"I'll Be There For You.... When The Rain Starts To Pour..." (theme from "Friends")

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately.  I may have hurt myself, but I keep thinking anyway. 


I've been wondering, what makes a friend?  What's the difference between a  good friend, and an acquaintance?  I've been thinking about this a lot, and have realized I need to make some changes.  


I've also realized most of us are so into our own lives that we really don't see (or care) that much about what is going on in other people's lives.  Most of us have enough trouble getting through our own days without having to worry about someone else's. 


When we ask, "How are you?", most of the time we really don't care.  If someone were to take the question and answer it honestly and pour out their hearts we'd be either shocked or chagrined, and wish we'd never asked.  


By the same token, when we are asked, "How are you?", most of us simply say "Fine, thank you." out of politeness. We know the person asking probably doesn't want to hear the truth, just like we usually don't either when we ask. Its polite, that's all.


Sometimes I think polite is crap. 


Sounds harsh, I know, but I think I'm right. 


I'd love for someone to prove me wrong. 


I thought I had several good friends.  I still like to think I do, but after being honest with myself, I find that what I have is more like several good acquaintances as opposed to good friends. Mostly my own fault, I will admit (because to have friends one needs to be a friend), but true nonetheless. 


Good friends take time to get to know each other, and find out what's going on in each other's lives. Good friends check in now and then, call each other, and generally keep in touch on a regular basis.  They share thoughts and ideas, and are free to share what's on their hearts. They can talk about issues without worrying that they will be harshly judged, or alienated from their friendship just because they disagree.


Christ said the world know His disciples by their love for one another.  His disciples were good friends to each other, because they loved one another. That's how others will know we follow Christ, by our love for one another. Even in the secular world, people can tell friends by their love for one another.  


Usually friendships are built on common interests, and common ideas.  Friendships are nurtured by spending time talking and communicating with each other, and spending time engaging in these common interests.  The people we spend the most time with, be it family or job or church or a club, wind up being those we know best, and  usually become our friends. 


Acquaintances are people we sometimes think of as friends, or sometimes not.  Acquaintances are those we know on sight (sometimes remembering their name), give a nice handshake to (usually while asking "How are you?"), and with whom we carry on casual conversations (usually centered on the weather or what our kids are doing). 


Sometimes acquaintances share an activity together (still without getting much deeper than the weather and kids), and when its over say" we all had a wonderful time together", and ,"hope to see you again soon", or "you take care!", as we move on down the crowd in search of someone else less annoying more interesting we know a little bit better.


Then we all scurry home to our safe houses and apartments where we can be the real us and not have to worry about what anyone else thinks. We can take off our fake masks and phoney smiles and relax.  Lonely, but safe, and not having to worry about anyone else.  


Am I wrong? Please, someone tell me I am.  


I thought I had several friends.  I thought several people cared about me, were concerned over my wellbeing  and gave occasional thought to how I'm doing.  


Turns out, not so much actually.  


Sure, I have acquaintances at church and at work.  People seem to like me well enough.  People talk kindly to me and say hello when they see me, and  I can usually have a pleasant conversation with them.  Sometimes even a fairly deep conversation, but usually not.  Some of those acquaintances are closer than others, and for them I'm grateful.  


And I do have a couple of very close friends who love me dearly (friends know each other by their love for each other), and some close family members who love me dearly as well.  People that don't find fault or judge too harshly, or withdraw their love and closeness if they disagree. I find these are the people that I too think about and care for, and desire to check on regularly.   


But there's a reason I've been thinking about this so much lately.  


This is not about a pity-party for Mike. Not a bit.  In fact, the things I've written in the paragraphs above I classify under "life happens".  The stuff I've written about should not be news for anyone reading this, if you are honest with yourself.  We all have our noses in our own hands most of the day, to one degree or another.  Our lives center mostly around ourselves, whether we like it or not.  


It's a challenge to look outward to others, and truly, God Bless those who have made it a priority in their lives to do so.  You are angels on earth, and you make the world a better place.  Would that we should all strive to be like them.  Christ desires us to get out of our own skin, and make a difference to those around us, and to get to know people and help them where they really need it.  


Romans 12 says, "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

Good friends are sincere, devoted to one another, and honor one another more than themselves. Good friends practice hospitality, and live in harmony.  Good friends do what is right, and live at peace with each other.  Good friends also mourn with each other, laugh with each other, rejoice with each other, and, by implication, get to know each other well. Good friends learn to trust one another.   


So, to conclude this, back to the reason I've been thinking about this subject so much lately.  Turns out I do have good friends.  I'm thankful to God for them, and I'm blessed to have them. My friends know who they are, and I love you very much.   


It's just that the people who I thought were my friends are not the same as the people who truly are my friends.  


That's what's given me pause for thought. 

God was Where?

I heard a phrase repeated in a sermon the other day, which I really don't care for (the phrase, not the sermon.  The sermon was awesome).  On the surface the phrase isn't so bad, and I know what people kinda mean when they say it, but I really think it belies a very basic misunderstanding, or at least mischaracterization, of Christian theology and the reality that is God.

It's the phrase "God showed up", or sometimes the prayer that "we pray God that You would show up here today". 

People say that with great relief or expectation, depending on the circumstances.  But it makes me wonder, did God, like, go someplace?

Did he have a meeting and make it back to us just in the nick of time?

Did we pray and somehow NOT expecting God to be there, swooning with relief when He does show up? 

I've never liked it when people say "I prayed, and God showed up!" I know what they mean, and I'm glad that God answered a prayer in their lives, and I'm hoping that helps build their faith in God.

But seriously, was God, like, not there and then He showed up? 

How small we tend to make our God.  We live our lives, day to day, with barely a thought for God and what He's doing for us and through us.  We live our lives feeling as, if we want to be close to God, we need to make time for God (how many times have you heard that?), when God is the maker of time!

Think about this: is there anything we can do that will actually bring God closer to us?

I submit to you, there is not one thing we can do to bring God closer to us.

Work all you want. Spend all the time you can in prayer and reading the Bible and worship on Sundays. Do you think God will be any closer to you now than He was before?  Do you think God will be closer to you than someone who literally never thinks of God, and doesn't even care if God exists?

The reality is this: God is ever-present in our lives, whether we like it or not.  Whether we  believe in Him or not.  God does not need to "show up" because He's always here.

He's always present.  Always attentive and always listening.

The thing that draws closer is us.

Hebrews 10 says "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith"

Psalm 73 says, "Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."

And in James,  it is written "Come near to God and he will come near to you."

You can go all through scripture and see that God does not move.  He is the unchanging, ever-lasting God.

Don't wait for God to show up when you need Him.  Draw near to Him now (by prayer, reading the Bible, worship on Sunday, etc, for these are all good things to do) but also by seeing that God is a part of our lives every day, every minute, every second, and live in joyful thanks for that very fact that God has our back all the time. 

Sometimes life is tough.  Isn't it better to be close to God before the going gets tough, rather than hoping He'll show up later?

Go Tell It On the Twitter (or Facebook, or Myspace, or....)

I like social networking sites.  Truly, they are a fun way to waste time keep in touch with friends and stalk catch up with strangers acquaintances I haven't met seen in years.  I also use them to occasionally tell about my faith in Jesus, or to encourage others in theirs, but I don't think they are the best way.  Don't get me wrong, ANY way of getting the Good News to the world is good, but... well...I wonder how Twitter would have looked in Jesus time had the disciples had Twitter when Jesus rose from the dead?

VeryMary Who moved the body!?! Come on folks, this isn't funny. Things are gonna get smelly real soon.  

RockyPete @VeryMary what body? 

VeryMary @RockyPete stop it.  You know what body. Where did you guys take it? @LovedJohn I'm gonna smack you if you're playing with me.

RockyPete @VeryMary @LovedJohn Hey, wasn't me. Honest. I know nothing! 

VeryMary @RockyPete @LovedJohn well he's not here.  Someone rolled the stone and moved #Jesus. 

RockyPete @LovedJohn she's playing us. 

RockyPete @VeryMary go ask around and see if anyone knows anything. Gotta be some Roman guards there or something.  

ThomasNot @RockyPete where is she?

RockyPete @ThomasNot #Jesus tomb.  Some crackpot moved his body.  How sick is that? 

ThomasNot @RockyPete @LovedJohn you guys got any coffee over there?

LovedJohn @ThomasNot sorry, man.  Just tea today. 

ThomasNot rats.

AndrewDice @ThomasNot got plenty of THOSE here.

ThomasNot ew!

Opportunityknocks RAISE CAMELS AND MAKE MILLIONS OF SHEKELS FROM HOME! LEARN HOW!!  http://bit.ly/1jiSrjh1kh 

VeryMary Ok the gardener just told me #Jesus is alive and walked out of the tomb. What a nut. 

ThomasNot We should have put a bell around #Jesus neck.  

LovedJohn @ThomasNot were you raised in a barn?

ThomasNot @LovedJohn, uhm... yes. You were too, jerk. 

VeryMary OMG  THE GARDENER WAS AN #ANGEL #JESUS IS ALIVE!!!! HE REALLY IS ALIVE!!! GARDENER WAS #ANGEL, #JESUS ENROUTE TO YOU GUYS!!!

ShortySatan @EveryOne ah, crap.  Here we go with this now. 

RockyPete @VeryMary Riiiiiight.  Okie dokie. Mmmm hmmm.  Yeah.... okay then. That's not funny, but ok. 

RockyPete @LovedJohn I think I'm gonna need some help with @VeryMary when she gets back. 

VeryMary I'm SERIOUS!!! #JESUS IS ALIVE!!!! HE'S RISEN FROM THE GRAVE!!! @RockyPete you've GOT to believe me!!!


ShortySatan @EveryOne @VeryMary is crazy.  No one comes back from the dead. 

RockyPete @VeryMary whatever.  I'll believe it when I see it for myself. 

Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, all these social networking sites are great fun, and I do encourage Christians to speak their minds about their faith and to use these networks to help spread the Good News that Jesus Christ came into this world to save us all and redeem us to eternal life with God.  Be honest about your faith, and tell it like it is.  Twitter and others are a great way to get #Jesus name and the message out there. 

But never forget, there is no substitute for face to face contact and actually seeing and speaking to people about Jesus. There is no substitute for living a life so that others can see Christ iN our actions and our speech. If we're going to Twitter and Facebook about our faith, we have to live a life to back up our claims.  There is no substitute for real life. Christianity is more caught than taught. 

After all, ANYONE CAN TYPE IN CAPS AND MAKE SOMETHING SOUND IMPORTANT!!

Opportunityknocks IF YOU DON'T LIKE CAMELS, TRY SHEEP!! RAISE SHEEP FROM HOME!! BECOME A SHEPHERD IN YOUR SPARE TIME!!!  MAKE MILLIONS!!!  http://bit.ly/1jiSrjh1kh 

Are You Sure About That?

I get an e-mail feed from the publishers of our church's weekly Sunday school materials.  A few times a week, the publisher/editor sends out some thoughts on the upcoming week's study, so that Sunday school members and teachers can be thinking about the upcoming lesson throughout the week.  Good idea.  Usually pretty good stuff to think about.

This last e-mail talked about Jesus crucifixion and death, as noted in Mark 15, and how the curtain in the temple was torn at Jesus' death, symbolizing how God was now accessable to everyone, not just priests.

But I found this paragraph in this weeks e-mail:


"The people of Jesus' day had access to God only through priests. These guys had to go through quite the cleansing just to approach the Holy of Holies where God’s presence resided. And, even then, they could only enter that place once a year.

What a great thing that we no longer need a human mediator between us and God! Jesus did that for us when He died to atone for our sins. Thank Him for that and keep the lines of communication open!"

I read this, then I read it again.  I scratched my head, and read it again.  Something about it just didn't quite sit right.  Then I saw what was bothering me: "The people of Jesus' day had access to God only through priests....we no long need a human mediator."

Really? Are you sure about that? People had no access to God unless it was through a priest or another human mediator? Are you sure?

Was God hidden or beyond reach somehow? Did the preists have a connection to God that other humans didn't? When people prayed, did God not hear them unless they somehow prayed with a priest, or only in the temple? Was God somehow different in Old Testement times than He is now? What changed?

Hmmmmmmm.

We must be very careful with what we say and teach in our Christian education.  Saying that the people in Old Testement days only had access to God through priests is misleading and wrong.  Yes, Jesus became our high priest, and abolished the old law of Moses which established the priests and temples, and Jesus will now be our advocate before God, but does that mean people during Old Testement times had no access to God but through another human being?

I believe people have had access to God all throughout history.  God has made himself available to those who seek Him from the dawn of creation.  Going back to my blog yesterday, how reasonable is it to say that God is ever beyond our reach, seeing as He is the creator of everything?

Hebrews 11 says, "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him", then goes on to recount a long list of Old Testament figures who had faith in God without the benefit of a priest mediating their relationship with God, and by their faith were justified and called righteous directly before God. 

King David in his Psalms shows great faith as he cries out to God.   In Psalms 5, he says, "Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

In Psalms 54, David says, "Hear my prayer, O God; listen to the words of my mouth........Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me."

And in Psalms 84, he says, "...the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you."

Doesn't sound to me like a man praying to God through a priest.  Sounds to me like a man praying to God from his heart.  David understood his relationship with God very well.  "Blessed is the man who trusts in you."

It's all about the heart folks.  Faith in God is, and always has been, the ONLY thing which justifies us before God.  God sees the heart, and knows our minds.  Indeed, He says He will write His laws on our hearts so that we would have them with us always.  He will change our hearts of stone to hearts of flesh, capable of pleasing God by faith in Him.

God gave Israel a set of laws to show them  us how sinful they we really were are, and how it is impossible to please God on their our own strength. But in Isaiah 1, listen to how God describes the hearts of the people of Judah while they were trying to follow those laws:

"Listen to the Lord, you leaders of “Sodom.”
Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”
What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”says the Lord.
"I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
of bulls and lambs and goats.
When you come to worship me,
who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
I want no more of your pious meetings.
I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.

Wow!  All these things the Israelites were doing because they thought it would bring them close to God, and God was despising them! Why? Because of the condition of their hearts.  The things they were doing, the festivals and sacrifices, were a sham.  They were trying to cover the true condition of their hearts, which was wickedness. God saw right through them.  So God tells them:

"Wash yourselves and be clean!
Get your sins out of my sight.
Give up your evil ways.
Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.

God is saying, these are the things you would be doing if your heart was right with Me!  But, God goes on to bring it to a close, saying just doing good is still not enough:

Come now, let’s settle this,”says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
I will make them as white as wool.
If you will only obey me,
you will have plenty to eat.
But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”

God is the only one who can cleanse us from the stain of our sin.  Always has been, always will be, the only one.  It was the same in the Old Testemant, and it is the same today in New Testement times. Our sins are like scarlet, and only God can make them white as snow.

God has not changed from the Old Testement to the new.  He has never been out of touch with us, or beyond our reach, because he's always been close at hand.  God never has and never will move away or change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

In 2nd Chronicles 7, God says, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin...."

If anything has changed, and somehow God is out of reach, then the one who moved is us.

Darkness and Light

John 3:16-21 - "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."

Those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.

I like that.

I'm learning that there are many ways to serve God. There is no one "right" way to serve God, nor is there a "right" way to live for God. The key, though, is to actually serve God, and live for Him.

God is much too large to be "a part of" our lives. Indeed, to make God only a part of our lives is showing a profound lack of understanding of who we are in relation to God. How can that which created me be only a part of me? That's silly.

If find that my desire instead should be to submit myself to God and let God remake my life so that God IS my life. The only way to fully live "in the light" that Jesus talked about is to submit our lives to God and let Christ's light shine into, indeed to fill, our hearts.

When that happens, all the dark corners of our minds and hearts that we keep hidden, all the dusty passages where we hide our dark thoughts and our favorite sinful delights, come fully into view. The light spreads though our souls and reveals in us just how very depraved and evil we are, and begins to chase away the darkness that has persisted in our hearts for so long.

If we're honest with ourselves, we begin to wonder how we ever thought we were hiding these things from God in the first place. Hebrews 4 says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable."

Everything is naked and exposed before God. Nothing in all creation is hidden.

Wow! Holy Cats! That's an incredible thought when you really stop and consider it. Jesus (who is God) is the light, and when we draw near to that light, WE begin to see in our lives all the things that we thought were hidden, that God has seen all along. Everything we do is and always has been seen by God.

Thank God for Jesus and the forgiveness mentioned above in John 3. The light did not come into the world to condemn us (show us our evils ways and then swat us for them) but so that we would be saved (to show us our evil ways, and encouraged us to turn FROM evil toward God). The apostle Paul notes in Romans 8, "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit (The Light) has freed you from the power of sin (darkness) that leads to death."

So, since Christ shines the light into our lives, and our lives are (and always have been) exposed and naked for God to see, and we now know that God does not condemn those who belong to Jesus and accept his gift of life, why do we act with each other as if we can still hide our darkness from God?

It is the responsibility of ever Believer to live their lives understanding the truth that God sees everything. Nothing is hidden from Him. And we are to live in the light, letting our lives be seen by all, "so others can see that they are doing what God wants."

If ever you feel the need to hide things in your life from a fellow believer out of shame or fear, you can be 100% assured there is some corner of your heart that you are hiding in darkness. I don't say that as condemnation, but as an acknowledgement of our limitations as humans. A wise pastor once told me that unconfessed sin is the biggest obstacle to living in the light. Thank God for His grace and mercy, or we'd all be lost.

We should strive to live our lives openly and honestly (in the Light) if we know we are living right by God, and following his Holy Spirit's lead. Indeed, we should be truthful with each other in all things, even if some don't like to hear the truth when it's told. Trust God to use the truth to His glory.

In all things, though, we should always be loving and gentle with each other, patient and kind in all things, and never seeking our own agenda. We must submit to one another in love.

1 Peter 4:8, "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."