Here, John records Jesus talking with mean religious types after they got mad at Him for healing a guy on a Saturday. (They made up worthless rules and accused Jesus of breaking one of them. Check out the whole chapter of John 5 for the big picture) Anyway, here we see why Jesus is awesome…He always clears up huge misconceptions about who God is and what He is about.
Jesus is kind of saying that God is like my dog, Bruno. People might think that he’s this big scary monster that is out to bite you. But if just get to know him; he won’t bite, he’ll just slime you with his gi-normous tongue - and you’ll see that he already loves you the way you are…you don’t have to perform, just come be his friend.
Being set with God isn’t about rule keeping, it isn’t about being good enough (because we aren’t perfect), it isn’t about rituals and routines…it is actually about who you know. It is so simple; we come spiritually ‘dead’, but if we place faith in Jesus (when we can really say we know Jesus), we then cross over to ‘life’. But the funny thing is, once we know Jesus, though we’re still imperfect, it truly helps us to want and do good things. Like I mentioned at The Element last night…it isn’t a matter of cleaning up and THEN coming to God. Just come to God AS YOU ARE, believe what He says, and he will take care of the mess. So, just believe in doG, (oops, I’m dyslexic) I mean, God.
Below is a music video from Griffin House, for a song called “I Remember”. It speaks with great sobriety about war. Though I believe in praying a lot more than you publically criticize (b/c it’s easy just to scoff), I do feel voting/policy can be influenced by enough free speech. And when I consider the cost of Iraq; not just the budget, but the human cost, the death toll (civilians too) and the destabilizing of a region - I can’t help but wonder aloud about what it really means to be ‘pro-life’.
It is one thing to consider the toll of losing international credibility or being willing to act unilaterally, but it is another to explore what are justifiable grounds for losing upwards of a million lives. Sadly, Iraq was predicated on unsubstantiated claims; no links to Al Qaeda, no WMD’s. Many would even argue the Bush Doctrine is/promotes preventive war, military action in anticipation of a future loss of security or attack. We can distinguish this from preemptive war, which is one of self-defense. Preventive war is based on fear, to prevent a hypothetical attack which might occur in the future. In international law, preventive war is essentially synonymous with a war of aggression.
Financed by tax payers, (yet the most privatized war in history as far a weapons contracts and etc) fought by brave loved ones, and often justified using the language of faith & freedom…I would hope foreign policy would be humbly considered with greater reverence and precision. Yet, I’ve interacted with too many who appear more upset by protest than the fact that the war is actually going on. It seems the rhetoric mentioned above can blind us from seeing the consequences and weight of it all. While I do believe military action is sometimes necessary, I would hope that vague ideas of patriotism never trump the humanity involved in war. I think that’s why I like the song.
Africa ain’t just a country that gave us Bob Marley.
Ali G: But what harm has violence ever done?
Media analyst: Oh…death!
Ali G: Yeah, but apart from that?
Sex can lead to nasty things like [list of s.t.d.’s]…and something called relationships.
I don’t know if you know this, but dolphins ain’t fish. They is like us, they is mammaries.
Innit a coincidence dat Jesus was born on Chris’mas day?
With men and women, does you think that men should marry only one woman? Does you believe in mahogany?
So, if this show teach you anything, it should teach you how to respek everyone, even…[list of derogatory names]…so, to all you lot watching this, but mainly to the normal people, respek. West side.
I heard an amazing story on NPR today about interracial marriage…40 years ago Richard and Mildred Loving gave their name to the landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down anti-miscegenation laws in more than a dozen states. They were arrested for being married, disturbing the ‘racial integrity’ act of Virginia. I couldn’t imagine having my marriage forbidden on those grounds.
Here’s the kicker; the original judge who upheld the old law, (prior to going to the supreme court), said that God had separated the ‘races’ by putting them on different continents, proving that He was opposed to interracial marriage…if I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard religious types be racist (and often not even realize it), I could buy a tank of gas. And to make this more disturbing, I only live in a northern city, in a blue state.
…I take heart knowing that racism is a contradiction of the Gospel/scripture (Galatians 3: 28); something that says that all people are cherished image-bearers. Heaven, the perfect place, will be a place for every tongue, tribe, and nation. So, I blatantly reject the idea of ‘race’ as a perverse social construction (i.e. at the turn of the century, Italians, Jews, and even the Irish were considered ‘non-white’.) that’s been used to privilege some at the expense of others…I suppose this is why I don’t mind pissing someone off when I call out racism.
I’ll make this short and sweet. This passage is beautiful because it tells us about God’s heart, and a few core things that we must be aware of. It kind of lays out the Gospel and shows us indirectly how to think and live. I love the clear and valuable advice/truth that Paul writes to Timothy. Here’s a little commentary…
For my MSU placement/substitute teaching, I taught a 3 day mini-unit on the Cold War. When I touched on the Korean War I showed these pictures of my late grandfather, Larry. He was about 20, maybe 21 when these were taken, in Pusan…he got drafted while playing pitching for the Brooklyn Dodgers (w/Jackie Robinson). Unfortunately, he got malaria and went into a comma/lost lots of weight; that ended his baseball career.
When we worry it often will choke out our joy and peace…then stress can be an excuse to be harsh to those around us. The Apostle Paul, was in prison - chained to a soldier for 4 years…his circumstances were rough. But, he seems to have joy anyway. He writes his friends in Philippi not to complain or whine, but to encourage them to handle worry in a positive and constructive way. Paul knew that when we get stressed it’s so easy to feel like God is distant. He reminds us that Jesus is always there.
So, what is it that keeps you up at night, irritates you…what is causing you to suffer, what are your greatest fears?
You’re not alone. Paul basically is telling us that by looking to God, knowing He is powerful and loving, that He has us in His hands; that He hears our prayers and sees our tears…being aware of God will help ’gaurd your heart and mind.’
If Paul were Joe Dirt, this is how he’d tell you to “keep on keepin’ on.”
BEAU GOT ATTACKED!!! Dev was @ the local dog park with Bruno and Beau (pronounced ‘Bo’) along with a friend…and a couple of pit-bull-ish dogs attacked him out of nowhere for no reason! Beau was bitten especially hard in his right ear and bled profusely. Dev confronted the dogs’ owners who, had pulled their dogs off of him, and as Dev went to flush the wound, they fled the scene. Luckily, a good citizen followed them and got their license plate #…so we filed a report.
Beau’s trauma found him in the Dog ER, getting the wound cleaned, getting 2 forms of antibiotics, a head-wrap that looks like a turban, and a cone to top it off. But don’t worry, he’s okay; he’s feels just fine, and looks very awkward.
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Also, this weekend I ran one of the 5k’s I mentioned earlier; I went 19 minutes flat. Not too fast, but I’ve only been running a few times a week for a little over a month.
Who is Jesus? What are some of His qualities? Was He just a man, just a good teacher? …According to the author of Hebrews, the rest of Bible, and Jesus Himself, Jesus was in fact God. (He claimed to be here, for instance, and the Gospels record Him calling Himself the ‘Son of Man’ 81 times. This title, “Son of Man”, comes from this passage in Daniel…quite a divine title, eh?)
Concerning Jesus, may I paraphrase the most excellent journalist who ever was…
We should say to Jesus (as Ron did to his dog),“You’re so wise. You’re like a miniature Buddha, covered in hair.” You’ve got a “Great story. Compelling, and rich.”
If Jesus were a smell, we would undoubtably think, “It’s a formidable scent…It stings the nostrils. In a good way.”
Without being cocky, Jesus could claim, “Mmmmm…I look good. I mean really good. Hey, everyone come see how good I look!…I’m a man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel Tower out of metal and brawn. That’s what kind of man I am.”
And perhaps, the Lord could say, “I don’t know how to put this but I’m kind of a big deal. People know me. I’m very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.”
“By the beard of Zeus! …We are laughing and we are very good friends. Good buddies sharing a special moment…laughing and enjoying our friendship, and someday we’ll look back on this with much fondness.”
Everclear, whom I’ve loved for over a decade; seen them many times, been back stage, on stage (wearing a bra), and I’ve got pics and autographs. — Did a benefit show with Mars Hill Church!
Listening to Art Alexakis talk about his faith in this clip was actually very different from (even recent) interviews and lyrics. It’s awesome to see tatooed and vulgar musicians say great things about good/true churches!
Kudos to Mars Hill, kudos to Art and the boys from Everclear.
