Segregation

It's interesting how young people naturally segregate themselves.  Today, I spent time with junior high students on their lunch break.  I find it fascinating to see the variety of ways that kids group themselves.

Preps, goths, band members, video gamers, farmers, skate boarders, guys, girls, grade levels, drama queens, jokers, etc…



Adults are great at this sort of thing as well.

Financial status, hunters, sports fans, church members, Rotary, occupations, farmers, ages, neighborhoods, family dynamics, etc…


Segregation.
We find people with common interests, values, goals, and life directions.  These people are often our closes friends.  We golf together, shop together, and barbecue together.  Our common interests unit and bind us.  At times, our commonalities can become the foundations of our fellowship.  We're comfortable around people who are like us.


-   Some of us segregate because we're opportunistic.  We're friends with some people merely because they have money, power, or some sort of success.  The high school girl who wants to date the starting football quarterback for popularity.  The student who becomes the teachers pet in hopes of a better grade.  Relationships built on the basis of business and/or money.  Friendships made for selfish ambition.  We seem to love creating opportunities for ourselves.


-   Some of us segregate to fit in.  The Hollister wearing junior high student who is friends with other Hollister wearers.  The senior high student who plays football and has primarily football player friends.  Jaycees.

-   Some of us segregate because of social status, success-based segregation, intellectual segregation, appearance-based segregation, and etc...





This seems to be a tendency of human nature.





2000 years ago, the highly-ranked religious people were the same way.  They took pride in the way they obeyed and followed the 613 laws in their religious scriptures.  They spent time with others who kept the Law.  In fact, they went out of their way to avoid being around people who didn't have the same values as themselves.

Some people have referred to this as the "politics of holiness."

We know this sort of mentality well because we participate in it everyday.




Jesus…

...he couldn't be understood by the highly-ranked religious people.  While the religious went out of their way to avoid those who didn't abide by their Law, Jesus went out of his way to be with them.  While the religious dodged the uncleanliness of the sinners, Jesus had dinner with them.  The religious commented, condemned, and at one point even called Jesus a drunk.

Some have referred to Jesus' methods as the "politics of compassion."




So…

This Jesus, the Savior, the way/truth/life, God in the form of man, the infinite knowledge of God finally communicated to man; he doesn't care about our social status, whether we're fat or skinny, whether we're a prep or a band geek, whether we're straight or gay, whether we're rich or poor, whether we're a highly-ranked religious person or a tax collector, whether we're good looking or ugly, whether we're self-proclaimed sinless or sinful, whether we have it figured out or not, whether we're blue collar or white collar….


Jesus meets us in whatever mess we find ourselves.



It is at that point when He invites us to enter into God's Kingdom.
It is at that point when He shows us the availability of God.
It is at that point when His Spirit enters, fills, and convicts us in the ways of God.




Jesus has no interest in segregation,
because He is more concerned with compassion.



The social categories and boundaries have no purpose in Jesus' world
because He is looking for anyone who will listen and believe.



This is our Savior.
This is His pattern, rhythm, way, method, perspective…







Unlike our obsession with segregation,
this is Jesus
and He loves you no matter who you are or where you come from!
          








*Luke 15 : 1,2

green light storm

The water is rising.

Along the coast of the Mississippi River, as you read this, the water is rising to record highs.

The crests have been measured at:
   47.8 ft in Memphis, Tennessee
   58 ft in Natchez, Mississippi (and it's predicted to go up to 64ft)


People's houses, businesses, farmland and overall livelihood has been swallowed by this thing.  Some of these people are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.  One can't help but feel compassion for the people having to deal with the disaster.  It's awful.  It seems as if they just got done with one natural disaster, and now they're facing the adversity of another?

(Personally, I can't imagine what people are going through.  Folks, they need our prayers so much right now.  As this thing continues, please continue to stay updated on particular ways you can pray and give aid in relief.)




Why do the "storms of life" seem to hit some people more than others?



   ...the father who lost his job and cannot find work to support his family.
   ...the family who has learned of a loved one diagnosed with cancer.
   ...the person who suffers from depression.
   ...the parents who lost their child.
   ...those of us dealing with the pressures and expectations of others.
   ...the kids trying to work through their parents divorce.
   ...pressures of conformity.
   ...issues at work.
   ...finances.




"Storms" seem to come in all shapes and sizes
        ...Big and small.
        ...Physical, mental, and spiritual.


And they will come
   …it's not an "if" thing
   …it's a "when" thing.


So the question isn't, "How will we handle the storms if they come?"
The question is more like, "How will we handle the storms when they come?"


Jesus understood this.
He knew the human condition.
And He knew something that we don't.


-----------------------------


This is Jesus' conclusion, ending, closure, and wind up to His mountain sermon.
Let us not forget that these words are interconnected with the rest of Jesus' teaching on the mountain.


Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash.


This part of the teaching is directed to those who have heard him.  This has huge implications for "Christians."  Jesus doesn't tell us to simply know the right "way," he challenges us to live the right "way."  It's almost like he says, "Simply listening to me isn't going to get you anywhere."  According to Jesus; the foundation, the core, the bottom line in our lives will fall apart if we don't apply his words to our lives.



It's the when, not the if.



Because storms tend to change things don't they?
   -They seem to shift the way we think about the world.
   -They can tear apart everything we know, or confirm it.
   -Through them, we either have hope for the future, or despair.
   -What we pour our lives into can either be washed away, or solidified.



Have you ever watched a wave completely erase everything you're written in the sand?
   -Are some of us writing in the sand with the way we live our lives?
   -Is everything we work for, all for nothing?
   -Do we believe Jesus really meant what he said?



Jesus understands the human condition.  He knows how easily we can build our lives up on the wrong foundations.  He knows that the storms will come.  He knows the destructive forces life can bring.  Yet in the midst of all this, he offers hope and wisdom.




So as people who have heard the words of Jesus, how will we cope with the storms of life?
      -With a solid foundation
                or
      -With a sand foundation


As we grow families, who's wisdom will we adhere to?
      -By following the advice and instruction of God?
                or
      -By following our own wisdom?





May you find hope and peace knowing that your foundation is in the Christ.


** Matthew 7:24-27

gas math

It's May 9th, 2011 and gas prices are . . . wow!

I'm 28 and I remember gas being $.79 a gallon when I was a sophomore in high school.

Since my high school days, which isn't that long ago, gas has shot up 525%. And this is only in the past 12 years. In these past 12 years, gas prices have increased like no other time in history.

Throughout the years, people have been cutting their gas consumption in some pretty interesting ways.

-I know people who ride their bicycle in the summer.

-I know people who have bought mopeds for summer driving.

-I've seen older people driving electric golf carts on steroids around town.

-Some people pay a premium price for gas/electric hybrid cars.

-Some people cut back and save money in other areas.

-They're even making purely electric cars now.

So, I started coming up with some ideas:

Last summer, I thought I'd ride my bike to work everyday.

Nope. I think I gave up after a week.

At one point, my wife and I thought we'd try having one car throughout the summer.

Um, we soon found that this was a bad idea!

Car "tug of war" isn't fun.

The other day, I found out that if I drove to a gas station 10 miles away from where I live, instead of paying $4.15 for gas, I would only have to pay $3.99. So, is it worth driving a total of 20 miles (10 there and 10 back) to save $.15 a gallon?

Math…

Now, the car I have has gets 20 miles per gallon. It also has a 20 gallon tank.

Because I get 20 miles per gallon, I would use one gallon of gas to make the trip.

If I arrived at the gas station and put a full 20 gallons in my tank, it would cost me $79.80.

If I traveled to the nearest gas station (1 block away), I would end up saving a gallon in gas.

I'd save a gallon of gas because I don't have to drive 20 total miles to the other gas station.

Instead of putting 20 gallons in my tank, I would only have to put in 19.

This means I would pay 4.15 for 19 gallons, which turns out to be $78.85.

Spend 30 minutes and pay $79.80?

or

Spend 5 minutes and pay $78.85?

Math helped me realize that this was another bad idea.

I'm all for interesting ways to cut back at the pump. Some are better than others. And some are just bad.

Ideas…?

Anyone…?

I still like the "golf cart on steroids" idea.

a letter to the disciples of Christ who gather together in Corinth

The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It's written,

"I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head,

I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots."

So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb - preaching, of all things! - To bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.

While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom [and Americans obsess with business, success, and power], we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle and Greeks pass it off as absurd [and Americans find a million exceptions].

But to us who are personally called by God himself - both Jews and Greeks [and Americans] - Christ is God's ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can't began to compete with God's "weakness."

*1 Corinthians 1:18-25

* the words of the Apostle Paul from the Message paraphrase translation

* [ ] have been added

I Pledge Allegiance to…?

America has taken care of business.

After Ten Years…

Thousands of lives lost….

Billions of dollars….

We have finally found our revenge in the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.

The media captures thousands of people celebrating this time of victory for the United States.

Facebook status' rant and rave about the glory of it all.

We got him.

America has taken care of business.

As an American…

I'm proud that our forces have the capability of doing what they did. I'm thankful for the time and energy our troops have invested in the ideal of freedom. I hope the families who lost loved ones can find comfort and strength to continue on with integrity and virtue.

As a follower of Jesus…here are a couple things He said…

- "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

- "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." …was His response to those who tortured him.

Again and again, Jesus teaches "repentance for the forgiveness of sins."

As a Christian, I'm actually shocked to see other "religious" people celebrate over this whole thing. I wouldn't expect the first response a follower of Jesus to be celebration.

"I pledge allegiance to…?"

Allegiances...

Family?

Religion?

Country?

Political Party?

Friends?

…

What is our response to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden?

In a time such as this, where are we showing our allegiance to be?

The United States

or

The Kingdom of God

Jesus said in Matthew 7:16

"By their fruit you will recognize them."