A treason at sea

There's this wonderful poem that I love by the band dcTalk, called "There is a treason at sea."  It speaks of a man all alone, in the middle of the ocean, with nothing around him but himself.  He thinks that he is all he needs, that in his solidarity he has found freedom.

But slowly, he realizes that he is not really alone.  There are spiritual forces all around him that he cannot control, cannot evade, cannot escape.  And eventually, he gives up, and slips into the arms of God.  He lets God chart His course, because he has realized that he cannot.  That's what I want to be like.  Not desperately fighting the wind and the waves of life, but fully submerged in the care and love of the Lord.

There is a treason at sea

By dcTalk

I am solo in this world of water  

Only the tip of a sunrise visible  

Like the morning light in a little girl's eyes  

I crave this freedom  I find it only in this little ship  

Just my soul and this bread and butter  

I am comfortable  

But there is a treason at sea.  Is it me?  

It is a wonder, supernatural cover of war  

The dark ones who eternal in damnation grow set about me now  

How they whine and crow  

I am solo in this world of wet  

And bitter is my temperament  

I close the door to sentiment  

And I relish all my youth  

I realize that I am doomed  

Fear of love and fear of you  

But you give me the keys to paradise  

It is you who sympathize  

You and your perfection grow  

I am cradled in your ocean's throw  

I crave your freedom in this little ship  

For you alone can chart my trip  

And like these waves I lose my grip  

And I sink into your arms

Psalm 18:16-19

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.  He rescued me from my powerful enemy,from my foes, who were too strong for me.  They confronted me in the day of my disaster,but the Lord was my support.  He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

The crux of the matter

I am consumed these days with figuring out how to be a "real" Christian.  Not one who just goes to church every Sunday, and doesn't swear, and runs the church fundraisers every now and then, and goes to youth camps in the summer.  I mean a real, legitimate Christian.


But how do you do that?  How do you know what to do, in order to best serve Christ?  How do you obey Jesus when you can't hear Him?  Maybe there just seem to be no opportunities to serve Him.  Or maybe you've got many great opportunities - how do you decide which one is best?

The crux of the matter....is that I can't tell you.  That's not something that anyone can tell you other than yourself.  Christianity is many things, but a cookie-cutter religion it most certainly is not.  Oswals Chambers writes, "Never make a principle out of your own experience; let God be as original with other people as He is with you."  To that, Francis Chan has added, "Be careful not to turn others' lives into the mold for your own.  Allow God to be as creative with you as He is with each of us."

God has called us each to a life of serving Him - but we have all been called to different types of service.  Maybe you should sell all your things and move to the other side of the world.  Maybe you should stay exactly where you are.  Maybe you should quietly work behind the scenes of your local soup kitchen or other similar institution.  The point is, that I cannot tell you.  It is something that you must discern for yourself.

I know for some of you that may be disappointing to hear.  So many of us - myself included - want to be told exactly what to do to be a "good" Christian.  So then we go and do that checklist, content in the knowledge that we have done our duty, and are safe.  But God wants us to be sold out for Him.  Passionate obsession and dry checklists have no place with each other.

The only thing that I can tell you is this: live your life in the light of eternity.  Love others and love God in everything that you do.  Ask yourself, "Will this benefit those around me?  Will this glorify God?"  All of us, even Christians, will be called to give an account of our lives to the Most High God after we die.  Are you doing things that you will be proud to tell God about?  Or do they fill you with shame?  Live your life in the light of eternity, and all of the confusing little incidentals will naturally fall into place.

Romans 14:10-19

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 

It is written:“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” 

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 

I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 

If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 

Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 

because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

False impressions

Have you ever been in love?  Have you ever had someone in your life who was so important to you, that they colored everything that touched you?  Was there ever a person who could literally brighten a grey day of yours simply by walking into the room?

That's how I feel with Jesus.  When I am close to Him, the flowers are brighter, the sky is bluer, and the grass is greener.  Food is tastier, people are friendlier, and I am kinder.  The cultural idiosyncrasies that frustrate me to point of tears when I am not close to the Lord, become endearing and adorable when we are communing with each other.  By and large, to put it simply, everything is more interesting when Jesus is in the picture.

I don't know how non-Christians survive without the Lord.  There are days when I simply have nothing else to hold onto, when He is my only lifeline, my only grip on sanity.  How do they make it through those days?  What is their lifeline when nothing is going their way?  Even on the good days...why would you want to settle for a good day, when a relationship with the Lord can make it great?

Perhaps it's because they don't know what they're missing.  And what they think they're missing is nothing like the reality.  Most non-Christians think of God as a distant, disinterested deity at best, and as an overbearing, domineering, or even cruel control-freak at worst.

Where have they gotten this impression of the Most High God from??  Certainly not from Him.  God's word says that He is kind, that He is loving, that He is forgiving, and that He is caring.  How did his reputation get so unbelievably warped?  The only explanation that I can think of, is that it's been warped by us, by Christians, by the people who are supposed to reflect His very own image.

My friends, I hope I don't have to tell you how much this should not be.  Interactions with Christians should never be a justification for someone to shy away from God.  We are supposed to be the salt of the earth, we are supposed to be the light of the world - we are supposed to draw people to God, not away from Him.  So the next time you come across someone who hates Christianity and Christianity's God, I urge you to check your heart and examine your actions, and see if you are in any way the cause of that hate.

1 Peter 5:6-7

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

A new perspective

Last week was horrible.  One thing after piled up after another, and by the end of the week I found myself completely exhausted and emotionally spent.  The final straw was when one of my co-workers called me in the middle of the night to yell at me about something that I had no control over.  Although I certainly said words in anger while on the phone with her, my anger did not abate after we hung up.

In fact, on more than one occasion I caught myself scripting a tirade against her in my head.  I would tell her everything that I hadn't thought of while on the phone with her; every possible comment had a retort prepared, any comeback was already primed with a counter-response.  In this debate that I was creating in my head, I emerged undoubtedly the winner - victorious, purged from all my frustrations, and completely vindicated of any wrong-doing.

But while I was in the middle of one of these fantasy arguments of mine, I was suddenly struck with a thought: I wonder if Jesus ever did a similar thing to the Pharisees and numerous other people who persecuted Him?  Considering that one of His last words uttered on earth was a prayer for them, I'm inclined to think that He didn't.  If Jesus didn't accuse His persecutors, how on earth can I justify doing that to mine?  It doesn't matter if I didn't actually say those horrid things to her - the point is that I wanted to, and according to God, sin starts in the heart.

And it's no use trying to justify your anger, telling yourself that they deserve your anger.  If you are living and breathing, your injuries are nothing compared to the injuries that were inflicted on Jesus Christ.  He was beaten, abused, tortured, and eventually killed, and yet He still loved the people who killed Him.  If Jesus is supposed to be our model for living, how do we then justify to ourselves that erupting in anger against a co-worker who slights us, or a boss who overworks us, or a friend who gossips about us, or a family member who breaks our trust?  That's nothing compared to what was done to Jesus; and yet He still chose to forgive and love.

So the next time that you find yourself on the verge on the eruption, the next time you catch yourself mentally composing a verbal tirade against someone who has wronged you, take a step back and get a new perspective.  Remember what Jesus did for you.  Remember the sacrifice that He made, and that even after everything He suffered, He still chose to love.  Hopefully remembering that will make it a bit easier for you to turn the other cheek.

Isaiah 53:4-7

4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, 

yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; 

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

    yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, 

 and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Hidden talents

I love people.  I love getting to know them, hearing their stories, finding out what makes them tick.  I love comparing their interests, languages, and cultures with those of people who grew up with different backgrounds or in different places.  I love learning about their families, their hopes, their sorrows, and their dreams.  And I love discovering their hidden talents.

We all know people like that - people with largely unknown or unusual talents, who always end up surprising everyone around them whenever their gifts come to light.  In fact, all of us have our own little personal party tricks up our sleeve, things that we can occasionally bring out and show people and cause a "wow factor."

These talents are wonderful.  They open up avenues of conversation, and give us an access to people that we would not have otherwise had.  Sometimes they create great opportunities for us, to perform, or volunteer, or serve in some way that would not have been possible without those specific gifts.  Our gifts, in short, are a large part of who we are.

So why is it that we so easily forget about our talents?  Instead of rejoicing in the gifts that God has given us, we find ourselves wishing that we had someone else's gift.  Or, perhaps we compare our talents to those with a similar, but greater talent, downplaying our own giftedness.  I can't tell you how many times I've scoffed at the comments of others who say that I am a talented dancer.  "But there are so many people better that I am," I reason, "and so that must mean that I'm no good, right?"

We do ourselves - and everyone around us - a disservice when we insist that we have nothing to give the world.  We have all been given gifts - something with which God wants up to bless others.  It may not be obvious to you what your gift is.  But you have one, I promise you.  Find it.  Use it.  It may be something obvious, like art; it may be something more subtle, like the ability to listen to others.  But don't convince yourself that you have nothing of worth, nothing to give.  Find your hidden talents, and use them to allow God to bless your world.  

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

An exercise in the overwhelming

There's this quote I ran across the other day that I just loved.  It said, "I like to do daring things.  Not necessarily because I am brave, I just want to see God answer me, by doing the impossible.  It's my favorite thing.  Ever.  I want to see God here, now, on this earth, turning beauty from ashes."

Has God ever asked you to do something overwhelming, something which you had no idea how on earth you would get it done?  He's certainly done that with me.  My whole life has been an exercise in the overwhelming.  Whether it was starting college when I was 15, or  living in Costa Rica on my own when I was 17, or moving to the other side of the world to teach English in South Korea at the age of 21, most of the big experiences in my life have been marked by sheer terror of the unknown, and ultimate dependency on God to get me through.

I wonder if that's how Jesus felt when He went into the wilderness to be tested.  Did He know He would be tested?  Did He know how long it would last?  Did He know that He would win?  I get the feeling that He probably didn't know all of the answers.  But He took the leap of faith anyway, and went where the Spirit led Him.  He went being led by the Holy Spirit; He left being empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Do you feel weak and un-empowered?  Maybe it's time you went where the Spirit is leading you.  He's not going to give you the strength to do something contrary to His plan.  You have to follow His leading first, and then He will give you the strength to do it.  So if you're feeling dry and helpless, try taking a leap of faith.  Do an exercise in the overwhelming.  Follow God's lead, and then just watch as He empowers you to do the impossible.

Matthew 4:1-11 
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning you,and they will lift you up in their hands,so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Better is one day...

It's been a few days since I've read my Bible.  Between being sick, and sleep deprivation, and having to work lots of extra hours at work, I have had neither the energy nor the time.  But this morning I woke up and realized just how much I missed spending time with the Lord.

I can give you testimonies of times in my life when I have been really close to God.  We talked every day, He was moving in my life, I was trusting in Him in everything....man, we were tight.  I can also, however, give you plenty of other examples of times when we were not so close.  I ignored Him, I put other things ahead of spending time with Him, I made every excuse I could think of to not read the Bible and pray and talk to Him.

And there really is such a huge, stark difference between those two times, between days that I spend time with Lord and the days that I don't.  Take this morning, for instance.  After I woke up and realized how much I missed God, I made a point to sit down and really read His word, really talk to Him, something I hadn't done in nearly a week.  And it's amazing the difference that just a little bit of time with the Lord can have on your day.

Last week I was stressed, exhausted, grumpy, and short with everyone around me.  But today, everything seems so much easier.  Students struggling make me want to help them, not fuss at them.  Teachers not communicating with cause smiles of resignation, rather than endless frustration.  And today, even my most difficult classes seem to be behaving so much better than usual.

I wonder if the Psalmist had had a similar experience to mine, when he said that a day in the house of the Lord is better than a thousand days without Him.  Because it seems to me, that spending time with the Lord not only makes your time with Him better - it even makes the time that you are away from Him better.  Indeed, especially after the week I've had without God, I'd take a day with Him over a thousand without Him in a second.

Psalm 84:10-12

10 Better is one day in your courts

    than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

    than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; 

    the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold 

    from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty blessed is the one who trusts in you.