Be a Servant

…Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." – Matthew 20: 26-28

Today's Reading: Exodus 25-26, Matthew 20: 17-34

Hmmm…

This is really interesting to me. So greatness comes with giving…

It seems that we live in times where people are really focused on serving themselves instead of others.

Or maybe that’s just I perceive it.

On the surface I see so many people on their solo grind. They are either pursuing acting, or writing, or starting a business, or they are an artist trying to get signed on a label.

And many of these same folk struggle for years in futility wondering why they haven’t popped yet.

Of course for some, it very well may be that they haven’t popped because they aren’t talented at what they are striving for.

Rough game.

But often times these folk are talented. So what is the deal?

I have a theory. I think that the more we give the more we get. Just like Jesus said in the quote above, it is the biggest servants that end up becoming the greatest people.

We know many famously rich people who have made it their purpose to give and as a result were entrusted with fabulous resources. Warren Buffett is an obvious example (he decided in his 20s that he would give his future fortune to society). But that may seem far away.

Here is an example of this concept that I see happening in my life right now.

I have a good friend named Yohance. He is a really gifted writer and MC and music has been his passion for as long as I have known him. Yohance is also one of the most genuinely good people that I know.

I’ve seen him work really hard to pursue his dream but it’s been hard for him just like it is for many others.

Recently he started doing something that really impressed me. He combined his love for music, his good natured desire to serve others, and his amazing talent of connecting all of the random people he knows around the world.

He started interviewing folk.

I’m not talking about “famous” folk who are on the radio. Nope. He started interviewing people that he is a fan of. He started interviewing his peers and friends.

Are you humble enough to do that?

I don’t think I am.

Most of us are looking at our peers with a competitive eye, constantly cutting each other down in our minds. But not Yohance. He started with a basic question: “Why does music suck and where is the good music?” And from there he realized that there were so many artists around him who may not be on the radio but made the kind of music he likes.

So he’s giving them the attention that he feels they deserve. He showcases them the best way he can so that he can share not only their art but also their vision of a future with music that touches the soul.

Does this mean that he’s going to get a record deal tomorrow? I don’t know. But what I do see is that his selfless idea of shining a light on the artists that he likes is starting to get noticed. He is making new friends. He is solidifying connections. Doors are opening. Opportunities are presenting themselves.

Maybe it is one of these doors that will uncover the opportunity he needs to achieve his dreams.

We soon shall see…

Check out his site. Merc80.com But also, follow his example. That's my plan.

A Tough Parable to Swallow

So I’ve talked about certain things as being “above my pay grade” right?

Here is a perfect example of what I am talking about.

Check out The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.

The general idea is that the landowner is God, the people are us, and the work is the work that God wants us to do for Him here in this world. The denarius is salvation.

So in the morning he hires some workers for a denarius. Then every several hours he hires more workers until the end of the day. All of the workers come to collect their money. He starts by giving the most recently hired workers a denarius. The original workers are like:

YES! We’re finsta get paid!

But to their surprise as he goes down the line of workers, the landowner pays everyone a denarius. The original workers are heated. I spent all day working in this hot sun and I’m getting paid the same as these Johnny come lately cats? For real?

That kinda sucks.

Then the landowner (God) says the following

"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' – Matthew 20: 13-15

Ewwww… I don’t like that.

Here is the extreme real world example: Jeffrey Dahmer.

Dude killed seventeen people.

SEVENTEEN!!!

It goes without saying that he probably was not a nice person.

But check this out… when he was in jail his father sent him some Christian materials and after viewing it he declared faith in Jesus and that he was a born again Christian.

SAY WHAT!?

This is something that bothered me for a long time. I live my life in faith in Jesus, trying to be the best person I can be, and I get the same reward as this clown?

That’s not fair.

But then I thought about it. What if I were in God’s position? What would I do? How generous would I be? How would I judge Jeffrey Dahmer? What is the criterion? Would that same criterion convict me, or my friends, or my family?

This whole judging thing is a tough job.

What I love about Jesus’ message is that the standard that we have to live up to is one of faith and love. We believe, and then that faith works through the instrument of love over time to transform us into a new, more loving person. And when we fall short we can be forgiven.

Why is it ok for me to be forgiven and not ok for Jeffrey?

These questions are more than difficult. They are impossible for our little minds.

It’s hard enough for us to know what’s going in on our own hearts and minds. Why would we think we can possibly know what was going on in Jeffrey’s heart when he was behind bars?

I’m not saying this to excuse dude. I’m not even saying that I think he is or is not in heaven.

I have no idea and odds are you don’t either.

What I am saying though is that I’m glad that I don’t have to make that decision.

Walking my own path is hard enough.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 23-24: Matthew 20: 1-16

In God We Trust

So... I watched the first part of the State of the Union address on TV the other day.

Upon immediately becoming bored to tears I started looking around at the scenery in the room. The House of Representatives must be so beautiful. The camera angles provided some interesting sweeping glances of the interior.

But I did notice one thing. There was this pretty ornate and powerful looking “In God We Trust” on the wall.

Interesting.

Of course this isn’t a foreign concept to me. It has been printed on of our money since the Civil War. But it is a pretty interesting statement to have it so prominently displayed in one of the central houses of government.

Actually, I just learned that it is the official motto of the United States of America.

Wow!!!

(The things you learn when you write a blog everyday… Thank you Wikipedia.)

This reminded me of an article I read several years ago about the state Supreme Court in Alabama that had a monument to the Ten Commandments. Someone sued and a federal judge ruled that the monument had to be removed.

Furious, the chief justice in that courthouse refused and he was removed from his post.

Dude was pretty gangsta for the cause.

I have no problem with him getting removed from his post and all of that but I do pause a bit when it comes to religious stuff entering government.

I can see both sides.

It’s not like this just started happening. There are references to God in America’s founding texts. It is impossible to completely separate a person from their faith so of course one’s guiding principles will find their way into whatever institutions that they create.

But this country was also founded on the idea of freedom (and specifically economic and religious freedom). As we continue to strive to be a more perfect union do things like “In God We Trust” and monuments to the Ten Commandments have a place in our governmental space? Or are they like Slavery and Jim Crow; relics of the imperfection that generations of Americans have strived to cleanse from our union?

Of course as a Christian I see in the Ten Commandments and the other laws of Moses the foundation for the laws that we live by. So these things don’t bother me as much as they might someone who does not share my faith.

But also as a Christian I see many people in power who use God and Jesus’ name to promote laws and measures that are contrary to my faith.

So I guess there is no easy answer here.

But for those of you who wonder why there is so much hype about the Ten Commandments here they are. Check the link. Read them over. It’s good to read through them once if you haven’t in a while.

If not for any other reason then to know what it is that people like the ex chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court are willing to forsake their careers over.

Enjoy

The Ten Commandments

Today’s Reading: Exodus 21-22: Matthew 19

Forgiveness is Haaaard.

Yep... with four "A's".

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." – Matthew 18: 21-22

Ummm… what?

And I’m not even remarking about the number seventy-seven. Once is hard!

Forgiveness is hard man… so very hard. I’m sure you can identify with this too but when someone hurts me I can be quick to be like…

Game over. Cut ‘em off.

One such situation happened to me not too long ago. A friend did something that was totally unexpected and seemed to be an action that was in clear disregard to my feelings and our friendship.

I was hurt.

My initial reaction was to be like. OK. It’s a wrap. It was nice being friends. Keep it pushin’.

But then I had a conversation with another person about it and they brought up a good point. If we go around cutting folk off when they do something that hurts us then we end up alone.

That’s one of the truest things I had heard in a long time.

We are not perfect. No one is. Loving people and having them around us means that we are allowing that imperfection to be close to our hearts.

There will come a time in every single meaningful relationship in our lives where we get hurt.

And we have to forgive them.

Have to? Why have to? That seems like a really rigid rule right? I mean I don’t have to do anything. I can just cut this person and move on with my life right?

Well… I guess… but the thing that sucks about that is that when we don’t forgive the person we are really holding on to them in our hearts. We spend a lot of energy by doing this and really only succeed in imprisoning ourselves behind walls of hurt and fear.

Now am I saying that we have to be best friends with everyone who has hurt us?

No.

But what I am saying is that the more pain that we hold onto from the past, the harder it is to open up and love in the future. We only have so much emotional space in our hearts.

It is hard to make room for love when our hearts are filled with hate.

So once we are able to forgive the person then we can decide whether or not the person belongs in our lives. Did the person admit to the wrong doing and ask for forgiveness? Have they made a conscious effort to do their part to heal the relationship?

These are the things that are necessary for reconciliation.

But reconciliation and forgiveness are two totally different things. Reconciliation is a road to recovery for the relationship. You need two people for that. One has to ask for forgiveness and admit what they did wrong. The other has to grant that forgiveness and be willing to receive the love that the other person has to offer.

But forgiveness is really a one way street. We don’t need anyone else’s actions to enable us to forgive. That is a choice that we have to make on our own.

And if God has forgiven us, then why can’t we forgive others? We have a responsibility to pay it forward. That’s the message of this parable.

Forgiveness has definitely set me free. I know it will do the same for you.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 19-20; Matthew 18:21-35

The Environment, Balance, and Leadership

One of the reasons I wanted to blog about the Bible is because I wanted to do my part to dispel this notion that the Bible is an old, irrelevant and tired book. It is amazingly alive and relevant to the challenges we face today as individuals and as a society. Here are two examples.

Balance and a healthy relationship with the Earth:

...Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning." However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. – Excerpt from Exodus 16:4-20

This is an amazing story for our generation. God provided spiritual food for the Israelites in the form of manna in the morning and quail in the evening. Their instructions were to collect as much as they needed for the day except for the sixth day of the week. On the sixth day they were to collect enough for that day and the Sabbath since no work was to be done on the Sabbath.

What makes this part of the story remarkable is the example of the folk who didn’t follow the rules. The folk who tried to hoard God’s food saw it spoil and become infested with maggots.

Wouldn’t the world be a much better place if we had the discipline to only take what we need? Most of us have been raised in a culture that suggests that we must fight for all that we can because things in the world are scarce.

But when we look at the world and the astounding abundance that it contains… it is pretty clear that the only scarcity that exists has been created by us…

The world will be in balance once we as a species learn the virtue of being in balance within ourselves and living within our means.

Judging and Governance

"What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. – Excerpt from Exodus 18: 14-23

Here we find Moses having a conversation with his father-in-law Jethro. Jethro watches while Moses sits down and prepares to hear all of the cases that individuals in Israel have against each other. He is serving as the sole judge for every single case.

Jethro asks him why he is doing this and Moses says that they come to him because he knows the laws of God.

Jethro then suggests that Moses identify some wise folk among the people, teach them the laws, and allow them to judge the easier cases. This way the burden will be spread amongst more people.

Isn’t this how our legal system works? We have a system of courts that start at the local community level and increase in power and reach all the way up to the Supreme Court. The lower courts handle all of the cases that they can handle. If a case gets appealed to a higher court, and that higher court deems it worthy, it is heard again by a higher authority.

Sure the system that we have now is built on a history of complex laws and procedures but if we look closely we can see the seeds of it here in this text.

The same goes for any organization. Our businesses, government, non-profits, churches and other organizations function this way as well. Whether it’s the strict hierarchy of a corporation or a group of kids forming a band in their parents’ garage we tend to do better as groups when we share responsibilities.

When we don’t ask for help or delegate tasks we work ourselves into the ground and burn out. Once this happens it is only a matter of time before the whole group fails.

Good thing Jethro jumped in when he did. Moses hasn’t even gotten the Ten Commandments yet.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 16-18; Matthew 18: 1-20

So Ungrateful...

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"- Exodus 14: 10-12

Stop it!

These are some super ungrateful folk. They just witnessed a series of wild miracles, the last of which took the first born of all the households in Egypt. All of this was done for them, so they could be free. And now they’re about two steps out of back breaking slavery and already they’re talking about going back.

Where is their fight? They’re ready to forfeit their freedom this quickly?

Shameful.

Well… when I keep it real with myself it’s not all that crazy to me.

What they are really saying here is that they are more afraid of the unknown than where they came from. The fresh wounds of slavery feel better than the question mark that this present path resembles.

Have you ever stayed in a situation way too long? Maybe it was a job, or a relationship. Maybe you’re a pack rat and don’t like to give things away and your apartment looks like that old man’s spot with newspapers stacked to the ceiling.

Or perhaps you’ve become too afraid to open your heart to new joy and happiness because of the pain and hurt you have stacked away in your heart…

When we keep it real, I think pretty much everyone can relate to the Israelites here in this situation. Sometimes we see the past through rose colored glasses when we compare it to the uncertainty of the present and future.

It can be hard to remember that the past is the past for a reason.

But it is this new time, ripe with the possibilities of life, love and hope that will lead to all that we have dreamed of and more.

And when along this new path we come across a tree, or road, or hill that looks familiar; perhaps it is time to take inventory of things. Retrace your steps. Take a look around. Make sure that this place that looks familiar isn’t the SAME place where you once were.

Even if you can not see your footprints in the dirt, it doesn’t mean that you haven’t been there before.

This is a recurring theme in the Exodus story. The Israelites will struggle with this for entirely too long.

So don’t be surprised if you read something similar to this from me again, if not for any other reason than it is as good a reminder for me as it is for anyone else.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17

Yeast

"This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel." - Exodus 12: 14-15

"Be careful," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees." – Matthew 16:6

Today’s reading from the Old Testament is the first Passover. It is the preparation for the last and final event where the first born of each house hold, human and animal, will be killed. God gives the people specific instructions so that they will be passed over, and not affected by this plague.

Coincidentally the New Testament portion of the reading has Jesus coming down hard on the Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious elite of Israel during the time of Jesus). He warns his disciples of the “yeast” of The Pharisees and Sadducees.

Huh?

Then I thought more about it and was like hmmm… ok yeast must be bad… but what is the message here.

Then after doing some digging around on the internet (and among the cobwebs of my mind) I remembered a very important thing about yeast. It changes the nature of bread when it is added. A very small amount of yeast goes a long way.

What I get from this is that it is really important that we keep good council.

Most of us are flooded with information. I for one have more information that I can handle. In November I got the fancy Droid phone and now have my facebook, twitter, email, news, text, apps all in my pocket.

The nerd in me is dancing a jig.

But I came to realize that not all of this information is good information.

The most problematic source in my pocket is Twitter. There are all kinds of people giving their two cents about life in 140 characters or less. Rick Warren, Rev Run, and Paulo Coelho are all people that I follow. They say insightful things that challenge me, make me laugh and overall stimulate my growth.

And then there are other folk on there…

There are folk who always have something negative to say, or insist on being argumentative, or just like to tear others down.

The more that I started to use twitter the more I realized I had to cut some of these folk out.

Not everyone that has something to say is saying something good.

An even smaller amount of these folk consistently say great things that will be beneficial for your life.

When we let these naysayers, discouragers, detractors, and haters into our lives they end up chipping away at our faith.

The Pharisees were trying to bait Jesus into showing “a sign from heaven” but he would not do it. Their baiting seems to say “You can’t do it; you must not be who you say you are”.

I’m sure that his disciples wanted Jesus to do it; and when he didn’t, they may have felt a twinge of doubt.

“Can He do a miracle on command? Maybe those pitchers already had wine in them?”

Doubt is like yeast to our faith. Once it takes hold it will multiply and bubble up and flourish to the point where our once strong faith has been mutated into fear.

It is important then to make sure that the people we are close to, the sources of information we most cherish, and the environments that we put ourselves in nourish the faith that we need to live our lives to the fullest.

Misery loves company. Nothing good comes of kickin’ it with that clown.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 12-13; Matthew 16

The Viral Plague

Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. Now forgive my sin once more and pray to the LORD your God to take this deadly plague away from me."

Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go. – Exodus 10: 16-20

The past two day’s readings in Exodus have been the story of Moses getting the people of Israel out of Egypt. After reading about the crazy plagues my first thought was this.

Those Egyptians were GANGSTA.

Pharaoh’s magicians matched the first three plagues tit for tat.

Drop your staff and have it turn into a snake. Easy.

Turn the Nile and other water into blood. That’s cool.

Make frogs rise up out of the Nile and go everywhere throughout the country… Yeah we got that handled too.

(God did earn style points for having Aaron’s staff gobble up the magicians’ staffs though.)

After these three, God upped the anti something vicious. Killer hail, boils, gnats, flies, locusts, darkness for three days. But still Pharaoh wouldn’t give up.

I had to admire his hustle.

Have you ever had a foe with this much determination?

I recently did: a computer virus.

Ok fine, it didn’t turn my shower water into blood or make bugs start popping up under my sheets but geez it nearly finished my computer, not to mention my ability to blog this weekend.

The sneak attack commenced Friday at around noon just before my physical therapy appointment and lasted through this morning. I had no idea what to do about it. So at the risk of further infection I went to Google and found a site called Geeks to Go.

The expert assigned to my case knew exactly what to do. It did take a couple of days but with his help my computer’s health was restored and I am able to get back to the creation of this illustrious blog.

Perhaps I’m being a bit silly here, but I think I felt a small bit of what Moses and Aaron felt in front of Pharaoh. That virus had a clutch on my computer like Pharaoh had on the people of Israel. And like Pharaoh, that virus’s heart was hardened beyond belief.

Given my relative position of defeat, I thought about surrendering… I pulled out my old Windows XP disk and tried to delete everything and reinstall a fresh copy.

I couldn’t even do that! Ultra wack.

It sucks to be faced with an adversary that has rendered you powerless. I was forced to seek outside help.

Sometimes we are in situations that are way too big for us to handle on our own. In these situations we have to be humble enough to know that we can’t handle it and ask for help. Help may come in the form of a fantastic miracle. But other times God works the miracles that we need through the people we have around us.

Whether it is Geeks to Go blessed with the technological prowess to kill a computer virus, or medical professional blessed with the know how to kill a physical virus within our bodies, we cannot forget to stay connected and stay humble.

After all, that’s what friends and family and our community are for. We are stronger together than we are on our own.

And when others call on us, we have the opportunity to be that same blessing in someone else’s life.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 9-11: Matthew 15:21-39

Pass the Bacon!

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'…

Peter said, "Explain the parable to us."

"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' - Matthew 15: 10-11, 15-18

I love me some swine. It tastes rather good in many forms: ham, sausage, pork cops, neckbones (thank you Mom!). But I have a special place in my heart for bacon.

Mmmhhmmmm bacon…

One of the many mysteries of this world for me is why bacon tastes so good and how it is that anyone could honestly not like the taste of it.

Sure there are a lot of folk who swear off the swine for various reasons but do they really not like the taste? Unfortunately, I wouldn’t believe them if they said so.

I guess some questions need no answers.

But on the real… I’m cool with someone not liking the swine; more swine for me. But please don’t look at me like I’m a heathen because I dabble in the bacon from time to time. What does my love for bacon say about who I really am?

Nothing at all.

What Jesus is saying in this passage is rather interesting; and to be honest, quite challenging. He’s saying that what comes out of us as words and actions is what really matters, because it is what we say and do that reflects the condition of our hearts.

This is in line with one of the major themes of his message that we have been discussing. He changed the game from spirituality being a game of rules and traditions to being a deep and personal connection with God at the heart. It is this starting from within, this working at our hearts at the core that makes his message so revolutionary to me.

For some people it isn’t so hard to have an outer shell that seems extra holy and righteous. But it is only when our hearts and minds become refined to reflect the best parts of us that we can walk the good path in a way that is true and authentic.

Otherwise, our “good” acts are just for show.

When we spend more time focusing on the exterior than the interior, eventually what is on the inside bubbles up and erupts to the surface. Don’t believe me? Just ask the plethora of major public figures who have been exposed lately.

The sad thing about many of these folk is that it must be terrifying to live with this conflict between a pristine outer shell and the true being on the inside.

No one is perfect. We all have struggles and weaknesses that cause us to stumble.

God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, so there’s no need to pretend. We just have to be honest about who we really are and where we are along this journey of life. When we are honest with ourselves we open the door for God to introduce us to our best self.

No matter how far away this best self may seem, He will help us get there.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 7-8; Matthew 15: 1-20

Walking on Water

"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

"Come," he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!” - Matthew 14: 28-30

Most people who were born and raised in America have heard some variation of the story of Jesus walking on the water. It’s a pretty amazing story, and one of his most famous miracles.

But the Jesus part of the story isn’t the most interesting to me.

The part that grabs me is Peter.

Peter walked on the water too! He wasn’t the Son of God. He wasn’t the messiah. He was a regular person just like us. The thing that made him uniquely able to do what he did was that he was acting on faith.

Jesus asks him to come down out of the boat and walk to him. And he does it. But after feeling the whipping wind he got scared and began to sink.

I don’t know about you… but the last time I tried to walk on water I didn’t “begin” to sink. I was immediately more wet than I little bit.

But not Peter. He began to sink.

This says some interesting things to me about the nature of faith.

First, there is an inverse relationship between faith and fear. The more afraid we are to do something, the less faith we have. And if we don’t have enough faith to fuel our actions over time then it becomes harder and harder to achieve our goals.

Secondly, faith doesn’t work in absolutes. When we become afraid we don’t immediately fail, we only start to sink. Sometimes if we live in fear for a long time we may even feel like we are drowning. But we don’t have to be perfect here. There are times along the path of purpose where we will become afraid or may hesitate. This may serve to delay our purpose (gotta rise to where you once were before you can move beyond) but they don’t derail them.

The only way that we become derailed is if we let fear win by deciding to give up on ourselves.

The third thing that I get from this is that in those moments of fear, where we feel like all hope is lost and that in any moment we will be drowned by the circumstances of our lives, we can do what Peter did. We can cry out to God, and God will reach down and give us that extra helping hand that we need.

Faith in this sense is staying focused on God and our purpose rather than allowing ourselves to be distracted by the winds of fear and circumstance.

This is one of those concepts that may be tough for someone who is not so sure about this whole God thing. But when you hear people who are very vocal about how God helped them overcome terrible things in life like addiction, illness, and the like or reach a seemingly impossible goal… this is probably where they are coming from.

They are saying that they have lived this first hand. They experienced that special helping hand at the times in their lives where they felt that all was lost.

That’s a pretty amazing concept.

Today’s Reading: Exodus 4-6; Matthew 14-22-36

Who's the Boss?

Well according to this scripture it’s definitely not Tony Danza.

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"

God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " – Exodus 3: 13-14

How dope an introduction is that? Here’s my 2010 New International Clarence Version.

Moses: Ay what’s your name?

God: I am.

Moses: You are what?

God: I am.

Moses: Okaaaaay….

I read that and couldn’t help but laugh in admiration of God’s gangsta. But then I thought about it for a minute and was like wow, that’s profound.

When we think about the word “am”, it signifies being and existing. So the way I read it God is really saying that he is the source of being, the source of existence.

This a priori nature of God is a powerful concept for me. In a strange way it provides me with comfort. I feel like man, if the thing that created existence itself is on my team, I can’t help but win.

The only way I can lose is when I try to do things on my own.

I have started to realize that when I am in one of those down moments or down times or when everything seems to be going wrong it tends to be the case that I have also in some way walked away from God.

In a previous post I attached a link to the classic poem “Footprints”. In it the writer describes having a dream where she is walking with God on a beach and moments in her life flash in the sky. She notices that in the toughest moments there was only one set of footprints instead of two.

This upset her and she asked God why… and God said that it was at these moments that He carried her...

I've been there.

Sometimes I struggle with this idea of God being this all powerful, all knowing, all being entity; especially when things happen that I perceive as bad or hurtful to myself and others.

But when I remember God’s position, “I am”, in relation to my position, an itty bitty speck of existence in the history of the universe, it becomes easier to stay in my lane, and focus on my purpose.

As I keep on saying… we just gotta do the best that we can with what we have been given. Let God handle the rest.

The other stuff is above my pay grade.

Today's Reading: Exodus 1-3; Matthew 14: 1-21

My Future Kin

I was chatting online with an old friend of mine today. We were catching up on what is going on in each our lives. He told me about his life, work, goals he has for himself and how happy he is with his girlfriend.

I love hearing about folk who are in fulfilling relationships.

So as he was telling me about how he feels he said something that was like wow…

“I can’t wait to have kids.”

Huh?

I sure can.

After recovering from the shock of how easily he rattled that off, and feeling old in the process, I was like really? Why is that?

He mentioned some really cool reasons, especially how certain myths that he had about parenthood were dispelled for him. But the thing that snagged my attention the most was this:

Having a child is like throwing your chips in. I’m not sure if that’s the right expression but it’s like you have a stake in the world, and you have an opportunity to really make it a better place by raising good kids (paraphrase).

And you know what… he’s right.

At times I have looked at the state of affairs in the world and thought… geez… do I want to bring a child into this?

But if you have a child, how much more invested are you in making the world a better place. It’s not just for you, but also for the ones you love most; the ones who will be here to carry on the good work when you’re gone.

Clearly this isn’t a reason to have a child, but it spoke to my heart.

At the end of Genesis Jacob/Israel gives the final blessings for his sons. He tells each one what will come of them and their descendents. It’s not good news for all of them… but I can’t imagine how proud he must have been to die an old man surrounded by so much family and love.

In them he saw the seeds of God fulfilling His promise.

I’ve recently started to feel that desire to have kids and this reading and conversation with my friend brought it back to the front of my mind.

All things in due time though… My season will come.

Today’s Reading: Genesis 49-50; Matthew 13: 31-58

Haiti Receives Audio Bibles as Aid

So…

There is this article on Reuters.com about a faith based organization called Faith Comes by Hearing that is sending solar powered audio Bibles to Haiti. This device called the “Proclaimer” is basically a small boom box that has enough volume to broadcast the audio to up to 300 listeners close by.

The boom box “was developed primarily as a playback device for poor and illiterate people who may not have any other source to hear God's Word.”

Hmmm…

My friend Shereen Meraji of All Tech Considered put me onto this article. We both had a bit of an unsettled feeling about it.

When I spent time in Brazil some years ago I heard horrible stories of Christian missionaries who ransacked and destroyed non-Christian places of worship. I am also reminded of the strange history of how Christianity has spread across the globe. In some ways it has been very painful and tragic, and in other ways it has been life affirming and healing.

The poor and illiterate comment also struck a cord with me. As I read this my immediate take was that it was condescending at best…

But then I took a step back and tried to see it from another perspective.

Does this organization have a valid purpose here?

We all know by now that Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. That is not a mystery.

But I wanted to see what the literacy rates are. Per UNICEF the adult literacy rate is only 62%...
That’s brutal.

This device made sense from a practical standpoint even before the earthquake.

Then I thought about all of the starving and homeless people there now. Wouldn’t it be better to send food, water or money to help provide temporary shelter? Why the audio Bibles? Is this an opportunistic move in a desperate time?

As I was discussing these things with Shereen and others the first thought that came to mind was “what good is food and shelter if you have lost all faith, hope, and will to carry on?”

Another valid point.

And now I get what this group is doing. While others have the means to provide food, water and shelter; this group has the means to send what they believe to be spiritual food and comfort in the form of a Bible that can be experienced by anyone within ear shot for free.

So yes, we may or may not have our own personal baggage when we think of missionary work; but, if we allow ourselves to take a step back and look at this from another angle, this act seems like a wonderful and heartfelt expression of love from a community of people that believe the Bible can work miracles.

Even restore the hopes of a shattered nation.

I know that the Bible has helped me through my tough times. Perhaps it will do the same for some of our brothers and sisters in Haiti within earshot of its words.

What do you think?

And yes... the Bible are going along with food and medical aid...

Check out Shereen’s interview with John Wilke of Faith Comes by Hearing.

Weeds

Today’s Reading: Genesis 46-48; Matthew 13: 1-30

When I was around twelve or thirteen years old my Dad decided that it was time for me to learn how to be a man. All of the manual labor that needed to be done around the house was done by the two of us.

Literally this meant that he showed me how he wanted it done and I did it.

Wack.

On one such occasion I was given the task of weeding the back yard.

This may already sound bad, but no… you have no idea… The backyard was not a yard… it was all weeds.

No grass... all weeds.

“Are you serious?” I thought to myself.

“Yes I am” said the look in his eye.

Sigh…

So we go outside and he shows me how to weed. I am not supposed to just pull at the stem of the weed and rip it out of the ground. No. I am to make sure that I get all of the roots in the process.

“If you leave any of the roots then the weed will grow back” he told me.

I devoted hours of back breaking work to this task and after what must have been weeks of work the job was done.

It was punishing.

When I was reading the Parable of the Weeds today it made me think of that time and how hard it was to properly rid our yard of those weeds.

Our lives are the same way.

There are certain things that we pick up in the course of living our lives that make it hard for us to cultivate the good fruits we are trying to grow.

One of those for me has always been TV. I can waste hours and hours of otherwise productive time watching TV. I will watch the same bad romantic comedies over and over again, or consecutive showings of SportsCenter or reruns of Seinfeld for the tenth time.

What I have come to realize is that every moment spent wasting this time was time that I could have spent pursuing my purpose. The TV weeds were taking 

all of the time and energy that should be used to water and nurture the seeds of faith and hard work necessary for me to be who I am supposed to become.

So finally after many moons of deliberation, my roommate and I just decided to get rid of cable.

Yes we will save money. That is an obvious benefit. But the most exciting thing about unplugging from cable, pulling out that weed, is that the fields of my mind will have so much more creativity and energy to nourish the seeds of my purpose.

I just hope that I have pulled this one out at the root… the networks do have their shows on the internet these days…

Gotta stay strong… We shall see.

Paying Dues

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. – Genesis 45: 4-7

Today’s Reading: Genesis 43-45; Matthew 12:24-50

The story of Joseph is one of purpose and paying dues. He starts off at the age of seventeen as a spoiled little rich kid with a fancy robe. He then becomes a slave. As a slave he transforms himself into the head of the household of Potiphar, an important man in Egyptian government. He is second in command of the household behind only Potiphar.

Then suddenly he is low again, this time as a prisoner for a crime that he did not commit. During his years in jail he transforms himself from prisoner to the head of all of the affairs in the prison. At this stage he is only second in command to the warden of the prison.

Then finally Pharaoh has a dream, the cupbearer remembers him, and he is presented to Pharaoh to interpret the dream. After interpreting the dream and suggesting a course of action Pharaoh makes him second in command over the entire country and gives him the task of executing that course of action. He is responsible for getting Egypt and its people through the seven years of famine.

Then finally, two years into the famine, Joseph is thirty-nine years old. He sees his brothers before him, bowing to him, humbly asking for the right to purchase grain. The dream that he saw as an insufferable seventeen year old kid has come true, but not nearly how that kid probably imagined it. The result of his suffering is that his family will survive the famine, so that the promise that God made to great grandfather Abraham would come to pass.

That’s heavy.

There are a couple of interesting things here in this story.

First of all… Joseph paid some serious dues. From the age of seventeen to thirty Joseph racked up constant experience in the business of governing and politics. He successfully navigated is ascension in Potiphar’s house. Then when Potiphar’s wife unexpectedly hollered at Jo he successfully rose to the top of the world he occupied as a convict. He was essentially running the whole place.

Here is this theme again of God turning lemons into lemonade. Slavery and jail… both are quite tart and sour.

The second thing is purpose. All of this experience paid off when the Pharaoh had his dreams. Joseph was prepared to lead when no one else could lead. He had the leadership skills to provide for nutritional security of an empire. And with Egypt healthy, Joseph’s father, brothers, and family were secure.

Maybe right now as you are reading this you are in a dead end job or unemployed or have lost a loved one or in some other life situation that is troubling. Maybe you don’t see a purpose in what is going on in your life.

I don’t claim to know what the purpose of those things are any more than I would claim to know if there was a purpose at all in Potiphar’s wife getting Joseph thrown in jail. I’m sure that had Joseph not been in that predicament God would have found another way for his gift of understanding dreams to get to the ears of the Pharaoh.

And that’s just it. When things happen that seem to be bad, they may in fact be the path to the next blessing for our lives. We just have to do what Joseph did. We need to do the best with what we have every single day and keep reaching, striving and growing.

Then, let God work those fancy miracles that He’s been working since the beginning. We just have to believe that God will in fact turn those lemons to lemonade and use that faith to fuel our work for those times where we can’t see the finish line.

Just because we can’t see the next blessing, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. It may be just around the corner.

The Golden Globes

Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
"I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." - Genesis 41: 15-16




Today’s Reading: Genesis 41-42; Matthew 12: 1-23

This has been a movie weekend for me. I did end up seeing Book of Eli. I thought it was really dope and will definitely see it again. I also saw The Hurt Locker and Jennifer’s Body courtesy of my roommate’s netflix. The former deserves all of the accolades it has received. It is an incredible film. The later is one of the worst wastes of two hours of my life that I have ever spent.

After watching the movies we watched some of the Golden Globes and then I started my reading and came across the scripture above.

Have you ever seen an awards show and been confused when an actor or athlete talked about how all of the credit goes to God for them getting the award or winning that championship?

I know that I have been. I used to think it was so dumb. I didn’t get it at all. Here are some logical questions in response:

So what about the losers, God wasn’t with them?

What makes you so special?

Does God really care about your little game or movie?

Through the course of this year the Bible will actually touch on all three of those questions but none of them really apply here. And even so, they wouldn’t get to the bottom of what is meant when someone thanks God in this scenario.

Above, Joseph is asked by Pharaoh to decipher two dreams. This scripture is important as an example of how many Christians view their relationship with God.

Usually when we see a person achieve an award or doing some fabulous or remarkable thing that makes the world take notice we heap all kinds of praise upon them. What we don’t see is the years and years of days filled with hours of hard work dedicated to their craft. We don’t see the miraculous “breaks” that happened where these people met the right person or were some how present at the right place at the right time. We don’t see all of the hardships that they had to overcome. We don’t see how insurmountable the obstacles were or how perilous the journey was.

All we see is them at that podium, on top of the world, talking about some God.

But that person standing on that podium did see all of those things. They walked the path and every day dedicated themselves to fighting the good fight that led them to where they are.

For those people who stand up on the podium and thank God, it has nothing to do with the other contestants. They are thanking God for being the only other being there with them each and every step of the way. They are thanking God for giving them the energy to go on when they were weak, the extra measure of faith when they wanted to quit, for opening doors where there only seemed to be walls, for arranging those chance meetings, and for helping them to stay strong, and do the work that was necessary for them to be prepared to take advantage of those big breaks when they came.

Some may call these people lucky. They just so happened to have things fall into place randomly when others didn’t.

But for the person who stands at the podium with the award and thanks God, their faith allows them to see God’s hand in these chance events. They see their lives as the result of some hard work fueled by God mixed in with a series of miracles magically conducted by God.

For them, it is all about God. God gets all of the glory.

So next time you see someone thank God for an award or for getting them where they have come in life think twice before dismissing this notion. After all, they are the ones standing on that podium.

Perhaps there is something to what they are saying…

Here is some bonus reading on this topic.

Retreat!

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he refused… And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house. Genesis 39:6-12




Today's Reading: Genesis 39-40; Matthew 11




The homies and I went to Hollywood Saturday night for a friend’s event but we showed up way too late with way too many dudes. After a more than gracious attempt by her and the host of the event we still couldn’t get everyone in so we left and started walking around.


Suddenly we found ourselves face to face with a Popeye’s chicken.


Mmmhhmmm…


At the beginning of the month my friends and I decided to engage in a 90 day fitness challenge. We set goals for ourselves and shared them with each other as a way to stay motivated to take our fitness to the next level. However, a couple of my friends were all about getting that chicken so we walked inside.


The door opened and we were flooded with a wave of sweet, delicious aroma; the likes of which could only have its origins in a delicate mixture of hot oil, questionably fresh chicken, and secret Louisiana spices. I was weak at first but somehow held strong; sitting in a booth fifteen yards away from the cash registers with my back to the object of my temptation.


After a few minutes I turned to look at the battlefield. I saw three casualties at the register with their wallets out and big smiles on their faces.


Then I saw Kieran. He was several steps back from the carnage, held up in the trenches but looking over the edge with a contemplative glaze over his eyes. He was within range of the enemy gunfire. I had to act.


I got up, risking defeat by the tasty wings and thighs, and reached out with all my will power and grabbed him by the shoulder.


“You don’t want any of that man” I said.


“You’re right.”


We both walked away from the battle, wounded, but still in tact. It was a tough ordeal.


Joseph’s situation was just a tad tougher to deal with… but it is interesting because it is so incredibly real and relevant to today’s world.


Joseph has now been sold into slavery and grown into a smart, responsible “well-built and handsome” young man. Most women like those traits in a man and so does Potiphar’s wife.


Some time ago my Stepdad told me that the worst thing that could happen to a woman at work is for her boss to develop a crush on her. She has two choices: date him or quit.


Neither of those choice are a good look.


Joseph’s situation is much worse. Given that this woman is married to his OWNER, Joseph doesn’t have many options here. He can either run, or run.


That’s about it.


He starts off by making sure that he is never “with her”. I take that to mean that he was dodging her around the house; making sure to never be alone with her.


Smart man.


Then she corners him and grabs his cloak! And he leaves it with her!


That’s hilarious. Think about the imagery here. She grabs his robe and he straight slips out of it. I imagine a cartoon puff of smoke in his wake like the old roadrunner and coyote cartoons. What did he have on underneath? A loin cloth? Was he going commando?


Yikes.


He did what he had to do; not only to get away, but to avoid violating the spiritual and moral code he set for his life.

The moral here… sometimes you gotta run.

When you have a bad habit or a bad situation that you are dealing with the best first option is to make sure that you don’t put yourself in the same space with it. But sometimes life isn’t that easy. Sometimes your coworker hands you cigarette, or your friend buys you a drink, or that bad situation all of the sudden seems to have you backed into a corner. When you sense that temptation is about to get the best of you it is better to walk or even run away than to break down and compromise the righteous path.

Yes, we all make mistakes and can be forgiven for them. But, life is much easier if we do all that we can to avoid them. This may sound silly now, but I hope that when your “Potiphar’s wife” comes and grabs your cloak; you have the wherewithal to kick up some dust and sprint your way out of trouble.

Easier said than done