Oreos: Disgust or Delight?

I went for a run this morning. It was a pretty good run. It had a great mix of uphills, downhills, and winding paths through autumn-turned leaves.  As I was pushing up one hill, something struck me: Oreo Cookies!

Before you say, “WHAT?!?”, Let me make myself clear.  I didn’t want any Oreos.  As a matter of fact, it is quite the opposite! The very thought of Oreos made me nearly throw up!  This was alarming, because something that usually brings me so much delight, comfort, and pleasure, now was literally the last thing in the world i wanted. This was indeed disturbing. I needed to dig deeper to understand this anomaly.

So what was the issue? While my body was engaged in this vigorous workout, the goal was most definitely on the forefront of my mind: To make it home and survive.  When the goal was so clear to me, the enemy of my goal was also so very clear to me.  I knew that Oreos would directly destroy my endeavors.  

Many things in my life, whether good, bad, or neutral, can provide me a source of comfort, pleasure, and entertainment.  As I am in my dorm room not doing anything physically productive, Oreos, Video Games, Bacon, Television, Chocolate Chip Cookies (plural), YouTube Videos, and Facebook all seem like great ideas. It doesn’t matter how this will affect the big picture for my life because I am not trying to accomplish anything at the big picture level!  Yet the exact same things in a different context with a different state of mind will cause me to gag.  When I think about going to school and actually learning instead of merely passing, when I think about going to Grad School, when I think about leading a family someday, when I think about impacting a city, when I think about helping people who are less fortunate, when I think about changing the world-Any of the former things that will keep me back from accomplishing the goals, nauseate me!  When my mind and life are engaged in what I want to do, anything that will keep me from it sounds disgusting.  

Further, things that sound like a horrible idea when you are in a state of purposeless stand-still (running, sweating, studying, dieting, training, excercising) do not seem as bad when you are engaged.  As a matter of fact these vital activities can even become delightful and exciting because you know they will help accomplish the bigger picture.

Isn’t it the same for you? When you are engaged in the very work you love to do, doesn’t anything that will hold you back disgust and frustrate you, no matter how enjoyable they may be at other times? When your dreams and visions for your life are on the forefront of your mind, don’t things that normally seem like useless burdens give you meaning and motivation? When any of us are actively pursuing the one thing that gives our soul meaning, will we not do whatever it takes to make it happen! I hope so...

When you are immersed in your pursuits your goals become your everything and it affects the way you eat, sleep, drink, EVERYTHING!

When I came back in the house, my mom was awake in the kitchen. She asked me, “Would you like some bacon?” I nearly threw up.

Gen. Ed. John-Michael Nallete

So God, What's Next ? (Pt. 2)

So, I have surrendered my life to God.  I have given up my personal selfish ambitions, dreams, and desires, and instead want to live out His plans for my life.  Living for Jesus is the most satisfying lifestyle.

Often in life we are faced with a multiplicity of options.  Our lives can go so many ways! Let’s say you are a junior or senior in High School, or a senior in college like me.  O-M-G! What school do I go to next? Where should I live? Is this a good place to work? Should I move out? Who am I going to marry? And you thought Walmart had options…

The choices are flying everywhere, the options abound, and the reality sinks in that pretty soon we have to stop examining the different paths and Take The Next Step!

If we have surrendered our lives to God and our goal in life is to live for Him (The King), He is directing our steps. We are not left alone to figure out which one will be the best choice for our lives.  There may be multiple options, but He knows which ones will accomplish His purpose in our lives and bring us the most satisfaction. So we face the seemingly endless possibilities and say, “So God, What’s the next step?”

Let’s compare our life for a moment to shopping. (All the ladies said…! )  So, we walk into the King of Prussia mall, overwhelmed by all the floors we could visit.  On each floor are several wings that we could travel down, each wing fitted with its own impressive collection of stores.  Each store contains thousands upon thousands of items we could purchase. “So God, which one?”  Each item I see represents an option or a plan I have for how my life could play out.  Where do I start?

I wander down a wing that has some lighting that appeals to me.  I take a few steps and hear glorious Christmas music playing in one of the stores, so I quickly turn in there.  Once I’m inside, something catches my eye.  I take it off the shelf and start to play with the idea of buying it, turning it over in my hands, examining different aspects of it, etc.  All the while I am wondering, “God, is this a good decision? Will this be best for me?”  The longer I look at the item, the more I like it.  I start to think, “I hope this is the one for me!” This is not bad!  It is okay to inwardly desire one option over another. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  As a matter of fact, if God doesn’t say otherwise, check your motives, ask for wisdom, seek counsel from mentors, and then buy it.  Take the thing home for goodness sake!  Don’t become paralyzed because you are so nervous that if you choose one, it will be “The Wrong One.”  Sometimes He does layout the specific choice to take.  But other times He lays out a few options to choose and they are all good! 

The issue begins when I become possessive.  I’ve yet to make a decision and bring this item to the register, but I start to hold onto it so tight that my knuckles become white.  I go from examining and admiring the possibility, to becoming so possessive of it that if God were to come along and say, “This is not the best one. Put that down and let me show you better,” I am too attached to this idea to let it go.

At the start, I was examining options with the desire that I would come across God’s best choice for me.  But it transformed into something ugly.  I wanted what I wanted so bad that I abandoned my initial purpose and exchanged God’s best for what I think is best.  May this not be us! While we are still unsure, waiting for God to give us a green light or to say, “I have something better,” let us not become possessive of the possibility in our hands.  Now if the one we liked turns out to not be the best, sure we might be a little disappointed.  Sure our heart might bleed a little bit.  But let us protect our emotions and motives so that if that is the case, we can put it back on the shelf, walk out the store, and move on, bleeding and all, in full confidence that God was right, and that it was not the best option for us.  If the option that we desired ends up being a good choice and path to pursue, then GREAT! Now we can enjoy the great gift from God.  We will be grateful and thankful as we take it home knowing that we have not treasured the gift more than the giver. We will have kept our priorities in the right place.

So God, what’s next?

So God, What’s Next? (Pt. 1)

I set out to write something that has been on my heart.  However, I realized that many of you, my friends, are not Christians and it may be a confusing concept.  If this is you, thanks for stopping by and checking it out.  I split my idea into two parts to better help you understand where I am coming from.  This first part is meant to preface the second part by quickly telling you who I am and what I believe:

I believe that Jesus Christ is who He said He is when He came to earth.  He is God.   I believe that he did what he said he would do.  He came down, not to condemn the world and humans (John 3:17)-we were already condemned because we have ALL rebelled against our creator and have rejected His presence and authority in our lives.  If the world was a kingdom, God is the King and we are rebellious subjects who rejected Him that we may be our own King.  As rebellious subjects we deserved to be banished from the kingdom-forever.  Jesus did not come to condemn us or make us guilty-We took care of that ourselves.  Instead, because He loved us, He came to offer forgiveness for our rebellion.  When you hear ‘forgiveness’ you may think of this exchange: “Jesus, I am sorry.” “I forgive you. Come back.”  No-Jesus came to earth not to accept people’s apologies, but to die in their place! He forgave them their debt, not by “forgetting about it,” but by paying the full price.  While we were still rebellious (Romans 5:8), Jesus paid our debt and made a way for us to come back into the kingdom (John 14:6).

So will we give up our vain coup and surrender!? Will we hand the reigns of our life back over to the One True King and live under His merciful, sovereign, perfect reign!? We do not need to live life our own way for very long before coming to the conclusion that we are not the best candidates for King.  We will not be fully satisfied until we surrender and live life the way that is best for us.  He designed us, and knows that we will be most satisfied living for this single purpose: To live under His kingship, making much of Him and to honor Him. (If that sounds like a selfish King to you, I would love to talk to you more personally! I used to think the same.)

I am convinced that this is the only satisfying way to live.  God loves me, He sent His son to make a way for me to come back to Him, and I surrendered and decided to return home.

The Land Between

            A simple question: Why did God send Abraham to Judea?  If someone could have told me the answer, I could have memorized it.  If someone would have explained it to me, I would have been able to write it down and give it back to them in an essay.  But today, I SAW the answer…

            Judea, or Palestine, is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea to the West, and Desert to the East.  Therefore anyone trying to go South, North or West, must come through this region.  There is no way around it!  To travel the crazy topography of this land, traveling is very strategic.  Roadways and main highways weave in between mountains and along rivers.  Egyptians had to cross this region to travel North.  The Arabs had to cross through to expand their trade to the coast and ports of Tyre.  Every Pharaoh, King, and Emperor recognized the military importance of owning such a land.  Whoever owned this region could control opposing nations’ movements.  Also, they would dominate all the trade that inevitably came through the area.  They knew it was vital, and they wanted it. 

            Enter Abraham- Kings had agendas for world dominance, and empire building, but God would use this strategic land for other purposes: To spread His glory.  “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.  And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

            As our Tour director said: “If you have a message and you want to make it known, you go to the ‘Land Between.’”  Abraham had a world changing message, and God gave him the land that would get the job done.  God’s purpose was not to have Israel as his special people-group and ignore the rest of the world forever; the above text says that He blessed Abraham and His people with a message for the express intentions that the blessing would spread “to all the families of the earth.” So what is this blessing? What is this message that God would spread through His people by using the strategic layout of this land?

            The blessing is the knowledge of the One True God, who created mankind to be in a soul-fulfilling relationship with Him and worship him forever.  Humanity has rebelled against God, and God has a mission, that began with Abraham and has unfolded through the ages: to redeem lost humanity. Kingdoms of the Old Testament would inevitably come through this land, and when they did, they would encounter an influential, godly people that would bless them with the amazing message.  The other nations would encounter more than mere words; they would encounter a people wholly dedicated to God, whose lives were as much of the message as their words.  They were different, and others would know.  They did not worship the same gods, perform the same rituals, or practice the same lifestyles as those around them.  However, they were not a people hidden in a corner; they were on center stage!

Their fulfilled lives, reconciled and in fellowship with the One, True, Personal God, appealed loudly to all around: “Be reconciled to God!”

            This message is why I am in the Middle East right now.  Amidst the craziness, tension and unrest, I am going back to where it all began.  God’s promise to Abraham has now changed my life 1,000’s of years later.  You see, a further development happened in God mission to reconcile men and women to Himself.  Jesus Christ came with the same message, called the Gospel.  He was going to take the sins of man on Himself and pay their penalty by being crucified on the cross.  Because He was the Son of God he rose again three days later.  Just as God raised Jesus from death to life, He exercises the same power to raise us to life who are spiritually dead.   For all who confess of their sinful lifestyle, and desire to be reconciled to God, Jesus came to forgive them their sins.  More so, he made it possible to leave our sinful ways behind us and turn our lives around and follow Jesus as the lord of our lives.

            It’s funny-I often think how one person, with 12 followers, could have so great an impact on the world as Jesus has.  Here I am typing on my laptop in the year 2011, and 80 percent of the world has heard the message, whether they choose to believe it or not.  But you see, Jesus brought his message to Palestine.  It was only a matter of time before the provocative message spread among the trade routes to Arabia and Egypt.  It was only a matter of time before the message caught wind in the sails of the ships heading to Greece.  It was only a matter of time before the world class road system of the Roman Empire not only escorted armies, but also the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  So if you are reading this message, consider the reality of God’s mission and Jesus Christ’ message.  Where do you fit in it all?  Then, consider that it all began, in “The Land Between.”

           

Go Home

You are 8 years old and are playing in the street with the other children.  It’s that eerie time of the day where the sky is changing colors as the day slowly gives way to night.  The dim yellow street lights flicker on one by one down the sidewalk.  Your friends’ mothers begin to call out their names and they each start to run home.  They don’t seem nearly as heartbroken over your interrupted game of manhunt as you do. You yell to their backs, “Come on guys, don’t go! We’re having so much fun!”  Finally you’re the last one out and it is completely dark now.  There’s a warm glow coming through the windows and you can see your friends inside their homes with their family smiling around the table.  You slowly walk toward a window pane and the sounds of the deep, wholehearted laughter reach your ears.  As you begin to press your face up against the glass you smell the aroma of chocolate chip cookies from the warm oven.  You can’t even understand how your friend is the same one who was just outside playing with you.  His expression says, “It was nice playing with you; I enjoyed it.  But now-I am home.” But you are alone, on the outside looking in.  You are merely observing intimacy.  You want to go home.

            This is exactly how I feel when I encounter someone who is madly in love with Jesus.  It’s clear they spend time in God’s presence (a home) where they are secure, filled with joy, at peace, completely satisfied and full of love.  Our time together (on the street) isn’t their source of joy; they have a home where their desires and longings are satisfied.  Our friendship is, well, simply extra.

            How often I feel like I’m on the street, merely observing the intimacy that others have with Jesus.  The issue is that I am on the street looking for satisfaction that can only be found at home.  I think that the friendships, activities, food vendors and entertainment out there are enough to satisfy my soul and make me complete-but they don’t.  I only need a glimpse of home, that beautiful, soul-satisfying, love relationship, to remember my own home…

            In God’s presence I am filled with joy; there are eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11).  With Him I can lie down and sleep in peace because he makes me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:7-8).  Only in His presence is my soul calm and content, like a weaned child with its mother (Psalm 131:2).  I remember the times that my soul was satisfied in His presence, satisfied “as with the richest of food” (Psalm 63:1-5), and it makes me hungrier!  I want to go home.  But I forget! I fight the temptation daily to seek satisfaction elsewhere.  I’m not always convinced in my heart that time in God’s presence is better, more precious, more valuable, more fulfilling than anything else. I do not always love and cherish time with God.  But thank God I can be honest with Him and ask for His help.  A.W Tozer summarizes it well with his prayer:

“Oh God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more.  I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace.  I am ashamed of my lack of desire.  O God, the Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still.  Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, so that I may know Thee indeed.  Begin in mercy a new work of love within me.  Say to my soul, ‘Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away.’ Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long.”

            May we each internalize this prayer and make it our own.  May we refuse to stay on the outside, observing the intimacy between our friends and God.  May we be madly in love with Jesus ourselves and spend sweet, sweet time in His presence.  May we Go Home.

Inception: Ultimate Reality

                I just watched the movie “Inception” for the second and it blew my mind…again! It is a great movie that revolves around the issue of reality verses fiction.  It caused each member of the audience to seriously consider “What is reality?”  The main character fought a constant battle to decipher between what was real and what was not.  However, this struggle was self-inflicting.  Let me explain: Rather than ‘take his thoughts captive’ and clearly define reality, he allowed himself to entertain illusions and dreams that he knew weren’t real.  He chose to let his mind dwell on what he wishes was real.  Because he spends so much time there, these thoughts are naturally on the forefront of his mind; they are invading his subconscious!  What we think about the most will begin in the thoughts as a matter of will, but they’ll ultimately take up residency in the subconscious of our minds.  These will become our reality.  So what are we thinking about?  If we want to live confused about ultimate reality, all we have to do is crowd our minds with the foolishness of this world, that claims to be all that there is:
            Foolish Fiction #1:  There is a teaching that “what you see is what you get…Period.”  This naturalist approach to life is opposed to Real Life: The kingdom of God.  The laws of nature are real, but only because they find their being in the higher reality of God’s existence.  But it is so easy to forget this and blur the lines of reality. 
            Foolish Fiction #2:   To some, reality is having a dream and pursuing it with no restrain.  This is the “You can have whatever you like” mentality.  Their reality is defined by an intense, life-long pursuit of dreams, ambitions, accomplishments and success.  If they just work hard enough, if they just reach the next step, they could make their dreams come true and really be satisfied.  If only they could have enough…Only Jesus can quench the thirsty longing of each man’s soul (John 4:14).
            Foolish Fiction #3:  A third and final dream that tempts us to ignore reality is the “Fairy Tale.”  We so easily write out the script of our lives to be a fairy tale, starring: Me, Mr./Mrs. Perfect, 3-5 beautiful children, Spot (The Dog), nice suburban home, with a secure and steady job.  There is nothing wrong with this picture, if it is what God has in store for you.  But what about the countless people, self included, that are living for this! This dream can dominate our thoughts so much that we are convinced of it as the reality that affects our every step.  May we seek first God and his kingdom and His righteousness.  May we count it all as lost and consider all these things rubbish in order to gain Christ, know Christ and be found in Him. 
            But to keep a tight grip on life and reality, we must start with the mind.  What we allow our minds to dwell on the most will become our reality.  In 1 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul declares, “We had boldness in our God…” Paul was convinced of the reality of God and His gospel message.  Are we?  Are we meditating and contemplating the truths of the Bible so much that they are our reality.  Are we convinced of the truths of Scripture to the point that we allow them to have influence on they way we actually live our lives? Or do we speak about them and know them as intellectual theorems, while keeping them disconnected from the reality we truly live in?  What are we convinced of?  What can we boldly declare as fact, as reality?  Jesus Christ, the son of God, has come to take away the sins of all who believe in Him and reconcile them to God.  Not because of own striving to earn it, but simply because of His own grace and beautiful mercy-FACT.