. I was under the illusion for so long that I was made for suffering. I didn’t know much of anything else.

But I found out I was wrong. I wasn’t made for suffering. Suffering is part of life sometimes, but we were made for more! And once I discovered the “more” part, I realized the suffering part was not so bad as I was making it out to be.

What happened was I turned in – when something happened, I knew exactly how to react – with anger, and by shutting down, and by shutting people out.

This weekend, I learned that it’s ok to feel whatever I am feeling. I learned it’s ok to be angry, it’s ok to have grief, it’s ok to admit that you are struggling. It’s ok, and when you allow yourself to experience these things, there is help for the hurt and then you move past it.

We talked about grief at church last Friday for a while, then we were given a chance to feel it, and deal with it. I found out most of my grief had to do with past ministry experiences. I sat and thought for a long time, and God spoke some words to me – he told me what I needed to do.

At the front of the church, on the stage, were some basins of water. God told me to put the water on my head, my eyes, my lips, my tongue, my hands and my feet. I thought it was an odd request. I asked why, and he said so that I could let go of my grief and experience healing.

So, I did it – and as I walked back to my seat, every step was lighter, my tears of sadness were replaced by shouts of joy and laughter! As I sat back down on my chair, God showed me why he asked me to do this – I needed to let go of grief, grief that I had both experience and caused.

God asked me to anoint my head because my plans had become more important than his. He asked me to anoint my eyes because I saw people as things to be used and manipulated into doing my will. He asked me to anoint my lips because my words had twisted the truth and I used them to hurt people. He asked me to anoint my tongue because my speech honored only myself. My hands because my work served only to glorify myself. My feet because I had made my own path apart from God.

Also, I was holding on to pain others had caused me in all these areas. I had held onto this pain and it turned into anger and bitterness.

Now all these parts are holy and His! My past is grieved over and reconciled. I will not dwell on the pain I have felt or caused any longer. It’s done – it’s finished. It’s now a foundation that God will build the rest of my life upon. I welcome him into my life to begin his work!

You can experience this, too! Right where you are, right now. Ask God to show you the things only he can help with, ask him to show you what you have held on to that is poison to your soul. Take time to grieve over those things, then hand them over to God. He’ll take them from you and make you whole. Your whole life can change, right now! Trust him to be big enough to wade into your darkness, trust him to bring the light! He’s not afraid of your messes, he’s not intimidated by your anger, and he’s strong enough to take all the blame you throw at him. He’s YOUR God, and there’s no other name to call upon. Take delight in him – take it! He is offering it to you, and when you take it, He’ll give you your heart’s desires!

In change, freedom, grief, hope , , ,
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