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Ok something completely different. I don't know if this should qualify for cup of water or not but I thought I would share a poem a wrote. If you like it great. If you don't great as well. If you think it's really goofy that I would even put a poem up, well I guess you are probably right. I just wanted to do something and try to create something for the LORD. Feel free to Email Me your opinion of the poem either way. Of course since there are only about 4 of you who read this, it won't take me long to get your feed back.

Pride and Grace
And I have failed again.
The pieces of my pride fall about me,
Scar my hands, my heart, my soul.
For when you break it to set me free,
I clutch and grasp at the broken shards.
Foolishly I flail my arms and blame You for my pain.
And I am sorry again. How I pray for you to heal my hands, my heart, my soul.

And my LORD does heal.

Yet I pause, moments later while try to rebuild with freshly healed hands,
heart, and soul.
Does clutching me scar Your hands, heart, and soul?
When I build I hurt us both; me in the building, You in the breaking.
Is this not grace?
To keep breaking what I rebuild despite Your pain?

posted by Darol at 10:16 AM

 
Another short posting today. In Luke chapter 11 verses 40 and 41 Jesus has just told the pharisees that they are so concerned with the outside but that what is clean (or in this case not clean) comes from the inside. So he tells them to give what is inside the dish to the poor and the rest will be clean. Some translations basically say to give all to the poor and then they will be clean. Obviously Jesus is speaking of the desire we have for wealth, possessions, and so forth. But I think that he is also possibly speaking about everything we have, including our knowledge of HIM. In this same chapter HE chastises them (those experts in the law) for giving people heavy burdens but then nothing to help lighten the load. In other words the more we give to others of all our possessions, gifts, talents, prayers, etc the more we benefit them and the more we become more like Christ and thus clean. Now this doesn't mean we do this to earn our cleansing. Again that's the basics of Christianity--Jesus is who makes us clean. But once we are HIS, we then must move on to doing the things HE had commanded of us. He speaks later of being offered as a drink offering for others. We too must be poured out for others. From within is where we are dirty or clean. When we are giving of ourselves to others then a lot of things are happening. Like a stream of water. If the stream continues to flow then the water is clean. But when the water stops flowing and begins to back-up, it becomes stagnate and not very good. If we are pouring out the things that GOD gives us to others, then the water (HIS SPIRIT) continues to flow not only to us but to others. This can be seen obviously in terms of giving of our resources. But again it goes so much further than that. When we empty out into others the GOSPEL of JESUS into others then lives are changed and saved. When we empty out the love and hope HE gives to those who are in despair again lives are changed. Jesus tells them (and therefore us) that we have to be willing to share anything and everything that has blessed us with others. This includes pain and suffering. Not the inflicting of pain and suffering but the sharing of it's effects and GOD'S ministering through-out. I have lost my father and though it has been nearly fourteen years, there is still times of sadness and pain. I can choose to hold onto that allowing for bitterness and hurt to well within myself or others who are experiencing pain. Or I can choose to make available the pain I have felt and the uplifting God has given me as a result to others and allow GOD to be blessed and others to be blessed. Perhaps it is the lesson of how GOD meets us in our pain. Maybe it's the lesson of not taking for granted a father while you have one. Maybe it's even the lesson of sharing the pain when someone else loses a loved one. The lesson goes on for every aspect of our lives. Jesus clearly wants the people the give of themselves to those who lack. I believe that lack comes in all forms and sizes, as does God's grace. We must choose whether or not to allow our lives to be poured out for others. This doesn't mean we cannot have good things or blessings. It doesn't mean we have to live lives of torment and pain so that we can reach or understand others. It simply means taking all that occurs as a follower of JESUS and pouring that out in love for others.
posted by Darol at 10:58 AM

 
Just something to share briefly. And it's not my thoughts--they come from "My Utmost for His Highest". IT would be really wrong for me to take credit for good words that aren't mine! But a couple of weeks ago I was reading about an entry where one of the most basic thoughts about prayer suddenly came alive. Maybe no one else will really get much from this because they will think that it was obvious. But I have learned that we can know a truth, but not really have it revealed within us. Sort of like being able to pass a quiz on facts about Jesus but still not know HIM. So I think sometimes we know stuff but it takes the HOLY SPIRIT to really make the knowledge live within us, so to speak. Anyway, Chambers talks about that the focus of prayer is in trying to find answers to things. But it shouldn't be. He points out that we are missing the point of prayer in looking for answers. Not that we shouldn't ask and not that there can't be answers. As Christians we constantly hear that God always answers prayer with "YES, NO, or NOT NOW" or something close to those words. I believe that's true. Maybe the answer comes to us in some other form. However, the really big point is that we have missed the really big point. The answer is important but it's not what is vital. What's vital is that we have entered into the presences of our GOD and are in communion (communication if you like) with HIM. We focus on the outcome, yet it's the process of speaking with GOD that is the changing experience. Being able to come into the presence of the HOLY GOD who also desires us to call him Father. That is what prayer is. For me, it was like opening a new doorway. Instead of thinking and worrying only about the answers (which I still desire you understand) I am beginning to cast imagination upon the privilege of speaking with GOD. It makes prayer more special and certainly more than a checklist which I confess it easily falls into with me. Have all my desires and wants suddenly begun to be answered? Nope. But as Chambers points out, though a benefit of serving GOD is know that HE will provide and lead and love, the whole process of prayer is the specialness of coming into the presence of GOD. Like spending time with people we care deeply about. When prayer becomes the revelation of coming into contact with God and not just about petitions, there is the true awesomeness of God. Again Chambers puts it much better than me--I fear this is the putting into my own words what he put into better words. But though GOD is a father, provider, and full of love for HIS Children it's really about the fact that we are able to talk with HIM and not what we ask for. So yes, we ask for HIS will and we should pray for HIS will. Just as it's needed to ask for HIS wisdom and desire. We are even in good standing to bring the desires we have to HIM. But just as we ask our parents for things, we are better served in loving them for who they are. We are better served by loving GOD for who he is. After all, what is the bigger blessing--having a prayer answered the way we desire or the fact that we are able to come to the LORD and ask?
posted by Darol at 10:17 AM

 
Luke 19-- Mostly this is the famous little part about Zacchaeus, a tax collector and "sinner", who wanted to see Jesus so he climbed in a tree to get a better view. Then Jesus came to him and told him that JESUS himself was coming to his house to eat. Then something odd happened. In 19:7 Luke says that the crowd murmured or complained about Jesus going to eat with a sinner. Now what strikes me as interesting about this is that it is exactly what Jesus has been doing. He goes to those who are seeking HIM. He goes to people who are in deep sin and while never liking what they do, HE still cares for them. Now maybe as a Christian you have heard those things before. Maybe there is even an assent that says "yeah, that's what Christ does. He comes to those who need HIM." But the part that struck in me that little verse was that the crowd was amazed and murmuring (complaining) about the whole thing. Now I don't know who made up the crowd but it's safe to say that the crowd had followed Jesus around for a while, or at the very least heard about the things He did. Certainly there were some people following JESUS who were only there for the show. Some were there because they wanted to see a miracle or hear a good story or even just check out the crowd. Some were likely there because they thought "maybe this is the Christ--the one we have waited for." And hopefully some were there because they knew who they were following. At least knew in the way of what they saw. We know that some people genuinely wanted to be a disciple. But no matter why the crowd had come, these people bothered by JESUS doing what HE always did. They complained. They acted shocked--maybe angry. "Why is eating with that sinner?" "Doesn't He know who that it?" "What kind of a teacher--preacher--Christ--etc would hang out with this person?" "He must not really be who HE says."
Something along those lines seems to be the idea that the verse suggests. People are forgetting who the one they are following is. He is doing what HE has done so many times before. But even more, the people following Jesus around still haven't caught on. Zacchaeus is no different from them. He is no worse. But they still view this all as "Doesn't HE know how bad that guy is?" There is a subtle inference there. Zacchaeus is the one who is really bad. In contrast, I am much better than him. But even if that was true, the crowd is missing the point. They are seeing this as a "how could the Christ spend time with that guy?"
First, Jesus wouldn't have seen Zacchaeus as better or worse than the rest of the people in terms of the kind of sinner HE was. But for a moment pretend that it's true that Zaccheaus is a really bad sinner. This should not have been a moment of complaint or murmuring. It should have been a moment of rejoicing. After all if Jesus will hang out with someone like that, maybe HE will hang out with everyone who wants HIM! Which of course is part of the good news of the Gospel. Instead of seeing it this way, the people focus on what they can see. They saw someone they didn't like in Zaccheaus. They saw a man in Christ minister to Zaccheaus and they didn't like it. They saw Jesus do exactly what HE has been doing but it didn't appeal to what they wanted. And in turn we see a crowd of people following after JESUS for whatever reason they were following--and they never really were following HIM.
posted by Darol at 8:53 AM

 
Well the Romans study didn't quite happen the way I planned. I would apologize but I can't be sure anyone even reads these anymore because of my lack of consistent posting. So I do apologize if you stop by here. If it's just me then it's ok because the other day I was able to use one of these for actually preaching to a youth group. So on to the important stuff....the Word. LUKE is new for the month. Just trying to read and get a grasp of who Jesus was to HIS friends and disciples. I know that He often had to get away in the wilderness to pray. HE mentioned such in LUKE chapter 6. I just marvell at what it means to be able to go and pray for the length of time Jesus did. How easy it is to pray for 8 minutes (feeling like it was 90) and then jump up feeling whatever mood I am in. But with JESUS, as with all things in HIM, it was different. I don't know how HE prayed. maybe HE just walked and talked and listened. Maybe HE was stretched out before the Father. Maybe it was some of all. But I know there was deep intimacy the entire time. And as a result HE had strength to do and know HIS Father's will. Amazingly, Jesus spends HIS time either ministering to others or being ministered to through the Father. I am not sure that there was ever anything else. He may have gone to dinner parties, fellowshipped, or whatever else the day brought....but HE was always ministering to those around HIM. And then amazingly they would tell others of what HE had done even though HE might ask them not to. There were several people HE asked not to mention what HE had done, yet they did anyway. OF course HE didn't want people to think HE was back to set up the kingdom just yet and that was why HE asked them not to speak of it. Yet still they did. In fact there were instances, such as a few chapters earlier where HE actually told a man who wanted to follow HIM to stay behind and tell the people what GOD had done. Though in that case the people had seen Jesus heal the man and it freaked them out and they actually asked JESUS to leave!!! So Jesus left. But HE left them a person to tell of what HE had done because they needed to hear and know the good news. He didn't turn HIS back upon them, even though they requested it. So Christ left behind someone who would tell them of truth and good news and it wouldn't be taken as a setting up of an earthly monarch. Other times the people went away praising GOD and telling others because of the amazingness of what HE had done. Imagine a savior who at every turn was touching and helping those around HIM. And when HE wasn't, He was trying to get alone with HIS father so that he would have the ability to do HIS father's will. Even when it meant going back into the same wilderness where Satan tried to tempt HIM before. Now I am not quite sure what all of this means just yet but I think maybe there is something for all of us here.
posted by Darol at 10:47 AM