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| May we consider he who was wrapped in burial cloth;
chased and pursued in order that they might conquer him, quieting him with a sword;
hurried into cover, rushed through crowds;
swarmed by the skeptical, the curious, the eager;
and he was overtaken
by us.
Yes, he was overtaken by us, overwhelmed with love to the point of death,
a gruesome death on a cross, foretold centuries before his birth.
He who was Shalom broke Himself that we might receive it.
Instead of drawing from a
stopped-up,
stagnant,
sour and
sick well that may or may not restore you,
Draw from the well that knows no depth,
taking in the Living Water who is Christ,
digging deep into His creation through the works of your hands
to bring Shalom to others.
Revolt against your discontent and sin,
overthrowing the kingdom of you for the kingdom of True.
May Christ, our Shalom, grant you His peace.
Go in it, dwelling on it always. Go -- in Peace.
Benediction given December 16, 2007 at Ecclesia Clear Lake. | | |
| Kids ask the most profound questions sometimes. I wonder if we actually
listened to them more if we could learn anything. Last night I was
leading a small church in Galveston through some songs and before we
began to meet, the pastor and his four year-old son were lighting some
candles. The dad took the lighter and put the flame to the wick, one
candle at a time. The boy looked up to his father and uttered, "Daddy,
why are you giving the candles light?" His father replied, "So that
everyone can see one another."
It hit me immediately. My mind began to spin, thinking of myself as that candle. "Daddy, why are you giving
the candles light?" he said. The candles had nothing to offer until
they were lit. They had nothing within them that could produce a flame.
The only thing they could offer is what they are composed of, with the
clear understanding that in order to provide light "so that everyone
can see another," the candle must sacrifice itself, everything that it
is composed of must be put towards that mission.
Do not
extinguish what God has illuminated. Live a life that is set apart and
different, illuminating the world so that we can see one another for
who we truly are; not as "good people" who occasionally make a wrong
thought or choice, but as depraved, lost, aimlessly wandering sinners
in desperate need of guidance. May God illuminate you, exposing all
that you do, that you might be freed from your slavery.
Do not
be deceived that the voices you hear when you're stumbling around in
darkness are offering you any real direction or hope. And if someone
else who is also in the dark is offering you advice, is it any better
than getting directions from a blind man?
One candle cannot
light the world. Throw away the thought that you can do it all by
yourself. Do not be deceived by the evil one.
- - - - - - - - -
You
are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden.
People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a
lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let
your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds
and give honor to your Father in heaven. -- Matthew 5:14-16 (NET)
Let
nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s
wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers
with them, for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in
the Lord. Walk as children of the light – for the fruit of the light
consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth – trying to learn
what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful
deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For the things they do in
secret are shameful even to mention. But all things being exposed by
the light are made evident. For everything made evident is light, and
for this reason it says:
“Awake, O sleeper!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you!” -- Ephesians 5:6-14
My enemies, do not laugh at me!
Though I have fallen, I will get up.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. -- Micah 7:8 | | |
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| "The Lord God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name." -- Genesis 2:19 (NET)
Growing up, I went through some tough times because of the man my mother had married after she and my dad divorced. He was verbally abusive to everyone in the house, and after awhile I began to believe what he said. I began to believe that I was worthless. Today, some of the these same patterns continue to resurface at the most unhelpful moments. It has only been recently that I have realized the power of words.
Bluntly, whomever said that "sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me" is full of shit.
Our words carry weight.
If you speak something over someone, I am beginning to believe that things can happen based on what you say about them. Take the creation story for instance. The Lord God, after he had formed every living creature, gave men power in their words. When Adam named creatures, his dominion extended over the creatures. That is to say, when he named them, he established an extent of control.
I am beginning to believe that one of the main differences between good and evil has to do with longevity of life. Both hold the promise of benefit, but good prolongs life and evil hinders life. When God speaks things over his most prized creatures, they are spoken with the intention of our benefit, for prolonging our life. This is not a "fountain of youth" escape from death, for we know that we all physically die. This is a spiritual matter. When God speaks good over us, he pours out from the river of life that which is intended to prolong us and benefit us.
I consider further the name that God once called me before his grace came to rest upon me -- I was an enemy of God. I chose to speak for myself, to speak over my own life, and speak words over what I controlled. This is mine, I would say with my heart and my actions. You are not God over this, I will decide what is good and what is evil, what can prolong my life and what will hinder it.
But now I marvel speechless at the names that God now speaks over me -- beloved, child, forgiven, righteous. The list goes on. I must contemplate on his names for me and allow his grace to cover the words so carelessly spoken over me by others. It is not so much that I have the power to repel their words as it is that God has already spoken my name. He claims me now. His authority rests over me.
This has caused me to think of the power of my words. What names do I call people? Do I speak over them with words that encourage and prolong them? Or do I speak over them with words that allow me to control them and tear them down? What does the name 'Jesus' mean? What do I say when I think of his name? What does my name mean?
Well, my parents named me 'Matthew', of which the Hebrew root means "gift of God." Did I mention they had been trying to bear a child for ten years?
You must put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk. Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. -- Ephesians 4:31-32
Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them, for you were at one time darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light – for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth – trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. -- Ephesians 5:6-10
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| Some dude named Søren Kierkegaard once said that a person who loves God without faith only reflects upon themselves. When I first read that, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Or a ton of feathers. Whichever is heavier.
It is a heavy weight to consider "faith"; heavier still to consider whether or not I actually have any; heavier still to consider where I place whatever faith I have.
I don't want to ring hollow. I mean, I don't want to ring empty and see Nietzsche, tuning-hammer in hand, having a go at me. He said that nearly all of Western philosophy rings hollow, that most of the ideologies we hold so dear are merely projections of ourselves onto the world in which we live; that we shave chunks off to fit the square peg into the round hole. And if that's true, then finding out that I don't have everything figured out makes me feel, well, empty inside -- hollow. It hurts, mostly because it's not so much that I fear having my views of the way I think the world "really is" shot to bits, even though I would like to think I know a bit about the way things truly are, but ultimately what hurts is that my views point right back to me, as if I were standing in a mirror pointing at myself saying, "that's the way the world really is." In some sense, my conception of truth is really more a projection of me than a reflection of the world. It's like me throwing out a boomerang, elegantly filled with all of my notions of truth, only to have it come back -- and hit me square in the nose.
A person who loves God without faith only reflects upon themselves. Ouch.
That's me. Actually, that's me a lot lately. And I hate it.
And I keep reading these books thinking I will find God in them. I keep reading books trying to help me prove the existence of God. I keep reading excellent books too, not little kindergarten books. Classics. Monumental works.
But I do not find you, God, in there, at least the way I expect to. I find reflections. I find bits and pieces. Shadows.
And you know what is so odd, so very, very odd?
Every shadow has an origin.
God, I am totally messed up inside right now, and I feel like I am walking in circles looking for you. I am not going to hide behind promises I may never, and probably will never, live up to. I just want you. I want to have faith in you with such measure that I am completely resigned to you. Will you grant me a greater measure tomorrow than I have today? I have faith in you, but I want more. I do not want to chase shadows, but I will chase them interminably if it means the possibility of coming face to face with you. Hear me, God. Hear me and respond as only you do.
Leaning on the strength of the absurdity of it all,
Matt | | |
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