this is the air I breath?

Dust/lint…Airborne dust mite debris…Pollen…Mold spores…Certain bacteria…Most smoke…Smog particles…Odor carriers…Virus carriers…

Yesterday, I changed my furnace filter which is a rather expensive, multi-month filter. As I took the new filter out of the packaging, I noted these things that it is taking out of the air my family breathes in our house.

On the packaging, there are little symbols of each of these intruders; so for instance, the “airborne dust mite debris” symbol is a drawing of a little bug…

Imagine that thing crawling around your house because you bought a cheap filter…

Well, not me, baby. I looked at the old filter before I threw it away, and am happy to say, I got my money’s worth out of that one.

I’m no furnace filter expert, but I took a close look at that thing and am sure any scientist worth his or her beaker could identify said dust mites and mold spores by name.

I think that filter got ‘em all. And now a new one is in place, ready to suck the bacterial life out of any germs who expect a free ride through my duct work into my family’s living spaces.

Colossians 3:16 is a great verse. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your heart to God.”

You have a filter you know.

We could run our bad attitude, careless words, thoughtless action, mean spirit, gossiping story, etc. through the “word of Christ,” which would, I’m sure, filter it appropriately. Sadly, the word of Christ often doesn’t dwell in us adequately let alone richly.

I want to be around brothers and sisters who get and give and live the filtered life, where what comes out is the wisdom expressed in worship…

“psalms, hymns spiritual songs, thankfulness”

It’s close to the end of the month. If you changed “this” filter, I wonder, what has the richly indwelling word of Christ caught?

As if, looking back you could see all those things you didn’t say…Those people you didn’t hurt…

Is it time to put the filter back in its place?

it's a rental

It was a perfect day for the beach, and my new bride and I had the top down in a fun but gutless Mustang. 

We...were tearing down a dirt road riddled with potholes. There was a sign saying something about four-wheel drive a few clicks back, but I didn’t bother getting the details. 

My wife began to get nervous about our adventure and asked if we should be taking a Mustang on a road like this. Without hesitation, I uttered those three little words that put our minds at ease and that have been used by most of us at one time or another to justify the reckless disregard for vehicle degradation:

It’s a rental. 

It’s amazing how differently we treat things that we own versus rent. 

Ownership gives us a sense of responsibility and care. It is ours, and in some way it reflects who we are, so we take care of it. 

For several years I drove and old Buick Park Avenue that my wife and I bought from her grandfather. It was hot beige with a beige interior. Not exactly the ride of choice for a young man... 

but it was mine. 

It was not nearly as nice as the gutless Mustang we rented on our honeymoon, yet I treated it much better. 

My treatment of a car reflects my level of ownership more than it reflects the value of the car itself. In the same way, when it comes to the mission of the church, our responses reflect our ownership more than any other aspect of the mission. 

Our churches have a clear, innovative, Holy Spirit-inspired vision for how God is calling us to proclaim his kingdom, but if we collectively have no ownership of that mission, we will be hard pressed to achieve anything.

God is not limited in accomplishing his plans by our lack of ownership, but he has chosen, for his glory and our joy, to employ us in his work, and I don’t want to miss out on that.

- Brad House

God (probably) didn’t give you a verse

They say all who wander are not lost. Well, I am.

Of all the nonsense I embody, none is more profound than my non-sense of direction.

I can get lost in the WalMart parking lot.

Part of my dad’s manly prowess as a hunter is the fact that you could drop him in the middle of the Yukon wearing nothing but boxer shorts and tennis shoes, and he’d walk to a McDonalds in a matter of hours with a dead moose in tow.

Drop me in the middle of the 20 acre wood plot across from my suburban neighborhood and I will never be heard from again.

True story. Several years ago I was hunting on a wooded hillside in Pennsylvania State Game Lands about 5 miles from my house. I technically knew “where I was” but not exactly “where I was” if you know what I mean. I was forced to call my wife from my “lost” position in the woods and tell her I would be home late because I was (kinda…) lost.

To make matters worse, my young son was with me and followed me circuitously throughout the forest, looking at me as if to say, “It must be embarrassing to be you…”

Sometimes, I’m surprised he still calls me “Dad.”

After several hours of this, we reached the road and (eventually) the car.

There have been times—a recent spring turkey hunt comes to mind—when I thought I was lost, but suddenly recognized my surroundings and realized, “this is where I want to be!” What a great feeling. A great feeling, but not much of a “found” strategy: “Keep walking until you recognize your surroundings.”

I’ve been thinking about how this serendipitous sort of “finding” creeps into the way we sometimes study the Bible. I recently read this article and was challenged by the authors opening words. “The purpose of reading the Bible is not self-fulfillment, although that’s an easy trap to fall into. There are some questions we can ask ourselves as we read Scripture to make sure we are reading for the right reasons.”

He goes on to share these questions which I’ll include at the end. His words here are needed. While we might not actually open the Bible randomly, plant our index finger on a verse and claim it from God, we often do search and apply the Scriptures that way.

This morning I was with a group of men and we discussed this; beginning with what the author means by “reading for self-fulfillment.” I think it describes the verses we pick and choose to apply because they make us happy. Perhaps we deduce a meaning that meets our need without qualification. One brother noted his fear of any word that begins with “self.” It often means we’re on the wrong track. Indeed.

I loved @JohnPiper’s tweet on January 14: “Only God is more valuable than the Word of God.” Yes…

Which means, that God’s “value” is at stake in our journey through the Scriptures. Beware of your haphazard and (worse) self-centered meander through the holy text.

When you “tiptoe through the truth” and your foot comes down on some warm and therefore assumed  "takeaway from God," make sure it’s not just a verse you gave yourself.

Here are the suggested questions from the article:

1. What does this passage teach about God?

2. What attributes are on display?

3. What work is God doing?

4. How does the biblical author point us to God in this text?

5. Even though God may not be explicitly mentioned in this text, how is he at work in what is happening? How is he directing "behind the scenes?"

6. How does this passage either reveal or reflect the glory of God?

7. Does this passage over any models of those who miss the point by not seeing God at work and by not focusing on his glory?

8. Does this passage over any models of those who get the point?

9. What can I learn from these negative and positive models?

10. What does this text teach me about my own pursuits and agendas?

11. What selfish ambitions and pursuits do I need to repent of in light of what I just read in God's Word?

12. What have I learned from this text that helps me keep God and his glory at the center of my life?    

why we don't build restaurants on the rim of the Grand Canyon

Not long ago, I traveled with a friend of mine to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the first time for me to see this natural wonder.

As we walked the edge of the canyon at night, we could see the canopy of stars, not obscured by neon signs and strings of electric streetlights. Is this because there is no market for commercial real estate there at the lip of the canyon?

Of course not.

Instead, it is because the area has been protected as a natural park, zoned to maintain the integrity as a wild place.

This is dominion.

A cultivation of space according to its purpose and protection. In another place, a restaurant cooking food and feeding a neighborhood would be an example of dominion. In another, tending goats or the construction of a medical clinic or the building of a dam might be an aspect of dominion.

Starving to death because you can’t cultivate land to provide food for yourself and your community is not dominion, but neither is over fishing a stream so that your grandchildren can’t feed from it, or paving over the land the next generation could use for growing grain, or wiping out the entire population of honeybees so the future generation don’t see the glory of God in their flight, in the taste of the honey...

These are extreme examples. But this principle is seen in the way that God establishes human accountability not just for nature, but also for time.

Humanity is to be active in labor for six days of the week. But a limitless activity isn’t dominion at all; it is slavery. God establishes that we follow his model not only in activity but also in inactivity, in Sabbath rest.

In the cultivation of land and animals, likewise, we are to take into account the best interests not only of ourselves but also of nature and of the generations to come. We then, give the land Sabbath rest. We do not mistreat animals. This is husbandry, not tyranny, and it isn’t a contradiction of kingship but an explanation of it.

From the very beginning, lordship is defined not “like that of the Gentiles,” but in ways that will ultimately manifest themselves in a basin and towel.

Humans are designed to thrive as they express creativity and dominion, in the image of their Heavenly Father. That will look differently from person to person, but it does not change the fact that every human was designed to create and to steward.

- Russell Moore

wow...

coffee with Bob

When I woke up Tuesday morning, "Bob" was a name in the church database.

Known to me only by his "pertinent information." Family relationships, important dates, contact information.
Me and Bob were like this…

Not.

When I woke up Wednesday morning, I met Bob. He had called and said he was relatively new to the church, and he'd like to meet me. So, we met face to face. I looked him in his eyes. Shook his hand. Drank coffee with him.

If you're new to a church, or have been there a long time, and have never taken the time to sit down and talk with one of your pastors, let me encourage you to do so…For your pastor's sake.

Here are some thoughts from a pastor's perspective, about conversations like the one I had with Bob.

1. Your pastor is not too busy. This always cracks me up. Hello I'm a pastor with the privileged and honored calling to minister to people. Talking to you is what I do. So please don't apologize for bothering me. I'm not too busy.

2. Your pastor is too busy…Let me explain. Bob kept it simple. "Let's get together and have coffee." While your pastor is not too busy to talk you, his job as a pastor is bigger than talking to you, so keep in manageable. Bob was sensitive to my time and I was sensitive to his. Ask your pastor, "What would work best for you?" I meet with people at all kinds of times which helps me manage my schedule and helps them manage theirs.

3. It won't be awkward. This is not your first date after being matched on E-Harmony for Pete's sake! I know pastors who are introverts, but the nature of most pastors' calling and experience means that "talking to people" is hopefully something they do regularly. If you feel like you're not a good conversationalist, have nothing to talk about, etc., don't let that keep you from connecting with your pastor. The benefits are well worth the risk.

4. Talk about yourself. As a pastor here are some of the things I'm most interested in when I meet new people in a context like this. What/who brought you to our church? What has been your past church experiences? Share some information about your relationship with God. How have you (have you) gotten connected at church? What questions, problems, etc. are you experiencing as you get familiar with the church? Tell me about yourself and your family?
There you have it. Pretty simple eh? That's probably a lot more info. than we can cover over a cup of coffee, but obviously, there's plenty I want to talk about.

5. Don't talk about yourself…too much. Here we go again. Let me explain. Don't be afraid to ask your pastor about his life, family, his dreams and visions for the church.

6. Keep the balance between conversation and counseling. If you're going to drop a bomb on your pastor because of a crisis in your life, let him know that's coming beforehand. But, if you have a spiritual need, and want some advice, by all means take advantage of the opportunity. Some of us get squirrely around pastors and act as if we need to talk in a completely different way. Be yourself! Your pastor will appreciate the genuineness.

7. Be encouragingly critical and encouragingly critical. Be honest if you want to talk about bad things in the church. You are probably seeing things he is not. Pastors I know want to address and work to resolve problems or clarify misunderstandings. At the same time, encourage your pastor. Plan to share one thing with him that you appreciate about the church in general or his ministry in particular. You will never know how much those encouraging words mean to your pastor.

I'm sure there are other things pastors would mention here. If a pastor is reading and feels so compelled please comment.

I'm looking forward to seeing Bob in church this weekend. We already have a lot to talk about.

of roadside ditches and sin

Watch this:

Read this:
James 1:13-15

I don't know about you, but I see some similarities…