Tension

So many Christians seem obsessed with clearly defining and categorizing every aspect of God as if God were something small enough to fit into our own limited human capacity for understanding. Because of this obsession for explainable categories, we love to divide and define ourselves (Calvinist vs. Arminian, etc.). For me, I don't have a problem living in the tension between seemingly incompatible concepts, because I know that God is much bigger than my need for absolute clarity. Here are just a few of the most obvious "contradictions" in scripture that God doesn't seem to see as contradictions at all...

God is Three distinct beings (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and yet God is unmistakingly and inseparably One.

God is completley Sovereign over all things and yet man is completely responsible for his own actions and the consequences that our free will brings.

The Bible was written entirely by God and the Bible was written entirely by men.

God's gifts of Grace and Salvation are completely free, and yet they may cost you everything that you have.

I'm not trying to oversimplify these huge concepts; I'm simply want to encourage all of us to avoid wasting up all of our energy in the quest to completely understand things that we're incapable of fully comprehending until we get to the other side of eternity. Don't be afraid to live in the Tension. Life's too short to live anyplace else.

Man Boobs

This past Sunday at church, I gave a message about making peace with our past and it was very well received, but not exactly in the way that I had intended. I had planned for the message to be a catalyst to set people free from the sin and shame of their past and to find freedom in Christ, and while there was some of that, the one part of the message that connected with the most people and brought the biggest response is when I spoke openly about "Man Boobs". Apparently, many men in our church finally felt free to flaunt their furry breasts. It just goes to show that you never know what's going to stick with folks.

A Message from God

Today at church I spent a great deal of time talking with a remarkable man named Ron. He has travelled the world and accomplished much over the past six decades, and yet he maintains a quiet humility and a passion for helping others become all God created them to be. At the end of our conversation, he felt strongly that God had given him a short message to pass along to me. He said, “I don’t know what this means, but I feel strongly that God wants me to tell you to sharpen your drafting pencil. I’ll say that one more time, because I believe it’s very important...sharpen your drafting pencil.”

Now, this sort of thing never happens to me. God doesn’t give me specific messages to give to other people and He rarely delivers specific messages to me through other people, but this short, cryptic command was exactly what I needed to hear and I was left dumbfounded. What Ron didn’t know (he couldn’t have known) is that I’ve been fighting off promptings from my wife (and probably from God too) to begin a draft of a book that’s been on my mind for quite awhile. I’ve just lacked the words (and the motivation) to dive into the project. I believe today God used a great man of faith to erase my excuses and push me to take action and begin writing. I’m posting this publicly (in part) to keep me accountable to follow through on what God is prompting me to do. When you see me, feel free to ask me about my progress. I need all the help I can get to stay on track!