Cheap Hot Dogs, Spray Cheese, and Loving People

One of my favorite foods of all time is a loaded hot dog with sweet relish.  But I can't have just any hot dog wiener.  I can't stand cheap hot dogs, and it's not because I am too refined for them.  It's because they are gross and give you gas.  Have you ever read the ingredient list on a hot dog package.  Things like "mechanically separated pork and chicken, red dye #76, and sodium nitrite," should not be a part of your dinner.  Have you ever had the ones that turn your water red when you boil them-they are my mom's favorites. Ugh!  I like an all natural/all beef hot dog.  Yes, they cost at least twice as much as their mechanically separated counterparts.  But at least I know that I am eating real food that God made.

Now about the Spray Cheese.  Just say that with me...
"Spray Cheese"
Kinda rolls of the the tongue like..."Stomach Cramps"
There is nothing good or wholesome about Spray Cheese.  If I am gonna eat cheese, I want the real stuff not some aerosol concoction.  If there is any Spray Cheese in your home, stop reading this, run to the pantry and throw it away...NOW!  Trust me you are a better person for it.

So what do Cheap Hot Dogs and Spray Cheese have anything to do with loving people.
A Great Deal.
Odds are if you were to the President come over for dinner you would not feed them cheap hot dogs, saltines with spray cheese, and Kool-Aid. For that matter you shouldn't feed those things to anyone unless you wanted them to have stomach cramps.  But the truth is we are figuratively feeding people cheap hot dogs and spray cheese with the way we love them every day.  There is a huge difference between pure, natural, organic love for people and man-made, forced, fake love.  Fake, cheap love leaves people poisoned much like a bad hot dog or aerosol cheese.  Sure natural, organic love cost more, takes more time to prepare, and can be messy.  But natural, organic love also tastes much better and leaves our spirits unclogged.  Love is not something that can be forced in us or out of us.  Loving people must come out of a natural progression in our relationship with Christ.  God will give us the heart and the ability to love people in a beautifully organic way.  He commands us to love our neighbor of the love He has poured out onto us.  He doesn't expect us to manufacture some artificial love to love people with.  That's what the world does.  This world gives out cheap hot dogs and spray cheese in the form of entertainment, bad relationships, and addictions.  We can't allow ourselves as Christ followers to hand out the same love this world is handing out.  Our love must be His love.

Bigger Cup Please!

This morning I began to pray and ask God for something which isn't at all abnormal for me.  I am going to be a little transparent if it is ok.  I began to ask God for a bigger cup. You know, kinda like the Prayer of Jabez..."Oh Sovereign Lord, enlarge my boundaries, broaden my tent pegs."  I thought it was a pretty good prayer, but mine went like this..."Hey God, I think I need a bigger cup, mine is kinda like a sippy cup and I want a BIG cup."  Before I could even finish my eloquent prayer, the Holy Spirit stopped me and said, "Hey Josh, you haven't filled your cup up yet. You gotta fill yours up first."  Then I stopped praying and moped for a while like a little kid.
You see my son Will is 5, and he drinks out of little cups.  Not only does he drink out of little cups, but we don't even fill his little cup up all the way.  The reason we don't fill it all the way is because we don't trust him enough yet with a full cup.  He will end up spilling the whole thing everywhere, and we would be the ones cleaning up.  So essentially the Holy Spirit was telling me that I am too much like my son Will, and I can't handle a big cup yet.  But man I really want a bigger cup.  Maybe if I quit spilling what God gives me things would be different.  I want to note that there is a BIG difference between spilling and pouring.  If I pour out what God gives out, God will give me more. If I spill out what God gives out, God will hold out.  I am gonna get my big cup...

Reflection

"I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence-we need to listen to God because it's not what we say but what He says to us and through us that matters"   -Mother Theresa

This year more than any other I have learned how to reflect on God.  I have learned how to be silent and allow everything to slow down and recognize God.  I have always been told that I am a quiet person.  I believe silence is underrated.  I think if more people would shut up more often the world would be in better shape.  We must learn how to harness our thoughts, shut our mouths, and let God speak.  I love to go fishing, and it's not because I am a great fisherman.  I love to just sit and stare out at the water and imagine God.  I love to sit in silence and dream.  My dad was a great fisherman. He would sit in a boat for hours perfectly content without saying a word.  For the 3 months he lived for Christ, I bet he was a great prayer.
The more I am able to sit in silence and reflect on God, the more I am able to see God's reflection in all of creation.  This world needs silence desperately.  We need to turn off our lives and tune into Him.  Elisha learned the beauty of a whisper from God.  Sometimes my son Will tries to talk to me from the backseat of the car.  He speaks so softly that I have to turn the radio down to hear Him.  Why does God speak so softly?  He would like to know if we are willing to turn down the radio to hear Him speak.  Is His voice important enough to you that you would be willing to stop the madness and sit in silence?  Reflect on Him and see His reflection.

The Harvest

As a boy, my dad always kept a garden in our backyard and at my grandparents' house. I would always have to help with every phase of the garden from working the ground, to plowing, to planting, watering, and then harvesting. Now my favorite part in the whole process was watering because it took the least amount of effort and what kid doesn't like playing with the water hose. My least favorite part in the art of gardening was the harvesting. Don't get me wrong its exciting to get to the point where you can actually enjoy the fruits of your labor. But harvesting was hard work, and you had to have a keen sense for knowing what was ready and what wasn't. My dad plucked the easy stuff like the tomatoes and peppers. He left the joy of picking peas, beans, squash, blueberries, carrots, and potatoes to me. It was back-breaking, agonizing, tedious, hard work, but someone had to do it. In all the stages of a garden you would think that harvesting would be the one everyone would line up to do. Jesus states that there is a severe shortage of harvesters, but there was no shortage of planters or waterers. Planting is fun, watering is fun, but harvesting is hard selfless work. As Christian we are called to a very selfless lifestyle. It is a lifestyle of You and not I, Him and not me. In order to be a harvester you have to notice things that planters and waterers don't. You can't just go into a garden and pick peas prematurely (how do you like that alliteration?!). They have to be ready to pick. You have to be in tune with you garden (now I'm starting to sound like a hippie) You have to watch that garden which also means you have to keep it free from bugs and rodents who would try to destroy the crop and limit the harvest. Most of us tend to want the easiest jobs in the Kingdom. It would be great if the harvest was like the Jubilee that happens on the shores of Mobile Bay every year where people just walk up and gather oxygen deprived fish without much work. I would love to have someone walk up to me randomly at Walmart, fall on their knees, and beg to know Christ. Unfortunately the spiritual harvest rarely works like that. In order to be a harvester in God's kingdom I have got to get down to where His crops are, notice them, keep watch over them, and gently pull them into the Kingdom when they are ready.

Love Doesn't Mean Tolerance

I was listening to one of those radio preacher guys this morning on the way to the office which I do not normally do.  What caused me to listen to him was his fervent passion against homosexual lifestyles, specifically same sex marriage.  Recently President Obama has announced that he is learning toward changing is opposition of same sex marriage.  Mr. Radio Preacher was citing the quote from the President when he began his own rant against same sex marriage.  Let me make this clear before I continue this blog: I am totally against same sex marriage and homosexual behavior because of reasons that are related to my relationship with Jesus Christ.  I probably don't hate all sin as much as God does because not all sin directly affects me.  There is nobody in my immediate family or circle of friends that is homosexual.  I usually hate sin more when it directly affects me (i.e. family members that suffer from drug/alcohol addiction).  Like Mr. Radio Preacher, I too could go on my own rant about what the Bible says about homosexuality and in his defense he was right on target.  We need more Truth to be spoken from our pulpits.  But let me also say this: I love gay people.  There I said it! I love gay people!

"What?!"
"You love gay people?!"
"Yes, I love gay people?!"
"Well, you are just the same as them. You tolerate their sinful behavior. You are no Christian, and you call yourself a pastor.  I'm telling God on you!"

That was my conversation with a traditional, conservative close minded Christian.  Love does not mean tolerance. I love gay people because God loves gay people.

"What?! God doesn't love gay people!"
Yes, He does!
"No he doesn't!"
"Read the Bible!"

"For God so LOVED the WORLD that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life"
The last time I checked, the world had gay people in it.  Amazing isn't it, God loves gay people.  But his love doesn't mean he tolerates their behavior.  My 5yr old son peed in his closet a few months ago.  I love my son but I don't love him using his closet as a toilet.  God's love for people doesn't stop because of their sinful behavior.  

I think sometimes we use our passionate intolerance for sin as an excuse not to love the sinner.  God hates sin yet He loves people.  People are imperfect, flawed, and separated from their Creator.  Every time I look at Scripture the only time I see Christ going on passionate, rage filled rants are when He had to deal with religious people.  The more I look at the life of Christ, the more I see how He loved people out of sin.  Could it be that one of the main reasons why homosexual lifestyles are such a problem today are because of our failure to Love People.  God help us.

Church Part 1
I feel that we are a long way from where the church first started. Give me a moment to explain this. I love the church (God's gift of community to the world), but the church of 2010 is far from the church of Acts 3. I am not talking about specific church locations but the all-encompassing body of Christ. Now let's keep in mind that the New Testament church wasn't confined to a building. The New Testament church was found in people and is still found in people. In 2010 we are so focused on how to do church and do church better, but God never intended for us to do church. He wants us to be the church. In Acts the church was built around a simple process. They were the church (extending God's hands of love and life) everywhere they went and then they met together and celebrated the life of Christ.
We treat Sunday mornings as a pep rally. We get together, sing and dance, jump and rejoice. But pep rallys make no sense if there is no game to being played afterwards. Let me make a suggestion. If you are not being the church daily and participating in Kingdom building, you should stop having pep rallies if you are not gonna play the game.

I need a Spotter

For those of you who don't know, I am a certified personal trainer as well as a youth pastor.  I was in the gym yesterday, which is my sanctuary away from my sanctuary.  I was doing what I believe to be the most overrated exercise, the bench press.  I mean how many times in life are you going to be in a situation where you are lying on your back and pressing weight off you.  Yet the most common question asked at the gym is, "Hey, how much do you bench".  The bench press has always been the most intimidating lift for me to do.  I am not the greatest at the bench press.  Yesterday I was attempting lift  275 pounds off of my chest.  I did it 3 times but not without fear.  I wanted to lift 300lbs yesterday but i was a little scared.  I knew I could do it but I never lift that much without someone spotting me (helping me).  I know I am capable of lifting the weight but I also know that I am capable of being weak and dropping it on my chest.
Let me parallel this story to our walk with Christ.  All of us need an accountability partner, someone who is there to strengthen us and hold us to a high level of integrity.  I realize more and more in my life that I need people around me to keep me in line.  It's not that I think that I am going to sin, but I know I am capable of sinning because I am flesh and live in a sin filled world.  In order to get stronger physically I need a spotter at the gym and in order to get stronger physically I need a spotter in life.

Community
Let's talk about true community. As a pastor i have always felt the need to portray the role of superman to those I lead, But I have never been comfortable doing that. I do my best to be transparent and honest. If I am not transparent then I might as well be saying that I don't trust God's people enough to hold me up when I am weak. True community happens when we open up and lean on each other. Stop wearing masks and saying you are ok, trust the body of Christ to hold you up. This is what the New Testament church was founded on. They devoted themselves to developing true community everyday. Be real, don't cover things up or sweep it under a rug. Confess your sins, hurts, pains, faults, one to another. God moves in true community. The Kingdom grows in true community.

Put it in the rear-view

It's tough to move past things sometimes. Maybe you have been let-down, disappointed, hurt, blamed, abused, etc., or maybe you have just made some bad decisions and stupid mistakes. Whatever the case, our past should be our past. It should be behind us, and what took place then should not affect our now or later. Having said all that preacher talk, it's hard to let go of what happened to us. Let me give you some advice the Lord has given me. Put it in your rear-view mirror. God spoke that to me and I thought, "Ok, that makes sense, but when i look in my rear-view I can still see it." Then the Lord showed me that if I am not moving toward His destiny for my life then yes my past will be seen in my rear view mirror. You see when you are in your car and you look up and see a tree in you rear-view, that tree doesn't disappear untill you move far enough forward to get it out of sight. We have to move forward to what God has for us to get away from our past. I think maybe Lot's wife learned this lesson a little too late.

Advance the Kingdom

For those of you reading this blog, I am going to assume that you know a thing or two about being a Christ follower (which may be dangerous). John the Baptist said "the kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force". Our duty as Christ followers is to advance the kingdom of God in everything you do. For some this may mean through teaching, pastoring, performing, or singing, but for all of us it means spreading the word of Christ everywhere we go. God gives us each a different set of skills and abilities, but what we don't realize is that they were given to us in order to advance HIS kingdom and not ours. So my question to you this morning is what are you doing to advance HIS kingdom with what he has given you. You could be a business man who could use income to finance the advance of God's kingdom. You could be a student who can reach one classmate at a time with the hope of Christ.
Everyday most of us wake up with the thoughts of how we can improve things for US or OUR kingdom. I encourage you to open your eyes and look at things through the scope of God's kingdom. How can you advance HIS kingdom today? Love someone, teach someone, disciple someone, show HIM to someone

Endurance
Somewhere in the middle of my seven mile run today God spoke to me. As a society we place much attention to those who are strong (physically). We hold weight lifters, football players, and ultimate fighters in high esteem. Those sports that place an emphasis on strength generally get the most attention. But the sports that are based on endurance i.e: running, swimming, and biking barely make the back cover. People would rather see a few moments of incredible strength than a lifetime of endurance. We have seen the what happens to the lives of those who cannot endure, whether it be a sports star or a religious leader. After all doesn't the Bible say that those who endure to the end shall be saved"

I really think God finds our prayers humorous sometimes. I have thought about one of my most common prayers, which is also probably one of yours too. You know it's the one where we ask God to protect us from everything that could even remotely harm us or make us uncomfortable. I have realized how counterproductive those prayers are. It's my belief that God doesn't want to protect us from everything and He would rather us not be comfortable. I know that may not sound like the God we sing about on Sunday. The bottom line is that nothing grows out of comfort or 24/7 protection. God allows things to take place throughout the course of our lives to cause growth and spawn intimacy with Him. People like Job, Paul, Peter, David, and Moses know this principle first hand.
Take a moment to go to 2 Samuel 22 or 1 Chronicles 11 and read about David's mighty men. These were brave, unstoppable warriors who laughed in the face of comfort.
Now, I wonder how life would change for us if we prayed stuff like:
"God, place me wherever you want today. Put me in the best position to glorify you. I want growth and all that comes with it. Thank you".

Ok, so I know it has been quite a while since I have posted a blog. I am in a season of intense learning from the Lord, and I hope it lasts. I have also just entered a time of fasting which I do every year at this time. I am going to use the next few weeks to fill you in and share with you what God is showing me.
I am learning, through God's help, how to pay attention. I am learning to pay attention to my wife, my family, my ministry, and myself. I am learning to pay attention, especially, to the little details. I read in Genesis this morning about how Jacob and Rebecca decieved Isaac by disguising Jacob to look, smell, and act like Esau. I couldn't help but wonder that if Isaac had paid more attention to his sons that this never would have happened. Yes, I know that Isaac was going blind at his old age and he probably had a hard time hearing, but that's when we are decieved the most. The enemy strikes us the hardest in the areas we are blind in. If I think that my marriage is ok and I don't have to work on it and I stop paying attention, the enemy will come and place a trap and decieve me. When we stop paying attention to the different parts of our lives it leaves us wide open for deception. I encourage you to make it difficult for the enemy to decieve you. Pay attention to your walk with Christ, your family, marriage, and job.