Our Prince of Peace

Life is hard. Nobody will disagree with that. I know many aspects of my life have been and are currently very hard. But I also know that the lives of many around me are fraught with difficulty. Some undergoing medical tests, some struggling with hidden pain or shameful wounds, some struggling financially, and some struggling in their marriages. Though none have directly said as much, it recalls to mind a phrase often heard in Christian circles, “I’m glad I have my faith. I don’t know how people survive without faith.”

Though I agree with this statement, I wonder what people mean by it. I suspect that they mean far less than they actually intended. What is it about their faith that they find so valuable in hard times? Is it that they have someone to talk to? Is it that there is someone who will never leave them or forsake them? Is it that they have someone who will love them unconditionally? Though all of these things are good and should be a factor in us appreciating our faith, I believe it is incomplete. After all if this is all we needed God for, then how about we just get a cat instead.

I rarely hear people appreciate the fresh perspective they get from their faith. Do we turn to God in times of crisis and realize that He is weeping along with us? Do we realize that he is weeping not just for our pain, but for the pain of the entire world. Sin was not the original plan. The pain and suffering that come from living in a broken world breaks His heart. Do we gain hope from realizing that God sent his Son to die and reconcile this fallen world to Himself? Do we gain confidence and determination from the fact that God calls us to be a part of His redemptive work? Do we realize that God is actively working to establish His kingdom on earth which will not only eradicate the pain of our current trials, but all pain and suffering worldwide. Do we draw encouragement and fresh vision from the knowledge that we are citizens of His new kingdom? Are we renewed by the fact that our present sufferings are nothing in comparison to living eternity in His presence? Or are we simply content to have someone to talk to?

Our faith means much more than the pithy testimonies we are accustom to hearing. God sent His Son to be our Prince of Peace because it was His ultimate sacrifice that paved the way for reconciliation. He is our hope and our peace. No matter what circumstances we are facing or may face in the future, the hope of the world has come to carry us through.

Part 7 - Finale

Part 6

Ruth...Part 5

Ruth...Part 4

Ruth...Part 3

Ruth in Stickfigures Part 2

Ruth in Stickfigures

So my best friend's church is going through the book of Ruth. They produced the following video to help overview the contents of the book. Enjoy!

The Wisdom of the Desert

A brother asked one of the elders: What good thing shall I do, and have life thereby? The old man replied: God alone knows what is good. However, I have heard it said that someone inquired of Father Abbot Anthony, asking: What good work shall I do? and that he replied: not all works are alike. For Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him. Elias loved solitary prayer, and God was with him. And David was humble and God was with him. Therefore, whatever you see your soul to desire according to God, do that thing, and you shall keep your heart safe.

Trace Bundy

This man is well on his way to becoming one of the elite guitar players in the world. I got to see him live this weekend and it was amazing. Check him out.

When The Kids Are Away, The Parents Will Play

So the kids went with Shelley's mom for the weekend so we had 2 complete days all to ourselves...

So whatever shall we do??? Everything.

We were true Portlanders this weekend.

We took the MAX into downtown Portland both Friday and Saturday and played hard. So here's a quick recap of an awesome weekend.

Friday

1st stop: Shoe shopping. Boring, but productive.

NEXT stop Rock Bottom Brewery for Happy Hour where I tried their Oregonic Amber. A decent Amber Ale. Liked it fairly well.

Then it was on to Powell's books which is the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world. Very cool.

Then it was on to Pioneer Courthouse Square where we caught this week's installment of "Flicks on Bricks." They blow up this huge screen on the square and show a movie at dusk. This week it was The Birdcage. Very, very funny. Cool to watch it in a huge crowd too. People were really into this flicks on bricks thing. Lots of people brought chairs or blankets. One couple even went so far as to bring a queen size air mattress and a pump. They even brought a sheet, a comforter and a few pillows. They were set. We on the other hand had not planned to watch a movie at the square and had to sit on the bricks. We were quite ready to stand when it was all over.

After the movie, it was back to the Rock Bottom Brewery where we had dessert. Wow that was good stuff.

Saturday

Got a late start after getting home at 1am. But we made it in time to eat breakfast at Elmers. Btw, turns out going out to breakfast is an old people thing. There were a lot of grey hairs in that building…

Then it was on to downtown again for the Redbull Flutag event. This would have been cool if 60,000 other people didn't have the same idea. If you have not heard of this event before, check out the website. It's where people build impossible flying machines and compete on style, distance, and creativity. They push these things (along with the "pilot") off of a huge ramp and watch them plummet into the river. Unfortunately, we couldn't get close enough to watch it nor even to get a good view of the jumbo screens, so we left.

After wandering around downtown, we were off to Henry's Tavern for another happy hour. This time I tried my first Nitro brew: the "Old Speckled Hen." You would not believe the change in texture. The Nitro brew was soooo smooth. It took me about half the glass to get used to the difference.

After eating more than our fair share of appetizers, we headed off to PGE Park to see the Portland Beavers. Not only did we win 9 to 1, but our pitcher was amazing. He pitched 8 shutout innings, gave up no walks, 2 hits and struck out 11. He was incredible. We even had great seats to watch him. We were only 4 rows back just to the left side of home plate. Very nice indeed.

Sunday, the kids came home and we were happy to see them, but we were a little worn out from our adventures….

Marriage

Have you ever found it strange that pastors are allowed to perform marriages? After all they cannot issue birth certificates, death certificates, state IDs, passports, or any other legal document. So why be able to legally sanction a marriage? The answer seems obvious. After all, marriage is a sacred institution given to man by God Himself. It only makes sense that pastors and ministers be given the authority to perform marriages.

But why then can a justice of the peace also officiate a marriage? After all, this is a sacred institution. Why is a purely secular magistrate able to oversee such a spiritual matter? The answer again should be fairly obvious. From a societal perspective, marriage has a number of very practical benefits. Breaks in car insurance and taxes are the obvious ones. But there are also the added benefits of being considered family when visiting a spouse in the emergency room. Not to mention that a spouse can be the default power of attorney in case of medical incapacitation. Inheritance and property rights are also included in the package.

So it would seem that we have a dual purpose to marriage: One being the spiritual God-ordained union of a man and a woman and the other a pure societal demarcation with which comes numerous social advantages.

So with all of that said, what are we to make of the ever controversial topic of gay marriage? Should the church be against it? My opinion? Yes and no.

The church has a responsibility to hold unswervingly to the teachings of Scripture. As a result it should not officiate a homosexual marriage. However, holding to the teachings of Scripture will also lead one to recognize the need for love, long-suffering, kindness, mercy, and grace. (attributes often forgotten in this ideological battle over homosexual marriage) With these characteristics in the forefront of my mind, I believe the societal demarcation of marriage should not be reserved only for a heterosexual union. A homosexual couple should not be deprived of the same rights and privileges granted to a heterosexual couple simply because it is a sinful union.

Now I recognize that many Christians will instinctively disagree with me, and I can definitely respect that. I admire the courage it takes for anyone to make a strong moral stance. My question though would be this – how far does it go? Are we willing to argue that these basic “rights”, granted by way of marriage, be revoked in certain heterosexual relationships as well? If a man cheats on his wife consistently throughout their marriage, should he have to pay “back taxes” once his indiscretion is made known? What about a man who has fallen prey to pornography throughout his marriage? Should he be stripped of the right to make long term care decisions for his wife after a near fatal car accident? In the interest of being consistent, how far are we willing to extend the argument?

I believe we as a church can make a strong moral stance and still vote in favor of gay marriage. There must be a balance between graciousness and moral purity. It seems that Jesus found this balance when He forgave the woman caught in adultery. Maybe we can too...

Controversy

In case you haven't heard the press coverage, Dobson has made a few statements about Barak Obama as of late. I have become increasingly disillusioned with Dobson over the past few years and it has finally come to a head for me. He seems insistent that the entirety of politics be boiled down to Abortion and Gay Marriage. I'm just not willing to make it so simple.

In his latest claim to fame, he has made a few strong statements regarding Senator Obama and his interpretation of scripture. I think he COMPLETELY missed the point of Obama's speech.

For that reason, I really enjoyed the following site. Here you can read the entire speech and listen to Dr. Dobson's rebuttal on his radio broadcast. The site also gives a breakdown of the claims on both sides: point by point.

I found it very fair, honest, and refreshing. If you'd like to review the issue, I encourage you to check out the site:

www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/

Happy reading.

The Mariners Hit a High Note

So the Mariners season has been nothing short of depressing this year. As a result the General Manager, the skipper and the hitting coach have all lost their jobs. The Mariners have scrapped together only a handful of wins and are on pace to have the worst record in Mariners history. So why keep watching? Well every now and then something amazing happens.

June 23, 2008 - Game 1 of a 3 Game interleague series vs the Mets at Shea Stadium. Felix Hernandez (Seattle Pitcher) comes to the plate looking for his second career hit....



An opposite field grand slam. The first time an American League pitcher has hit a grand slam since 1971. Incredible.

He's the one guy we WON'T fire this year.

Updates and Thoughts

My apologies to the blogging community for the long delay. It’s hard to believe it has been over a month since I last posted. For those of you that don’t know, we are expecting our third child in January!! We are very excited. More to come as the pregnancy marches on.

As some of you also know, I just returned from a long weekend in Boston where I saw a friend of mine whom I had not seen in nearly 5 years. It was a great blessing. His wife flew me out there to surprise him for his birthday. He was quite shocked.

So now that you are up to date, how about some current thoughts?

Like this one from Donald Miller’s book, Blue Like Jazz. This is his final complaint about some of the churches that he had recently attended:

“The churches I attended would embrace war metaphor. They would talk about how we are in a battle, and I agreed with them, only they wouldn’t clarify that we were battling poverty and hate and injustice and pride and the powers of darkness. They left us thinking that our war was against liberals and homosexuals. Their teaching would have me believe I was the good person in the world and the liberals were the bad people in the world.”

This sums up so much of my thinking these days. I am learning that Jesus had a heart for the weak, the broken, the outcast, the poor, and the hungry. He stood against injustice and contended against the powers of darkness with authority and holy resolve. This Jesus is new, unbridled, and doesn’t fit with the flannelgraph Jesus from my childhood.

I grew up believing that being a Christian and being a Republican were intrinsically linked, and abortion and gay marriage were the only important issues in politics. Turns out neither is true. I am pro-life, but I am also anti-poverty and for social justice. I am against large tax breaks for major corporations and the upper class. I am for world trade, but not at the cost of child labor and exploitation. I am against the war in Iraq, but I am for capitol punishment. I favor a more reasonable minimum wage and better job training for the poor. I think our very rich country should do more humanitarian relief and wage fewer wars (and “security details”). In short, I am neither a Republican or a Democrat – and I don’t think Jesus was one of these either.

Faith and Politics are the two topics you are not supposed to bring up in social situations. Why? Because everyone has a different opinion – and some of those can be quite divisive. The issues are too multifaceted to be addressed with simple answers and partisan solutions. The truth is that the Bible does not address every issue on the ballot. Instead, we are given a model of how to bring God’s compassion, redemption and love to this world. At times that means I will be labeled as a flaming liberal, at others a staunch conservative. But regardless of the label, we are told to live out our faith with love and grace – features all too absent in both the church and political arenas.

As November looms, I am reminded that my duty as an American is to vote and be an informed Christ-following voter. However, my duty as a Christ-follower is even greater still. Jesus said to feed the poor, cloth the naked, heal the sick, rescue the dying, defend the powerless, and bring His kingdom to earth. Truth be told, now that I’ve been introduced to the right battle, I need to start fighting.

Questions That Demand an Answer

Our pastor just showed this video over the weekend and challenged us to be prepared with answers. This world needs to be introduced to a REAL God who can impact their lives right where there are.

Roe v Wade Revised

The extremely divisive issues of abortion and gay marriage have often raised the question of whether or not the government should be legislating morality. In other words, should the government exist to protect civil rights or a certain code of conduct? When should the government make a law and when should they allow each individual citizen to decide for themselves?

Some would say that the government must protect a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body. Another faction says that the government should protect a defenseless unborn baby as it would any other citizen.

On the gay marriage side of things, some would say that we must give equal marital rights to both homosexual and heterosexual couples. This they claim is a civil right not currently being protected by the government. Others say that gay marriage is not a true marriage and therefore should not qualify for the same rights and privileges.

Opponents of both gay marriage and abortion have been accused of attempting to legislate their standard of morality instead of legislating basic human rights.

My question is this: Why aren’t people up in arms over the fact that prostitution is illegal in this country? I know that sounds like a strange question, but hear me out. A potential defense of this position might sound a bit like this:

1.) Both men and women have the basic civil right to choose what they do to their own bodies. If they choose to relieve their stress or meet a basic human desire through hiring a prostitute, that should be an individual’s own choice.

2.) Illegalizing prostitution has not caused it to stop. Instead it has likely lead to a rise in the illegal sex trade and human trafficking. Legalizing it would help bring this under government regulation so as to reduce infectious diseases and human trafficking. Though there are health risks, we take that chance in nearly all aspects of our lives. Each citizen should be given the choice of how to use their own bodies regardless of the risk.

3.) Legalizing prostitution would better the economy by providing legal jobs for those who may not otherwise be able to find work in a struggling economic recession.

Granted, I would never argue for such madness. But it does strike me as odd that we have outlawed sex for cash and legalized infanticide.

Happy Birthday Logan

ABCs (Trust Me)

Countdown to Spring Training

15 Days, 21 Hours, 40 Minutes, 30 seconds and counting...

Friendships

Friendship is a tricky thing. There is no question that we need close, spiritual friends, but how do you handle that level of vulnerability? It is risky business letting someone get to know you. And it is a high honor to truly get to know another individual. But with the stakes so high, you don't want to get it wrong. Exposing a soul for what it is and revealing painful wounds is not easy; it's not safe.

Spiritual community MUST foster a sense of safety. We MUST develop these intimate friendships. It is crucial to both our emotional and spiritual well-being. But once you're exposed, there's no going back. There's no undoing what has already been done.

I have been privileged to have a few of these such relationships and I am challenged to deepen and strengthen them. But I am haunted by both sides of the coin. On the one hand, I have some ugly and painful sores that I am scared to reveal. Even if they've been revealed before, I'm ashamed to discuss them again. I may have been well cared for the first time, but what about the second? What about the time after that and the time after that? When do I cash in my last chip? When will my friend walk away?

On the other side of the coin, how do I protect the soul that has entrusted itself to me as a friend. How do I care for my friends? It is this last point that causes me great pain. You see, I tend not to be a good friend at times. I often forget to call or write and thereby neglect the affirmation of our friendship. When we do finally connect, I often don't ask the right questions and settle for far less than a meaningful conversation. I often forget that to care for a soul takes time, energy, commitment and an extra touch of grace.

However, I do one thing right with friendships that I do not regret. I tell it like it is. Shelley and I are known for speaking our minds and offering advice (wanted or not) to our friends. We take seriously the truth that "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." (Proverbs 27:6) We do a friend absolutely no good by "multiplying kisses." Sometimes a friend needs to hear that they are making a poor choice, and sometimes I need to hear the same from my friends as well.

The problem is: that's only half the package. The Bible also says: "A friend loves at all times." (Proverbs 17:17) I believe that I do love my friends at all times. However, the reality is that I don't always show it. It seems that speaking my mind comes a lot more naturally to me than picking up the phone and making contact. It is very true that "A person doesn't care how much you know until they know how much you care." And when the stakes are this high, you have to demonstrate a lot of care.

The Word Made Flesh

Every now and then one calls in to question the things he has been taught, sometimes deliberately or reactively. But every now and then, as is the case here, these questions are seemingly raised by pure accident.

Today’s question: The Holiness of the Bible.

Traditional Evangelicals have revered the Bible as God’s Holy Word. A statement held so firmly that many Bibles even print it on the cover: Holy Bible. My question is what makes it Holy? Is it innately Holy? Is the Bible the Word (Logos) made paper? Should we revere the Bible as we do God?

My opinion: Not exactly.

My central postulate is this: Nothing is Holy but God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are alone Holy. However, God has chosen to reveal Himself in many ways, and whenever He does so, the objects/people/places in question become Holy. They are Holy simply because of the Holy God they reveal.

There was nothing special about the ground around the burning bush, but God told Moses to remove his sandals. The place where he was standing was Holy ground because it was where God chose to reveal Himself.

The tabernacle was Holy because it was the meeting place of God. Each step closer to the center (where God most fully revealed himself) became incrementally more Holy and Sacred.

The Bible is itself Holy simply because it reveals a Holy God.

Some will say that many other Christian works throughout the centuries have also revealed God to us. Works by such individuals as Calvin, Luther, Lewis, Augustine, Edwards, Piper, etc have all revealed God to us. Are they then equal to Scripture?

No. Jesus, Himself, held the Scriptures to be the Word of God. He did not equate them with other works and nor should we. The Bible is the unique work of God penned as the only infallible account of the revelation of God. God’s divine hand orchestrated the writing of these 66 books to be the only perfect expression of God’s revelation to man.

Many other works have been written that enable us to clearly see our God; however, none but the Bible is inerrant.

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Thank you to Josh and Greg who both helped spark my thinking in this area. Though these may not be your thoughts or conclusions, you helped jumpstart this train of thought.

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Secondary Conclusion: If the basic postulate is true: “Something is Holy inasmuch as it is the revelation of God” then the same is true for us. God has removed our sin and made us Holy. Which means we now exist to broadcast the nature of God both as a body and as individuals. We are only Holy inasmuch as we are the revelation of God.