Your Cross
The everlasting God has in His wisdom
foreseen from eternity the cross
that He now presents to you
as a gift from His inmost Heart.
This cross He now sends you
He has considered with His all-knowing eyes,
understood with His divine mind,
tested with His wise justice,
warmed with His loving arms
and weighed with His own hands
to see that it be not one inch too large
and not one ounce too heavy for you.
He has blessed it with His holy Name,
anointed it with His grace,
perfumed it with His consolation,
taken one last glance at you
and your courage, and then sent it
to you from heaven,
a special greeting from God to you,
an alms of the all-merciful love of God.
St. Francis de Sales
"In this world you will have trouble..."
Where did we ever get the idea that our American prosperity is the way life is supposed to be. Or worse, that we deserve it; that we're entitled to it. We need to realize we we're never promised financial abundance (at least as we commonly define it), that the financial blessings we do receive are so that we might help others.
Americans (myself included) have squandered a lof of our provisions on our selves, indulging in the gratification of possesion. Bigger cars, bigger houses, aquire, aquire, aquire. Bigger is better. More is better. In short, our stockpile is our security.
But now our chickens appear to be coming home to roost. Our economy is in deep, deep, trouble. Thousands of people are losing their jobs at an alarming rate. We can no longer depend on our savings, investments, or 401 K; and if this current Congressional plan doesn't work we'll be in more debt than ever.
I'm not sure where all of this is heading. I'm not saying our downfall is near. Obviously, I don't know. But I am sure as Christ followers we need to examine our perception of prosperity and pain. What would it mean for Christ followers if we we're totally stripped of our financial prosperity and security?
More to come...
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Happy Trails
I'm ready for an adventure; let's call it a musical adventure. I'm ready for music that blows my mind. I'm ready for that magic that leaves me wondering how it was even possible.
I have a fear of growing stale, of getting stuck in a rut; listening to the same music i listened to when I was 25; never caring to broaden my musical horizons. Not that I don't love the music I listen to now, I do but I'm ready for something new.
The time I have to explore is limited and my financial provisions are low. So, if there is anyone out there who's had there mind blown lately musically and could maybe even point me to where I could get my mind blown for free legally, I would be very grateful indeed.
dig it.
I have a fear of growing stale, of getting stuck in a rut; listening to the same music i listened to when I was 25; never caring to broaden my musical horizons. Not that I don't love the music I listen to now, I do but I'm ready for something new.
The time I have to explore is limited and my financial provisions are low. So, if there is anyone out there who's had there mind blown lately musically and could maybe even point me to where I could get my mind blown for free legally, I would be very grateful indeed.
dig it.
Monday, February 16, 2009
White Knuckles
Fear can cause us so much pain. Psalm 37:8 tells us "Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing."
I think fear is a major cause of sin. We fear rejection, so we lie. We fear losing, so we hoard. We fear the wounding of our pride, so we don't hold our tongue when we should. I believe some Pentecostals are afraid of losing their heritage, their doctrine on speaking in tongues, and it keeps us from being united with the entire body of Christ. I think this fear is why so many Pentecostals look on other denominations with suspicion and arrogance (arrogance being a wall to protect the ego).
I was always a little afraid of Baptists growing up. I was taught that they didn't "preach the whole bible". And yet other times I looked at them with a certain measure of pity, thinking, "Well, I hope they make it to heaven." I think this line of thought that I and many other Pentecostals (particularly COG) grew up with stems from the persecution of the church in its infancy. The Methodist and Baptist churches that the early Pentecostals came from did not look favorably on this new movement. I think for this reason the church put up walls to protect itself from the animosity as well as the doctrines of other denominations. It did not, and does not, want to allow itself to be informed by other traditions, fearing the corruption of it's own doctrine. This is much to our detriment.
W e have much to learn from other traditions. And I believe the high points of Pentecostalism could be of benefit to other traditions. We need to at least do our part and let down our guard towards other denominations (truth has nothing to fear) and attempt to interact with other parts of the body of Christ, not trying to convert Catholics or Baptists to our faith but just interacting in humble dialogue, willing to learn from members of our family in Christ. If we realize that in most cases we agree on much more than we disagree on, that speaking in tongues, while important, is not essential to faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 14:5-19), then I believe through the unifying power of the Holy Spirit some beautiful dialogue could occur and maybe, just maybe, we'd start to function more like a body.
dig it.
(Note: I try not to input a whole lot of scripture into my blogs. I'm very uncomfortable using scripture to back up my arguments. I guess I felt it safe to do so this time.)
I think fear is a major cause of sin. We fear rejection, so we lie. We fear losing, so we hoard. We fear the wounding of our pride, so we don't hold our tongue when we should. I believe some Pentecostals are afraid of losing their heritage, their doctrine on speaking in tongues, and it keeps us from being united with the entire body of Christ. I think this fear is why so many Pentecostals look on other denominations with suspicion and arrogance (arrogance being a wall to protect the ego).
I was always a little afraid of Baptists growing up. I was taught that they didn't "preach the whole bible". And yet other times I looked at them with a certain measure of pity, thinking, "Well, I hope they make it to heaven." I think this line of thought that I and many other Pentecostals (particularly COG) grew up with stems from the persecution of the church in its infancy. The Methodist and Baptist churches that the early Pentecostals came from did not look favorably on this new movement. I think for this reason the church put up walls to protect itself from the animosity as well as the doctrines of other denominations. It did not, and does not, want to allow itself to be informed by other traditions, fearing the corruption of it's own doctrine. This is much to our detriment.
W e have much to learn from other traditions. And I believe the high points of Pentecostalism could be of benefit to other traditions. We need to at least do our part and let down our guard towards other denominations (truth has nothing to fear) and attempt to interact with other parts of the body of Christ, not trying to convert Catholics or Baptists to our faith but just interacting in humble dialogue, willing to learn from members of our family in Christ. If we realize that in most cases we agree on much more than we disagree on, that speaking in tongues, while important, is not essential to faith in Christ (1 Corinthians 14:5-19), then I believe through the unifying power of the Holy Spirit some beautiful dialogue could occur and maybe, just maybe, we'd start to function more like a body.
dig it.
(Note: I try not to input a whole lot of scripture into my blogs. I'm very uncomfortable using scripture to back up my arguments. I guess I felt it safe to do so this time.)
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Celebrate Recovery: Pentecostalism
Guilt. Legalism. Two addictions I've battled for longer than I care to admit. Two addictions that have damaged me more than I realize. From begging God's forgiveness countless times a day for any negative thought, to asking God to "sanctify" any evil in any inanimate object (door knobs, pens, etc.) or animate being (other people, animals, my own fingers!) that I happened to be in contact with, that I "infected", while having said negative thoughts. Crazy? Ya, I've been there. All in the fear of losing my salvation and missing the rapture at any moment. ( Sings: Wish we'd all been ready.)
To be honest I don't know exactly where or when it started. I was born into a pentecostal family, raised in the Church of God. I was happy as a kid, free. Getting into the rambunctious sort of mischief that boys tend to get into. But in my teenage years I began taking God more seriously. I began moving towards a self-wrought holiness, a deriding myself of all "worldly" things that could separate me from God. (i.e. secular music, even Christian music that wasn't "Christian" enough.) Around the age of nineteen are when things started to take a more serious turn. I felt compelled to share my faith out of fear of judgment. I bought tracks to place in public restrooms and anywhere else I felt compelled. I recall one particular instance of witnessing to a temp at my place of employment on his last day as he was literally walking out the door because I felt it was my last opportunity to save him from hell. So I went to hand him a track and he says " No thanks." as he pulls his necklace out of his shirt to show me a medallion. I say "What's that?" Unable to decipher the small medallion's image. "It's a Buddha." he says. "Oh, well have a good one." That's right, I never even got to know the guy before I felt compelled to thrust my faith at him with a track. It was around this time when the severe legalism I described earlier began to surface.
The heaviest legalism lasted maybe a year until by God's grace I just stopped caring. I knew I couldn't do it anymore. He brought friends into my life who had a better understanding of what grace was and it rubbed off on me. I was slowly able to let go of my more severe habits. I still struggle with legalism, trying to earn my grace from God. But in the past year he has really shown me what his grace really means. That I don't have to do anything for him to love me, he takes me as I am. That only through the power of the Holy Spirit I can be any less of a mess than I am. My heart just need be open to him.
I know Pentecostals are not the only believers that struggle with legalism. Nor am i trying to place the blame solely on it. To a certain extent this addiction has to do with my personality make-up. I also know every Pentecostal doesn't struggle with legalism. But I think the potential is there. A message that is many times geared towards good works combined with emphasis on spiritual warfare can lead to a dependence on one's hard-earned efforts for salvation. Shadowing the fact that grace is free in the first place.
dig it.
To be honest I don't know exactly where or when it started. I was born into a pentecostal family, raised in the Church of God. I was happy as a kid, free. Getting into the rambunctious sort of mischief that boys tend to get into. But in my teenage years I began taking God more seriously. I began moving towards a self-wrought holiness, a deriding myself of all "worldly" things that could separate me from God. (i.e. secular music, even Christian music that wasn't "Christian" enough.) Around the age of nineteen are when things started to take a more serious turn. I felt compelled to share my faith out of fear of judgment. I bought tracks to place in public restrooms and anywhere else I felt compelled. I recall one particular instance of witnessing to a temp at my place of employment on his last day as he was literally walking out the door because I felt it was my last opportunity to save him from hell. So I went to hand him a track and he says " No thanks." as he pulls his necklace out of his shirt to show me a medallion. I say "What's that?" Unable to decipher the small medallion's image. "It's a Buddha." he says. "Oh, well have a good one." That's right, I never even got to know the guy before I felt compelled to thrust my faith at him with a track. It was around this time when the severe legalism I described earlier began to surface.
The heaviest legalism lasted maybe a year until by God's grace I just stopped caring. I knew I couldn't do it anymore. He brought friends into my life who had a better understanding of what grace was and it rubbed off on me. I was slowly able to let go of my more severe habits. I still struggle with legalism, trying to earn my grace from God. But in the past year he has really shown me what his grace really means. That I don't have to do anything for him to love me, he takes me as I am. That only through the power of the Holy Spirit I can be any less of a mess than I am. My heart just need be open to him.
I know Pentecostals are not the only believers that struggle with legalism. Nor am i trying to place the blame solely on it. To a certain extent this addiction has to do with my personality make-up. I also know every Pentecostal doesn't struggle with legalism. But I think the potential is there. A message that is many times geared towards good works combined with emphasis on spiritual warfare can lead to a dependence on one's hard-earned efforts for salvation. Shadowing the fact that grace is free in the first place.
dig it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Homecoming.
I miss Tennessee tonight. I miss the way I felt there. The one thing that gave me pause when deciding to move back hear a year and a half ago was the awareness of what I would describe at the the time as a materialistic approach to life. I did not know how deep it ran or how much it would affect me, how much it would wear on me. I never realized in Tennessee that there wasn't much of a class differentiation at least not one that had a real affect on me. (I will allow Uncle Tupelo to explain.) Here, there is an almost palpable anxiety in the air. It says "make more money, drive a nicer car, own a prettier home but above all perform, perform, perform. You must have your act together at all times." I can't stand it. I try to get away from it, to get out from underneath it, but it's just so heavy. I feel like if I could just get back to Tennessee, I could breathe better. I miss the acceptance of my friends. I miss their creativity, their energy. I miss the life I shared with them.
No, I have no plans to move back. This is where the Almighty seems to have us and we have grown here in many different ways. But tonight, tonight I miss Cleveland. I know she's not the sweetest girl but if you live there, treat her right. She deserves it.
dig it.
(Oh yeah, it's nice to be back. Hopefully I'll be able to blog some more but no promises this time.)
No, I have no plans to move back. This is where the Almighty seems to have us and we have grown here in many different ways. But tonight, tonight I miss Cleveland. I know she's not the sweetest girl but if you live there, treat her right. She deserves it.
dig it.
(Oh yeah, it's nice to be back. Hopefully I'll be able to blog some more but no promises this time.)
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