The Startled Poor

How startling would it have been to be poor and hear Jesus say, "Blessed are you"? What if you were mourning? Something that brings such hardship and is seen as a curse in some (most) cultures is now being told to you is really a blessing. It is really an interesting question because I have never really read that blessing from the standpoint of the poor or the mourning, or for that matter, from the standpoint of the humble or meek. I have generally always read it from the standpoint of the comparatively rich and the non-mourning. I typically read the blessings from the standpoint of the selfish and prideful. Of course I typically read those beatitudes and blessings and speak of "God's upside down kingdom" and the direct challenge for me to realize the life changes it would mean for me. So I stay rich, selfish, and prideful because those changes seem so hard to make. But what of the poor hearing that they are blessed? What of the humble, meek, and mourning? Would it be freeing? Would it be confusing as it doesn't FEEL like a blessing? How would that have felt to be told that? I honestly cannot imagine because I am rarely ever an of those things.

Jealous

I can still remember the first time I saw a Nooma video by Rob Bell. It was in a church service, and the video was "Trees". I cannot even tell you what the video was about because all I could think was something along the lines of, "Ahhhhh crap! I could have done that!" All I could think of for the entirety of the video was that it really is a great idea, and it is TOTALLY something I could have done. I really liked seeing Bradley Hathaway do what he does as a traveling poet. I would mention him to my brother a few winters ago and my brother acted unimpressed and nearly cynical at Bradley Hathaway's art. I listened to my brother rant for a short time before I said, "Wait! Do you not like Bradley Hathaway because he's doing something you could have done, but he thought of it before you?" He thought for a second and humbly surrendered, "Yeah....I think that may be it." Unless a speaker or writer really says something to make me be impressed or think differently than I had before I heard them, I am generally dismissive of them as a speaker and author. Now granted, I HAVE heard them speak somewhere before a group I was a member of. I HAVE purchased their book that at least they wrote and published. Two things I have not pursued or gone after! But something in me is dismissive and unimpressed. This thing within is jealousy. Jealousy is basically a part of you that is convinced there can only be one of something, and you are not that one. The problem lies in that most things can have more than one of them. It is possible for there to be more than one artist within whatever artistry you pursue. But that part of you that gets FRUSTRATED when someone else accomplishes something you know you can do is jealousy. Jealousy is the belief that there is only room for one. As I reflected on that today, I get frustrated with the jealousy within me because it has debilitated me from moving toward the things I know I can do. But the other reality that struck me is that I serve a jealous God. We fight the jealousy within ourselves because WE should not be a jealous people. There is room for other artists, other friends, other... But we know, as Christians, there is no room for other gods. We serve a jealous God, and that means we serve a God who believes and authoritatively states that there is only room for one of himself. There is only room for one master (because you cannot serve more than one). There is only room for one God (we cannot simply "coexist" with our many gods...though we can coexist as people). There is room for other people and all the diversity they bring, but there is room for only one God, and our God realizes that. Our God is a jealous God. ---------------- Reading: "Disciplines for the Inner Life" by Bob Benson; "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron Listening to: "Dark Dark Woods" by Husband & Wife; "Give Yourself Away" by Robbie Seay Band

prayer 101

When you remember that nobody addressed God as Father in that time, Jesus' instruction to us to begin prayer by saying, "Our Father..." takes on a new light. We remember that there is a great connection to God that was opened at that moment to all of us. We are now able to come to God as those loves by a perfect Father, and loved perfectly as a Father loves His children. Our identity was changed at that moment when Jesus said, "you should pray like this..." We were now to know ourselves as children, and that identity was to drive our prayer. We do not pray as slaves or mindless drones who have drunk the religious kool-aid. We pray as children of a personal and loving Father. But this does imply an understanding at a core place within ourselves that begins our prayer. Prayer begins with a fundamental, core understanding that we are children under a Father-love. Our prayer begins in that personal relation, and without that relation, our prayers are words spoken blankly. Granted, that relation may be weak. It may be broken and distant, but it must be...it must be present. Without it, we do not relate; we do not pray--our prayers begin with that relational connection. Not only does it begin there; it is also the purpose behind the prayer. Prayer serves to help us know God more. To pray is to communicate, and communication leads to further knowing...further intimacy. As long as prayer begins properly (by a relational connection) it only serves to grow and develop that connection further. But it must continue forward. Jesus told his disciples (which most of us strive to be) to always pray...God answers those who keep on praying. Prayer begins with a relation, and that relation should go on and on. It should be endless and without ceasing.

you HAD logs???

Check this out! Next time you read Matthew 7:1-6 about "Judging Others" look at this. Verse 5 has been grabbing my attention the last couple days. We always read about the plank and the speck as telling us not to judge people. This is true, but I am not too sure we have read verse 5 for all it's worth. "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." This says something very influential to me. This is saying more than just "Don't judge people! Cuz you ain't perfect!" But that is what we have always read this to mean. There is more! The whole thing is Jesus' challenge to work on your own ish SO THAT you may be able to see your brother's speck, his ish, more clearly. This is not telling us to leave our brother's alone because "Hey, you ain't perfect." The direct challenge is to remove your own plank so you may see clearly to remove your brother's speck. This means I have to realize what my plank is. My plank could be a sin I am struggling with, but it may also be an issue I have; a wound, a hurt, an issue to be healed or repaired. Once I do the work of finding healing or repair for the ish in my life, I become able to see more clearly the people around me. I become capable of compassion because now I can see them more clearly. I can actually help remove their speck; walk along in their wounds, and hurt, and ish. But I can only do that if I have removed the plank that hinders my ability to truly see. Christians commonly do whatever they can to "help" others with their brother's and sister's ish, but only because if I'm helping someone else with their ish I don't have to pay any attention to my own. If I am looking at other people's issues and trying to help heal them I can do so without doing the work of finding healing and help for my own issues, wounds, hurt, and sin. We call this 'compassion' or 'benevolence' or various other Christianese terms, but if I am not or have not done the work to pursue healing and repair for my own ish, its really just what we call ENABLING......or even......wait for it..... CO-DEPENDANT. -------------- READING: "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron LISTENING TO: "Adapt" by Trace Bundy, "A Fire So Big The Heavens Can See It" by Search the City