tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24073918704520710892024-03-13T15:07:00.146-04:00Complementary Journey(George's Blog)Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.comBlogger276125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-19447749158167090902011-01-03T08:38:00.001-05:002011-01-03T08:38:13.515-05:00HoardersOn New Year's Day, we started watching Hoarders on Netflix and soon found we couldn't stop. We watched the whole first season. It was fascinating to see houses packed to the gills with stuff, stacks and piles strewn everywhere, filling all the places where people should be. <br /><br />I could relate to the visuals a little bit. My parents are landlords, and more than once I was part of the cleanup when someone moved out of one of their properties. The amount of stuff that people crammed into these little homes was incredible. One of the very first properties they renovated was filled with empty Heineken bottles and sardine cans. There we're walls made of nothing but the refuse of these two products. In fact, that may explain my ongoing distaste for either of those two items... Or they're just gross.<br /><br />The most intriguing thing about the show wasn't the piles of junk. It wasn't the success or failure of the cleanup efforts. It was the correlation between stuff and relationships. In every case, the hoarder had to choose between people and stuff. <br /><br />"Get rid of the clutter or lose your kids."<br />"Clean this up or get out."<br />"I could never invite anyone here, it's my dirty little secret."<br />"Imagine being able to invite your friends over to play."<br />"Change or I won't bring my kids, your grandchildren, here anymore."<br /><br />Unsurprisingly, people struggled mightily with the decision. In their mind the choice was obvious - every one knew relationship was what mattered. But, it was the stuff that had given them comfort, the stuff that was there for them, the stuff that gave them a moment of happiness.<br /><br />"You won't be here tomorrow, but my stuff will be."<br /><br />People fail. They go home. They betray and deceive and let you down and change their mind and have their own ideas and their own desires and their own lives. People are much harder to control than stuff. <br /><br />God is too. He does his thing. The same yesterday, today and forever. You can't control God. <br /><br />(Maybe that's why the internet generation is so eager to discredit Him. When you're used to reading, hearing and watching what you want whenever you want, som[one]thing you have no control over is unnerving.)<br /><br />That's why we continue to choose other stuff over God. Stuff stays where we put it. It does what we tell it. It makes us feel good when we need it. We're in control, we call the shots, we're never disappointed. <br /><br />Except that we are. <br /><br />Every one of those people were miserable. Their stuff didn't bring them lasting joy. It brought them a moment of happiness followed by regret and guilt and bills. It brought them temporary comfort in the midst of their mess, but anxiety when they were in the real world. <br /><br />Hoarders doesn't tell the long-term story of what happens after the clean-up. Do these people find peace in their relationships, or do they hoard and hoard until someone once again shovels the filth from their lives?<br /><br />The Israelite kings followed a cyclical pattern of this. A king would follow God and things would go well, then his son would want something faster or want to prove his power, so he would reach out for help from somewhere other than God. Neglect of the Lord would follow, with more and more junk being piled up, until a king recognized the error of their ways and led them back to God.<br /><br /><blockquote>" (Hezekiah) said to them, Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place." 2 Chronicles 29:5</blockquote><br /><br /> It can be harder to see in our own lives, because most of us are better at hiding it. We don't all have houses with junk pouring out of them. We might be better at getting rid of the old stuff after we get new stuff or we mint be better organized with it. It might not be stuff at all. Our fix might be <a target="_blank" href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/30/my-take-when-the-fat-girl-got-mad-at-god/?hpt=Sbin">food</a> or money or fantasy or escape in alcohol or drugs or control over others.<br /><br />Whatever it is, whatever we're hoarding will let us down. When we look around and see a house or a heart that is filled with trash, we have to recognize that giving up our desire for control and truly trusting God is the only way to really clean things up.<br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115431%2C-84.436193&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-39303580896172815932010-12-21T16:31:00.003-05:002010-12-21T16:45:33.429-05:00BFFFor a long time I've heard people talk about "the great reward" and being welcomed by Jesus in the afterlife. Most of the time these talks include Jesus saying the words, "Well, done my good and faithful servant" or something to that effect. As of today, I disagree.<div><br /></div><div>In John 15:15 Jesus says to the disciples, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."</div><div><br /></div><div>The more I know God, the less what I do feels like work. The more my heart understands His heart, the easier it is to love others. The more I give to Him, the less I need for myself. The more I let go of myself, the less I feel like a slave.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I get to the great hereafter, I'm not looking forward to some distant heavenly stranger approving my good deeds with a nod and a ceremonial pronouncement. I can't see that being fulfilling or worth the effort.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, I can't wait to see my friend, my partner, to run to him and feel the embrace that I've missed for so long. To reminisce about the things we did together, to laugh about how wrong I got things and cry about the highs and the lows. To welcome the others who lived out a mission with us and through us. To relax with good friends after a life well lived. </div><div><br /></div><div>That's not a reward, that's heaven.</div>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-38411668782669646332010-10-26T08:19:00.001-04:002010-10-26T08:19:49.865-04:00Could I have your attention please?Let's say that God wanted your attention. What do you think this would look like? Isaiah found that this didn't happen in the form of fire or thunder, but a whisper on the breeze. <br /><br />What if the fire and thunder thing was true? What if God sent a messenger who withered your hand and then fixed it and then made stone structures shatter before your very eyes? Would you listen any closer?<br /><br />King Jeroboam didn't. <br /><br />He rebuilt the altar that was destroyed and doubled his efforts to worship other gods and raise other priests. He ignored God's message and God's warning. <br /><br />God's response is interesting. He tells Jeroboam that Josiah is coming and he will sit on the throne and put things right. What God doesn't say is when. Jeroboam never meets him, neither does his son or grandson or great-grandson. <br /><br />It is over 400 years before Josiah shows up. It is so long that the people aren't just ignoring the laws that Jeroboam broke, they don,t even know what they are anymore. They've literally lost the book whee they a written. <br /><br />Yet, God is there the whole time. He speaks through his prophets to those that will listen. He never gives up, never goes away, never forsakes them. <br /><br />That's one of the wonderful things about God, he is patient beyond measure. 400 years of a nation ignoring Him and he was still there when they finally came back.<br /><br />Of course he'll be there when we turn back too. <br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115388%2C-84.436226&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-91982082256330582252010-10-18T09:31:00.002-04:002010-10-18T09:47:41.124-04:00David v. SolomonTwo kings, father and son, two men who grew and advanced what was at the time the greatest nation on earth. Two leaders who took care of their people. Two completely different stories. <div><br /></div><div>In David's story we see the highs (Goliath, treating Saul right) and the lows (Bathsheba, his family falling apart around him). In Solomon's case we really only see the good stuff. He asked for wisdom instead of power and was given both. He ruled in a time of peace and expanded the kingdom. He built the Temple for God. </div><div><br /></div><div>If you were to compare the accomplishments and failures of the two men as found in Kings, Solomon would come out on top. He didn't live in the chaos that David did. He never hid in a cave from his enemies. He was never forced to resort to acting like a madman so he could find shelter. He didn't have to deal with one of his sons raping one of his daughters or another son nearly taking over his kingdom. We don't hear about him murdering a man and stealing his wife or getting others to cover up his dirty deeds. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yet, "his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."</div><div><br /></div><div>Solomon was a winner. Everything in his life seemed perfect.</div><div>David was a fighter. Everything in his life was a struggle.</div><div><br /></div><div>Too often we praise winners and think that fighters have done something wrong. Why is their life so hard, why can't they figure things out, why can't they just get past their issue?</div><div><br /></div><div>Despite all the fighting he did, it was David who had God's heart. </div><div>Despite all the blessings he had, it was Solomon who turned away.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or was it because of David's heart for God that he had to fight so much?</div><div>In a fallen world, will a heart like God's lead to what seems like constant struggle.</div><div><br /></div><div>Will we someday find a heaven full of fighters and nearly devoid of winners?</div>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-7177320419432989442010-10-12T08:44:00.001-04:002010-10-12T08:44:56.454-04:00OuchI've been reading Ezekiel for almost a month (does this book ever end) and something finally stuck out to me. As a shepherd myself, I found God's warning to the shepherds of Israel a little frightening. <br /><br />Ezekiel 34:2-4<br />Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. <br /><br />Do we do this? Are we shepherds for ourselves or shepherds for our sheep? God is all about taking care of His sheep and those He has called have been called to help in that task, not to use the sheep to take care of himself.<br /><br />Ezekiel goes on to relate that these sheep will be scattered until God himself takes care of them. If we don't do it right, He'll do it himself.<br /><br />I don't want to be the guy who puts God to work doing my job. <br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115468%2C-84.436219&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-29686493719326777162010-10-06T08:35:00.001-04:002010-10-06T08:35:00.425-04:00Context"I seek not what is yours but you."<br /><br />Paul says it as a consolation to the Corinthians in that he wasn't going to collect a 'love offering' the next time he came to visit. <br /><br />Jesus says it as a challenge, because the things we have aren't enough. He wants all of us.<br /><br />How do we hear this statement? <br />How do we mean it when we say it?<br />How do people hear it when we say it?<br />How do I say it so people hear it how I mean it?<br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115457%2C-84.436310&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-3794126852779099542010-09-29T09:03:00.001-04:002010-09-29T09:03:08.027-04:00For the ChildrenI didn't steal cable last night. I could've. I was right there, with the filter in my hands, ready to hook the incoming line directly to the distribution line, but I remembered something someone said to me, <br /><br />"Is that all your integrity is worth?"<br /><br />Is it only worth the price of a monthly cable bill? <br />Or a ream of paper at work?<br />Or a bit of embarrassment that could be covered up with a white lie?<br />Or extra change at the check-out counter?<br />Or one small moment of gratification?<br /> <br />Integrity is integrity. We spend too much time wondering where we should set the price. The value of something stolen doesn't determine how bad the offense is. The likelihood of getting caught doesn't determine if something should be done. <br /><br />Maybe your integrity isn't worth that much to you. You might not think twice about trading it for a better parking spot or a pen that finds it's way into your pocket. But, as I read this morning, it isn,t just about you. <br /> <br />Proverbs 21:7 The righteous who walks in his integrity-- blessed are his children after him!<br /><br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115428%2C-84.436340&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-87059068842829483772010-09-27T08:22:00.001-04:002010-09-27T08:22:18.850-04:00Paradox"We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." <br />- 2 Corinthians 6:8b-10<br /><br />Society, culture, the world: whatever you want to call the collective of non-Christianity, it has a certain understanding of how things work. It sees things a certain way, establishes values a certain way, promotes success a certain way and judges you a certain way. <br /><br />Jesus' call to follow him was a call away from all of these things.<br />It was a call to embrace the creator of the world. <br />It was a call to reject the values, successes and views of the world. <br />It was a call to life.<br />It was a call to death.<br />It was a call to exist in paradox.<br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115429%2C-84.436348&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-54834387139204140232010-09-24T13:22:00.002-04:002010-09-24T13:23:53.686-04:00on Culture"If everyone lives roughly the same lies about the same things, then there is no one to call them lies; they jointly establish their own sanity and call themselves normal."<div>- Ernest Becker</div>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-78322646864811995602010-09-22T08:47:00.001-04:002010-09-22T08:47:08.896-04:00Send / Receive"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."<br /><br />So many times we follow a preconceived notion of what God sends. We have the Bible, His word, and don't look any further than that. We believe that if we study enough and learn enough, we don't need anything (one) else. Lock us in a tower with the scriptures and we'll see you in heaven someday.<br /><br />We're open to receiving the scriptures. "The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it." We might even be open to advice from someone else, but only if it is properly packaged around the right scripture verses and presented in a clear, logical way. <br /><br />God didn't think this was enough. <br />See, people did this for thousands of years and they got really good at it. They knew every word of the scriptures and the hundreds of laws derived from them. They were called Pharisees. They knew the information, but not the application. They missed the point.<br /><br />So, God sent something new. He didn't send more information, He sent incarnation. Jesus didn't bring the word, the logos, he WAS the word. It was time for imitation, not just information. He came and lived a life worth duplicating.<br /><br />He said to his twelve guys, "Come, follow me." Not come and learn from me. Not come and listen to me. Not come and watch me. Follow me. Where I go, you go. <br />How I live, you live. <br />How I love, you love. <br />How I die, you die.<br /><br />Many people couldn't receive this. They were down for more information, but not imitation. When the information got hard or confusing, those who weren't imitating were vacillating and then migrating.<br /><br />But those who were imitating, those few guys, those disciples saw crazy things, incredible things, mind-bending things that changed them. They saw the Kingdom of God and what a life lived in the Kingdom was like. <br /><br />And then they were sent. And some people received them. And those who received them received the one who sent them. And then they were sent and received. <br /><br />And despite our predilection for information, God is sending someone to you for imitational purposes. <br />Will you receive them? <br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115426%2C-84.436341&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-45138235548323360602010-09-20T08:14:00.001-04:002010-09-20T08:14:32.201-04:00Motivating FactorsHis friend Lazarus is dying. To get to him, Jesus has to go back to where the people had just tried to kill him. His disciples say say he can't go back there, because of the danger he will face.<br /><br /><br />Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him<br /> - John 11:9-10<br /><br /><br />At face value, it looks like Jesus is saying they should make a day trip. "As long as we're home before nightfall, we have nothing to worry about."<br /><br />Until you get to that last line: "the light is not in him."<br />Jesus isn't talking about morning and evening and the rotation of the earth. He's talking about motivation.<br /><br />What drives us? Why do we do the things we do? Are we driven by light or dark? Do we follow the call to love our neighbors or do we hide because that might not be the safest thing to do?<br /><br />Light or dark?<br />Love or fear?<br />Good or evil?<br /><br />What drives you?<br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115458%2C-84.436413&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-12028594090512859632010-09-18T22:37:00.001-04:002010-09-18T22:37:22.150-04:00Paul's Words"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."<br /><br />Bold.<br />Confident.<br />Necessary.<br />Relevant.<br />Telling.<br />Frightening.<br />So very needed today.<br /><br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Salem%20Pike,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.073262%2C-84.365347&z=10'>Salem Pike,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-65320153769812394222010-09-16T07:01:00.003-04:002010-09-16T07:01:17.549-04:00In the midstBut David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.<br /><br />We each have wildly different reactions when faced with adversity. We question why God would let something like this happen to us. We lash out with reckless abandon. We weep, cry and despair. We launch a counter-offensive. We try to find and fix what we think is the cause of the situation. We run and hide. We blame others. We recruit others. We pull others down with us. We give in. We cave. We fall. <br /><br />Rarely, rarely, do we worship.<br /><br />David led his 600 men into battle for Achish, the Philistine Lord he had been serving. (Yeah, you read that right. Look it up.). The other Philistines said there was no way they were fighting alongside Hebrews. Dejected and rejected, David led his men home only to find that their homes had been burned, their goods had been stolen and their wives and children had been carried off into slavery.<br /><br />What would you do? <br />Cry? Run? Scream? Fight? Quit?<br />But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.<br /><br />David and his men got everything back they had lost. The cattle, the gold, the wives and children - everything. They had the help of an Egyptian slave who had been left to die. They were the beneficiaries of a tremendous 'coincidence.' They were in the right place at the right time.<br /> <br />But only because in the midst of the struggle, when things were at their lowest, David worshipped, abided and strengthened himself in the Lord his God. <br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115435%2C-84.436420&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-53879288821233085162010-09-16T07:01:00.001-04:002010-09-16T07:01:03.282-04:00God of Destruction1 Samuel 5 recounts the events of God's capture by his enemies. (Well, the Ark of the Covenant, an early example of "God With Us", was captured. God was still doing his thing free and clear outside of our concepts of space and time.) These guys knew how to handle gods. It wasn't their first time around the block. They set up the ark in their trophy room and I'm sure they got their best story together.<br /><br />Yeah, we hunted this fellow for two days before we got a good look at him. When we finally took the shot it landed a little high, so we had to track him another day and a half before... well, you can see for yourself. We've got him mounted right over here next to Dagon...<br /><br />But, something happened in this particular case. That trophy just wouldn't behave. The next morning, they looked in the room and found the statue of Dagon lying face down next to the Ark. They set him back up, wondered about adding some braces to the floor and went about their business. The next morning, Dagon was face down again, only this time that face was no longer connected to the body and neither were the hands. Dagon had become a headless, handless, worthless trophy. And things only got worse.<br /><br />Men in the town got sick. They shipped the ark to another town and the same thing happened there. They moved it along to town number three and it happened again. Finally they got smart and just said, "get this accursed thing out of here," and they sent it back to the Israelites. Unfortunately, many times today we do the same thing.<br /><br />We consider God just one more thing in our lives and we try to place him alongside so many other important things. <br />Church is great, as long as it doesn't interfere with football. <br />I love my Lifegroup, but not when I've already had a busy week. <br />The bible is great, but not as important as getting that extra hour of sleep.<br />Love my neighbor, but Jesus never met MY neighbors. <br />I know prayer is important, but not so important that I should plan out time to do it when I won't fall asleep mid-sentence.<br /><br />Should we be at all surprised when things in our life fall apart. God deserves and demands to be the centerpiece of everything we do. He's a consuming fire that destroys anything and everything that comes between us. He's jealous of our time, energy and affection. <br /><br />Is some area of your life falling apart? Could it be because you're holding that area above God? <br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115377%2C-84.436371&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-51035089518512916012010-09-14T08:32:00.001-04:002010-09-14T08:32:10.893-04:00Where's your God Now?10 You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, No one sees me; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, I am, and there is no one besides me. 11 But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.<br />- Isaiah 47<br /><br /><br />Sin has an amazing way of making us feel, well, amazing. It can let us escape from troubles, it can give us a leg up on others, it can make us feel superior and help us get ahead. <br /><br />Sin also has a way of making us feel special. "I know that some people have issues with this, but not me. I've got it under control. I can make it work and no one will get hurt. And besides, I'm strong enough to handle it if something changes or goes wrong."<br /><br />Something does change and something will go wrong. It always does. And what happens next is as obvious from the outside as it is invisible from within. The superiority and false sense of control turn on us. What we once saw as a sign of strength becomes the prime source of our weakness. What we most need in those times are the other people we have distanced ourselves from. <br /><br />The journey back is excruciating. It hammers the ego and tears at pride. It stings and burns and feels like you are losing everything you have gained - because that's what is happening. <br />And that is what we need.<br />And it goes against all our 'primal' instincts. <br />And the result is more than we could have hoped for. <br />And that is how God planned it.<br /><br />Sin isolates and none of us can escape it on our own. <br />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-45008499658614185122010-09-08T08:44:00.001-04:002010-09-08T08:44:38.293-04:00Trees and PowerJudges 9:<br />8 The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, Reign over us. 9 But the olive tree said to them, Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees? <br />10 And the trees said to the fig tree, You come and reign over us. 11 But the fig tree said to them, Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees? <br />12 And the trees said to the vine, You come and reign over us. 13 But the vine said to them, Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees? <br />14 Then all the trees said to the bramble, You come and reign over us. 15 And the bramble said to the trees, If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.<br /><br />Who are you serving?<br />What do you give power in your life?<br />Are you settling?<br />Don't get burned. <br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115388%2C-84.436383&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-91108849987401237692010-09-08T08:39:00.001-04:002010-09-08T08:39:05.894-04:00MessyIf you read through the gospels, you may notice something about Jesus. He didn't just wander from town to town rattling off catchy sayings and doing good deeds. He wasn't just a clever guy who people listened to. Peace and tranquility didn't really surround him. Like some variation of King Midas' curse, everything Jesus touched got messy.<br /><br />In the middle of one of his messages a naked woman shows up, followed by a mob of men with stones. A demon-possessed maniac shows up from a cemetery, hundreds of pigs die. People push through the crowd to grab his clothes. He makes a whip and destroys a marketplace. He touches people who are unclean. He's constantly harassed by the authorities. Even his death didn't go as expected.<br /><br />So, why do we insist on order? Why do we want extended plans and things done in a certain order? Why do we cringe when things go out of order or something unexpected happens?<br /> <br />If Jesus is involved, things are going to get messy. <br />Given the alternative, I'll take the mess.<br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Harrodsburg%20Rd,Keene,United%20States%4037.971295%2C-84.592743&z=10'>Harrodsburg Rd,Keene,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-84091075954017972312010-09-08T08:30:00.001-04:002010-09-08T08:30:23.422-04:00LoyaltyJeremiah 18:14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave the crags of Sirion? Do the mountain waters run dry, the cold flowing streams? 15 But my people have forgotten me; they make offerings to false gods; they made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient roads, and to walk into side roads, not the highway, 16 making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by it is horrified and shakes his head. <br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115349%2C-84.436359&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-12230111410445019102010-08-30T16:13:00.002-04:002010-08-30T16:28:39.300-04:00Shelter from the StormHonestly, I was a little disheartened at our community gathering last night. <div><br /></div><div>After a great conference followed by a week of vacation, I was a little bummed about getting back into the regular grind. Couple that with several downer conversations, the return of the sweltering heat and a not-so-packed 'house' (garden) for our gathering and I was below my emotional norm. <i>C'mon God, this isn't what I need right now</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the midst of our discussion time, I noticed that one of our normal talkers just wasn't. She didn't say a word. She didn't take communion with us. If I was a notch below normal, she was 9 or 10. </div><div><br /></div><div>When we were finished up, I made my way over to her picnic table to find out what was going on. She told me flat out, "I'm trying not to go to jail." She told me about a bunch of stuff that is going on with her family and how she's been a 'dancing chicken' to keep everyone happy recently. She knew that the chicken couldn't dance forever and she would soon have to make a choice that someone wouldn't like. It was rough. She didn't want to make a choice. She didn't want to go home. </div><div><br /></div><div>She said, "I came here tonight to be alone, to get away."</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Okay God, I get it. </i></div><div><i>It isn't about what I need at all. </i></div><div><i>It's about what she needs.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Someday maybe I'll figure it out before God has to hot me upside the head with it.</div>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-18164985225716171362010-08-05T10:02:00.000-04:002010-08-05T10:02:00.298-04:00Technology in ActionIts nice to be able to use what God blesses us with to help others.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/08/05/744.jpg'><img src='http://blogpress.w18.net/photos/10/08/05/s_744.jpg' border='0' width='208' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br /><br />Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-68059883867972950052010-08-04T09:46:00.001-04:002010-08-04T09:46:02.951-04:00UghWhat do you do when every avenue in your life is filled with frustration? When someone you've poured into suddenly disappears? When you're generosity and cooperation are taken advantage of? When your decisions and advice are second guessed and circumvented? When you are abandoned by those you thought you could count on? When the help you hoped for isn't coming? When you're doing the work of others? When the thing you were looking for to help and comfort you is taken away?<br /><br />What do you do?<br /><br />I try to believe that God is challenging me, that he's helping me to grow closer to Him, that if I trust and have faith He'll be more real to me on the other side. But I honestly don't feel that now. <br /><br />I feel abandoned, dumped on and alone. I feel some tiny fraction of what Jesus felt. <br /><br />I want that to be enough, but I sure could use more. <br /><br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115390%2C-84.436399&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-7567537188360456202010-07-21T09:33:00.002-04:002010-07-21T13:54:24.216-04:00Frighteningly Comforting"The prophets prophesy lies,<br /> the priests rule by their own authority,<br /> and my people love it this way.<br /> But what will you do in the end?"<br />Jeremiah 5:31<br /><br />There are times when I feel like a professional outcast. It seems like there is some key piece that I am missing or some angle that I don't understand. It seems that "success" in ministry (most commonly accredited as attendance and giving) is attained in one of three ways (or some combination).<br /><br />1. Entertain - If you can put on the best Sunday morning show, you can succeed.<br />2. Entice - If you promise people what they want, you can succeed.<br />3. Enrage - If you point out what is wrong with the world outside, you can succeed. (Yeah, I'm toeing the line with this right now.)<br /><br />If people are dazzled or hopeful or angry, but they aren't any closer to Jesus, what have we accomplished? <br />Are we just ruling by our own authority? <br />Are we giving the people what they want to hear? <br />Are we making them feel better without connecting them to the only God who can actually make their lives better?<br /><br />That's not enough for me.<br /><br /><p class="blogpress_location">Location:<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115370%2C-84.436431&z=10">Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-8739411824894509252010-07-20T08:37:00.000-04:002010-07-20T08:55:50.443-04:00Generosity Killed the CatI reread the parable of the workers in the vineyard in Matthew 20 this morning. This is one of those stories that always sticks out because it hits close to home. <br /><br />It is an older brother parable, one that doesn't seem fair. Actually, it is a story that is totally unfair. That's really the point of the story, God doesn't work around what we think is fair. He doesn't operate under a fairness doctrine. He operates under a grace doctrine - a crazy, over-the-top, beyond what we can believe or ever deserve, outside the realm of possibility, messing with your mind grace doctrine.<br /><br />Today , the second half of verse 15 really stuck out to me. Here it is from several translations:<br /><br />Is thine eye evil, because I am good?<br />Do you begrudge me my generosity?<br />Is your eye envious because I am generous?<br />Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?<br /><br />It describes what happens when we try to understand grace in terms of fairness. It messes us up. We can become so entrenched in our society's understanding of fairness that our first reaction to God's generosity is envy, grudge and stinginess. <br /><br />That isn't a fault of God or the grace doctrine, it is a result of us becoming more and more of the world. <br /><br />How do we rectify the situation? <br />Make a habit of regularly marveling in that bountiful grace.<br /> <br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115437%2C-84.436431&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-12733522933290998262010-07-14T08:50:00.000-04:002010-07-14T08:50:00.798-04:00Psalm 136"His steadfast love endures forever"<br /><br />This line is repeated over and over and over and over in this psalm. Through blessings and curses, victories and defeats, good times and bad, this phrase is repeated.<br /><br />And it should be. We live in a world of shifting sand, where nothing can really be counted on. Jobs change, the economy recesses, stock prices drop. People pass on, move away, fail in the clutch, and disappoint us. Our hopes and dreams whither and die on the vine, before they have the chance to become reality. We see death and destruction around us, violence in nature and in mankind.<br /><br />There is really only one constant. <br /> "His steadfast love endures forever"<br /><br />There is really only one thing we can always count on.<br /> "His steadfast love endures forever"<br /><br />When our world shakes and trembles around us.<br /> "His steadfast love endures forever"<br /><br />When we are unsure of our footing.<br />"His steadfast love endures forever"<br /><br />When people betray us and put themselves first.<br />"His steadfast love endures forever"<br /><br />When we feel lost and alone.<br />"His steadfast love endures forever"<br /><br />When all else fails.<br />"His steadfast love endures forever"<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Stanley%20Ave,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115201%2C-84.436269&z=10'>Stanley Ave,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2407391870452071089.post-91466827284976752412010-06-24T08:44:00.001-04:002010-06-24T08:44:46.135-04:00FrustrationsHow many times have you asked, "Why me, God?"<br /><br />We look at the world around us and the things go through, or we look at others and the things (good or bad) that they go through and we can't help but wonder where fairness and equality are.<br /> <br />From our point of view, this world makes no sense.<br /><br />We really need to remember that our point of view is simply that - our point of view. <br /><br /> "Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,<br /> a pot among earthen pots!<br />Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?'<br /> or 'Your work has no handles'?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p class='blogpress_location'>Location:<a href='http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Columbia%20Pkwy,Cincinnati,United%20States%4039.115433%2C-84.436466&z=10'>Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States</a></p>Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13720672708037171863noreply@blogger.com0