The Faith of a Centurion

The Faith of a Centurion

"5 When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment."

The Centurion of Mat. 8 has huge faith, unlike any Jesus has met before, but he also has huge respect for who Jesus is, Lord, and sees his own depravity reflected off of Christ's righteousness. He is one of the few who looked at his own condition honestly in the presence of Jesus and understood his unworthyness. Yet, he also knew Jesus was full of mercy and grace, so never gave up hope that Jesus could and would help. What can we all learn from this? Approaching Jesus with what is in our hearts is important, but we must recognize the importance of understanding the difference and significance between our unrighteousness and Christ's perfection. We must first ask him to reveal to us our own condition, and seek honestly what needs to be dealt with in our own hearts, and then once that work is addressed, we can work on the things he has laid on our hearts. I personally feel that we are so limited in our prayer lives because we come so insistently and persistently with requests we hold dear, but forget that God is first and foremost concerned with our personal conditions. He always wants to bring it back around so it is about us, even when we crave for it to be about something else, beyond us for once! It just proves that he really does want what us best for us, and has our best interests in the center of his heart.

A Few Thoughts...Life Journaling: Matthew 6:19-34

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

19 x“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ymoth and rust5 destroy and where thieves zbreak in and steal, 20 xbut lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 a“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 abut if byour eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 c“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and dmoney.6

Do Not Be Anxious

25 e“Therefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life?7 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, kO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But nseek first othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, pand all these things will be added to you.

34 q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

It is important to read these verses together, in context, because when we read them apart, I think the spirit of the verses is lost. The end verses can be used in justification by people who advocate against planning and preparation such as insurance, saving food from a good harvest for winter, and having a good supply of firewood... But perhaps these verses aren't telling us not to prepare. What they may be saying is that we can't let our preparations become an idol, receiving our devotion. For when we think we "are prepared" or "have it together" of our own doing, therein lies our issue! We can never, with of amount of preparation, be ready for what life will dish out. We must always rely on God first, no plan B. When we are blessed with enough to save for later, we must analyze this. Are we really to hang on to it, or have we been entrusted with the task of finding a person who needs it more than us? We are to bless others with what we have, even if it doesn't look like much. We ALWAYS have something to give. And when we are faithful with a little, we are blessed with more blessings to be responsible for. And then it is our job to be sure that those blessings don't become and idol to us, making us feel proud, stingy and conceited. What is in our hearts? A true desire to see everyone full of joy, working together to make Gods kingdom on earth prolific? Or a secret desire to feel "safe" and "secure?" These feelings are often rooted in pride, and flourish in an unwillingness to respond in obedience when God is asking us to respond in RADICAL obedience. We are all asked to analyze this in our own hearts, what is there? Will we receive a "good and faithful servant" from our savior? Remember this on this Easter weekend, he died so we can live, and live to the fullest, but not to our own devices, but rather according to all he has planned for us, which happens to be AN AMAZING LIFE!!

Life Journaling: Distractions

Today my reading was in Jeremiah 13-15 and John 15. Jeremiah 15:16-20 says:

¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ate them,
    and your words became to me a joy
    and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
    O Lord, God of hosts.

(...Jeremiah digests, delights in and speaks Gods words to the people for their own good...)

¹⁷ 

I did not sit in the company of revelers,

    nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
    for you had filled me with indignation.

(...He doesn't participate in the sin they are performing, he is set apart and God has filled him with wrath...)

¹⁸ Why is my pain unceasing,
    my wound incurable,
    refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me like a deceitful brook,
    like waters that fail?

(...Jeremiah, like any human in his situation is questioning his pain and asks why his wounds are not healing...he wonders if God is really protecting him; if he is there with him. He asks God if he will let him down and leave like a river that runs dry...)

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord:
“If you return, I will restore you,
    and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
    you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
    but you shall not turn to them.
²⁰ And I will make you to this people
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
    but they shall not prevail over you,
for I am with you
    to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord. 

(...God  assures Jeremiah that He is there and will protect him, but that persecution will continue. As long as Jeremiah knows that the Lord is with him, persecution doesn't matter...)

John 15 talks about the vine, and the branches that reside in it bearing much fruit. Like Jeremiah, we must abide completely in the vine to have Gods full protection as well as to bear much fruit.

On my run yesterday, the word God gave me was distraction. He showed me that even ministry work, and "good works" like service etc. can all be a distraction, hence not a good thing, if they are keeping us from working on our relationship with him. God never asks us to do anything that will take away from our time with him. So if we are feeling too busy to have our morning quiet time, we must look at our activities, even the ones we "do for The Lord" and see which ones are distracting us. Many of our works are ours to do, and God blesses our efforts, but if our efforts are not bearing fruit, we must look at our intentions and motivations. Satan will allow us to do ministry work alone because he knows it will lead to burn out and lack luster fruit.

At our church recently, the women have been discussing and studying the effect of spiritual health on the body, both emotionally as well as physically. I can see that if we are struggling with any type of health, we must first look at our spiritual health. The root issue will most likely be there.  Do we feel Gods complete love for us, do we know he has our backs, do we trust that he has done the job completely, do we think that without our efforts something will fail and God won't work there? Nothing in ministry depends completely on us, if we feel an event or ministry will fail if we don't do our "job" we are wrong. If it is truly our job to do, God will give us the time, strength, ability, motivation and desire to do it how he needs it to be done, but not at the expense of our time with him. Isn't that amazing??!!  We serve an awesome, gracious and merciful God who only wants the very best for us.

Life Journaling: Straight Paths

My life journaling passages for today, May 26th are Proverbs 1-3 and Romans 7. As I was reading, several verses were being illuminated to me.

First was Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and knowledge." -This must be the first step in our relationship with Christ, right? We must have that deep reverence and awe of His greatness and power! He is, after all, the "Great I Am!" I think the fear of the Lord is minimized in the western prosperity gospel that is preached in some places.

Second was Proverbs 1:23, "If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you;  I will make my words known to you." -We must be willing to receive correction from the Lord, knowing that He knows what is best for us. If we are available to be corrected, we can receive outpouring of the spirit, which has often been turned down to a trickle because of our stubbornness. 

Third was Proverbs 2:4-5, "if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." This says that we must seek to understand the fear of the Lord... 

Fourth was Proverbs 2:7-10, 

"he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

   he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸ guarding the paths of justice
    and watching over the way of his saints.
⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice
    and equity, every good path;
¹⁰ for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul..."

To me this says that when we walk in the path God has for us, we will be seeking justice; our paths will be guarded. It also says that we will understand righteousness and justice and equity, which are called the "good path." So, when we search and seek to understand the fear of God, like searching for something as precious as treasures, we will understand and fear the Lord while finding the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God, which we will understand is righteousness, justice and equity, will help direct our paths of justice and the Lord will be watching over the way of His saints. 

Last, from Proverbs 3:5-6, 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths."

We must have God's understanding, and God's heart then we can pursue paths of justice. Only then will we be in God's will and will have God as our shield.

There are so many more great verses in these first three chapters, but these were the ones that hadn't stood out to me before. It probably looks a lot like proof texting, but, I didn't read these chapters with the intention of proving anything about fear of the Lord and it's link to straight and just paths... I came to the conclusions I came to while reading :)

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwdHSRZBjaX1dmFnZGRBX2g3bWs

Here is the link for our Christmas Letter! Enjoy!

Urban Mission Dynamic Weekend

this past weekend was amazing...

God was really working on my heart in several different ways

what I have learned is that the DTES zip code is the most impoverished zip code in N.A. 

I went through the weekend asking God to show me what he is doing, and I wanted to see God in the people.

What he showed me was shocking...

I have learned to hate the brokenness.

I hate the circumstances that the people are born into.

I hate that the foster system is a joke and is used like a bad business.

I hate that they have addictions that they most likely they will die with.

I hate that they will most likely never escape the bondage that sin and addiction are in their lives.

I hate that they know their Bible better than me

I hate that they are the most evangelized people in N.A.

I hate that they have been evangelized without love because people don't know how to reach out to them and accept the reality of sin and its separateness from the person.

I hate that people can go give them a cookie, say "Jesus loves you" and then walk away with a clean conscience.

God made me fall in love with his people there. 

I don't see the sin any more, I just see his image born into a life of poverty and choices that had to be made for survival.

people very easily pass judgment on the people down there, they say things like "they made the choices in their life that has put them there..."

A few of them have, but mostly they were given no choices

They didn't have parents who loved them and gave them the affection they needed.

They didn't have someone to tell them that God loves them and created them and cares for them 

They didn't have homes to come home to and feel safe in

All they had was severe pain, pain from many different things, pain that children are never supposed to know

Pain that drives them to either suicide or escape by other means.

Other means usually means heavy addiction to whatever thing can get them away. In their conscious moments they are searching for love, but when they never find it, they search for a way to not feel anything.

The leaders who work down there are amazing people. Many of them are Christians.

They have had to realize that the gospel message that they were most likely raised on, is not the message that will reach out to these people.

they live with the harsh reality that most of what they do down there will never be noticed or appreciated.

The rest of the world tells them that they are wasting their time, not understanding how anyone could possibly see the image of God  in these people.

The world tells them that they are stupid for trying to work there, that they should go some where else if they want to work for God.

Many of them have changed the way they dress, walk and talk, they even let their hair get greasy (things that don't matter to God) just so that the people won't be afraid of them, or hide from them.

They just try to be real.

To do this honestly, they have to be real all the time, not just when they are in the DTES.

What does this look like? 

When they go home, when they go to a restaurant, when they walk the streets of gas town and pass the trendy and expensive shops, they have to be real. They face real shame for the sacrifice they are willing to make for Christ.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Col 2:8

 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Col 3:2

14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts... Col 3:14

 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but nunder the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 1 Cor. 9:19

The next time you see a homeless person, don't think "what choices did this person make to end up here?"

think "what severe hurt and trauma has this person been through that has left them in such bondage and hurt?"

People shouldn't be defined by their sin. They should be defined by their creator

As for the workers, they don't get rewarded and honored by the world, they have to make peace with that.

What does this mean for our church?

Are we worried about our image to God? or to the world?

How can we be different, so that the broken and lost in our neighborhood can feel truly, I mean TRULY welcome here?

DO we hand them clean clothes and offer them a shower?

Or does that send the wrong message.

What does it really mean to accept them as Christ would accept them?

Can we be truly unashamed of the gospel, and the Christ that we serve?

The Ten Talents

I wonder sometimes when I hear people say "If it's God's will for my life" what they really mean. Does it mean that they are truly praying for God's desires for them to match their own desires. The Bible does teach us that generally if we pray for our desires, God will grant them. It's not a promise, or a guarantee, but more a guideline for life, as Psalms and Proverbs are.

People who leave major decisions to chance, things like finding a job, leaving a job, accepting responsibility for a position at church, or even family planning I want to ask this question of. "Do you really not care what God wants for you, are you willing to accept what God wants for you, or are you just saying "let it be God's will" to pass responsibility of discernment from yourselves, to God. Sometimes I wonder if people say this really intending to accept what God does plan for them. Sort of like removing your hands from the steering wheel of a car and demanding God to supernaturally prove that He can drive. True, God is omnipotent, but He is also not at our command to satisfy all of our wishes, like a genie in a bottle.

The true task for a Christian is prayer and proper discernment for our own lives. We should pray that God and the Holy Spirit guide us to proper responsibility, right? Doing our best to bring glory to Him, and praying that the Holy Spirit will guide our decisions is key.

Is what we are really saying by "God's will" really a "I really don't know what is best God, but I truly and completely trust that you will give me what is best for me" or is it "I don't want to take the time to talk with you about it, or I don't feel like dealing with the responsibility of making a decision of my own with your help, so you choose and then let me know what you decide. If you choose well, and I am happy, then you did a good job God. But if what you choose for me makes me miserable, then I'm going to throw a fit. I just know that I don't want the responsibility of making the decision, because if it turns out horribly, then I don't want to be the one to blame. You can take it, God. Your bigger than me."

Really??

It's like the "magic Bible" way of reading scriptures for answers to our questions. Sure, I will not discredit that God can't speak to believers in this way, but He wants us to be more mature in our seeking of answers. We are not teenagers with a Magic 8 Ball in our hands. The Bible is not a question and answer book, per see, but rather the story of God and who He is and how He constantly seeks and redeems us. If we read it, we should learn more about Him, and when we understand more about God's character and hopes for our lives, we have added to our understanding of how he hopes we will live our lives. Through learning more about God, we can learn more about who we are and what He created us to be.

This is as much to myself as any one else, but don't play the "You Choose" card with God unless you are honestly prepared to accept what He knows is best for your life. We must remember that Satan is the king of this world, and has authority to run amuck in it for now. Satan would like nothing better than to see you leave a decision open for anyone or thing to decide besides God or yourself. Like leaving a pile of cash out on the counter at a pub, leaving and then saying, "God will keep my money safe!" God has left you responsible for what He has given you authority over, take responsibility for the talents you have been given, and deal respectfully with them. The master will be home in a while to see what you have accomplished.

God wants so much for us to desire to live our lives with His will in our hearts. But he doesn't want us to seek that blindly, without preparation, discernment or understanding of what He is asking. He wants us to love Him! He wants us to ask Him to guide us, or carry us when we need it. Above all, God is Love, triune love, expressed in perfect unity in the trinity. He wants us to come and take part in perfect community with Him; He desires that we develop a deep relationship with him, relationships are not just one way with one person making all the decisions.

Christ gave us the mental picture of the bridegroom and the bride as Himself and the church or body of believers. To be part of this body, we must be maturing, actively participating followers of Christ. Children do not marry, yet people have to accept Christ with faith like a child, and then they must progress to maturity marrying into the body. The Groom has the ultimate authority, but the groom also respects what the bride thinks and feels and He desires to teach her, train her, disciple her, love her, care for her, give her what she wants (even if it goes against what He wants for her), and have a relationship that defies all human understandings of love and intimacy on this earth! If the bride truly wants what is best for the relationship, she will talk through, debate and show passion for the tough conversations that need to be had. She doesn't just stand there and accept that her fate is out of her hands. Our lives are not pre-determined, they are what we make of them. We can either choose to follow Christ, or we can choose to stay behind. We can choose to be God's partner in our lives, or we can follow blindly, never partaking in the necessary discipline of discussing things with God.

For me, He had to discuss A LOT with me about going back to school. I really thought that I understood that God wanted us to "Go!" To me, that meant just going. Not staying! Staying didn't sound nearly as fun. So, God and I had to talk about that for a while, several weeks in fact, before I was ready to hear the rest of His plan. He wouldn't tell me the rest of the plan until I was ready to accept it without fighting back. He had to spoon feed it to me. All I kept praying for was that my will would be the same as His will for my life. I didn't care what that will was, I just wanted my own will to fade away and be replaced with His. Slowly, as I was honestly more and more ready to hear that will, He showed me. If He had dumped it all on me when I asked Him to, I would have rejected it and turned away, or at least would have taken a lot longer to come back around... He knows what is best for me, including what to tell me when. I trust Him completely in that. God's timing is perfect, but only if we are of the mind to wait for it and accept it when it comes.

So now, here I am, one day from finishing up my first year of Bible college! 46 credits down!! We are feeling God's leading to Portugal for a three year internship with Otto and Marjorie Ekk. It will be an amazing ride, but any of this, I know can change at any time. I am prepared to follow, and discerning where that will be is my responsibility.

4 Year anniversary

I have been blogging for four years now, since April 18th, 2008. That's a pretty neat treasure to look back on. I wish that I had done it more consistently, but I will take what I have done, because I know the reasons why I didn't for long periods of time :)

Lisbon, Portugal

Sarah Rose likes this place. It was her favorite picture out of a 128 page book of beautiful Portuguese photographs. It is in Lisbon. Jason and I have decided that we want to do a 3 year Journada to Lisbon, Portugal with Otto and Marjorie Ekk. We had a fabulous meeting with them last night at the Eytzen's house, and really feel that this is where God would have us train. I want to take Sarah Rose to this place for real, and in two more years we will be ready to leave!

We have one year down, and one year to go before we can get ready for our internship. Preparation for a Journada is pretty extensive compared to Trek, which is the shorter 8-9 month mission trip. It will take us about a year to get through the basic training, some language school and fundraising. I am so excited to have something nailed down, now we just need to run it past MBMissions so we are all on the same page.

This makes me sad... 

So many people are willing to admit that Jesus lived, and that he was a "good person" or a good rabbi and prophet. They even admit that there is a spiritual world consisting of good and evil! But admitting that Jesus is the only path to eternal life with God, they refuse. They call that intolerant, or hypocrytical. They say how can a loving God send any of His creations to Hell.

You want to know how I see it? Well, if you don't want to spend time on earth developing a relationship with God, why do you think you will want to when you are dead? Hell is just God granting your request to  be apart from Him. You made the choice, not Him. That is what free will is ALL about! Why would God force you to be with Him eternally when you didn't want to "hang" while you were here? So, yes, there is a HELL! And, there is a heaven. heaven is not for what you might call "goody-too-shoes." It's for people who were willing to die for what they believed. Martyrs and saints and true Followers of Jesus who pledge their souls to Christ because He pledged his life for them first.

We forget, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Romans 5:8
He died for us even though we had rejected Him! We spat in His face, and crucified Him! Yet He knew that through His death He would speak directly to our hearts.

You have this one life to either accept that Jesus is God's Son, or to reject it. It's easy.
But remember, Satan is the King of this world, and he would like nothing less than to see you wait too long to accept God's gift to you. One minute too long, and you pay for it for eternity.

If you claim to reject Jesus, you are claiming faith in your own reason. So, what if you are wrong? Human intellect has been changing for thousands of years, are you willing to stake your eternal soul on a brain that admits that Jesus was real, and understands that there is a spiritual world, but rejects that a man can be raised from the dead by God? My God is powerful, and completely capable of resurrecting Jesus, performing miracles, healing people, raising them from the dead, exorcising demons, and turning 5 loaves and 2 fishes into a meal for 5000! Is yours?

My Personal Ethical System

            When trying to map out my personal ethical system I must begin with God. I believe that God exists. I believe in a completely holy, just, and good God who is loving and merciful and I believe that because He is relational, He wishes to participate in this world with me. Understanding that God is and always has been relational emphasizes the importance of community in my ethical system. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1 ESV). Community was established in the basis of the trinity, and this God continually seeks to serve the other members in the trinity, the Father serves the Son and Spirit, the Son serves the Father and Spirit, and the Spirit serves the Father and the Son. Because this relationship is based completely on love, I know my God is holy, just, good, loving and merciful, and will deal with His creation in accordance.

Next, God is a God who is relational and wishes to be part of His creation, as opposed to a God who is deistic and merely stands back and watches everything play out. God has feelings like love, sorrow, pain, guilt and joy for His creation. Because I lean more towards open theism, I believe that God has chosen to give up some of his power and knowledge so that we may participate with free-will. 

As His creation, God has programed within all of us tendencies to act certain ways in response to certain actions. This is a “natural law” element that I claim as part of my ethical system. These natural tendencies explain why people who are not Christians can and do react in ethical ways even though they don’t base their decisions on faith as I do. We all react to being wronged with feelings of loss, pain, anger, and violation. These feelings are part of the image of God that is within each of us; they are a reaction to broken community. When community is enhanced, we share good feelings or joy, happiness, and unity.

As humans we are decidedly different than God, but we were the only creations who were made in His own image. We were created to be holy creations in community with God, each other, and nature but we failed to live up to our original purposes. We enjoyed very little perfection with God before we stumbled upon an apple in a garden and chose to think for ourselves. And no matter how hard we try to be independent, we will always be dependent on our creator God, and searching for ways to serve ourselves when we should be serving Him. God continues to search for us and try to reach us, calling us to participate in creation with Him. And when we choose to come back to Him, He is glorified and we are whole again.

Our moral responsibility was given to us in our original instructions. We are to honor God, take care of each other and take care of creation; in that we are to be humble and selfless. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). The Bible doesn’t seem to want to speak about the moral responsibility of any of God’s other creations, it speaks to us, and in our salvation we are made into new creations. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). As new creations we are to seek to be like Christ in all His ways. “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

            While my ethical system is based on faith commitments, reason has to be a rational part of it. I feel that emotions and intuition can play an important part in discerning right from wrong; however a reasonable base of knowledge about the situation is required before decisions can be made responsibly. But above all, my decisions are based on trust in my God, and my actions reflect that trust. I have Faith in God and I trust that He will provide for my every need, will help me navigate my life, and has provided me with the Holy Spirit so that I can discern right from wrong decisions.

            Human life has telos, as creations we are to find salvation in this life so that we can “end” this life and be in permanent community with our creator, in eternal life with Him. But this life isn’t just about the end, it’s about living with integrity, serving God in His purposes so that we may participate fully in spreading the Kingdom of God on this earth. In the end, God will ask us what we have done for Him, and we will be made to answer for the good and the bad, but I think that God is really searching our hearts. He wants to know “why”

 we acted the way we acted, was it out of stagnant moral obligation, or because we truly yearned to have His heart and served because we desired to. My ethics is based most on “being” God’s creation rather than on “doing” what He wants me to do. I truly want the desires of my heart to match what He wants for me, in everything. I want to achieve a virtuous life not for badges, but because it’s what I was created for.

            I believe that there is absolute truth in God, but that only He knows and understands that truth. My grasp and understanding of His truth is distorted like light in a prism as it passes through my human conscience, worldview, and levels of understanding. His truth is broken into slices so that I may understand bits and pieces, but I cannot ever claim to have His full truth and understanding. My ethical claim to “Soft absolutism” is based on this understanding of absolute truth and my perception of it.

            Regarding the spectrum of “determinism” I find myself in the “soft” section. God is sovereign, and is completely qualified to determine the future. Through study of God’s Word to us in the Bible we can see that the future is determined, but the exact path to that determination is not clearly detailed. I see the Apostle Paul and the ways that God was able to use his unbridled passion. Paul made mistakes, but God was still able to use Paul in wonderful ways to reach the gentiles with Christ. God didn’t determine every aspect and point of Paul’s but because Paul sought God’s guidance, the Holy Spirit helped Paul to determine where God needed him to go and why. Like Paul we must seek to always do better in following Christ, as a life of complacency is a life wasted. God wants us to participate with Him, but if we refuse He will choose someone else.

Our bodies are the temple of Christ, and as such we need to honor them and be good stewards of the creation we are. For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16). First we must love God and ourselves as His Holy temple. Through that love and seeing our value in God’s eyes we can learn how to love others unselfishly. Jesus commanded us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). So, I must love myself first, but only so that I can fully understand and grasp God’s love for me, and with that understanding I can love others completely.

Consequences are an important part of ethics, however I don’t believe that they are the main focus. In any situation the desired outcome should be determined, but then the ethical choices should be made based on the wrongness or rightness of the means that lead to the desired outcome. Some means are just not ethical nor justified no matter how fantastic the end result will be.

Rules are a good foundation; God has given us several rules in the Bible that when followed provide guidelines for how to navigate life ethically. The Ten Commandments are a solid footing in how to love God, others, and ourselves. If we follow them we can have joy. When Jesus added the Golden Rule to “do unto others” he summarized many of the original rules. Jesus didn’t just give the golden rule, however, he went back to the Commandments and clarified, adding that merely hating was the same as killing, and looking with lust was the same as committing adultery. Jesus didn’t make things easier; he made the Commandments of “doing” more like the ethics of “being.” He didn’t just want us to act like good people; he wanted our hearts and minds to “be” good people.

That being said, I find that the principle of Love to be the greatest of the principles given by God. To clarify, the principle of Love is based on agape love; love which is manifested in benevolence and good will towards others. Other principals such as the Value of Life, Goodness, Justice, Honesty and Individual Freedom are important too, but are viewed through the scope of Love. When we have a correct understanding of our image as God’s children, we are prepared to consider others better than ourselves. It is then that benevolent love will correctly regulate the remaining principals. Value of Life, when based on benevolent love will have supreme consideration. Goodness, through the scope of agape love, will be expressed fully. Justice is God’s love and our love being distributed perfectly. It is important to express Honesty through Love, Value of Life, Goodness and Justice. Honesty is important to proper participation in community, as without it, anarchy will rise. Individual Freedom is important as well, but as Christians we need to remember that we are created to be part of the “body” of Christ in His church on Earth. As such, we must always consider the effect on the “body” of Christ as well as impact on people not part of that “body.”

Rules are a good start, but situations can’t be predicted, and simple rules just cannot cover the multitude of possibilities! When it comes down to a particular situation, the best possible grasp of knowledge is required, then a proper assessment of consequences and different means determined. We must apply the rules from the Bible to the possible actions to be taken. Then we must filter all of that through the principle of love. Is what we are opting to do loving God, is it loving ourselves, is it loving others, is it loving creation? How can we achieve the desired results while loving in the process?

Good Friday

Isachar, Hanan. Images of the Holy Land. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 1997.

Today we are supposed to be reminded of Jesus' death on the cross. Last Sunday was the excitement of Him entering the City of Jerusalem on a colt, complete with Palm Branches, crowds of happy spectators, a parade... You could imagine the feeling of anticipation, anxious excitement for the Passover feast was under way. Many Jews from the diaspora were making the long trek across many lands to come back to the great city. The city grew as much as three times! Sixty thousand to one hundred eighty!
   
Thursday, last night, Jesus prepared his disciples by celebrating the passover supper with them. Do this in remembrance of me; we take of the bread and of the wine. He tells them things that they don't understand, for they don't know that he will be betrayed in a few hours and slain. But he knows. He tells them that one among them will betray him, and he will be killed. They wonder who that could be, and then like children get distracted by another conversation about who the greatest disciple is.

He is in complete, harmonious understanding with God. He knows what is going to happen. He also knows that God has given everything into His hands. He is truly, the King of the World. What does he choose to do next?

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, ⁴ rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. ⁵ Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” ⁷ Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” ⁸ Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” ⁹ Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 

¹² When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. ¹⁸ I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ ¹⁹ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. ²⁰ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” 

He washed their feet... The king of the World, lowers himself to the level of "foot-washer"

And then he predicted the denial of Peter. Peter promised Him that he would do no such thing... 

Next they head out to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, to pray.  

It is there that Judas brings the officials, and Jesus is arrested... 

Peter tells people that he doesn't know Christ, three times... 

After all the miracles he witnessed, three times... 

After all the teaching and profound insight, three times... 

After all the thousands followed Him into Jerusalem less than one week earlier, three times...

After all of the precious time that he spent with Jesus, personally, three times...

How weak we are, after all the things we can see and hear and be part of!! 

But the amazing thing was that after Jesus rose on the third day, Peter saw his savior crucified and risen, and he was changed for good! Peter will never again deny his Christ. Peter will go to the death, any death, proclaiming God's love for the world, that He gave His one and only Son, to be the perfect sacrifice, our final and perfect passover lamb. How many of us are pre-resurection "Peter's?" How many of us are post-resurrection "Peter's?" Which one are you?

Daffodils- Photo Blog

 I love daffodils. They are so simple and seem to grow everywhere up here!

 Graceful, elegant and simply one basic color! Though the multi colored ones are beautiful too!

This picture got a little extra attention...

As for man, his days are like grass;

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

and its place knows it no more.

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,

and his righteousness to children's children,

to those who keep his covenant

and remember to do his commandments.

(Psalm 103:15-18 ESV)