Are we more connected?

Much emphasis these days is on "being connected." We have instant access to information, communication, and relationships. Sites like Facebook & Twitter (not to mention old-school email) allow us instant communication with our friends & acquaintances. We can see pictures of these individuals, hear stories of the joys & frustrations of their weekends, and see all the annoying things they "like" or "dislike." And all of this can be done from a cell phone on a freeway!

Honestly, sites like Facebook are pretty cool. A great way to stay in touch, to stay connected. But are we really more connected now? Are we better friends? Are we closer to one another because of Facebook and other instant online communication? I say no, not necessarily...


Let me explain. Facebook is a great tool to enhance friendships. But it is a horrible replacement for face-to-face, voice-to-voice relationships. Facebook can give me information on what friends, family, and acquaintances are up to and how they are enjoying it. But the key is what do I do with this information? Do I encourage? Do I pray? Do I serve?


My main contention with Facebook's monopoly on interpersonal relationships is that you cannot fulfill the biblical "one-anothers" sufficiently via Facebook:
- "Love one another" (John 13:35; 15:12; 7 times in 1/2 John). 
- "Outdo one another in showing honor...Live in harmony with one another" (Romans 12).
- "Instruct one another (Romans 15:14). 
- "Comfort one another" (2 Cor. 13:11). 
- "Serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). 
- "Bear one another's burdens" (Galatians 6:2). 
- "Be kind to one another" (Eph. 4:32). 
- "Encourage one another" (1 Thess. 5:11; Hebrews 3:13; 10:25). 
- "Do good to one another" (1 Thess. 5:15). 
- "Confess your sins to one another" (James 5:16). 
- "Show hospitality to one another" (1 Peter 4:9).


I'm sorry, but I do not think that we can fulfill all these commands through online, virtual interaction.


Once again, use Facebook. But use it, not primarily to pass time or be entertained with the pics, comments, and posts of others (very funny at times). Use the information you gain from Facebook to enhance your relationships, fellowship, friendships, evangelism, and to fulfill the above convicting list of God's commands to one another!


I would write a little more, but I think I have a few notifications that I must checkup on...

Apathy- Spiritual Nakedness

I have noticed in many of my peers a heightened interest in health, dieting, and exercise. There are generally 2 components to getting in shape. First, you have to quit some unhealthy practices, like eating Taco Bell for every third meal or playing World of Warcraft 28 hours a day. Second, you have to start some active and healthy practices, like exercising or playing a sport. If you don't do both of these things together- quitting unhealthy practices and starting healthy practices- the quest for fitness will be greatly hindered.

And it's the same way with our spiritual lives. Following Christ by faith not only means that we stop doing things that don't honor Him, but also that we start doing things that do honor Him.


In my relative few years of counseling and teaching, both at my college and at my church, I have noticed that most of my fellow Christians aren't stuck in any blatant, crazy sin. What I have observed is that while many of have eliminated (or hidden really well) "huge sins" that dishonor Jesus, we also don't practice positive things for Jesus. We are apathetic. Let me explain. Many of us don't have a problem with murders, affairs, monetary fraud, drugs, alcoholism or child abuse. But many of us also don't practice things God's Word clearly tells us to do: evangelism, missions, disciplined Bible Study, giving money generously toward Kingdom work, ceaseless prayer, Biblical confrontation and restoration, helping the poor, or assisting the addict. In effect, we are the person who has stopped eating Taco Bell all the time, but we still refuse to get up and work out. As a result, we are not nearly in as healthy a spiritual condition as we should be. We are an apathetic people, glad that Jesus has saved us from hell, but confused and careless about the tasks we must pursue passionately while on earth following Christ.

The Bible teaches in Ephesians 4:22-24 that followers of Jesus should indeed remove all sins that dishonor Christ- "put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires." But we should also positively pursue Christ likeness- "put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." If we only "put off" and refuse to "put on", we are spiritually naked, with no change and passion to show the world. Don't be an apathetic Christian. Remove dirty clothes that dishonor Christ, but don't forget to put on clean clothes that bring Him glory.

Droppings...

Chinese school has a solution to help boys be more like boys.

Apparently, some "global warming" claims are based on faulty thermometer readings. Like, really faulty.

Mark Driscoll's blog post on "Boys Who Can Shave." Very good and moderately funny.

Switchfoot singer Jon Foreman gets forcibly removed by a cop from one his acoustic after show in a Tampa parking lot.

Jon Foreman responds to the police situation.

"Don't Waste Your Life Sentence." Piper's ministry to prisoners who got saved after getting behind bars. You can buy the documentary HERE.

Just a Big Hole in the Ground

(written previously on that facebook thingy)


Some time ago, I visited the Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona with Kelley. For anyone who has seen this majestic sight in person, he or she can relate to the unexplainable feeling of awe and wonder that fills our finite imaginations at this beautiful sight.

One will often hear in regards to the Grand Canyon the sarcastic comment that it's "just a big hole in the ground." I got to thinking -- that's exactly what it is! When explaining this sight from a standpoint concerned only with physical matter, there is a vast absence of matter that creates a sizable hole in the ground. For miles and miles around the Grand Canyon, there is relatively flat land; yet, strictly  speaking, it is just a big hole in the ground.

So what then attracts humans from all over the world to this place? It is not physical matter, it is not science, it is not even history. It is beauty. It is majesty. It is glory. There is an unquantifiable, immeasurable reality of the beauty that our hearts enjoy when viewing a creation so vast, so glorious, so breathtaking, and so awesome in its splendor, that cries out that we were made for a great God. One simply cannot explain our universal attraction to places like the Grand Canyon without admitting that Someone has created natural beauty and deserves to be admired and praised for that creation. Science can attempt to posit the natural causes that formed the Grand Canyon; but science can never explain the beauty, the awe, and our sense of our own smallness when we visit the Grand Canyon.

Not only does the Grand Canyon in its splendor point to the existence of the one true God, but it also points to the GREATNESS of this God. Standing on the edge of a steep canyon wall that reaches downward for thousands of feet into beautifully colored rock makes us realize that we were not created for personal significance, and we were not created to live for ourselves. It's undeniable! We were created to worship and enjoy the only God who is truly significant! Our identity, our joy, our pleasure, our purpose, our lives must come from Him, and our lives must be lived to give Him glory and praise. That is why all humans love places like the Grand Canyon, or the Rocky Mountains, or cliffs overlooking the northern Pacific. We find true happiness, not when seeking to glorify ourselves, but only when we are seeking to glorify this Great God. Are we happy with displaying and enjoying this immensely beautiful God?

No Excuses

And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” (Matthew 8:19-22)

In the passage above, we see 2 characters express a desire to follow Jesus. Jesus had been calling disciples to himself with the simple command, "Follow me." Each individual has an excuse for not following Jesus in that moment. One wants to wait until his father dies and he receives his inheritance. One is afraid to leave his hometown. But Jesus demands obedience greater than these examples.

As a follower of Jesus, we too often resemble the characters above. Jesus commands us to follow, and our most frequent response is, "Wait." Many times, we claim that we are trying to "figure out God's will" or say that we are waiting for guidance, direction, or a specific calling from God.

There is nothing wrong with trying to figure out what God wants. But I fear that many of us use this as an excuse to not follow Jesus, like the 2 characters above. I don't recall many of us waiting to watch Avatar or Twilight 12 times until God led us in that direction. When the Angels' game is on, I don't pray to determine whether I should watch or not- I simply watch & cheer (I should probably pray for their mediocre record this year!). My wife doesn't wait for a sign from heaven when Nordstrom Rack is having a sale!  Many of us don't wait to see if God wants us to buy those new clothes, or play that new video game, or head straight to the beach at the first sign of a south swell. No, rather, we simply do those things we love to do.

Maybe you don't know what God wants you to do with your whole life. Maybe you are torn between being a brain surgeon and kick-boxer, and that's ok. But God has given you today, and he has filled His Word with clear directions about what to do today. Be a light (Matt. 5:13-16). Love your neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40). Love your enemies (Luke 6:27-36). Be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). Rejoice in the Lord (Phil. 4:4). Give thanks and pray always (1 Thess. 5:17-18). And, trust me, there's more.

No one devours a whole tri-tip in one bite (though some of my college friends could challenge that assertion). And no one lives a whole life in a day. Open God's word, and find a bite-sized portion, and (drumroll please) apply it to your life. Today. No excuses.

Rock

It is reported that nearly 1 in 10 adults have what is classified as "mood disorders," most of whom are categorized as being "depressed." One of the leading causes of such depression is "trauma and stress." It seems like a reasonable connection. People go through really challenging events in their lives, and they end up in prolonged, relentless states of sadness and emptiness.

I cannot profess to be an expert on depression. I can't say I've ever personally struggled with it, though am very close with some who have. Some Christians would debate on the validity of medications such as antidepressants and otherwise. I don't wish to do that here. Whatever it is, and whatever combinations may cause it, it is clear that a large amount of adults deal with it, and a wide variety of cures & aides are suggested. Whatever the case may be, the largest ammunition humans have to fight their bouts of depression is the truth God's Word. When earthquakes strike, the buildings with firm foundations stand. When lightning & fire ravage the forest, the tall & strong Sequoia trees live on. And I believe there is a solid foundation offered to us in the example of David.

If you or I think we experience "trauma and stress," I'd like to posit that David experienced more. Consider the below:
- David is anointed to be God's chosen King over Israel (1 Samuel 16).
- Saul (the current king AND David's father-in-law!) tries to spear David twice while David is playing music for Saul (1 Samuel 18).
- Saul gives David military tasks, hoping David would die in battle (1 Sam. 18).
- Saul orders his servants and his family to kill David (1 Sam. 19)
- Saul tries to spear David a third time (1 Sam. 19).
- Saul chases David through the wilderness attempting to kill him. David has a chance to kill Saul, but spares his life. This happened TWICE (1 Sam. 24 & 26).
- Wars occur between Saul's family & David's kingdom (2 Sam. 3).
- David's son, Amnon rapes one of David's daughters, Tamar. David's son, Absalom, then murders Amnon for revenge. Absalom then revolts against David's kingdom. Yikes (2 Sam. 13-18).

As you can easily see, much of David's life was covered by the blackness of family drama, fear for his life, and trouble at work. And yet, read below what David himself writes when recalling these decades of drama (read it slowly, and read it a few times).

Psalm 18:1-2- "I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

Consider those words: strength, rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, stronghold. These are words of power and safety. These are words describing the immovable foundation that upheld David's life during decades of drama, stress, and likely depression. Reflecting on those years summarized above, David's conclusion is that a life founded on our unchanging God and his promises is a safe, secure life to live.

Everyone has a rock. Some found their lives on friends, sports, work, money, popularity, hobbies, sleeping, facebook, blogging, reading, self, love, or family. These "rocks" are things we feel we need, that we must have in order to function properly.  These are foundations on which we build our lives, and everyone's got one. The question is whether your rock of choice can actually hold you, protect you, and guide you through the good & bad of life. The depression- or a wide variety of other struggles that often plague us- will come, and it may injure us for a time. But God our Rock will uphold, will protect, will sustain. Don't take it from me. Take it from David. 


Whether stoked out of your mind this morning or depressed & in the dumps, what efforts are we making to set God alone as our Rock?

The Church: What if no one Yelped?

When planning an activity, date night, or a visit to an unfamiliar place, I use a few online tools to aid my research. Yelp and Trip Advisor are two of my favorite places to get ratings and reviews on local activities, restaurants, and lodging for wherever it is that I may be going. The websites provide basic info and listings (much like an old school phone book) on businesses: addresses, phone numbers, menus, prices, etc. But the most helpful part about sites like these is the user reviews. A hotel may look like a great place to stay until a recent user review points out the large cockroach infestation. A restaurant looks like the perfect setting for a date night, until a user reports the recent drop to a 'B' rating. These user reviews provide firsthand information and insight so that other users (like me) can make good & knowledgeable decisions.

When I visit Yelp and Trip Advisor, I do so selfishly. I only read others' reviews; I don't leave any of my own. The thought recently occurred to me, "What if no one left reviews?!" If everyone acted like me & didn't leave reviews, sites like these would lose their value.

I figure that many of us church-goers today have the same relationship with church that I do with Yelp. We attend when it is convenient for us, or when we want or need something specific, yet we never offer our gifts, experiences, wisdom, and insight to help other members of the community. We are content to use the church, but we are often too selfish to be used in the church. Yet the church as described in God's Word clearly mandates that all Christians use their gifts to serve the community: "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 4:10-11).

If everyone treated Yelp selfishly & refused to leave reviews to benefit others, no one else would be served. Likewise, in the church, you & I are mandated to not merely show up, but to "Yelp" so that others in the community can glorify God. The church was not set up so that a few select people could carry the majority of the work of service. The church was meant so that "each one" who has "received a gift" could come not only to be served, but to serve. As Paul writes, "For the body does not consist of one member but of many...But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be?" (1 Cor. 12:14-31).

And so I encourage us this morning- how are you "yelping" at your local church? What gifts, talents, experience, and wisdom has God given you so that you can bless others? If you aren't active in your church, what would happen to your church if everyone had the same inactivity?