junk

With the industry I am in, and more specifically, within my company, "your" desk is never your desk.

I work on a specific project for a certain period of time, after the process is done, I move on to a new project. But since all our project are done for different competing clients, everyone has to sit in the area designated for the project. So when I say I "move on" to a different project, I mean that I literally box up all my stuff and submit a "Relocation Request" and all my stuff gets moved to a new cube, on a new floor, of a new building.

Well, it's time for me to move again. My project (or least my part on this project) has come to an end and it is time to pack up and move. I'll start a new project next week, but for now, I just have to pack. And don't get me wrong, packing will not take too much time, but as I begin this process I realize how much junk I have. I am walking back and forth to the recycling bin throwing out so much paper that I have saved over the past few months. I have way more pens and highlighters than when I started this project. And most of the stuff I've
accumulated are not needed.

It's weird to think about how this stuff just compiled. I didn't mean to save up a bunch of papers only to be recycled in a few months. I didn't realize that I was collecting writing utensils. But I have. And (ready for the spiritual parallel?) I believe that it is the same way that sin grows in our lives, my life. I have never woken up and said to myself "Today let's gossip!" That would be absurd and I would smack myself. But gossip happens slowly. I have never thought, "Let's lust!" But it slowly accumulates, a glace here, a look there, then a stare, then a stray thought. Sin isn't bad because it hits like a bomb. But it creeps in and slowly grows. It builds on itself. It is junk.

But the Good News is that Christ Jesus has defeated sin. He has died to the effects of sin and risen victoriously over it. And that life is promised for us. I'm not saying that I will never sin again because I have been baptized in Jesus' name. But what I am saying is that in him, sin isn't our master, God is. We don't have to allow sin to grow and to accumulate like the junk in my cube. God is there to clean us up. To heal us. And to give us true life.

If you have junk in your life, you don't need to explain where it came from (although knowing may help prevent it in the future), but you need to go to God and have him clean you up. Don't try to do it yourself, I'll tell you right now, it's useless. Only God has conquered sin. Only in him is there freedom.

amen

Give reason

Peter tells us in his first letter: "but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect"
(1 Peter 3:15)

I always used to read this verse and say "I got this! I have written out my testimony and practiced it dozens of times!" Which is true, I have practiced dozens of times. I've even practiced with long testimonies over coffee that took an hour or more. I've practiced with a five sentence testimony, which is exactly what it sounds like. This isn't to show off or anything, it's just fact. I have taken this verse to heart and prepared myself.

I am prepared to give reason for my faith...

Well the other day I was hit with something that I wasn't prepared for. I was talking with a co-worker and she noticed that I had a blog up. She asked what blogs I follow and as I started listing a few, I realized that they were all "Christian" blogs. So I told her that it's a bunch of Christian blogs that she wouldn't have heard of.

So she asked me "Why are you a Christian?"

(Cue testimony). Right???
Wrong.

"Well, I was raised going to church and when I got to college I guess I just started getting a little more serious in my faith."

That's not my testimony. I never practiced that. And honestly, in the moment, I wasn't even thinking about sharing my testimony. I didn't realize she was asking for it. I just wanted to take the subject off Christ as quickly as I could.

When I read this verse before I always expected the non-believer to come to me and say "What is your testimony about how you were saved?" Now I realize that that isn't going to happen. That this girl sincerely asked me for a reason for my hope and I shut it down. She was looking for a real reason to hope and now she is still searching.

I am not beating myself up about this, thinking that I ruined all hope of her ever being saved. But I am using this as 1) an opportunity to warn other about waiting for the word "testimony" to share their faith. and 2) to learn about myself and how I react to others talking about and challenging my faith in the office. I never expected or planned on being the guy who kept his faith in Jesus private from everyone else. And I don't plan on staying on this path of being ashamed of the gospel. If you wanted to pray for me, you can pray that I would stand strong on the power of the gospel.

Reinventing the wheel...sorta

So at work (i'm on my lunch break) I started putting pens in my shirt pocket. I say "started" I've done it a few times scattered throughout my 6 months here. And today I am sporting the pen in my shirt. It made sense since I am in meetings where I need to be able to whip out a pen quickly and write something down, but I don't want to forget it or keep playing with it.

Anyway, I just got a gel pen from our supply cabinet because I here people praising the greatness of a gel pen all the time, but I have never gotten into it, so I wanted to try again. And as I put the pen in my shirt pocket I thought to myself: "What if the pen clicks open and draws all over my shirt? Or worse, what if it busts and ink spills all over my shirt?!? I really ought to put some sort of covering or pouch to put my pens in to protect my pocket...."

That is correct, I just thought of the idea for a pocket protector. Like I said, reinventing the wheel. My next thought was "I am such a nerd." But I still think the idea of a pocket protector actually makes sense when you need it. So I may be a nerd, but I don't have a big ink blot on my shirt. :)

And for the reference, I never got the protector, I just thought about it.

Karate Kid

I have a confession to make to my generation: I have never watched the Karate Kid. Mr. Miyagi is just a name to me. I'm sorry.

And to make matters worse, I watched the Karate Kid last night...except it was the new one with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Also, sorry.

But I think I can make it up because I got some insight into how the Karate Kid links to the Christian life. Actually it may be how it doesn't link, but we'll see.

So in the movie Jackie Chan is teaching Jaden the "basics of all that is 'kung fu'" (also side note: why are they doing kung fu in the Karate kid????). And I believe this is supposed to relate to Mr. Miyagi teaching that boy (I have no clue what his name is, and don't care enough to look it up :/ again, sorry) to clean windows. "Wipe on, wipe off." But here Chan is telling Jaden to take off his jacket, hang it up, and put it back on. This happens for days or weeks till Jaden gets fed up and tells Chan that he no longer wants to train and that Chan knows nothing about Kung Fu.

It is at this time that Chan begins to 'attack' Jaden and tell him to put his jacket on, and shows that it is a defensive move. Then hanging it up is offensive. And so on. After Jaden is entirely astounded that Chan actually knows what he is talking about Chan says "Kung Fu is in everything we do. Everything is kung fu."

That got me thinking. This is not true about Kung Fu. I know that many people around the world believe this and other stuff about positive and negative energy, but it isn't true. What is true is that Christ is in everything. Colossians 1 talks about Christ being the first born of all creation, the one from whom all things were created. All that we do reflects the image and glory of God in some way or shape.

I could keep going, but I think the point is made. If I were talking to a disciple of mine I would tell him confidently after beating him up that "Christ is in everything we do. Everything is Christ." Also, I'd call him "Little Christ"...oh wait, that's Christian...I guess that works ;)

running by the bayou

so i began running again today. i ran for a stint my last semester in college, but then got shin splints and had to stop. but now i am classified as "sedentary" since i sit all day. so i decided to begin running and working out again.

so a few years ago the subdivision my parents live in built a running/jogging/walking trail around a little bayou that we have in the middle of the subdivision. so i took up running on that. (when i say running, i lie a bit...it is a jog/walk program created to get me jogging/running for 30 min straight in 10 weeks).

anyway, as i am running i noticed that the people running on this track are not amazingly fit. they would not be the front page people for a gym. they are just average people trying to get out more. the last time i ran it was in a gym. and in the gym, people are fit. they run well. they look good. and frankly, i feel little when i go there. i feel like i don't measure up. and i feel like everyone is there to show the other person up.

but here, at the bayou, there is no presumption. no one is better than the other. everyone is tired. everyone is weak. everyone is just trying to be a little better. and while running around that smelly bayou, there is an unspoken connection between the people. a community built in sweat, weariness, and silent head nods.

thinking about this reminded me of church. and how some churches i've been to remind me of the gym. people look good. they have it together. and their purpose is showing up to church is to be better than others and to show others how they are better.

but then there are the churches that i feel comfortable in. these are the churches resembling the stinky bayou. people here don't have it together. they are weak, tired, messed up. but they come. they meet here regularly, not because they have it together, but because they dont. they meet to encourage each other. to build one another up, not themselves.

this is the church that i go to. cause i'll be the first to admit, i don't have it all together. i don't know what's goin' on all the time. i am weary. join me at the bayou.

Forgiven!

Like many students now-a-days I took out some loans to go to college. Was it necessarily the ONLY way? No, probably not.  Am I now understanding what the Bible means when it says "the borrower is slave to the lender"? Yes, definitely. Do I regret it? No, not really.

Well, last week I got a letter from one of my lenders. You know what it said?

"Congratulations! We would like to let you know that your loan with us has been forgiven."

Wait what?

Yes, that loan (a large one) was entirely forgiven. Now just a heads up, this loan was part of a program from the state of Texas that forgives loans for students that meet certain criteria. Which I met. So it wasn't just straight up free money, but still pretty cool. And even though I knew I met the requirements to be forgiven, there was still that fear that the bureaucracy would mess something. And until that letter, that loan was still a huge burden.

I've always been intrigued, however, by the language used there. My loan, my debt, has been forgiven. Sounds a lot like what we have in Jesus Christ. The massive debt. The payment for my sin. My sin required a payment of blood. MY blood. My sin, my death. Not because God is evil. But actually for the exact opposite. God is so perfect, so holy, so full of glory. Because he is so holy, my sin could not be near him. I could not be near him.

Unlike my loan forgiveness, however, I did not do anything to earn this forgiveness. I did not meet any criteria. I accomplished nothing. Jesus, my Lord, took my suffering for me. He was blameless and yet he took my place. He stood in the way of God's wrath, and died to pay for my sin. Not just that, though. (although that would have been enough).

He rose from the dead as well. He defeated sin. He proved to be victorious over death. And in his life, he gave me life. He stands alive and ensures that when I physically die on this earth, that I will live eternally with him. He have me his Holy Spirit to secure for me an inheritance with the King.

So when I get that letter telling me I've been forgiven of my debt I see/feel in a tangible way what that means. I see that debt is weighty and that forgiveness is a BIG deal. And I am able to praise God even more.

Amen.

Plumb Line

My dad and I were putting tile down in our bathroom last weekend. And before we actually laid the tile me dad told me to get a "plumb line." I had heard of this before, but never in terms of laying tile. So we stretched out the line across the longest span of the bathroom into what we considered to be straight. (for purposes of illustration let's say it was perfectly straight).

We drew with blue chalk on the actual rope and then snapped it on the ground to create a nice straight blue line. I began to remove the actual plumb line. "stop!" my dad yelled. (not really YELLED but more of an exclamation) Turns out that you are supposed to leave the plumb line there the whole time.

Now the purpose of this line is to make sure that as you go down the length of the bathroom the tiles are laid in a straight line and don't slowly curve. The blue line we popped on is to make sure the plumb line is always on line. So as we went along laying tiles and making sure they were straight in respect to the plumb line. We kept checking the plumb line to make sure it was lined up with the blue chalk.

I wanted to say that Christ is the plumb line. Just like Ephesians says that he is the cornerstone. It is based on HIS perfection that we are conformed into perfection. But at the same time, the plumb line was subject to the blue chalk. So maybe Christ is the blue chalk? And the Church is the plumb line? No, maybe not.

I guess it is true that all analogies break down at some point. I guess this point was much sooner than expected...

The point is, though, that Christ is the base. He is the model. The one that we strive to imitate. The one that we are conformed to. And the one that we will be like in the end of time. So if you are trying to look like a model in a magazine or to act like your best friend or be as big as the guy next to you at the gym, I would say that you are pursuing something that is false. Not just you, me as well. We are pursuing a useless and false and probably evil goal, when we try to be conformed to anything other than Christ.

The way is straight and narrow. Even a small deviation drives us off track. I will end my rambling now, but if you're not sure as to the truth in what I'm saying, look in the Bible. It is chock full of people who have pursued false goals and been corrected (or killed). It is also full of people who pursued God and ultimately received their reward. Check it out. Let me know what you think

Maybe you have a way to make the analogy work?