I have been pondering through a somewhat ponderous book lately and loving what I am finding. The book of Hebrews used to be my least favourite book of the bible due to some of the harsh things I thought it was saying. These days it is a book of splendour. It is one of my favourites now. The reason being that I finally got over what I used to think the author was saying and got to the heart of what he was getting at. The whole thing is about Christ. Front to back it is some of the clearest revelation of who He is than is found anywhere else. This with apologies to those who love Isaiah and Revelations, but here in Hebrews it is a sustained view, a long wondorous look.
What has been piqueing my interest most is the portions regarding the priesthood of Christ. This is absolutely thrilling stuff. There is one part in particular where the prophecy regarding the work of Christ is reiterated. It is the one in 8:12 where He says He will remember their sins no more. Wow...no more... that is cool. The thing is that I always tend look at this as being from the time I first believed and everything previous to that, but afterwards it is back to the blackboard with all the current stuff. Not really what He said though, is it??? I have found in my biblical travels a wonderful truth. The only sin left, the BIG ONE, is to not believe what Christ has done for us. Check out what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would convict people on in regards to sin in John 16:9. It is about believing in Christ. All the other stuff we do that is contrary to God's will comes from this. The temptations Christ faced all had to do with questioning God's love for Him, which He had just declared at His baptism. All the temptations we face are contained within the question of whether or not God loves us as completely as He says He does.
This has left me with the picture of Christ as the door to heaven (or gate as He put it). In Ezekiel the prophet saw a vision from the perspective of earth looking up to God's eternal throne. In it you will see that there is a sea of crystal above him. In the book of John's Revelation of Christ there is a door open in heaven and He is beckoned through it. From the perspective of the throne room he looks down and sees the same crystal sea, only FROM ABOVE!!! We have been invited through Christ to "come up here".
DO YOU BELIEVE IT???
Friday, December 15, 2006
Monday, December 04, 2006
Why Is It??
Why is it that I am being slapped silliy with requests for change orders. Not renovation type of changes either, which would be quite easily handled. These are the kind where people are asking me to change where I am standing so they can see their world better. Sometimes they even want me to change my shape or color. The worst of all is when they simply request that I remove my presence altogether. After awhile it starts to feel like I am in Circque de Soliel. The contortions become quite painful for someone who is not so flexible and I then stop and reevaluate why I am going through this torture. Sometimes it is justifiable, but most times it is just plain silly.
The frustrating thing is that for most of us life can seem intolerable when people are being themselves instead of who we think they should be. The things they do complicate our lives endlessly and they show no remorse or even awareness of the consequences their actions bear upon us. If this is the way things are supposed to be I gotta admit that checking out would seem like a viable option. The weight of it all is just too oppressive. Of course being a bit of a chicken shit when it comes to personal impalement I would find some other form of self destruction and just draw it all out for much longer.
To avoid all this I have to remind myself that I can actually ignore these change orders ( for the most part). The reason being that most of the things people would want me to change are simply for their own comfort and so that they don't have to change themselves. The same goes for me. When I think that rewriting someones program would enhance my life then I am heading for trouble. For one thing, no one is running around out there with a keyboard strapped to their noodle and if they did it would probably be bearing a sticker saying 'Protected by Smith & Wesson'. The other thing is that I would never understand the language they are wired with. That whole option is hopeless. If I go the other way though, I find that I know the language and I can access the mainframe quite easily, cuz its my own noodle. This is where I should concentrate on making changes.
The only thing remaining then is what should be programmed in there when the system starts smoking and the gears are grinding? This is simple. Just refer to the Owner's manual.
The frustrating thing is that for most of us life can seem intolerable when people are being themselves instead of who we think they should be. The things they do complicate our lives endlessly and they show no remorse or even awareness of the consequences their actions bear upon us. If this is the way things are supposed to be I gotta admit that checking out would seem like a viable option. The weight of it all is just too oppressive. Of course being a bit of a chicken shit when it comes to personal impalement I would find some other form of self destruction and just draw it all out for much longer.
To avoid all this I have to remind myself that I can actually ignore these change orders ( for the most part). The reason being that most of the things people would want me to change are simply for their own comfort and so that they don't have to change themselves. The same goes for me. When I think that rewriting someones program would enhance my life then I am heading for trouble. For one thing, no one is running around out there with a keyboard strapped to their noodle and if they did it would probably be bearing a sticker saying 'Protected by Smith & Wesson'. The other thing is that I would never understand the language they are wired with. That whole option is hopeless. If I go the other way though, I find that I know the language and I can access the mainframe quite easily, cuz its my own noodle. This is where I should concentrate on making changes.
The only thing remaining then is what should be programmed in there when the system starts smoking and the gears are grinding? This is simple. Just refer to the Owner's manual.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
The Mighty Ones and The Blanket
Its been awhile since I posted last and for this I apologize. Perhaps it was my recent foray into learning Chinese that finally forced me into doing some typing in English. I mean 一个男人 can get a little flustered trying to communicate with his own brain after awhile. It is cool though to start to recognize some basic characters.
In the meantime I have also had some time to ponder things and one of them was the word God spoke to me a few years back regarding the prayers of the saints. It was during one of those open prayer times that Wes Campbell loved so much (Korean style, he and Gord called it) when some people were given the mic to pray outlouder. As I listened to the prayers there was a noticeable bent to them all and as I wondered on this and struggles to enter in I heard the Spirit say," What is this fear that fills the hearts of the mighty??" Suddenly it became obvious. What I was hearing was the same sound that I had heard coming from my lips so many times. It was desperation. It was a faithless begging. I believe that in the heavenly tongue they refer to it as whining. At least the Buddhists have the good sense to mask over this ritual with a lot of clapping and clanging of gongs etc to awaken the desired ancestors before they get to the heart of the issue. We on the other hand raise this baleful moaning that reminds me a lot of what I hear from the back of the minivan when we say that we are not stopping at Burger King this time. Its pathetic. Especially when I remember all the times I have done this.
It is really quite easy to slip into this mode, frighteningly easy actually. All it takes is a steady diet of worldly opinions to slap some mud on the internal gyroscope. Then to attempt to bring some balance back we glop some human reasoning (my personal fave) on the other side. Since this must be done in equal proportion to the mud on the opposing pole we have to measure it out with some judgments and squint through vague perceptions to get it all right. When the whole mess begins to wobble like a cheap tire our only recourse seems to be the aforementioned whine. I don't know about you, but personally I have never found this approach to right the gyro.
What does work, on the other hand is to pull the wobbly tire over to the side of the road and proceed to a full stop. This may be difficult since braking with said tire is somewhat tenuous. Once stopped though, the rebalancing can begin. Firstly we have to look in the mirror (rearview mostly) of the Word so as to pick out the beam that has caused the vague perceptions and judgments. This will allow a sudden, sometimes overwhelmingly, new view of things. Then we grab the hose of God's word, crank up the pressure and let the ol' gyro have a good blast. I've found that if I set the nozzle to praise it gets those first layers off with wonderful ease. The clingy bits will usually succumb to a scrub brush with some soapy promises on it, and voila, you have a shiny clean gyro.
The cool thing about the gyro is that it can only get spinning with some help from Dad and after cleaning it off it becomes surprisingly easy to see that Dad really loves to give it a mighty rip (c'mon dads, you all like too showboat for the kiddies, dontcha??) The other thing is that you realize that you are a son/daughter that is dearly loved. You realize that you too are mighty, simply because you are mightily loved by Dad. It changes our prayers, our perceptions and our personality dramatically. It will even change me to the point where other people will want to be around me, now that's dramatic!
When you pray from this place the first thing you will notice is that the piercing whine no longer fits, and instead of sounding like pious zeal it will simply sound like what the angels have been hearing.....whining.
Children of God let's never forget who we are and Whom we serve. It's great to be a kid!!!
Oh yeah, p.s. : the blanket is that burden that wants to bury you in comfortable apathy and tell you its alright to let the gyro sit there, unused.
In the meantime I have also had some time to ponder things and one of them was the word God spoke to me a few years back regarding the prayers of the saints. It was during one of those open prayer times that Wes Campbell loved so much (Korean style, he and Gord called it) when some people were given the mic to pray outlouder. As I listened to the prayers there was a noticeable bent to them all and as I wondered on this and struggles to enter in I heard the Spirit say," What is this fear that fills the hearts of the mighty??" Suddenly it became obvious. What I was hearing was the same sound that I had heard coming from my lips so many times. It was desperation. It was a faithless begging. I believe that in the heavenly tongue they refer to it as whining. At least the Buddhists have the good sense to mask over this ritual with a lot of clapping and clanging of gongs etc to awaken the desired ancestors before they get to the heart of the issue. We on the other hand raise this baleful moaning that reminds me a lot of what I hear from the back of the minivan when we say that we are not stopping at Burger King this time. Its pathetic. Especially when I remember all the times I have done this.
It is really quite easy to slip into this mode, frighteningly easy actually. All it takes is a steady diet of worldly opinions to slap some mud on the internal gyroscope. Then to attempt to bring some balance back we glop some human reasoning (my personal fave) on the other side. Since this must be done in equal proportion to the mud on the opposing pole we have to measure it out with some judgments and squint through vague perceptions to get it all right. When the whole mess begins to wobble like a cheap tire our only recourse seems to be the aforementioned whine. I don't know about you, but personally I have never found this approach to right the gyro.
What does work, on the other hand is to pull the wobbly tire over to the side of the road and proceed to a full stop. This may be difficult since braking with said tire is somewhat tenuous. Once stopped though, the rebalancing can begin. Firstly we have to look in the mirror (rearview mostly) of the Word so as to pick out the beam that has caused the vague perceptions and judgments. This will allow a sudden, sometimes overwhelmingly, new view of things. Then we grab the hose of God's word, crank up the pressure and let the ol' gyro have a good blast. I've found that if I set the nozzle to praise it gets those first layers off with wonderful ease. The clingy bits will usually succumb to a scrub brush with some soapy promises on it, and voila, you have a shiny clean gyro.
The cool thing about the gyro is that it can only get spinning with some help from Dad and after cleaning it off it becomes surprisingly easy to see that Dad really loves to give it a mighty rip (c'mon dads, you all like too showboat for the kiddies, dontcha??) The other thing is that you realize that you are a son/daughter that is dearly loved. You realize that you too are mighty, simply because you are mightily loved by Dad. It changes our prayers, our perceptions and our personality dramatically. It will even change me to the point where other people will want to be around me, now that's dramatic!
When you pray from this place the first thing you will notice is that the piercing whine no longer fits, and instead of sounding like pious zeal it will simply sound like what the angels have been hearing.....whining.
Children of God let's never forget who we are and Whom we serve. It's great to be a kid!!!
Oh yeah, p.s. : the blanket is that burden that wants to bury you in comfortable apathy and tell you its alright to let the gyro sit there, unused.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Listen To This
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:10
It has been striking me repeatedly over the last months that there is far more to this whole listening thing than I first thought. It shouldn't seem that strange given to Whom I am trying to listen. The abounding thoughts which flow from God are bound to be overwhelming and capable at any moment of sweeping you away from your sensory moorings into a cascade of pure, unadulterated life. Perhaps the repeated striking has been my mind bouncing off of its moorings.
The thing that has captivated me has been the bliss of silence, the confidence in speechless surrender. It seems that the whole of creation does indeed sing out praises when I stop to listen. Not just trees and streams either, the flow of photons streaming from the halogen lights over our kitchen counter exacting the law God prescribed they should follow with not the slightest bend. The unyielding molecular mass of the 2x4 that mashed my bean at work, which thought not once of straying from what God designed it to do. All things which seem to serve and those which seem not, but do. All these things silently confess my Lord. My mouth when it remains still.
One man told me that he would not hear God speak to him in times of silence because God was not passing things through his mind for his approval. He was communing in the Spirit. I chuckled, somewhat nervously until the day came when I would understand. The day when my 5 year old boy came to me with a heart full of hurt feelings induced by some harsh words. I tried to talk to him as he shifted into me on my lap, but he heard nothing. I thought I had some great wisdom that would help heal him, but he instead had wisdom for me. I asked him if he just wanted to sit with me and he gently nodded his head. He was communing in the spirit with his dad and receiving all he needed at that point.
I am beginning to learn the art of sitting with Dad. I am beginning.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
The Pharisee In Me
I was pondering some things on the way to work today and suddenly stumbled onto this little thought - 'My inner Pharisee'. It seemed to come out of nowhere and so also seemed worthy of some extra musing. I was actually surprised at what came out of it. For a long time I have held the opinion that the modern day Pharisee is one who is zealously legalistic and incessantly judgmental. This also seems to be the view of a lot of other folks I know. Something changed for me today though as I went over it again in my head. The usual demarcation of Pharisee versus guttersnipe (harlot, drunk, tax-collector what have you) suddenly disappeared and when the dust cleared all these people were on the same side of the line. The funny thing was that there were counterparts on the other side of a new line. Not mirrors or muses, but rather former herd-mates of those on the wrong side of the line. Now this all seemed weird because I always saw the guttersnipe crowd as being the ones that Jesus was hangin' with and the Pharisees as the firewood of heaven. It amazes me how shortsighted I can be. I forgot all about Nico. The Pharisee that sat with Jesus one night and got the low down on the kingdom. It seems he was paying attention to what was said because he also was the one who helped take Jesus down from the cross. Hmmm. There were others as well who were not specifically named, but found their way onto the right side of the tracks. Of course there is also the most ferociously right winged Pharisee of them all, Saul/Paul, who also made the leap. Then there were the others on the guttersnipe side like the unrepentant thief on the cross next to Christ. He definitely was heading for a perpetual bad day. Barabbas was another one who probably looked Jesus right in the eye and decided that he preferred the way he was already heading.
All these people have a commonality. It is their ability or inability to listen. Jesus said it to the Pharisees in particular ( probably because they were so close and yet so far which can really piss ya off), that they could not receive the kingdom because they did not think they needed it. More precisely they would not listen to the words of correction Jesus lovingly lofted their way. The thief wouldn't either, and it is safe to say that not every adulterous trollop, philandering barfly or moneygrubbing auditor did.
Jesus hung out with whoever would receive His words and thereby receive Him. His heart went out to all and was received by those who would, no matter their stripe. This should help me on that next walk I take through the pews or the mall.
Whew!
All these people have a commonality. It is their ability or inability to listen. Jesus said it to the Pharisees in particular ( probably because they were so close and yet so far which can really piss ya off), that they could not receive the kingdom because they did not think they needed it. More precisely they would not listen to the words of correction Jesus lovingly lofted their way. The thief wouldn't either, and it is safe to say that not every adulterous trollop, philandering barfly or moneygrubbing auditor did.
Jesus hung out with whoever would receive His words and thereby receive Him. His heart went out to all and was received by those who would, no matter their stripe. This should help me on that next walk I take through the pews or the mall.
Whew!
Monday, September 11, 2006
Updates
Time for some family stuff updates.
First up is Sammy's new smile.
He was so happy to finally reach this landmark in his life. We yanked it this morning and put it in a jar so he could add his other teeth as they come out.
The other update is on the current state of the playhouse. Some days I think I bit off more than I could chew in my off hours, but I try to never do things half way. Today we got the window in, started the cedar soffits and sided one wall. These pictures will give you an idea of where we are going with this.
Can't wait till the kids are moved in. Still have the inside to finish; bare walls ready for markers and paint. Should be great.
First up is Sammy's new smile.
He was so happy to finally reach this landmark in his life. We yanked it this morning and put it in a jar so he could add his other teeth as they come out.
The other update is on the current state of the playhouse. Some days I think I bit off more than I could chew in my off hours, but I try to never do things half way. Today we got the window in, started the cedar soffits and sided one wall. These pictures will give you an idea of where we are going with this.
Can't wait till the kids are moved in. Still have the inside to finish; bare walls ready for markers and paint. Should be great.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Love This Stuff
Hey, if you haven't already seen this, check it out here.
This is an article about a Chinese atheist and a Christian evangelist and the book they co-wrote (Riverside Talks: A Friendly Dialogue Between an Atheist and a Christian)documenting their talks about whether there is a God. One of the cool things is that this is the first time a Christian has been allowed to do a book fair and signing in China. It was in Beijing （北京）and very well attended and reported. I feel that even this acceptance is huge. If there is dialogue and openness then there can be change. I am the last person to agree with bashing someone with your faith and this candid approach absolutely tickles me. I love how Mr. Palau's joy in Christ frees him to be totally unabashed about God and yet unapologetic about the need for faith in Him.
This is an article about a Chinese atheist and a Christian evangelist and the book they co-wrote (Riverside Talks: A Friendly Dialogue Between an Atheist and a Christian)documenting their talks about whether there is a God. One of the cool things is that this is the first time a Christian has been allowed to do a book fair and signing in China. It was in Beijing （北京）and very well attended and reported. I feel that even this acceptance is huge. If there is dialogue and openness then there can be change. I am the last person to agree with bashing someone with your faith and this candid approach absolutely tickles me. I love how Mr. Palau's joy in Christ frees him to be totally unabashed about God and yet unapologetic about the need for faith in Him.
Future Date Night Option
I found this site while I was looking through some of the restaurant guides for Shanghai and dreaming of where I will take Cris when we go back. She didn't really get to go to any of these kinds of places and I only went to one. The experience is as important as the cuisine and the cuisine is outstanding. The food there is amazing, and I did not find one restaurant where it was in the least disappointing (except Tony Roma's) (Yes he's there too).
Do yourself a favour and check the site out and look over the menu specialties, see if you wouldn't want to take your sweetie there for a super special night out.
This is the entrance to the restuarant on Taojiang Road.
A shot of the inside of the Taojiang restuarant.
This one is at the Super Brand Mall and has a view out over the Huang River to the lights of the Bund.
It will be so nice to treat Cris out to something like this, but I have to stop now because she said it isn't fair to her tummy to talk like this and not be able to eat like that.
Do yourself a favour and check the site out and look over the menu specialties, see if you wouldn't want to take your sweetie there for a super special night out.
This is the entrance to the restuarant on Taojiang Road.
A shot of the inside of the Taojiang restuarant.
This one is at the Super Brand Mall and has a view out over the Huang River to the lights of the Bund.
It will be so nice to treat Cris out to something like this, but I have to stop now because she said it isn't fair to her tummy to talk like this and not be able to eat like that.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
What's The Point???
It seems to be so easy to get off center that sometimes I need to ask myself what is the point of it all. All the things I do and all the things I dream, all the stuff in between and all the stuff right in front of me. It is very difficult to be consistently in a space of knowing, and living, out of the knowledge of my purpose for being here. It is unclear where the fog comes from, but it always rolls in and before I can get an industrial strength fan to blow it off, it has enveloped me and all my perceptions.
It really isn't all bad though. Whenever you get into a fog or a deep dark place there is one sure reaction to it. OK, maybe two, the first being panic. After this there is the need to find a central point of familiarity from which to determine the way out of the blindness. When you are walking around the house at night and the power goes out the first thing you do is rub your shin where the coffee table got you and then start finding your bearings according to your knowledge of the layout of the place. This is the time when you discover how well you were paying attention when the lights were on.
The same thing happens in life. All the lights go out and you bleed from the bumps in the night as you seek to find your center to guide you out of it all. Pity us when we are in a place we are not familiar with, which is most often the case. Weep for us if Christ is not the center we reach for to guide us out into the light.
It really isn't all bad though. Whenever you get into a fog or a deep dark place there is one sure reaction to it. OK, maybe two, the first being panic. After this there is the need to find a central point of familiarity from which to determine the way out of the blindness. When you are walking around the house at night and the power goes out the first thing you do is rub your shin where the coffee table got you and then start finding your bearings according to your knowledge of the layout of the place. This is the time when you discover how well you were paying attention when the lights were on.
The same thing happens in life. All the lights go out and you bleed from the bumps in the night as you seek to find your center to guide you out of it all. Pity us when we are in a place we are not familiar with, which is most often the case. Weep for us if Christ is not the center we reach for to guide us out into the light.
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