a trip

a couple of weeks ago i decided to take a trip. you know, one of those getaway things. the kind you need every once in a while to shake the cobwebs out of your mind so that you can gather yourself and get your brain straight so you can step back into the race of life. so i left jeff city and headed west. it wasn't a random trip but a trip with an appointed destination. i was going to ihop - no, not the place that sells pancakes (though i did have pancakes for breakfast this morning) - but a place that specializes in prayer in south kansas city called international house of prayer. i've been there before; however, i decided to take a three day retreat and spend it there. (i'm actually writing this from ihop.) i've noticed something very dramatic. hundreds of young people coming and going and in between the coming and going they were hanging out with Jesus. every race, every type was represented from the yuppie type dressers to mr. tatoo to noticing pierces in every place you can pierce on a face to one dude that had the tallest mohawk i've ever seen to the gothic. why do i say this, because they were not like the fresh vegetables at a produce section in a grocery store that is separated by some type of partition. they all were worshipping God. they were all interacting and hugging each other. it didn't matter what they looked like. relationship was what it was all about. this is what the church is all about. everyone. you don't have to conform to someone elses's image, only the image of Jesus - and He is the one that needs to change people, not people. the bottom line: i saw the church and i knew that God was pleased.

commitment

have you ever noticed that there are certain words that are just not popular? they seem to carry a very negative association with them. they conjure up negative feelings. they just don't feel comfortable. they make you squirm. one of those words that seems to be getting more and more negative today is commitment. you see it everywhere. people don't work for the same employer nearly as long - the loyalty just doesn't seem to be there. more and more men and women are simply living together vs. "tying the knot". families no longer live close to each other and are often spread out across the country, or around the world. have you ever asked yourself why? does it have anything to do with commitment? what do we think of the word commitment? what does it mean? the dictionary says that commitment is the act of commiting; a giving in charge or entrusting; a pledge; something that requires an obligation. in other words it requires giving of at least part of yourself to someone or something else. wow! scary indeed. if i do that i might get hurt. i mean who or what can i trust? i might get into a situation that is too uncomfortable for me. i might be put in a place where i have to carry someone's burden, their stuff. i might find that i am yoked with someone or something where things are not always comfortable and it feels very heavy. i was there but then i found out that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

life and happiness

have you ever asked yourself what the purpose of life is? i mean are we here just to exist? did we just accidentally come into existence - you know, hey, here's my mom and dad, and they kind of did their thing and they had me and there really is no purpose beyond that. yeah, we'll try to be happy; we'll acquire things to help make me happy; we'll find jobs that will make me happy so we can acquire things to make us happy; we'll get educated in some way, to do something so we can be happy, so we can find jobs that we like so we can buy stuff that makes us happy; and on and on. is that the purpose of our lives? if that is then do we really have a purpose out side of our own existence? or were we created for a purpose - to walk according to a divine plan? i don't know about you but i can get pretty bored and tired of trying to wrap my life around making me happy. however, i find great joy and happiness in getting out of myself and serving others. maybe Jesus really knew what He was talking about.

christian hedonism

what's this - christian hedonism?! aren't those two words that don't fit together. i mean, hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure! christianity is a bunch of rules, regulations, charts, cannots, and hypocrisy. what's that have to do with pleasure? well, nothing! if that is what christianity is, then the two words don't fit together. but, the bigger question is, is that what christianity is all about. well, that's what you see in most places. i remember attending a church service many years ago and this dude had this chart that was a good 15-20 ft long - depicting time from the beginning to the end. it was full of symbols and things - even had a john deere combine on it. it supposedly laid out everything God was up to, all the way to the end. i walked away believing that was what christianity was all about - for many years. then i discovered something, i was wrong. it's not about all of that - it's about how a couple of people use to have such a great relationship with God that they hung out with Him in this fantastic garden - and they were naked. then the relationship was broken - and they got dressed to hide their shame. the rest of the story - God is restoring that relationship through Jesus. why? relationship - not rules, regulations, charts, cannots, and hypocrisy. man, is that cool, or what? relationship with the King of kings and the Lord of lords - for eternity.

horse and carriage

remember the old song that had the line in it that talked about a horse and carriage going together like love and marriage? you don't, huh? guess i'm dating myself. oh well. anyway, there was this song that had those lines. i always found the song interesting because there is only one way that you can put a horse and carriage. now, have you ever seen a horse pushing a carriage. well, ok during one of the super bowl budweiser commercials a couple of clydesdales were helping a young clydesdale by pushing the wagon the clydesdales normally pull. but, hey, other than that, have you? i mean, when's the last time you saw a couple snuggling together in a carriage that was being pushed by a horse? so, there's only one way it can be done. aren't you glad it's not like that when you think of another great couple - Jesus and prayer. with Jesus and prayer it works either way. when you think about Jesus it just naturally leads to prayer. you start thinking of Him, about Him and you just start talking to Him and listening to His voice. Or, if you start praying, you just naturally start asking Him questions or telling Him how wonderful He is or asking Him if He can help you out with this or that - which leads you to listening for His response. Jesus and prayer. Prayer and Jesus. now that's what i call a couple that works well together.