Juice Mountain

BE vs DO

2011-06-16T14:35:00.003-04:00

Once upon a time, God told the first human beings (Adam and Eve) to "be fruitful and multiple". God didn't give them a schedule, require 80 million tasks be completed, or have them punch a time-clock. He didn't ask them to measure up to anyone else, or demand that they prove anything. He just told them to be who He made them to be....to let happen what naturally was going to happen when you have two healthy, naked, and attractive people that love each other (i.e. "fruitful multiplying").

And though they then disobeyed God's one rule, and the consequences of sin came into the world, God did not amend His original instruction. But the very next story has Cain and Abel striving against each other. I think Abel was murdered because of jealousy and hatred. Why did this happen?

Sin makes us flawed. Separated from God, we are no longer good enough and are thus forever lacking. Humans are cursed with having to fill that emptiness - to live with the deep knowledge that we "are not good enough". This makes us insecure. This compels us to measure up to other people's standards, to show our "worth", to strive to accomplish "important things", to be "productive" and thus prove our value to other people. We try to fill our emptiness, our "not-being-good-enough" with pleasure and by attempting to earn love and acceptance. This results in stress, and endless straining and striving to prove ourselves - to correct the nagging flaw that is our imperfection. Some people call this drive ambition. But really, ambition is like pride - an outward compensation for what is missing in our soul.

The Good News is that Jesus makes us enough. With Jesus, we do not need to prove anything to anybody. We do not need to earn acceptance, or demonstrate our value. We are enough. We are his treasure, just the way we are..

But we forget that easily. Sin screams that we still aren't enough. We believe the lie that God wants us to prove our worth, that we must do great things for Him, and blah blah blah. Instead, God wants us to be who he made us to be. He doesn't want us to do things for Him. He just wants to be with Him. That's where we find freedom and peace. You are enough when you have Jesus. Be at peace.

Say What?

2011-05-27T14:58:00.006-04:00

Q: Does God speak to people? Why?
A: Yes. Because.

Good answer, huh?! I believe desiring to hear and know God is one of the most important things we can do. Period. Being able to hear God is worth all the marbles. The more I desire to hear God, the more I learn and I grow. God is a mystery, and He is beyond us. So we will never figure Him out, never reduce Him to an easy equation (you do X and then God does Y), and we probably will always have doubts and questions about hearing God. But God can and will speak to, teach, guide, and love us.

A few points:
God never does anything until he reveals his plans (Amos 3.7). God will give you wisdom (James 1.5). God will tell you which way to go (Isaiah 30.21). God proclaims bold promises - for a reason (Isaiah 45.19). God teaches you (Isaiah 48.17-18). Listen to God (Ecc 5.1). Listen to God - He is speaking (Hebrews 12.25). He teaches you everything you need to know (1 John 2.27).

Ok, great. But what exactly are we supposed to do AFTER God speaks to us? If He says to do something, then obedience is obviously what we need to do, but usually it is not easy. What about when God doesn't map out the details and give us action steps? What then?

It's not really a deal where if we don't do x, all God's plans are going to fail. It is more of an invitation to just believe - to exercise our faith (which makes God very happy). The easy mistake is thinking everything depends on our success - that it's about us. If we try to force a result, it probably won't work, we will get discouraged, start to doubt God, and then things will hit the proverbial fan. Here's an illustration of how God operates:

One day God set a bush on fire, and then declared He was going to rescue His people. Then He said Moses was going to lead them out of captivity, and as a sign, Moses would come back to that place afterwards (which is, in fact, a terrible sign, because signs are supposed to be BEFORE something). Well, after Moses lead God's people out of captivity, he did not make a beeline back to the bush on the mountain. Instead, He followed God one day at a time. God EVENTUALLY lead them back to the mountain. I think this means that when God tells us something, our job is to believe it, and follow Him step-by-step until HE accomplishes His purpose.

Sailing in the Discipleship

2011-05-24T13:40:00.003-04:00

A popular thing for churches and ministries to teach and focus on is the "Great Commission" and the concept of "discipleship". In a rather non-controversially move, I'm going to agree that this is a good thing to do. I agree with Jesus. I've heard some great teachings on it (especially recently). But some teachings out there sound rather elaborate and awkward. Whenever people start inventing complicated phrases and scientific terms during their theorizing of very, very simple things Jesus taught, it makes you start to wonder.

Something that bothers me is the elevation of the role of the discipler. In typical human fashion, people in authority tend to want to make themselves more important. I've heard people say you have to pass along your spiritual DNA when you disciple people. That you should get your disciples to follow you around so they can soak in everything you do and say. I'm sorry. When did you become Jesus?

When Jesus said to make disciples of all nations, I'm fairly confident He meant that we should make them disciples of Jesus, not of ourselves. Let's be honest. It's not about us. It's about Jesus. The most effective way to disciple people is to make them a disciple of Jesus, and get them (as fast as possible) to the point where they do not need you because they can hear directly from the Holy Spirit on their own. At that point you both have the same teacher and discipler (Jesus). Then all you have to do is share with each other what Jesus has been teaching you, and you will learn from each other. One person is not more important than the other. It doesn't matter if you are a brilliant spiritual giant, any person in the world can still teach you a profound spiritual truth if they learn to listen to the Holy Spirit. So we need less strange hierarchical "discipling" relationships, and just more of the body of Christ functioning as it should. Everyone works together and learns from each other, because Christ is the head (brains) of the operation. As people accel in their gifts, they'll have a greater capacity to help others in the body, but they still should focus on making disciples of Jesus, rather than little apprentices of themselves. The world doesn't need more of you, it needs more of Jesus.

$Money $Money Bribery

2011-03-30T11:48:00.002-04:00

"The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live" (Proverbs 15.27). Now, most people probably do not regularly receive offers of bribery. Well, at least, not the way we traditionally view bribery - defined as "The offering/giving/receiving/soliciting of something of value for the purpose of influencing the action of an official in the discharge of public or legal duties". But what if we change "public or legal duties" to "spiritual duties"? What if someone offered you several hundred thousand dollars a year to NOT spend time developing your relationship with God, and to not have time to love other people? That sounds more like a bribe. Now, it's not phrased that way, but a lot of things we do are like that. Jobs, commitments, and relationships can all offer us something in return for essentially not spending time with Jesus, and for being too busy to love people. That's bad. How many ways are we selling out for things that keep us from what we were created to do, all because of the promise of some money, or something else that we desire more than God?

Do These Goggles Make Me Look Fat?

2011-03-24T15:44:00.007-04:00

Some people think swimming makes you skinny and trim. That's silly. How many people look at whales and think, yes, that's the body I want to have? Well, back during my swimming days, I would sometimes go up to people and ask, "hey, do these goggles make me look fat"? One of my college coaches told me no (but he would often tell me to do more sit-ups, so I was suspicious...). Anyway, regardless, this is what I want to say: it is easy to get caught up in pointless details. When first learning how to swim, it would be stupid to spend your time debating with your instructor about what goggle color is best. The instructor would likely maintain that the important thing is getting in the water, learning good technique, and obeying instructions so you DON'T DROWN. Sitting on the side with nice goggles isn't swimming. And the color won't be of much use when you are flailing around in the water like a drunken lizard man. I think that's a good picture of me and God sometimes. He tries to teach me important and cool things, and I spend the whole time questioning what color goggles to wear (asking questions that SEEM like a big deal to me, but are not focused on what matters to God). And then I get mad when I'm fumbling around in the water with my fancy goggles on, unable to keep my head above water because I was selfishly distracted from learning the important things.

The Bible says that if we need wisdom, we can ask God for it (bam) and He will help us. I think when we ask for God's input, we should be open to whatever He wants to tell us. Too often, I demand for God to give me the answers to the questions I think are important. I get frustrated if I don't instantly hear "Do option C immediately, don't do A, and definitely not B". But maybe God wants us to ask different questions - ones that actually address the obstacle that's come between us and Him, rather than being fixated on ourselves. It seems the most popular questions these days are about the right path to take (career/dating/location). God cares about those things, yes, but maybe the key to the answer is something deeper. Maybe it isn't a "Yes or No", but a "you need to know Jesus better". There have been times I have said, "God, tell me anything you want, I just want to know you, hear you, and follow you". And I received specific direction that didn't seem to answer MY question at all, but ultimately lead me to a discovery that made the bigger life question easy to answer. There's a joke that the right answer to any question in Sunday School is "Jesus". Maybe that actually holds true in adult life? If we focus more on Jesus - knowing Him, loving Him, walking with Him...then our questions WILL all be answered and will work out. But that's really hard to do!

Church Confessions

2011-03-18T14:03:00.015-04:00

I've been to about 1,000 church-type services since being a teenager (churches, conferences, youth groups, college groups...meetings with a music + sermon format). When I am honest with myself, I have to say that without a doubt, the vast majority of personally significant spiritual times have occurred outside of those meetings. That's crazy. For me, spiritually significant moments are almost always alone talking with God, or with 1 or several friends having a vulnerable conversation about Jesus and life. I can't remember a single sermon that I didn't get bored during, and didn't wish was shorter and more concise. More often than not, I have a difficult time remembering even a few short points from a sermon within days of listening to it. Many "worship" times (with the band and singing) still feel routine and a little fake. But I've had moments alone, singing to God, that overwhelmed me, and I heard and felt things there that were game-changers in my life.

I cannot speak for everyone, but I think this means it's probably important for me to prioritize spending lots of time alone with God, and talking with lots of smaller groups of people about life and Jesus in a vulnerable way. Complicated church services are not the reason I follow Jesus, or the reason I know that God is real. Come to think of it, the Bible doesn't really have many examples of bands playing 4-5 song sets + lengthy sermons preached by only one seminary-trained "pastor". That's a relief. If it were up to church service productions to prove that God was real, I think most of the churches would go out of business and people would stop being Christians. But the Good News is that Jesus is real, He loves me, He'll enter into any mess I am in to save me and free me without demanding that I become like someone else. Jesus brings love, peace, hope, and a greater-than-me power that nothing else can. And that's good. He'll have to change me, because I can't fix myself.

I think the two important things about church are the people and the Jesus. If any one person, or any process/routine/tradition becomes more important than or a substitute for people truly experiencing Jesus, then it's very bad (and makes for a lame event that reflects poorly on Christianity). Church can easily become a place where people act "professional", rather than real and vulnerable. Church now comes with a complete set of expected action, behaviors, and vocabulary. Churchy culture makes people feel like they have to do and say certain things. That can be a burden, and is not very freeing. I think we need to worry less about polished church service productions, and focus more on the reason we believe in God: Jesus is real, He loves us, and we can know and experience Him anytime and anywhere.

NOTE: I am NOT anti-church, and definitely not bashing churches or pastors (I guess I kinda am one and have one). I just think we need more Jesus in our lives, and modern American churches can way too easily provide and do a lot of things that are not necessarily Jesus. God can move in/through them, but the larger, more complicated, and more hierarchical a church is, the harder it is to make authentic and all about Jesus. I just think there's something super nice about stripping away everything until it's just people 'n Jesus.

Fail At Everything Else

2011-03-17T11:13:00.009-04:00

We find God as He strips things away and removes burdens, not as He piles things on (scripture). Sometimes these are even things that we have convinced ourselves that we want and need, but they begin to consume us. Don't look for a certain thing (job, person, circumstance, opportunity) to be your savior. If you are not enough without it, then you will not be satisfied with it. You + nothing + Jesus = success. Get THAT down. "Blessings" and "good opportunities" and "callings" are no good if they distance or distract us from Jesus. Fail at everything else, but DO NOT fail at knowing God. That is what you build your life on. Doing something great for God pails compared to doing anything with God. Relationship always trumps production. God is a lot better at making and fixing things than you are anyway. You are a child of God, not a common laborer.

We need to stop deceiving ourselves that once some breakthrough or opportunity finally happens, then everything will fall into place with God. Seek Him now. Know Him now. Worry about "doing something great with your life" later. Knowing God IS doing something great. He would rather you know Him, than accomplish something "for" Him. As a wise man once said, "Don't gain the whole world and forfeit your soul". It is also true that we shouldn't gain part of the world and forfeit part of our soul. Once you know Him, and have a deep relationship with Him, nothing will stand in your way. You'll be fishing with dynamite, and it won't even be fair.

Wilderness This

2010-12-20T19:20:00.003-05:00

Have you ever been lost in a desert? It's all fun and games until the mirages start trying to eat you.

Life isn't always easy. Not always like eating frosted cake. Sometimes you fail, sometimes things fall apart, sometimes it hurts, and sometimes you feel all alone. The frustrating thing is when it seems like God has lead you into the wilderness, and then just walked off and left you there. Haha, funny trick, now you're STUCK IN THE DESERT!

We could be wildernessing it for many reasons - sometimes our fault, sometimes not. Kinda like those Israelites after leaving Egypt, where they wandered around the wilderness for decades. It's interesting how many of them had a terrible time of it, living in bitterness and isolation from God, and not recognizing how He'd just rescued them and was sustaining them. But others had the most intense experiences with God of any who have ever walked the earth. Let's talk Moses. How's this for a wilderness experience:

Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.” The Lord replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you....But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.” The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.” (Exodus 33.18-23 - [whole story]).

Moses got to see God. And after, his friends were scared to come near him for a while because his face literally glowed. He had many powerful and personal encounters with God in the wilderness. So did Joshua, who was pretty much like a crack addict (he couldn't get enough of God's presence). So the key is not whether or not you're in the wilderness. It's what you're living for while there. If you are primarily focused on getting goodies from God (the good life in the promised land), then your wilderness experience will be miserable. But if you don't care about what God can give and do for you, and you simply seek after Him with your whole heart, letting it be enough just to hear His voice and see Him, then your wilderness time will be out of this world.

Bar Church Poem

2010-12-03T14:22:00.003-05:00

They said not to run, told me not to shout

They tried to tone me down, ordering me to cut it out

Just do it the same way, boring and safe is best

As if my life should be like, one and all the rest

But I'll do what I want, in fact I'll start church in a bar

Not for the religious, as frowny hypocrites are

Just a message to wanderers, searching for some light

Now you can come, for what you couldn't get last night

I lived for the world, but found it was a lie

Lived for myself, and the emptiness made me cry

Stuck in my own mess, only one thing left to try

Put my hope in Jesus, who for me was willing to die

What is it about this world that makes us give up our soul

We're longing after things just to be made whole

We're hungry now for something greater than our mess

Oh God won't you save me from this evil that I confess

That's what I wrote for my 5 year Harvard reunion that is coming up this spring. Everyone was asked to write a several paragraph update for the class book of their life since graduation. (Note: the last paragraph was added later).

Middleman

2010-10-27T16:15:00.002-04:00

Ever hear the phrase, "give a man a fish, feed him for a day...teach a man to fish, feed an entire village"? Well, most fisherman I know like to wander off into the woods for days to fish, only to come back dirty, smelly, and hungry. Plus, I don't even like fish (a.k.a. aquatic varmints). But, I guess it does make sense to get fish directly from the source rather than just taking a handout. Yeah, cut out the middleman!

I think many people aren't very spiritually mature simply because they never cut out the middle man. They become dependent on pastors, worship leaders, and teachers to connect them with God's truth. And they don't even have to work for it. This is inefficient. A while ago, I shared with a friend a spiritual lesson I'd learned, and I got a minimal reaction. A few months later, he came to me very excited and said, "Hey! Guess what God just told me". And he proceeded to say something very similar to what I'd told him months prior. It makes a much bigger impact to hear something directly from God, than to hear it from me (or you, or anyone else)! This is always the case. It needs to be a priority in ministry to cut out the middleman - to get people to a place as quickly as possible where they hear directly from God.

"But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ." (1 John 2.27)

After all, that's why Jesus went back to heaven, and didn't stay on earth (that, and probably the fact that earth is lame compared to heaven). He was cutting out the middleman, so the Holy Spirit could come and teach all of us, all the time. We need to do the same thing in ministry - make ourselves less of a hot commodity, and more of "just another one of those many people that hear God's voice and share it with others". That takes humility, baby.

Nary a Flag

2010-10-27T15:27:00.004-04:00

The thing about blessings is, they don't always wave a flag and say, "Hey! I'm a blessing"! They can be disguised. Sometimes they're completely hidden. Often, they wear camouflage (kinda like frogs) to appear as everyday encounters, quiet whispers, very slow changes, and even disastrous happenings or apparent failures. So, before we get upset at God and frustrated about "prayer failure" because we don't see a blessing waiting outside our door waving a ginormous banner, let's remember the words, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you" (Hebrews 13.5).

If God went through all the trouble to come to earth, die painfully, and pay the debt we owe for our sin, just so He could then officially adopt us as His kids, you can be sure He will answer prayers and provide blessings.

Exhibit A: "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are." (1 John 3.1)

Exhibit B: ""So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him" (Matthew 7.11)

Selfish McSelfishson

2010-09-20T17:03:00.000-04:00

Not too long ago, I tried to start the 'Stephen Club'. This was probably the greatest idea for a club ever. Despite this fact, however, I found it rather hard to get off the ground. The nice thing about the Stephen Club is that anyone can join, and it is free for life. The premise of the club is that everyone just does whatever I (Stephen) want, whenever I want, however I want. Brilliant! But, as it turns out, everyone just wants to have their own club, and no one wants to be in mine. This reminds me of something Jesus said.

Mark 8.34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, Jesus said, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me."

It really struck me how the first instruction Jesus gives people wanting to follow Him (be in His club) is: "turn from your selfish ways" (note: most translations use "deny yourself" instead, which is an even stronger way of saying it). I've been thinking a lot about how selfish I am. I just want to be in my club, and have everyone else be in my club, but I don't want to be in anyone else's club. Selfishness is really the root of all sin (putting yourself before God, and putting yourself before other people. This breaks the 2 most important commandments). The unfortunate reality in my life is that:

-The reason I am not closer to God is because of my selfishness (wanting to do what I want to do, rather than spend time with Him...He's already done His part and left an open door to Himself)
-The reason I let other people down and do not treat them as Jesus would is due to my selfishness, and how I want everything to revolve around ME.

It's convicting to try to go through a day recognizing every action/decision/word spoken that is based on selfishness (which is most of them). And then try to adjust and go the selfless route. This is hard, but this is not optional. This is the first thing we need to learn to do as disciples of Jesus: turn from our selfish ways. And we can't just pick and choose what we do or don't. We can't be in our club and in God's club. Take your pick. Your wildest dreams will only come true in one of them though.

The Diamond Thief

2010-06-17T15:36:00.007-04:00

Once there was a master jeweler. He spent years crafting the perfect piece until he had made the largest and most beautiful diamond. It was his masterpiece, and he delicately shaped it to display the fullness of the beauty he'd given it. But soon his apprentice became jealous of the diamond's beauty - the apprentice knew he would never be as good as the master. So one night he crept in the workshop and stole the diamond! In bitterness and rage he carried it away to destroy it. He wanted to ruin the beauty he could never make.

As the thief tried to unmake the beauty of the diamond, he found that he could not. So he battered it. He covered it in garbage. He smeared it with filth until it looked nothing like a jewel. While this was happening, the master came looking for his masterpiece. He found it and took it back for he was stronger than the evil apprentice. The master cleaned it off and restored it. The diamond shone as brightly and beautifully as ever. And do you know what he named this beautiful and rare diamond?

He named it you, because this is a story about you. It is about how God crafted you and made you His most prized possession (a, b, c). There is an evil one who tries to steal us away from God. He tries to cover us in the filth. He burdens us down with our mistakes and guilt, drowns us in the pain and struggles of this world, and he tries to convince us that we are ugly and worthless. And so we forget who made us and for what purpose. We struggle to remember that God can rescue us, clean us, and make us beautiful. But God is always faithful. He longs to bring home the lost forgotten ones that the world mocks as mediocre and unloved. We are beautiful because He made us in His image, and He places His Spirit inside us.

"He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people" (Titus 2.14)

Discerning God's Will (Beta Version)

2010-05-19T15:05:00.010-04:00

This algorithm is still in the testing phase. Try at your own risk. But it goes like this:

When we are trying to discern God's will in a situation, there are 2 influencing voices (in addition to whatever your friendly brain contributes). The Spirit and the flesh. God has good plans (boom (a), boom (b) for you. The Evil One has opposing plans - bad plans for you, plans to destroy you, and to prevent you from a close relationship with God. The Spirit and flesh are constantly battling it out inside of you (Bonus reading). Each has a voice, so if we can learn which is which, we'll have some insight into which option matches what we know about God's will. For the decision in question, go over each of these:

a) Fear

Fear is not a fruit of the Spirit. God commands us to NOT be afraid, so He won't use fear to guide us. The Spirit operates at a level beyond what we can do in our own strength, so fear is a common obstacle we must overcome as we follow God. Don't choose not to do something because you fear it. God's wants you to fear Him and nothing else.

b) Ease/Selfishness/Pride

The flesh always wants to do what is easy and what immediately feels good....AND it wants to look good while doing it! The Spirit says to do the opposite. Love instructions are a good example. It's not about you.

c) Faith

It's impossible to please God without Faith (Heb 11.6), so the path God wants us to follow should require faith! If it doesn't, then God's not very excited about that option - so why should you be? Bonus nugget: God's way frequently requires patience and endurance boom (a), boom (b). It also requires God's power to complete it, for you are too weak to do what the Spirit wants.

d) Fruit/Growth

The flesh will lead us to make decisions that do not challenge us and do not facilitate maturing. The Spirit will lead us into situations that stretch us and produce good fruit in our lives - thus the 'pressing on'.

e) Looks like Jesus

He said to follow Him and be like Him. This is hard. Fact

Funnel Vision

2010-03-30T18:42:00.000-04:00

Peoples use funnels for many things. Hour glasses, pouring things, drinking beer, funny hats, and of course, as really leaky bowls. Funnel cake is also very good, though that doesn't really apply here. Now, I'm no funnelologist (well...an amateur one if at all), but I maintain you'll get significantly better results out of your funnel if you pour things into the big end rather than the small end. That's just how it goes. It's science.

Funnels are a bit like tunnels. They rhyme, they both have holes, things go through them, and obviously, many people believe they were invented by gnomes. But there are some differences too. It's a lot easier to get lost crawling through a tunnel. I think most people view the road in life sorta like a tunnel. There are lots of dead ends, twists and turns, confusing moments, and hard times. This makes sense to me. But I don't quite think that's right. I believe that when we fully submit our lives over to God, our future is like a funnel rather than a tunnel.

Here's a question. Do you have greater faith in your inability to listen, or greater faith in God's ability to communicate? If you try to listen and are obedient, you will hear God. He's really good at what He does.

"I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow." (Isaiah 48.17)

"Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left." (Isaiah 30:20-21)

So be confident as you try your hardest to follow where you think He is leading you. It takes far more faith than it does brains, strength, or ability. Just get really good at the simple things Jesus teaches, and you will find your way through the funnel.

The Hunger

2010-03-09T14:32:00.006-05:00

I like to cook. This is largely due to the fact that I like to eat but have no one to cook for me. One day I had a great enlightenment. I discovered the greatest trick ever for making ANY food taste better. And it's not even adding lots of butter, salt, BACON, or sugar (though mmmboy that's good too). My cooking tip of brilliance that never fails is: "just wait longer". The longer you wait -->the hungrier you get --> the better the food will taste. My theory is that that is why some cultures (where folks are particularly snobbish about their vittles) generally don't have dinner until very late at night! At that point everyone is so hungry that ANYTHING tastes good. They call it authentic local cuisine. I'm onto you, you uppity connoisseurs and foreign food gastronomes!

Good.

This food truth is also a spiritual truth. The hungrier you are, the more you will be satisfied. On the other hand, the more [spiritual] junk and garbage you eat, the less satisfied you will be in God. That is why sin, idols (immediate and easy substitutes for God), and flesh gratifying habits will directly hinder your relationship with God. It doesn't matter how perfect and wonderful a meal is, if you stuff yourself with junk right beforehand, your dining experience will not be satisfying. Conversely, if you go into a meal starving, then you will be very satisfied. Truth:

-"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt 5.6)

-"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst" (John 6.35).

Get hungry for God. Stay hungry. Hold out for the good stuff.

How Do You Show Yourself To God?

2010-02-03T13:06:00.002-05:00

2 Sam 22:26-28 (also Psalm 18:24-26)
To the faithful you [God] show yourself faithful;
To those with integrity you show integrity.
To the pure you show yourself pure,
But to the wicked you show yourself hostile.

Like in any relationship, how we interact with God actually matters. God is not a cosmic robotic Santa Clause. While it's truth that God will never deny His loving nature, and He does not have fragile feelings or a trigger-happy temper, God does respond to us. After all, that is what a relationship is all about. You have to work at it. You have to spend time talking and (dare I say) relating. You have to commit. You have to decide not to booby trap the closet every time you don't get your way.

I like to think that God shows Himself to us the way we show ourselves to Him (granted His love and faithfulness means we always get much better than we deserve, and we can never ever ever ever earn God's love or acceptance, but receive it freely). So let me ask you this, "how do you show yourself to God?". First of all, did you show yourself? Second, was it consistent with how you desire to see God?

Author(ity)

2009-12-18T18:29:00.006-05:00

I know how to read. Have for a while now actually. Sometimes I read bad stories I don't like very much, but generally I just read the good stories that are awesome. I have strong feelings about this actually. I think it is silly to read and to like terrible awful boring stupid stories.

As far as the good stories go, during the read you don't always know what is going to happen. You may have some good ideas for how everything might work out, but when the book is finished you find something even better has happened - something you didn't see coming and didn't think was possible because it is so sweetatstic. Now, if the story were to suddenly end at many points in the middle, it would not be a very good story. Some individual snapshots are confusing, but the author includes those parts because they are necessary to make the whole story end well.

I like to think of God as an author. God writes the stories of our lives. He writes complicated stories that don't always make sense in the middle. He's such a good author that you often don't even expect the beautiful twists, underdog victorious, and seemingly impossible redemptions. Another thing about God is that He sees His stories through to the end. Now, if the characters go and insist on changing the plot, refuse to continue when things become hard and require great risk, and take the easy way out when life is confusing, well, beauty is lost. I think characters should let the author do the writing. They shouldn't get scared by seemingly impossible obstacles, difficult and uncomfortable situations, or things that blow up (my favorite stories have fire and explosions). The Author has it under control - He already knows how wonderful it is going to end. These challenging and messy elements are there to make for a better story. That's why we need to trust the Author. He's the best that's ever been.

Puppet Master

2009-12-02T13:44:00.002-05:00

Puppets. We've all seen them! Staring at us all beady-eyed and sideways, out from under those big yarny eyebrows. When you catch them looking at you, you know what they're thinking. They try to hide it with that dumb expression and ginormous mouth, but deep inside, you know they're looking down on you and they are judging you! Come on, get real puppets! You ain't nothin' but cloth and fuzz, veritable shadow and dust. You aren't so special when you come out from behind your curtain. I'd like to see you walk over here and look at me like that.

Yes, it's controversial but true. I'm a puppet too. We are all puppets when you take a think about it (Bible). Not really so impressive on our own... The thing that amazes me is that God actually chooses to use us, rather than doing everything (much better) Himself. God can speak something into existence far better than I could make it. He could easily back up a truck full of angels to dominate whatever situation there is and have no mess afterwards. So why does the Lord use us, and even wait patiently for us before He releases power?

Puppets are weak and ineffective, but a Puppet Master uses them to communicate a unique and wonderful message, so powerful, that it cuts through sin and darkness and right to the heart of people. It's the story of Jesus told through us. God wants to use your life to showcase His love and grace. If you let Him, He will artfully weave your life into a marvelous tapestry of redemption and passion, forgiveness and hope. The Puppet Master makes ragged and imperfect puppets dazzling and beautiful. Let Him tell your story. His version is better than your own.

Invincible Spirit - Vincible Body

2009-11-23T17:51:00.005-05:00

A bad thing about having a body is all the breaking that goes on. There's the breaking up, the breaking down, and the breaking of the bones (like your coccyx...for example). In some rare cases, there's even the breaking of your face. Though, it has been my experience that people will sometimes just think that accidentally (about the face). When that happens, it's best to just smile and keep walking. But anyway...my point is the body is very breakable. And if your body is breakable, then you are deafeatable. In fact, since there are many things in this world capable of breaking your body, you are actually fairly defeatable. Sure, you can wear your seatbelt and floaties, take your vitamins or even 'roids, and never ever ever take off your bike helmet, but the fact of the matter is, you are weak - you will break - you will die.

Now, the cool thing about Wolverine is, this one time he had unbreakable adamantium forcibly fused onto his bones. Bam. He wasn't breakable anymore. His body can get all banged up, but he stays funky fresh and strong on the inside. That's pretty much what happens when God puts His Spirit inside of us (Bible). God is completely and wholly invincible. When you have God's Spirit inside of you, you have an invincible Spirit inside a vincible body. Your body can get all banged up, but your Spirit will always prevail if you hold fast to God. You will not be contained or overcome (Bible), but can live victoriously (Bible). That's why we should stop living to gratify our weak and breakable bodies, and we should live to please God. (Bible)

You got a leash on that goose?

2009-10-27T12:38:00.000-04:00

You don’t know what you want to be when you grow up? You want to do what “God wants” (find your purpose or calling), but aren’t sure what that looks like or how to get there? Good.

The great thing about God is that He actually wants you to succeed (Bible). His plan for you is the best – much better than your own (Bible). His desire is for you to live out the true fullness of life (Bible) and to accomplish great things. Our problem is often that we are in such a hurry to accomplish and to be, that we neglect the ‘today’ and the small things that are significant over time (Bible).

If your dream opportunity were to suddenly plop out of the sky – you know, that ‘thing’ that makes you feel significant and enables you to ‘change the world’ and do everything you’ve ever dreamed of accomplishing, well, I don’t think that would go so well. This is because the “future role” that God has planned for you requires more skill than you currently possess. Your character, faith, and spirit muscles are not developed enough to handle what is coming. On the other hand, if you invest yourself now in developing your character, in acquiring truly valuable assets (Bible), and becoming who God wants you to be, then there is nothing on earth that will be able to stand between you and ‘your calling’. It will find you out no matter where you go or what you do. Take care of your business now, and in the future you’ll be administering all sorts of serious beat downs on obstacles and foes alike. God does great things through people who patiently and faithfully take the time to let Him shape them (Bible).

Mountainous Climbing

2009-10-22T16:27:00.005-04:00

Fact: mountain climbing is not yet an Olympic sport. Fact: there is lots of mountain climbing in Olympic National Park. Hmmm??

Now, with mountain climbing (as with many other things) there are accompanying difficulties: it’s largely uphill, pestilence may be involved, sometimes you get rained or snowed or lightninged on, and if you’re of a certain fashion persuasion, earrings may be lost. All these things and more can contribute to a generally difficult and sweaty experience (notice how this is like life in general).

After having spent a lot of time thinking about mountain climbing, and of course doing lots of climbing visualization drills on my couch, I’ve learned a thing or two. Sometimes it doesn’t matter which path you take because they all lead to the top. Sure they may vary, but mostly in scenery, amount of fun, terrain, and number of pleasant places to snack. However, other times there is only one safe path to take. Often this path does not head right to the top. It takes odd turns and may even go down before going up! But it is the only way to the top!

Chasing the Jesus can be like that. Sometimes God affords us all sorts of options on which way to go. The exact path isn’t as important as long as you incorporate the wisdom and passions He has armed you with. At the right time and as necessary, God will make it clear to you what changes need to be made (big or small). And then it is very important you obey! Think about it this way: GOD is the one who invented the concept of the mountain. GOD is the one who made you. AND GOD is the one that REALLY wants to see you make it to the top. So quit your worrying, have faith, keep seeking God, and move those feet. (Bible)

Gratuitous

2009-10-19T17:03:00.002-04:00

The good thing about squirrels is, they run around all willy-nilly and jump from tree limb to tree limb. I can’t do that. You probably can’t do that. Santa Clause definitely can’t do that. Some squirrels can even fly, well “fly” in some semblances of the term. A fun trick to play on squirrels is to sit motionless for hours and hours. You know, wait for them to get real comfortable with you being there. Then wait a little longer just for good measure. Finally, when a friendly one wanders near you as it forages for squirrel food or squirrel toys, you just jump up real loud and then dump paint on it! The best part is, who’s ever seen a pink squirrel? Let’s see if they run around so carefree and willy-nilly then.

Something that sticks out to me about the ‘paint attack method’ is all that waiting. It seems kind of…'gratuitous'. That’s what I’d call it anyhow. But sometimes ‘gratuitous waiting’ is absolutely necessary. That’s something Joshua can teach us. Have you ever wondered why God chose him to succeed Moses? Joshua was the one that lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. I think I know why. (Bible)

Joshua spent gratuitous amounts of time in God’s presence. He’d just hang out in the tent with God after Moses went off do whatever it is he would do in the wilderness (btw, what did Moses do for fun? I’d guess badminton). If we want God to use us to accomplish His mighty works, then we need to learn from Joshua and ‘waste’ time in God’s presence – time that could even be spent in ‘productive’ ways. After God appointed Joshua as the new leader, his life blew up. God had so many victories and accomplishments lined up that He had to keep giving Joshua psych up talks, telling him to be ‘Bold and Courageous’ (Bible).

So, by all means, if you don’t want God to use you for the exciting and powerful things, then don’t spend time in His presence. If you do want to be used, then learn to spend gratuitous amounts of time with God.

(p.s. pink squirrels!)

What it is

2009-10-04T22:39:00.000-04:00

You'll never find what you're looking for unless it's God.

Blog Fail

2009-09-28T22:09:00.007-04:00

Yes. There are lots of funny blogs out there highlighting amusing and/or epic failures. So why not one more, right? I have a veritable lockbox of embarrassing personal failings and shortcomings I could discuss to help everyone feel better about their day. Unfortunately, perhaps, there is something different on the juice mountain docket. Fact: a ‘fail’ is not always a ‘fail’.

Story time:

In college, I did a number of things that we will refer to loosely as ‘activities’. Most people likely found them fairly embarrassing, or perhaps would even designate them as a ‘fail’. An example that readily comes to mind is my last Harvard final exam. In an effort to make it truly memorable, I brought crayons and completed my final essay question in 5 different crayon colors (authors note: I did not fail the exam). Now, judging from the expressions of my neighbor pupils, the average Harvard student was mortified by the thought of doing such a thing.

So what is the point of this? I’m not sure….perhaps that crayons are made out of wax so you could probably make them into very colorful candles? Or maybe I could say that things WE consider to be a failure (or even pointless) may not actually be a failure.

Just as God does not judge things as we do because He looks at the inside and not the outside (Bible), he also does not judge the outcome of our situations as we do. We can absolutely go through a very difficult and painful experience where we utterly fail by any measurable standard, but God can look at the outcome and smile and say, “THAT was a success”. Why is it that we always want a quick fix, a quick solution from God? That’s not how God operates. He’s in it for the long haul – He’s invested in us and wholly committed to walking with us through the full duration of our trial. After we overcome one obstacle, there will be more. So the real challenge is to learn to encounter God and experience His presence in the midst of our trial. We need to learn how to LET Him walk with us through our trials and to let His presence in our pain be ENOUGH. This is a true statement: The greatest peace only comes in the greatest of storms. God wants you to be a person of great peace.

Heman!

2009-09-14T21:41:00.006-04:00

Fact: Bible names are generally either extremely popular or incredibly not so. People shun them as ridiculous (Muppim, Huppim and Ard for example, Genesis 46:21), or they decide to name their pets, boats, and offspring after them. One inspirational hero that sadly does not get nearly enough credit, or have many youngsters running around bearing his name, is the OT Hebrew version of a modern day rock star. I'm speaking of Heman, a lead singer during King David's reign, and the front man of a 120+ member band. Given the fact that Jewish men did not traditionally have short haircuts, Heman is also likely the one responsible for the prominent hair style of 80's rock. In addition, Heman recently inspired an entire comic book series with a very manly superhero, and a subsequently made superhero movie.

Our culture does not have the same view on manly men that God has. The name "Heman" actually means "faithful", which is a fundamental characteristic of God. Paul describes it as follows: "If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is" (2 Timothy 2:13). If you want to be a Heman, you have to become rockfast* and unwavering in your diligent commitment to becoming like the Jesus. Sacrifice that which you "deserve" and desire, so that you can give to others what they do not. That's Jesus love. That's faithfulness. That's hard.

(Side note: the other highly underappreciated OT name I'd like to draw attention to is Hazzelelponi - "has-a-little-pony". I have nothing significant to add about her, except she has an extremely attractive name).

*steadfast like a rock (not so much like Chevy)

Monopoly Time

2009-09-09T01:36:00.003-04:00

Playing Monopoly as a kid was good for me in a lot of ways. I learned valuable life skills that I'd confidently say I use today quite often. Probably somewhere between regularly and on a semi-biannual basis. Good things like: general math skills, risk management, disliking taxes, the useful fact that you can get out of jail for free, how to rob the bank when no one is looking, basic greed, and the knowledge that you can only get free parking if you cheat when you roll the dice. All in all, it was a good supplement to my homeschool education.

I think God has His own version of the game. Except, His is much simpler (and there's no way to rob the bank). In God's game, our life is the board and fear is the commodity. With every step we take, we either fear God or we choose to fear the situation. God wants a monopoly on fear in our lives. I think he is jealous even of our fear. When we choose to be afraid of that which does not deserve our fear, we are essentially opting to worship something less powerful than God. Nothing can compare with Him, so there's no reason to fear anything except for God. That's why God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous, and He didn't just offer it as a suggestion.

In my previous commenting, Moses and Elijah both encountered God in a significantly powerful way after some good ol' fashioned mountain scaling. For them, I think it was a mountain of fear. Elijah stood up to an entire nation that was following false gods, thus he chose not to fear: the king, Baal, human might, popular opinion, physical abuse, death, and other such dangerous unpleasantries. He chose to fear God instead, and BAM! With Moses, there was a more terrifying fear to face down. God told him to climb the mountain, but I guarantee you he thought he was going to die when God's glory shone before him as a cloud, and there appeared to be a consuming fire covering the summit (where he was to meet with God). Just like in the Moses and Elijah examples, God wants us to overcome the Fear Mountains in order to experience a greater measure of his presence.

Fear God. Fear nothing else.

Meet and Greet

2009-09-05T00:58:00.003-04:00

[WARNING: may contain religious content]

Contrary to popular opinion and various unnamed conspiracy theorists, the title 'Juice Mountain' did not originate from any of the following:

1) A recent freak avalanche that crushed a medium to large peach orchard
2) The name of a WWF wrestler sponsored by Jamba Juice
3) The Energizer Bunny's newest nemesis
4) A startup magazine discussing trends in effective steroid use
5) Prune juice (or the aftermath)

No indeed. Those (and many other things) actually had zero influence on the brainstorm/wrestling session that lead to the titling. The decision was based solely on the inherent awesomeness of the name, and the general reasoning that it is the sweetest blog name. Ever.

That being said, there are actually several significant things to discuss that have nothing to do with the modern day fruit drink. At this point, you really must ask yourself, "Was Elijah a prophet of God, or just a playa hater?" and also go ask yourself something about Moses. Because those two men have lived Juice Mountain. Lived, breathed, and experienced it in a way that will keep you up at night. They faced down the fear that no one else would. Elijah is famous because he climbed the mountain to take on an entire nation. Moses is famous because he climbed the mountain and faced Almighty God. Sometimes we need to climb the mountain that no one else is willing to take on, and we need to meet with God. We need to wait in His presence and say, "I will not move from this place unless your presence goes with me. I will hold you at your Word, and hold onto your promises". Unfortunately, very few people are willing to climb these mountains. Partly because it's very difficult, and partly because they have the notion that if they do, they (or part of them) is going to die. They are correct (Mark 8:35-36).

You may also find it interesting to note my thinly veiled steroid reference. This blog has a lot to do with steroids (mostly spiritual). You really need to start juicing.