A little poem/prayer for ya… enjoy!

“I See You”

I feel you in the breeze as it glides across my face.
I see you in the morning sun, rising into place.
I know that you are there in everything I see,
I come before you humbled, bowing on my knee.

Your love is so astounding,
Your mysteries amaze,
Your grace, it comforts me,
Each and ever day.

I am just a man,
Who hopes to do your will,
I seek your direction,
For my unique role to fill.

Sometimes I get confused,
And can even go astray,
But you are there every time,
Helping me find my way.

You are the God of wonder,
And even though I can’t see your face,
I see you all around me,
From the oceans to outer space.

I’m thankful you’re my God,
And I just pray,
That I never lose sight,
Of the blessings you bring each day.

Something is really wrong. [see video below]

How is it that a man can be hit by a car on a busy street, the car speed off and several bystanders do nothing to help the injured man?

For almost 2 minutes the man laid helpless in the street while other drivers just drove by… while people on the curb just stood and looked but did nothing. For almost 2 entire minutes several people just stood there and looked. Are you freakin kidding me? This guy was someone’s dad. He was someone’s friend, someone’s neighbor.

I guess the whole “love your neighbor as yourself” only applies in certain situations.

How does this happen? How is it that the people in this video became so apathetic?

I know it’s an isolated incident but it enrages me to no end. This shouldn’t happen.

We can’t let this happen. We can’t become those who do nothing.

James 4:17
“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”

Speak Your Mind

I recently finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Two words… great book! I couldn’t put it down. Found myself challenged, pondering, questioning, looking at some of the points he made through the lens of my life and perspective… I’d recommend it highly.

Below are a few random thoughts, of the many, that I picked up throughout the book. It wasn’t just what Francis said but also the way he framed his thoughts. There were also many scriptures he used that spoke to me in new / renewed ways.

I’ll note my own thoughts below in italics. To kick it off though, Francis shared a quote from Tim Kizziar that sums up a lot for me…

“Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that really don’t matter…”
-Tim Kizziar

1 John 2:6
“Whomever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”
… this is what it looks like to live like Jesus.

2 Corinthians 8:13-15
“Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
…equality amongst believers. It’s a concept we seem to need more of these days. It’s not about what I can do you for you or what you can do for me but what we can do when we truly care enough to do for each other.

John 3:16
“…for God so loved the world, He gave…”
…true love is giving.

Acts 2:37
“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
….when they heard they were convicted. We should be convicted asking God “What should we do?” versus asking Him what he can do for us.

John 16:7-8
“But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:”
…Jesus had to go.

James 1:22
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
….do what it says.

“Stop holding on to the abundance God has given us, merely repeating ‘Thank You.’”
…we seem to want to ask for God’s abundance and grace but hold onto it for ourselves versus sharing it openly and totally with others.

“God’s a CREATOR, not a DUPLICATOR”
…God makes unique for a role in His kingdom.

“Having faith often means doing what others see as crazy.”
… because faith is relying on God and not ourselves.

“Something is wrong when our lives make too much sense”
…it means we’re playing it safe.

“We like finding refuge in what we already have rather than in what we Hope God will provide.”
…ouch.

“The average Christian in the USA spends 10 minutes a day with God but over 4 hours watching TV.”
…even if this stat is not 100% true, it’s a sad reality of priorities.

“QUESTION: Is this what I want to be doing when Christ comes back?”
…a great lens run choices through.

“Most of us want a balanced life, one we can control, that is safe and doesn’t involve suffering.”
…following Jesus is not the easy road.

“Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sins, they want to be saved from the penalty of their sins.”

“Lukewarm people call ‘radicals’ what Jesus expected of His followers.”

APATHETIC
Main Entry:
ap•a•thet•ic | Pronunciation: \ˌa-pə-ˈthe-tik\
Function: adjective
1 : having or showing little or no feeling or emotion : spiritless
2 : having little or no interest or concern : indifferent

I hope I never become APATHETIC in my faith.

Yesterday I hosted a teleseminar with Eric Bryant. Eric is one of the Navigators at Mosaic in LA with Erwin McManus. He’s also the author of Peppermint-Filled Piñatas: breaking through tolerance and embracing love.

On the call Eric shared a number of lessons he’s learned as a leader at Mosaic as well as thoughts on what the church of the future looks like, etc. The overall them of the call ended up being… reaching others and leading leaders.

You can listen to a recording here online or download the MP3.

I’ve posted on Rob Bell several times on this blog. I find him to be a gifted communicator and storyteller. I think what impacts me the most is his ability to tell a story and set it into a context that is informative, entertaining and very often convicting - all at the same time. Every time I listen to a sermon from Mars Hill I find myself either wanting to change something about myself of wanting to do something more for someone else. The two kind of go hand-in-hand I guess.

I just saw that Rob has his next book coming out through Zondervan in October 2008. It’s called Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile.

Looking forward to reading it.

You can listen to an audio podcast of Rob talking about the book here.

I love the synopsis Zondervan has for the book on their site… it’s a stinging glimpse at a reality I too am struggling with and looking at through the lens of my own life.

There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building.

Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty.

This is a book about those two numbers.

It’s a book about faith and fear, wealth and war, poverty, power, safety, terror, Bibles, bombs, and homeland insecurity. It’s about empty empires and the truth that everybody’s a priest, it’s about oppression, occupation, and what happens when Christians support, animate and participate in the very things Jesus came to set people free from.

It’s about what it means to be a part of the church of Jesus in a world where some people fly planes into buildings while others pick up groceries in Hummers.

Os Hillman had a great article in his TGIF (Today God is First) email this morning. See an excerpt below:

Today we find many Christian workplace believers living a status quo relationship with God that is more characterized as “business as usual” than a life demonstrating God’s power. Our focus is often more concerned with improving our standard of living than improving the Kingdom of God through our circle of influence. While this takes place, millions upon millions die without the saving grace of Christ. Many other Christians die never experiencing the freedom in Christ that His blood paid for. God has called each of us to live for a cause greater than ourselves - a life that is dependent on His grace and power to achieve things we never thought possible through our lives. This is His plan for your life. The apostle Paul prayed that He might experience the power of the resurrection in his life. This power is available to you and me to live for a cause greater than ourselves. Ask God what He wants to achieve through your life today. And consider yourself dead already to the consequences of what that might mean for you.

Read more from Os at http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/

I just sent a new newsletter from GiftofKindness.com (one of my many sites). Thought I’d share it here as well. Here’s the page link: http://www.giftofkindness.com/newsletter-013108.html
Below is the copied article:

Kindness Quote of the Week:
“Don’t let the world change you. Change the world.” - GiftofKindness.com
———————————————————————-

Article: Kindness - The Golden Rule

This week has had me thinking of the “Golden Rule,” to treat others as you would like to be treated. This thought really is the foundation that kindness is built upon. Kindness is putting the Golden Rule into practice in our daily lives through our thoughts, our words and our actions.

It is a way of life that we all agree we should aspire to live… but if we’re really honest, it can sometimes be tough and easy to forget as we go about our busy lives. I doubt many of us overlook it intentionally but it happens. We get busy, we are in a hurry and if we are not careful we can completely overlook an opportunity to put our kindness into action. There’s actually a great story that comes to mind that really examples what I’ve been thinking. You can read it here.

You see, in the story a man is robbed on a roadside, beaten up and left half-dead.Two men, who knew the Golden Rule and who supposedly professed to live by it, came upon the beaten man but avoided him. They even kinda looked around to make sure no one else was watching and conveniently bypassed the hurt man altogether.

Has that ever happened to you? You saw something you knew you should help with but because you were in a hurry, or didn’t want to get involved… you overlooked or bypassed it altogether, almost pretending you didn’t see a thing?

So these guys are coming down the road and the see the man who is beaten and robbed and they avoid him, leaving him laying there to suffer and quite possibly die.

A third man, who for example sake, was the last person in the world you’d expect to help someone in need… well, he came upon the beaten man and felt compassion in his heart for him. He stopped and took care of him. He cleaned his wounds, bandaged him and even took him to a nearby motel where he went the extra mile and purchased a room for the hurt man to rest and recover in.

The first two men knew better. They knew they should have stopped and helped but they didn’t. I’m not sure why but perhaps they were in a hurry to get to their next meeting. Maybe they felt incapable of being able to help. Rather than at least try…. they opted to just leave him, thinking surely the next person to pass by would help.

But what if no one else passed by? Worse yet… what if someone did come along but acted just like these first two men and kept on going?

The third man, he was different. He practiced the Golden Rule by treating the beaten man with kindness. He saw this hurt man’s needs and put them ahead of his own. He stopped. He helped. He probably got his shirt dirty. He went that extra mile to think of himself in this mans position and decided in an instant to come to his aid.

When the teller of this story asked those listening which of the three men acted correctly, someone said, “The one who had mercy on him” - referring to the one who had practiced kindness to the hurt man… the story teller then replied, “Now go and do the same.”

The moral of the story is this… if you say your’re going to live by the Golden Rule then your actions must match the words you profess. Don’t look the other way thinking someone else is going to come along behind you, instead YOU be that someone else.

Tony Morgan had a great post on his blog recently that I just can’t get out of my head. I think it’s an imperative thought to keep in mind for anyone who communicates a message to someone else (that being all of us)! Enjoy…

Your Message:

I want to hear your heart and not your brain.

If you listen to me, I may listen to you.

At best, I’ll remember one thing you say.

Your message is only one of thousands I’ve already heard today.

When you admit you’ve messed up, it reminds me that you’re real.

I’m not convinced it’s truth.

I’m moved by stories.

When you make me laugh, I engage.

I hear it, but sometimes I need to see it or feel it or experience it.

I’m watching to see if you keep your promise.

I think it’s funny that you still think you control your message.

Polished scares me.

In order to speak to me, you can’t speak to everyone.

I’m not impressed by big words.

If it’s not about me, I’m not listening.

Your message has more impact when you shorten it.

It’s OK if you don’t have an answer for everything.

What are your questions?

Your message has impact if someone disagrees.

You’d be wise to participate in our online conversation.

I know it seems awkward, but it helps me when you repeat the important stuff.

Your message is not for you.

I don’t have to listen to you.

I guess this video was from back in December 2007 but I just now ran across it… interview with Rob Bell on CNN about his “Sex God” tour. He’s such a gifted storyteller. I love the way he engages the message and puts it into a context that causes people to really chew on it and think about it.

Here’s the link to watch the interview from CNN’s website (you’ll have to wait 15 seconds to get past the advertisement before the actual interview clip starts): WATCH HERE

Some other post I’ve made about Rob Bell and meeting him at a NOOMA taping here in Jacksonville, Florida last year:

“Everything is Spiritual” Video Clip
Interview where Rob talks about being in a band.
Meeting Rob at NOOMA taping (with link to behind the scenes photos)

Many times, as a parent, I wonder if I am getting through to my kids. You know what I mean? My wife and I try to do the right things. We try to teach them well and live as good examples but there are a ton of outside influences that a parent is forced to compete against. Some good, many bad.

Then sometimes something happens that is just amazing. You get to see a glimpse of the person your child is becoming. You get to see their character developing and… you get to see that they are indeed “getting it.”

One such moment happened yesterday for me. Last month my 7 year old’s class was focusing on Martin Luther King. They watched videos, made posters, and learned about his life and contribution to our world.

Well, yesterday my daughter brought home this poster that she made at school. What she wrote is in parentheses below (misspellings and all):

I HAVE A DREAM. MY DREAM IS:
“That everyone would be kind and love God then I beleave the world would be a better place.”

I CAN HELP MY DREAM COME TRUE BY:
“Doing what I can. I have a dream.”

She makes me proud.

We’re trying to raise our kids up to love others and honor God in all things they do. We don’t want them to be sheltered. We want them to understand the needs of others and make a difference in others lives. As Kayla said above, it all starts with “Doing what I can.”

View a full size screen image of her poster here.
Watch a cool Martin Luther King tribute video here.