I know this has been beat to death by Pastors and Priest alike over the last 2000 years but I haven't had my stab at trying to inspire someone so here it goes.
I have recently picked up the book "The Robe" for about the 5th time in as many years. It was recommended to me by my grandfather back when I was in college and really struggling to believe in... well, anything, let alone Christ. He told me it would give me a different perspective on what it meant to be Christian, but not just as a title, but as a person. This of course meant nothing to me and the pages went by with little impact on my life.
The book is centered around a young Tribune named Marcellus in Rome around the beginning of the common era. Without giving away too many of the details, the main character comes into contact with this revolutionary by the name of Jesus. Marcellus being of high integrity, and for a Roman, good moral fiber, recognizes the strength in this "criminal" and seeks to find more about him.
As I've read the book before, it's a tale about a guy finding out stuff about another guy and decides to believe in his teachings and become his follower, yadda yadda yadda.
This time is somehow different. Not only have I been reading it as a story, but a semi-historical account of someone who was actually in and around Jerusalem and Galilee at the time Christ was crucified. He himself witnessed the crucifixion, but not the resurrection. Hearing accounts of this man Jesus, he discovers that he is risen and finally believes.
I cannot help but rewind one fact over and over in my head. He is interviewing witnesses who knew Jesus. How easy would it be to look into the eyes of Peter or Thomas, hear their empassioned testimony, maybe a few anecdotes, and believe? Truly believe.
Look back at my first sentance for a second... Pastors and Priests for 2000 years... Jesus met with how many after the resurrection. They told their friends, they told their friends and somewhere down the line, someone told me. I'm hearing the same story that someone who legged it around the Sea of Galilee with the Good Teacher told his friend. Somewhere it would have been disproven long before now if it weren't totally and absolutely true, so why do I doubt.
I think that we are allowed to doubt, because without doubt, how could we have faith.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Little Conquests
It's been a battle to keep my head above water some days and I was really having a tough time with some things last week when I saw something completely random that got my mind to wandering. My church is on a busy road that runs east-west through Springfield and into Eugene, along it there are 4 different school zones, so naturally the amount of kid traffic on the road is... entertaining at times.
I was driving to church the other morning and there were 3 kids sitting at Page Elementary School. This isn't at all strange, in fact there was nothing strange about what they were doing at all. They were just sitting there, on top of the newspaper recycle box.
First glance, they were out of the ordinary, just sitting, but I looked again and noticed that they were all very young, about 5 or 6. They had bikes strewn around the bottom of the box, which stood about a foot taller than the tallest of them, and they were sitting on top, just talking. What an accomplishment that had to have been for all of them to be on top. They had to climb, no, they had to conquer that box, and they did.
I began to remember some of the many things that I had to conquer in my youth. I still remember the sense of achievement that went with each one of them, but think about what it was that my friends and I did, and it's not impressive in the least. Spelunking in the storm drains near Costco, climbing a hill that is all of 10 feet high, swinging on a rope out over my grandpa's pond and not getting wet, they don't strike me now as any major undertaking, but then, I was Sir Edmond Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Marco Polo all rolled into one.
Fast forward to me still sitting in my car out in front of my church. I couldn't remember the last time that I felt accomplished the way a simple thing in my youth could bring out the inner explorer within me. I decided that I need to discover something new, explore the unknown. I need to conquer something again.
I was driving to church the other morning and there were 3 kids sitting at Page Elementary School. This isn't at all strange, in fact there was nothing strange about what they were doing at all. They were just sitting there, on top of the newspaper recycle box.
First glance, they were out of the ordinary, just sitting, but I looked again and noticed that they were all very young, about 5 or 6. They had bikes strewn around the bottom of the box, which stood about a foot taller than the tallest of them, and they were sitting on top, just talking. What an accomplishment that had to have been for all of them to be on top. They had to climb, no, they had to conquer that box, and they did.
I began to remember some of the many things that I had to conquer in my youth. I still remember the sense of achievement that went with each one of them, but think about what it was that my friends and I did, and it's not impressive in the least. Spelunking in the storm drains near Costco, climbing a hill that is all of 10 feet high, swinging on a rope out over my grandpa's pond and not getting wet, they don't strike me now as any major undertaking, but then, I was Sir Edmond Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Marco Polo all rolled into one.
Fast forward to me still sitting in my car out in front of my church. I couldn't remember the last time that I felt accomplished the way a simple thing in my youth could bring out the inner explorer within me. I decided that I need to discover something new, explore the unknown. I need to conquer something again.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
When the Past Bites You!
I've been worse. I've been better too, but for sure I have been far worse. I hit bottom a few years ago and have been crawling back ever since. I've sweat, bled, and strained half the muscles in my body to get back to where I am today. My body aches most days, I have to drag myself out of bed many times, but for the most part I feel ok with where I have gotten to.
Today I was cleaning out my email and I came across some gems. A few funny ones from my brother, including a Christmas List and a fruitcake recipe, some old friends sent things that said they needed cheering up, and one that caught me so off guard it was like being hit in the face with a bat.
I'm still working on becoming a screaming optimist, that hasn't changed, but reliving the email that once brought me to tears, just did the same thing to me again. All the anguish that I went through that day came back to me and I didn't imagine that I could feel some of the things that I went through.
Today I was cleaning out my email and I came across some gems. A few funny ones from my brother, including a Christmas List and a fruitcake recipe, some old friends sent things that said they needed cheering up, and one that caught me so off guard it was like being hit in the face with a bat.
I'm still working on becoming a screaming optimist, that hasn't changed, but reliving the email that once brought me to tears, just did the same thing to me again. All the anguish that I went through that day came back to me and I didn't imagine that I could feel some of the things that I went through.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Fishing in the Rain
For some reason this morning was cold. By cold, I don't mean a brisk early summer chill that you need a light coat on, it was frigid. The kind of day that I zip up the Mountain Hardwear and make sure I have a stocking cap handy. To add to the lovely temperature, it rained. Not just a little here and there, but the kind of rain that you expect in late October when the only ones crazy enough to be outside are inside Autzen Stadium with 50,000 of their closest friends. Rain that soaks through layers, to get to other layers to soak through so it can chill your bones to the brittle fracturing point. Cold and Wet. A late May day that is cold and wet.
So what do you do on such a glorious sit on the couch and watch cartoons day. Why, you go fishing of course. I don't know how to fish from a bank, I'm not sure that I have the patience for it anymore, we drift, in a boat, in the MIDDLE of a river so all that good cold rain can fall not on the trees above you, but straight on your dumb ass that is stupid enough to be sitting in the middle of it, wearing shorts no less. That's right I wore shorts. I thought it would break, but who is the idiot now.
Today's yield wasn't one of the best that I've come across but that really isn't the point when it comes to fishing anyway. We caught a couple early on, and then just the cast and reel routine for much of the day. There was one point, while along the golf course, that made the whole day worth the trip. For about 20 seconds, just 20 seconds of a 2 and a half hour trip, excitement was abound in the Fiberglass Clackacraft. My dad cast to the port side and convincing himself that he was going in a tree, let out a soft swear word and released the bail. The lure no more than hit the water and craziness broke loose. What looked like a small log and grabbed the lure and was heading off down river. It was all I could do to reel my line in as quick as possible and stand up to get out of my dad's way. I was headed to the back to get the net ready when the line snapped. Line, swivel, lure, and tomorrow nights feast took off down the river. We stood in complete silence for a few seconds then went back to it.
Just 20 seconds made what could have been a terrible day in the rain worth the whole ordeal. We did even catch him, and he gave us something exciting to talk about. I did later catch 2 trout which by comparison are barely dinner, but you can eat them nonetheless.
So what do you do on such a glorious sit on the couch and watch cartoons day. Why, you go fishing of course. I don't know how to fish from a bank, I'm not sure that I have the patience for it anymore, we drift, in a boat, in the MIDDLE of a river so all that good cold rain can fall not on the trees above you, but straight on your dumb ass that is stupid enough to be sitting in the middle of it, wearing shorts no less. That's right I wore shorts. I thought it would break, but who is the idiot now.
Today's yield wasn't one of the best that I've come across but that really isn't the point when it comes to fishing anyway. We caught a couple early on, and then just the cast and reel routine for much of the day. There was one point, while along the golf course, that made the whole day worth the trip. For about 20 seconds, just 20 seconds of a 2 and a half hour trip, excitement was abound in the Fiberglass Clackacraft. My dad cast to the port side and convincing himself that he was going in a tree, let out a soft swear word and released the bail. The lure no more than hit the water and craziness broke loose. What looked like a small log and grabbed the lure and was heading off down river. It was all I could do to reel my line in as quick as possible and stand up to get out of my dad's way. I was headed to the back to get the net ready when the line snapped. Line, swivel, lure, and tomorrow nights feast took off down the river. We stood in complete silence for a few seconds then went back to it.
Just 20 seconds made what could have been a terrible day in the rain worth the whole ordeal. We did even catch him, and he gave us something exciting to talk about. I did later catch 2 trout which by comparison are barely dinner, but you can eat them nonetheless.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Morning Prayer
It's morning, early, and you are awake. It's a Tuesday and you really don't know why you have crawled out of bed at 5 am. You stumble into the kitchen and begin to brew a pot of coffee. The smell of the fresh grounds wake you a bit and the tell tale sound of an empty water tank draw you back to fill up your mug and that first big wiff of fresh coffee. Your head starts to clear and you remember why you are up so early.
Tuesday morning at 6, the men of Springfield Faith Center have started to gather to pray for each other, themselves, the church, but most of all, their families. There have been some amazing things going on over the last few weeks and the hand of God can clearly be seen every week.
Healings, provision, protection, you name it, things have been happening. These mornings are a struggle for me some times, but I know that it's more important to me that I'm there, and that it's important for my faith to see these things take place. I love being there and hearing all the things get prayed for, but more than that, I love to have my own prayers lifted up during a time that I set aside to spend with God.
We're going to continue to be there, and things are going to continue to happen. The hand of God is mighty and we only need to ask for his glory to take place.
Tuesday morning at 6, the men of Springfield Faith Center have started to gather to pray for each other, themselves, the church, but most of all, their families. There have been some amazing things going on over the last few weeks and the hand of God can clearly be seen every week.
Healings, provision, protection, you name it, things have been happening. These mornings are a struggle for me some times, but I know that it's more important to me that I'm there, and that it's important for my faith to see these things take place. I love being there and hearing all the things get prayed for, but more than that, I love to have my own prayers lifted up during a time that I set aside to spend with God.
We're going to continue to be there, and things are going to continue to happen. The hand of God is mighty and we only need to ask for his glory to take place.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Talking it Over
"Early in the morning talkin' it over, Me and God. Late at night talkin' it over, Me and God. We go together like two peas in a pod, me and God". This is a line from a country music song. Yes, I listen to country, and it really speaks to how I wish my relationship with God was. I have a really hard time talking to him because I'm not so sure he wants to hear what I've got going on.
Then I start to realize that He created me to have a relationship with ME. God wants nothing more than to hear every little detail about my life. Anything short of sin is prayer I've been told. Sure, he sees what I do every minute of every day, but I think that perhaps he wants to hear me say how I feel about some of these things.
Friday afternoon I had coffee with a friend of mine from church and one comment that he shared with me was, "Do I ever ask what God is doing in someone's life?" No, I never do that. It's such a simple thing that you never think to ask God what he is doing, instead of telling him what you need him to do. There is so much going on behind the scenes that you just can't imagine every little bit of it. God is infinite, and if he doesn't want to let me in on some tiny detail about what he's doing, that's quite all right with me, I probably wouldn't understand it anyway.
For now, I'm just going to be content with spending time with God, Talkin' it over. I like bouncing ideas off of people and there aren't a lot of people that will sit and listen to every tiny annoyance in my life and stick around. If she ever comes along then I'll marry her that minute.
Then I start to realize that He created me to have a relationship with ME. God wants nothing more than to hear every little detail about my life. Anything short of sin is prayer I've been told. Sure, he sees what I do every minute of every day, but I think that perhaps he wants to hear me say how I feel about some of these things.
Friday afternoon I had coffee with a friend of mine from church and one comment that he shared with me was, "Do I ever ask what God is doing in someone's life?" No, I never do that. It's such a simple thing that you never think to ask God what he is doing, instead of telling him what you need him to do. There is so much going on behind the scenes that you just can't imagine every little bit of it. God is infinite, and if he doesn't want to let me in on some tiny detail about what he's doing, that's quite all right with me, I probably wouldn't understand it anyway.
For now, I'm just going to be content with spending time with God, Talkin' it over. I like bouncing ideas off of people and there aren't a lot of people that will sit and listen to every tiny annoyance in my life and stick around. If she ever comes along then I'll marry her that minute.
Monday, April 19, 2010
San Diego
Little brothers have this tendency to not be little 10 years after you graduate high school. He's only 2 years younger than me so he's been out himself for 8. This past weekend he celebrated his 26Th birthday and in a flash of... something... my dad, Bruce, Mat and I decided to drive the 15 hours to Bass Pro Shop, and since we were down there, go visit Kevin for his birthday. It was a reasonable uneventful drive down and we sat in a little Mexican cantina to wait for him.
Several pitchers of Margarita later, Kevin finally got off work and came down to join us. Bruce, Mat, and I hung out in the bar while my dad and him got a table. One by one we walked out of the restaurant and joined them. Kevin was surprised and very excited that his family would make the trip. After dinner, we went back to his place where the exhausted went to sleep, and I took Kevin bowling with his roommate. Among some other dorky endeavors, we sang some karaoke, and by "we", I mean Kevin.
After bowling we weren't quite ready to head home so we went to an Irish Pub nearby and had a couple of pints to wind down the night. At midnight we realized it was Kevin's birthday and we decided we had to make a fool of him. We got a bunch of the bar to sing to him and the band that was playing gave him a request, which they weren't going to actually play because it was about a 10 minute song. Other's started buying him drinks, and after singing and laughing and generally making a scene, we went home.
Saturday started like most Saturday's around me, we went to breakfast, drank some coffee, and got out of the house. I like to hike around here, but down in San Diego we went to Balboa Park and walked around all the old buildings. It was pretty interesting, but not that exciting, so we decided to go surfing instead. I thought I would try and surf, which I did manage to get to my feet once, but after swallowing my body weight in salt water, I wasn't feeling so great. I managed to make it back to Kevin's apartment before I let the salt water make a return. After that little episode, I felt pretty good and was ready to eat again. We went to this little steak house that had really good fries and had burgers.
The night ended with a bonfire on some beach near Sea World. This is a firework display that happens every night and we got to see a little bit of it. They burnt wood until sometime around 1, but we travellers had to jump in the car to make the long trip home. We did finally pull into the driveway around 1 o'clock Sunday. We were only gone for all of about 62 hours and driving for over 30 of them. Next year, I'm going to fly down if it gets in my head to go visit.
Several pitchers of Margarita later, Kevin finally got off work and came down to join us. Bruce, Mat, and I hung out in the bar while my dad and him got a table. One by one we walked out of the restaurant and joined them. Kevin was surprised and very excited that his family would make the trip. After dinner, we went back to his place where the exhausted went to sleep, and I took Kevin bowling with his roommate. Among some other dorky endeavors, we sang some karaoke, and by "we", I mean Kevin.
After bowling we weren't quite ready to head home so we went to an Irish Pub nearby and had a couple of pints to wind down the night. At midnight we realized it was Kevin's birthday and we decided we had to make a fool of him. We got a bunch of the bar to sing to him and the band that was playing gave him a request, which they weren't going to actually play because it was about a 10 minute song. Other's started buying him drinks, and after singing and laughing and generally making a scene, we went home.
Saturday started like most Saturday's around me, we went to breakfast, drank some coffee, and got out of the house. I like to hike around here, but down in San Diego we went to Balboa Park and walked around all the old buildings. It was pretty interesting, but not that exciting, so we decided to go surfing instead. I thought I would try and surf, which I did manage to get to my feet once, but after swallowing my body weight in salt water, I wasn't feeling so great. I managed to make it back to Kevin's apartment before I let the salt water make a return. After that little episode, I felt pretty good and was ready to eat again. We went to this little steak house that had really good fries and had burgers.
The night ended with a bonfire on some beach near Sea World. This is a firework display that happens every night and we got to see a little bit of it. They burnt wood until sometime around 1, but we travellers had to jump in the car to make the long trip home. We did finally pull into the driveway around 1 o'clock Sunday. We were only gone for all of about 62 hours and driving for over 30 of them. Next year, I'm going to fly down if it gets in my head to go visit.
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