One of the greatest evidences I see for the spiritual battle that rages within and around is the near constant discord between our beliefs and our actions. This must be what Paul was talking about in Galatians 5, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do" (v. 17) I don't write this to provide a solution to this battle. In truth, the more we grow and put on the full armor of God, the more vicious the attacks become. As we run further and further in the race we become increasingly aware of the raging warfare and territories at stake. No, I write this to caution what we proclaim.
If what we proclaim about God is not in continuity with the way we live than we are doing nothing but spewing lies. If we proclaim that Christ is the only way to salvation, but put our faith in other things to help us make it throughout the day, what message are we communicating about the sole power of the work of Christ? If we proclaim that "We love because Christ first loved us."(1 John 4:19) but do not demonstrate love to others then what are we saying? "If anyone says, "I love God" and hates his brother, he is a liar...whoever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 4:20-21) Even if we proclaim such a simple truth as this, "God is good." then we are proven to be liars if we do not keep his commandments. If we truly believe that God is good then the plans that He has made in His infinite power must be the best for us. Yet how often do we take the trip to the belly of the whale instead of heading over to Ninevah?
I understand how very easy for me to sit behind my computer and talk about how great of liars we all are, how a conviction is nothing till it is fought for with action. The reality of it plays a little more out like the DC Talk song, "What If I Stumble?" We have been given a great responsibility, the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-21), yet even still we do what we don't want to do. (Romans 7:15) What happens to that message when we stumble? What happens to that message when our actions don't line up with what we proclaim?
I think that how we handle our shortcomings in our new creation can be a great message to those who are still dead in their trespasses. While we are called to be set apart and examples of righteousness, so often it is how we handle our own sin that can speak the loudest proclamation of all. We are taught to abhor evil and sin, but so often we get that confused and react by hiding our sin. If we are transparent with the sin in our lives then we are proclaiming loudly the message only found in the Bible, the message of God's grace.
So often I have heard people remarking about others or myself by saying, "He calls himself a Christian, but yet he does this sin." To them I say, "I do this sin, so I call myself a Christian."
In all Spirit-led effort, avoid sin and seek to have your actions align with what you proclaim. But should you succumb to the flesh, you have an opportunity to make a great proclamation in the Spirit by saying, "The sin that I commit has been paid for in full, for God extended His grace and mercy to me and sent His Son to die a once and for all time sacrifice. God's grace is infinite and so even though my actions do not coincide with what I so often say, Jesus Christ already died for that moment of discontent. His Spirit will lead me on." Fight the good fight. Hebrews 12:1-2.
Soli Deo Gloria!
One love,
Dj
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
A New Sword
I lost my Bible at a Denny's in San Diego, so I've been carrying around my study Bible. Anyway, I bought a new Bible this week and I just want to read it all the time. I don't know if thats because it's the word of God or if because it is new. All things considered, I think I might buy a new Bible every couple of weeks just to make sure I keep up good reading habits.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Intersection of Love
Have you ever stopped at a red light and looked over and seen a really attractive member of the opposite sex and they're sitting there doing something that says something about their personality that you really dig. So you totally fall in love with this person only to have the light turn green and you never see them again. Then you say to yourself, "I've been in love on thousand nights at a thousand lights but not like this before." Well I know I have found myself in this situation (but not recently because of the 'ole ball and chain that I have recently aqquired, so I'm not allowed to participate in any more of these intersection endeavors.). Anyway, I thought I would write a poem about this time in our lives, but I was far too lazy so I just wrote the last little bit. Enjoy!
And now I find I drive along the road and hope that chance will lead us to the light where we will stop and we will glance. I'd give my life, I'd give my heart, give all I can afford, to catch a glimpse and set my eyes, my eyes for your Accord.
And now I find I drive along the road and hope that chance will lead us to the light where we will stop and we will glance. I'd give my life, I'd give my heart, give all I can afford, to catch a glimpse and set my eyes, my eyes for your Accord.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Jungle Ball
I've always said that you can tell a lot about a man by playing a game of pick-up basketball with them. Not your Grandma's game of H-O-R-S-E on the driveway or a little shoot-around session in the morning, I'm talking down at the park or the community gym where the hardwood meets the highway and the ballers and the scrubs get separated once and for all. Watch a man play ball out there for an hour and you'll learn more about who he truly is then if you spent an entire day with him.
You play purely for pride, ten egos clashing with all the fury their testosterone laced competitive drives can provide while another group waits to replace the weakest five. Rough language, hard hits, and no referees, just a man and his integrity; it's a 94' by 5o'ft. preservation of wildlife.
This past Saturday I was playing, we had been running the court all morning, and everyone else in the gym wanted to take us out. During what would be my last game of the day we were losing as the other team was approaching on 13 (the point total to win the game). Suddenly my team started calling fouls on almost every shot we took. If someone did a scientific study, they would certainly find a direct correlation between the closeness of score and the number of fouls called. We called fouls to the tune of six in a row on one possession, so that we shot, missed, called a foul, only to get the ball back to lather, rinse, repeat. The other team soon got frustrated by this, words were exchanged, and at one point a fight almost broke out...I can't remember the last time that I played in a game where a fight didn't almost break out.
Christian brothers, we need to be lambs in the jungle.
How are we going to act or react in a situation where our competive drive is in opposition to keeping the peace? We think about what it means to be a man, and we think about strength. I read somewhere that part of being a man is having the strength to stand up for yourself and to not let others walk over you but I think this is false. Being a man, being a Christian man, is not standing up for yourself but to stand in Christ. We need to tand up for righteousness; stand up for Justice, but not for ourselves, because Jesus Christ "humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil. 2:8) Check your ego at the door; the holy God of the universe became a man for sinner's sake. The next time you're at the gym, try to play a whole game without calling a foul for yourself or your team. See the difference it makes. Don't be a doormat, there are certainly many things that we need to stand up for, but so often the most Christlike for us to do to take the fall. If you want to really show off your strength on the court and in many other facets of life, take the hit and keep playing. In all humility, never compromise. Be strong enough to be walked on but never through.
A few years ago someone was critiquing my game and they commented that I played "too soft." I vowed not to call fouls for myself when I played so that I could get used to taking hits and so that I could become tougher. Not only was that one of the best things I've done for my game but also it's been the best way I can show Christ to those who I play with. During the heated moments of Saturday's game my man was guarding me tough and so I picked up my dribble in the corner. I was quickly double-teamed and in my attempts to escape I stepped out of bounds. In the struggle to fight through the double team and as they were reaching in trying to steal the ball there is no doubt I took a couple of hits, but when the play was over everyone just sort of stood there waiting for me to call the foul like everyone else had been doing. I know I surprised some people by jogging down the court to go play defense, I shouldn't have picked up my dribble in the corner.
After the game, one of the guys on the other team who had been the most vocal about his frustrations came up to me and told me that he had respect for me and the way I played. It's about finding ways to be different, to be an example of Christ. Not that I'm a saint or anything, I've been known to tackle middle schoolers and to give indistinguishable grunts as I push aside girls to spike an inflated volleyball on a lowered net. I can be a tad over competitive, but that's why they call me The Danimal.
Keep it real. In Christ,
Dj
You play purely for pride, ten egos clashing with all the fury their testosterone laced competitive drives can provide while another group waits to replace the weakest five. Rough language, hard hits, and no referees, just a man and his integrity; it's a 94' by 5o'ft. preservation of wildlife.
This past Saturday I was playing, we had been running the court all morning, and everyone else in the gym wanted to take us out. During what would be my last game of the day we were losing as the other team was approaching on 13 (the point total to win the game). Suddenly my team started calling fouls on almost every shot we took. If someone did a scientific study, they would certainly find a direct correlation between the closeness of score and the number of fouls called. We called fouls to the tune of six in a row on one possession, so that we shot, missed, called a foul, only to get the ball back to lather, rinse, repeat. The other team soon got frustrated by this, words were exchanged, and at one point a fight almost broke out...I can't remember the last time that I played in a game where a fight didn't almost break out.
Christian brothers, we need to be lambs in the jungle.
How are we going to act or react in a situation where our competive drive is in opposition to keeping the peace? We think about what it means to be a man, and we think about strength. I read somewhere that part of being a man is having the strength to stand up for yourself and to not let others walk over you but I think this is false. Being a man, being a Christian man, is not standing up for yourself but to stand in Christ. We need to tand up for righteousness; stand up for Justice, but not for ourselves, because Jesus Christ "humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil. 2:8) Check your ego at the door; the holy God of the universe became a man for sinner's sake. The next time you're at the gym, try to play a whole game without calling a foul for yourself or your team. See the difference it makes. Don't be a doormat, there are certainly many things that we need to stand up for, but so often the most Christlike for us to do to take the fall. If you want to really show off your strength on the court and in many other facets of life, take the hit and keep playing. In all humility, never compromise. Be strong enough to be walked on but never through.
A few years ago someone was critiquing my game and they commented that I played "too soft." I vowed not to call fouls for myself when I played so that I could get used to taking hits and so that I could become tougher. Not only was that one of the best things I've done for my game but also it's been the best way I can show Christ to those who I play with. During the heated moments of Saturday's game my man was guarding me tough and so I picked up my dribble in the corner. I was quickly double-teamed and in my attempts to escape I stepped out of bounds. In the struggle to fight through the double team and as they were reaching in trying to steal the ball there is no doubt I took a couple of hits, but when the play was over everyone just sort of stood there waiting for me to call the foul like everyone else had been doing. I know I surprised some people by jogging down the court to go play defense, I shouldn't have picked up my dribble in the corner.
After the game, one of the guys on the other team who had been the most vocal about his frustrations came up to me and told me that he had respect for me and the way I played. It's about finding ways to be different, to be an example of Christ. Not that I'm a saint or anything, I've been known to tackle middle schoolers and to give indistinguishable grunts as I push aside girls to spike an inflated volleyball on a lowered net. I can be a tad over competitive, but that's why they call me The Danimal.
Keep it real. In Christ,
Dj
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Plea to the Muses
Give me a purpose
I will give you a rose
Give me a fight
I will give you a garden
Give me an idea
And an orchard will blossom.
I’ll give you the fruit of my passion
But please just give me a reason.
I will give you a rose
Give me a fight
I will give you a garden
Give me an idea
And an orchard will blossom.
I’ll give you the fruit of my passion
But please just give me a reason.
Friday, December 8, 2006
On The Way Home From Work
The light at
Wintergreen & Beach Blvd. is red
And so I stop.
A man with ragged clothes is on the corner.
He just stands there solemn and holds
A simple cardboard sign that says,
“I am human too you know.”
He calls himself a knight.
His sign, his shield;
His cup, his sword;
He fights the chilling wind
sweeping through the suburbs.
The way he looks it begs reaction.
My instinct is to look away.
But he is human too I know
And so I fix my eyes upon this man.
This man without a home.
His hair’s sun-bleached
His body’s burnt.
My face a frozen stare.
He sweats profusely.
It's hot outside
And suddenly I am cold.
I turn the A.C. off.
The warm red light turns green.
Its cold as cash and traffic flows.
And he is human too I know.
Yet even so, I press the gas and go.
Wintergreen & Beach Blvd. is red
And so I stop.
A man with ragged clothes is on the corner.
He just stands there solemn and holds
A simple cardboard sign that says,
“I am human too you know.”
He calls himself a knight.
His sign, his shield;
His cup, his sword;
He fights the chilling wind
sweeping through the suburbs.
The way he looks it begs reaction.
My instinct is to look away.
But he is human too I know
And so I fix my eyes upon this man.
This man without a home.
His hair’s sun-bleached
His body’s burnt.
My face a frozen stare.
He sweats profusely.
It's hot outside
And suddenly I am cold.
I turn the A.C. off.
The warm red light turns green.
Its cold as cash and traffic flows.
And he is human too I know.
Yet even so, I press the gas and go.
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