Carnival: The Fun Ship

I went on a cruise this week.

Absurd.

Oh it was fun; in fact, I loved it. However, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the human being's capacity for entertainment. There is no limit.

On a Carnival ship called "Fascination," there was a pool, spa, gym, casino, cafe, club, sports bar, 2 fancy dining areas, buffet dining area, library, arcade, basketball court, putt-putt course, running track, internet lounge, art gallery, and even a sweet teen disco dancing club for 15 to 17 year olds called "O2."

Hot. And that's not even including Key West or Mexico.

And yet a guy I met had the audicity to tell me he was bored because there was "nothing to do."

Oh God, may I find beauty in the simple. In the mundane, may I find you, the source of my joy.

Politicians, Theologians, and Jesus Christ

Every weeknight, the fighting is viewed by thousands. Using rhetoric skills honed after years of study and debate, these fine-polished, well-clothed political guru's go at it in front of a couple cameras in a TV studio. I can't stand watching this, but my family members love political television, so I am forced almost every night to sit with my mouth shut and my spirit anguished.

Indeed, take your pick of any political talk show, be it CNN, Fox News,or MSNBC, and there you will find the depraved human heart at its best. I am not saying that all politicians or talk show hosts are corrupt; however, I have to laugh when I see grown men and women fighting like 12 year olds. They are all screaming loudly, trying to be heard over the next guy. Do they really think that what they have to say is the end all of truth? Have they captured what our country has been missing for hundreds of years? Do they have the answers that will solve our problems? They believe so. The only problem is that the guy across the table adamantly disagrees, arrogantly holding to his own version of truth which will solve the world's problems.

Lately I have been reading different Christian authors who act the same way. One theologian will write, "This is who God is." And then the next one will come along and write, "Well, this theologian is actually a moron. This is who God is." Repeat these 2 steps ad infinitum, and you have a pretty acurate history of the Church.

Ok, it's really not that simple, but I think that our history is not really as clean cut as we would like it to be. Does each one really think they have stumbled upon the answers that the Church has been missing for thousands of years?

But it still happens today.

In many ways, this rhetoric style conversation between Christians is a good thing. Serving as a means of accountability, Christian thinking and debating keeps us on our toes, and keeps us in line with Scripture.

Indeed, revelation is a communal happening. No one individual has the corner on truth.

Which is exactly why our arrogant rhetoric is so out of line. When did Christians ever get the audacity to make such confident remarks concerning Church government or the character of God? I am not saying that we must be spineless human beings who do not possess any real belief; indeed, we must hold to the gospel with conviction.

Yet when it comes to transcendent issues, we must realize the gravity of the matters of which we speak. We must speak in humility- the type of humility one exercises when disarming an explosive, acting with steadiness and confidence, yet realizing the seriousness of any given mistake. God used to kill false prophets.

If Christian theologians and philosophers were handling bombs rather than the Word of God, the world would have been blown to smitherines by now.

Handle Scripture gently.

Stop debating.

Stop fighting.

Listen.

Others have answers we are missing.

Truth is found communally, not individually.

At the end of the day, who was right and wrong will fade away. We will forget such trivial matters as we are enthralled by the glory of the LORD.

We pray that God's will would be done on earth as it is done in heaven, and yet we continue fighting.

Lessons From an Unspiritual Learner

I am a slow learner, but this is what I have learned thus far about spirituality:

Spirituality is a process.

Spirituality is a long process.

Spirituality is not neat, or cut and dry.

Spirituality is mysterious.

Spirituality is not easy.

Spirituality hurts. It cuts deep into the inner-most part of our beings.

Spirituality is not glamorous.

Spirituality cannot be done alone. It needs community.

Spirituality is a relationship.

Spirituality is a conversation, not a monologue.

Spirituality is about being in love with Jesus.

Spirtuality is accomplished by the Holy Spirit.

The more spiritual I become, the more unspiritual I realize I am.


I am not spiritual.

Why Jesus and I Have Different Tastes in Brides

When I think of certain qualities I would like to have in a wife one day, an unfaithful whore is usually not the first one that comes to mind. Rightfully so, because I think that might get somewhat frustrating after a while, the whole being maried to a prostitute thing. It's not like I sit down and think about this everyday or anything like that. But with the little thought I have given it, I've come to the conclusion that it wouldn't be the kind of thing I want to pursue.

I love the fact that God tells his love for us through stories and not just formulas. I think it's quite significant actually. He doesn't give us five easy steps to salvation; He paints a beautiful picture of it. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, or something like that. Tucked deeply within the story of the Old Testament is an intriguing book called Hosea, where Hosea is told to go marry and be faithful to a whore named Gomar. It's a beautiful story when you see it in light of Christ's unending and relentless love for His bride, the Church.

I think every whore in the Bible is a picture of the Church, because they all find redemption somehow. This is the Church: disgustingly dirty, and then made clean. What's interesting to me is that Jesus would want Her as His bride. We a broken and filthy body, and yet the King of the universe has decided that He wants us. It's like the Prince of a country going down to the local stripjoint to find His bride. He looks at her with love in His eyes, and says, "I choose you."

If there is anyone in the Bible that I wouldn't want to be, it would be Hosea. I couldn't imagine how painful it must have been for him to go into to the city with money in his hands to buy back his wife. People probably heard him in the streets yelling for her to come back, and I'll bet he had tears in his eyes.

I once liked a girl in High School who kept going back and forth with her feelings between me and a few other guys, and that was one of the most painful experiences in my life. I would pour out my heart to her, only to have her turn on me for someone else within weeks. And this happened multiple times. I felt as though something deep inside of me was ripped out, and right as the wound began to heal, it would happen again.

And I began to wonder if Jesus feels like this when we betray Him. Oh how passionate we are for Him at church, conferences, or mission trips, only to stab Him in the back a few weeks later by turning to other things we find more interesting. And like Hosea, He comes running down the road with tears in His eyes and the richest currency in His hands to buy us back, His own blood. Of course He does it with joy, but I'll bet it still hurts. Love comes with a price.

What excites me is that one day the Church will be suitable for Christ Jesus. As believers, we are not to be unequally yoked (2 Cor. 6:14), and the same is true for Christ. He cannot be paired with a bride less righteous than Himself. And so now we are being refined and purified for Him; on that wedding day, when we walk down the aisle, the glimmer in Christ's eyes will be a reflection of His spotless bride, made completely pure for Him.

So if you look at the Church and don't like what you see, you're not alone. Don't be discouraged friends; what great hope there is for us. It's not yet time for the wedding. He who began a good work in us will complete what He started (Phil. 1:6). Behold, He is making all things new, even His unfaithful bride.

The Mysterious Spirit of Christ: Why I Believe Rafiki is a Prophet

I love the Lion King. I could watch it every day for the rest of my life and not get sick of it. It's one of those classics, the kind of movie that will go down in history. Few would agree with me in saying that it is the best film ever created, and I think that's very sad, because I know that it is. There is no doubt in my mind about it. I would venture to even say it is the greatest work of art in the history of mankind. Period. I love it. I also love God. And I find it ridiculous that I just used the same word to describe a movie featuring talking animals and the sovereign God of the universe. But that is beside the point.

Towards the end of the movie, there is an incredible scene where Rafiki (the crazy monkey with a blue jabooty) shows Simba that his father Mufassa is alive. He brings him to a pond and tells him to look in; Simba is dismayed though because he only sees a reflection of himself. As the monkey stirs the waters with the tip of his finger, he responds, "Looook haaauder. You see? He lives in you." Simba looks down to find not his own reflection, but that of his father, the king.

The fact of the matter is, the Lion King taught me a deep truth about the mysterious Spirit of Christ. The whole Spirit thing is kind of strange when you think about it, you know? Jesus says He is gonna send a spirit (of Himself) back to earth to live inside His believers and guide them. These things have always confused me, but lately I've been especially inrigued by the odd words of Jesus. He says in John 5:41, "I do not accept praise from men, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts." Oddly enough, this passage actually shed an incredible amount of light on this subject for me. Let me explain.

Jesus is talking to Nicodemus in John 3, explaining what it means to live eternally. He says something quite odd in verse 6: "Flesh gives birth to flesh , but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." I thought about that for a while, and I came to the conclusion that Jesus lives inside of us. Not terribly profound, yet it hit me really hard when I realized it. The Spirit (of Christ; aka, the Holy Spirit) literally gave birth to Christ in us just as our mothers gave birth to us. And the process of becoming holy is Jesus growing inside of us, consuming more and more of our being.

I realize that this sounds odd, but please hear me out. I become increasingly convinced that this is true, and I think the Apostle Paul defends the concept in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." The process of us becoming holy is not us getting better; it is Christ in us becoming greater. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...you know the rest. So if you've ever experienced true spiritual joy, it is literally the joy of Christ (the happiest being in the universe) in you being joyful. If you've ever truly loved someone, it is literally Jesus loving that person through you. I am convinced that we can't do these things on our own.

Let's take this one step further. We are finite. I was born in 1986 and will be done with life sometime within the next 60 years or so. Christ, on the other hand, is infinite, with no beginning or end. This is significant, because our eternal life (a phrase that has become quite trite within Christian circles) is literally Christ living forever in us. Amazing when you really think about it, isn't it? We as humans do not have the capacity to live forever, yet Christ does; so when He is alive in us, we too live forever.

Let me bring these thoughts full circle to the verse I spoke of at the beginning. Jesus says He doesn't accept any praise from men. I thought this was very strange, and even a little rude; but it makes perfect sense when we put all these Biblical truths together. Jesus doesn't accept praise from men, because we are unable to sincerely praise Him. Only those with changed hearts (the Spirit of Christ now living in them) can truly worship him. For it is the Spirit of Christ in us that adores and worships the Father and Christ Himself, for only He (the Spirit) understands how infinitely worthy of praise They are. We can't see this glory on our own. In this way, we may boast in nothing, giving full credit to Jesus Christ. May we say with John the Baptist: "[Jesus] must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30).

Look harder my friends. You see, He lives in you.

What Bicycles Taught Me About Faith

When I was little I used to ride my bike a lot. I would ride all around my neighborhood and even down the road if I was feeling crazy. I would think a lot too. When you're riding a bike, thinking about life sort of comes naturally, because your mind has nothing else to do. I heard a lot about faith when I was a kid, especially growing up in the Church. I wanted to test it all out, you know, with the bike. Sometimes I would close my eyes while riding on the sidewalk, and pray that God would keep me from falling on my face. I could only do it for a few seconds though, because I got scared easily. A few times I ran into the plants and scraped up my legs. It hurt.

I've kind of doubted the whole faith thing since those days. I mean, I still believe in Jesus and that what He says is true. But I don't know if I really believe Him, you know? He says in Matthew 17 that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. Now I realize that Jesus is speaking figuratively here, but this statement really surprised me when I read it recently. Have I become so formulaic in my faith and way of thinking that I don't leave room for God's power? Have I become so jaded by all the bike rides in my life that I no longer really believe in the power of faith?

I'm reading a book now about a guy who was integral in starting up the house Church movement in China. It's almost hard to read, because I feel so convicted by a man of such strong faith, yet I am encouraged by it at the same time. In China, people are getting saved by the thousands, people are seeing visions that come true within hours; miracles and healings and many other ridiculous things that I've never seen with my own two eyes are happening. In the past I would have written these things off as false spirituality, emotional worship, and that sort of thing. But I am beginning to see that all things really are possible with God. Oh how we need to just open our eyes to see the work He is doing!

God says in Habakkuk 1:5, "For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." I realize this verse was not written to 21st Century Americans, but was intended for Habakkuk in his day; yet the principle remains. God is on the move. His Spirit is powerful and will accomplish the purposes of the One who sent Him. Oh how I long for faith! The kind of faith that Jesus says moves mountains; the kind of faith that sees miracles and visions for the sake of the Kingdom; the kind of faith that takes God at His word when He says He is going to do something unbelievable in our day.

God, what will you do? Do it even now Lord. Revive us. Forgive us for doubting. Give us faith as small as a mustard seed.

Learning to Live What I Teach: Finding Our Value in Christ

Have you ever wondered why we try so hard to impress other people? It really is amazing when you think about it. I have spent a good portion of the last 19 years trying to get people to like me, think I'm cool, approve of me. I guess I believe this will finally tell me who I really am, as if people's opinions create my identity. And though I've heard a million times that I am to find my value and worth in the fact that Jesus loves me, it seems as though nothing has changed. It's like I thrive off of praise from others, and this tells me who I am. In the words of Donald Miller, we use others to redeem us to the world.

I have thought a lot about this lately. And these thoughts sort of came to a climax last week, mostly because I decided to teach on this topic at Sunday School, but also because this desire for approval is at an all-time high for me. You would think this wouldn't be the case, because I just left High School last year, graduating to become a real person apart from that kind of drama; but my love of self has really kicked in lately, and I'm not quite sure what caused it. I hate it though. I think this part of being a human really sucks.

I took a class on the principles of sociology in the spring, which I found very interesting. One of the things we studied was Symbolic Interactionism, which pretty much says that us humans send out symbols to people, and how they are responded to is how we perceive ourselves. I think that this is true. When I first heard this concept, something in my heart said "this is true," because I do it all the time. For example, I tell a joke to somebody, and depending on how they respond is how I will then view myself. If they laugh, I will think of myself as a funny person; and if they don't, then I'm not funny. "I am what I think you think I am." This happened to me a few months ago. I got a band together to play a show on the chapel lawn of my college, and I'm pretty sure (from comments made) that we absolutely sucked. And since then I have been telling myself that I'm no good, I'm a lousy musician, that no one wants to hear my stupid songs except my dad who is going deaf, and that sort of thing. I think that this is very sad, and I'm pretty sure that it is a result of the fall.

Before the fall, God told Adam and Eve who they were: they were beautiful beings created in God's image, and they found their worth in this. After the fall, God was no longer there to tell them this, so they tried to get that same value from others. The problem is, others can't tell us who we are; only God can. So when Jesus came back, he was re-establishing that broken relationship, thus inviting us to find our value in God's love once again. He says in John 15:9, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." I think this is one of the most profound verses in the Bible.

I was preparing this lesson for the Junior High and High School youth group, when I get a text message from one of my fellow interns saying he wouldn't be there the next day. My immediate thought was: He won't be there to hear this great lesson! There goes one compliment. My second thought was: Joel, you're an idiot. Prone to wander.

So I wonder what it looks like to really believe that Jesus loves me, and not care what others think. I think it would be quite life changing, really. It would be beautiful. To live life for the approval of one: God. So what if people do or don't find me attractive? I'm made in the image of God. So what if people think I'm no good at writing music? God gave me these vocal chords, and I'm making a joyful noise for him. How different would life be if I defined myself in the love of God? I would finally be free to live.