Fisherman, Fisher of Men.

I write this one for those who never read the bible and for those who love this part as much as I do.

Many people think Jesus was a good teacher and not much more. His message was peace and love, "do unto others", and "love your enemies, love your neighbors". He was all of that, but he was much more.

Jesus' real message focused so much more on showing God's glory to others. Share the the power and awesomeness of God and share the good news of salvation and reconciliation to God. My personal favorite is when he calls his first apostles as read in Matthew, chapter4 v 18-20:

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

Now, if you read the Gospel of John you will see that this wasn't the first time he met these brothers. They had become familiar with one another by this point, but the comment by Jesus and the response of Peter and Andrew is remarkable, none the less. Think about it as a fisherman: your sole purpose is to catch fish. These guys didn't really use bait, but cast large nets. Bring em in, He said! Jesus made these brothers to be fishers of men! Go forth, and bring me people - all shapes and sizes, indiscriminately. Bait them with the good news and bring them to me, the Messiah, and I will keep them!

In John ch10, v7-8 Jesus says "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."

The sheep, here, are the caught fish of Matthew, chapter 4. Think of the promise and the hope in these words! How exciting is this?! Despite the pain and the heartache of this world, He is faithful to comfort you and to love you. Despite your transgressions and sins, past or future, he's faithful to forgive you and pay the punishment you have earned. Despite the Devil and his entire band of demons, the people who would turn you from him, or even the temptations of your own flesh, He is strong enough to keep you - NO ONE can snatch you from His hand!

If ever there was a lure I'm glad I bit onto, it was the one Jesus cast to me. Now, with His guidance and direction, I hope and pray I can be the bait He wants me to be. I say with great hope and joy: I want to be a fisher of men!

A Fine Line Between Worship and Idolatry

A good friend sent me a quote the other day. He is reading "Open Ice" by Jack Falla. I'll not commit the injustice of trying to repeat the quote; read the book and you'll know it when you see it. It's about Falla observing the Sistine Chapel ceiling artwork. Witnessing the painting of the creation of water made him think of ice, from which we get hockey. It really was a pretty amusing quote, and it got me to thinking...

Here's the difference, the fine line between worship and idolatry: If I think of creation and am automatically drawn to hockey because I love hockey, that is (or it risks being) idolatry. If I see hockey and it makes me think of God, that's worship.

Don't get me wrong, you can enjoy the many things in life without them being an idol. Really, this is a thought process that needs to be fleshed out a bit (to onlooking theologians, no pun intended). Many a young Christian has asked themself, however, just how much can I enjoy something before it becomes an idol? This is really the question I think I'm facing here. I think the illustration is sound, too.

God's glory can be found in just about everything.

I cut at the ice with the freshly sharpened blades of my skates, the smell of that cold winter air permeating my senses. I see the flakes of snow falling against the glow of the rink lights during an evening skate down at the park. I hear a slapshot crack and the near immediate thump of a steadfast sideboard holding back the snow and keeping in that little black disc. All this in mind, and I realize: the wood of the stick and of the boards, the frozen water beneath my skates and the crystalized water falling from the sky, the rubber puck perfectly round and within fractions of an ounce of an exacting weight, the current of electricity for the lights and the heat of the warming house - all these varying systems and substances come into a created harmony mimicing, in a small way, the created harmony from the almighty God. He gifted us this that we may have joy and say how great is our God!

Yet when I had such joys I rejoiced in the people that made it, not the God that made it possible. I put my back to Him as I laced up my skates. I said "Assuming He exists, I'll leave Him alone if He leaves me alone". Instead of bringing just punishment to a thankless, disobedient and recalcitrant boy, He showed me His glory. He said "Look at all I have created for you. See all that you have been given, that you may know the power and the majesty of your creator. This water that sustains your human flesh, that you skate on, breath in, swim through, watch falling from the sky and crashing upon your shores - see it and know I made it and I made it do that, and it is a tiny shred of my abilities."

I fall to my knees, to think how I tried putting God in a little jar on my shelf. I would beg forgiveness except to realize a great sin like mine shall not go unpunished. "The wages of Sin is death" our God declares. Death it shall be. I have purchased my death. The purchase price, I have met; the reward, however, I shall never see - for my God is "both the Just and the Justifier". I have been justified in the eyes of my Lord. I'll see Him and, though my sins be like scarlet, I shall be white as snow. It is the Lord Jesus who died. The punishment of death purchased by me was served in whole by Him who was sent of God and bore the full deity Himself. Yes, I shall one day bow joyfully in the presence of the Lord because my punishment was placed on Him who knew no sin, the lamb, Jesus Christ.

The next time I feel the wind in my face as I listen to the rhythmic shhruk-shhhruk-shhhruk of steel on ice, I'll see the white of the snow and think of God - the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer... and I will rejoice.

Of Napping and Anger Management

Some thoughts regarding napping: I'm finding that I have 2 primary options come nap time: the couch in the living room, or the bed in, well, in the bedroom. There is a third option, but that's simply falling asleep where I am, and that's not so cool. So here is what I'm learning: The basic factors in the decision are intended length of nap and peace and quiet required.

The Shock Nap

There is the occasion where I feel like my limbs are gaining weight by the second and life is slowly becoming impossible. The nice part about these moments are that I can lay down and take a nap anywhere with little regard for atmosphere. Most often, 5 to 10 minutes and I'm right as rain. I think I shall call these my shock naps. Shock nap is a good name because they recharge my battery like a lightening bolt, and because my wife expects me to be out for a half hour, and that makes it shocking for her to see me 7 minutes later wide eyed and looking like I never fell asleep.

The Day Killer Nap

Then there's the occasion where I feel like I haven't been to bed in days. I'm just plain-old tired. Times like this, I often attempt to use the couch and the wifey softly suggests I go try the bed. By then I've tried unsuccessfully to nap for 15 minutes and I'm likely growing impatient. Invariable, I take my doting wife's good advice and go to bed. Herein lies the rub: napping in the bedroom usually ends in a 90 minute nap, sometimes over 2 hours. I've tried setting an alarm and I've tried leaving the TV on. Either way, the nap stretches out, I waste a big chunk of the day and I often get the added effect of grogginess for what's left of the day. I hate to think I'm unavailable for my wife or my kids. That's why I hate day killers, and that's all I'll say about that.

A happy medium, The Nap, Nap

I try the couch, even though I know I should just go to bed. I do this because it's nearly impossible to sleep for hours there, and the kids make it easy to get up after 20 minutes or so. When I voluntarily use the bedroom, I turn on the TV because I can hear the TV program in my sleep. A cool narcolepsy trick I have is waking up at the end of a show. I might try to explain better another time, but it suffices to say that it's not always successful, it's great when it is successful, and it's definitely a narcolepsy thing. When a successful nap is had either way, usually around 20 minutes, life is good. Very good.

That pesky Anger Management thing

The part I'm still working out is when I oversleep to the tune of 2 hours in my room, or when the kids wake me prematurely on the couch. It's way too easy to get upset there. Over the years Concerta has helped me recognize a bad mood coming, and it's a good thing because it takes a concious effort to awaken upset and not let it become anger. Angry at the clock, angry at myself, angry at my wonderful wife or whoever else can be blamed for letting me sleep that long. Angry at the dog, angry at my kids or anyone who might disturb my perfect couch nap. It's about that time, or perhaps now while I think about it, that I simply raise a prayer to the Lord and ask for His peace patience and kindness. It's a good thing I have His guidance and the Holy Spirit working in my...

...'cause I can be a real bear.

Responding to "What the un-churched don't like about Christians"

"What the un-churched don't like about Christians" a blog post by Thom Rainer

If you're reading this, please hit the blog link above and read that first. It should take you 5 minutes - I don't mind waiting.

My request of you now is this: Tell me what you think. Agree or disagree? What side of the equation are you, Christian or not? Churched or unchurched?

For people new to me, let me tell you: I place myself on the inside of "churched" looking out. I've been Christian for some 6 years now and I've been an elder of my church, so I'm very much churched, but I'm still try to remain familiar with my old, unchurched self. I need to avoid being those things listed by Rainer. That blog resonated with me and I would love to start a whole conversation around it. Won't you help me?

It's the 'H' word for "Nights in Rodanthe"

I try to use it sparingly. About people or food I'll (almost) never use it. When I use it the most often is regarding washing the dishes...

The above is stated to assure you that I say this with much thought and intention: I hate the movie "Nights in Rodanthe". The movie was predictable but I don't mind a predictable movie. It was a sappy chick-flick but I don't mind that either. What I hated about this movie is the frontal assault on marriage.

Here's the plot in simplest terms: A woman has separated from her husband because he was unfaithful - he cheated on her. She has their 2 kids (10 yr old boy and early-teen girl) in their house and dad is out on his butt. Her friend owns an ocean-front inn in Rodanthe, NC. The friend is gone on vacation so our lead actress stays at the inn for a week as care-taker for sake of a single guest who insisted on staying there for a few days despite the off-season. Enter the guest, a hansome older gent with personal problems, not unrelatable to our care-taker. She's professionally hospitable for a day, inquisitive for a day, and by the end of the week :::spoiler alert::: they shack up together. This inspires a relationship that, though they never see each other again, will change both of them forever as they remain hopelessly in love with each other.

In and of itself, the movie wasn't bad. It was written decently, acted well, and kept your attention. There were a few tiny inconsistancies good enough for the amusement of nerds like me. Fair? Fair. Here's what kills this movie for me:

Before our lead actress runs off for the week, her husband returns on hands and knees. He repents of his sins and begs to come back. She actually considers it, too. Being strong and cautious, she tells him to give her this time away to think it over and he aquiesces. He takes the kids, she's off to Rodanthe. We're then assulted by her friend, the inn owner, playing the familiar role of the antagonizing girlfriend who calls him a reptile and does nothing to help the situation. The long and short of the rest of the movie is that we are taught that you can find that one perfect someone who will make everything wonderful for the rest of your life. Someone worth throwing away your marriage for. There is no excuse for this.

Here's the rub: I am that guy for my wife. She was in a bad marriage. When it was over, we got together and, before long, we got married. To borrow a line from the movie, my wife will tell you I have given her "a love that gives you the courage to be better than you are, not less than you are. One that makes you feel that anything is possible." I love to know I have done that for my wife. So how can I be mad at Richard Gere for playing the same role that I'm playing myself? That took much thought to reconcile.

This is what I've realized:
My wife's marriage was far more injurious that what was depicted on screen. Our relationship cultivated over years, not days. I've never seen the pain and suffering my wife has, so I don't feel so paralleled to their story. Instead, I fear a parallel to the story of her and her husband.

No human being is immune to adultery. I'm afraid that, should I ever go down that treacherous and wicked road, there will be no hope of recovery. That's what this movie teaches us. Don't bother taking hiim back because he was the wrong one for you and there's that perfect someone out there waiting for you. The same would be said if my wife ever cheated on me. It shouldn't be that way, though! The Lord has brought my wife and me together. His strength has kept us through very, very hard times. There IS hope for broken marriages but this movie want's no one to believe that. My biggest fear it that it's the standard message.

For anyone who might read this, I should say this aloud: I don't know the pain of adultery. I've never suffered at the hands of a cheating spouse. I don't know what the loss of trust and faith is like. I know there is a lot about that situation I know nothing about, and I make no claims to it. If you are that person, please don't interpret my commentary to say I know how you feel and I know your pain. What I DO know is that the Lord had brought couples through it before, and He will do it again. Seek Him and his strength and his guidance. There is hope for the hurting in this world. If you know the grace and the love that God has offered to us - if you've tased the mercy bought by the blood of Christ... if you truely know the forgiveness we have in the Lord, then it will only be natural to extend that mercy and forgiveness to a spouse who has returned on his knees.