just a little won't hurt

just once won't hurt. justification. i'm great at it.
*one more bite can't hurt
*one more purchase on my credit card is no big deal
*who will know about this sin? ... hmmm.. its just a little one, no big deal, right?
Here is a quote I came across that has been shaping me as of late. It's from a guy named Martin Llyod Jones, a guy from the other side of the pond (read Britin).. one of my dead heroes (most of my heroes are... they don't disappoint you!).
Now, let me warn you: it's pretty full strength, so read it at your leisure and re-read it if you want to. But, as I've allowed it to sift through the various aspects of my soul I've found it redemptively confrontational.
Let me know what you think..


"Be careful how you treat God, my friends. You may say to yourself, “I can sin against God, and then, of course, I can repent and go back and find God whenever I want him.” You try it. And you will sometimes find that not only can you not find God but that you do not even want to. You will be aware of a terrible hardness, a callosity in your heart. And you can do nothing about it. And then, you suddenly realize that it is God punishing you in order to reveal your sinfulness and your vileness to you. And there is only one thing to do. You turn back to him and you say, “Oh God, do not go on dealing with me judicially, though I deserve it.
Soften my heart. Melt me. I cannot do it myself.” You cast yourself utterly upon is mercy and upon his compassion."Martin Lloyd-Jones, 1899-1981

Party with A Purpose Pics

Well everyone the Pictures are here, and they are posted on Shutterfly, please feel free to look, and order them (you might need to create a shutterfly account).

Party with a Purpose Pics

New Hillsong

The new Hillsong CD is out, "All of the Above" Very nice.

One of the songs is what I call (thanks to BW) a "Song of the Revolution." In it, Joel Houston and Matt Crocker do not say, "I love you Jesus" or "Jesus you are worthy."

It is a song of the revolution. Lyrics like, "It is not a human right to stare, not fight, while broken nations dream" and "Politics will not decide if we should rise" and "Your promise stands...higher then our protest lines and dollar signs...your love is all we need" and "We will be your hands and feet....we will run"

I might have a nuance or two theologically, but I can tell you that it is good to hear songs of the revolution...calling us to action. Could someone say, "Enough new songs about Jesus and more songs about what Jesus does and what he wants us to do?" Probably not, we can never write enough about Jesus but, I like the idea of more about the revolution He calls us to.

New Hillsong, worth the download cost to listen, worship and help us to think a bit. Blessings

Live! From Robby and Katie's Wedding

We are here in North Georgia. In a few hours they will be Mr and Mrs Cloninger. I have the pleasure of officiating. As I meditated this morning on weddings I thought how I if I had to rank things we pastors "officiate" at it would be hard. Funerals, then weddings then baptisms?

With baptisms, kids are crying and squiggling and someone usually laughs when one of the kids does something funny. Enjoyable though not "weighty".

Funerals are deep, and rich and hard and tough. They are where reality meets the world we live in. Death is real and people can taste it. The Holy Spirit often uses that time to pull the veil back a bit. I could not say they are enjoyable though.

Weddings are wonderfully fun. A beautiful, joyful day where everyone loves everyone and hope abounds. A deep spiritual thing happens, but for the most part people are not listening, they are looking at the beauty of the bride, the tux of the groom, the glint of the ring, the first kiss. It is a visual event. Words do matter, but not much.

I am thinking that is the way things will be when Christ comes again. Words won't matter. It will be a visual event. No deep thoughts will be needed. Just the beauty seen and fully unveiled. The glint of the crowns, the kiss of the Son. The wedding today foreshadows that which is yet to come. The Wedding Feast.

Perhaps you are closer right now to a baptism, or a loved one has died. All have their place in our pilgrimage. It is good to meditate and think about.

For Robby and Katie, the wedding is NOW! So..congratulate them when you see them..and be reminded of the wedding yet to come!

Lost and Mother Teresa

If you have not seen the last episode...stop reading now. Here is my thinking. It does not matter if you are on the island or off of the island. If you are lost, you are lost. If you have purpose, you have purpose. People want to be going somewhere. When they are not going anywhere, they die.

So I am thinking about what the purpose of the church is, Christians included. It is easy for us to not go anywhere and just be consumers; even, dare I say, consumers of Christ. Would He want us to fix our eyes on Him in our groups, church, bible studies and personal worship time and ignore the social ills of the day? You know the answer; we fix our eyes on Him when we tackle the social ills of the day. Meditation and communion are good but as Mother Teresa said, "Adore your Lord and then go out and look for Him" That is "going somewhere."

What might compel us to be men and women who are going somewhere? Might it be the recognition that there is a force that is against us and our movement? Might it be the love of Christ? Might it be some real talk? Tenderness applies here I think. Some need healing and help. Me? I find I often need someone to grab me and say, "Lets go look for Jesus!"

Men at Work

Hello all, Roy has invited me to be a guest blogger, so you can blame him for getting me on the on ramp here. I love what you all are doing.

So, I have this men's group and one of the guys has a need for some help, support and encouragement. Before the words can leave his lips fully and I begin to say, "Can someone...?" one of the other guys says, "I will come alongside." Just like that. He knows there is a cost and he does not care. The brother in need received the offer without saying something stupid like, "I'm ok, I do not need help."

I call that discipleship, and there is nothing that makes a leader want to boast in the Lord more then seeing a disciple minister to someone else. My guess is the fellow in need will bless the one who helps in some complementary way, not as pay back, but just because it will happen. He is a discipler too. It is a beautiful thing to see.

We will meet this Summer as friends over some steak (hamburger), on a shady deck, drinking our favorite beverages. If I die before the end of the summer they will be my pall bearers and Scott will sing Pride (In the Name of Love) at my funeral. It has been a good year. Discipleship. Get it. Get a friend. Get God.

Gratefully Dead

Did you watch Lost last night? It was a good one. No, there aren't any spoilers or plot theories on this blog. Did you know there are multiple websites dedicated to that? Lost is all over the place and I love it. My brother was in town recently and we realized we are both Lost freaks who check the websites and theorize about the fate of Jack and the gang. That made me feel good.

If you're not a Lost fan you'll have to humor me for a bit. I think this blog will still make sense. There was an episode in the second season in which two characters, Ana Lucia and Sayid, have an interesting conversation. Ana Lucia has her gun pulled on Sayid. As the two talk they both use the phrase "I'm already dead". Sayid is saying he is already dead, so it doesn't really matter if Ana Lucia kills him. Ana Lucia means to say that she is already dead and won't hesitate to pull the trigger. It's a phrase we've heard a lot in TV or movies, and maybe we've even uttered it a time or two.

It seems that being "already dead" changes a person significantly. Of course, these characters are not literally saying that they are dead, like zombies. They are saying that they are so emotionally wounded that they feel dead and there seems to be no reason for living. Maybe you've felt that way before, or even now. It changes the way you interact with the world. What if you knew the exact day, hour, and cause of your death? Would that change the way you live? What if it was tonight? Of course, your death would be no more or less certain than it is right now. It is very certain. You will die. You would just know when and how. Would that certainty settle in on you in a new way?

There is another certainty, you know. If you are a Christian, the Bible says that you have been crucified with Christ. The "old you" who was bound to sin, is "already dead" so to speak. Your sin nature has received the death sentence and that is just as certain as your physical death. In his book, "True Spirituality," Francis Schaeffer says we are called to be dead to this world, both the good and the bad. That is his explanation of this concept. We are to live like spiritual Sayids, saying "I'm already dead," over and over. How far is that from our reality?

Our world preaches experience as the noblest of goals and highest of values. Our own hearts are swayed back and forth by the ups and downs of our days. It's not hard to grasp that the "bad" shouldn't sway us. When someone mistreats you, or things don't go your way, you shouldn't let that own you. Without chasing this idea too far, Schaeffer says there are two ways to go about this. There is worldly resignation and gospel-centered living. Resignation sighs and shrugs his shoulders at the bad, for there is nothing he could do anyway. Gospel-centered living takes the hurt to Christ. Of course, he also said we should be dead to the good. So, even the gifts of God should not own our hearts. One of my favorite gifts is nice, warm weather. There are many days when it owns me. I walk out into the sunshine I'm so enthused by it, that it's hardly containable. I love it! I think I love it too much. There are too many days when I love the sun more than the God who made it. There are too many days when a bad tip (I work at a restaurant if ya didn't know) aggravates me to no end.

To embrace the certainty of my spiritual crucifixion, and be "dead to the world" as Schaeffer puts it, every aspect of my life must drive me to the cross. That's an easy thing to write on a blog or say on a stage. It is not at all an easy thing to live. It is beyond me. As a Christian, a sunny day and a bad tip should equally point me to God and cause me to worship him alone. The monotonous events of my days are one thing. What of the real tragedies and triumphs? What about victemization that leaves you with a real sense of being already dead? What about when your sister is raped, brother murdered, mother abandoned? What about when you're on top of the world? When you seal the big deal or fall in love?

Is it hard to worship God in these moments? Of course it is! According to the Bible all the events of our lives are to produce in us a grateful heart of worship. My friends, there is not a more difficult task on this earth. But there is such good news! If you are a Christian, he is at work in your heart. He can certainly produce this fruit in my heart! He can drive me to my knees in worship and thankfulness, while basking in the sun and after getting stiffed by a diner. He can cause me to have a humble heart that loves him whether I have an olympic medal or a wheelchair. I believe this is true, because I do NOT believe it is me who causes it to be true. People of God, let us ask Christ together to produce worship and gratefulness among us. That will change us thoroughly. It will change our interactions with one another. It will change our surrounding community. And it will change our world. Let us struggle on together, Church.

ticket

I just bought my ticket, i am a slacker yes.....Dave has been tromping around in high heels and in his madonna outfit getting ready for the big event.

buy your ticket today.