Rob Bell: Resurrection

New Year, New Beginnings

As I was driving into work this morning, it occurred to me that I still have not made a new years resolution. So as I was sitting in rush hour traffic, I began to think about how I want to make this year different. I could very easily make the common resolutions like I am going to eat healthier this year, or I am not going to drink more then one glass of turners ice tea a day, or I am going to spend more time with my wife and less time looking at my fantasy foot ball team, or even better, I am going to go to the gym more this year. It amazes me how the gyms are in January. Its like for the first three weeks of the year, the gyms are packed then they go back to normal. But that just goes to show how insignificant new years resolutions really are. Nevertheless, I wanted this year to be something different as well as life changing. So I began to think about some of the things that I have a hard time living up to, or giving in to, and even accepting about myself. The crazy part was everything I came up with had to deal with me letting go of something, weather it was something that has happened in the past, or a nagging habit, or something that was a result of me being self-centered and stubborn. They all had to deal with some area in my life that called for me to let go and truly embrace the grace of God.

Sadly, and I know I speak for almost everyone when I say, sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve God grace. We have this idea that Gods grace has a beginning and an end (some a lot shorter then others). And for many of us, that is the life we choose to live. We view God almost as Santa blessing those who follow Christ wholeheartedly, and punishing those who continually fall short. Even though we know this is not the case, why is it so much easier for us to relate to pain and suffering then the love and mercy of Jesus Christ? What is it about Grace that makes us feel so uncomfortable? I think the answer lies in the fact that to be truly repentant of something, we actually need to stop and think about why we are doing what we are doing and what it is we need to do so we don’t continually fall back in this trap. We’d almost rather be miserable and not deal with it then look that problem straight in the face and choose to begin the process of healing.

Remember the prostitute that Jesus encounters just as the Pharisees were about to stone her. After the Pharisees had left and the woman was kneeling at the feet of Jesus, John goes on to paint this beautiful picture of what it truly means to embrace the Grace of Christ. As Jesus began to talk with the woman, he did not condemn her for sleeping with men outside of marriage, He simply says “I forgive you, now go and Sin no more”. Jesus enters right into the middle of her sin and forgives her. No question, just Love.

Jesus is not asking us to disregard our sins and go on being miserable the rest of our lives. I think by Him saying “I forgive you now go and sin no more” challenges us to confront our innermost behaviors and feelings that may have caused us to act out and lay them at the feet of the one who has already forgiven you. Instead of looking for a four step guide on how to be a better you, we need to allow Jesus to challenge the internal issues that we would rather not talk about and bring them to light so we may begin to heal from the wounds that that sin has dealt us through life. Jesus does not approach our shortcomings with condemnation but He does call us to start thinking about what we need to do in order to avoid falling back into our old routines.

You deserve to be open and honest with your creator. You deserve to have an authentic faith with Christ and to allow Him to repair your brokenness. You deserve to be forgiven and to bury your sins that have already been forgiven. You know why, because your creator says so. Hebrews 8:12 says He “will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sin no more”. Jeremiah 31:34 says “For I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more”. Isaiah 43:25 says “I, even I, am He who bolts out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins”. You get the point.

If God forgives and forgets them, why cant you? Why do we continually torture ourselves on how bad we have messed up in the past? God didn’t call us to crucify ourselves with guilt or to spend the rest of our lives paying for the damage we have done or caused someone else. What He does call us to do is rest in Him and practice being His children who He loves more then we could ever imagine. Our mistakes do not define us as well as our past. Are you living out the Grace of Christ or are you continually fighting that battle with yourself that you will never win?

Now It's Christmas

Give Thanks

Can you believe thanksgiving is in a couple of days? I can’t wait to take the belt down a couple of notches, pound some turkey and stuffing, and fall asleep to the sweet sound of John Madden debating with himself on a topic that most of the time has nothing to do with football. As much as thanksgiving is about football and turkey, it is also about family and giving thanks for all God has blessed us with.

For many of us, we have so much to be thankful for weather it be family, a roof over our heads, or even something as simple as having hot water and electricity (the things we take for granted everyday). The one thing that I am very thankful for is my family. Over that past year, we have all gone through a lot, some of us more then others. Death is never easy to deal with. And if you are anything like me, we try to keep ourselves busy so we really don’t have to deal with it. But we all know we can’t run from it. We see it everyday; it is real, and a part of life.

About three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go to the youth workers convention in Pittsburgh. While I was there I got to hear some really good speakers, connect with some friends, and listen to some great worship. That weekend, God really flipped the switch on me. My plan was to go, relax, hang out with some friends, and learn a little. God had something different on the agenda. As the band Mercy Me was finishing up on stage, they closed with their song “I could only Imagine”. This was the same song they played at my Aunts funeral. Up until this time, the words never really sank in.

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine …


You know, we look at this song and wonder what it would be like; will I dance before Jesus, will I kneel, will I sing, will I be speechless. We have this idea what it would be like when we stand before our creator. But for Aunt Maryann, that is her reality. She no longer has to wonder because she is and forever will be in the presence of the Lord our God. As I began to grasp this truth as the song went on, I broke down in tears not because of how hurt I was from her death but from the reality that she no longer has to wonder because she is in the presence of God. That is amazing! I am so thankful for the time that I got to spend with her and I know her memory will live on in the hearts who loved and cared for her.

This holiday, May we be thankful for all God has blessed us with. May we remember those who have gone home to be with the Lord and be thankful for the time we have had here with them. May we be thankful for those who are still here and the freedom we have to share this time with those we care for the most. This holiday, take the time to let those you love know how thankful you are for them.

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

Let It Snow

So I was watching the news this morning as I was spending some quality time with Bailey before I had to leave for work and all of a sudden I got really depressed. Now you are probably thinking one of three things: another stock market crash, someone died, or the upcoming election. Even though these are the things we have been hearing about everywhere we turn and yes can make anyone depressed, it was something else. As the five day forecast popped up on the screen, Tuesday was calling for a mixture of rain (go figure here in Pittsburgh) and…SNOW! Really, snow already? Two weeks ago I was in Florida swimming in 95 degree weather and now snow. If that is not depressing, I don’t know what is. To be honest, it is not the snow that is depressing; it is what comes along with it: Scraping ice off of a frozen windshield, putting away the t shirts and shorts for sweatshirts and long johns, big winter jackets, and chapped lips. If it were up to me it would be 75 degrees and sunny everyday. But as we all know, life isn’t always what we want it to be.

Do you ever notice how much we try to conform things into the way we think they should be? We don’t like the way something looks, so we change it. For many of us, we spend so much of our time trying to conform ourselves to be something we are not just so someone will notice us. If I change myself, maybe this person will like me, maybe I will get that job, maybe I will fit in with this certain group, maybe I will be respected. But in the process, we tend to lose sight of who we really are.

What about our relationships? How many of us are totally satisfied with the relationships we have with our friends, our families, our co-workers, our spouses, most importantly our relationship with Christ? We have this misconception of the way relationships should go and when the needs of that relationship are not being met, we try to change that person or thing so that what it is we desire may be fulfilled. But we all know how that ends don’t we.

If we were to be totally honest with ourselves, how many of us are like this in our own faith walk? I think within ourselves, we all desire to follow Jesus in His footsteps, but we want to do it in our own familiar ways. We want to know what is at the end of the road and what potholes are on the way so we can be sure to avoid hitting them. We are timid about trying new things or venturing in new directions, and Jesus is always leading us into new territory. So what do we do? We place Jesus in a little box letting Him out when it is convenient (church on Sunday mornings or when we are in community with fellow Christians). But to be a true disciple, we need to trust that God will direct us down the path that He knows is best for us. We are so hesitant because we think if we follow Jesus, then he is going to make us do something outrageous like leave everything behind and move to a foreign country and build a church. Don’t get me wrong, I believe people are called to do that but I also believe that those are the things people are passionate about and want to do. Look at the lives of the disciples. Many were fisherman. Jesus didn’t say drop your fishnets and go become the next Donald Trump, He says in Mathew 4:19 “Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." In other words, Jesus knew who these guys were and accepted them. In turn He used their gifts and abilities to further His Kingdom.

God has gifted us all with so many different gifts and abilities, and it is through these gifts that He will use us to Glorify His Kingdom. He did not give us these gifts to go to waste. So what is it that you are good at and how can you glorify God through that? How can you glorify God through being a cop, a nurse, a teacher, a secretary, a manager, an assistant, a stay at home mom, a postal worker, a janitor, an engineer, a hairdresser, you get the point.

The question you may be asking yourself right now is where do I start? Begin by opening your mind to that fact that God can and will use you if you allow Him to. And secondly, learn how to do it by following the Life of Christ through His Word (The Bible). Look at what Jesus said, Look at what He did, the go do it! “Remember, a disciple is a learner, not a master, not an expert and not a pro. Be ready to keep learning instead of focusing on the destination – because that day will never come (Breen)”. In other words, the day you stop learning is the day that you will meet the Lord face to face.

This Is What I'm Talking About

Conversations

So about a week or so ago, on my day off I was running around town taking care of some things that needed to be done before I left for vacation. On my checklist of things to do outside of buying all that junk needed for vacation, I wanted to stop over at the Barber Shop for a haircut. So after finishing up some last minute shopping, I headed over to Marola’s Barber Shop. Now even though Andy gives the best haircuts, his barber shop is more known for the community and conversations that go on while you are there. Sometimes people go there just to socialize. If you ever want to know what’s going on around town, Marola’s Barber Shop is the place to be. Whether it’s a conversation about construction around town, the weather, sports, news, you name it, you know where to go.

As I was waiting for my turn to hop in the chair, I was listening to the conversations that were going on around me. Something was a little odd this time. I don’t know if it was that I just never really paid attention or if it is the fact that as I grow older the more real life becomes to me. But the regular conversations about sports and the economy were on the backburner as people were discussing life and the many troubles that they have been facing as they grew older in life. Discussions about marriage, cancer, death, divorce. You know the topics you just can’t wait to talk about especially before leaving for Disney (the happiest place in the world, or so they say).

Hearing these conversations, I couldn’t help but think about my life and the messiness that makes up who I am. I don’t now about you but I hate thinking about these things. These things are just another way to remind me how fearful I am and how much I lack Faith in God. So what do we do? We justify by saying we are not that bad, or we could be worse, even better we are not as bad as that person. But I think in order for us to change inwardly and grow, we first need to see things as they really are. The funny thing is, God knows all of our hiding places and He is never shocked when our eyes are opened to see how dirty we really are.

This reminds me about the woman at the well. Jesus sits down after a long walk to get a drink of water. It is about mid day when a Samaritan woman walks up to the well where Jesus was. As the conversation begins, we find out that this woman is a prostitute and has been with many men. Even more, she cannot go to the well in the morning when the other women go because she is looked down upon. As the conversation continues, we find that even in this woman’s shame and brokenness, Jesus still values her and offers hers something so much greater then the life she is living now. You see, Jesus sees us as we really are; in our truest state and still calls us His beloved. We see as the text goes on that Jesus does not beat around the bush. He goes straight to that woman’s sin and places his finger prints on it. (John 4:1-26) It was for this sin that He gave his life just as He did for the sins in our lives.

Through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, God placed his finger prints on our souls showing that our sins have already been paid for. Our problem is that we try to fill those prints with things that we think make us happy. But as we all know, happiness fades pretty quick. So what do we do? We keep trying to fill that void thinking that if I can just have this (money, success, materiel possessions, a relationship) then this will make me happy. In reality, all it leaves us with is the desire for more. The truth is we have this impression, this finger print on our souls that can only be filled by the hand that created it. The difference between the finger print of God and the finger print of the world is that the impression God puts on us never fades away. So what it is that guides your life? Who or what is it that dictates everything you do? What drives you to be the person you are right now? Are you happy with who you are? If not, what are the things in your life that may need to be reevaluated? Following Christ is not always easy, but trust me when I say a life without Christ is a life that will never experience the true joy of what it means to be free and forgiven.