The Last Couple of Days

Cute picture of how Willy and Jake were sleeping last night.




The audio is worthless, but it's just a taste of the cool presentation that went along with the Hillsong Concert last Sunday night. I think this is the song Your Name High.

Introverts Unite!

http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed/2011/11/18/22339/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PatheosJesusCreed+%28Blog+-+Jesus+Creed%29

This is a great post on the Jesus Creed blog that I read every day. It's often surprising when I hear people who are extroverts talk about us introverts as if we are evil. Can we come across as unfriendly or uncaring? Sure, if by friendly and caring you mean talking, not listening, and enganging in meaningless, surface-level conversation. That's a cheap shot. What's funny is that we can be as annoyed by extroverts as extroverts are by us. The deference is we keep out mouths shut about it. :) Anyway, I guess God made us each different for a reason. I think the introvert/extrovert issue is a sliding scale more than anything. There are some people I get around that I think, "Man, they never say a word!" But, usually, if I can get past small talk and engage them, or speak with them in a smaller or more comfortable setting, I find they're lovable, passionate people hungry for meaningful and deep relationships.

So, if have some introverts in your life, have a cup of coffee (hot-chocolate for me), open up yourself, and get to know them. They're really not that bad, I promise!

-Matt

Revenge and the Gospel

I am realizing more every day how the concept of revenge drives our culture and drives me. I love movies like "Taken" with Liam Neeson where the "good" guy kills all the people who have hurt him and his family. I love riding people's bumpers who pull out in front of me when they could have just as easily waited for me to go by. Stupid drivers deserve to feel my wrath. I feel like it's my duty to retaliate in response to the wrongs I see and hear, especially when they personally affect me.

What's scary is when we feel like our revenge is justified by God, as if we're somehow defending his honor by lashing out at another created human being. I should seek to honor God in all I do, but it's very dangerous to feel as if I am his sole crusader. It's also dangerous to feel as if God wants me to punish another for his or her spiritual insufficiency.

1 Peter 2:23 has been on my heart a lot lately. "When they hurled their insults at him [Jesus, of course], he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." Two verses earlier, Peter said, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." Peter wrote this to slaves under harsh masters who punished them for their faith in Christ. SO, if Jesus can respond to those who killed him unjustly with grace, confident in the justice of God and if people IN SLAVERY are expected to imitate Christ's example, how much more should I respond in a like manner in my much lighter afflictions!

A second statement that I am constantly reading in new ways is Jesus' call for his followers to take up their crosses. We generally read it as a call to embrace difficulty and to not assume that the Christian walk is an easy one. While I think that could be part of what Jesus meant, I think the truth behind Jesus' statement is even bigger. We all know that Jesus did not die on the cross just to make a point that pain can be a good thing. No! Rather, he died FOR wicked, sinful people, that they might have right relationships with God. What if this is our call as well? What if we are meant to sacrifice to provide a point of connection between sinful people and God? Could we imitate Jesus in this way in our relationships, forgiving when others don't deserve it in hopes that they'll see a tangible proof of God's grace in us? Could we be insulted without retaliating? Could we suffer without making threats? Could we trust God's justice? Can we really take up our crosses, carry them to Golgotha, and die for those who hate us?

I think the answer is yes, but the path is narrow, rocky, and uphill both ways. We have to literally care more about God than anything else. We must be more concerned about connecting others with him than with defending our interests or reputations. Ultimately, we must look to the cross not only as a one-time gift for OUR forgiveness, but as a call and an example for us to imitate for the benefit of others. We have to put away our sense of justice and trust the Judge of all.

If we can live our lives in this manner, our beliefs will no longer just be propositional statements about who God is. Instead, our beliefs and our theology and the story of our Savior will become OUR LIFE and OUR STORY.

I'll leave you with the entirety 1 Peter 2:21-25: "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." This is the result of Jesus' suffering. What might be the results of yours and mine?

-Matt