Random Thoughts

Just a sampling of some things working through my brain:

• The Cutting Edge

Books. Videos. Methods. "30- Days." "Everything Must Change." Global. Local. Relevance.

I think the desire to be on the "cutting edge" is a trap for Christians. The cutting edge is wherever a lost person resides. Spend enough time praying for someone and interceding for them and you are in the most radical place on earth. You don't need a book or a method or a video series to get there.

• "But God Has Shown Me" (Acts 10:28)

Note: This is the passage in which God tells Peter to go to the house of Cornelius.

Wait a minute . . . . Peter had already been filled with the Spirit at Pentecost, and had subsequent 'fillings' as the Spirit moved through the world. Why then, did he need to be shown anything, let alone something as basic as human rights? The Gentiles were part of the PLAN, they weren't outsiders. You mean to tell me that a Spirit-filled man didn't automatically know that?

How is this relevant? Well, one of the slams against our American Christian culture is the ignorance of issues such as slavery, racism, poverty, homelessness, etc. They wonder how these problems continue while " great awakenings" occur. But listen - - - Spirit-filled Christians still need to be led outside of their understanding to see truths that in retrospect appear to be self-evident. It may take a vision of God that rocks you to the core (like Peter). While I'm not excusing this ignorance, be careful about making claims against Christians who don't understand every cultural inequality that exists while Christianity rambles on.

Peter, a man filled with the Spirit, who walked with Christ - still needed to be led outside to see a major truth of Scripture and a basic human need.

• Come To Your Senses

One of the things about the Levitical sacrificial system that I envy is their engagement of all of their senses in worship. The sights, the sounds, the smells - even the taste of these sacrifices brought them to a greater understanding of all that was going on. They could literally rip apart the sacrifice, smell the aroma (and the stench), taste the meal, hear the noises of the animals.

How can we engage in that now? As physical creatures, it's important to retain the physical aspect of worship. Many look for this re-engagement through experiential Christianity and tongues and healings and slayings of the Spirit. This is their entire focus - which is understandable considering our basic need for sensory experience.

But we are now called to a spiritual sacrifice. I think we can still have the full-body Christian experience - but it happens when we follow Romans 12:1,2 and sacrifice our entire beings to His will. It's a different kind of sacrifice. It puts us back into the world with all of its sights/sounds/smells/tastes. Interacting with the beauty and filth and all that goes along with both. With people. That's about as sensory as it gets.

• Movable Ramps

We are building a ramp at CBC that will be movable in case of expansion. We don't want to be locked in because we need to be ready to move if God moves.

I hope that in our spiritual walk we have the same mindset. Certain things are foundational, but others should be movable ramps. They should help lead us into worship, but ready to be cast off as He moves. Music styles, traditions, and the like are great as they lead us into worship. But they must be movable. The problem is that our church culture is quick to break down the foundations (Christ alone, inerrancy of Scripture, depravity of man) and hold fast to their movable ramps.

• The End of the Relationship

What if you were one week away from the end of your life - and you found your one true love? How would you feel about that? Would you be incredibly happy or would you feel a deep sense of loss - or a combination of both? I think that there would be deep regret over the loss of the years that you had missed.

Then why do we think that people 'have it all' when they live their entire lives apart from Jesus and then find Him at the very end? They have missed everything! I don't envy them. They've missed years with the love of their life.

Also, the more you love someone, the more you want to know everything about them. Imagine finding the journal of your one true love - wouldn't you devour it from cover to cover, to soak in all their thoughts, their dreams, their plans? It would be your treasured possession, gaining intimate glimpses into their heart. Why is it any different with His Word?

I think that we simply are not in love enough with Christ if we imagine that people who get saved at the end of their life "have it all" or when we don't see the absolute joy of digging into His thoughts. Honestly - I just love Him so much that I couldn't fathom waiting to the end of my life to find Him and His Word.