Looking Like My Dad

My dad was a very hard working man. Sometimes he would wake up before everyone else in the house, go do a day's worth of work and still be back in time to cook us all breakfast before any of us even thought about getting up, and then go work a little more. I'm not sure I realized this as a kid, though. I always just saw him after dinner in his pajamas which consisted a green t-shirt and blue sweatpants. He would always put on his nightly uniform and then lay on the couch and watch some TV.

I was probably 8 years old when I realized that I too owned a green t-shirt and blue sweatpants, so one night, on a whim, I put them on and went to lay down with my dad on the couch and watch wrestling with him. We didn't really talk much, we just laid there together and watched the grown men in underwear beat each other up.

I thought it was awesome! So much so that I continued to do it nightly for a long time. My mom thought it was cute, and I know my dad loved it too, but there wasn't really anything seemingly significant about that time. Yet these still stand out as some of the fondest memories I have of my dad. I remember how much I loved imitating my dad and how great it made me feel to know that he liked it too. I really do hope and pray that someday I'll be the kind of man that my kids want to imitate.

These memories popped into my head tonight as I read Ephesians 5:1, which says, "Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children." This, like so many other commands of God, is a command of love, not a wagging of His finger. He's not saying, "Ya know, you really wouldn't screw up so much if you'd just act more like Me." He's our Father. He knows that just like, imitating my dad, brought me joy, imitating God will bring His children joy as well. And more than that, I doubt little more brings joy to the Father's heart than when His kids are trying to be just like their Daddy.

Jesus Changed Everything

Okay, so there's this one part of the Bible that has always bothered me. I've never been able to figure out what on earth it's talking about. It's found in Mark 2:18-22. It doesn't make any sense! First, some people ask Jesus about fasting, and then Jesus answers by talking about new and old garments and wine. What does that have to do with the question?

Well, I was reading this a few weeks ago, and the Lord graciously gave me a little bit of wisdom, and it makes so much more sense now. I could be wrong, so bear with me. These people come up to Jesus and point out that John's disciples fast and the pharisees' disciples fast, so why don't His disciples fast? Jesus answers by telling them that you can't put an new piece of cloth on an old garment, if you do it will tear. And you can't put new wine into an old wineskin because the wineskin will be destroyed (I'm guessing this made more sense to the original audience than it does to me, because I know nothing about wineskins.)

John's and the pharisees' disciples were fasting in anticipation of the coming Messiah, so when Jesus actually came, the whole game changed. It would have been foolish for Jesus' disciples to fast in anticipation of Him. He was standing right there. They couldn't stick to the way they have always done things and expect it to work.

We no longer live in a time of anticipation, but a time of action. We can't do things the way they've always been done expect it all to work. We can't take the religion that we're comfortable with and add a little Jesus flavor to it. If we do, the whole thing falls apart. This parable teaches that if we try to have Jesus plus anything else it leads to destruction.

And the thing behind all of those fancy words is that it's really easy to type them out. It's also easy to read it and think, "that sounds really good." But when you really think about it, those are pretty empty words because if all we do is take one set of rules and replace them with a new set of words, we miss the entire point. We can't just say, "stop waiting and start acting," or "live a radical life for Christ," because there's nothing in any of us to be able to do that.

Following Christ is all about the heart, not actions, and this is where the beauty of Christ really shines through. Christ teaches this parable best through His actions. He didn't take us and just put new "things have changed" patches over our old tears. He knew that that wouldn't hold up. He didn't try to fix us, He made us new! He set the example of not putting a nice coat of Jesus on our old self, by actually remaking us, free of our bondage to sin. And in that example, He gave us the ability to drop religion and truly live a free life as a new creation.

How can we be recipients of such an amazing gift and not live differently?

King Jesus

Sometimes I wonder why I journal everything that I do. I'll get these amazing thoughts, write them down, and then never look at them again. Maybe it's just because I remember things better when I write them down than I would otherwise. But, either way, on the rare occasion that I do look back at my journal entries, God typically reminds me that His truth is true no matter when I wrote it down. Here's a thought that He reminded me of.

I've heard Mark Driscol teach on how Jesus has three distinct roles: Prophet, Priest and King. Everything that Jesus does falls under one of those three categorizations. What this also means is that if we overemphasize or minimize an aspect of Jesus, we don't see Jesus as He is; we see a Jesus of our own making.

In my own life, I have no problem viewing Jesus as my Prophet. I experience Him naming my sin and convicting me to repentance. I especially have no problem viewing Him as my Priest. In fact, it's all too easy for me to view Him as the one who forgives and atones for my sin. But my problem becomes apparent when it comes as viewing Jesus as King.

Jesus is King of everything, and way too often I view Him as a just partner in my life; helping me make my way. But Jesus isn't my sidekick, He's my Master. He is sovereign over everything, especially me.

Viewing Jesus as King affects everything in one's life, but nothing more for me than my prayer life. When I don't view Jesus as King of all, my prayers tend to be pretty weak. It's only when I view Jesus as sovereign that I have the faith to pray big prayers, because it's only then that I see Him as capable of answering them.

Life as a Soundwave

God spoke the world into existence. If we can agree on this, this whole post will go a lot easier for you. In my head I've always imagined it going down this way: God had in His head what He wanted to create, spoke it, and then boom, there is was. But what if there's a lot more depth to it than that?

God is real. Like, really real. His reality is greater than our reality. We're almost not real by comparison. James even compares our lives to mist. When I speak, sound waves are created that carry a short distance and are put out in such an order that makes sense to the hearer. Maybe creation is just what happens when God speaks. Maybe the Earth is just what happens when God says "Earth." Maybe the sun is just what happens when God says, "Let there be light."

What if God is so real that right now we exist on the effects of His voice? When we speak it is communicated in a way that one sense can process it. Look around yourself. Everything in front of you from the chair you're sitting in, to the car you drive, to the food you've eaten, to the body you exist in is all there because of God's voice! God is so real that when He speaks, it effects every sense. His voice can be heard, seen, touched, tasted and smelled by us.

So with all of that in mind, I have one thought that's blowing my mind right now. If we can be this overwhelmed by an effect of God's voice, what's it going to be like when we actually see Him?

Happy Father's Day

I'm fairly certain that if you had told me this time last year that it would be mine and my brother's last Father's Day with my dad, I wouldn't have believed you. It's amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time. I've known this day was coming since I realized last week what day today is, but I still wasn't sure how I'd react to it, or if I'd even react at all.

It's all still so unreal. It will be four months this Saturday since my dad passed away. In some way it's hard to believe it's been that long and in others it seems like it's been unbearably longer. There are some days I think about it more than others, but I always miss him. And I'm thankful for the hope I have that I'll see him again.

My dad was such an awesome guy. The Lord could not have blessed me with a dad who loved me more than mine did. There's nothing he wouldn't have done for me and no sacrifice he wouldn't have made to make my life better. He dug his way out of poverty to provide opportunities for me and my brother that we wouldn't have had otherwise and we're the men we are today because of his example.

In his last few months, he would always go out of his way to come have lunch with me. He didn't feel like doing it. He would have been better off staying at home and resting. He could barely eat anything anyway, but still, he would come meet me at work almost every Wednesday and we'd walk over to Little Pigs and eat lunch together.

And he was such a godly man. He wasn't always this way, and honestly, one of the coolest things I've been able to see is how God changed my dad's heart and made him into the exemplary Christ-follower that he was. I pray to receive the same heart for evangelism that my dad had. He didn't have a plan for going door to door with a tract, ready to repeat the words he was supposed to say. He just knew what the Lord had done in his life and you couldn't stop him from telling everyone around him; whether they liked it or not. He was well aware of how much he needed the Lord.

Thank you Lord for blessing me with the father You gave me. And thank you for being my Father now when I need one so much. Especially today. You truly do know how to bless Your children beyond what we deserve.

Today, don't just go through the motions of Father's Day. Don't just tell your dad that you love him, tell him why. Don't hold any bitterness in your hearts towards him for things he's done in the past, but show him Christ's love (you aren't or won't be a perfect parent either). And call him tomorrow too and tell him you love him again just so he knows you meant it. You're not guaranteed to have your dad tomorrow, let alone next Father's Day. Make this one count.

Training for Godliness

In my head I have an idea of the type of man I want to be. To be honest with you, he's a pretty awesome guy. He's patient, humble, funny without being crude, bold, capable, and loving. He's a pretty godly guy. And when I think about how I can get from being me to him, the only way i can imagine it happening is if the Lord zaps me and changes me into him.

But I've never known the Lord to be a character zapper, so I'm not sure why I imagine He'll work that way for me. 1 Timothy 4:7 says very clearly that I am to train myself for godliness. This means that God expects me to be a part of the change equation. The only problem I have with this is that it means that I'm accountable for my own character. I really don't like this plan.

So what does it mean to train myself for godliness? I guess, first of all, it means getting the basics down and the basics, sadly, is getting sin out of my life. All of it. This is where the fruit of the Spirit comes in because that's where self-control comes into the mix. This is important, because, to be honest with you, the sins I commit, I commit because I want to commit them. So part of training for godliness is saying no to the things that at least part of me wants to do. I'm sure that's a huge reason why the Lord gives us His Spirit; He knew we'd still want to sin even after we were His.

The fruit of the Spirit is an amazing arsenal that we use to battle for godliness. When I'm attacked and tempted to sin, it gives me weapons to use to attain victory. And there's a tool for every situation that could come: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These are the things we use to attain godliness. This is how I can become the man of great character I see in my head!

God is infinite, and that's a lot.

I'm still slowly rereading John right now and this morning I got to chapter 20 and read about Jesus appearing to Mary at the tomb. Verse 14 threw me a little bit, though. It says that Mary saw Jesus, but didn't recognize Him.

My first thought was that something about Jesus' resurrection must have changed Him. But that doesn't sit right. There are numerous verses that point to the fact that God never changes; specifically Hebrews 6:17-18. So why couldn't Mary recognize Jesus?

Let's say you've climbed Mt. Everest, all the way to the top. If you decided to do it again and started at the same point, it would still be a hard climb, but it would be familiar and you'd have some clue about what you were going to see. But let's say you went one hundred yards to your left to start. It would be a completely different climb. It's still the same mountain, but there are lots of sides to it.

One thing I'm starting to see is that God isn't just big, He's infinite! There are so many aspects to Him that's there's no way we'll be able to grasp even most of them. So if ever we see a different side of God, it's easy to react by thinking, "Whoa! That's not the Jesus I know." But, just like what happened with Mary, Jesus hadn't changed, He was just revealing more of Himself. If Jesus seems unfamiliar, it might not be a different Jesus, but rather, more of Him. God's character is unchanging, but it's also infinite, so there's a lot there to get to know.