The Dude Abides: OBAMACARE!

"Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him." - II Timothy 2:3-4

"our citizenship is in heaven" - Philippians 3:20

"My kingdom is not of this world." - John 18:36

"Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities . . . Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. . . . clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." - Romans 13:1, 7-8, 14

"Abide in me . . . If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love . . . This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." - John 15:4, 10, 12

"This aggression will not stand, man!" - The Dude

These quotes sum up quite well my response to Obamacare.
Obama is not the antichrist.
He is not going to destroy America.
Just abide in Christ.
"The dude abides."
Our message should not be STOP OBAMA
Our message should be LOVE
This aggression will not stand.
You don't agree with what the president is doing? You're just going to have to deal with it.
I have to put up with the fact that this country is run by politicians, and that fact drives me crazy sometimes.
Just abide in Christ.
Matthew was a tax collector and Simon was a zealot. They disagreed on what direction their government should take, but their primary concern was being a disciple of Christ and abiding in him. Do the same.
How do you abide in Christ? Love.
Ask yourself, "What would Jesus do?" and then ask yourself "Did Jesus ever try to stop the government? Did Jesus concern himself with the affairs of a fallen government?" If you think he did, you need to read the gospels again.
All politicians are sinful men anyway. Not one of them has the perfect, divine plan for America.
This is a fallen world, expect fallen results.

Read the above quotes again.
Christ wants to save this country from the inside out. So love like Jesus.

"Get behind me, Satan!" - How to be a Christ-like driver

A lot of people who know me well may find it ironic that I am writing this blog. I am known for road rage. My personality is susceptible to a complete alteration when I get behind the wheel. I've yelled at other drivers, flipped out at red lights, I've done it all.
However, I have gotten a lot better in the past couple of years and have learned some tricks in keeping the "uncontrollable monster," the "demon driver" out of my car.
Hopefully, you will find this helpful if you are in my same boat (more than likely, you have at least been there before).

1. Pray.

I have found that it makes a difference to pray before (and during) a drive. Receive God's grace, and ask him to help you drive like he would. Pray that you will abide in Christ while driving. Pray that you will chill out. "The dude abides."

2. "Blessed are the peacemakers."
 
If a driver behind you comes up real close to try and pressure you to get out of the way, just get out of the way. Don't break-check him. That will make both of you angry. Don't align yourself with the car in the next lane so he can't get around you. That just causes long-lasting strife and a hell of a lot of anger. Just get out of his way as soon as possible.
If a driver in front of you is super slow, just slow down. Don’t freak out. Don’t follow closely.
Don’t—God forbid—honk. Just slow down and chill out.

3. The Golden Rule.
 
If a driver wants/needs to get in front of you, let him in! I have found that it makes me happier to always be the one to let people in. Don't speed up, don't get real close to the person in front of you, just let him in. You know you would want the same. You should do all driving with the attitude of the golden rule.

4. "If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you."
 
There are a lot of stupid drivers in this world. Particularly here in Virginia, there are plenty of stupid drivers. People will cut you off, they will hit their brakes for no apparent reason, they will wait until the last second to merge into a lane, they will go incredibly slow, they will slow down 10 mph every time they see a cop even if they were barely going the speed limit, they will do all kinds of stupid things that would normally drive you crazy. Forgive them. You have done something stupid while driving as well. So pardon them. You would do it if it was someone you know and like, so do it because that could be the only time you ever have to bless whoever it is.

5. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."
 
Confession: I was driving up to Virginia from Florida when I ran into some traffic. I was among 20 cars piled behind a single car in the left-hand lane. At the front of the line was a jeep that was barely going the speed limit. To the right of us was a stream of cars that made it impossible to go around anyone. The jeep aligned his car with the car beside him so that no one could go around. This was a rolling road block, and it continued for 30 minutes. Over that time, the line of cars kept getting bigger. He simply would not get over. I wanted to get to Virginia as soon as possible. At that point, I had driven about 12 hours that weekend and was ready to just get home, so I was angry. I became so angry that I began to hope terrible things about that driver. "I hope he runs over a nail!" "I hope his car breaks down!" "I hope he gets into a car accident!" It hurts to think about and to confess. I was at the peak of my wickedness. When the right-hand lane finally opened up, 20 cars passed him, and when it was my turn—I am ashamed to say—I had an urge to give him the finger (though I did not).
There are better ways.
 
I spent those 30 minutes in utter strife, bitterness, and anger. My advice for when this happens to you/what I plan to do next time: call someone. Call someone with whom you can pray for that person. And then either change the subject and keep talking or, if that isn't possible, when you get off the phone speak a blessing over that person's day and listen to some music or, even better, talk to God. Ask him to teach you how to love. Ask him to teach you how to be a Christ-like driver.

6.  Avoid bitterness.
 
Being bitter towards other drivers will make your drive miserable and will do nothing to them. I was incredibly bitter to the guy in my story, and how do you think that affected him? It didn't. "Bitterness is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die." Don't be that kind of driver.

7. Don't parent other drivers.
 
Don't try to teach other people lessons. They're not going to learn anything. They will either get angry or won't even recognize what you're doing and will just think you're being a jerk. This will just cause strife for both parties (or just you).

8. "Check yourself before you wreck yourself!"

 Be as positive as you can in your perspective. I could choose to think that the driver in my story was facetiously trying to get on people’s nerves by creating and maintaining a rolling road block and was excited at how successful he was. Or I could choose to think that he had no idea what he was doing and was just being absent-minded. Granted, this is still pretty dumb and frustrating, but this perspective makes it easier to pray for and forgive that person.

9. Practice patience.
 
This is the hardest one for me. The only advice I can provide here is that when you are in need of patience, pray for it. Ask God to give it to you. Ask God to show you how to have it. Think about what patience is and what it means to have it. Dwell on patience. Picture what patience would look like driving. Imagine what kind of driver you would be if you did practice patience. Gradually, dwelling will become practicing.
Red lights: when/if you pray before you start driving, use that time to pray for patience during red lights. Also, it helps me when I expect to hit every single red light before I begin to drive. Once I do that and come to terms with it, I don't get angry at every red light. Then, when I get to a green light, it's like a pleasant surprise! You could also use the time at red lights to pray for more patience.

10. "And I will say to my soul, 'Soul...'"
 
There will come a point when you must practice self-control. When you feel the urge to scream, "Get behind me, Satan!" to the car in front of you, look to yourself and say "Get behind me, Satan!"
Say to your soul, "Soul! Relax, eat, drink, and be merry." (Luke 12:19)

Conclusion:
“love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”
These are the fruits of the Spirit. Do your best to exhibit them in everything you do on the road.
Love all drivers,
maintain joy and peace within your car at all times, and always avoid strife and anger,
be patient—longsuffering—in your dealings with other drivers (because sometimes you will just have to suffer long),
be kind and do good unto other drivers,
remain faithful to God in your driving,
be gentle in your response to drivers, and be gentle with your car (for those of you who are like me and feel like punching something when you are super angry),
which brings me to the last—and most important—point: control yourself.

Now, drive and sin no more.

Beauty and Holiness

"It is easier to enjoy beauty than to sense the holy"(1)

- Abraham Joshua Heschel

My family moved to Florida a few years ago. I hate the heat, the humidity, the bugs, and--believe it or not--the beach. I am not a fan of Florida at all. But every time I visit, Florida manages to win my heart at a certain time every day: sunset.

The Florida sunsets are incredible.
Sometimes, I would be driving and would look at the sky and think, "Am I the only one seeing this?" To me, it is the equivalent of watching a huge rocket slowly shoot up into space.

"Do you see that?!" I would ask my brother. 

"Yah...it happens every day," he said.

Yes, it does happen every day. But there is something about me--no matter what mood I am in, if I had the worst day, if I am depressed, if I am angry, if I hate life, if I am bitter towards God--every time I see a sunset it becomes an opportunity for me to start over. It's like my whole day is wiped clean and my mind is cleared. In that moment of clarity, I can see grace.

Karl Rahner explains grace as the self-communication of God, always offered to all people at all times. Accepting that grace means saying 'Yes' to God.(2)

When I am in my awe-inspired state of clarity, I can look at the negative state in which my mind had been all day, and I can look at grace, and I have a perfect chance to say, "Yes, God."

"In every wind that blows, in every night and day of the year, in every sign of the sky, in every blossoming and in every withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to realize it."(3)

- Oswald Chambers

Sure, sunsets happen every day, but so does God.

Grace is always present. Holiness is always present. God is in all things, presented before humanity saying "Here I am. You can acknowledge me or not, but I am here."

So many people drove down I-75 during that sunset and didn't pay it any mind, just like people live their lives every day and don't pay God any mind.

"Learn to associate ideas worthy of God with all that happens in Nature--the sunrises and the sunsets, the sun and the stars, the changing season, and your imagination will never be at the mercy of your impulses, but will always be at the service of God."(4)

- Oswald Chambers

Live your life with the notion that beauty is synonymous with holiness.

As Eugene Peterson said, "The physical is holy."(5)

I was driving to Norfolk one night with my fiancee and we were listening to an old 1930's recording of Louis Armstrong's "When You're Smiling" when the most miraculous sunset began to form in the sky. I was captivated by it's beauty to the very depths of my being. 

I turned to to my fiancee, who was smiling with the softest, most peaceful smile. The calm sound of the music was so soothing and inspired joy in my heart. I felt the lyrics as I watched her: "When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you."

I turned back to the sunset and I couldn't help but think, "I am in love with God, and life is so beautiful." I could sense the holy.

"Jesus was the master sacramentalist. He used anything at hand to bring us into an awareness of God and then into a response to God."(6)

- Eugene Peterson

When we begin to associate things we love and things we find beautiful with God,
we begin to love him more. When you think about it, you will realize how natural this is.

What, in your life, can you begin to associate with God?
What do you find beautiful?
What do you love?
When you find yourself enjoying beauty, try opening your eyes to the holy.

Notes:

(1) Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1983), 252.

(2) Karl Rahner, and Herbert Vorgrimler, Theological Dictionary, ed. Cornelius Ernst, trans. Richard Strachan (New York: Herder and Herder, 1965), 196.

(3) Oswald Chambers, "February 10: Is Your Imagination of God Starved?" in My Utmost for His Highest.

(4) Ibid., "February 11: Is Your Hope in God Faint and Dying?"

(5) Eugene Peterson, Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer (New York: HarperCollins, 1989), 72.

(6) Ibid., 78.

 

Stop! In the Name of Love! A Christian Response to Gay Marriage

Ever since President Obama officially came out in favor of gay marriage, the topic has gone viral. I have seen a lot of articles recently about homosexuality from a lot of different places, including many Christian sources that have said that it is not against Scripture's teaching.

The purpose of this post is not to argue for or against it. My purpose is to answer this question: What should be the church's response to homosexuals and to gay marriage?

My position in this matter can be summed up by saying that I don't think the church's message can be "Stop gays!" and "Love gays!" at the same time.

We must choose one. Why? Because if the church is loudly trying to stop homosexuals from doing what they want to do, it is going to create a divide between the two.
There cannot be a divide between the church and sinners.

Now let me clarify. I think Christians themselves can be against gay marriage--that is their right.
[I understand that it does not work this, but] if it came down to a vote in which the nation would decide whether or not to grant homosexuals the privilege to get married, Christians should be able to vote against it. And I am not saying they shouldn't. I am speaking of the church as a whole.

If whole churches--or large groups of Christians representing Christ--attended a rally against homosexuality, it would destroy the opportunity they have to minister to the homosexuals at hand.
The LGBT community needs to become aware of the fact that Christ loves them with a love that is beyond understanding and he so desires to be in relationship with them.

They cannot be opened up to that realization when those representing Christ are emphatically standing against them.

The church in this situation should be trying to win their hearts for Christ. The church should be trying to reveal to them the love of Christ.

That being said, I do understand the importance of living a pure, Christ-like life. Do I think homosexuality is sinful? Yes I do. But sanctification begins with Christ's love. As it has been said by many, God loves all of us just the way we are, but so much that he won't let us stay this way. It is our job to introduce the lost to that love. "They will know we are Christians by our love!"

We do not win their hearts with a law that says they cannot get married. And we definitely don't win their hearts by standing against them so adamantly!

What is our focus? Winning hearts for Christ? Or imposing our moral values on a whole nation?

What is more important: stopping gays from getting married or captivating them with the love of Christ?

We have to choose which message we will give to our nation. And, as ambassadors for Christ, we must prefer to show them God's love.
That is what Christ would do.
That is what Christ did.

Was Christ interested in establishing laws based on his moral standards?
Or was he interested in revealing his love to the lost?

Don't you think he would dine with homosexuals?
If you don't, you need to read the gospels again.

Was Christ interested in convicting the unbelieving sinner of his sin?
Or was he interested in transforming hearts with his unconditional love?

He wanted all people to follow him, regardless of the sinful state in which they lived.
And he never once required someone to change before  following him.
He fed thousands before preaching to them. He met their needs and then taught them the truth.
It's useless to try and convince someone he is sinning when he doesn't believe in the Bible.
It is only after we win his heart for Christ that we can convict him. At that point, not only will he recognize his sinful nature, but he will desire God's will for his life.

The church's message should be 

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." - (Isa. 55:1)

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28)

Church, Stop! In the name of love, and LOVE in the name of Christ!
You must stop breaking the hearts of the lost with your messages of separation and discrimination, and you must begin to captivate their hearts with Christ's love.
In our actions toward homosexuals, we should look like Christ dying on the cross to transform their lives.
Then--and only then--can we bring them the message "Stop! In the name of love, and live in the name of Christ!"