Meet Daniel

In a few weeks Daniel is coming to live with us for a couple of months before he gets hitched for life with our dear friend Nicole.

He just finished a crazy kayaking trip up the entire St. Johns River. Over 300 miles in 9 days, most of it alone. Set some kind of record.

He says he's sort of a health nut. We'll try to fix that problem...

We're looking forward to him moving in and sharing life with us.

How Un-Godly

Been thinking a lot about the reality of being of friend of Jesus lately. In Revelations He says,
"I stand at the door and knock and if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."

I am sure most have heard the teaching of what it means in Jewish culture to welcome a person into your house and eat and share a meal. It's not taken lightly and means that we are now deep close personal friends.

I think what blows me away the most about this verse is how vulnerable and meek Jesus appears.

To think,
the One whom about the psalmist writes, "who is man that you are mindful of him?"
The One in who's presence Moses removed his sandals
the One who holds the universe in the palm of His hand
the One who created the universe in said hand
Alpha
Omega
creator of time itself
The one whom Job asks but one simple question and and gets a flood of questions in response that makes ya feel smaller than a gnat.
the one who created the gnat.
The one who down thru the centuries men and women have tried to
figure out,
rationalize away,
study
worship.
The one whom one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is indeed Lord,
stands at my door and knocks as if to ask,
"will you be my friend?"

In the words of another friend when I was talking about this very thing,
How un-Godly!

One

Over the past couple of months my sons have been exposed to U2. They think it is pretty awesome that they can find some of their old stuff in my cd collection.

Bout every time we get in the car we're jamming to "Rattle and Hum" or "Achtung Baby" or something of the sort...stuff we used to listen to when we were close to their age. We're cruising with Edge playing some amazing guitar riffs and Bono belting out the deep lyrics.
It's Great!!
Some of their lyrics are more Jesus centered than much of what I hear on the Christian radio station. The lyrics make for great conversations well at least until my boys start inching up the volume to drown me out...

I've been contemplating the meaning of the song "One". I have only heard it about 40 times in the past month. It seems to be about body life and the unfortunate reality often found in religious systems. At one point Bono sings:

You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl...

What a great description of the trappings of religion.

Backsliding

About unbelievers today, there is no doubt that many really are unbelievers in that they have met the God of Jesus,
the compassionate Father
who loves them
more than anyone ever has or
ever will,
and they have rejected Him.

However others are not really unbelievers as such since what they have rejected is a false image of God shown to them by some Christians either now or in history.

This begs the question: If one is moving away from a false image of God does that take you closer to Him?

A former baptist pastor friend once told me that upon running into some of his old friends they accused him of backsliding. His response was simply backsliding is not necessarily a bad thing it just depends on what you are sliding back from.

Christianity today is so often defined as religious moralism. You know, do these things faithfully(read repeatedly) and be a "good" person.

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves will not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice a son of hell as you are" Mt 23:13,15