Rob Bell: Everything Is Spiritual

I really like this little cut from a message Rob did. In it he communicates an important truth very simply. What are your thoughts on this idea?

Monday's cartoon

How rich are you?

A fellow pastor, Kris, posted this on his blog and I wanted to share it with you. It's a "how rich are you?" web page. Take a moment, go to http://www.globalrichlist.com/, plug in the numbers and see where you fit. You may be surprised how blessed you are.

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As Kris says on his post we are amazingly blessed, and are challenged to use the blessings God has given us in a way that honors him.

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I was visiting with a man in our church last night who has worked hard in his life (coming from a difficult childhood, abandoned by his mother and raised by relatives) and is now a very wealthy man. He has all of this "money stuff" sorted out nicely. He shared with me several things he has recently been able to do with some of the money God has given him. He and his partner just finished building an orphanage for 450 children in India because it was needed. He just recently gave his wife a large amount of money for one of their anniversaries with this stipulation- you can't spend any of it on yourself, you have to give it all away to help others...and she did. This couple has this money thing figured out. They are using the rich blessings God has given them to change their world.

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As a pastor I don't have nearly that kind of wealth, but when I plugged in my meager salary on this web site I was embarrassed to see how blessed I really am compared to the world around me. It helps at times to remember that we are a most blessed people. Lord, help me to use those dollars you give me in a way that honors you.

The Golden Compass reviewed

.The Golden Compass starts today, and with all the discussion about it I think I need to see it myself, so this afternoon I'm going to see the movie. I'll give you a report when I return....

My wife and I saw the movie this afternoon. I have been trying to think of a way to describe it. It's dark, depressing, a little confusing....but the visuals effects were amazing. It was like many of the adventure fantasies being made now. The big difference was the message. There is a monolithic organization in the movie trying to control the human race. I can see how this could look like the catholic church.

There were many spiritual elements in the movie, but most people would miss them. Many of these are vague and hard to follow, and some were just upside down from our reality. It was entertaining, but the plot and story were slow. Frankly, it got a little boring at times. The movie finished with a setup for a sequel, and where that will lead would be the thing that would concern me.

After the movie we talked to two different teenagers in different settings and neither of them seemed very interested in the movie. I will be curious to see the impact of this movie. I will also be interested to get some definitions for all the spiritual elements in the movie because I still don't know where the author was going with some of them.

I rate this film a "yawn." I think it will be a non issue.

Today I'm reading....

This morning I'm reading in Acts 27, and I come to this verse.....

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Act 27:23 "For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me,"

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I noticed two things from this verse, but first let me set the stage for Paul's comments-

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Paul is on a ship heading for Rome to appear before Caesar. He's a prisoner. The ship has been adrift in a severe storm for nearly two weeks. The crew and passengers have given up hope. They all anticipate that this is the end.

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In the midst of this Paul makes this statement of faith. What made his statement so amazing is not just the circumstances, but his perspective on his life in the midst of a time of hopelessness for those around him.

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Here's what I saw in Paul's brief testimony- 1. He belongs to God, and 2. because of #1 he serves God. This is slave language. This is a declaration of ownership, obedience and dependence, but it's also a statement of purpose...because I belong to God and serve him my life is his to do with as he pleases. It's a declaration that whatever happens to me, wherever I go, whatever I do...I'm his, and because I'm his I serve him where I am....even on a sinking ship.

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So, I ask myself this- Do I see my life as one belonging to God? And, do I serve him because of that? It's an ownership issue....

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1Co 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?
1Co 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

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I'm not my own, I belong to someone else. Do I believe that? And if so, do I live like it? I have to constantly remember that it's not all about me....it's all about HIM.

Amazing

There's an amazing site in our community. In a field near our home a family has decorated a large, lone tree with Christmas lights. What's amazing about the display is that you can see it from quite a distance....the lights are a neon white, and it looks like they have put lights on nearly every branch on the tree.

What looks like a beautiful site at night is just an ugly tree by day. It's funny what a difference light makes.

I wonder if that's how we appear....without Christ just another ugly dead life, but when the light of God's presence enters our lives we light up those around us and draw a crowd.

Truth or passion?

I am noticing something in our culture that has caught my attention. I am watching to see where this all ends.
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What I see is a battle between truth and passion. It appears to me that passion has gained an equal footing with truth. In other words if someone is passionate about what they believe then their view is accepted even if it's not true.
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Truth as an absolute has lost its place in our culture. Now passion has replaced it.
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So, I'm wondering....am I the only one who sees this or do you see it too?

A great movie for the family

I'm not a great movie critic. I love comedies, westerns and action films. I will tolerate "chick flicks" because I love my wife, and that is the extent of my movie expertise, but I love a movie that just came out on video, Mr. Bean's Holiday.

We watched it Monday night with the grand kids, and we all laughed, from 5 years old to 57....it's a great family film. And it's rated G! How amazing is that?

So, if you're bored and looking for some fun, silly entertainment let me recommend "Mr. Bean's Holiday."

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday! Our wonderful little grandson, George, turned one this last Sunday. He spent the evening at our house last night, and he knew the present was for him. How do they figure things out so quickly? It was great fun watching him play with his new toy.....pushing all the buttons, making all the noises (his parents will hate us in a week), what great fun it was.

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So, today, let me say, "thank you" to the Lord for blessing us with George.

A book review

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I just finished C.J.'s book on humility. In our culture of pride and self-focus a book like this is like a shoe that just doesn't fit. I really enjoyed the book. It challenged me to look at my heart. It's a painful examination.
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This book is a must read for anyone in ministry or leadership.

Monday's cartoon

A big enough faith? Part 2

My good friend, Tony, read the previous post and recommended this video. I agree with him, this is a great video to follow part 1 and a very insightful message from Mark Driscoll.

A big enough faith?

I have heard this phrase in Christian circles often, "if you only have enough faith..." and then the comment fades off into some great miracle that would happen for you....if you only had enough faith. I'm honestly tired of this perversion of the bible, and want to take a moment to vent a little. The reason it's such a problem is that it makes God small and forces me to take his place.....if I only had enough faith. The whole weight of a miracle in my life rests on ME. The whole idea is neither biblical or true. You don't need more faith for God to act in your life, and the fact that something isn't happening has nothing to do with the amount of faith you have or don't have.

Jesus said, "for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." Did you see that? It's not the size of your faith, it's the size of you God. It's not a focus on ME, it's a focus on God. It's not how much faith I have, it's God's wonderful will and plan for my life. It only takes small faith to do big things, but it takes a big God.

This whole perverted theology "if you only have enough faith..." makes faith into something it isn't. It's not something to accumulate for a blast at my problem, it's not measurable or powerful of itself. Faith can do nothing. Did you hear that? Faith can do nothing....it's the one you have faith in that performs the miracle. Faith has NEVER performed a miracle, and never will.....it's GOD who does the miracle.

A little faith in a big God can move mountains. I don't need more faith, I have all I need. What I need is to have faith in the right thing- in the BIG God who can answer my prayers. And, frankly I'm really tired of hearing people put the weight of a miracle on the backs of those who are least able to carry it. You will see far more miracles with a little faith and a big God. You will see far more miracles with a faith in God rather than a faith in faith.

Enough faith to move mountains? You don't need more than you have, all you need is a God big enough to move the mountain for you. It's much easier to let God be God. Take your little faith to the throne of a big God and watch those mountains move!

A site for sore eyes

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Often I will highlight web sites because I like them. Here's one with a series of high speed photographs of different liquids. They are amazingly beautiful. You can find the photos here.

Living in a broken world

This morning I got a call from a crying wife who just found out her husband is having an affair. My heart hurts for people going through such horrible things.

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This is the part of my job that is the hardest.

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We are living in such a broken world, and the results of how broken it is are more evident each day. There are days when I feel like a doctor in the emergency room who is dealing with the broken, hurt and dying. There are some situations where I know the patient will "die", but I do the best I can to help them.

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Sin does that in our lives. It destroys lives. There is often little we can do but comfort those suffering the results of someone's sin.

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I still remember what one of our men said to me, with tears in his eyes, when we had to announce a sin in our church family, he said, "I hate sin." May I add my voice to that of my friend and say, with a realization of sin's work in my own life, I hate sin. I hate what it does in our lives and in our world. I can't wait for the day when sin, death and the enemy of our souls will be destroyed.

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Jeremiah wrote these words to describe our condition,

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Jer 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

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I'm so glad that, through faith in Christ, God has dealt with the penalty of sin. I can't wait for the day when he comes to complete our salvation and deals the final death blow to this horrible curse we live with called sin.

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There is a day coming when.....

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Rev 22:3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;
Rev 22:4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

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There is a day coming when.....

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Rev 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

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I know my friend who called today, with tears in her eyes, looks forward to that day.