Thank God, He's Not Like Us

God's Judgment. It's a fascinating topic that is often misunderstood. Throughout my life there have been earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tsunamis, fires, terrorist attacks, airplane crashes and other horrible tragedies. One thing I have come to expect is that in the wake of tragedies like these there are always, and I mean always, those who are ready to tell the world how those events are the hand of God pouring out judgment on those who deserve it.

To be honest, those statements have never sat well with me. I mean, something deep down just doesn't resonate with comments like this. I feel like we as Christians sometimes think we are speaking for God and he's screaming at the top of his lungs, "Shut-up!" Ok, maybe he's not saying shut-up, but if you can believe he pours horrible judgment out on people then I can think he says shut-up.

I think the thing that bothers me most is the arrogance in which those "undeserving judgment," proclaim with confidence God's passing of judgment on those "deserving." Have we as Christians come so far in our Christian walk as to think we are no longer deserving of judgment? The truth is we all deserve it. No one is more deserving than anyone else. Sin is sin, and we are all in the same boat when it comes to that. The judgment pronounced on sin is death. Since we all sin, we all deserve death.

I really believe that those who are so quick to jump on the "God's judgment" bandwagon are disillusioned by thinking that God is like them. They often make statements about God judging a group of people because if they were God that's what they would do. Thank God, He's not like us! Here's the way God is. Since, we all have sinned and deserve death, God decided to pass judgment. Yep, he decided to pour his judgment and wrath out on sin. So, scripture tells us that Jesus became sin, and God poured his judgment out on him. As a result justice has been served, by Jesus taking our place. The cross is where God's judgment on sin was carried out. Now, as a result, grace, God's undeserved, unmerited, goodness and favor, is available to us. All of us. Don't get me wrong, I still believe that sin has consequences in our life if we choose to walk down that road. For instance, whether I'm a believer or not, if I was to murder someone, that sin would carry some pretty hefty consequences. Sure, I could capture God's forgiveness for my actions but that act carries with it a huge penalty.

I honestly don't know why calamity hits some, while it never comes close to others. And I'm not saying God can't sovereignly move in a way that opposes my theology. I learned along time ago, God will never fit in the box I consistently try to put him in. I just believe that God is the judge and I'll leave that responsibility to him. I refuse to jump on the religious bandwagon that so arrogantly thinks God is in agreement with them. I just pray that I consistently agree with him. I find that life goes a lot smoother for me when I'm trying to be like him and not trying to get him to be like me. I think we can all be very thankful, that God's not like me. Cause' I would have thumped us all off this planet by now.

My Favorite Rap Song

I'm not a big fan of rap and hip-hop. I can handle it from time to time, but I don't like a steady diet of it. My 5 year old on the other hand, really digs it. Actually, from a very early age he would groove to the sounds of hip-hop when he would accompany my wife and I to youth events when we served as youth pastors. I'm telling you he could really groove. I would make comments about not knowing where he got his moves because mommy and daddy sure couldn't move like that.

Anyway, we bought him a Toby Mac CD for Christmas and he listens to it a lot. Then this week his cousin let him borrow his Toby Mac DVD. Needless to say the the better part of this week, he's been "boomin' out the stereo system, cause we rock in stereo." At least that's what I think the words are as best I can make out.

Of course, whatever he's listening to, his little brother joins in. Usually we find them in their bedroom complete with a rap singer hoodies on their heads, and some type of microphone thingy in their hand. Pretty much anything can pass for a microphone as long as they can hold it in their hands. After listening to that music for a while, our house becomes a stage for this up and coming hip-hop duo.

The other night while I was in the living room I was entertained by the hip-hop sounds of my two little ones. Somewhere in all their music mix I could make out "Come on, Come on, Come on," "Honor and Power and Praise," "Your Grace Is Enough," "Singing, Rain Down,""I Was Meant To Love You." How they put that together in one rap tune I don't know, but I have to admit it has to be my favorite rap song. And believe it or not, I think I could handle a steady diet of that.

But, then again isn't that the way it goes? Even though I'm not all that much into that style of music, I'm definitely into my boys. Believe it or not, I've even been known to join them, with fake mic in hand and hoodie on my head. It's just one of those things where I think I would do anything just to hang out with my boys and bond with them.

Hmm, I wonder if that's the way God is with us? I kinda think so. I think that whatever song we sing, just so happens to be his favorite song. And I think that he'll do whatever it takes to spend time with us and bond with us.

By the way, just like they knew what I was writing, my two boys have just come into the room and cranked up Toby Mac. So, I've got to wrap it up cuz I got to join my boyz and "Turn on, turn on, the ig-ni-tion!"

Lessons From The Buried Treasure Of The One-Eyed Pirate

I can't recall the pirate's name I used, but I do remember he was a one-eyed pirate and that's all that really matters. A few weeks ago, my sons and I embarked on a treasure hunt. I was sitting at home one day trying to think of a fun adventurous thing to do, when I remembered an idea my niece and nephew gave me about something their dad used to do when they were younger. A treasure hunt. So, I got up and got busy writing riddles, drawing maps, and hiding them throughout the house, garage, attic, and cars. Of course I had to get a treasure together and bury it in the back yard to make the adventure complete.

I don't want to brag, but I have to admit it was one of my better father/son adventure ideas I've had. I sat down with my two boys and began telling them about the pirate One-Eyed (Billy, Willie, Wally) or some made up name like that. Most people don't know it but he actually use to visit Conroe way back in the time period when pirates were sailing the ocean and raiding ships. Ok, so Conroe's a good 90 miles or so from the coast, but the story works good with boys 5 and 2. Now my 2 year old had no real idea what we were doing, but he sure had a blast running through the house with us and digging with his plastic shovel.

We ran all over the place and found clues that only the One-Eyed pirate himself could have left behind. Until finally, we had found 2 pieces of a map that had been torn in two. When we pieced the map together we discovered that the One-Eyed pirate seemed to have buried a treasure in our back yard. We got out the shovels, hunted for the X and started digging. There it was just like the map had indicated.

Of course, we had to run in and tell mommy about the treasure we had found and after that get something cold to drink because it was something like 120 degrees outside. Ok, it was more like 90 but hey, I'm in story mode here. After the excitement of the hunt was over, things got back to normal and the rest of the day was just like any other. Oh, but the hunt was a blast. Even for me and I knew where everything was.

It reminded me of times when I was a kid. Times when me along with others would head out in discovery mode and head off into the great unknown. There was that time when I went into the attic when I couldn't have been more than 6 or 7. I went up with a friend looking for bats that someone had told me lived in attics. I didn't find bats but I did discover that drywall doesn't do too well at holding up a young adventurous boy walking around in the attic. Fortunately, nothing broke when I fell through and hit the ground.

I loved that kind of stuff! No, I didn't enjoy the pain of the fall, but the adrenaline rush of stepping into a dark attic where bats might be, was awesome. I'm sure had I found bats, I would have fallen out of the attic trying to run from them. Here's my point. I think we were wired that way on purpose. Not just to run around looking for make believe treasures or bats that aren't really there. God wired us to get a thrill out of the process of discovering him. He longs for us to enjoy this journey of discovery that we are on concerning him. Of course, that journey is a bit dangerous at times. Times when we go through things that are beyond our control so that through it we can discover that part about Him that holds everything together. Then, there are those times when our trust in Him is stretched to the limit and find ourselves running out of time only to find that part of Him that is never late. How about those times when everything around you makes no sense at all and in the middle of it you discover that part of Him that doesn't think the way you think.

Our journey of discovery is not always fun, but you can never say it's not exciting. Back in the days of Moses, there was an event that took place that left the children of Israel a bit scared of God. God's talking and the children of Israel see lighting bolts, and smoke, and they hear loud noises like thunder. They freak out a bit and tell Moses that they have no desire to communicate with God one-on-one. They tell him that they are completely ok with the idea of God talking to him and then Moses can just relay the message the them. Why? Because, it seemed a bit dangerous. Our continuous discovery of God can seem a bit dangerous at times, but it will always be rewarding. As we grow to know him more and more, he'll stretch us and challenge us. He'll address things in us that need addressing even though we don't want to go there. He'll cause us to step out of our comfort zone and step into areas we've never been.

As a kid, I loved that kind of stuff, but as I grow older I get more comfortable with where I am. The truth is, God will let us stay right where we are, but where is the adventure in that? I think its time for some of us to rediscover the joy of discovering the unknown things of God. I know I'm ready to go on a treasure hunt.

God Is Here

I caught the movie, "Prince Caspian" last week. It was a pretty good flick for the most part. One thing that stuck with me, or actually I should say bugged me, was the absence of Aslan. Aslan of course in the writings of C.S. Lewis is a reflection of Christ. In this movie, I was a bit bothered by the fact that Aslan was nowhere to be found. Sure, he makes an entrance in the end, but throughout the movie, one is left wondering where he is and why isn't he there. You sit there thinking, "Doesn't he care?""Why has he left these Narnians on their own?"

I'm not a movie critic and I don't intend to discuss how this movie did a poor job of transferring Lewis's writings to the big screen. The point I want to make is that unlike the movie, we have a creator who hasn't left us. Although, there are times when we can't feel him, perceive him, or see evidence of him, he is here. He is always here. Whether we feel him or not, he's here. Those who live life driven by their senses, struggle when their senses don't sense him. Scripture tells us though that we are to live by faith, not by sight. It takes faith to pray when you "feel" your prayers are reaching no higher than your ceiling. It takes faith to love others when your "feelings" have been hurt. It takes faith to trust God when you "feel" like he's not there. It takes faith to continue on the path God put you on when you "feel" like quitting.

God is here regardless of what we think or feel. Believe it or not, when a tsunami hits or a hurricane hits, or tornadoes hit, or an earthquake hits, he is here. I'm not saying he causes calamity in our life, just that when calamity hits, he's there. Bad things happen, its true, but God has not left us on our own to go at this life alone. He is here with us, walking through life with us. Of course, like the movie, he'll show up at the end. But, until the end, He is here!!!

What Voice Do You Listen To?

I had the opportunity to take in an Astros game with my family last night. After our 3 mile hike, we finally made it to our seats in the nose bleed section. If you have never been to Minute Maid Park, they have a train that sets high above everything out in left field. In order for the train to get cranked up and move along its short little track, the Astros have to either hit a home run or win the game. Now, for us adults although its a neat attraction, its not really a big deal. But for my two boys, seeing the train move was pretty much the only thing that they cared about. Anyway, since it would take us about an inning and a half to get down from the nose bleeds, staying in our seats till the end of the game was pretty much out of the question. So, in order for them to see the train move, the Astros were going to have to hit one out of the park.

Not sure what inning it was, but at one point the Astros had loaded the bases and Hunter Pence steps up to the plate. My wife commented to the boys that we may get to see the train move. I turned to her and said it's not likely with Hunter Pence at the plate. Now, I like Hunter Pence and think he's a great ball player and know he can hit home runs from time to time. I was just making the point that he doesn't have the power Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee have. And although he is likely to drive in a couple of runs during this at bat, clearing the bases with a grand slam was a bit of a stretch.

Fortunately, for the Astros and all their fans, he didn't bother listening to me. He drives it to deep right and everyone knew when he hit it, it was gone. There I stood, in disbelief. Again, I didn't think it was an impossibility, just not likely. Of course, what I thought, didn't change anything. I'm not an expert, but then again even if I was, my opinion still wouldn't do much in effecting the outcome. The only time, our opinion makes a difference is when someone listens to it and allows it to effect them.

In our lives there are millions of voices out there screaming a million different things. If we stop to listen to them, most of them will be shouting out that we are incapable, inadequate, and unable. They'll tell us we aren't strong enough, smart enough, or talented enough. They'll scream that we never will, never could, and never should. Some of those voices are from those close to us, while others come from those who don't even know us. There are those voices that come from the "experts," the media, and Hollywood. Then there are those voices that seem to come from deep inside of us when we take a hard look at ourselves. Regardless of where they come from, they can do nothing in shaping us unless we choose to let them. It is when we begin agreeing with them that we give them power.

There's only one voice that matters in the grand scheme of things. And it is with this voice we need to learn to agree. That is the voice of our heavenly Father. If you'll listen close his message is quite different. It'll whisper, "You have what it takes!" "You can do this!" "Go for it!" "You can, you will, and you should!" His voice can be heard in those around you encouraging you and exhorting you. It can also be heard coming from deep inside you if you'll listen for it. It is when we come into agreement with this voice, that we find the kind of life God has designed for us to live.

Hunter Pence hit a grand slam last night, because he stepped up to the plate and swung the bat. I don't know what he was thinking when he stepped up there, but if he's like most men, I got to be thinking in the back of his mind he had to believe that a grand slam was possible. Every kid growing up playing baseball envisions a moment like that. And in that dream every kid envisions himself knocking the cover off the ball. It's not until those kids grow up and have spent years listening to those negative voices, that they no longer believe they can do it. I have to think that at the moment he saw the pitch, Hunter heard a voice that said, "you can do this." A split second later the bat hit the ball and the rest is history.

You can spend your life believing all those voices that tell you no, not, never, ever. Or, you can choose to listen to the one that says, "You have what it takes. Swing the bat!!!"

It Makes Me Appreciate And Value Life

Over the last couple of weeks, as I've watched the news, I've been taken back by what all has happened. Thousands of lives have been lost through tornadoes, cyclones, and earthquakes. Just think about it, people were going about their everyday lives when all of a sudden it was all over. It's pretty sobering to me. It makes me appreciate and value the life that I have. Let's face it, none of us have been promised tomorrow. I'm not trying to spread doom and gloom here, its just reality. Actually, death for a believer is hardly doom and gloom anyway. The point I'm trying to make is that this life we live is so temporal and in the grand scheme of things, even 70, 80, or 100 years is still quite short. Scripture says our life is but a vapor, here one day and gone the next.

Death for us is certain, unless we are of the generation here when Jesus takes us out of here. The truth is death could visit us today, tomorrow, next year, or it could be 10, 20, 50, or 70 years from now. But rest assured, it'll visit us. Ok, I know this is not my usual encouraging, inspiring BLOG, but stay with me.

Life on this earth is precious, but in comparison to eternity it is extremely short. What we do in that short amount of time is extremely important though. When I hear news like I've heard the last couple of weeks, it makes me think about what I'm doing with my life. It's not a condemning thing, just a gut check. It makes me ask the question, "how engaged am I with my family?" It makes me want to spend quality time with those I love most. It makes me want to put the things that need to be on the back burner on the back burner and put the things that need to be in the forefront in the forefront. It makes me want to play air guitar with my kids even when I've got a list a mile long of the things I need to do. It makes me want to spend time with my wife, and cherish each moment we have together. It causes me to evaluate the things I value and why I value them.

Years ago, my grandmother who was well advanced in years knew that death was getting closer with every passing day. She was a feisty lady and was never shy when it came to speaking her mind. Of course, that often led to her not having the greatest relationships with others, including some of her kids. From time to time she would get to thinking that she would hate to die and not have a clear conscience so she would get on the phone and start calling people. She would call one person after another asking them to forgive her if she in anyway had offended them. I just wonder how our lives would be different if we would not wait until we are in our 80s or 90s before we did something like that.

The truth is that a moment wasted can never be recaptured. We need to make it a point to say the things we so often wait too long to say. We need to forgive those who we often wait too long to forgive. We need to spend more time with those most important to us, and we need to love as if there's no tomorrow.

Of course, the most important thing is not to fall too much in love with this world here. When all is said and done, the stuff here will be gone and the only thing we take out of here is our relationship with our Creator and our relationship with one another. That's it. Nothing more , nothing less. If we travel through this life trying to capture as much stuff as we possibly can, in the end we will be grossly disappointed. I'm not saying that having stuff is bad, just that if it becomes our main pursuit in life, we will realize in the end how worthless that pursuit truly was.

I am convinced that loving God and loving others is the only pursuits in life that are the only things that are truly rewarding. Perhaps its just me, but I just believe that if I'll focus on that, when death comes knocking, I'll have no regrets and can welcome it with open arms. Of course, I'm talking in about 60 years or so.

Of Squirrels And Men

I'm not sure why, but last night while I was laying in bed, I was recalling an event that happened a few years ago. So, I figure I'll just run with that today. I don't remember exactly how long ago, but I know it was several years back, while I was playing golf one day. I would love to say that I am great at golf, but that would be more than an exaggeration. It would actually be a complete lie. Anyways, I was playing alone this particular day and actually managed to hit the green on a par 3 and was thrilled with the idea that I was walking up to the green carrying only my putter. You every-once-in-a-while golfers no exactly what I mean. As I'm approaching the green, on the other side of the green I see a squirrel, which of course is not out of the ordinary, but this one was a bit different.

Generally, squirrels run away from you, right? Not this one. This one actually starts running toward me. Naturally, I thought that was a bit odd, but as he continued to approach me I began to think perhaps he's more than just a bit odd. Perhaps, he was a card carrying member of squirrels with rabies or something. Needless to say I was getting a bit nervous. I stepped a little to the right and cocked my putter and took up a posture that said, "come, near me and I'll kill you!" The squirrel never deviated from his course and never broke stride. He ran directly over the ground that I had just vacated and continued running in a straight line until he got to a tree and simply scaled the tree as only a squirrel can do.

After my heart slowed down a bit and the adrenaline rush was over, I continued with my round of golf, no doubt missing my birdie putt. I don't really remember the putt, but I had to have missed it, because as poor as I am at golf, trust me if it was a birdie, I would remember it.

Back to last night. As I lay there recalling this event in my mind, I started thinking about how focused that squirrel was on where he was headed. I'm not sure what was in that tree, perhaps its nest, or little baby squirrels, or a hidden stash of acorns. The fact is there were trees all around, but for some reason, this was the only tree this squirrel was interested in. And even though this 5' 11" 200 and none-of-your-business pounds guy stood directly between him and the tree, this squirrel was determined to get there. He wasn't rabid, he was just focused and determined.

We've all been in situations like that. We have something we've set our eyes on. Something we long for. Perhaps it's a dream that God has birthed in us. A creative, inspired dream that God planted deep inside of us and we see it clearly up ahead. Maybe its a miracle of healing you've had your faith set on or a loved one you've been praying for God to reach. It could be any number of things we've set our heart on but, in between us and it, is some kind of major hurdle. Something that takes our eyes off of the goal, and therefore causes us to lose focus and get off track. If we are not careful, it can cause the dream to die.

But, if its a God dream, we need to be willing to face the hurdle head on. Keeping our eyes on where we are headed and the One who's called us to get there. Like the squirrel on that golf course that day, we need to stop at nothing to reach the place that we long for. We need to determine that whatever stands in the way is going to either move or we'll climb it, hurdle it, overcome it, go over it, go under it, or go around it. Scripture tells us that for the joy that was set before him, Jesus endured the cross. The cross represented a hurdle for Him in the process of purchasing our salvation. The joy that he kept his eyes on was you and I living the kind of life he created us to live. The cross stood between him and that goal, but thank God he refused to back down. Thank God, he rolled up and sleeves and took that cross head-on, keeping his eyes on you and I.

What is it in your life that you set out to do, but somewhere along the way the enemy got you sidetracked? What dreams have you backed down from because the enemy placed something in the way that intimidated you? God has a word for you today. "Dream again." "Hope again." "Go for it, and let nothing stop you."

I'm not sure what would have happened that day had I not moved aside. Perhaps, the squirrel would have deviated his course or backed down altogether. But then again, I may have come home with evidence that I had been in a fight with a determined squirrel. I don't know about you, but I think, we need to learn how to send the enemy home looking like he's tangled with a believer who is resolute, determined, and full of fight.