Feeling and Being Alone

Alone. That is a word I loathe with a passion. It is so distant and even, in many ways in fact, deceptive. The truth is, those who are in Christ never have to suffer true isolation. God is always with us, and He promises never to leave us, forsake us, condemn us, or let any true harm come upon us. That is great news.

Holding onto those truths gives us comfort (even though it can be a little scary sometimes). And yet we so often forget or feel another way. This and that happened, he lost his job, somebody got cancer, another tragedy struck today, and so on. In our darkest moments, we feel alone. So often I think mentioning the solution only makes it worse because it attempts to quick-fix and eliminate. Sometimes that doesn't happen.

Keep your head up. Stay in the game. Some days are better survived than fought.

You are never alone.

The Best Thing

Nothing too long here, just a quick thought.

This season of life has been a trying one for me, especially with my job situation. Before I quit my last job, I told my GM that it was the second to last thing I wanted to do: the last thing I could ever do was stay there. But now I am realizing that this truth sometimes applies to more than one area of life. In an imperfect world, sometimes there is no "good" thing to do. In a place bound to friction, sometimes the best thing to do is the second worse thing you could possibly do. I am seeing that in a few areas now.

It's easy to be discouraged. Don't. Don't give up. That is what all the demons against you - and worse, your flesh - want. "Press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Php. 3:14). Continue to do what God has revealed as right, what He has prepared for you. Sometimes it's the second worse thing, but it can still be the best thing.

Ten Things I Learned About Pizza

After working in the pizza world for a year, I decided to make some general observations that are extremely important to the preservation of mankind:

1. There is no such thing as an "Artesian" pizza (unless it's French pizza or pizza that comes from the Artesian Well). It's Artisan ("ar-ti-sin").
2. Pizzas are not made with tomato sauce. Never! It's pizza sauce.
3. The crust is not the fluffy outer portion of the pizza - that's the rim. The crust is the whole piece of dough under the toppings.
4. It's all about metabolism. In the year that I worked in pizza places, I ate approximately 65 whole pizzas. I'm six feet tall and weigh less than 150 lbs.
5. Always tip delivery drivers. If you don't want to tip, don't get delivery. They will hate you. FOREVER!!
6. If you want it on time on a weekend, place a timed order. Pizza people aren't superheroes.
7. When calling Domino's, don't ask for a "meat-lovers" or "stuffed crust." When you choose Pizza Hut or Papa John's, avoid "lava cakes," "parm bites," "cinnastix," and "stuffed cheesy bread."
8. Don't even think about using counterfeit money. We see it. Oh, we see it.
9. Please let the workers just make and deliver your pizza. If you have questions, Google them.
10. Avoid general stupidities and rudenesses people are prone to. Order, pay, tip, and eat. Thank you very much.

The Reason for the World

I must confess that lately I have been focusing on everything but the most important thing. My faith has, as of late, seemed rather weak and my hope, dim. A new semester loaded with information and demands has come down on me. Six months of stress is culminating in a job change. Some days it's hard just to get out of bed.



So I complain, I pray, I doubt, I ask for help - humble desperation mixed with sinful exasperation.



God,

Take my imperfect obedience and my failing strength - replace it with the perfection and power found only in your Son who died to give a reason for the world.

Improved or New?

As my girlfriend, Megan, and I sat together on the couch last night, an interesting report came on the news. It was Fox News interviewing Joel Osteen in lieu of his new book titled Break Out, which is already a bestseller. Any time Joel Osteen's name is mentioned, my reaction is to sit up straight, put my thinking cap on, and listen. And I do so because I believe he does as good a job as any at opening wide the gates of hell to all who will listen.

It's not that Osteen's message is lies through and through. It is sprinkled, battered, and coated with strong biblical truth. But the core of the message is poison. His gospel is not a gospel of complete transforming power - it is a gospel of self improvement. It is the realization of potential already inherent within every human being.

And since I've been meditating on Romans 1:16-17 this week, I began to think about what the gospel does to us. Is it the power of God to make good people better? Or is it the power of God to make dead mean alive, to make sinners saints, to make old people new? Does God stop at improvement? Or does He make the children He chooses into new creations?

The New Testament is packed with illustrations that answer this question. And the Bible states in clear terms that we once indeed were "dead in [our] trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). Part of the glory of God in the gospel is the truth of resurrection. And it is also transformation:

Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26).

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor. 5:17).

Before we say anything about "better," let's talk the gospel. Let's talk about a God who took us when we had nothing to bring to the table and made us new creatures in Jesus Christ.

He Gave

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him should not perish

but have eternal life.

Even before the foundation of the world, He saw the catastrophe. When there was nothing, perhaps that Father looked into His Son and presented the eternal plan to hear His dear child say, "Father, Your will be done." The grandest scheme was about to take place. The stage - planet Earth - was set.

And thousands of years later, the fullness of time came. The Father looked into a broken world and sent a Remedy. He looked into sinful mankind and sent them a Savior. He beheld a sick, lost people; He sent a Healer and a Shepherd. Out of the darkness, Light shined.

And on that hideously wonderful night in Bethlehem, God committed a crime for the ages: He sent His dear Boy - God of God - to become man. "He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted." And one day this baby Boy, who was - and is - the hope of the world, would be pierced through and crushed, bent and broken for our sins. This is the gift.

Yes, that night God flooded the world with His grace. He did the unthinkable, the unimaginable. He loved. And in His love He gave.

So let us, with hearts full of joy and praise, also give. Let us give of our hearts and souls. Let us give of our very lives - our own selves. All we are and all we have, let it be His. For in His mercy He gave His all for us; in our worship we give all we are for Him. Not because He needs us, not because we deserve Him, but because He first loved us. 

Because He gave.

RE: A Round-Up of the Holy Hip Hop Squabble

The following is a link to Thabiti Anyabwile's response to a recent panel on reformed rappers. Having watched the video I was greatly disturbed and upset as a close listener to Christian hip-hop. Let it be said, however, that I am thankful for the public apologies that have taken place since this panel happened.

A Round-Up of the Holy Hip Hop Squabble