Thursday, February 5, 2009

Finallly it is here

Sorry Newt, it took so long. I haven't gotten through the Parasha for the week but from many discussions I had with others lately I have a few thoughts. Or I guess challenges for myself this week and want anyone else to comment on them.

My first challenge is from a conversation I had with a coworker in how are we taking time everyday to take time to just listen to God without any background noise? Do I sit back everyday and look at what happened in my day and learn from things? Or do I look in the mirror and then forget about what I look like?

My second challenge for myself had to do with how I act and my "posture". If I had a mute button and somebody watched my life by my mannerisms, my expressions, & my attitude, would they call me a Jesus follower? I know I can talk about it a lot, but can I show it?

My third challenge for myself is the balance between knowledge and relationships. I would love to lock myself in my house and read the bible and many other things for the next year, but is that what I am called to do?

What does so called "church look like everyday of the week in your life? I am still trying to figure that out it mine.


Everyone feel free to comment, bash, elaborate on, or just tell me to quit posting if you want. I just promised Newt I would put something on here. These are the things that have come up a lot lately in my life.

Newt, feel free to post freely now that I have broken the ice again. Even if part of it is talking trash to me.

2 comments:

Newton said...

I've been thinking about your third challenge. Relationships on one side and reading the bible on the other. At face value it seems like those are two things that really don't need to be placed on a balance beam opposite each other. To begin with, reading the bible is relationship. It is relationship with God and it is relationship with people in the past, people in the present, and people in the future.

Another thought that comes to mind is the idea of medical doctors. Almost everyone I know who has become a medical doctor has put most relationships aside, in order to gain the requisite knowledge and skill of their profession of helping people. And even after a physician completes all their schooling, internships and training, they are still people who often have less of a social life than others because they work many hours and they continually are developing their knowledge base.

Another recent example that it seems a great deal of the world has been considering for a while is the swimming pheee-nom Michael Phelps. It seems that in order to attain his high level of performance he needs to cloister himself away from the world, as most olympians do, in order to devote the time it takes to train. Now that he has trained so hard for so many years, it seems he wants to have a little more fun, a few more relationships.

Now physical training has some value, but training in how to be like God has value for all things. Would it not be better for our world if poeple cloistered themselves away for a year or two, to read the bible, to meditate, to study?

Feel no guilt about it. In fact just the opposite. The desire is a Godly desire. Nuture that desire. Fulfill it. Make it happen.

When I was at Regent College in vancouver BC, the majority of students there were working professionals from all walks of life, who had taken a year away from their profession because they wanted to study for year and consider how Jesus life, death, and ressurrection impacted their careers and profession. That is why Regent College was started. It is a good thing. And it continues to be a good thing.

My thoughts on this topic are many and I think I could keep writing non-stop about it for at least an hour, but I will stop now, because I have probably said enough.

Newt

Droog "Party of Six" said...

Some good thoughts Justin. Questions I have asked myself as well. I am
thinking when you talk relationships you are meaning relationships to the
outside broken world. I see Newton's point of naturally that spending time
in study is also about relationships but that doesn't alwasys translate
into a difference in our lives. As the Bible shows us through the lives
of the Pharisess, and easy target I know but a glaring example of a way of
life that can be devoted to study and living the rightly before the eyes
of God but missing the mark entirely. They heads were full of the Torah,
and they engaged in all the rituals of their faith, but it meant nothing
when it came to relationships:
Message Matthey 3:7-10When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and
Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was
becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do
you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a
little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It's your
life that must change, not your skin! And don't think you can pull rank by
claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here
nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your
life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the
fire

Matthew 5:20 (The Message)

19-20"Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only
have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for
others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better
than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won't know the
first thing about entering the kingdom.


I read "rhow the way for others"
that is relational and there is no way for us to do that but by becoming
engaged in the lives of others and not seclusionists.


32-33Right after that, as the blind men were leaving, a man who had been
struck speechless by an evil spirit was brought to Jesus. As soon as Jesus
threw the evil tormenting spirit out, the man talked away just as if he'd
been talking all his life. The people were up on their feet applauding:
"There's never been anything like this in Israel!"

34The Pharisees were left sputtering, "Hocus-pocus. It's nothing but
hocus-pocus. He's probably made a pact with the Devil."

35-38Then Jesus made a circuit of all the towns and villages. He taught
in their meeting places, reported kingdom news, and healed their diseased
bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives. When he looked out over the
crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep
with no shepherd. "What a huge harvest!" he said to his disciples. "How
few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!"

In these passages I see that all the work the Pharisees put into learning
the Torah and God's words did nothing to open their eyes and when I read
that Jesus' heart broke for sinners and he had compassion on them and he
wanted to have more people willing to do this work by telling his
disciples to get out and harvest. And pray for more workers. I could be
wrong but to a simple person as myself, I see that there is a deep need
for us to have a heart understanding of who Jesus is, not just a head
knowledge of the Torah. If we only want to learn and memorize to fill our
head and feel superior with our knowledge then I think we will only attain
to what the religious scholars of Jesus' day did. But if we in humbleness
of heart seek to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church and through
that same Spirit are lead to study the word AND go out of our comfort
zones and become workers and servants for our Master out of a deep sense
of longing to help and heal the deep needs of people living around us.
That healing doesn't come from us but through us as we love them in
different ways. Love them in spite of the struggle that that might
present. We cannot love people perfectly but the Holy Spirit empowers us
to love them as he pours out grace amd truth into our lives we respond to
that by living lives that spill out grace and truth into the lives of
those around us.

2 Cor. 6:1-13
The Message
Staying at Our Post
Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't
squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us,
I heard your call in the nick of time; The day you needed me, I was there
to help. Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped.
Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing
a question mark over everything we're doing. Our work as God's servants
gets validated-or not-in the details. People are watching us as we stay at
our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad
times; when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working
late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in
gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we're telling the truth, and
when God's showing his power; when we're doing our best setting things
right; when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored;
true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized
by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an
inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always
filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having
nothing, having it all.
11-13Dear, dear Corinthians, I can't tell you how much I long for you to
enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn't fence you in. The
smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but
you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and
with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively
I guess I can't say it better than that.
I know that some people need to spend time in study for their chosen
professions but they still need to lead lives that benefit others. They
don't live for themselves unless they are selfishly ambitious. To do that
however is a waste of a precious life that God has created.
Just my own personal thoughts guided I hope by what I understand from the
Word and my own personal life experiences.
Thanks Justing for opening up the dialogue.