New Life

New Life/Following Christ/Sacrifice - they all point to something that only becomes real when we give ourselves away. The transformation of ourselves doesn't happen until we bring to the table something of ourselves that is both valuable, vulnerable, and tangible.

I can start with money, or I can start with something very personal within myself. I can start by giving some time that is valuable to me in some other way. It's not giving away the "free time" or the "extra money" or making a "hobby" out of some kind of charity. True transformation comes from sacrifice. But that one sacrifice is not the end, but the beginning to the path of relationship.

Because when we give away something of value to ourselves, we must depend upon God to replenish so that we may give again. Life in God's Kingdom is a life of giving and a life of giving away even more than is comfortable to give. At that point we find ourselves in need. That is a good place to be in, because in our need we find God's provision. The needy need God. God make me needy. Or rather, God let me see my need for You, and respond by giving away all that I have so that You can fill me up again. Like the shampoo bottle..."Wash, Rinse, Repeat".

True Confessions.

From a post responding to a cartoon at http://www.nakedpastor.com/archives/4165

It just doesn't get more honest than this...tell me you've never felt this way...and mean it:

"The relationship with God that I attempted never felt very real. He never talked to me. I talked to him, but he was always silent. I had to just trust that he was really there and really listening.

I found what he said in the Bible very confusing and contradictory. It made me crazy trying to figure out which verses applied to which situations. Other people never seemed to have a problem with that. God never helped me to understand.

I finally gave up and decided this whole relationship was an imaginary thing inside my own head.

Aren’t there bare minimum standards for something to be considered a “relationship?”
What are those standards?

I also heard that in Islam, they are not trying to have a relationship with Allah. They revere him and submit, have certain duties, etc., but it’s not a warm and fuzzy thing like in Christianity. Hopefully I’m not misrepresenting anything here. I’m sure you see what I’m trying to get at.

Oh yeah, and would you want to have a relationship with someone you fear? Like they might throw you in hell if you’re not of the elect?

And God TELLS us to love him. Can you love someone just because they tell you to?

I don’t get it."

When God actually "comes through for you..."

HA! It doesn't happen...or to say it correctly...God always comes through for us. Today I have reached what I think of as a "breakthrough." I have been given something that I really wanted. A piece of the puzzle has clicked into place. God Came Through for me... Or did He?

In reality, what I think of as God making something happen...that I had been anticipating...was actually just one more step in a plan of His making all along. Events and milestones that are big and celebratory to me, are most likely the culmination of many other un-noticed events and milestones that are recognizable only by a calculating and calling God. God doesn't just see what I see as victories. I think He sees each step that I take with Him...following Him...as a victory for His Kingdom. After all...what is the goal of life? Success? Accomplishing my dreams? Or praying and accepting that God's dreams BECOME my dreams...that God's successes or Kingdom successes become my idea of success.

God's ideas of good are much different from what I have learned from my culture, my family and my world. In God's upside-down world, the first are last, and the last are first. The persecuted are the blessed and the poor will be made rich. The happy will be made sad, and the sad will be comforted. I pray for my enemies and for those who persecute me. I love those who try to kill me and I turn my cheek to accept another blow. I become defenseless, because I need no defense. No power can hurt me, because I am transformed from earthly being to heavenly body. I am no longer my own, but my God's. I am no longer free to be as I see fit, but I am slave to a God whose slavery is so much better than my own idea of freedom. And yet in this state of slavery, I am more free than I have ever been.

In God, through Christ, through His liberating love and sacrifice, I gain all the lasting treasures of true love. I loose everything so that I can gain the one thing that matters. And once I have it, I give it all away, freely. And strangely enough, as long as I freely give...I always have more than I need.

from Sojourners...

Dear bart, While talk show hosts spread fear of reform, Americans are going broke from health-care costs. Tell Bill O'Reilly to tell the truth about health-care reform. It’s good that some of America’s most conservative talking heads are hearing from people of faith. On a recent episode of The O’Reilly Factor [1], Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby, did some truth-telling: "I think what Jesus says over and over again, both in our lives and in the scriptures, is that it's our responsibility to make sure that the least are cared for. And that it is a societal responsibility. Therefore, we must as a nation make sure that everyone has access to health care." Bill O’Reilly’s response, however, was out of touch and misleading: “There are a number of ways to do that and I support the clinic way, whereby the federal government could have clinics in almost every county in the country that do provide services for the poor. However, if the government takes over health care ... and begins to tell people when they can live and when they can die, and the country goes bankrupt in the process ... more people will be harmed, including poor people.” Be another voice of faith setting Bill O’Reilly straight about health-care reform. Does Bill really think that the health-care crisis is only a problem for poor people? Or that clinics alone are a real solution? While his band-aid suggestions and scare tactics obscure the issue, the health-care crisis is making people poor as costs skyrocket - even for those with coverage. Even those who may lose business as a result of reform know that, in the health-care crisis, it’s the current system that’s bankrupting America - one citizen at a time: I'm a bankruptcy lawyer, so I'm in one of the two groups that will be hurt by real health-care reform (insurance companies being the other). About a third of my clients are in bankruptcy due to medical bills (another third have some medical bills, but it's not what pushed them over the edge). Almost all of them thought their health insurance would cover the problems they had. Many had gone to great lengths ahead of time to make sure their treatment would be covered, only to find out after the fact that their insurance company wouldn't pay. They've heard every excuse in the book (or in the fine print of the policy): experimental treatment, lifetime cap, high deductible, missed deadlines, lack of notification, pre-existing condition, and so on. To me, the worst part of the American health-care financing system is that you can't tell what your treatment will cost. I know folks who have flown to Pakistan to have operations they couldn't get in the U.S. because nobody in the U.S. (unlike Pakistan!) would agree in writing ahead of time what it would cost them. [2, emphasis added] Tell Bill O’Reilly that all Americans - rich and poor, with and without insurance - need real reform now. Bill doesn’t trust the government to provide his own health care, but he thinks it’s good enough to provide clinics for the poor. We need comprehensive reform for all Americans, not just band-aids for people in poverty. No person in America should go bankrupt because they cannot afford needed medical care. The major proposals for health-care reform would prohibit insurance companies from placing an annual or lifetime limit to the amount of coverage a person can receive, and would limit the amount that can be charged in out-of-pocket deductibles. No person should have to fight serious illness and bankruptcy at the same time. The issue is not, as O’Reilly says, the government going bankrupt - it is hundreds of thousands of Americans going bankrupt. Bill O’Reilly has shown that he’s willing to listen to voices of faith when it comes to health-care reform. Add your voice to the chorus of those calling for truth-telling on this vital issue. Click here to take action today. Shalom, Ryan, Elizabeth, Duane, and the team at Sojourners ---- 1) The O'Reilly Factor, 8/19/2009 2) Source: "The View From Your Sickbed," a reader’s letter to "The Daily Dish," The Atlantic online, 8/10/2009

your soul

"Your body is a manifestation of your soul."

small words/small thoughts

lately I've been impressed with the power of words. how easily they can hurt. oh how easily they can be said. how hard it is to forget them or not take them personally. written words can hurt even more because they don't have the sounds that animate them. maybe they are even more dangerous, because the reader can add her own animation regardless of what was intended by the writer. that, my friend, is dangerous too. CAPTIALS ARE DANGEROUS, bold is too loud, THIS IS A DECLARATION OF WAR, this is a conspiring whisper, and none of these words are more than pixels on a screen...pulses of light like the ones God called into existence in the beginning.

with these words i love, i paint, i push and cajole. with these words, these very quiet words, i pray, i hate

with these words i change, i relate, i scream - notice me.

i write these words to remind me that they are more powerful than i intend. i shouldn't be trusted with words because they are too powerful...not yet. i need to practice more with actions until they look more like the words that i want to say and that i want to be.

There is no "or"

Either God will come through, or... It is something that I say alot in my head. My therapist called this "self talk." If you've been there, you know what that means. If you've read Deepak or a disciple of his, you know what that means. It's the self-affirming or condemning stuff that we say and believe in our heads about our 'self.'

Either God will do it, or... It doesn't really make sense. God is who God is. He will do what He will do. He says He will take care of us and care for us...clothe us, feed us... Help my unbelief.

Power and Equality?

"Wherever men hold unequal power in society, they will strive to maintain it. They will use whatever means are convenient to that end and will seek to justify them by the most plausible arguments they are able to devise. Nevertheless there are possibilities of increasing social justice through the development of mind and reason.”

Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society

The more we think about ourselves and our relationship to one another, the more kind we must become. Does this sound irrational to you? Or is it only that you ascribe sinister motives to everyone else. Why not hope in the goodness that is in another human being. Why not even act as if you believe your neighbors motive is not simply greed and self gratification? His actions could be based upon the same confused morality that you and I try to apply to our lives in the most rich and hedonistic society on earth.

"Social Justice" is not just another anti-capitalist, anti-establishment, anti-American concept. In fact it is not necessarily anti-anything. In fact social justice at its core is based upon one very basic truth...that all men are created equal. AHA! So it is a very "American" concept...free market, capitalistic, and all that? Maybe this is where the paths in the woods start to diverge.

Equality of man is not license for come what may. It is not a definition that says...o.k. I'm equal to you and you to me...so you get what you get. I have no responsibility for you. Your failures are your own; your success is your own... You are equal to me, so if I exceed you in wealth, power, and status, that is your fault, not mine. If you are hungry, tired, naked, and abused, well that is yours to bear.

So, we have to consider, that even though my environment (my parents, my skin color, my religious persuasion, etc...) has favored my "success" in the measure of this society and economic system, my success creates even greater responsibility for me to bring equality to my world. Should I now reward the lazy, no good, useless minions that can't seem to work a five day week? Yes, and I should look deeper than the stereotypes and the casual studies to find the injustices that put a person in a down-trodden position. At the end of this search, I guarantee that I will find injustice.

While we all may be created equal, we have also created ways to make life very "un-equal" for some. We have also created many systems that make life in this society a whole lot easier for others.

Why are minorities the highest percentage of the prison population? Because they're born to be criminals? Why do land-locked countries have lower GDP and lower wages? Why does the African continent have higher instances of poverty than the rest of the world? Because these people are just stupid, corrupt, immoral? The entire race??? There is injustice in this world. Just because we are the haves, and others are the have-nots...doesn't mean we are right and blessed, and they are wrong and cursed.

Our material "blessing" is our curse because we have become numb to the things that really matter. The capital that we should be spending is our time. The investment vehicle with the greatest return is relationships...and not just with those like us, or who can get things for us. Relationships that are mutual, loving, and full of respect and hope are priceless. And, whether we like it or not, we are "in relationship" with everyone else in this world. What we do affects one another. The effect is magnified by the amount of time we spend with others. And time, is something we all have in equal supply. How we spend it can be dictated and controlled by our own actions and the actions of others.

Our effect and the effect of others upon us is inescapable. But, it can be beautiful, if we use it for the right purpose. Figuring out that purpose brings us back to the Niebuhr quote above. The mental exercise he prescribes has purpose...it can change the world, by changing you.

Life is going on...

It is going on...It doesn't seem to start and stop based on prayer, answers to prayer, guidance from God or even bad things and good things that happen. It seems hard sometimes to deal with the fact of life moving forward as I seem to sit still.

The fact of the matter is that I feel called to do this work, to do ministry, and do it as a vocation, not just part of what I do in my job and life. I feel called to professionally support the church daily with my skills that I use to support the company I work for. There are details to be worked out. My friend and pastor, Jack says that nothing has ever gotten in the way of his ministry to others. In many ways, what could get in the way of God. In Romans, Paul says that not even death can thwart the plans God has for us... In Phillipeans we are reminded to trust in the Lord and not worry about anything. Jesus compared our lives to that of birds or lillies in the field...said that God clothed those and fed those creatures every day with what they need to fulfill their purpose, and are we not much more valuable than them? Are we?

At least to God, I think we are, so much so that no authority, and not even death can circumvent the plans God has for us.

An impossible predicament

"The State of Israel needs to reconsider the future consequences of this process, which allows Jews to claim ownership of property that belonged to them before 1948, but prevents the same claims from being realized by Palestinian residents. A general opening of ownership cases - Jews and Palestinians - from before 1948 could place the State of Israel in an impossible predicament in Jerusalem."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277947829&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Hanging out and waiting for things to happen

Sometimes waiting for God can seem like "waiting for Godot" - you can google the reference. It seems like a sense of limbo and it can be distracting. Even if I am praying about what seems to be a life-changing decision for me...like a big change in occupation...that shouldn't become the focus of my life. It's easy to put the "idea" of following God, ahead of following God. What? Think about it. It's like worshiping the Bible, and not understanding the words lead you to worship the Creator. It's like worshiping a relic of the cross and not remembering the what the cross means to you as a Christian believer. In the same way...waiting for God can be an idol in itself.

I'm not saying God doesn't lead me to times of prayer, meditation, and reflection. But there are still hungry and hurting people in my path. And I don't get to say to them...wait...I need to see if I can help you...it may not be God's will for me right now. Ha...

On NPR there was a story of a man in Karachi, Pakistan...uneducated, untrained in anything. He started one of the biggest social service networks in the country. He has clinics for babies and buries the anonymous dead. It's an amazing story. He doesn't have to ask God what to do today...it's right in front of him every day.

So for me, let me not forget the relationship...with God, with my neighbor. Let me not forget my neighbor extends beyond my immediate vision, beyond my neighborhood, my social class, my race, and even my borders. My neighbor is the entire world. Open my eyes Lord, that I may see...Open my heart Lord, that I may respond...with your strength...not my own.

today's perscription for spiritual growth

Read this:

http://bit.ly/cbkHz

Read this:

http://www.nakedpastor.com/archives/3566

That is all...

Welcoming Immigrants?

We put up so many walls to immigrants in the US because we are so afraid that all this goodness that "God" has blessed us with might accidentally be diminished if we share it more freely. Mourn the day people...mourn the day.

On the other hand, Israel seems to be getting immigration right...at least when it comes to welcoming their own... Of course, if the US is a Christian nation...(I really don't believe that big one...) then shouldn't we be welcoming all persons with open arms?

So here's how Israel handles immigration...read it and weep... (maybe the Jews really are God's chosen people, and Christians have some how missed the boat when it comes to acting like Jesus):

From the Jerusalem Post :

To smooth the transition for a recent group of South African immigrants to Israel, the Jewish Agency has devised a new way of helping olim (immigrants). Instead of bringing olim to Israel, Israel was brought to the olim via an "aliya expo" in South Africa. "This is a new concept of aliya (immigration)," said Ofer Dahan, the Jewish Agency's outgoing representative for South Africa. "This way, anyone interested in aliya would be able to take out a mortgage, buy an apartment, make investment, do anything he wants to before he comes to Israel."

More than 100 South Africans made aliya on one recent day, and to ease the process, El Al airlines officials came to a local community center to check in the baggage early, which allowed olim to board their flight directly, resulting in reduced stress.

Post-aliya care has been stepped up, too. In a move to reduce bureaucracy, representatives of banks, national insurance, schools and the government met with the olim the next day in their hotel, thus saving these new immigrants many hours of going back and forth processing paperwork. It is hoped that this procedure will serve as a model for future group flights.

What do we really know...

Have you ever been asked what you think of something? I mean, it's like you are really supposed to KNOW something and impart that knowledge to lead and influence people. What a bunch of bunk.

Do I really Know...capital "k" Know anything? I know what I think, I know what I like, although that can change in an instant. I know how I feel right this instant, although that will also change in a second. So what do I "K"now. Not much...not much at all. In fact the more that I learn, the more I learn that I do not Know much worth knowing.

There are a lot of things that I believe though. I believe that loving my neighbor is about the best I can do to show Christ's love to another human being. I believe that the principles that Jesus displayed on this earth are not necessarily what is happening in my life, or being promoted through many "Christian" religions. I believe that someone who is a very good Hindu may be a better Christian than I am. I believe that for me to become who God wants me to be, I must deny myself and what I want for the betterment of others. I believe that all of the above is very hard to do...

I believe that I love most people, but that I should love all people.

I believe that I need to live in community with you, not just live in your community.

I hope that my belief will match my action...

Love and Peace to all.

True Kingdom of God...Zemayesh

From my friend Joyce Spielberger: This is truly community. It is what we need to be about as the capital "C" Church universal:

I recently returned from Israel where I had the privilege of attending our Partnership 2000 steering committee meetings in our sister city of Rosh Ha'ayin. The day before the meetings began, I was at a marina in Herzilya where I saw a boat with the name "Zemayesh" written on it. Loosely translated, Zemayesh means "this is what we have" or as we might say in America, "what it is, it is." And, of course, like an Israeli, you add a gesture and shrug your shoulders as you say "Zemayesh."

Zemayesh, this is what we have. I don't know why but the expression continued to resonate with me throughout my time in Israel...as I spoke to the Israeli people, as I looked out the window of our bus at the scenery and as I visited programs our Federation and Foundation support. Zemayesh.

I thought, Zemayesh, this is what we have in Israel...arid, barren desert; yet, Israelis have learned to grow crops, creating revolutionary techniques to irrigate by bringing desalinated water all the way from Ashkelon to grow vineyards, crops such as cherry tomatoes, and Eucalyptus trees in the Negev.

Zemayesh, this is what we have in Israel...the most hospitable people, who love for you to drop in unannounced and visit with them, any time of the day. Zemayesh...amazing, resilient people who want nothing but for their children and their children's children to grow up in an Israel that is safe and secure, a place where they can live in peace. Zemayesh, this is what we have.

Our Federation understands Zemayesh. We raise dollars each year and Zemayesh, this is what we have. However, for us, too, it is not only Zemayesh, it is also "Zeh She'mah Osim" -- "this is what we do."

Zeh She'mah Osim...so we can be sure that nowhere in the world a Jewish person goes in need. Zeh She'mah Osim...so that children and communities in Southern Israel have the physical and emotional support they need as they live in fear of rocket attacks. Zeh She'mah Osim...so that we can help each of our local agencies contribute and enrich our Jewish and broader communities. Zeh She'mah Osim...so that we can build vital, collaborative partnerships with the broader community to benefit Birmingham as a whole.

Yes...Zemayesh...the dollars you contribute...this is what we have; and yet Zeh She'mah Osim...this is what we can do together, through our Federation and Foundation. There is so much we do, continue to do, and will do, thanks to your support. Todah rabbah! Thank you very much.

Wiping out Israel?

Israel's ambassador to the US, warned on Friday that an Iranian atomic bomb could "wipe Israel off the map in a matter of seconds."

Geographically, we are very far removed from the middle east conflicts... It's not just the Israeli's that are afraid...it's the Sunni Muslims too. It's too easy to just write off the constant messages out of Israel as "paranoid" or "posturing." It's way more than that...it's a matter of survival.

If someone had a gun pointed at our head, constantly...we might understand how they feel. In this instance, the gun isn't quite constructed yet. It's being built, one piece at a time. Agonizingly, the Israelis are watching its construction and wondering why we can't all come up with a solution to prevent it's completion. Because, once it's complete, it's too late. The trigger can be pulled in seconds.

Then, they would be forced to do something for their own survival.

I don't care

If you care about something you really have to start speaking up about it. It doesn't matter what it is. If you don't, I don't think you really care.

You're probably not going to get shot or beaten or even kicked out of the country club for speaking up...but someone may not eat, may get deported, or may not get medical care if you don't. I'm not saying it's all up to you by yourself. But if you don't start, you will never be the catalyst in the chain of events that makes the whole thing go.

If you think your insignificant...just wait until you try to make a difference. You'll find just how significant your opposition thinks you are...

love

Sometimes the simplest things bring the most joy. I built a fort out of pillows and blankets with my son. It was the best thing I did all day.

When nothing is enough...

I'm really wrestling with something. Sometimes life can just seem a bit too much. You have faith in God to lead you. You have a spiritual life that informs you, inspires you, guides you. But there are still times when nothing you do seems to bring you peace...or helps you to believe "enough."

What is enough faith? What is enough belief? I feel like the guy who approached Christ saying..."I believe, help my unbelief." It's like I'm saying...I believe, but I just can't get it all together. God, please help me when I can't muster the faith to even ask for help.

What I have is a gift from God, even though I like to think it somehow came from me, or started from me. It didn't. Even what little I have, was a gift, freely given in love. The more I try to assert my own strength, my own belief, my own faith, the more I move away from depending upon and believing in God. It almost sounds silly as I write it. So simple, so hard to believe. The foolishness of our faith confounds the wisdom of this world and all of its messages.

Let my weakness showcase God's strength. Instead of fighting my way forward, let me submit myself to God's will. I want to find the still small voice leading opposite the tide. It takes doing nothing sometimes to stop and hear that voice.

Going to sleep

I was asleep. In my life, in many ways I was going through the motions being caught up in one thing after another. The stress of the moment could change my focus, alter my emotions, start my mind on a track that was hard to stop. I could be distracted from what was right in front of me, because I was only thinking about something else... Normal.

We're usually asleep like that. We stop hearing the birds sing when we're outside, we don't even notice our ride into work. What did the trees look like? How did the sun fell as it fell upon your face. How did the air conditioning feel as it cooled you? Did that song on the radio make your soul dance or cry? Do you remember what you just said to your friend on the cell phone?

It's like we're just filling time between things that we don't experience. Experiences that aren't experienced. In a way, we are asleep. What puts our lights out? What makes the day seem like a haze or a series of obstacles just to jump through? We're zoned out. We need to tune in.

We need to think one thought at a time and do one thing at a time. We need to pay attention to what is in front of us. IF we don't like what we see, we need to get up and move. We need to wake up our minds and decide what gets our attention and our focus and our very short time on this earth. If what is filling our lives is junk...then our lives are junk. If what is filling our lives is rich and lasting and enriching and sustaining...then our lives are rich and fulfilled. If we don't know WHY we are doing what we are doing, then we are asleep and unaware. We have to wake up. WAAAAKE UUUUUUUUP! What fills you up?

Are Latinos the new Jews?

I am distressed. Two latinos in Arizona are murdered by members of a "minuteman" anti-immigration group. It's sad. A line has been crossed. One of the suspects is believed to have murdered a latino homeless person years ago as well.


The Anti-Defamation League now reports that Sotomayor is being blamed on the "Jews:" "White supremacists and anti-Semites have flooded Internet sites with messages charging the Sotomayor nomination is the result of 'Jewish power.'" The best thing about this is that Jewish advocacy groups are embracing the Latino community out of a common bond: persecution by the ultra right hate groups.

Today in Alabama, troopers can stop you on "suspicion" of being an undocumented immigrant. They can take you to jail and start deportation proceedings if you can't produce ID fast enough. Better not look Latino down here! Better not be listening to Mexican radio!

In Albertville, Alabama, the mayor is diverting money from the school system to try to start an immigration detention program in his city. TWENTY FIVE PERCENT of his constituency is Latino. They have started businesses, bought houses, and made his formerly abandoned downtown into a bustling business district. Thanks so much...now go back to Mexico?

It's a sad day in America when the new "weapon" against "illegal immigration" is a gun in the hands of vigilantes. Enough is enough. Violence is the product of hate...it can only be combated by all of our communities standing together against it. Christians, Jews, Muslims...all peace loving and God-fearing persons...we need to stand together for the common beliefs of decency and human rights against this tide.