Monday, March 3, 2014
Entropy vs. Embodiment
Rules never saved anyone.
The Bible says, "what the law was powerless to do..."
The law merely pointed out our desperate and obvious and glaring need for God.
Like flowers ripped from the life-giving earth, thrown in water that can never sustain, and destined to crumble into ash, we are destined to return to dust.
Our very nature is entropic; it becomes more and more chaotic and disorganized.
We are the antithesis of our Father; God is not a God of chaos.
He set the universe spinning with His words.
He set up the process of cellular respiration, nuero-muscular junctions, star-death, and made "dark-matter" (whatever that is; we don't even know).
He made the elements of the world; He gave them unique properties so that they would all react with each other in certain ways.
So many mechanisms in our body work "just-so" so we don't die.
Everyone around you:
"weird," "normal," gay, straight, bisexual, homophobic, conservative, liberal, protestant, catholic, orthodox, atheist, agnostic, buddhist, hindu, muslim, republican, democrat, rebel, goody-goody, introvert, extrovert, independent, frat-boy, sorority-girl, artist, rockstar, popstar, pornstar, student, teacher, pastor, preacher, priest, disabled, homeless, addict, stay-at-home mom, business professional, yuppy, hippie, scientist, writer, actor, sports-fanatic, athlete, traveler, red & yellow, black & white
Every. Single. Person. was designed by God for His glory.
He looks at every person, and He loves them radically.
He humbled Himself, became human, died an agonizing death on a roman torture device,
AND HE CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD.
He defeated death so that our nature could be totally redeemed; He defeated death so our souls could return to their original state, eternal.
Why do we get stuck in rules?
Yes, rules are relevant; they are guides to a closer walk with Christ.
However, if we start preaching rules and guilt and "why weren't you at my church on Sunday?" then are we even preaching the gospel of Christ? or are we preaching the gospel or moralism?
If our religion begins to become legalism, are we walking in love?
If we first look at a person as gay, are we walking in love?
If we first look at a person as an atheist, are we walking in love?
Unless we look at people first and foremost as image-bearers of God, as brothers and sisters whom God loves radically, then we will not be able to love them the way we should.
Unless we realize that God loves us radically and encounter that love daily, we will be unable to love as we should.
Yes, Christians are called to lead a life worthy of Christ's calling, but do any of us Ever actually succeed in doing that daily?
No.
If you answered yes, then I am sorry, but you are seriously deluded.
We all are desperately in need of God's grace.
Shouldn't that make us more empathetic and less judgmental of those we come in contact with?
The love of Christ should supersede every natural inclination and opinion we have.
Loving, truly loving, is so hard.
I struggle with it daily. However, it is So important.
The essence of our Father is love, and I pray that I, and each of us, can be more of an embodiment of His love each day.
1 Corinthians 13
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
dry spots & living water
So, let me begin by saying.....ugh... I have been having a hard time lately.
That wasn't fun to say.
Maybe you're different, but sometimes, I do Not like admitting that I am struggling.
People will ask how I am doing, and 90% of the time I will respond, "Doing Great!"
And I really am; I have come to know a constant joy that transcends my situation. I can be thankful and rejoice in every situation. I don't say this out of some Christian obligation that demands I repeat Paul; I'm totally serious. Jesus is always with me; sometimes I feel His presence, but all the time I know His presence is with me. That's where this weird and illogical joy comes from.
It's also possible that, although I am internally joyful, a part of me is torn and upset as well. For a few weeks I started to believe lies of the enemy. They seeped into my psyche in insidious ways. I started to believe that my friends didn't care to pursue our friendship; I believed that I wasn't worth it to them. I believed that it was my fault. I had become so busy that I managed to block others out. I had been struggling with frustration; I would be so quick to become angry. After each episode of anger had subsided, the words of James would echo, "...human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." (James 1:20) I would feel so convicted and helpless; I would cry out to God, "Fix me!!!"
Did I want to talk to anyone about this?
Definitely not.
I believe it's something called pride, and guess what, it's sinful.
I like to think I can handle things; I don't want to expose my weakness.
However, even if I don't want to expose it, it demands to be seen.
It usually manifests in the form of me lashing out at the ones I care about most. (cause of course they will love me, hopefully, anyway after I recover from my bad attitude.) It also manifests in me beating myself up and telling myself how mediocre I am.
None of this is of Christ.
Anyway, I say all this to say that I prayed Friday night a prayer that went something like this, "I need the lies I'm believing to shattered, and I really have no idea what I am doing. I feel lost. Help me God!"
The next day I received a text that was a friend reaching out and lifting me up. The Holy Spirit had moved this friend. I was so amazed.
Again, Sunday, another friend reminded me of my value
Again, I was so amazed.
It revealed yet another thing that I had accepted. I love God so much that I oftentimes spend all my energy trying to let others know about His love for them. I want to serve Him in every way I can. These desires are not wrong, but I was striving.
In the midst of my busyness I had forgotten to receive my Father's love for me. I forgot that God wants me to know His love more, just as much as He wants anyone else to know His love. I forgot that to show His love I must first receive it. I have to do that daily, too.
What good is a cup to a thirsty person if that cup is dry?
I was so dry; I was cracking!
I am so thankful that His love is so refreshing, and that it never gives up on me. I am so thankful that God gives me one day at a time. I am so thankful that each day all I have to do is ask and know that He is filling me, His lowly vessel!
I have only begun to scratch the surface of how great, wide, high, deep, and long His love is for each person.
I encourage you to join me as we learn to receive His love more perfectly each day.
He wants to fill us! It's why we were created, friends. Let it be natural; commune with The Father. He is so amazingly beyond-words good!
That wasn't fun to say.
Maybe you're different, but sometimes, I do Not like admitting that I am struggling.
People will ask how I am doing, and 90% of the time I will respond, "Doing Great!"
And I really am; I have come to know a constant joy that transcends my situation. I can be thankful and rejoice in every situation. I don't say this out of some Christian obligation that demands I repeat Paul; I'm totally serious. Jesus is always with me; sometimes I feel His presence, but all the time I know His presence is with me. That's where this weird and illogical joy comes from.
It's also possible that, although I am internally joyful, a part of me is torn and upset as well. For a few weeks I started to believe lies of the enemy. They seeped into my psyche in insidious ways. I started to believe that my friends didn't care to pursue our friendship; I believed that I wasn't worth it to them. I believed that it was my fault. I had become so busy that I managed to block others out. I had been struggling with frustration; I would be so quick to become angry. After each episode of anger had subsided, the words of James would echo, "...human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." (James 1:20) I would feel so convicted and helpless; I would cry out to God, "Fix me!!!"
Did I want to talk to anyone about this?
Definitely not.
I believe it's something called pride, and guess what, it's sinful.
I like to think I can handle things; I don't want to expose my weakness.
However, even if I don't want to expose it, it demands to be seen.
It usually manifests in the form of me lashing out at the ones I care about most. (cause of course they will love me, hopefully, anyway after I recover from my bad attitude.) It also manifests in me beating myself up and telling myself how mediocre I am.
None of this is of Christ.
Anyway, I say all this to say that I prayed Friday night a prayer that went something like this, "I need the lies I'm believing to shattered, and I really have no idea what I am doing. I feel lost. Help me God!"
The next day I received a text that was a friend reaching out and lifting me up. The Holy Spirit had moved this friend. I was so amazed.
Again, Sunday, another friend reminded me of my value
Again, I was so amazed.
It revealed yet another thing that I had accepted. I love God so much that I oftentimes spend all my energy trying to let others know about His love for them. I want to serve Him in every way I can. These desires are not wrong, but I was striving.
In the midst of my busyness I had forgotten to receive my Father's love for me. I forgot that God wants me to know His love more, just as much as He wants anyone else to know His love. I forgot that to show His love I must first receive it. I have to do that daily, too.
What good is a cup to a thirsty person if that cup is dry?
I was so dry; I was cracking!
I am so thankful that His love is so refreshing, and that it never gives up on me. I am so thankful that God gives me one day at a time. I am so thankful that each day all I have to do is ask and know that He is filling me, His lowly vessel!
I have only begun to scratch the surface of how great, wide, high, deep, and long His love is for each person.
I encourage you to join me as we learn to receive His love more perfectly each day.
He wants to fill us! It's why we were created, friends. Let it be natural; commune with The Father. He is so amazingly beyond-words good!
"We love because He FIRST loved us." -1 John 4:19
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
A Homemade Psalm
My sins are great and testify against me, Oh my Lord.
To be in Your presence should be my ruin;
Your glory is too magnificent for my frame to bear.
My sin cripples me, and all that I have is like soiled rags before You.
My life is not an aroma but a stench.
My iniquity is astounding to me, that I know Your glory, and yet, daily, I wander.
My lips, hands, and heart are devoid of purity, and I place the blame nowhere but myself.
BUT
There is a cry that shakes the cosmos,
It is the blood of the lamb slain at the altar before the turning of time.
And His resurrection transforms my chains of transgression to pearls of righteousness.
My Saviour comes as a consuming fire redeeming all things and those that call out His name in faith.
He searches the expansive and expanding universe for my eyes,
And when He finds me, He pulls me close.
With water from the fount of crystal He cleanses me.
With coals of righteousness He purifies my lips.
I am limp from the wreckage of my selfishness, but He fortifies my bones with truth.
With a flame of love He melts the ice from my heart, and He injects my veins with enduring compassion.
With a salve of peace He restores and renews my cracked and calloused hands.
Songs of His praise fill my lungs, and as I cough the ash from them, my joy rings through the silence.
For His glory and renown He lifts me yet again from the pit.
Nothing can ever separate me from His passionate love.
My God My God
You are more to me than life!
Hallelujah to the Lord of Lords!!
To be in Your presence should be my ruin;
Your glory is too magnificent for my frame to bear.
My sin cripples me, and all that I have is like soiled rags before You.
My life is not an aroma but a stench.
My iniquity is astounding to me, that I know Your glory, and yet, daily, I wander.
My lips, hands, and heart are devoid of purity, and I place the blame nowhere but myself.
BUT
There is a cry that shakes the cosmos,
It is the blood of the lamb slain at the altar before the turning of time.
And His resurrection transforms my chains of transgression to pearls of righteousness.
My Saviour comes as a consuming fire redeeming all things and those that call out His name in faith.
He searches the expansive and expanding universe for my eyes,
And when He finds me, He pulls me close.
With water from the fount of crystal He cleanses me.
With coals of righteousness He purifies my lips.
I am limp from the wreckage of my selfishness, but He fortifies my bones with truth.
With a flame of love He melts the ice from my heart, and He injects my veins with enduring compassion.
With a salve of peace He restores and renews my cracked and calloused hands.
Songs of His praise fill my lungs, and as I cough the ash from them, my joy rings through the silence.
For His glory and renown He lifts me yet again from the pit.
Nothing can ever separate me from His passionate love.
My God My God
You are more to me than life!
Hallelujah to the Lord of Lords!!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Daddy's Love
This video was made by my brother Trevor Ball, and the testimony is my sister Laura Beth Harbin.
This lifted my heart. It's so beautiful; there is SO much truth here. Just encounter Jesus. He is so BEYOND WORDS!!
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Stream of Consciousness*
* A.K.A. I had to be awake before the sun was up, which is very unusual for me, and apparently my thoughts are numerous at this hour.
The morning mist has always fascinated me. It looks like gauze, merely translucent, something you should be able to see right through, but you cannot.
Also, in the mist, you can only see what is immediately around you. I believe this limitation is why we so often attribute fear to the fog/mist. Being limited or not being able to comprehend/visualize all that we would like to is scary, petrifying even. "Control-freak" or not, we all like some control.
Although everyone seems to comment on the "creepiness" of a foggy night or misty morning, I find it quite beautiful. It's somewhat daunting, but it is beautiful nonetheless. It is as if even nature begs us to be right where we are; it prevents from straining on to see what lies ahead.
It's mysterious.
It's as if some secret drama was being played out as we slept, and we are just catching the end of it. The thick curtain that forces us to slow down is giving way to the hubbub of the day as it dissolves peacefully in the emerging sunlight.
The rising sun adds color to the dull mist, and for about thirty minutes, I just want to sit and meditate on the ridiculous beauty that permeates everything around us and within us. I want to take time to paint the situation with words to recreate even a mere shadow of it. Beauty is compelling. It is so compelling in fact, that it is hard, for me at least, to hold evidence of something beautiful in.
The beauty of the cross is something I feel we too often hold in. We hold it in until it's convenient, acceptable, comfortable to share.
Isn't that the most beautiful thing we know?
It is a story of cosmic, physiological, psychological, historical, and spiritual significance, and yet, too often, we hold back our zeal to speak of it.
I, too, am guilty of this silence; I am a wayward Israelite. I have seen water gush forth from barren rocks and later been numbed to such miracles by time.
Time is a double-edged sword. Not only does it take away the sting of pain, but it can also dull the ecstasy of our joy if we allow it. I proclaim that we should allow it no more. We need to cling to Christ, the source of our joy, as if our lives depended on it. I tell you truly, our lives do depend on it.
Cling to Christ until your spiritual knuckles whiten. We are promised that when we grow weak, He will be strong. He will reenforce your weakened grip with His strong grip that has pulled you from the pit and out of the jaws of death. As we waver and sink into the waves, He will lift us into His embrace and His eternal salvation.
Time, that thing that can cause us to rejoice or waver, is much like water, like the ocean. It wears away at every thing. It's continual lapping, each day like a wave, not only serves to heal up wounds, but also serves to erode away the good and bad. Eventually time will have washed against you enough times to pull you to a place where time itself is irrelevant. Time is like an ocean that we must pass through in order to climb out onto a new shore. It is a long baptism; we enter the realm of time one way, but we exit it entirely changed.
On this new shore we will climb the beaches of the ethereal shore, perhaps even clumsily. Our Saviour, who has awaited us, will breathe on us and push the clumsiness from our very beings. He give us more than we could ever imagine, His complete presence.
We will not be separated in any way at all. His presence is of insurmountable importance; it is what we have desired since Eden.
We will finally be fed after gnawing on dust for centuries. We will finally feel healing after slapping on salve for eons. We will see clearly after looking upon reflections for decades. We will remember our caves no more and stretch our once tired limbs. Relief and resting rife with rejoicing will flood us from every direction. Every cell and fibre will be redeemed [if there even is such a thing as a cell at that point...].
Looking upon us will not be a wrathful, disappointed, angry father, but Abba.
Abba, the one who has planned such a day from the beginning. He will look on His prodigal children returned to Him at last after a long time apart. Laughter will shake the air, and the cosmos will tremble with delight for the bride has finally known her betrothed after a long engagement. The final veil will be shredded, all mists will lift, and perfection will be realized.
We will dwell and join in the work of the Lord's house forever.
This will all be for His glory alone.
Amen, Amen, Amen
Praise the Lord, oh my soul
The morning mist has always fascinated me. It looks like gauze, merely translucent, something you should be able to see right through, but you cannot.
Also, in the mist, you can only see what is immediately around you. I believe this limitation is why we so often attribute fear to the fog/mist. Being limited or not being able to comprehend/visualize all that we would like to is scary, petrifying even. "Control-freak" or not, we all like some control.
Although everyone seems to comment on the "creepiness" of a foggy night or misty morning, I find it quite beautiful. It's somewhat daunting, but it is beautiful nonetheless. It is as if even nature begs us to be right where we are; it prevents from straining on to see what lies ahead.
It's mysterious.
It's as if some secret drama was being played out as we slept, and we are just catching the end of it. The thick curtain that forces us to slow down is giving way to the hubbub of the day as it dissolves peacefully in the emerging sunlight.
The rising sun adds color to the dull mist, and for about thirty minutes, I just want to sit and meditate on the ridiculous beauty that permeates everything around us and within us. I want to take time to paint the situation with words to recreate even a mere shadow of it. Beauty is compelling. It is so compelling in fact, that it is hard, for me at least, to hold evidence of something beautiful in.
The beauty of the cross is something I feel we too often hold in. We hold it in until it's convenient, acceptable, comfortable to share.
Isn't that the most beautiful thing we know?
It is a story of cosmic, physiological, psychological, historical, and spiritual significance, and yet, too often, we hold back our zeal to speak of it.
I, too, am guilty of this silence; I am a wayward Israelite. I have seen water gush forth from barren rocks and later been numbed to such miracles by time.
Time is a double-edged sword. Not only does it take away the sting of pain, but it can also dull the ecstasy of our joy if we allow it. I proclaim that we should allow it no more. We need to cling to Christ, the source of our joy, as if our lives depended on it. I tell you truly, our lives do depend on it.
Cling to Christ until your spiritual knuckles whiten. We are promised that when we grow weak, He will be strong. He will reenforce your weakened grip with His strong grip that has pulled you from the pit and out of the jaws of death. As we waver and sink into the waves, He will lift us into His embrace and His eternal salvation.
Time, that thing that can cause us to rejoice or waver, is much like water, like the ocean. It wears away at every thing. It's continual lapping, each day like a wave, not only serves to heal up wounds, but also serves to erode away the good and bad. Eventually time will have washed against you enough times to pull you to a place where time itself is irrelevant. Time is like an ocean that we must pass through in order to climb out onto a new shore. It is a long baptism; we enter the realm of time one way, but we exit it entirely changed.
On this new shore we will climb the beaches of the ethereal shore, perhaps even clumsily. Our Saviour, who has awaited us, will breathe on us and push the clumsiness from our very beings. He give us more than we could ever imagine, His complete presence.
We will not be separated in any way at all. His presence is of insurmountable importance; it is what we have desired since Eden.
We will finally be fed after gnawing on dust for centuries. We will finally feel healing after slapping on salve for eons. We will see clearly after looking upon reflections for decades. We will remember our caves no more and stretch our once tired limbs. Relief and resting rife with rejoicing will flood us from every direction. Every cell and fibre will be redeemed [if there even is such a thing as a cell at that point...].
Looking upon us will not be a wrathful, disappointed, angry father, but Abba.
Abba, the one who has planned such a day from the beginning. He will look on His prodigal children returned to Him at last after a long time apart. Laughter will shake the air, and the cosmos will tremble with delight for the bride has finally known her betrothed after a long engagement. The final veil will be shredded, all mists will lift, and perfection will be realized.
We will dwell and join in the work of the Lord's house forever.
This will all be for His glory alone.
Amen, Amen, Amen
Praise the Lord, oh my soul
Sunday, December 8, 2013
"....where dust touches Divine."
"...where dust touches Divine."
This phrase has been stuck in my head; God has been telling me, "Look for these places. These are the places where you find My heart."
It seems to me to be so appropriate. The Divine has been reaching to touch the dust since the beginning. The dust has been reaching back. I get the image of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in my head, and I am just so moved. It's beautiful.
Sometimes we reach out to other things in a misguided attempt to reach back to the Divine that so relentlessly pursues us. However, in better times, we can reach out to people, and, in doing so, we can reach back to the Divine. We can display the Divine to others. We need to give love freely with no strings attached. This is the essence of the divine God we worship; He is the embodiment of the most perfect love. We need to quench our dehydrated souls with the living water that flows so freely from our Saviour's throne.
In the collision of the living water and the dust, mud occurs. No one said loving people was a neat business; things get messy. Comfort zones get destroyed. Societal boundaries crumble. Our expectations of what life should be get altered, and perhaps, completely changed all together. Society's pressures shatter around us. We get the mud rubbed on our eyes, and we can finally see. We see what really matters; we see the image of Christ in every person.
I pray that the church can have the scales fall off our eyes more fully. I pray that The Spirit would abound and compel us to love in ways we never imagined before.
Be the manifestation of love to someone today.
Do something for them with no strings attached.
Pay for the coffee of the person behind you.
Pay for the meal of the family across from you.
Give the person at the pump across from you ten dollars for gas.
Write a note of encouragement and edification to your coworker.
Buy coffee for the sign waver on the side of the road.
Give some money for the person's groceries behind you.
Bake your neighbor a cake.
Have your neighbors over for dinner.
Listen to The Spirit; He will gladly lead you.
Do it all in the name of Jesus. I would say that it is vastly important that they know that is why you are doing it. There are a lot of ideas about karma and being a good person, but we love for Love Himself.
We don't need to over-complicate this. The holy invades the secular. The light overcomes the darkness daily. We are the children of the omnipotent God, and we are called to love and "stomp hell for a living."
[The quoted portion here is a saying from my brother in Christ Todd White. If you have never heard him speak before, go YouTube him ASAP. He is such a radical, God-loving, Jesus-imitating guy. He is a person who inspires me.]
This phrase has been stuck in my head; God has been telling me, "Look for these places. These are the places where you find My heart."
It seems to me to be so appropriate. The Divine has been reaching to touch the dust since the beginning. The dust has been reaching back. I get the image of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in my head, and I am just so moved. It's beautiful.
Sometimes we reach out to other things in a misguided attempt to reach back to the Divine that so relentlessly pursues us. However, in better times, we can reach out to people, and, in doing so, we can reach back to the Divine. We can display the Divine to others. We need to give love freely with no strings attached. This is the essence of the divine God we worship; He is the embodiment of the most perfect love. We need to quench our dehydrated souls with the living water that flows so freely from our Saviour's throne.
In the collision of the living water and the dust, mud occurs. No one said loving people was a neat business; things get messy. Comfort zones get destroyed. Societal boundaries crumble. Our expectations of what life should be get altered, and perhaps, completely changed all together. Society's pressures shatter around us. We get the mud rubbed on our eyes, and we can finally see. We see what really matters; we see the image of Christ in every person.
I pray that the church can have the scales fall off our eyes more fully. I pray that The Spirit would abound and compel us to love in ways we never imagined before.
Be the manifestation of love to someone today.
Do something for them with no strings attached.
Pay for the coffee of the person behind you.
Pay for the meal of the family across from you.
Give the person at the pump across from you ten dollars for gas.
Write a note of encouragement and edification to your coworker.
Buy coffee for the sign waver on the side of the road.
Give some money for the person's groceries behind you.
Bake your neighbor a cake.
Have your neighbors over for dinner.
Listen to The Spirit; He will gladly lead you.
Do it all in the name of Jesus. I would say that it is vastly important that they know that is why you are doing it. There are a lot of ideas about karma and being a good person, but we love for Love Himself.
We don't need to over-complicate this. The holy invades the secular. The light overcomes the darkness daily. We are the children of the omnipotent God, and we are called to love and "stomp hell for a living."
[The quoted portion here is a saying from my brother in Christ Todd White. If you have never heard him speak before, go YouTube him ASAP. He is such a radical, God-loving, Jesus-imitating guy. He is a person who inspires me.]
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