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| [For President Obama's inauguration]
"Well, the one on the right was on the left
And the one in the middle was on the right
And the one on the left was in the middle
And the one in the rear was a Methodist"
-- Johnny Cash
Four Men braved the wind
And coldness of that day
Just like the battle each one fought
In a country far away
Germany, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq
They made their families proud
Even though they weren't always accepted
Appreciated or allowed
Four Men stood and saluted at "Hail"
As The Man approached the stage
Watching Old Glory fly as she marched by
Showing them all up in age
They came from Tuskegee, from Albuquerque
From Wichita and from San Juan
From privilege and poverty, dominance and slavery
Plantations and reservations
Four Men stand and watch as The Man
Solemnly raises his hand
The looks on everyone's faces display
Approximately where each one stands
The one on the right stood and smiled with pride
The one in the middle showed fear
The one on the left did not trust the rest
To his knees fell the one in the rear
Four Men will go back to their homes
Yet still stand together for now
Four Men segregated by politics
Whose children play together now
Four Men whose wingmen have given their lives
So these and others live on
FIVE Men united by a flag and an oath
Ending in, "So help me God."
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| Matthew 11:28-30 (King James Version)
28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Jesus is awesome, let me just go ahead and say that. Jesus knew He was leaving a legacy behind, setting the disciples as leaders over this movement that would change the world. He knew they had limitations, and He was smart about how He handled things. One thing He did not leave to chance was people's hearts.
I think if we rewrote this passage today, it would say:
"Come to my church, all who cannot point to a specific date and time they got saved, and I will make you church-going Christians. Come to my service, hear me preach, bow your head, close your eyes, raise your hand, and repeat a prayer; move your letter of membership, join a Sunday School class or cell group, sign up with an accountability partner, write out a check to us every week, and go on retreats we hold; join our school of leaders, go out witnessing once a week, bring about half a dozen people into the church, and then start your own cell group...
"Wait, you want rest? You can rest when you're dead, we can't afford to invest this much time into you to have you sit around! You want personal ministry? Just come to the weekly feeding trough service and take what we give you, that should be sufficient for you (if it's not, you're a bad Christian and I seriously question your position in leadership. No, you'll have to make do; our church is too big and our pastors are too important to deal with every single individual need."
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Jesus broke down the walls between us and God when He rent the temple veil in two (Matthew 27:51 et al), removing the division man had set up when the Israelites told Moses to be their intermediary, afraid to hear from God themselves. People have always tried to reinstate the temple veil, from the Catholics to the Charismatics, when they try to put themselves as gatekeepers, allowing only those they deemed worthy to come into God's presence.
So that's what Jesus wants of you: "Come unto ME!"
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| What you call danger, i call adventure.
My friend Nicole has been talking about moving from her house in New Orleans to a place where she can do some awesometastic ministry to the people in the French Quarter who need it most.
My brother Ryan obeyed the Lord in giving an amazing message at the BCM tonight about who we are in Christ and what we're called to do.
I've spent the last month or two considering where I'll live starting in the summer, and I'm still not sure, but the trailer I wanted to buy got sold.
During the middle of Ryan's message, I started contemplating what it would be like to rent or buy a house in the ghetto of Hammond (yes, we do have one. Everywhere south of Hwy 190 to the interstate, between Railroad & Morrison or north of 190 and east of Cherry St. is lower income housing. I'm thinking of getting some guys together to live in a house in such an area, where we spend time with the people in the neighborhood selflessly serving. I don't want to do the safe thing and go in there once a week then return to the safety of wherever else I live. I want to be in the middle of people having problems.
"You'll get mugged!" The Lord is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
"You'll get robbed!" So I'll get good insurance. And I'll have nothing valuable. And we'll fervently pray for protection over the house, all the while seeking to keep all unholiness outside of the house, lest the wall of protection come down.
Seriously, I'll leave my guitars at some place safer if that's what I have to do. I'll bring my laptop with me wherever I go. I won't have a nice TV or too much of a DVD collection.
And either way, I know a pastor who had his house broken into, yet when they dumped out the sock drawer where his money was hidden away, they passed right over $4000 of it.
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Here's the bottom line: we're never going to win the world if we're stuck inside a safe Christian bubble. I've gotta get out of it. I'll partner with local churches to find out who needs help. Who are the elderly who could use a free grass mowing? Who are the overworked moms that could use a free house cleaning? Who are the shut-ins that could use somebody to sit there and watch The Price Is Right with them? Who in the community needs to see the love of Jesus exemplified in the face of those who love and serve Him?
Matthew 25:37-40
37Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. | | |
| [I got the quadrameter down, i'll work on the rhyme scheme later]
Many a man or woman has ended
A good relationship because
Eventually, they learned their partner
Wasn't the person they started out
But I have to say, in their defense,
All these people started out
Much like the person they ended up
At least in the majority of cases.
What happened was they started out
With unrealistic expectations
Idealizing the other person
Glossing over all their faults.
So I submit my list of faults
Read as many as you like
Look away at any time
But never tell me that I lied.
There is a stack of bills beside
My desk on the floor; an old note says,
"File papers today," dated last month
The file box is three feet away.
I have a tendency to put things off
Like laundry, till I'm at the end
Then later I forget to fold it
Until the cycle repeats again
I never learned to blow my nose
At least, not properly
I have a tendency to pick and wipe
But at least I try to do it discretely.
I am a man, there's hair on my chest
Yes, it pokes out of my collar
I guess I can thank my French ancestors
I made the mistake of shaving it -- ONCE!
I've struggled with a lot of things
They range from self-worth to lust
I've overcome many obstacles
But there's still a couple in my way
I'm not terribly good with kids
I say things that get me in trouble
I don't always stand against
Evil that I know I should
And let's not forget about me and Jesus
He's the only One who has seen me through
Even when I did not deserve it
And I'll always love Him more than you
Oh, and just so you'll know
SWM, 25, 5'6", 130 lbs
Graduate student, future teacher
Self-supported, getting out of debt
And if I haven't scared you off
You probably want to contact me
I suggest you seek the Father
We'll find each other on our knees
Because I'm not here to sell
My life like a business, a house, a car
Trumping up the reasons why
Secretly hiding all my faults
So here you have some faults of mine
Read as many as you like
Look away at any time
But never tell me that I lied.
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| I want to write this post without sounding resentful like I usually do. As a result, it may be pretty short.
I remember one trip home in the last six months where I saw a girl I knew in middle school. Back then, she was the hottie, the one who was *ahem* most developed, the one every guy wanted. I didn't talk to her, but saw her from a distance. That was far enough away to realize that while she was still strong in the same area she had previously been *ahem* developed, she had caught up in other areas of her body, ones the guys who knew her then wouldn't have expected. Worst of all, she looked terrible -- not so much her physical body, but her demeanor. Whatever was going on, either in that moment or in that season of her life, she wasn't happy about.
Now, I know plenty of people who, in spite of their physical size (large or small), literally glow with joy because that doesn't bother them. They're confident in who they are, and you just have to respect that in a person. It's easy to be perpetually upset about the way you look, so not to give in to that shows character. And I'm not talking about people who are overweight, either. I used to envy guys who were bigger than me. I wasn't satisfied with being the short, skinny kid. Since then, I've seen meatheads who can't take a joke and blow up at the smallest thing. That doesn't say "confident" to me, that says "insecure."
So standing at that gas station, I was highly relieved that I didn't end up with this girl, while also slightly pitying towards her and whoever she did end up with. I wouldn't want to end up with a wife who lost the only thing she valued. That's not saying I expect the woman I marry to be able to fit into her wedding dress for the rest of her life, but the type of woman I want to marry is the kind who is not going to let those kind of bodily changes affect her.
This brought to mind plenty of other girls I'm glad I didn't end up with. The domineering type. The broken wing. The rebound. The bad match. The super-quiet girl. The super-talkative girl. The flirt. The psycho. The arm candy. The teenybopper fangirl. The golddigger. The mooching couch potato. The idealist. The list goes on.
What am I trying to say?
Thank You JESUS that You have prepared a wife for me, not chosen by my own hands, but by Yours, ordained from the dawn of Creation, verily, as it were, taken from my own rib. Thank You for keeping me from getting involved with the wrong girl. Thank You for never leaving me nor forsaking me. Thank You Jesus!
***DISCLAIMER***: Regarding the girl I described at the beginning, i understand I was stretching the image pretty far, but she serves as a metaphor for every girl along the way.
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